- Joined
- Dec 6, 2012
- Messages
- 11
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- 0
- Points
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- Location
- London, UK
- Your Mac's Specs
- iMAC 24" [early 2008] 3.06GHz 4GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM OS X 10.8.2
Please can someone help me with a question concerning my Mac? I'm feeling really frustrated because I can't work out how to fix it. Unfortunately I'm extremely thick with technology, so that doesn't help matters.
Here is a summary of the problem. But first, my technical specs:
iMac [2008] 24" 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM [DDR2]
Currently running 10.8.2, upgraded two days ago
--
I've had my iMac for nearly four years now, and I love it. I use it to record music on garageband, and it's indispensable for me. Up until recently, I've never had any problems.
About two months ago I finally upgraded from Leopard to Snow Leopard. This week I upgraded to the latest OS version [10.8.2]. Not suggesting this has anything to do with my ills, as I haven't a clue. Just trying to add information.
Recently, let's say the past few months, my iMac has seemed to slow down. Generally sluggish. I cleared out lots of data space. So now it has 250 GB free of its 499 GB available space. In addition I have a 1TB external drive. So, all okay there.
I've taken online advice and cleared caches, ran clean up scans, checked for viruses etc.
I noticed very recently [last couple of weeks] that backing up data is taking a PHENOMENALLY long time, and also, booting up the computer is taking an obscene amount of time too. The latter I can handle. The former I can't.
I [perhaps stupidly] thought that if I cleared out space, and then upgraded to 10.8, I might skip the ills. It seems I was wrong. Booting up now takes about 3 minutes, and I see lots of script I never saw before. Haven't a clue what any of it means, because as I said I'm a bit 'fick' with tech.
More worryingly, I currently don't have a data back-up, having erased my time machine back-ups [don't ask me why, I don't know]. So I want to back-up my data to my external drive. What used to take me about 1 hour to do is now advising me it will take 2 days!!! Yes, 2 days. To back-up about 240 GB of data. That's too long, no?
I'm trying to do it piece by piece.
Anyway, I'm waffling. Hope someone is still reading this : ) here is my central question:
Are there any things I can do to fix either the boot-up delay, and/or the ridiculously slow time machine back-up/general backing up/file copy speed? I can't add RAM, because this model can only take 4 GB, which is already has. Have checked that.
Can't clear any more data/logs/cache etc. Can't clear out any more apps etc. all that has been done.
Here were my thoughts: I wondered if it might be possible for me to save copies of all the data files/applications I need on my external drive, and then do a full system restore, as if I were selling my iMac to someone else and needed to clean it. What do you think? Might this work? If so, I'd be happy to try it, but would I be able to do a system restore, that cleaned everything and then let me go straight in to 10.8.2 that I bought in the App Store? If so, can someone tell me how that would be done?
Or would I have to go from initial OS disk, then upgrades, then the final App Store one?
Please can someone advise me [in very simple - yes I REALLY mean it, simple language!] on this? Or does anyone have any other suggestions, or things I might try? I'm really worried my machine is dying. So would appreciate any suggestions guys.
Thanks so much for reading this far : )
Will
Here is a summary of the problem. But first, my technical specs:
iMac [2008] 24" 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM [DDR2]
Currently running 10.8.2, upgraded two days ago
--
I've had my iMac for nearly four years now, and I love it. I use it to record music on garageband, and it's indispensable for me. Up until recently, I've never had any problems.
About two months ago I finally upgraded from Leopard to Snow Leopard. This week I upgraded to the latest OS version [10.8.2]. Not suggesting this has anything to do with my ills, as I haven't a clue. Just trying to add information.
Recently, let's say the past few months, my iMac has seemed to slow down. Generally sluggish. I cleared out lots of data space. So now it has 250 GB free of its 499 GB available space. In addition I have a 1TB external drive. So, all okay there.
I've taken online advice and cleared caches, ran clean up scans, checked for viruses etc.
I noticed very recently [last couple of weeks] that backing up data is taking a PHENOMENALLY long time, and also, booting up the computer is taking an obscene amount of time too. The latter I can handle. The former I can't.
I [perhaps stupidly] thought that if I cleared out space, and then upgraded to 10.8, I might skip the ills. It seems I was wrong. Booting up now takes about 3 minutes, and I see lots of script I never saw before. Haven't a clue what any of it means, because as I said I'm a bit 'fick' with tech.
More worryingly, I currently don't have a data back-up, having erased my time machine back-ups [don't ask me why, I don't know]. So I want to back-up my data to my external drive. What used to take me about 1 hour to do is now advising me it will take 2 days!!! Yes, 2 days. To back-up about 240 GB of data. That's too long, no?
I'm trying to do it piece by piece.
Anyway, I'm waffling. Hope someone is still reading this : ) here is my central question:
Are there any things I can do to fix either the boot-up delay, and/or the ridiculously slow time machine back-up/general backing up/file copy speed? I can't add RAM, because this model can only take 4 GB, which is already has. Have checked that.
Can't clear any more data/logs/cache etc. Can't clear out any more apps etc. all that has been done.
Here were my thoughts: I wondered if it might be possible for me to save copies of all the data files/applications I need on my external drive, and then do a full system restore, as if I were selling my iMac to someone else and needed to clean it. What do you think? Might this work? If so, I'd be happy to try it, but would I be able to do a system restore, that cleaned everything and then let me go straight in to 10.8.2 that I bought in the App Store? If so, can someone tell me how that would be done?
Or would I have to go from initial OS disk, then upgrades, then the final App Store one?
Please can someone advise me [in very simple - yes I REALLY mean it, simple language!] on this? Or does anyone have any other suggestions, or things I might try? I'm really worried my machine is dying. So would appreciate any suggestions guys.
Thanks so much for reading this far : )
Will