Mac is becoming slower and slower

[Timvr]

I own a iMac (27-inch, Late 2012) with the latest version of High Sierra on it, but since almost half a year my computer is becoming slower and slower. Google Chrome freezes, video players freeze, a lot of beachballs while working, Microsoft Office crashing…
So I thought maybe some of you could help met out and maybe improve the performance of my Mac a bit?
Which information should i provide for you, the experts, to have a closer look at?

Very much thanks in advance!
Tim

 

[Apple_Robert]

What kind and size of hard drive are you using?
How much RAM does your iMac have?
How many programs are you usually running at the same time?
Any processor intensive app usage?

 

[Timvr]

What kind and size of hard drive are you using?
How much RAM does your iMac have?
How many programs are you usually running at the same time?
Any processor intensive app usage?

Memory: 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
3TH Macintosh built-in harddrive
Usually running a browser (Crome/Firefox) + Spotify + Word/Powerpoint
I don't know if a certain app uses a lot of processor…

 

[madeirabhoy]

Memory: 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
3TH Macintosh built-in harddrive
Usually running a browser (Crome/Firefox) + Spotify + Word/Powerpoint
I don't know if a certain app uses a lot of processor…

get a SSD and put your OS on it. night and day. just done so with my 2011 iMac.

 

[Timvr]

get a SSD and put your OS on it. night and day. just done so with my 2011 iMac.

I don't really know how I should do it. More importantly, does it really solve the problems I have on my Mac? Are there maybe other things that are less complicated and might also help?

 

[davidlv]

I don't really know how I should do it. More importantly, does it really solve the problems I have on my Mac? Are there maybe other things that are less complicated and might also help?

Have you tried checking the Hard Drive with Disk Warrior (best, using the DW USB drive) or even Disk Utility (hold down the Command + R keys on boot up)? That sounds like you may have multiple issues with the hard drive.
Of course, there are other things that can cause those symptoms but that would be the 1st thing I would try to check and eliminate.

 

[Timvr]

Have you tried checking the Hard Drive with Disk Warrior (best, using the DW USB drive) or even Disk Utility (hold down the Command + R keys on boot up)? That sounds like you may have multiple issues with the hard drive.
Of course, there are other things that can cause those symptoms but that would be the 1st thing I would try to check and eliminate.

I already used Disk Utility and there were no problems. Disk Warrior seems like an expensive program so I am not gonna buy that...

 

[Fishrrman]

If the iMac has a platter-based hard drive in it, THAT is what's slowing you down.

It's -possible- that the 3tb hard drive inside is having problems.
Apple installed a bunch of Seagate 3tb drives that were prone to early failure.
They (at one time) had a free replacement program for this.

Having said that...
Whether the HDD inside is working or failing, the fact that it's a platter-based drive IS STILL THE MAIN PROBLEM.
Modern versions of the Mac OS don't run well on platter-based drives. Things just "go too slow" insofar as the user experience is concerned.

You could pry the iMac open to try to install an SSD, but there's a much easier, faster, cheaper and safer way to speed things up.

That is:
Buy an EXTERNAL USB3 SSD, plug it in, and set it up to become your "external boot drive".
You won't believe the speed increase until you've seen it yourself.

Either a 250gb or 500gb SSD will do.
You don't need anything larger.

Put the OS, apps and your account on the SSD.
Leave large libraries of movies, music and pictures on the internal HDD.
Again, you won't understand how much of an improvement this gives you, until you've done it.

 

[rogerio drummon]

Having a SSD is certainly the best way to improve performance in general.

But, you should first try to find if there are any software issues using up your resources.

Leave the Activity Monitor open and inspect the tabs Energy, CPU and Memory. Identify what processes are using most resources. For the last months I have a "core" process that appears randomly and eats my CPU. It gets a 100 score in Energy. I Force Kill it and it always returns ...

 

[flowrider]

Disk Warrior seems like an expensive program so I am not gonna buy that...

You asked a question and it was answered. I see that you don't want to spend money either on programs that will help you or on an SSD that will dramatically speed up your machine.

BTW, I have 5 SSDs in my system and I use TechTool Pro. And yep, they cost money, but they are essential to a smooth running system, I assume all your software is up to date? And you have contracted no viruses or Trojan horses? You might want to invest in iState Menus to monitor your CPU usage and wheel as some other vital measurements on your Mac.

IMHO, these are vital to maintaining a healthy system. They have saved my bacon a couple of times.

Lou

 

[mossy]

I own a iMac (27-inch, Late 2012) with the latest version of High Sierra on it, but since almost half a year my computer is becoming slower and slower. Google Chrome freezes, video players freeze, a lot of beachballs while working, Microsoft Office crashing…
So I thought maybe some of you could help met out and maybe improve the performance of my Mac a bit?
Which information should i provide for you, the experts, to have a closer look at?

Very much thanks in advance!
Tim

Try running OnyX https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/index.html
Reset the Parameters and do some cleaning.
Just make sure you download the right version.
--->It's free

Then try running EtreCheck https://www.etrecheck.com
That will tell you some useful information.
--->4 free tests

Then check MALWAREBYTES https://www.malwarebytes.com/mac/
You never know if the slowdown is due to malware.
--->Free for a small while - enough to check

 

[Plutonius]

I own a iMac (27-inch, Late 2012) with the latest version of High Sierra on it, but since almost half a year my computer is becoming slower and slower. Google Chrome freezes, video players freeze, a lot of beachballs while working, Microsoft Office crashing…
So I thought maybe some of you could help met out and maybe improve the performance of my Mac a bit?
Which information should i provide for you, the experts, to have a closer look at?

Very much thanks in advance!
Tim

Best bet is to take it to an Apple store.

I'm curious what benefits people actually find with High Sierra.

I foolishly upgraded after hearing how great the new file system was but found a much longer startup and similar speeds to Sierra (I have an SSD). I also found High Sierra to be very buggy compared to Sierra and some program compatibility issues.

I wish I never upgraded and have no plans to upgrade to 10.14 when it comes out.

 

[Fishrrman]

I explained what "the problem" was in reply 8 above.

Prediction:
IF the OP has a platter-based drive inside, and
IF he doesn't follow my advice, then
Nothing he does is going to improve the Mac's performance in any significant manner...

 

[mossy]

I explained what "the problem" was in reply 8 above.

You explained a hypothetical.