Imac freezing up at least once a day x 4 days

[denyclark]

I have Imac 2008 model, running OS X ElCapitan 10.11.3. 2.66 GHz intel core 2 duo, Memory 4GB 800 Mhz DDR2 Sdram. Evaluated at genius bar on 3/916. Malwarebytes scan run. cleaned up computer but did not find anything wrong with it. They did remove Avast saying that was not needed & often caused freezes or slow performance. (this was put on by computer repair place telling me I needed it. I live 1 1/2 hrs away from apple store now. I bought a wireless Magic mouse & keyboard as my original seemed to be wearing out. Trouble free til 3/16. cancelled print & screen lock up.
317 reading how to avoid face book scams & it locked up, restarted & went blank
4/4 locked up while doing searches on safari
4/5 on facebook - locked up
4/6 on a trusted website - locked up
4/7 reading an email & froze wouldn't let me delete the email. then I tried to close email & suddenly it responded.

I have been clearing the cache file & running the Malwarebytes anti- ad malmware once a week since the 9th. nothing showing up. I read on Mac forum about using the onyx for clean up & repair permissions as better then disk utility.
I just tried to download that to see if that would help but my computer said security setting would not allow me to do it as it wasn't from mac store or trusted source.

I don't know what to do next? is it time to just replace the computer. I will if I have to but don't want to if not necessary.
thank you

 

[honestone]

Sorry to hear you are still having issues. It does sound like a possible issue with your internal drive, but there could also be some software problems. So, I am going to pose a couple of questions for you to answer, and that will help in trying to resolve your issue/issues.

First, have you been making any backups to an external device?

Secondly, do you have either MacKeeper or CleanMyMac installed? If you do, get rid of them immediately!

Third, to confirm that the genius bar got rid of all "pieces" of Avast, use Spotlight to do a search of "Avast".

Fourth, regarding Onyx, you can get it installed. What you need to do is after you get that message about "trusted" source, go to the Security & Privacy Preference pan, and there should be an option there to allow you to install Onyx anyway. If not, first click on the lock "icon", enter your admin password, and then click on "Mac App Store and identified developers". If that still does not let you install it, then click on "Anywhere". That last one will definitely let you install it, but after you are done with the installation, go back to that Preference Pan, click on the lock icon again, enter you admin password, and then click on "Mac App Store and identified developers".

Now, yes, Onyx is better at repairing permissions, and also has some useful clean up tasks, but it does not perform extensive disk repairs. Disk Utility does, but you'll need to boot it in an "isolated" way. You can do that, but we first need the answer to the first question about backups before going any further.

What would even be better is if you had a more robust disk maintenance/repair program like either TechTool Pro or Disk Warrior. I can definitely attest to how useful TechTool Pro is.

Fifth, after you get everything fixed, El Capitan is up to version 10.11.4. You can get the OS 10.11.4 Combo Updater from here:

https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1869?locale=en_US

 

[denyclark]

1. yes I have external back up device as well as time machine.
2. no mackeeper or clean my mac
3. spotlight does not find avast so I guess its gone
4. I have not tried what you said to get Onys because if Tech Tool Pro is better perhaps I'll just go with that. Do I buy that from mac store? free download?
5. I have been updating whenever I get a notice - must have missed one. will wait til #4 dealt with before I try to update.

What next now you have the above info? thank you

 

[denyclark]

PS do I have to be techy to use the Tech tool Pro - I am not.

 

[honestone]

Thanks for the replies. They are helpful.

OK, given you have a backup, it's best to try the following:

1. Install and run Onyx.

2. After Onyx is done, boot to the hidden Recovery HD partition so that you can run Disk Utility from there. This link explains how to get to that partition, and what it allows you to do:

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

As you can see, one of the tasks that can be done is "Verify and repair connected drives using Disk Utility".

Now, TechTool Pro is not free, as it costs $99 (recently Micromat had a sale of $39.95 for it). And, you would get it from here:

https://www.micromat.com/store

It's not difficult to use, but I (and others) can help you with it, if and when you get it.

For now, though, perform the steps above and let us know the results.

 

[denyclark]

after several attempts I was able to do what you described. had to got to security & unlock in order to download Onyx. first 2 times I tried this once I had moved Onyx to applications which is what it said to do to install I then moved the icon on desktop to trash thinking I no longer needed. got "the alias " onyx 3.1.5 can't be opened because the original item can't be found." 3rd try I left the icon on desk top & was able to open - ran Structure of disk verification ok, cleaning done under cleaning tab ok, did restart of computer with command R key held down til apple logo appeared & got the osx utilities & chose "disk utility" then 1st aid & ran that ok.
restarted computer. When it came back up I went back to applications & onyx & even though I still had the icon on my desktop I got the same "the alias " onyx 3.1.5 can't be opened because the original item can't be found." I don't understand why this is happening. its like its not really installed. Am I doing something wrong. I have not yet put the security lock back on. Will I have to do the download from the site with the unlock etc every time I use Onyx? something does not seem right.
thanks

 

[honestone]

That should not be the case for Onyx. To install Onyx, the installer file does not need to be in the Applications folder. All you should need to do is double click on the installer, and I believe it then tells you to drag the application itself to the Applications folder. Once it is there, make the alias yourself (from the File menu in the Finder), and then drag that alias to the dock. That is what I did the first time I installed Onyx (been quite a while ago, as I just perform the necessary upgrades by dragging the updated version to the Applications folder, and it replaces the prior version. Don't need to do anything with the icon in the Dock, as it just points to the Onyx app inside the Applications folder).

More importantly, did running Disk Utility from the Recovery HD partition resolve your issue/issues? If it did, great (and you can wait for TechTool Pro to be on sale. Typically, Micromat has such a sale around Christmas, but once in a while at other times of the year). If not, then maybe you need to consider getting TechTool Pro. Of course, you could also next try and boot to the Recovery HD partition, use Disk Utility there to Erase and Format your internal drive (and partition it, if necessary), and then use the "Install or reinstall OS X" feature on that Recovery HD partition to install a fresh, clean, "virgin" version of El Capitan (not sure which version that will be). If it is 10.11, 10.11.1, 10.11.2, or 10.11.3, you can then get the OS 10.11.4 Combo updater via the link I described above.

Note also that you can perform a "Restore your Mac from a Time Machine backup" from that Recovery HD partition. The problem, though, is that something on the backup could cause recurrence of the issue/issues you previously had. So, I am not sure which is the best and "cleanest/safest" way to get your stuff back.

No matter how you get your current issue/issues resolved, besides making frequent backups, it would be wise to perform periodic disk maintenance/repairs. Using Onyx is good, and then running Disk Utility (or TechTool Pro) next would be wise. It would also be good to do whatever disk cleanup you can do on your own. Myself, besides removing stuff I no longer need on just about a daily basis, I also perform a weekly disk cleanup/maintenance/repair, and backup, process once a week for both of my Macs. In this way, I keep both of my Macs "lean and clean", and rarely have issues.

 

[denyclark]

I did not make myself clear I guess. I did double click on installer file & dragged it to applications folder as it told me too. I went back & tried creating the alias as you suggested & it still won't open says " alias can't be opened because original can't be found." I didn't delete original so I don't know why I get the message.
I may not know for a few days if issue is resolved or not as the freeze up has happened once or twice a day. will see if that stops. It has not done it since I did the things you suggested but not enough time to tell yet. reinstalling the system is not something I want to attempt. genius bar did that once for me about 3 years ago & it fixed the issue for a long time. The scans & clean up did not detect any issue today. so who knows?
I have cleaned a lot off the computer & will continue to be more consistent with that but I have like 219 GB free out of 319 so its definitely not overfull.
Appreciate your input. will see if freeze issue returns.

 

[honestone]

I feel like a complete jerk, dennyclark! I should have known that using the "Alias" method, the alias needs to remain on the desktop (or in another folder). To get something into the dock, you just drag the application itself to the dock, and then it will work. Don't worry, the original application still remains in the Applications folder.

Again, sorry for me having a "senior moment"! Also, how are things progressing, regarding the issues you had? Hopefully, they are cleared up.

 

[denyclark]

Since I downloaded onyx & ran the disk cleanup even though it said it wasn't finding anything my computer has now been freeze free for the last 3 1/2 days after freezing once or twice a day. So hope that continues. Thanks

 

[honestone]

That's wonderful news, dennyclark! Going forward, it would be good to run Onyx and Disk Utility (via the Recovery HD partition) once a week, say every Saturday. Also, you should still consider purchasing TechTool Pro, when it is on sale.