Computer has become sluggish

Hi- My old ibook has become sluggish- hard to watch videos, loads slowly etc. It is as if the ram is full and never unloads even after re-boot. Can someone make some suggestions as to how to restore this computer to its proper functioning? Thanks -Howard

Some links to articles on performance optimization:
http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/performance.html
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=971817#971817
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=607640#607640
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1147?viewlocale=en_US
If you haven't maximized the RAM, doing so with a 512 MB RAM module could help speed things up, too.
Good luck with it.

Similar Messages

My MacBook Pro has become sluggish since installing Mavarick.

I installed the new Mavericks OSX on my MacBook Pro the day after it came out. From that day, my computer has become sluggish, especially if I have muliple windows open and/or apps running. I originally thought that perhaps I had a virus, so I ran my anti-virus program and it came up clean. I tried restarting my computer a number of times, with no improvment.
Has anyone else had similar problems?? Anyt suggestions?
Thanks!!

Back up your documents and everything else important to you, not that there is any reason to believe your hard disk may be failing, but the symptoms you describe may presage an impending disk failure, and you should have backups anyway.
To help determine the possible causes of this behaviour read the following. None of what follows is intended to fix anything, but it will provide the additional information required to advance troubleshooting:
Boot OS X Recovery by holding ⌘ and r (two fingers) while you start your Mac. At the Mac OS X Utilities screen, select Disk Utility. Select your startup volume (usually named "Macintosh HD") and click the Repair Disk button. Describe any errors it reports in red.
When it finishes restart your Mac and test again for operation. If it's still not behaving as you expect it should, please post the results of EtreCheck in accordance with the following instructions:
Apple Support Communities contributor etresoft wrote a very useful app to quickly gather certain system information that may help point to a cause of this problem. Go to his website, download and run EtreCheck:
http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck
Etrecheck will be in your Downloads folder. Open it from there. You may see the following dialog box:
Click Open - etresoft contributes to this forum frequently and can be considered a trustworthy developer.
It will take a moment to run as it collects its data.
Copy and paste its output in a reply.
Do not be concerned about anything that says "Problem" or “failed” or anything else that may appear in red.
EtreCheck was designed to remove any personal information (such as your computer's name and serial numbers) but if you see anything that looks like an email address or any other personal information that should not be divulged to others, please delete or obscure that information when you post the reply.
When you are finished with EtreCheck, quit the program. It occupies very little space, and you can keep it or drag it to the Trash as you wish.
After completing the above please determine if the problems also occur in "Safe Mode":
Safe Mode or "Safe Boot" is a troubleshooting mode that bypasses all third party system extensions and loads only required system components. Read about it: Starting up in Safe Mode
Starting your Mac in Safe Mode will take longer than usual, graphics will not render smoothly, audio is disabled on some Macs, and some programs (iTunes for example) may not work at all.
Merely starting your Mac in Safe Mode is not intended to resolve the problem, it's to observe its performance without certain additional components.
To end Safe Mode restart your Mac normally. Shutdown will take longer as well.
Some users have reported an SMC reset to be beneficial. Be sure to read the procedure carefully and follow all the steps exactly as written, even if they seem inapplicable or trivial.

My computer has become much slower and may have been infected. Is there any course of action I can take in solving this problem?

my computer has become much slower and may have been infected. Is there any course of action I can take in solving this problem?

If this started happening without your having made any changes and without a warning of low disk space, then it's likely that the startup drive, or some other hardware component, is failing. Back up all data immediately, then run Apple Diagnostics or the Apple Hardware Test.
Even if the test is negative, you should make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store to have the machine tested more thoroughly.

With mavericks the computer has become slow

With mavericks the computer has become slow

Hi Pete. First time here so I'm hoping I'm doing this correctly.
I have the same problem - my applications are extrememly slow to open and shut down since I installed Mavericks. I used the Etrecheck and will past the results here.
thanks for your help.
Hardware Information:
    iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2010)
    iMac - model: iMac11,2
    1 3.06 GHz Intel Core i3 CPU: 2 cores
    4 GB RAM
Video Information:
    ATI Radeon HD 4670 - VRAM: 256 MB
System Software:
    OS X 10.9.1 (13B42) - Uptime: 7 days 16:36:59
Disk Information:
    WDC WD5000AAKS-40V6A0 disk0 : (500.11 GB)
        EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB
        Macintosh HD (disk0s2) /: 499.25 GB (333.69 GB free)
        Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB
    HL-DT-STDVDRW GA32N
USB Information:
    Logitech USB Trackball
    Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub
        Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
    Apple Internal Memory Card Reader
    Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub
        Apple Inc. Apple Keyboard
    Apple Inc. Built-in iSight
    Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
FireWire Information:
Thunderbolt Information:
Kernel Extensions:
    com.Logitech.Control Center.HID Driver    (3.6.0 - SDK 10.6)
Problem System Launch Daemons:
Problem System Launch Agents:
Launch Daemons:
    [System]    com.adobe.fpsaud.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [System]    com.google.keystone.daemon.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [System]    com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [System]    com.oracle.java.JavaUpdateHelper.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [System]    com.prosoftnet.idrivedaemon.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [System]    org.macosforge.xquartz.privileged_startx.plist 3rd-Party support link
Launch Agents:
    [System]    com.epson.eventmanager.agent.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [System]    com.google.keystone.agent.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [System]    com.Logitech.Control Center.Daemon.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [System]    com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [System]    org.macosforge.xquartz.startx.plist 3rd-Party support link
User Launch Agents:
    [not loaded]    com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist 3rd-Party support link
    [not loaded]    com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[...]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist
User Login Items:
    EvernoteHelper
    AdobeResourceSynchronizer
    Microsoft AU Daemon
    Firefox
    iTunesHelper
    EvernoteHelper
    Dropbox
    Google Drive
    RealPlayer Downloader Agent
    iAntiVirus
Internet Plug-ins:
    o1dbrowserplugin: Version: 5.1.2.17113 3rd-Party support link
    Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 5.2 3rd-Party support link
    Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9
    Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.4.4.2 3rd-Party support link
    RealPlayer Plugin: Version: (null) 3rd-Party support link
    AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 10.1.8 3rd-Party support link
    FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 11.9.900.170 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link
    Silverlight: Version: 5.1.20513.0 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link
    Flash Player: Version: 11.9.900.170 - SDK 10.6 Outdated! Update
    iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0 - SDK 10.8
    googletalkbrowserplugin: Version: 5.1.2.17113 3rd-Party support link
    npgtpo3dautoplugin: Version: 0.1.44.29 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
    AdobePDFViewer: Version: 10.1.8 3rd-Party support link
    CouponPrinter-FireFox_v2: Version: Version 1.1.9 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
    QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3
    JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 51 3rd-Party support link
Audio Plug-ins:
    BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9
    AirPlay: Version: 1.9 - SDK 10.9
    AppleAVBAudio: Version: 2.0.0 - SDK 10.9
    iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9
User Internet Plug-ins:
    Picasa: Version: 1.0 3rd-Party support link
    WebEx64: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
3rd Party Preference Panes:
    Flash Player 3rd-Party support link
    Flip4Mac WMV 3rd-Party support link
    Java 3rd-Party support link
    Launchpad-Control 3rd-Party support link
    Logitech Control Center 3rd-Party support link
Bad Fonts:
    None
Old Applications:
    /Library/Printers/EPSON/InkjetPrinter2/Utility/UT4
        EpsonSuppliesTool4:    Version: 8.75 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        Epson Printer Utility 4:    Version: 8.75 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
    SLLauncher:    Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Silverlight/OutOfBrowser/SLLauncher.app
    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Application Support/WebEx Folder/1326
        convertpdf:    Version: 1.2 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        Cisco WebEx Event Center:    Version: 1205.09.2803.0 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        asannotation2:    Version: 10.31.31.0 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
    Audiobook Builder:    Version: 1.5.3 - SDK 10.4 3rd-Party support link
Time Machine:
    Skip System Files: NO
    Auto backup: NO - Auto backup turned off
    Time Machine not configured!
Top Processes by CPU:
         4%    firefox
         2%    WindowServer
         2%    Quicken 2007
         1%    Dock
         1%    EtreCheck
Top Processes by Memory:
    999 MB    firefox
    160 MB    iTunes
    70 MB    Mail
    58 MB    mds_stores
    57 MB    Finder
Virtual Memory Information:
    44 MB    Free RAM
    1.13 GB    Active RAM
    1.10 GB    Inactive RAM
    578 MB    Wired RAM
    5.80 GB    Page-ins
    1.48 GB    Page-outs

After i have upgraded to Lion OS, this computer has become the worst computer on this planet. Everything is so slow as if i am in 1990's, where you can click on something and take a coffee break. Constantly get errors on MS Outlook and all applications

After i have upgraded to Lion OS, this computer has become the **** computer on this planet. Everything is so slow as if i am in 1990 where you can click on something and take a coffee break. Constantly get errors on MS Outlook and all applications are taking for ever to open up. If you guys can't fix it i am going to throw this out the window. Completely fed up with this. Have always loved apple but this is the worst experience i have with the MacBook Air and its not even 1.5yr old.

There are two ways to upgrade to Lion - one is to install Lion overtop of the existing Snow Leopard and the other is to erase the hard drive, install Lion, and then migrate your applications and user accounts. This second option takes a good deal longer than the first so the preferred method for most is the first method and in most cases it works fine. But not in all.
captfred has told you what I'd start out doing if it were my computer. There's a good chance that you can identify an application or plug-in that's causing the problem. Upgrading the involved item(s) can solve the problem. Of all the Lion upgrades I performed I had a couple that weren't completely successful even though I'd looked for programs and plug-ins that needed upgrading first. I missed a few but I found them after the fact and had happy computers.
There was one computer that still had problems. With this computer I reinstalled Lion right over the old version. (If you didn't keep a copy you'll need to download it first.) I still wasn't satisfied so with that computer I rebooted into the recovery partition (Command R after restarting) formatted the hard drive, installed Lion and then migrated. That did solve the problem.

"Remote" App Has Become Sluggish, Slow to Respond

I've searched this and other forums and have yet to see the issue I'm having addressed. After successfully installing and using the iPhone "Remote" app to control my Apple TV, its performance has become erratic. While selecting and/or swiping actions were instantaneous, they're now delayed, sometimes by four or five seconds. My Apple IR remote still works perfectly. Also, the Remote app on my iPhone works fine on the TV set up in various Apple Stores I've visited. A clue that may be relevant is that my RF Dish receiver remote is a bit slow now, too, although not as bad as the WiFi-driven iPhone Remote app. It seems that something in the room is creating these problems (there are no fluorescent lights) and all worked fine months ago. Anyone have any ideas on what might be causing this? (I didn't post this on the Apple TV forum since that device and its dedicated remote are functioning normally.)

Encountered this too and only recently. In my case appears to coincide with downloading most recent version of iTunes.

IPhone "Remote" App for Apple TV Has Become Sluggish, Slow to Respond

(Earlier today I posted this question on the "iPhone" section of this thread but perhaps it's more appropriate here.)
I've searched this and other forums and have yet to see the issue I'm having addressed. After successfully installing and using the iPhone "Remote" app to control my Apple TV, its performance has become erratic. While selecting and/or swiping actions were instantaneous, they're now delayed, sometimes by four or five seconds. My Apple IR remote still works perfectly. Also, the Remote app on my iPhone works fine on the TV set up in various Apple Stores I've visited. A clue that may be relevant is that my RF Dish receiver remote is a bit slow now, too, although not as bad as the WiFi-driven iPhone Remote app. It seems that something in the room is creating these problems (there are no fluorescent lights) and all worked fine months ago. Anyone have any ideas on what might be causing this?

ok well it seems unlikely that your issue is with the appletv itself.
could well be wifi interference.
any cordless phones or cordless doorbells, or any new cars turned up close by with remote car alarms, or a new microwave (or old one starting to fail) ? all this sort of stuff can kill wifi.

My computer has become associated with another apple ID? I now can't access Itunes match .. help!

Please help with above!

Bolitho wrote:
I changed my Apple ID,
You updated your AppleID with new email address or you created a new AppleID account?

Apple TV 2 playback has become sluggish

yes, I've restarted both TV and router
yes, I've adjusted playback to standard definition
no, I haven't seen improvement on playback: still buffering every minute or so.
This is new.

This might be the same issues a LOT of people are having with the 1st-gen ATV. Read through this forum and see if you are having the same problem(currently not fixed)
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6099057
The biggest thing is the UI is really slow and videos barely play, skipping LOTS of frames and have audio dropping in and out.
If you have the same problems as what I listed above and what people are discribing in the discussion(linked above) then drop a post in that discussion and keep the thread going so it can get more attention and keep the discussion in one area.

How to recreate account.plist after the file has become corrupt

I updated my system to Mavericks last week and ever since my computer has become dramtically slow. Especially Mail takes about 30 minutes to open. I have discovered that the fault is caused by my account.plist file as it is 24 MB which seems way to big. I have already deleted the file and then Mail opens well and fuctions normal.
However when I add my accounts again it creates new POP folders in the V2 folder instead of using the old existing ones and it starts downloading the emails that still remain on the server. I would like to keep keep all emails etc just the way they are already on the system but basically just recreate a fresh "account.plist" file. How can I do this without the issue that mail creates new folders but just uses the existing folders???
I also already tried the following:
- delete "account.plist"
- Add new account in Mail
- New folder is created in the V2 folder for that email address
- Copy the old mbox files for that account into the automatically new created folder
The above seems to work but mail still starts downloading 200+ plus emails from the server.......
Any help how I can edit my account.plist file and delete unnessesary items there?? It seems that there is a lot of text in the file regarding my hotmail account and I expect that this is causing it to be so large. I have no idea though how to read this file and what I can delete and what not.....
At this moment I am pretty stuck and any help is welcome here.

These fixes have helped others, depending on the situation. I don't see one addressing your particular problem but they won't hurt.
Have an up-to-date Time Machine or other backup before attempting any major software updates or rebuilds.
For more about backups:
Time Machine Basics: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1427
Most commonly used backup methods:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3045
Methodology to protect your data. Backups vs. Archives. Long-term data protection:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6031
Make sure your software is up to date. Apple recently released a Mail update.
Apple > Software Update...
A general repair to fix odd behaviors in Mail is Mailbox > Rebuild.
Try booting in Safe Mode.
          Boot and when you hear the bong hold down the Shift key.
          It will boot slowly. Be patient.
          Login the the user account.
          Restart.
Another fix to try:
Shut down Mail.
Open the Finder. From the Finder menu bar click Go > Go to Folder
Copy and paste the following
~/Library/Mail/V2/MailData/
Click Go.
Move all "Envelope" files to your desktop.
Restart Mail and let it convert/reindex your mailboxes.
If this worked, Trash the Envelope files file that are on your desktop,
if not shut down Mail and put them back.
Another fix:
Shut down Mail.
Open the Finder. From the Finder menu bar click Go > Go to Folder
Copy and paste the following:
~/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Caches/com.apple.mail/Cache.db
Click Go.
Move the Cache.db file to the Trash.
Restart your Mac and try Mail.
You can try restoring mail from a Time Machine backup.
Hold down the Option key and in the Finder Go > Library
Enter Time Machine.
Select a date and time from when Mail was working.
Restore Mail.
Advice from another thread: https://discussions.apple.com/message/23657222#23657222
If mailboxes are missing:
Linc Davis
Re: downloaded Mavericks and cannot find mailboxes, any ideas
Nov 3, 2013 9:24 PM (in response to always need hlep)
Quit Mail. Force quit if necessary.
Back up all data. That means you know you can restore the Mail database, no matter what happens.
Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:
~/Library/Mail/V2/MailData/Envelope Index
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. In the Finder, select
Go ▹ Go to Folder
from the menu bar. Paste into the box that opens (command-V), then press return.
A Finder window will open with a file selected. Move the selected file to the Desktop, leaving the window open. Other files in the folder may have names that begin with "Envelope Index". Move those files, if any, to the Trash.
Log out and log back in. Relaunch Mail. It should prompt you to re-import your messages. You may get a warning that the index is damaged and that Mail has to quit. Click OK.
Test. If Mail now works as expected, you can delete the file you moved to the Desktop. Otherwise, post your results.

Firefox has become problematic

Since version Firefox 23 and above, the computer has become very slow. Does not respond and we are stopping to use this broweser too.
We expect with every update firefox, some better performance. But no.... will find more degraded... the same computer... firefox worked very nicely until version 22 but now 26 and makes our computers very slow.
Only firefox works very slow... otherwise Internet Explorer and Zgoogle Chrome works fine. Earlier it was a reverse case... We used firefox due to some good features of easyness in usage...
But now a days find firefox un-responding for any thing... and every thing... including its opening itself... where it worked nicely upto version 22.

Have you tried all of the troubleshooting steps in the [[Troubleshoot and diagnose Firefox problems]] article, including a reinstall a Firefox Reset?
If so, then It might also help if you could furnish some non-personal information . Please do the following while you have Firefox open:
*Click the Firefox button at the top left, then click the ''Help'' menu and select ''Troubleshooting Information'' from the submenu. If you don't have a Firefox button, click the Help menu at the top and select ''Troubleshooting Information'' from the menu.
Now, a new tab containing your troubleshooting information should open.
*At the top of the page, you should see a button that says "Copy text to clipboard". Click it.
*Now, go back to your forum post and click inside the reply box. Press Ctrl+V to paste all the information you copied into the forum post.
If you need further information about the Troubleshooting information page, please read the article [[Use the Troubleshooting Information page to help fix Firefox issues]].
Thanks in advance for your help!

Updated my macbook pro 10.8.3, it has become very sluggish.

After I updated my macbook pro to 10.8.3, I found that it has become extremely sluggish and unresponsive at most of the times. Just wondering if anybody else has been facing the same problem.

Try this:
Reinstalling Lion/Mountain Lion Without Erasing the Drive
Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Continue button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

How do I restore my iPhoto. When I open i get a window dialog "Your iphoto library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable shut down and restart your computer. If problem persists, try rebuilding your iphoto library. To do th

When I try to open iPhoto I get a window dialog that says...
Your photo library is either in use by another application or has become unreadable
Shut down and restart your computer, and then open iPhoto again. If the problem persists, try rebuilding your photo library. To do this, quit iPhoto, and then reopen it while keeping the Option and Command keys pressed. You can also try restoring your photo library from a backup.
I have tried the reopen it while keeping the Option and Command keyes pressed.
No change.
I dee nothing but a blank page,
Any help would be appreciated.
Also hace back ups of all images on cd's. dvds and jump drives.
Any advice is appreciated.

Option 1
Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Choose to Repair Database. If that doesn't help, then try again, this time using Rebuild Database.
If that fails:
Option 2
Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. (In early versions of Library Manager it's the File -> Rebuild command. In later versions it's under the Library menu.)
This will create an entirely new library. It will then copy (or try to) your photos and all the associated metadata and versions to this new Library, and arrange it as close as it can to what you had in the damaged Library. It does this based on information it finds in the iPhoto sharing mechanism - but that means that things not shared won't be there, so no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your events, albums and keywords, faces and places back.
Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one.
Regards
TD

My iphoto library has become unreadable. I am wondering if I shoudl delete iphoto and reinstall? Can I download iphoto from the web? I bought my computer in February of this year. Do I have to buy a new copy of iphoto?

My iphoto library has become unreadable. I am wondering if I shoudl delete iphoto and reinstall? Can I download iphoto from the web? I bought my computer in February of this year. Do I have to buy a new copy?

It's probably the library that's the prolem and not the application. Try this: launch iPhoto with the Option key held down and create a new, test library. Import some photos and check to see if the same problem persists. If you can create and open a new library then your existing library is damaged.
If that's the case, Make a temporary, backup copy (if you don't already have a backup copy) of the library and apply the two fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #1
Launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
Select the options identified in the screenshot.
Fix #2
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
Click on the Add Library button, navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the File ➙ Rebuild Library menu option
In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
Click on the Create button.
Note: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments but not books, calendars or slideshows. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.
OT

My iPad 1 has become very sluggish, why and how to fix?

My iPad 1 has become very sluggish. Even typing often has small delays in showing letters. It seems variable, alas, so no obvious app or condition is implicated. I have closed all apps and done a cold restart but that does not help. I have the latest OS updates. Would pruning my photo library help - I usually add photos directly from my cameras and have quite a few, and they are large files.
Thanks,
Tom

Actually I was hoping you could tell me how you resolved the leopard Mail problem:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2673343?start=0&tstart=0

Computer has become sluggish

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