My iMAC is sooo slow what can I do?

OS X 10.7.5 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3

See:
How to eliminate slow Mac problems,
Mac Maintenance Quick Assist,
Mac OS X speed FAQ,
Speeding up Macs,
How to Speed up Macs,
Macintosh OS X Routine Maintenance,
Mac troubleshooting: What to do when your computer is too slow,
Essential Mac Maintenance: Get set up,
Essential Mac Maintenance: Rev up your routines,
Maintaining OS X,
Five Mac maintenance myths, and
Myths of required versus not required maintenance for Mac OS X for information.
27" i7 iMac (Mid 2011) refurb, OS X Yo (10.10), Mavs, ML & SL, G4 450 MP w/10.5 & 9.2.2

Similar Messages

My Mac has gotten so slow what can I do to bring it back

My Mac has gotten so slow what can I do to bring it back

It would help all of us if you gives us more info about your iMac.

Myfi is running very slow, what can cause this?

Myfi is running very slow, what can cause this?

Either a service problem in your area or a glitch/hardware problem on the Jetpack.
To determine service problems simply travel to a different area and rerun your speed test. If the problem persists then its a glitch/hardware problem on the Jetpack. If not then its a service problem in that particular area that would need to be addressed by VZW or improved with the usage of antennas/boosters.
When performance testing be sure to use a tool that is universal to better illustrate the problem. For example a common utility is to speed test using www.speedtest.net. Run this test a few times to build an average and then perform the same tests in a different location or after changing something around.

After closing large documents (drawings) the window closes but the process runs still in the background. I open the next document, the same procedure and after dowing this several times the RAM is full the system becoms very slow. what can i do???

after closing large documents (drawings) the window closes but the process runs still in the background. I open the next document, the same procedure and after dowing this several times the RAM is full the system becoms very slow. what can i do???

You can always shut it down manually via the Task Manager
(CtrlShiftEsc)...
On Mon, Sep 1, 2014 at 3:05 PM, frank koethen <[email protected]>

After IOs7 my Iphone is to slow what can I do

After IOs7 my Iphone is to slow what can I do

Reset Network settings and reset all settings should be sufficient.
Thats what I did on my IP4 and it worked for me.
Not too bad now!

My macbook pro is very slow. what can i do?

my macbook pro is very slow. what can i do?

Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the icon grid.
Make sure the title of the Console window is All Messages. If it isn't, select All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left. If you don't see that menu, select
View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar.
Click the Clear Display icon in the toolbar. Then try the action that you're having trouble with again. Select any messages that appear in the Console window. Copy them to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Paste into a reply to this message by pressing command-V.
When posting a log extract, be selective. In most cases, a few dozen lines are more than enough.
Please do not indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
Important: Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.

Mac book pro is running very slow what can i do to speed it up?

mac book pro is running very slow what can i do to speed it up?

Things You Can Do To Resolve Slow Downs
If your computer seems to be running slower here are some things you can do:
Start with visits to:     OS X Maintenance - MacAttorney;
                                  The X Lab: The X-FAQs;
                                  The Safe Mac » Mac Performance Guide;
                                  The Safe Mac » The myth of the dirty Mac;
                                  Mac maintenance Quick Assist.
Boot into Safe Mode then repair your hard drive and permissions:
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions Pre-Lion
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. 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 installer.
Repair the Hard Drive - Lion/Mountain Lion/Mavericks
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the Utilites 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 disk icon and click on the arrow button below.
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, then click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu. Select Restart from the Apple menu.
Restart your computer normally and see if this has helped any. Next do some maintenance:
For situations Disk Utility cannot handle the best third-party utility is Disk Warrior; DW only fixes problems with the disk directory, but most disk problems are caused by directory corruption; Disk Warrior 4.x is now Intel Mac compatible.
Note: Alsoft ships DW on a bootable DVD that will startup Macs running Snow Leopard or earlier. It cannot start Macs that came with Lion or later pre-installed, however, DW will work on those models.
Suggestions for OS X Maintenance
OS X performs certain maintenance functions that are scheduled to occur on a daily, weekly, or monthly period. The maintenance scripts run in the early AM only if the computer is turned on 24/7 (no sleep.) If this isn't the case, then an excellent solution is to download and install a shareware utility such as Macaroni, JAW PseudoAnacron, or Anacron that will automate the maintenance activity regardless of whether the computer is turned off or asleep. Dependence upon third-party utilities to run the periodic maintenance scripts was significantly reduced since Tiger. These utilities have limited or no functionality with Snow Leopard or later and should not be installed.
OS X automatically defragments files less than 20 MBs in size, so unless you have a disk full of very large files there's little need for defragmenting the hard drive.
Helpful Links Regarding Malware Protection
An excellent link to read is Tom Reed's Mac Malware Guide.
Also, visit The XLab FAQs and read Detecting and avoiding malware and spyware.
See these Apple articles:
          Mac OS X Snow Leopard and malware detection
          OS X Lion- Protect your Mac from malware
          OS X Mountain Lion- Protect your Mac from malware
          About file quarantine in OS X
If you require anti-virus protection I recommend using VirusBarrier Express 1.1.6 or Dr.Web Light both from the App Store. They're both free, and since they're from the App Store, they won't destabilize the system. (Thank you to Thomas Reed for these recommendations.)
Troubleshooting Applications
I recommend downloading a utility such as TinkerTool System, OnyX, Mavericks Cache Cleaner, or Cocktail that you can use for removing old log files and archives, clearing caches, etc. Corrupted cache, log, or temporary files can cause application or OS X crashes as well as kernel panics.
If you have Snow Leopard or Leopard, then for similar repairs install the freeware utility Applejack. If you cannot start up in OS X, you may be able to start in single-user mode from which you can run Applejack to do a whole set of repair and maintenance routines from the command line. Note that AppleJack 1.5 is required for Leopard. AppleJack 1.6 is compatible with Snow Leopard. Applejack does not work with Lion and later.
Basic Backup
For some people Time Machine will be more than adequate. Time Machine is part of OS X. There are two components:
1. A Time Machine preferences panel as part of System Preferences;
2. A Time Machine application located in the Applications folder. It is
    used to manage backups and to restore backups. Time Machine
    requires a backup drive that is at least twice the capacity of the
    drive being backed up.
Alternatively, get an external drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
1. Carbon Copy Cloner
2. Get Backup
3. Deja Vu
4. SuperDuper!
5. Synk Pro
6. Tri-Backup
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files. For help with using Time Machine visit Pondini's Time Machine FAQ for help with all things Time Machine.
Referenced software can be found at MacUpdate.
Additional Hints
Be sure you have an adequate amount of RAM installed for the number of applications you run concurrently. Be sure you leave a minimum of 10% of the hard drive's capacity as free space.
Add more RAM. If your computer has less than 2 GBs of RAM and you are using OS X Leopard or later, then you can do with more RAM. Snow Leopard and Lion work much better with 4 GBs of RAM than their system minimums. The more concurrent applications you tend to use the more RAM you should have.
Always maintain at least 15 GBs or 10% of your hard drive's capacity as free space, whichever is greater. OS X is frequently accessing your hard drive, so providing adequate free space will keep things from slowing down.
Check for applications that may be hogging the CPU:
Pre-Mavericks
Open Activity Monitor in the Utilities folder. Select All Processes from the Processes dropdown menu. Click twice on the CPU% column header to display in descending order. If you find a process using a large amount of CPU time (>=70,) then select the process and click on the Quit icon in the toolbar. Click on the Force Quit button to kill the process. See if that helps. Be sure to note the name of the runaway process so you can track down the cause of the problem.
Mavericks and later
Open Activity Monitor in the Utilities folder. Select All Processes from the View menu. Click on the CPU tab in the toolbar. Click twice on the CPU% column header to display in descending order. If you find a process using a large amount of CPU time (>=70,) then select the process and click on the Quit icon in the toolbar. Click on the Force Quit button to kill the process. See if that helps. Be sure to note the name of the runaway process so you can track down the cause of the problem.
Often this problem occurs because of a corrupted cache or preferences file or an attempt to write to a corrupted log file.

I have a mac pro that is running slow. what can be done?

I have a mac pro that is running slow. what can be done?

Read the last two replies in this thread: https://discussions.apple.com/message/24218682#24218682
Reply here, not there.

My MacBook Pro just started to run very slow, what can I do to fix it?

My MacBook Pro just started to run very slow, what can I do to fix it?

First, back up all data immediately, as your boot drive might be failing.
There are a few other possible causes of generalized slow performance that you can rule out easily.
Reset the System Management Controller.
If you have many image or video files on the Desktop with preview icons, move them to another folder.
If applicable, uncheck all boxes in the iCloud preference pane.
Disconnect all non-essential wired peripherals and remove aftermarket expansion cards, if any.
Check your keychains in Keychain Access for excessively duplicated items.
Otherwise, take the steps below when you notice the slowdown.
Step 1
Launch the Activity Monitor application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Activity Monitor in the icon grid.
Select the CPU tab of the Activity Monitor window.
Select All Processes from the menu in the toolbar, if not already selected.
Click the heading of the % CPU column in the process table to sort the entries by CPU usage. You may have to click it twice to get the highest value at the top. What is it, and what is the process? Also post the values for % User, % System, and % Idle at the bottom of the window.
Select the System Memory tab. What values are shown in the bottom part of the window for Page outs and Swap used?
Next, select the Disk Activity tab. Post the approximate values shown for Reads in/sec and Writes out/sec (not Reads in and Writes out.)
Step 2
If you have more than one user account, you must be logged in as an administrator to carry out this step.
Launch the Console application in the same way you launched Activity Monitor. Make sure the title of the Console window is All Messages. If it isn't, select All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left. If you don't see that menu, select
View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar.
Select the 50 or so most recent entries in the log. Copy them to the Clipboard (command-C). Paste into a reply to this message (command-V). You're looking for entries at the end of the log, not at the beginning.
When posting a log extract, be selective. Don't post more than is requested.
Please do not indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
Important: Some personal information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting. That should be easy to do if your extract is not too long.

My computer is running slow, what can I do to fix it? I keep seeing a color wheel as a cursor...

My computer is running slow, what can I do to fix it? I keep seeing a color wheel as a cursor...

Have a look here...
macworld.com/mac-troubleshooting-what-to-do-when-your -computer-is-too-slow.
Basically...
1) Make sure you have enough Free Hard Drive space for your Mac to Perform as expected...
Rule of thumb is about 15 to 20 GB
2) And adding more RAM is always a prudent move...
You can use these Links to check which RAM is suitable for your Mac...
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/apple/memory/
Go to http://www.crucial.com
It is Important to get the Correct and Matching RAM
Those sites also have videos on how to Install RAM should you need it...

My MacBook 13'' 2014 is very slow what can I do?

My MacBook 13'' 2014 is very slow what can I do?

When you see a beachball cursor or the slowness is especially bad, note the exact time: hour, minute, second.
These instructions must be carried out as an administrator. If you have only one user account, you are the administrator.
Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.
The title of the Console window should be All Messages. If it isn't, select
          SYSTEM LOG QUERIES ▹ All Messages
from the log list on the left. If you don't see that list, select
          View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar at the top of the screen.
Each message in the log begins with the date and time when it was entered. Scroll back to the time you noted above.
Select the messages entered from then until the end of the episode, or until they start to repeat, whichever comes first.
Copy the messages to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Paste into a reply to this message by pressing command-V.
The log contains a vast amount of information, almost all of it useless for solving any particular problem. When posting a log extract, be selective. A few dozen lines are almost always more than enough.
Please don't indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
Please don't post screenshots of log messages—post the text.
Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.

My iphone 3 8GB freezes up and is slow, what can i do?

my iphone freezes up and is so slow what can i do to make it faster?

Try holding down the on/off button and the home button at the same time for 20 to 30 sec the phone should restart.

My macbook pro is going very slow what can I do?

my macbook pro is going very slow what can I do?

When you next have the problem, note the exact time: hour, minute, second.
If you have more than one user account, these instructions must be carried out as an administrator.
Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the icon grid.
Make sure the title of the Console window is All Messages. If it isn't, select All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left. If you don't see that menu, select
View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar.
Each message in the log begins with the date and time when it was entered. Scroll back to the time you noted above. Select the messages entered from then until the end of the episode, or until they start to repeat, whichever comes first. Copy the messages to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Paste into a reply to this message (command-V).
The log contains a vast amount of information, almost all of it useless for solving any particular problem. When posting a log extract, be selective. In most cases, a few dozen lines are more than enough. It is never necessary or helpful to post more than about 100 lines. "The more, the better" is not the rule here.
Please do not indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
Important: Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.

My iMac is sooo slow... Why??

Hi,
I have an iMac bought in 2011. Processor: 3.2 Ghz Intel Core 13 / OS X Lion 10.7.5 / I have 1.33 TB FREE out of 2TB
Its so slow! when starts its almost a minute to start using it, the same when "it goes to sleep", every time I touch my keyboard "it wakes up" instantly but I have to wait to be able to use it. the same, every time I launch and app.... is sooooo slow!
What can I do to make it better?? I don't have loads app or anything, as you can see I'm not using even half of its memory!! so, why?? Help me!!
I want it to install Yosemite but I'm afraid it will make it worst!
any suggestions? solutions? ... anything??
Thanks in advance!!!!
Romi

Problem description:
iMac very slow
EtreCheck version: 2.0.11 (98)
Report generated November 24, 2014 11:08:11 AM GMT+01:00
Hardware Information: ℹ️
iMac (27-inch, Mid 2010) (Verified)
iMac - model: iMac11,3
1 3.2 GHz Intel Core i3 CPU: 2-core
4 GB RAM
BANK 0/DIMM0
2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
BANK 1/DIMM0
2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
BANK 0/DIMM1
empty empty empty empty
BANK 1/DIMM1
empty empty empty empty
Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported
Wireless: en1: (null)
Video Information: ℹ️
ATI Radeon HD 5670 - VRAM: 512 MB
iMac 2560 x 1440
System Software: ℹ️
Mac OS X 10.7.5 (11G63) - Uptime: 1:36:52
Disk Information: ℹ️
Hitachi HDS722020ALA330 disk0 : (2 TB)
S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified
disk0s1 (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$)))))))À>`VCLP!P M (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 2.00 TB (1.33 TB free)
Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB
OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5680H
USB Information: ℹ️
Western Digital My Passport 0748 1 TB
S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified
disk1s1 (disk1s1) <not mounted> : 32 KB
disk1s2 (disk1s2) <not mounted> : 29 KB
disk1s3 (disk1s3) <not mounted> : 29 KB
disk1s4 (disk1s4) <not mounted> : 29 KB
disk1s5 (disk1s5) <not mounted> : 29 KB
disk1s6 (disk1s6) <not mounted> : 262 KB
disk1s7 (disk1s7) <not mounted> : 262 KB
disk1s8 (disk1s8) <not mounted> : 262 KB
My Passport for Mac (disk1s10) /Volumes/My Passport for Mac : 1.00 TB (903.47 GB free)
Apple Internal Memory Card Reader
Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub
Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Apple Inc. Built-in iSight
Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
Kernel Extensions: ℹ️
/Applications/Toast 11 Titanium/Toast Titanium.app
[not loaded] com.roxio.BluRaySupport (1.1.6) Support
/System/Library/Extensions
[loaded] com.hzsystems.terminus.driver (4) Support
[not loaded] com.olympus.CamBlockCommandsDeviceUP (3.1.0 - SDK 10.6) Support
[not loaded] com.tomtom.driver.UsbEthernetGadget (1.0.0d1) Support
/Users/[redacted]/Library/Services/ToastIt.service/Contents/MacOS
[not loaded] com.roxio.TDIXController (2.0) Support
Launch Agents: ℹ️
[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist Support
[invalid?] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist Support
Launch Daemons: ℹ️
[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support
[invalid?] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist Support
[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist Support
[loaded] com.noiseindustries.FxFactory.plist Support
[invalid?] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist Support
[loaded] com.skype.skypeinstaller.plist Support
User Launch Agents: ℹ️
[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist Support
[failed] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[...]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist
[loaded] com.divx.agent.postinstall.plist Support
[loaded] com.facebook.videochat.[redacted].plist Support
[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist Support
User Login Items: ℹ️
iTunesHelper UNKNOWNHidden (missing value)
MyTomTomSA ApplicationHidden (/Applications/MyTomTomSA.app)
Things Helper Application (/Users/[redacted]/Library/Application Support/Things Sandbox Helper/Things Helper.app)
Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 6.0 Support
OVSHelper: Version: 1.1 Support
AdobeExManDetect: Version: AdobeExManDetect 1.1.0.0 - SDK 10.7 Support
Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.4.4.2 Support
RealPlayer Plugin: Version: Unknown
AdobeAAMDetect: Version: AdobeAAMDetect 1.0.0.0 - SDK 10.6 Support
FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 15.0.0.223 - SDK 10.6 Support
DivXBrowserPlugin: Version: 2.2 Support
Silverlight: Version: 5.1.30317.0 - SDK 10.6 Support
Flash Player: Version: 15.0.0.223 - SDK 10.6 Support
iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0 - SDK 10.8
QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.1
SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.4.1 - SDK 10.6 Support
VLC Plugin: Version: 1.0.5 Support
EPPEX Plugin: Version: 3.0.5.0 Support
JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 14.9.0 - SDK 10.7 Check version
User Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 7.1 Support
Safari Extensions: ℹ️
Bouton d'aide à l'achat Capital Koala-1
Cuevana Stream-1
DivX Plus Web Player HTML5 <video>
Bouton d'aide à l'achat Capital Koala
3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️
DivX Support
Flash Player Support
Flip4Mac WMV Support
Time Machine: ℹ️
Time Machine not configured!
Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️
      4% WindowServer
      3% Google Chrome
      2% SystemUIServer
      2% Finder
      2% Safari
Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️
210 MB Google Chrome
206 MB Safari
150 MB Finder
86 MB Google Chrome Helper
86 MB mds
Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️
836 MB Free RAM
2.30 GB Active RAM
501 MB Inactive RAM
658 MB Wired RAM
1.97 GB Page-ins
0 B Page-outs

My Macbook Pro is running very slow, what can I do?

My Macbook Pro is running very slowly, what can I do?

Things You Can Do To Resolve Slow Downs
If your computer seems to be running slower here are some things you can do:
Start with a visit to: OS X Maintenance - MacAttorney.
Boot into Safe Mode then repair your hard drive and permissions:
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions Pre-Lion
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. 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 installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
Repair the Hard Drive - Lion
Boot from your Lion Recovery HD. 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, then click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu. Select Restart from the Apple menu.
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.
Restart your computer normally and see if this has helped any. Next do some maintenance:
Suggestions for OS X Maintenance
For situations Disk Utility cannot handle the best third-party utility is Disk Warrior; DW only fixes problems with the disk directory, but most disk problems are caused by directory corruption; Disk Warrior 4.x is now Intel Mac compatible.
OS X performs certain maintenance functions that are scheduled to occur on a daily, weekly, or monthly period. The maintenance scripts run in the early AM only if the computer is turned on 24/7 (no sleep.) If this isn't the case, then an excellent solution is to download and install a shareware utility such as Macaroni, JAW PseudoAnacron, or Anacron that will automate the maintenance activity regardless of whether the computer is turned off or asleep. Dependence upon third-party utilities to run the periodic maintenance scripts was significantly reduced since Tiger. These utilities have limited or no functionality with Snow Leopard or Lion and should not be installed.
OS X automatically defragments files less than 20 MBs in size, so unless you have a disk full of very large files there's little need for defragmenting the hard drive. As for virus protection there are few if any such animals affecting OS X. You can protect the computer easily using the freeware Open Source virus protection software ClamXAV. Personally I would avoid most commercial anti-virus software because of their potential for causing problems. For more about malware see Macintosh Virus Guide.
I would also recommend downloading a utility such as TinkerTool System, OnyX 2.4.3, or Cocktail 5.1.1 that you can use for periodic maintenance such as removing old log files and archives, clearing caches, etc.
For emergency repairs install the freeware utility Applejack. If you cannot start up in OS X, you may be able to start in single-user mode from which you can run Applejack to do a whole set of repair and maintenance routines from the command line. Note that AppleJack 1.5 is required for Leopard. AppleJack 1.6 is compatible with Snow Leopard. There is no confirmation that this version also works with Lion.
When you install any new system software or updates be sure to repair the hard drive and permissions beforehand.
Get an external Firewire drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
1. Carbon Copy Cloner
2. Data Backup
3. Deja Vu
4. SuperDuper!
5. SyncTwoFolders
6. Synk Pro
7. Synk Standard
8. Tri-Backup
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQs on maintenance, optimization, virus protection, and backup and restore.
Additional suggestions will be found in Mac maintenance Quick Assist.
Referenced software can be found at CNet Downloads or MacUpdate.
Additional Hints
Be sure you have an adequate amount of RAM installed for the number of applications you run concurrently. Be sure you leave a minimum of 10% of the hard drive's capacity as free space.
Add more RAM. If your computer has less than 2 GBs of RAM and you are using OS X Leopard or later, then you can do with more RAM. Snow Leopard and Lion work much better with 4 GBs of RAM than their system minimums. The more concurrent applications you tend to use the more RAM you should have.
Always maintain at least 15 GBs or 10% of your hard drive's capacity as free space, whichever is greater. OS X is frequently accessing your hard drive, so providing adequate free space will keep things from slowing down.
Check for applications that may be hogging the CPU:
Open Activity Monitor in the Utilities folder. Select All Processes from the Processes dropdown menu. Click twice on the CPU% column header to display in descending order. If you find a process using a large amount of CPU time, then select the process and click on the Quit icon in the toolbar. Click on the Force Quit button to kill the process. See if that helps. Be sure to note the name of the runaway process so you can track down the cause of the problem.
Often this problem occurs because of a corrupted cache or preferences file or an attempt to write to a corrupted log file.

My iMAC is sooo slow what can I do?

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