MacbookPro slow and freezing after upgrade to Sierra

[Gonzalez49]

I have recently upgraded to Sierra. I also am running Parallels 12 and Windows 10. Since the upgrades my computer, a late 2011 MacBookPro, is either running very slow, or freezing. I spend a lot of time restarting the computer to try to get it going. Firefox frequently does not work. I have the impression that the computer is totally overloaded, the fan is almost always going full pelt.
Should I get rid of Windows 10 and Parallels 12, and replace my current Office suite with Office 365 for Mac?
I must say that I am rather fed up at the moment as I am wasting a helluva lot of time on the simplest operations.
Grateful for your help
Gonzalez49

 

[honestone]

I would say that is an excellent first step, to get rid of the Windows Partition created by Parallels. Just out of curiosity, why do you have a Windows partition?

Also, Office 2016 (via a direct purchase of the package, or the Office 365 subscription) should work fine. I believe Microsoft has done a super job in terms of making all the Office software across all platforms as compatible as possible.

By the way, Apple issued its second update to Sierra, OS 10.12.2, last week. You can get the Combo Updater from here:

https://support.apple.com/kb/dl1900?locale=en_US

Additionally, from what OS did you upgrade from, and did you upgrade "in place"? And, have you done any disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs? Finally, are you making backups of your Mac partition to an external device?

 

[Gonzalez49]

Thanks for your help. I have had the Windows partition since 2011 when I switched to Mac because I had some applications that at the time only were available on Windows. They all have a Mac version now so I don't need Windows, especially if it's slowing down the machine.

Yes, I run Clean My Mac regularly. And I back up the Mac on Time Machine.

I will now look carefully at what I have to do to uninstall Parallels and Windows without causing any damage.

Best regards

 

[honestone]

First of all, get rid of CleanMyMac! It does more harm than good. There are better products out there, and some of them are free. One of the best is the venerable, solid, and well-reviewed software entitled Onyx.

Another individual, in another thread, recently had issues restoring from a Time Machine backup, in that some "stuff" that was restored caused issues. So, that individual needed to revert to a clean installation of the Mac OS in order to get his machine to run again. I'm not saying that your backups are necessarily "bad", but it might be best to first do as much disk cleanup as you can on your own with the Mac partition, and then do some more with some other, more solid tools. A combination of the excellent freeware product called Onyx and Disk Utility is a good first attempt, but you might want to consider a more robust disk cleanup/maintenance/repair product like either TechTool Pro (which does a lot), or Disk Warrior. I run, in sequence, Onyx, TechTool Pro, and then SuperDuper! (for my backups) once a week for both of my Macs, and my backups are as "clean" as they can be. (I also am doing disk cleanup, on my own, every day, getting rid of stuff I do not need).

Once you insure that you have a "clean", recent backup (I guess via Time Machine), it might be best to just use Disk Utility (in an "isolated" manner) to Erase and Format (and if you desire, partition) your internal drive, then do a clean, "virgin" installation of Sierra, and then use Migration Assistant to "migrate"/copy needed "stuff (should be "clean") from your most recent Time Machine backup.

The only thing I am unaware of is if something first needs to be done separately with the Windows partition. The Parallels software, of course, is a Mac product, and you can just get rid of it (maybe retain a copy of it in another location on your disk, just in case). Maybe someone else will "chime" in here about that piece.

 

[Gonzalez49]

Thanks for your help. I don't mind getting rid of CleanMyMac, but why does it more harm than good? So far it's been alright, I think. I got it through Parallels.....
I suppose that the rest of the post is advice on how to up my Mac more effectively so that it runs more smoothly, I will try to work my way through it.

Again, thanks taking the trouble to respond to my request for help!

 

[honestone]

I have never used CleanMyMac (MacKeeper is another bad one), but I have seen comments from some other folks here that CleanMyMac causes issues. Again, Onyx does a lot of the same stuff, has been around a long, log time, is stable, and has had numerous positive reviews.

It might be best if you 1) wrote down a step by step plan on how you are going to proceed, and 2) post that plan here. "We" can then try and assist you more effectively. Also, here are the results of a google search I just did for "How to remove a Parallels/Windows partition from a Mac":

https://www.google.com/search?q=How....0..0.0....0...1c..64.serp..0.0.0.5mMgG-QANAs

I do not know if you need to go through all that "Parallels" stuff to remove the Virtual Machine from your Mac. I keep thinking that you can launch Disk Utility "externally" (ie, vie the (hidden) Recovery HD partition), launch Disk Utility there, select the "top" level for your hard drive, then do an Erase and Format. That should give you just one Mac partition. BUt, I am not 100% sure, as I have never doe this before.

 

[nevw]

First of all, get rid of CleanMyMac! It does more harm than good. There are better products out there, and some of them are free. One of the best is the venerable, solid, and well-reviewed software entitled Onyx.
A combination of the excellent freeware product called Onyx and Disk Utility is a good first attempt, but you might want to consider a more robust disk cleanup/maintenance/repair product like either TechTool Pro (which does a lot), or Disk Warrior. I run, in sequence, Onyx, TechTool Pro, and then SuperDuper! (for my backups) once a week for both of my Macs, and my backups are as "clean" as they can be. (I also am doing disk cleanup, on my own, every day, getting rid of stuff I do not need).

Once you insure that you have a "clean", recent backup (I guess via Time Machine), it might be best to just use Disk Utility (in an "isolated" manner) to Erase and Format (and if you desire, partition) your internal drive, then do a clean, "virgin" installation of Sierra, and then use Migration Assistant to "migrate"/copy needed "stuff (should be "clean") from your most recent Time Machine backup.

The only thing I am unaware of is if something first needs to be done separately with the Windows partition. The Parallels software, of course, is a Mac product, and you can just get rid of it (maybe retain a copy of it in another location on your disk, just in case). Maybe someone else will "chime" in here about that piece.

WHere are these Utilities available Onyx, Disk Utility, tech Tool Pro. TIA.

I had a similar problem but just verging on the annoying nature. eg Scroll down and there would be a pause for a second or two. I was going to post a topic but saw this .
I have a bit of a similar setup. eg Parallels. I need that for an accounting programme that I have had to 20 years and does everything I want, unfortunately no Mac version. I am not changing. ALl was working great until I loaded Sierra, the hesitation was there even with no Windows partition active. Saw the bit about the upgrade. Loaded that and all problems gone.

I have had computers since tape drive to run your programme, no monitor, just a printer, then a 5: Floppy drive 360 MB, then a HUGE 5 MB Hard drive, then the IBM Clones. RAM $100 MB. right through to today. For One particular job, 5 years ago, I could only use an Apple, after the job , I fiddled,got MACBOOK for my use and 2 years ago ditched the windows box.

 

[Gonzalez49]

I have never used CleanMyMac (MacKeeper is another bad one), but I have seen comments from some other folks here that CleanMyMac causes issues. Again, Onyx does a lot of the same stuff, has been around a long, log time, is stable, and has had numerous positive reviews.

It might be best if you 1) wrote down a step by step plan on how you are going to proceed, and 2) post that plan here. "We" can then try and assist you more effectively. Also, here are the results of a google search I just did for "How to remove a Parallels/Windows partition from a Mac":

https://www.google.com/search?q=How+to+remove+a+Parallels/Windows+partition+from+a+Mac&oq=How+to+remove+a+Parallels/Windows+partition+from+a+Mac&gs_l=serp.12...0.0.0.2218.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0....0...1c..64.serp..0.0.0.5mMgG-QANAs

I do not know if you need to go through all that "Parallels" stuff to remove the Virtual Machine from your Mac. I keep thinking that you can launch Disk Utility "externally" (ie, vie the (hidden) Recovery HD partition), launch Disk Utility there, select the "top" level for your hard drive, then do an Erase and Format. That should give you just one Mac partition. BUt, I am not 100% sure, as I have never doe this before.

Dear honestone,

Here is progress so far. CleanMyMac has been consigned to the bin and OnyX installed. The initial run of OnyX checking the startup disk found errors and told me that I should do a Command+R Restart. I tried that, but I didn't reach the OSX Recovery Disk Disk Utility. However, I ran the ordinary Disk Utility First Aid on the Macintosh HD which cleared out a lot of "Purgeable" items (though not all of them), and told me to shutdown and hold Command+R while switching the computer back on. I did that and reached the OSX Recovery Disk Utility screen. I clicked on the 4th heading "Erase and Repair" I think, and I tried First Aid on all the items there. All ran quickly and found no problems. There were no purgeable files there. I have run through this procedure a couple of times. I have just re-run the OnyX check of the startup disk again, and it still finds problems and asks me once again to do a Command+R Restart. I have not seen any Recovery or Repair buttons to click. One of the options in the bar that starts with First Aid is "Restore" which gives me the possibility to replace Macintosh HD with Base OSX. That scares me, so I haven't done that.

So far I have not done anything with Parallels, Windows10, or my Office 2016 apps, but I had already identified the same procedure that you have given me in the Google link. I think I am going to try to transfer Office 2016 and Windows 10 to an external hard disk and then will try to get rid of the Parallels partition and the virtual machine using the procedure identified.

I would be grateful if you can advise on the problem in the first para of this reply.

Many thanks!

 

[Gonzalez49]

A further point: I have just looked at the Maintenance tab in OnyX, and found this message under the Structure of the Disk

Error: -69845: File system verify or repair failed
Underlying error: 8: Exec format error

The disk needs to be repaired.

Does that help you?

Regards

 

[honestone]

WHere are these Utilities available Onyx, Disk Utility, tech Tool Pro. TIA.

I had a similar problem but just verging on the annoying nature. eg Scroll down and there would be a pause for a second or two. I was going to post a topic but saw this .
I have a bit of a similar setup. eg Parallels. I need that for an accounting programme that I have had to 20 years and does everything I want, unfortunately no Mac version. I am not changing. ALl was working great until I loaded Sierra, the hesitation was there even with no Windows partition active. Saw the bit about the upgrade. Loaded that and all problems gone.

I have had computers since tape drive to run your programme, no monitor, just a printer, then a 5: Floppy drive 360 MB, then a HUGE 5 MB Hard drive, then the IBM Clones. RAM $100 MB. right through to today. For One particular job, 5 years ago, I could only use an Apple, after the job , I fiddled,got MACBOOK for my use and 2 years ago ditched the windows box.

Onyx is available for free from here:

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

The version one would download depends upon the Mac OS they are using.

Disk Utility is Apple software, comes as part of the OS, and is located in the Utilities folder, which is inside the Applications folder.

Techtool Pro is a commercial (ie, costs money) program available here:

http://www.micromat.com/

I don't know what "TIA" is.

Regarding Sierra, prior to upgrading (I suspect you did that "in place"), did you insure that any third party software you have (including Parallels) was/is compatible with OS 10.12.x? That is critical.

 

[honestone]

A further point: I have just looked at the Maintenance tab in OnyX, and found this message under the Structure of the Disk

Error: -69845: File system verify or repair failed
Underlying error: 8: Exec format error

The disk needs to be repaired.

Does that help you?

Regards

It looks like you did quite a lot above, when you got rid of CleamMyMac, ran Onyx, ran Disk Utility, etc. As you saw though, it is necessary to restart your Mac and get to the hidden Recovery HD by holding down the Command and R keys. I am perplexed, though, by what you stated were the options available after selecting Disk Utility from the menu you got after booting to that Recovery HD partition. I myself have rarely needed to boot to that partition, as I have a more robust disk cleanup/maintenance/repair program with Techtool Pro. But, for Disk Utility, the options at the top of its screen are First Aid (actually involves checking for errors, and then if necessary, doing repairs), Partition, Erase, Restore, Mount, and Info. For the First Aid option, you need to do that at both the top (ie Volume) and Secondary (ie, Partition) levels. When I sign off today, I will boot to that partition and confirm that those choices are there.

OK, I just booted my MacBook Air to that Recovery HD partition (sure is slow! glad I have Techtool Pro!), selected Disk Utility, and those options I mentioned above did appear.

However, if even after all that, the message above appears, then you will need a more robust disk maintenance program to try and resolve that issue. When I did a search regarding that error "Underlying error: 8:Exec format error", I did get this one "hit":

https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/disk-utility-reporting-efi-partition-as-a-problem.205265/

It mentions that error is on the EFI partition. I actually do not know the purpose of that partition, but apparently it is critical. To repair your disk, you might need to purchase the most robust disk repair program of them all: Disk Warrior. Here is some information about it:

http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/

I guess there is the possibility that your internal disk is going bad, and that it will need to be replaced. By the way, was everything working fine prior to upgrading to Sierra?

And, when you state Office 2016, is that the Windows version?

 

[Gonzalez49]

It looks like you did quite a lot above, when you got rid of CleamMyMac, ran Onyx, ran Disk Utility, etc. As you saw though, it is necessary to restart your Mac and get to the hidden Recovery HD by holding down the Command and R keys. I am perplexed, though, by what you stated were the options available after selecting Disk Utility from the menu you got after booting to that Recovery HD partition. I myself have rarely needed to boot to that partition, as I have a more robust disk cleanup/maintenance/repair program with Techtool Pro. But, for Disk Utility, the options at the top of its screen are First Aid (actually involves checking for errors, and then if necessary, doing repairs), Partition, Erase, Restore, Mount, and Info. For the First Aid option, you need to do that at both the top (ie Volume) and Secondary (ie, Partition) levels. When I sign off today, I will boot to that partition and confirm that those choices are there.

OK, I just booted my MacBook Air to that Recovery HD partition (sure is slow! glad I have Techtool Pro!), selected Disk Utility, and those options I mentioned above did appear.

However, if even after all that, the message above appears, then you will need a more robust disk maintenance program to try and resolve that issue. When I did a search regarding that error "Underlying error: 8:Exec format error", I did get this one "hit":

https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/disk-utility-reporting-efi-partition-as-a-problem.205265/

It mentions that error is on the EFI partition. I actually do not know the purpose of that partition, but apparently it is critical. To repair your disk, you might need to purchase the most robust disk repair program of them all: Disk Warrior. Here is some information about it:

http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/

I guess there is the possibility that your internal disk is going bad, and that it will need to be replaced. By the way, was everything working fine prior to upgrading to Sierra?

And, when you state Office 2016, is that the Windows version?

Dear Honestone,

I have now got rid of the virtual machine running Windows 10, and Parallels. And I have downloaded Office 365 for Mac so that I can continue to use Word, Excel, etc. I cannot believe how much faster my MacBook Pro is! Once the machine has fully started up, I no longer get the dreaded coloured pizza turning, Firefox, Mail, etc open straightaway. And even my heavier applications (Lightroom, Kinsky) start up without delay. I no longer have the fan running hard. Why on earth did I not do this months ago?

The only problem that remains is that start-up is slow, and OnyX still finds that I need to repair the startup disk. I have done everything you say using the Recovery HD partition (I have become expert in getting that up!), but First Aid can find nothing to repair.

Now that the computer seems to be running efficiently once started up, I may wait until the New Year and take the machine in to our local Mac service firm and ask them to look at it. They are very good and have helped me in the past. I am confident that they will give me a correct analysis and will not just be trying to sell me a new internal disk - or a new MacBook.

Again, thanks for your help which has been really useful, and have a Merry Christmas! Don't spend too much time in front of the screen!

Gonzalez49

 

[honestone]

Glad I was able to help. In actuality, even with all the time and effort I put in to keeping my Macs "lean and clean", after installing Sierra (I did a fresh, "virgin" installation on both of my machines), startup is still "somewhat" slow, as is shutdown. A couple of my third party applications do launch some "stuff" at startup (called "daemons and agents" (there are also a number of such items loaded via the OS)), but I had those same ones with El Capitan (and Yosemite), and start-up and shut down was faster. And I have SSDs inside both of my Macs!

I see you use Apple's Mail program. Just out of curiosity, why not use Outlook 2016? I have been using Outlook for a number of years, first as part of Office 2011, and now Outlook 2016, and I have never had issues with it. I have seen, though, issues with Mail posted on these forums. But, if it works well for you, good.

I assume when you say "OnyX still finds that I need to repair the startup disk", that occurs right after you enter your password at the startup screen, at which point Onyx offers the opportunity to Verify the structure of the disk. I only run that the very first time Onyx starts at the very beginning of my weekly disk cleanup/maintenance/repair, and backup, tasks. It has never reported any issues with my disks (recently SSDs), although I also use TechTool Pro (mentioned below). I assume this link describes your machine:

http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...core-i5-2.4-13-late-2011-unibody-thunderbolt-

If that is the case, you have a (slow) 5400 rpm internal drive (HDD, not SSD)), so that slow rpm does contribute to your slow startup issues. But, I would venture to surmise that you need a more advanced disk maintenance/repair program like TechTool Pro to both do directory repairs/rebuilds, and defragment/optimize your internal drive. I have SSDs inside both of my Macs, and defragmentation/optimization no longer is needed (nor recommended) for such technology, but it is definitely helpful for HDDs. I have been using TechTool Pro for a number of years, through at least 6 Macs, and until recently, ones with HDDs, and I can tell you for a fact that it is an excellent utility, and much better than Disk Utility in terms of repairs and defragmentation/optimization. You might want to consider purchasing it, and trying it out before you take it to the shop. In fact, maybe it will "cure" your ills regarding what Onyx is telling you. Also, it would be an excellent addition to your software library. Here is information about that product:

http://www.micromat.com/

https://www.micromat.com/store

Yes, it is not "cheap", but well worth it. Usually, around this time of year, I have previously seen it on sale, but apparently not now.

One other thing about your internal drive I should mention. When I first purchased my late 2012 Mac Mini, it came with a 1 TB, 5400 rpm internal drive. Well, about 4 months later, I replaced that drive with a fast Samsung 840 Pro 256 gig SSD (I really did not need 1 TB!), and what an improvement! I felt like I had satisfied what Tom Cruise said in "Top Gun": "I feel the need, the need for speed!". Also, I enclosed that 1 TB drive inside a nice, slim Orico external enclosure, and it has come in handy whenever we travel. It is especially handy for me to watch movies, TV series, etc., on long flights (I use it with my 13" MacBook Air).

OK, I've said enough! You also have a Merry Christmas, and again I am glad I was able to assist you.

 

[nevw]

Onyx is available for free from here:

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

The version one would download depends upon the Mac OS they are using.

Disk Utility is Apple software, comes as part of the OS, and is located in the Utilities folder, which is inside the Applications folder.

Techtool Pro is a commercial (ie, costs money) program available here:

http://www.micromat.com/

I don't know what "TIA" is.

Regarding Sierra, prior to upgrading (I suspect you did that "in place"), did you insure that any third party software you have (including Parallels) was/is compatible with OS 10.12.x? That is critical.

TIA = Thanks in Advance.

Tanks ,
NN

 

[honestone]

TIA = Thanks in Advance.

Tanks ,
NN

As Arnie stated, "No Problemo".

 

[Ormond]

I have recently upgraded to Sierra. I also am running Parallels 12 and Windows 10. Since the upgrades my computer, a late 2011 MacBookPro, is either running very slow, or freezing.

Why not go back to the previous operating system that was working? Perhaps it's too late now, but for the future here's how you can avoid such issues.

Before you upgrade your OS, use an app like SuperDuper to copy your entire Mac over to an external hard drive.

Then update the OS, and spend some time experimenting with your most common apps. Give it a week or two perhaps.

If you run in to problems like you describe, just copy your old setup back over to your Mac from the backup drive, and all the new problems go away.

New releases of OSX are typically problematic, it's usually wise to avoid the first versions of any major upgrade. If you wait awhile until version .6 or .7 etc, there's less chance of issues.

 

[honestone]

Why not go back to the previous operating system that was working? Perhaps it's too late now, but for the future here's how you can avoid such issues.

The largest bottleneck Gonzalez49 had was having a Windows partition and using the Parallels software, along with Windows 10. Such a setup inherently leads to a slower running machine. Besides trying to take care of the Windows partition with maintenance, it is even more imperative to do such tasks with the Mac partition.

In prior "days", there were only Windows versions of a good amount of software, and that was the reason for his need to have a Windows partition. But, that is no longer necessary for most folks, and thus getting rid of that partition (and Parallels) makes a HUGE difference. Yes, there is the possibility that using a program such as Parallels with Sierra is somewhat problematic, but I have not seen any postings at all about such issues (another excellent product similar to Parallels is VMware Fusion, and then of course there is Apple's own Boot Camp. Again, have not seen any reports of issues with either of those).

Before you upgrade your OS, use an app like SuperDuper to copy your entire Mac over to an external hard drive.

Then update the OS, and spend some time experimenting with your most common apps. Give it a week or two perhaps.

If you run in to problems like you describe, just copy your old setup back over to your Mac from the backup drive, and all the new problems go away.

That's good advice, especially since SuperDuper! creates a bootable clone. It's almost as good as having another machine.

New releases of OSX are typically problematic, it's usually wise to avoid the first versions of any major upgrade. If you wait awhile until version .6 or .7 etc, there's less chance of issues.

I've heard pros and cons about installing an initial release of a new OS, along with waiting for V1 and/or V2 to come out. Myself, I have not recently upgraded until V1 was available (for El Capitan and Sierra), and that was because a couple of my critical third party apps were not upgraded until after the initial release of the OS. Before that, I went with the initial OS release (Yosemite, Mountain Lion, etc.), and never had serious issues.

I still believe that most issues can be avoided by sticking to a plan to 1) do daily disk cleanup, and 2) do weekly disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs, and backups. Yes, that is what I do, but it has served me well. There is, of course, the chance that hardware itself goes bad, and that does happen, no matter how much "software-related" stuff one does. (The same is true for automobiles). But, at least the method I use allows me to use my machines in just about a trouble-free manner, and in sone cases, leading to hardware lasting longer. Probably the (so far) most rock solid piece of hardware I have is my trusty old Sony 19" monitor. I have had it since February 2004, and it still looks wonderful (I am using it right now, with my Mac Mini, as I type this).

 

[Gonzalez49]

Glad I was able to help. In actuality, even with all the time and effort I put in to keeping my Macs "lean and clean", after installing Sierra (I did a fresh, "virgin" installation on both of my machines), startup is still "somewhat" slow, as is shutdown. A couple of my third party applications do launch some "stuff" at startup (called "daemons and agents" (there are also a number of such items loaded via the OS)), but I had those same ones with El Capitan (and Yosemite), and start-up and shut down was faster. And I have SSDs inside both of my Macs!

I see you use Apple's Mail program. Just out of curiosity, why not use Outlook 2016? I have been using Outlook for a number of years, first as part of Office 2011, and now Outlook 2016, and I have never had issues with it. I have seen, though, issues with Mail posted on these forums. But, if it works well for you, good.

I assume when you say "OnyX still finds that I need to repair the startup disk", that occurs right after you enter your password at the startup screen, at which point Onyx offers the opportunity to Verify the structure of the disk. I only run that the very first time Onyx starts at the very beginning of my weekly disk cleanup/maintenance/repair, and backup, tasks. It has never reported any issues with my disks (recently SSDs), although I also use TechTool Pro (mentioned below). I assume this link describes your machine:

http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...core-i5-2.4-13-late-2011-unibody-thunderbolt-

If that is the case, you have a (slow) 5400 rpm internal drive (HDD, not SSD)), so that slow rpm does contribute to your slow startup issues. But, I would venture to surmise that you need a more advanced disk maintenance/repair program like TechTool Pro to both do directory repairs/rebuilds, and defragment/optimize your internal drive. I have SSDs inside both of my Macs, and defragmentation/optimization no longer is needed (nor recommended) for such technology, but it is definitely helpful for HDDs. I have been using TechTool Pro for a number of years, through at least 6 Macs, and until recently, ones with HDDs, and I can tell you for a fact that it is an excellent utility, and much better than Disk Utility in terms of repairs and defragmentation/optimization. You might want to consider purchasing it, and trying it out before you take it to the shop. In fact, maybe it will "cure" your ills regarding what Onyx is telling you. Also, it would be an excellent addition to your software library. Here is information about that product:

http://www.micromat.com/

https://www.micromat.com/store

Yes, it is not "cheap", but well worth it. Usually, around this time of year, I have previously seen it on sale, but apparently not now.

One other thing about your internal drive I should mention. When I first purchased my late 2012 Mac Mini, it came with a 1 TB, 5400 rpm internal drive. Well, about 4 months later, I replaced that drive with a fast Samsung 840 Pro 256 gig SSD (I really did not need 1 TB!), and what an improvement! I felt like I had satisfied what Tom Cruise said in "Top Gun": "I feel the need, the need for speed!". Also, I enclosed that 1 TB drive inside a nice, slim Orico external enclosure, and it has come in handy whenever we travel. It is especially handy for me to watch movies, TV series, etc., on long flights (I use it with my 13" MacBook Air).

OK, I've said enough! You also have a Merry Christmas, and again I am glad I was able to assist you.

Hi, me again!

In separate posts you have recommended 2 disk repair software products, DiskWarrior 5 and TechTool Pro 9. I have checked both out on the internet and I see that both get good reports, and both cost more or less the same. They work rather differently, I understand. If I were to buy only one of them, which would you recommend I go for?

Regards, Gonzalez49

 

[honestone]

The "common" features between both programs are 1) Repairing Permissions (although I use Onyx for that), and 2) Directory Repair. TechTool Pro, though, has some other tasks, like checking memory, checking video memory, sensors testing, fans testing, Volume and File Structures testing, checking partitions structures, and Surface Scan (and for laptops, checking the battery).

As I mentioned, I had heard that Disk Warrior can fix some problems that other software can't, but I have never experienced it. If you are meticulous about doing disk cleanup, maintenance, and repairs (you certainly have backups covered!), TechTool Pro will satisfy your needs, in terms of assisting with disk cleanup, maintenance, and repairs. The other things it does are for the most part "fluff", but I run those tests anyway.

Again, for me, Onyx, TechTool Pro and SuperDuper! are perfect. As I mentioned before, I am a stickler regarding disk cleanup, maintenance, and repairs. But, one cannot go wrong with Disk Warrior. I have read that some folks have both products, although that might be overkill. Still, such folks swear by them.

 

[Jigs]

I have recently upgraded to Sierra. I also am running Parallels 12 and Windows 10. Since the upgrades my computer, a late 2011 MacBookPro, is either running very slow, or freezing. I spend a lot of time restarting the computer to try to get it going. Firefox frequently does not work. I have the impression that the computer is totally overloaded, the fan is almost always going full pelt.
Should I get rid of Windows 10 and Parallels 12, and replace my current Office suite with Office 365 for Mac?
I must say that I am rather fed up at the moment as I am wasting a helluva lot of time on the simplest operations.
Grateful for your help
Gonzalez49

You may have solved this problem already, but it's important to note that whenever you upgrade to macOS that you must let the machine "settle" for a period of hours to days before performance is returned to normal. There is a lot going on under the covers (spotlight, iCloud desktop / documents, etc.) that takes sometime to complete. Don't get rid of PD 12 and your Windows VM, as this is still the best way to run Windows apps, and Office for Mac is just terrible anyway.