OSx freezing up

I am new to mac pretty much, I do computer repair on mainly windows pcs, but just had a customer with a mac ask if I could take a shot at fixing her mac. Her complaint was how tremendously slow it was, and that she was having problems with various programs crashing, etc. So my intention was to clean the machine with some suggested free mac cleaner software. I also suspect possible spyware/malware or viruses to be the cause. It takes literally 10 minutes for this to even boot into the desktop, and after it finally does, Its almost frozen up completely. I suspect a possible hard drive issue, or virus at this time, but cannot install or scan any programs because of the lockup. I have successfully booted into safe mode (after 4 failed attempts) and can work around in the machine. If someone can suggest some options at this point. Just to clarify in short, the mac is running insanely slow, almost to a halt. I cannot work with the computer in regular mode at all. Finally was able to boot into safe mode successfully and am now looking into what options I have. Finally I am a windows pc tech, not much experience with macs.

As a PC tech you're probably used to receiving Windows boxes that are infected with viruses and malware. However, Macs do not get viruses as there are none in the wild that can infect a Mac. There are some forms of Malware but generally if she's up to date with her software from Apple, you can rule that out as causing the slow down.

Your suspicion that the hard drive may be failing is probably on target especially since it took you that many tries to get it into safe mode. You didn't mention which Mac she has, model and year, and also what version of OS X it's running. Without that info it's difficult to help you trouble shoot the machine.

Generally, what you need to do is run Disk Utility (similar to running chkdsk /f from a command prompt), however, it can not be run while the hard drive is mounted. Which means you need to run it from either the recovery partition (if there is one) or her original install disk she received with the machine from Apple.

Let us know.

As chscag suggested...it could be a failing hard drive...or it could be a hard drive that is almost full.

Mac OS X writes a swap file to the hard drive...and the less ram a computer has...the more the OS needs to write to the swap file on the HD. If there's not enough space on the HD...then there's not enough space for the swap file to be written efficiently.

Obviously if the HD has plenty of free space available...then the failing HD could be the more likely problem.

- Nick

Thanks so much for the info guys. First reguarding the infections, I had heard there were a few trojans etc out there besides malware that could affect the mac. Good to have the record set straight on that issue, as there aren't a lot of mac techs in my area to talk to. And concerning the hard drive, my customer had tons of photos taken off and deleted (shes a photographer apparently), plus only 3 or 4 folders on the desktop. Would I be able to scan the hard drive externally from one of my tech bench pc's externally? The mac in question is an imac model 11.3, intel core i3, 3.2 Ghz processor. I believe I can access the hard drive by unscrewing the panel near the bottom on the back. I hate working on these all in one computers. Is there a possibility of backing up the whole computer, and if so, how do I do that? I'm guessing software wise, she'll need the disc to reinstall the OS, or is there a recovery program of some kind?

That's a Mid 2010 iMac 27" model. And there is no way you're going to access that hard drive by unscrewing anything..... The entire front panel must be removed using a special procedure which involves glass suckers and torx drivers. Once the front panel is removed (that includes the display and front glass) the inside of the machine will be exposed. Not an easy procedure and care must be taken not to damage connecting wires, connectors, and the panel itself.

Also.... and this is important: The hard drive in that model is proprietary and uses a special cable for the heat sensor. Unless an exact replacement is used, the hard drive fan will take off like a Boeing 747. You can get an idea of the entire take apart instructions by going to iFixit: The free repair manual and look up her model, and then the instructions for changing the hard drive.

As for backing up the hard drive, you would use the built in Apple backup program called Time Machine or a third party backup utility. However, with the way the machine is acting up, I'm not sure you would be able to complete a backup.

But as stated previously, you'll need to test the hard drive to see if it's actually gone south. Does she have an install DVD? And what version of OS X is she running?

Let us know so we can give you some idea of what to do.