Force quit the norm for 2011 MBP

Hi all,

I have an early 2011 2 GHZ Intel Core i7 15" MBP with 500 GB HD and 4 GB memory. I have 396 GB of HD free. It has been very pokey and lagging. I don't have many apps open at a time and I don't do graphic design, gaming or music/film editing, so it's not under a heavy load. I have to force quit iPhoto and iTunes often, and the Microsoft Office suite is always a hellacious nightmare. I know the Office 2011 programs for Mac are quite buggy, but I have to to force quit EVERY time. I am a grad student who writes a lot of manuscripts and it's very frustrating to have these and other programs unresponsive most of the time.

I repaired permissions and ran "Maintenance". It's still acting up. I'm thinking I need to take it in. The closest Apple store is 3 hours away so I might need to take it to the nearest Apple Authorized repair shop.

I just wanted some insight as to what might be going on. I have owned Macs for over 12 years and while I like this computer, it shouldn't be acting like my 2007 iMac (that has 1 GB memory).

Thanks in advance! Sorry if I'm long winded.

Sounds like you have done quite a bit already troubleshooting this problem. There only one thing I can suggest...try downloading & running the "automated" process's.

If this doesn't help...then from what you describe...you may have a "flakey" hard drive, and need to have Apple look at it.

Good luck,

- Nick

Thanks for the prompt response, Nick. I will try what you suggested. I really hope it isn't the hard drive. It's practically new and I baby it. Hopefully it can be remedied

Gosh... the more I read about the problems with early 2011 MBPs hard freezing, the more paranoid I am getting. There are a plethora of pages.. 100's... reporting the same exact problems I am having. Most people only find relief if there whole computer is replaced.

As I said earlier, I can't get it to an Apple store anytime soon (too far), so hopefully an Apple Certified repair shop can help out. I will update what I find out.

Why use MS Office?

Why not Pages? I have absolutely no problems with Pages (after using MS Office since it was first written). You may save in Office format or open Office files when/if you wish.

I think I can count the # of times I've had to force quit an app on my 11 mbp on a single hand in the ~year I've owned it. I'd say something's not right. One things for certain on Internet bulletin boards, you'll only hear from people with problems.

Thanks to everyone for the assistance. Wolfpuppies3, I do have iWork and even that is a nuisance, although not as much as Office. I talked to the Apple certified repair people in town and they believe I have a failing HD (as Nick above suggested), as well as faulty fans/thermal paste application (My CPU/GPU gets over 75C/167 F when I'm just checking my e-mail and nothing else!!).

Thanks again to you all for the help and I hope to get this resolved.