G4 Powerbook very slow

Hi all,
My G4 15 inch Powerbook has been running fine for over 4 years but has suddenly slowed right down for some reason with relatively few applications open at any one time. Even opening and closing windows takes ages with cursor becoming dreaded spinning wheel ....
Any ideas anyone ?
Best
Dougs

First thing to check is disk space. You need greater that 10% to 15% of the capacity free for systems usage. Less than that and performance really suffers. Also, if you have more than one memory card in the system, check to be sure that the system is seeing all your memory. If you had a lower memory slot failure, that could impact performance.
Next, I would download OnyX from http://www.titanium.free.fr/download.php?sid=fef81763daaa1764e971a3e707aaf826 and run the tasks on the cleaning and maintenance menus. A number of people have noticed an improvement in performance after doing this.
Good idea, as mentioned, to run Disk Utility and repair disk. Note if you get any error messages, especially if you get an exit on failure message. Also look at the bottom to see what the SMART status is. Anything but verified says your hard drive is on it's way out.
You can also view this FAQ for other ideas: http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/performance.html
Oh, make sure you don't have a print job that hasn't finished. OS X will keep trying to reprint it, which can impact performance.

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I've been using Macs for many, many years and this one is just BIZARRE.
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Rebooting my computer took more than 45 minutes. Here is what I've tried since then to "unclog" my system:
1. Checked HD space. I've used about 65% of my 80GB HD. Nowhere near empty, but should not cause the problems I'm experiencing.
2. Launched Activity Monitor to see what's going on. Both RAM and Processor graphs fluctuated in the 25% used area. Plenty of capacity there. Also checked processes running to see if something undesirable was running in the background. No clue there, either.
3. Launched Disk Utility and repaired permissions. Also launched Terminal and performed periodic daily, weekly, and monthly tasks, as well as updated prebindings. No noticable change there.
My computer DOES still work. It just runs EXTREMELY slow motion. I've never seen anything like it. Right now, I'm trying to get the Powerbook to launch as the Firewire Target Disk on my G4 iMac. If that works, I can perform a sync in preparation to re-install the OS (I have the two machines synced already, but it's been a couple of weeks since the last one). Also, after the sync, I can try to run some diagnostics on the Powerbook from the iMac. However, rebooting in Target Disk mode has taken more than 2 hours so far. It's not locked up (still have the spinning startup circle on the blue backgroound) but I'm not getting anywhere fast.
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My dad's laptop has the same problem. It takes 4 minutes to start it up. Then he gets the spinning beach ball a lot. The balls shows up when he types on the ichat or looking on the internet. I don't have all the symptoms since he is in Canada and I'm in Florida. I made him do the REPAIR PERMISSIONS and it didn't change anything.
I would like to know about the BATTERY comment?? What does a BATTERY has to do with slowing down? I am not implying that it's wrong, I just don't understand it and I am curious about it.
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Very Slow 12" Powerbook with Airport Express - 15" PB OK

Here's my problem; Our 12" 1.5 PB is very slow with Airport Express but It is OK when directly connected to the cable Modem via Ethernet. We also have a 15" PB 1.67 that works great with Airport Express & Ethernet. The 12" PB takes approximately 4-10 times longer to load Internet pages than the 15" PB. Here's what I've tried so far without success;
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- a differrent A/E base station
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- ran Apple hardware test on 12" PB - checks OK
- re-installed fresh OS and Apps from original install disks
- Firefox instead of Safari
- new user account on 12" PB
- re-installed original 512 RAM
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Jerry,
You're not going crazy, by the way. I have the exact same problem with my 12' Powerbook. I even tried swapping airport cards with another Powerbook. No luck. Ethernet is ok.
Any help is appreciated.

Powerbook Won't Start Up or is Very, Very Slow

On Tuesday night, I noticed that my Powerbook was very slow in loading pages in Safari (it took ten seconds to be able to enter text in a field). I had to restart several times.
On Wednesday night, I could get the chime, the startup screen with Apple and wheel, then it went to a blue screen with nothing on it. After many attempts, it finally started up, but Safari was very slow again (in fact it quitted every time I clicked a link).
Tonight, it gets to the grey startup screen, shows the wheel for a bit then completely shuts down!
I tried to use Migration Assistant to move across files to my new Mac Pro, before it dies, but it never got further than "Waiting for Disks to Appear" even after an hour or so.
Any plans?

You might try getting Disk Warrior to try and repair/recover your hard drive. DW has a much better success rate than does Disk Utility.
You should get an an actual Disk from a retail store instead of downloading. Must also be sure on your make/model/v10.x.x
I have never run it, but do a search on these boards and you will get a feel for how people swear by it.
Good Luck.
Joe

Help: A very slow Powerbook

All of a sudden my PowerBook G4 has become very slow. I get lots of beachballs while it is thinking what to do. It takes 5 minutes to restart and sometimes 5-10 seconds just to open a folder (with a beachball while I wait). All apps are running slow. I have a 60 GB Hard drive with 6.5 GB free space. I just run repair permissions (nothing needed to be repaired) and I veriified the drive with HD utility and it said it is OK. Here is the info on my system: Machine Name:PowerBook G4 12"Machine Model:PowerBook6,4 CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (1.1) Number Of CPUs:1 CPU Speed:1.33 GHz L2 Cache (per CPU):512 KB Memory:768 MB Bus Speed:167 MHz
Message was edited by: Esteban Celis1

I am getting ready to through this computer out the window. I cleaned my drive, I ran Onyx, Clean Sweep, Apple Hardware Test (how good is this, anyway? it said the memory and the drive were fine), Disk Utility repair permissions, repair disk and everybody said the computer is fine, but remained slow, slow, slow. I ordered DiskWarrior update about 1 week ago, but it has not even shipped out. I reinstalled (with achieve) my OSX 10.4 (did not bother to update to 10.4.10). It takes the computer 5 minutes to startup (time to get me to login window) and another 5 minutes to load my desktop (I only have the drive image and 3 files there). Takes 3 minutes to shutdown. Just trying to open a folder gives me a beachball and 5-10 seconds to open. Beachballs, beachballs, beachballs all the time. I guess my last resort is to completely reformat my disk. Does anybody have any final suggestions, before this goes out to the dump?

PowerBook G4 15" Titanium very slow. I want to resurrect it for basic functionality. Is rebooting from original start up discs (which I have) a good plan? And if so, what's the procedure?

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As a respectful lover of PPC macs, still having a fully functional one, a 2004 12-in PB, let me ask first some details: RAM installed, disk size. I assume it is running 10.2, as described.
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As a basic thought:
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TS1398 since i have updated the latest software i am facing problem using wifi which is very very slow most of the time or wont connect at all was that update supposed to be for better or worse

is apple product going down hill it seems their updates are creating a lot of problem now the wifi connection is really ******* me off it doesnt connect or even if it does its very very slow i used to love using iphone but i think its time to move on to something else they have taken everyone for granted

Welcome to Apple Discussions, Mark.
I've never come across your first problem on any of the Apple notebooks I currently own (or have owned in the past). Then again, perhaps I'm not looking close enough.
Have you compared it with any other 12" PowerBook? If not, perhaps you might be able to try that at a local store with units on display.
Otherwise you might want to give AppleCare a call. Alternatively, if you have an Apple Store or Apple Authorised Service Provider near you (I don't know where you are located) then you can take it in to be checked.
As for your second problem (uneven illumination), that has been known to afflict other notebooks. My own 15" PB has had its screen replaced on two occasions because of this. Depending on the severity, you might be able to get it replaced. Mine became so bad that the screen was effectively unusable.
To be honest, here in the UK, I would actually try for a replacement PowerBook - if the problems were severe enough and also because your PB is still very new. However the consumer laws in your country (wherever that may be) might be very different to mine.

FCP is running very slow...

Hi,
FCP is running very slow and it is the only application open (besides dashboard). For example, when i move the playhead in the timeline i get the spinning wheel for about 5 seconds.
I' m working in DV-PAL with .psd files (frame size: 720x576, 1440x1152 and 4320x1152).
In the system settings i have:
Memory Usage > Application 100% (351 MB)
Still Cache 10% (20MB)
Thumbnail Cache > Disk 8192K
RAM 512K
Sequence Settings > Video Processing > Motion Filtering Quality: Best (i' ve tried the others).
I' ve tried the different options in the RT pop up menu.
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Thanks...

No problem.
The reason everything goes so slow with only 512MB ram, is because when all the ram is used, Mac OS X starts using your hard drive as memory. It can be explained by a simplified little example:
The speed of data traveling between CPU and RAM, and between CPU and hard drive.
CPU <-> RAM = Ferrari
CPU <-> HD = Citroen 2CV
The solution to your problem is:
1) Buy more ram
2) Buy an external firewire hard drive to put your media on (a dedicated media drive)
Good luck

"Save As" command with very slow Finder response in Tiger

Ever since upgrading to Tiger using the "Archive & Install" option, my applications have had very slow operation of the "Save As" command. The Finder takes a long time to open and display the Save As window with folders and file name etc. This has occurred on all of my computers - a PowerMac G5, an iMac G4 and a PowerBook G4. It has not changed with upgrades as far as 10.4.5. I have tried the following suggested in another post about slow Finder actions without success:
Refreshing and reblessing the following system files and the folder followed by reboot.
1. /System/Library/Extensions.kextcache
2. /System/Library/Extensions.mkext
3. /System/Library/Caches/com.apple.kernelcaches/
Trashing the following files and a folder followed by reboot
1. /Library/Caches/com.apple.LaunchServices-xxxx.csstore
2. /Library/Caches/com.apple.LaunchServices-xxxxxx.csstore
3. /Library/Caches/com.apple.ATS/
I have also deleted the /User/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist file and rebooted.
Does anyone else have this problem and how do I solve it?
PowerMac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.4)

Thank you Roger - this does seem to have solved the problem - my local Apple service people did not have an answer on this, so I'm grateful

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I just bought and turned on my new 12-core Mac Pro, and the built-in iSight is running very slowly--that is, at a very low frame rate. I'm testing it in Photobooth, but also runs slowly in other applications. And I'm pretty sure it's not just the display frame rate because the flash that Photobooth uses when it takes a photo sometimes doesn't sync up with the photo is takes.
And no, I don't have a thousand apps running. And yes, I did try restarting my computer.

aoisenshi9 wrote:
Bright and early, tested my iSight, and it's still running at a slow frame rate!
And it's not just displaying slowly, it's also capturing video very slowly. Might my 27" LED Cinema Display be bad...? They're still very new, so maybe there haven't been enough people to use them to have a large enough sample size?
Hmm... Really hoping the display isn't bad...
(1) Unless your Mac itself has problems, what is being played back will always be exactly what is recorded. If other apps are working slowly or unreliably, too, here are some things you can and SHOULD consider:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/8750.html
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/21245.html
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/8492.html
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/27988.html
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3258
Also, make sure you have plenty of free space on your startup disk (I keep 50-75%, but 25% should be more than enough) to give OS X the headroom it needs to work efficiently.
(2) If you are using FileVault, turn it off and see if that resolves your problem:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/8727.html
(3) How slow is "very slow"? Using the iSight built into my 24"&nbps;LED&nbpsdisplay, Photo Booth only captures 14-20fps for me depending on light.
According to Apple's http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/27044.html Photo Booth is used to create silly and fun video effects, so do not expect it to be a robust and highly configurable or controllable application.
Did you try other apps like iMovie and QuickTimeX? Have you tested other user accounts?
(4) Because your display's iSight connects via USB, it may be sharing bandwidth with other connected USB devices. Disconnect all other USB cables while you test to determine whether that makes a significant difference. Also, test connecting your monitor's USB input to a different USB port on your Mac.
(5) Best quality video requires *_much more light_* than most of us consider normal room lighting. Unless you use the equivalent of full sunlight, you will likely not see the maximum 30fps regardless of which software you use.
Use BRIGHT light, and make a test recording with QuickTimeX. Then play both that test and one of your "slow" Photo Booth videos back with QTX to determine whether the frame rate of the QT recorded file is different from those recorded in Photo Booth.
(6) If your frame rates are below fifteen in bright light, consider the troubleshooting suggestions beginning on page 15 of the User's Guide manual that came with your LED display.
(7) If all else fails, contact an Apple-Authorised Service Provider for professional help.
Message was edited by: EZ Jim
Mac Pro Quad Core (Early 2009) 2.93Ghz Mac OS X (10.6.4); MacBook Pro (13 inch, Mid 2009) 2.26GHz (10.6.4)
LED Cinema Display; G4 PowerBook 1.67GHz (10.4.11); iBookSE 366MHz (10.3.9); External iSight; iPod touch 4.1

Time Capsule VERY slow ethernet back-up on my iMac

Hi anyone who can help....I'm getting really frustrated with Time machine
It seems quite afew people are experiencing problems with TC....
BUT they all seem to have different issues. Mine is simple.
As a wireless network it works just fine, last weekend i had some friends over and we had 4 laptops going at once - speed was fine
Backing up - My G4 powerbook works FLAWLESSLY, backing up wirelessly.
BUT...My G4 iMac (connected directly via ethernet cable) hasn't been able to do a back-up since got it. It gets stuck on preparing or takes day's (Yep DAY's) to do a few 100 MB.....
Obvoiusly the TC is working, but not the wired connection. I can't try my iMac wirelessly, as it doesn't have an airport card
ANY suggestions? Oh and I don't have any virus software installed

Andrew,
*_Slow Time Capsule Transfer Via Ethernet_*
*Disable Anti-Virus Software*
“Using virus scanning software can make Time Machine backups very slow. If you use Norton Antivirus 10 AutoProtect or a similar product, try turning it off during backups.” [http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.5/en/15140.html]
*Create An “Ethernet Only” Location*
While you are physically connected to the Time Capsule via ethernet you may still be experiencing slow data transfer speeds because your Airport network is still active and taking priority.
Connect one end of a Cat-5 Ethernet cable into one of the LAN ports of the TC (<•••>) NOT to the WAN port (wheel icon). Connect the other end to your Macs ethernet port.
Next, go to System Prefs --> Network.
At the top of the window note what “Location” you are currently using, as you will need to return to this setting later.
Now, change “Location” to “Edit Locations”.
Click the “+” button and create a new location named “Ethernet Only”.
Click “Done”.
In the Services Pane on the left, eliminate all other services using the “-” button leaving “Ethernet” only. If you choose to leave other services listed then al the very least move Ethernet to the top of the list using the Action Menu (gear button) at the bottom and "Set Service Order".
Verify that “Configure” says “Using DHCP”.
Click "Apply" in the lower right.
You should be seeing an assigned IP Address and the Status should say “Connected”. The dot beside “Ethernet” should be green.
Now begin your backup or transfer of files.
You should still have internet access during this period.
Once the backup/transfer is complete, remember to change the Network Prefs “Location” back to “Automatic”, or whatever setting it had originally been, to restore Airport connectivity.
*Adjust Ethernet Speed*
Open Network Preferences.
With Built-in Ethernet selected on the left, click "Advanced" in the lower right.
Click "Ethernet" tab on the far right.
What is selected beside "Speed"?
Try changing this setting and see if it makes a difference.
Next launch Airport Utility.
Select the Time Capsule on the left.
Click “Manual Setup”.
Select “Internet” from the toolbar.
Click “Internet Connection” tab.
Near the bottom verify that “Ethernet WAN Port” is not set to a slower speed. Either choose “Automatic” or the fasted speed available.
If you have made any changes, click “Update”. 
*Slow Full Backup After Restore*
Try either deleting the “old” backup disk image or copying it to another disk. Then start the “new” full backup again. Some users have experienced improved speed when the “old” disk image was removed from the backup disk.
Let us know if this was helpful.
Cheers!

Help: My PowerBookG4 has gotten very slow

All of a sudden my PowerBook G4 has become very slow. I get lots of beachballs while it is thinking what to do. It takes 5 minutes to restart and sometimes 5-10 seconds just to open a folder (with a beachball while I wait). All apps are running slow. I have a 60 GB Hard drive with 6.5 GB free space. I just run repair permissions (nothing needed to be repaired) and I veriified the drive with HD utility and it said it is OK. Here is the info on my system:
Machine Name: PowerBook G4 12" Machine Model: PowerBook6,4;CPU Type:PowerPC G4 (1.1); Number Of CPUs: 1; CPU Speed:1.33 GHz; L2 Cache (per CPU):512 KB Memory: 768 MB; Bus Speed:167 MHz.
Message was edited by: Esteban Celis1

Esteban:
Your HDD space is pretty close to the minimum 10%, although I suspect that is not the issue. However, you might benefit from taking a look at Dr. Smoke's FAQ Freeing space on your Mac OS X startup disk and free up some space before it gets too full and you run into further difficulties.
Your RAM at 512 MB is a bit meager. Your RAM will max out at 1.25 GB. I suggest you boost it to at least 1 GB.
I am not sure what maintenance procedures you do regularly. I suspect that one of the issues is that your computer needs maintenance. Download and launch MacJanitor and run the daily, weekly, monthly tests.
Here are some article on maintenance procedures which have al lot of excellent suggestions and links to resources:
Macintosh OS X Routine Maintenance
Mac OS X 10.3/10.4: System maintenance
Maintaining OS X
Tuning Mac OS X Performance
Please post back with update or further questions or comments.
Good luck.
cornelius
Message was edited by: cornelius

Very Slow Launch of Gecko Based Programs Like Firefox

I am having a serious problem with launching Firefox 2.0.0.3 or Bon Echo 2.0.0.3 on out of the 4 G4 computers I use between home and office. Previously, the program would launch in between 1.5 and 2 minutes. In the past month or so, lanch time and the first time any window (like a preference window) needs to be launched, it has become very, very slow. When I say slow, we talking about 8-15 minute launch times on a 12 inch G4 Powerbook or either Firefox 2.0.0.3 or Bon Echo 2.0.0.3 Since I love Firefox and am totally dependent on several of the add-ins I cannot replicate in other browsers
Once I can get the programs launched, they work perfectly except for the first time I need to call up a new window, like preferences or bookmarks, which is inordinately slow on the first effort and normal thereafter. I am desperate having spent tens of hours looking for a solution.
I have been able to determine what the problem is not, but have found no solution. It is not a basic problem with the OS X install since I did a full archival restore and then a software update to no avail. It is not a problem with the profile since I created a new profile, AppZapp deleted Firefox and Bon Echo and reinstalled both and it was still slow. It is also not an extension since the problem recurred after reinstallation before loading any add-ons and also occurs on my clean user account used for testing. I have also discovered the same problem began with Nvu, a web editor I use which also employs the Gecko web engine. Camino, which also uses Gecko has gotten a bit slower at launch as well, but nowhere near as bad as Firefox and Nvu.
I am left to conclude that something is going on between the Gecko web engine loading and in particular its rendering of images in windows and either the 10.4.8 or 10.4.9 upgrades to Tiger. I have carefully dissected the extensions and other information from the one mac to which I have access that is not experiencing this problem (a G4 17 inch Powerbook) and I can find absolutely no difference in anything and especially the add-ins to Firefox. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
12 Inch Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Hi Rickeye,
I'm sorry to hear you are having these issues with your Mac. It sounds like you have been on the right track in your troubleshooting. If you continue to have general across-the-board slowness in launching and running applications, you may want to take a look at Activity Monitor during one of these incidents and see if anything stands out as overly taxed, especially CPU, Memory, and Disk. You may find the following article helpful:
How to use Activity Monitor - Apple Support
Regards,
- Brenden

Internet connection very slow - ISP blames my computer...

Greetings,
I have DSL connection that has been running very very slow... dialup slow... I use airport, so I unplugged it and connected the ethernet cable directly to the comp - with no results.
I called my ISP, they tested the modem speed, reset the modem & went through all the settings - with no results. The modem speed is fine, so they say the problem is with my powerbook. I've rebooted the computer numerous times, also I recently cleaned up my hard drive (which has been full for months) and I currently have 14gb of free space.
What else can I do? Are there any diagnostic utilities/etc you can recommend?
Thank you in advance for all your help.
powerbook g4 Mac OS X (10.3.9)

You actually are close enough to their 3meg down that you can't complain. 2.8meg down and 700kb up is fine, unless it's supposed to be their FIOS that is.
Sounds like it is the site(s) that are slow, like these boards at times.
Joe

My MacBook Pro is VERY SLOW... why?

A few months ago, I purchased a Macbook Pro. It has a 250 GB HD with 80 GB Free, 2.4 ghz, and 4 GB RAM. It is very slow... when comparing side by side with my old Powerbook, the old one wins.
I ran a Hardware Test and everything passes.
Any ideas?

first, check to see if any funky programs are running in the background with Activity Monitor (Go>Utilities>activity monitor). make sure that you look at ALL PROCESSES. If nothing is strange there, then try some routine maintenance.
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Good luck!

G4 Powerbook very slow

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