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IMAC 27" Very Slow with Errors

M

mazzbob

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 28, 2018
22
1
New York
Hello Everyone:

I have an Mid-2010 iMac 27 inch/ 2.93 GHz Intel core I7 processor. RAM 12 GB, 1333MHz DDR3. I have allowed all OS upgrades as recommended for the iMac. However as of late the machine has become extremely slow as it takes at least 15 minutes for cold boot up as well as showing errors in the operating system. Apple on the recall had replaced the 1 terabyte hard drive that came with the machine and restored the operating system using Time Machine during that period. There is also approximately 500 gigabyte free space currently on the hard drive.

Since the machine is running so slowly, I am wondering if it is recommended to reinstall the OS that came with the machine when it was purchased and using Time Machine to restore individual data as documents, photos and what ever else needs to be retained separately. Then doing the mac OS upgrades. I am sure during the years that we have utilized this machine as adding and removing programs which may have damaged the current operating system. I am hoping that an installation clean OS will cure a lot of the issues that the machine is having then restoring the personal data and after all that is completed complete the OS upgrades is necessary.

It should be noted also I am not a computer guy but I'm willing to reinstall the original software so the machine can run more effectively.

Any assistance is truly appreciated
 
Your symptoms (and the really slow boot) make it sound like your hard drive is failing.
Replace it as soon as you can, as that can quickly go to a full fail, where you lose everything that you don't have backed up.
 
New hard drive and suggest going for an SSD which will give your machine a new lease of life. Do not consider fusion, hybrid or platter drives and you will need a heat sensor kit from OWC or similar.
 
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I would agree the hard drive is failing. Unfortunately it's not that easy to replace. A quick fix would be to get an external USB drive. A 1tb should be very cheap. SSD isn’t that important on the external because you’re run USB 2. Make a copy of your boot drive with Carbon Copy Cloner and start booting from the USB drive.

The end solution would be a SSD installed once you understand how to do it or get someone to install it.
 
Thank you all, for the information you have provided it has helped me a lot:

I decided that the best, not the easiest repair would be to replace the original HDD with a SSD then use the original disks to re-install the OS. I ran DRIVEDX where it indicated that the drive is failing at about 65%. Thank you, everyone it is correct that the drive is on it's last legs and I just completed a backup with Time Machine. I have ordered a WD BlUE 3D NAND 1TB PC SSD-SATA III 6GB.S 2.5" 7MM SOLID STATE. I will also have to order an adapter from apple or another company to install the SSD as it is not the same size as the original HDD and the heat sensor kit from OWC. I understand about the adapter but I am curious about the heat sensor kit and what is the reason for this additional item, does not the computer have equipment to monitor the heat generated inside the unit? I assume I can obtain both items from OWC the adapter and the sensor kit. I have watched a few videos on replacing the HDD and I agree it is not the easiest thing to do but I am pretty handy so I will give it a shot.
 
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The sensor is to link to the hdd so the OS won’t sound like a jet engine. The reason why you need it is: Apple.
You can do the same thing with a software solution but the cable is better.

Once it’s installed you will find your iMac is a whole new machine.
 
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Again thank you all for the info.....

I ordered from OWC the adapter and the sensor now I just have to wait for the items to arrive, do the physical install, use the disks to install the OS.
 
The adapter & sensor arrived from OWC unfortunately they sent the wrong sensor now I have to wait for the correct one. I have a question for the more experienced MAC people.

The IMAC is still running therefore: Can I format and restore the operating system on the new SSD HD through Time Machine while the new SSD is in a USB drive? I know it can be formatted on the USB drive but I'm not sure if I can just place the formatted SSD into the USB external & restore the TM Image to the external drive so I can just place the SSD once completed into the IMAC where it would be ready for use.
 
That's basically the best way to set up your SSD while keeping your existing boot drive going. Format it, restore your boot drive to it. You can even boot off it until you get your parts and move it inside. You only need to change which drive is the main boot. I use CCC but if Time Machine does a full disk restore it should work. If it boots from the usb port,it will boot from inside.
 
Thank you TYCHE, I have done this on a windows machine using ACRONIS but never on a MAC. Apple support says it should not be done that way because the Boot Drive drive will work slower once it is placed in the IMAC but that didn't make sense to me. That's why I posted the question.
 
mazzbob said:
Thank you TYCHE, I have done this on a windows machine using ACRONIS but never on a MAC. Apple support says it should not be done that way because the Boot Drive drive will work slower once it is placed in the IMAC but that didn't make sense to me. That's why I posted the question.
Click to expand...
Once you mount it in the iMac, you have to go to system preferences and mark it as boot drive. Then it will be as fast as it should.
 
Great! Thank you, everyone:

I tried to use disk utility to restore from the original HHD to the SSD but it did not work. So I used CCC to clone the disk it took about 20 hours. After that completed, I went into preferences changed the start up disk to the SSD where I was able to restart from the usb drive, so I'm guessing it cloned the drive and all I have to do is install it into the IMAC when the correct sensor wire arrives. If the cloned SSD is the only drive in the IMAC wouldn't it just boot to it automatically? Then as mbosse indicates mark it as the boot drive. How do I mark it as a boot drive? In preferences is booting from a different drive as USB drive and marking the internal SSD a boot drive different procedure?
 
20 hours is terribly slow. I would stop using your internal immediately now that you have it booting off USB.

If you install it and boots, great. If not, just use option key on startup to boot and then go into preferences and set it as the default. Startup Disk in preferences sets the default choice.
 
Again Thank you all for this help.....

I will have to wait for the heat sensor cable to arrive, I'll complete the physical installation of the SSD and Sensor into the IMAC. Go from there and see how things progress.
 
What about CPU temps? Your machine has been running for 8 years. The thermal paste might not be working anymore at all!
You could install intel power gadget or similar to detect the temperatures and cpu speed.
If the cooling is not working as should the iMac might be really slow.
If you are opening the iMac anyway i would suggest repasting the cpu if its possible.

My 2011 i7 MacBook air has lately become really slow as well. ssd is working quite well in benchmarks but the cpu is most off the time under the base freq so I'm going to repaste it.
 
wow.... I can just re apply clean off the old stuff and get some paste and apply it while doing the installation can't be that hard to do.
 
UPDATE

Finally got the time to replace the HDD with SSD/w sensor cable, took about 45 mins to complete the exchange. The Computer is running like a new machine so much faster. I have a question... I would like reinstall the original OS from disks that came with the computer (if it is advisable) because I believe that over the years of removing programs and other downloads the OS has become degraded. Apple Care indicated that I could do it however they did not recommend it. I have read that installing newer OS on an older MAC's make the machine run poorly therefore I thought that with the ability to just reinstall the OS by using the Command +R and re-install OS X from the original disks would be a great way to clear all OS issues. I really would like to know what would be the advantages/disadvantage of doing it and not allowing for automatic upgrades or allowing for the upgrades after the the original OS X is re-installed. I have done this on Windows machines many times and it was very beneficial but never on a mac.
 
If you go back to the original, which would be Snow Leopard, you would also be going back to older versions of much of your software, such as web browsers - which might mean that you would not be able to use some of the sites that you use now, perhaps with plugins that are newer, and won't run on such an old system. Going back with a newer iTunes database file, or a Photos collection, might be really messy to re-import some of your music. There may be other issues, as well.

I would suggest a BETTER method would be to boot to your OS X installer, whatever version you have NOW, and do a reinstall of your present system. That can "prune" out unneeded cache files, and will assure that the system that you are now using, is both complete, and working properly.
If you WERE having slowdowns due to a newer system, the new SSD will basically overcome those challenges, and with 12GB of RAM installed (you could add to that, too), you should be good to go.
 
Thank you for the info. Yes I agree that would be the best option re-install the current version. Since I do not have a copy of my current OS version because it was done through upgrades, how do I go about this?
 
I have a 2010 iMac that I have wiped the drive a couple times over the years. I believe I used the Internet Recovery method and then updated to the latest OS version. Can't seem to remember it's been a few years now.

Personally, I don't think it was worth it and doubt you'll see any speed improvements. It is a way to free up some disk space if you don't have other tools to do that. With macOS you can see what is starting and hanging around and turn it off. Any clutter in the various config/pref directories isn't affecting performance.

You've got everything running and you're off the failing drive. If you do anything, make sure you have a CCC copy somewhere to go back to.
 
mazzbob said:
Thank you for the info. Yes I agree that would be the best option re-install the current version. Since I do not have a copy of my current OS version because it was done through upgrades, how do I go about this?
Click to expand...
If you have updated through the years, through the App Store, that means that you have purchased OS X versions as they have been available, so you should see OS X/macOS versions in your App Store/Purchased tab.
And, if you are current on updates, you will be on macOS 10.13.6.
So, go to your App Store, Purchased tab, and download the High Sierra installer again.
Best method to proceed then: The installer will launch when it has been downloaded. Quit that installer, for now.
Create a bootable installer from that downloaded app. There's several sites that show instructions for how to do that through the terminal. Just search for "create bootable USB High Sierra installer". Several will be listed, and give you the same result (an installer that you can keep) using steps to do that through your Terminal. Or, you can download a dedicated third-party app that makes that simple, such as DiskMakerX.
Boot to that installer, and reinstall macOS. It's that simple. (The reinstall reloads your system, and will prune out some of the cache files, etc, which are no longer needed. Reinstall does NOT remove YOUR files, music, pictures, and apps that you might have installed yourself.)
 
Thank you so much this is what I need to know. I'm not sure how much it will help but even a little will be a benefit.
 
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