Is this an OS or hardware problem?

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Lately my iMac occasionally (about once or twice a day) slows down to the point that I cannot do anything at all. The internal hard disk just keeps trundling for a while, sometimes as long as ten minutes. I took a screen shot of the Activity MOnitor while this is happening but do not really understand what I am looking at and do not see how to attach it anyway, Help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I'm running OS 10.6.8 on an iMac. RAM is maxed out at 4G. THe 500G hard disk has 95G free.

THanks.

Mark
 

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With the info so far...it could still be hardware or software. There is always the possibility that a hard drive could be failing (hardware)...or it could be something software/OS related.

First question...how often do you reboot/restart the computer?

- Nick
 

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That screen shot of Activity Monitor could have been very helpful.:)

- Nick
 
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I reboot approximately weekly and have done so since I bought the iMac a few years back.

Is there a way to upload an attachment? I do not see it.
 

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I reboot approximately weekly and have done so since I bought the iMac a few years back.

Is there a way to upload an attachment? I do not see it.

The info from Activity Monitor I'm looking for...is the size of the "Swap File" and "Page-Outs".

- Nick
 
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Nick,

Sorry but I do not see those captions. I have the settings at "Active Processes" and Disk Activity.

Mark
 

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Sorry but I do not see those captions. I have the settings at "Active Processes" and Disk Activity.

Click on the "System Memory" tab at the bottom of the window.

- Nick
 
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Ok, thanks. I will do that the next time this happens which will likely be tomorrow.

Mark
 
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Lately my iMac occasionally (about once or twice a day) slows down to the point that I cannot do anything at all. The internal hard disk just keeps trundling for a while, sometimes as long as ten minutes.

Lots more info would help.

Have you noticed if it does this at *the exact same time* each day?

Are you using TimeMachine?

Does it clear up if you immediately restart your Mac?

How big is your hard drive, and how full is it?

Have you very recently updated your Mac's OS to a newer version?
 

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Another question that I just thought of. I should have asked it first:

Do you have anti-virus software installed?

If so, use the developer's uninstaller program to uninstall it (it is unlikely that you can uninstall it completely just by dragging its icon to the Trash), and see if things get better. More than likely they will.
 
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I've been waiting for it to happen today and so far not yet. It's not regular, happening at different times of the day. When it happens I will grab a screen shot.

Time machine does slow things down but this happens when TM is not running (the clock icon on top is not spinning).

I have a 500 gig hard disk with 98 gigs free. Anti-virus software is not installed on the Mac side. I run XP under Pareallels and do have Norton installed there, but this has been the case since I bought the iMac. The slowdown occurs both on the Mac and Parallels side and when it occurs when I'm in Parallels I can see that XP is not using the hard disk. There is a little icon on the bottom of the Parallels screen that shows when it is accessing the hard disk.

At first I thought I might have a key logging virus and someone was accessing my hard disk so I turned Airport off. Sometimes this would cure the problem in a minute or two but not always so I do not think that is the issue. Rebooting does seem to help for a while but within a half hour or hour it starts again.

I still use Snow Leopard since my iMac is maxed out at 4gigs of ram and would not do well with Maverick. Probably time for a newer machine but that is not in the budget until maybe the Fall.

Thanks to all for your help.

Mark
 

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I've been waiting for it to happen today and so far not yet. It's not regular, happening at different times of the day. When it happens I will grab a screen shot.

The Activity Monitor info I needed does not need this sporatic slow down you're experiencing to occur. The Activity Monitor info (swap file & page outs)...is something that builds & builds & builds over time.

So a single slow down event is not what triggers anything related to the Activity Monitor info I was seeking. Hours & hours & hours of use is what this info is dependent on.

This is why I was expecting to get this info yesterday. So we can move on if this is or isn't the source of the issue.:)

- Nick
 
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How old is the hard drive as with it not being consistent with slowdown or associated with any particular app I would suspect a hard drive on its way out.
 
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Sorry Nick. Obviously I do not really understand this stuff. Anyway, the "page Outs" is 12.20 gig and the "Swap Used" is 3.34 gig.

OSXX, the drive is almost 6 years old, the same age as the iMac.

Mark
 

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Anyway, the "page Outs" is 12.20 gig and the "Swap Used" is 3.34 gig.

Those numbers are almost astronomical! They are way way way high. You need to restart/reboot your computer more often. Usually I reboot/restart my computer (with 4gig of ram) when those number are 1/3rd the size of yours.

When you reboot/restart the computer...these numbers will be zero...and will build & build & build over time until the computer is rebooted/restarted again.

For me...this means rebooting every 3-4 days...or at least once/week. But it really depends on the usage patterns of the user. Someone that uses their computer more than me...may need to reboot more often. Someone who uses their computer a lot less...may be able to go a month between reboots.

Each user basically needs to keep an eye on these numbers...AND...associate the "speediness" of their computer to know when to reboot. Basically...when my "page-outs" get over 1.0-1.5 gig...it's time to reboot.

- Nick
 
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Ok, I wil reboot immediately and make sure I reboot every few days. I do a lor of work in Lightroom and sometimes in Photoshop. Do you think that has something to do with it?

Mark
 

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Ok, I wil reboot immediately and make sure I reboot every few days. I do a lor of work in Lightroom and sometimes in Photoshop. Do you think that has something to do with it?

I think doing just about anything on the computer has an impact. Keep an eye on the Activity Monitors numbers (swap files & page outs)...and when they get large (my rule of thumb)...swap file greater than 1.0-1.5 gig...reboot.

Mac computers with more than 4gig of ram (8gig for example)...can go a much longer time between reboots.

I think that you mentioned that your computer is maxed with 4gig of ram. Not really a big deal...rebooting is easy.:)

- Nick
 
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Ok, will do. In the meanwhile nothing has happened today and now that I've rebooted maybe it won't. Fingers crossed.

Mark
 

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Ok, will do. In the meanwhile nothing has happened today and now that I've rebooted maybe it won't. Fingers crossed.

Those Activity Monitor numbers were pretty indicative of a why a computer would be slow. So unless there are mutiple issues...I think that rebooting on a regular basis will keep things speedy.

The next common problem folks have is letting their hard drive get too full. You mentioned that you have a 500gig hard drive with 95gig free. This is an approx. 80% full situation (20% free). With OS X...once a hard drive starts to get 85-90% full (10-15% free)...slowdowns can then start to occur. So this is something to keep an eye on as well.

Or now is the time to start deleting the "junk", or "off-loading" items that are not used frequently.;)

- Nick
 

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