iMac slowdown issue, impossible to work.

[Ashling Aylward]

I have an iMac 2013 (late) with8GB RAM and i5 processor. I use Adobe software but in general iMac no longer works efficiently, to be honest it never has. Hard Drive replaced and multiple troubleshooting efforts. The memory pressure is green in Activity Monitor. Any ideas welcome or even recommendations for investing in new hardware. thanks.

 

[sdz]

do you have free hard drive capacity?

 

[r6mile]

Which OS are you running? Do you have a hard drive or an SSD? Modern versions of Mac OS run horribly on a spinning hard drive. Do what many have done on this forum and buy a cheap external USB3 SATA SSD, and use that as your boot drive.

 

[Fishrrman]

IF you had the original platter-based hard drive replaced with ANOTHER platter-based hard drive, that's not going to speed anything up.

Fastest, cheapest, easiest, and safest way to "get more speed out of it" is to take r6's advice and get an EXTERNAL USB3 SSD, plug it in, and set it up to become the new boot drive.

I predict things will go considerably faster and that you'll be pleased with the results.

Either buy a USB3 SSD that's "ready to go" (pre-assembled),
or
Get a 2.5" SATA SSD and an enclosure like this:

SABRENT 2.5 Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool Free External Hard Drive Enclosure [Optimized for SSD, Support UASP SATA III] Black (EC-UASP)

SABRENT 2.5 Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool Free External Hard Drive Enclosure [Optimized for SSD, Support UASP SATA III] Black (EC-UASP)

tinyurl.com

500gb or 1tb should do fine.

 

[Ashling Aylward]

Which OS are you running? Do you have a hard drive or an SSD? Modern versions of Mac OS run horribly on a spinning hard drive. Do what many have done on this forum and buy a cheap external USB3 SATA SSD, and use that as your boot drive.

 

[Ashling Aylward]

View attachment 974891

I do have a 2TB hard drive as my Time Machine backup.

 

[r6mile]

View attachment 974891

Hi, this doesn't show what type of storage drive you have. What does it say on the 'storage' tab?

 

[Ashling Aylward]

Hi, this doesn't show what type of storage drive you have. What does it say on the 'storage' tab?

 

[r6mile]

Ok, so the issue is clear. You have an old-fashioned spinning hard drive, which does not operate very well with OS Catalina. The solution is to run the system from an external USB3 SSD - you seem to use very little of your storage space so you don't have to spend a lot. SSDs are cheap now - I would go with buying a drive like this: https://www.amazon.com/PNY-Elite-48...ords=external+SSD+500GB&qid=1603802161&sr=8-5, though really any USB 3.0 SSD with enough storage will do. You could even use a 250GB drive if you want to save more money.

Using Disk Utility, format the external drive using APFS (you can call the drive 'Macintosh SSD' if you like, so as to avoid confusion). Then, using Carbon Copy Cloner 'clone' your Macintosh HD drive to the new 'Macintosh SSD' drive.
Then go on Startup Volume (under system preferences), select the Macintosh SSD drive, and restart your computer.
That's it, you are done - enjoy your 'new' computer. You will immediately notice a huge difference! Just make sure the SSD is always connected to the USB plug on the machine - you could tape it at the back if you like, and you won't even see it.

You will now have a spare 1TB hard drive in your machine - once you are happy that everything is running well, I would erase this drive. You could use it for media storage, Time Machine backups, or really anything else.

 

[Ashling Aylward]

Ok, so the issue is clear. You have an old-fashioned spinning hard drive, which does not operate very well with OS Catalina. The solution is to run the system from an external USB3 SSD - you seem to use very little of your storage space so you don't have to spend a lot. SSDs are cheap now - I would go with buying a drive like this: https://www.amazon.com/PNY-Elite-48...ords=external+SSD+500GB&qid=1603802161&sr=8-5, though really any USB 3.0 SSD with enough storage will do. You could even use a 250GB drive if you want to save more money.

Using Disk Utility, format the external drive using APFS (you can call the drive 'Macintosh SSD' if you like, so as to avoid confusion). Then, using Carbon Copy Cloner 'clone' your Macintosh HD drive to the new 'Macintosh SSD' drive.
Then go on Startup Volume (under system preferences), select the Macintosh SSD drive, and restart your computer.
That's it, you are done - enjoy your 'new' computer. You will immediately notice a huge difference! Just make sure the SSD is always connected to the USB plug on the machine - you could tape it at the back if you like, and you won't even see it.

You will now have a spare 1TB hard drive in your machine - once you are happy that everything is running well, I would erase this drive. You could use it for media storage, Time Machine backups, or really anything else.

Dear r6mile, thank you so much for that information. It is the first time someone has given me a valuable solution that does not include a new Mac purchase which I do not have the budget for. I will be doing Ui / UX design, do you think the SSD is ok for this also?

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

The best pathway to a solution is posted to you in #4 above.
I suggest you re-read it carefully.

 

[r6mile]

Dear r6mile, thank you so much for that information. It is the first time someone has given me a valuable solution that does not include a new Mac purchase which I do not have the budget for. I will be doing Ui / UX design, do you think the SSD is ok for this also?

My pleasure - I think often people are too quick to dispose of old Macs that still have a lot of life in there. Your iMac is newer than any of my Macs, all of which perform very well and have no need to upgrade, so with an SSD you will be fine. An SSD will help speed up the computer for almost any purpose, so in my view it is a no-brainer update, for under 60 dollars/pounds/euros.

 

[Ashling Aylward]

OP:

The best pathway to a solution is posted to you in #4 above.
I suggest you re-read it carefully.