Excruciatingly Slow Mac mini

[BernieMc]

Today, and not for the first time, my Mac mini is excruciatingly slow. Meaning 30 minutes to open Safari Inbox text, and Internet sites. Successful Disk Utility test indicates; Used -15.33 GB. Other volumes - 185.37 GB. Free - 299.19 GB.

Mac mini (Late 2014). Processor: 1.4 GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5. Memory: 4GB 1600 MHz DDR3.

All software standard Apple issue, except just one game (Airport Madness 3D).

User: Non-nerd, born prior to the transistor!

 

[DeltaMac]

What version of the macOS are you running?
Go to the Apple menu (top left corner of your screen), then click on the Apple icon, then About this Mac.
That window will show the version that you are running.
Click on the "Storage" tab. The left side of that window will show you the capacity of the drive, how it is connected, and the drive type. Do you see "solid state", or "Fusion drive"? Or, something else?

 

[BernieMc]

What version of the macOS are you running?
Go to the Apple menu (top left corner of your screen), then click on the Apple icon, then About this Mac.
That window will show the version that you are running.
Click on the "Storage" tab. The left side of that window will show you the capacity of the drive, how it is connected, and the drive type. Do you see "solid state", or "Fusion drive"? Or, something else?

macOS 11.6 Big Sur
Macintosh HD 300.77 GB available of 499.9 GB. 500 GB SATA Disk ... Nothing else. I don't think that the HD is solid state.

 

[Spock]

macOS 11.6 Big Sur
Macintosh HD 300.77 GB available of 499.9 GB. 500 GB SATA Disk ... Nothing else. I don't think that the HD is solid state.

I am guessing that part of the problem is that HDD, could be going bad. How long does it take for the system to boot?

 

[avz]

macOS 11.6 Big Sur
Macintosh HD 300.77 GB available of 499.9 GB. 500 GB SATA Disk ... Nothing else. I don't think that the HD is solid state.

If you don’t plan to upgrade to SSD, I would go back to 10.12 Sierra.

 

[DeltaMac]

OK, spinning hard drive (and 5400 rpm, too), so naturally slow.
Newer macOS systems just are no longer well "tuned" for use on spinning hard drives. And, 2014 would mean that your mechanical hard drive is 7 years old, or close to it. It's probably getting intermittent problems, which may mean it is close to failure.
And, the other detail that also works against you is only 4GB of memory. You cannot upgrade the memory, as it is soldered to the main board - BUT replacing the hard drive with an SSD (solid-state drive) would give you a significant boost in speed. It will be "snappier" than you have ever seen your mini work..

 

[BernieMc]

Would it be a simple matter to change the HD to SSD in a 2014 Mac mini?
Financially, would it be worthwhile?

 

[DeltaMac]

Look for yourself:

Mac mini Late 2014 Hard Drive Replacement

Use this guide to replace the hard drive in your hard-drive-only or Fusion Drive Mac mini Late 2014. This guide was made with a Fusion Drive Mac...

www.ifixit.com

 

[Amethyst1]

Would it be a simple matter to change the HD to SSD in a 2014 Mac mini?

Yep.

Financially, would it be worthwhile?

Example: A 240GB SSD can be had for less than $50 and will make your Mac feel noticeably faster. The question is - is it worth it to you?

 

[BernieMc]

Look for yourself:

Mac mini Late 2014 Hard Drive Replacement

Use this guide to replace the hard drive in your hard-drive-only or Fusion Drive Mac mini Late 2014. This guide was made with a Fusion Drive Mac...

www.ifixit.com

Wow, that's a great recommendation Website. Many thanks.

 

[Boyd01]

I have that same Mini and used it as an iTunes server for several years. Was OK for that, but for anything else it was ridiculously slow. Replaced the server with a better Mini a couple years ago and no longer use it. IMO a much better use for $100 would be applying it towards either a base model 2018 Mini or M1 Mini, depending on your needs.

Yes, a SSD will improve the 2014 base Mini, but the 4gb RAM will always be a bottleneck that cannot be upgraded.

 

[Amethyst1]

the 4gb RAM will always be a bottleneck that cannot be upgraded.

Same goes for the underpowered CPU.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"Today, and not for the first time, my Mac mini is excruciatingly slow. Meaning 30 minutes to open Safari Inbox text, and Internet sites. Successful Disk Utility test indicates; Used -15.33 GB. Other volumes - 185.37 GB. Free - 299.19 GB.
Mac mini (Late 2014). Processor: 1.4 GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5. Memory: 4GB 1600 MHz DDR3."

See this thread with my replies in it:

admin privileges

OP wrote: "Now, the real problem: it's really, really, slow. Do you have any advice for that?" Sumthin' tells me you are new to this Mini? Did I guess right? I've got bad news for you. There is NO WAY you're ever going to get much performance from a 2014 Mini with 4gb of RAM. It doesn't have...

forums.macrumors.com

A 2014 Mini with only 4gb of RAM and a platter-based drive is a terribly "handicapped" Mac.
It can be made to run faster by adding an SSD (internal or external), but there is NO WAY POSSIBLE to overcome the limitations of having only 4gb of RAM, which is soldered in.

The thread posted above explains what options there are left to you.