Glacially slow MacBook Pro: A few weeks ago, my 2014 Mac slowed to a crawl. It now takes hours for updates. Just bought the Northrop book recommended here and it refused to download...

mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma

A few weeks ago, my 2014 Mac slowed to a crawl. It now takes hours for updates. Just bought the Northrop book recommended here and it refused to download the practice images. I have the most recent update for the Mac installed. Any ideas for what may be causing the problem? P. S. I am not a computer person. I thought I’d try here before spending a lot of quality time at Apple.

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

Strongly suggest that you contact Apple for assistance. UHH has no responsibility for the speed of your system or for sample images from a Tony Northrup guide. Apple tech support reps have been very helpful to me in the past.

jcboy3

Try the standard stuff first. Make sure you have sufficient free disk space (20% is recommended). Reboot a couple of times, first resetting the SMC controller (Shift-Control-Option + Power), and then reset PRAM (Power, then Cmd-Option-P-R). Look them up for detailed instructions. Then go into your system preferences and disable all startup applications to see if that helps (if it does, then turn them on one at a time after each reboot to see which one is causing problems). After that, you can try a system reinstall if you are comfortable doing that, otherwise take it in for service.

At this time, it would be a good thing to review your backup strategy. Do you have a backup? Do you update it daily? You will want a backup if you take it in for service, anyway. For me, I'd make two backups and let the service place use one to do your system reinstall.

Good luck.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

mizzee wrote:

A few weeks ago, my 2014 Mac slowed to a crawl. It now takes hours for updates. Just bought the Northrop book recommended here and it refused to download the practice images. I have the most recent update for the Mac installed. Any ideas for what may be causing the problem? P. S. I am not a computer person. I thought I’d try here before spending a lot of quality time at Apple.

The usual cause is related to the hard drive. What model is your Mac? (Apple Menu —> About this Mac...)

Select the hard drive icon. Control + click or right-click and choose Get Info. Then calculate the *percentage* of drive space available. If it’s less than 1/3 of the total capacity, either:

Drag unnecessary files to the Trash. OR:

Offload seldom-used files to an external drive. OR:

Go to Macsales.com and buy a bigger internal drive kit (if you can change it).

Certainly, if the drive is half full or less, it is worth resetting the PRAM, running the Disk Utility — First Aid app, starting up in Safe Mode, and running Onyx.

Tigger1 Loc: Surrey, BC Canada

mizzee wrote:

A few weeks ago, my 2014 Mac slowed to a crawl. It now takes hours for updates. Just bought the Northrop book recommended here and it refused to download the practice images. I have the most recent update for the Mac installed. Any ideas for what may be causing the problem? P. S. I am not a computer person. I thought I’d try here before spending a lot of quality time at Apple.

I have the same vintage Mac but have not experienced your issue. As you do not consider yourself a “computer person” take Ralph’s suggestion seriously and contact Apple! An Apple tech can log onto your computer and run a diagnostic test and advise you what to do. If you have run out of space on your hard drive, then it is a trip to Apple to have a larger hard drive installed. If it is a software (operating system glitch) then often the tech can fix the issue over the phone. Regardless, either go to Apple or contact Apple support by phone and they will resolve the issue for you.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Go to a website like meter.net and do a "ping" test to se what your download and upload speed are for your DSL service. If it’s not up to what you’re paying for, do a reset on your WiFi modem by shutting it off and disconnecting the power supply for 10 seconds or so, then reconnect and restart it. If this doesn’t clear it up, get ahold of your DSL provider to report the problem and see if they’re having issues. They can check the DSL speed that’s coming to your house. If they don’t see a problem then you have a modem or computer issue. If your modem is old you may need a firmware update or a new one. There are a lot of moving parts and you have to track the problem down one step at a time. Apple tech may have you do these same steps so record what you’ve done so you won’t hsve to do it all over again. Some of this tachycardia stuff can drive you nuts.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

mizzee wrote:

A few weeks ago, my 2014 Mac slowed to a crawl. It now takes hours for updates. Just bought the Northrop book recommended here and it refused to download the practice images. I have the most recent update for the Mac installed. Any ideas for what may be causing the problem? P. S. I am not a computer person. I thought I’d try here before spending a lot of quality time at Apple.

Computer virus, it does happen to Macs. Download free virus software. I had the problem with my desktop. I downloaded a software virus package and ran it. That did not help. I called Apple. He walked me through using a free package that they recommend, called Malwarebytes, and that fixed the problem.

RichardSM Loc: Back in Texas

I know nothing about Apple Mac computers. But I want to stay with you and see how your issues are resolved. I considering going to Apple in the future. Thank you and good luck.

a6k Loc: Detroit & Sanibel

I am not suggesting that you are wrong about the speed of your computer. However, all the examples you mention would seem to be dependent upon your internet connection speed. In order to remove that from your list of possible causes, you can use http://speedtest.net OR you can download an app from them and run the test independent of your browser.

I can't tell you what the numbers should be but you can look up what you are paying your ISP for and compare.

a6k Loc: Detroit & Sanibel

via the lens wrote:

Computer virus, it does happen to Macs. Download free virus software. I had the problem with my desktop. I downloaded a software virus package and ran it. That did not help. I called Apple. He walked me through using a free package that they recommend, called Malwarebytes, and that fixed the problem.

MalwareBytes is a very good, free app that you can run anytime (and should run periodically). There is also a free BitDefender app for Mac which does the same thing and should be used the same way. I have and use both.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

a6k wrote:

I am not suggesting that you are wrong about the speed of your computer. However, all the examples you mention would seem to be dependent upon your internet connection speed. In order to remove that from your list of possible causes, you can use http://speedtest.net OR you can download an app from them and run the test independent of your browser.

I can't tell you what the numbers should be but you can look up what you are paying your ISP for and compare.

👍👍

RichardSM Loc: Back in Texas

via the lens wrote:

Computer virus, it does happen to Macs. Download free virus software. I had the problem with my desktop. I downloaded a software virus package and ran it. That did not help. I called Apple. He walked me through using a free package that they recommend, called Malwarebytes, and that fixed the problem.

I can attest to the use of Malwarebytes it’s GREAT product I’ve used it for years I run the pro version,

it use to be they had a free version for use, I don’t know if it’s still available. It may help to give it a try.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

I don't think that this will help you in the short term but all Mac users and potential users should check out youtube videos by Louis Rossmann. Put you off Macs for life.

johnst1001a Loc: West Chester, Ohio

my input, hard drive is going. I had same issue with imac, slow booting, and had issues loading picture files. apple will run diagnostics on the whole computer, assuming you have an apple store nearby, otherwise a computer repair store. get it checked out right away

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Since it's "glacially slow," I suspect it will speed up as the temperature continues to rise. : )