Is this an OS or hardware problem?

[Randy B. Singer]

Doesn't OS X automatically defragment the disk as part of the operating system? When I switched from Windows to Mac I looked to buy a defragmenter and was told that it wasn't necessary and was done internally by the OS.

Yes...and no. Please read what I referenced:

Mac OS X Routine Maintenance
OS X Maintenance And Troubleshooting
Item #5 and note #1

 

[Mark F]

Ok, I've updated my profile and will take a look at OnyX to see what that is about.

Again, thanks to everyone for your help and suggestions. It was a life saver.

Mark

 

[pigoo3]

Ok, I've updated my profile...

Looks great!

- Nick

 

[dameatball]

Is this an OS or hardware problem

According to Apple my iMac can only handle 4 gig of RAM but i'v learned here that it can actually take more, maybe 6 or even 8 gigs. It's not the hassle, I'm sure I could change the RAM myself and even the hard disk. If not, I know people who could. The real problem is that I do a lot of Lightroom and Photoshop work and over the years each update has become more computationally demanding. The time it takes to render previews or to zoom in on enlarged portions of an image has grown to the point that it is sometimes riduculous. I think this is also a CPU issue as well as a RAM issue.

I am not swimming in money but I think I may have to bite the bullet. But not before the Fall.

OK then it is what I originally thought. Also you sort of answered one of the questions in terms of applications you use. Anything photo related, photoshop Aperture even iPhoto to some extent is ram intensive. You're going to need more ram to maneuver those programs. If your iMac is an older model that can't run more then 4gigs of ram, unfortunately you might be stuck where you're at. Most Mac's these days according to Apple can run 8gigs, and in all honesty some can actually run 16g. It would be worth your time to research your iMac's capabilities as adding more ram to a machine that can't handle it can be detrimental. If it can, then adding more ram is a cheap and easy solution and you would definiltey notice the difference with these programs.