El Capitan VERY slow even in safe mode

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I upgraded to El Capitan about ten days ago; everything was fine until today. It took about 20-30 mins to start up; even then, I got the beachball every time I tried to do anything. I checked Activity Monitor - no CPU hogs. I ran Disk Utility to fix permissions - no change. I cleared caches, checked extensions, checked log-in items - no change. I started in Safe Mode - exactly the same problem. Applications take ages to open, and the beachball comes up whenever I try to do anything.

I searched for similar problems but didn't find much that could help, since I know very little about computers ... can someone help me find a way to diagnosis and/or fix this problem?
 
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First, are you using the latest version of El Capitan, OS 10.11.1?

Secondly, what specific Mac Model do you have?

Third, the version of Disk Utility in OS 10.11.x does not have the Repair Permissions feature anymore. If you still want to do that (I recommend you do), you can use the excellent freeware product Onyx. You can get the latest version from here:

http://www.titanium.free.fr/onyx.html

Make sure you get Version 3.1.2, the first one on that link. That version is specifically for El Capitan.

If you have a bootable backup (via something like SuperDuper!) on an external device, you can use Disk Utility there to 1) Verify and Repair the Volume (ie, top level for your internal drive), and 2) Verify and Repair each visible partition (ie, next level for your internal drive). If you don't have it on an external drive, you can boot to the Recovery Partition on your drive and run Disk Utility from there. This link discusses that partition:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201314

I myself do a meticulous job every week cleaning off unneeded stuff on my SSD (for both of my machines; also during the week), and then using the excellent third party software TechTool to "check out" each SSD. Disk Utility will do a few of the same tasks, but TechTool Pro does so much more. Still though, I am finding that El Capitan does take a little longer to boot up (not very much longer), and also to shut down (somewhat "noticeable"). I've looked in the Start Up and Shut Down folders, and have nothing at all there (that I can see).

Finally, there is an updated version of El Capitan, OS 10.11.2, that is currently in beta testing. Not sure if it will improve performance, though.
 

Cory Cooper

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Hello and welcome.

My guess would be that you have some third-party software, maybe an anti-virus app or MacKeeper/CleanMyMac, that needs an update to be compatible. Also, check to make sure you have ample free hard drive space.

C
 
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Thanks for replying, C. I've never put any third-party stuff like that on this Mac; I have used only about 150GB of 400+GB on the hard drive. Anything else I should look for?
 

Cory Cooper

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No worries.

As honestone asked - which exact model Mac? I assume this is a conventional HD, not an SSD?

C
 
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Thanks for replying, C. I've never put any third-party stuff like that on this Mac; I have used only about 150GB of 400+GB on the hard drive. Anything else I should look for?

Sometimes "rogue" software like MacKeeper (real bad program, to say the least!) can "sneak" its way onto a machine. So, you should do a search just to make sure it is not there. Same for CleanMyMac.
 
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Sometimes "rogue" software like MacKeeper (real bad program, to say the least!) can "sneak" its way onto a machine. So, you should do a search just to make sure it is not there. Same for CleanMyMac.
Are you saying cleanmymac is bad, I've got that on my screen asking me to update but haven't done as I couldn't ever remember downloading it, should I delete it?
 
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I "jumped" the gun about CleanMyMac. I just read a review of it, and it seems to be OK. But, one can do all its tasks with other free software.
 
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I'm glad I didn't take El Capitan based on your comments, Maxiko. As well, I made the very unfortunate mistake of taking Yosemite and it has caused nothing but grief.

Apple did a very bad thing: it won't allow you to go back once you have Yosemite in your computer. For my experience, it's a disaster. If I hadn't taken the bait, if I still had Mavericks, all would be well.

I'm going to write to Apple and try to get them to allow Mavericks as they should take the responsibility for causing a lot of problems to a lot of people. After all, they have a product that millions are addicted to and can well afford to provide what their customers need.
 
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Janet,

If you have an external way of "booting" your machine, you could get back to Mavericks. What it would involve would be:

1. Having another Mac that has a Firewire 800 port. (Your Mac would need to have one also).

2. Connecting both Macs via the Firewire 800 cable.

3. Boot the other Mac.

4. Start up your Mac in Target Disk Mode.

Do you have any kind of backup at all? That is critical.

What would result is that your Mac's internal drive would appear on the other Mac's desktop. You could then use Disk Utility on the other Mac to Erase and Format (and if necessary, partition) your internal drive, install Mavericks (OS 10.9.5 was the last (and final) version, and then use Migration Assistant to "migrate"/copy all the non-system stuff from the backup to your Mac.

Also, whenever one wants to upgrade to a newer OS, it does take some time and effort to get ready for it. Like cleaning off unnecessary stuff, insuring that the health of one's internal drive is good, making a backup, and having the upgrades for all third party software one uses for compatibility with the new OS. Myself, besides the issue of OS 10.11.1 coming out in beta testing, almost 8 weeks before OS 10.11 was released, and having to wait for one of my critical applications to be upgraded, I went from OS 10.10.5 to OS 10.11.1 without any hitches. But, it did take effort on my part.
 
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I upgraded to El Capitan about ten days ago; everything was fine until today. It took about 20-30 mins to start up; even then, I got the beachball every time I tried to do anything. I checked Activity Monitor - no CPU hogs. I ran Disk Utility to fix permissions - no change. I cleared caches, checked extensions, checked log-in items - no change. I started in Safe Mode - exactly the same problem. Applications take ages to open, and the beachball comes up whenever I try to do anything.

I searched for similar problems but didn't find much that could help, since I know very little about computers ... can someone help me find a way to diagnosis and/or fix this problem?
Hi sorry to say but what you're describing looks like a dying hard disk. If this HD is more than five years I would definitely change as soon as possible make a backup.
 

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