computer slow and a lot of beach balls

My iMac has been running slow for some time now. I've been getting beach balls on a regular basis, and while using safari I sometimes get a "Plug in failure" message….most recently while trying to upload pictures to Walgreens. HD is 1 TB with 277 gb used. I do have Paralles and Windows 7 running on occasion, but it doesn't seen to make any difference. Any ideas on my problems?

Thanks

Specs are

OS X v10.7.5
266 GHz Core i5
4GB 1067 MHz DDR3

I would suggest more RAM. Safari itself probably uses almost half of that. Others, please correct me if I am not even close on this.

OK, looks like you are on the highest available version of OS X Lion and have enough space on your HD.

Open up Activity Monitor and take a look at the memory usage with the apps you normally run running. Based on what you see here, a memory upgrade wouldn't be a bad idea..

The mid-2009 iMac 2.66GHz i5 can handle up to 16GB of memory and would be a great boost to your Mac which is showing a little of its age. Most here recommend OWC or Crucial for memory, both Mac Specialists. As a rule of thumb 8GB is ideal if you are not heavily into video or photo editing, then of course the 6GB would serve you better. In a month or two El Capitan, OS X.11, is to be released.

Suggest you consider upgrading, and it is to be a free upgrade. All you will need is an Apple ID to access and download from the App Store. Lion OS X.7 is no longer supported by Apple with security or general updates.

I just looked at OWC fr memory and the install procedure. Looks pretty easy. If I go with 16gb, should I get 4-4gb sticks or 2-8gb sticks? Since 16gb is the max, I would think 4-4gb sticks would be better just incase something goes sideways with one of them...thoughts?

Looks like I should update also...any ideas on how long it should take, or things o look out for?

Upgrade your RAM and when available, perform a clean install of El Capitan from a bootable flash drive after it is available. UTSSF on this Forum to learn how to make a bootable El Capitan flash drive...But before you start, a back up or 2 is advised.

Make that backup, when released download El Capitan and burn to a flash drive using LionDiskMakerX, boot from it like an old CD, leave Installer and go to Utilities and format the drive, back to installer and proceed. El Capitan is an improvement of Yosemite in the main so do not expect too many problems.

The Beta release of El Capitan is great with far less hassles than Yosemite, such as network connections and banking.

I'll have to read up on making a bootable flash drive. I use Carbonite for my back up...I'm guessing that is suitable? I also ave a 1tb USB hd that I can back up to.

UTSSF?

Not experienced with online backups but should just be great. Personally I use SuperDuper to an external SSD and FW800. How would you get access to the backups to do say Migration Assistant?

With Carbonite, all you have to do is d/l the program and select restore. It worked great a few years ago when Apple offered to replace my h/d because it may by defective.

UTSSF . . . Use The Stinkin' Search Function :Blushing:

Dogbreath said:

I would suggest more RAM. Safari itself probably uses almost half of that. Others, please correct me if I am not even close on this.

Click to expand...

Yes I agree.

Sounds like max ram and an OS X upgrade is in my future…thanks guys.

Well…i ordered 2 8mb sticks of ram from OWC…should be here today. The guy at OWC said I could go as high as 32mb. I was under the impression the limit was 16mb. My machine is a late 2009 model. any insight on ram limits? if 32mb is possible, can i use the 4mb thats in there now, along with the 16mb for a total of 20mb?

SleeperSS said:

The guy at OWC said I could go as high as 32mb. I was under the impression the limit was 16mb. My machine is a late 2009 model. any insight on ram limits?

Click to expand...

Yes…your Late 2009 iMac can be upgraded to as much as 32gig of ram.

SleeperSS said:

if 32mb is possible, can i use the 4mb thats in there now, along with the 16mb for a total of 20mb?

Click to expand...

Yes.

- Nick

Thanks…that's a bonus…the next question is…what goes in first…leave the 4mb where they are, or put the 2 8mb sticks in the first slots


I meant gb…not mb.

Doesn't matter. Put the new modules, and I am sure you meant 2 x 8GB, in positions 3 and 4, seating firmly.

About the 4 my RAM being insufficient: I am running Yosemite on a mid-2010 MacBook and don't see slow or beachballs. Suggests something else going on with the OP's computer, perhaps software issue?