Slow 2017 27 iMac , for seemingly no reason

[Benweimy]

I purchased my 2017 27” iMac brand new and was over the moon with it. I’ve done a lot of photography stuff on it, and recently moved to drone footage editing, installing Resolve 18. I have now started to avoid using it due to the frustrating issues below.

Before Resolve install, it started to slow down, intermittently seemingly just stop operating and also (I think it’s linked) the Apple mouse and Apple keyboard would lose signal for a period of time, reconnecting all by themselves. I tried resetting the PRAM, SMC and NV whatever it’s called.

Research suggested a full hard drive as the issue - it is 52% used or so. It’s a 500Gb hybrid/fusion drive.

Then I thought the standard RAM was all being used up. Running the system checker I found it was being fairly well hammered, so I purchased and installed 32Gb making it 40Gb. No real change, except for what I thought was a fix, but it all returned.

The system monitor shows no applications using network, memory or CPU at a high load when it all happens. However, it’s like a program is running in the background and not showing up on the monitor….as well as kicking my mouse and keyboard offline and then reconnecting.

can anyone help?

 

[TonyAguila]

I purchased my 2017 27” iMac brand new and was over the moon with it. I’ve done a lot of photography stuff on it, and recently moved to drone footage editing, installing Resolve 18. I have now started to avoid using it due to the frustrating issues below.

Before Resolve install, it started to slow down, intermittently seemingly just stop operating and also (I think it’s linked) the Apple mouse and Apple keyboard would lose signal for a period of time, reconnecting all by themselves. I tried resetting the PRAM, SMC and NV whatever it’s called.

Research suggested a full hard drive as the issue - it is 52% used or so. It’s a 500Gb hybrid/fusion drive.

Then I thought the standard RAM was all being used up. Running the system checker I found it was being fairly well hammered, so I purchased and installed 32Gb making it 40Gb. No real change, except for what I thought was a fix, but it all returned.

The system monitor shows no applications using network, memory or CPU at a high load when it all happens. However, it’s like a program is running in the background and not showing up on the monitor….as well as kicking my mouse and keyboard offline and then reconnecting.

can anyone help?

First thing I would suggest is to reinstall macOS. The specs on your model indicates it originally came with macOS Sierra but it should be able to run the latest version, Ventura. It’s also odd that this iMac18,3 should have come with a minimum of 1TB fusion drive, not 500 GB.

As always, you need to have a good backup of all your data before performing any major update. A fairly easy and affordable is to get an external SSD to (1) install a newer version of macOS and run it as your startup drive, and (2) to have your original, internal drive as a backup in case anything goes wrong. A 2 terabyte external SSD should be affordable at this stage.

Looks like you are all set as far as memory is concerned. But let me remind you of the importance of a reliable backup, preferably Time Machine, before doing any major update/upgrade to your system.

 

[Benweimy]

First thing I would suggest is to reinstall macOS. The specs on your model indicates it originally came with macOS Sierra but it should be able to run the latest version, Ventura. It’s also odd that this iMac18,3 should have come with a minimum of 1TB fusion drive, not 500 GB.

As always, you need to have a good backup of all your data before performing any major update. A fairly easy and affordable is to get an external SSD to (1) install a newer version of macOS and run it as your startup drive, and (2) to have your original, internal drive as a backup in case anything goes wrong. A 2 terabyte external SSD should be affordable at this stage.

Looks like you are all set as far as memory is concerned. But let me remind you of the importance of a reliable backup, preferably Time Machine, before doing any major update/upgrade to your system.

Thanks for the reply. I have the most up to date OS but will reinstall it. I have wondered if it was the Microsoft Office products causing me the pain.

I may have been wrong on the HD size, I was going by my terrible memory!

I use iCloud for my back up - I’ve always had issues with TimeMachine on my local NAS and thought iCloud covered it off - am I wrong or missing something?

 

[TonyAguila]

Thanks for the reply. I have the most up to date OS but will reinstall it. I have wondered if it was the Microsoft Office products causing me the pain.

I may have been wrong on the HD size, I was going by my terrible memory!

I use iCloud for my back up - I’ve always had issues with TimeMachine on my local NAS and thought iCloud covered it off - am I wrong or missing something?

Good. Reinstalling macOS serves to refresh your system files since they are vulnerable to getting corrupted with use. Sometimes I reinstall just for the heck of it, as soon as things don’t feel right. The current version of Ventura is 13.6 but the app store is still offering version 13.5.1. I assume 13.6 that I’m using is an RC version, being a registered beta tester.

Depending on the amount of data you have, you might get away with using cloud backup, but Time Machine, by virtue of its nomenclature, really acts as a “time machine.” It allows you to restore files to their status hours back for the day, or days back from months ago. It will also delete the oldest backups as your backup drive gets filled.

I just purchased a pair of 12 terabyte hard drives for Time Machine. I run them in tandem, alternating every hour. When I was using 8 terabytes drives, they are usually good for keeping a year’s worth of data. With 12 terabytes, that should extend to about 18 months. I can’t even imagine how I would be able to back my data to the cloud. I do have terabytes of cloud storage from Microsoft, Apple, Google, Dropbox, and a couple of others, but I use them mainly for ease of sharing files, not storing.

Let me know how reinstalling macOS works for you. And consider getting an external SSD to run macOS. It could make the difference. Keep in mind, those items are returnable from most sources, no questions asked. I have four large external SSDs connected to my Mac and I haven’t had to return any of them so far.

And for anyone interested, Sonoma will come out soon. So far, it’s a dream compared to Ventura. Really quick!

 

[MacsBug]

From my experience with the 2017 iMacs, if they have a fusion or rotational drive they will become very slow due to the wear and tear that APFS puts on rotational drives.

What I have done on mine is I use an external SSD as the boot drive and then use the internal for extra storage. The 2017 comes with 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports and I use a Sandisk Pro-G40 SSD. The difference is night and day. the Pro-G40 reads and writes near 3000mb/s.

As Tony has stated, having a solid backup is just as important.

 

[Benweimy]

Good. Reinstalling macOS serves to refresh your system files since they are vulnerable to getting corrupted with use. Sometimes I reinstall just for the heck of it, as soon as things don’t feel right. The current version of Ventura is 13.6 but the app store is still offering version 13.5.1. I assume 13.6 that I’m using is an RC version, being a registered beta tester.

Depending on the amount of data you have, you might get away with using cloud backup, but Time Machine, by virtue of its nomenclature, really acts as a “time machine.” It allows you to restore files to their status hours back for the day, or days back from months ago. It will also delete the oldest backups as your backup drive gets filled.

I just purchased a pair of 12 terabyte hard drives for Time Machine. I run them in tandem, alternating every hour. When I was using 8 terabytes drives, they are usually good for keeping a year’s worth of data. With 12 terabytes, that should extend to about 18 months. I can’t even imagine how I would be able to back my data to the cloud. I do have terabytes of cloud storage from Microsoft, Apple, Google, Dropbox, and a couple of others, but I use them mainly for ease of sharing files, not storing.

Let me know how reinstalling macOS works for you. And consider getting an external SSD to run macOS. It could make the difference. Keep in mind, those items are returnable from most sources, no questions asked. I have four large external SSDs connected to my Mac and I haven’t had to return any of them so far.

And for anyone interested, Sonoma will come out soon. So far, it’s a dream compared to Ventura. Really quick!

Great thanks. I have an old drive that I put into a case and run as a 4k video storage drive, thinking it would free up some space and maybe help. I’ll look at getting the SSD for the start up drive though - sounds like a major solution. Any reason not to install an SSD inside as the startup drive? Having a drive and cable flopping around the gaff seems a bit messy.

it’s weird as after bot using it for some time the Mac started up and ran like a dream for about 10 mins yesterday…..and then did the spinning wheel thing. About then the youngest complained of the wifi having issues which has happened before when I’m on the Mac.

in my previous research it seemed like my issues matched a kernel issue? I’ve also had WindowServer error message on restart.

I think I’ll start reusing the NAS as the TimeMachine device.

I appreciate the advice from you both.

 

[Benweimy]

So, the MacOS reinstall didn’t do anything. I”m going to buy an external SSD as suggested above. My concern is that if the Fusion Drive is on its way out, then won’t it take just as long to get my data on there and still fall over? The SSD part can’t be worn out and that’s where my OS is.

And my old Buffalo NAS won’t set up as the TimeMachine device, even though it has a TM area from the last time. But that’s lower priority.

 

[TonyAguila]

So, the MacOS reinstall didn’t do anything. I”m going to buy an external SSD as suggested above. My concern is that if the Fusion Drive is on its way out, then won’t it take just as long to get my data on there and still fall over? The SSD part can’t be worn out and that’s where my OS is.

And my old Buffalo NAS won’t set up as the TimeMachine device, even though it has a TM area from the last time. But that’s lower priority.

If you’re willing to invest a bit more on the external SSD, I recommend getting an NVMe drive. You have Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) so it will work very well. I have two external NVMe SSDs, four terabytes each, and I couldn’t be happier. It will cost a bit more than the USB-A external SSDs like the SanDisk or Samsung T5 or T7, but the performance and durability will be much better.

Check out, on Amazon, the ACASIS Tool-free 40Gbps M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure (right now going for about $100—that’s low. I paid more than $150 for mine). And for the SSD, the Western Digital BLACK SN850X NVMe—either the 2TB or 4TB, also going for the lowest prices I’ve seen, and I previously bought three of the 4TB drives. I plan to get another set to give to my son for his Mac mini. The SanDisk and Samsung T5 and T7 have heating problems because of the “protective” cases they come in, which don’t allow for good heat dissipation for the SSDs.

I have a couple of NAS servers here which I don’t use for backup because of the slow speeds. I have a couple of Thunderbolt 3 4-drive enclosures that house my external drives and SATA SSDs. Don’t even think about the Fusion drive. You can conduct all your business from the external SSD. I have Monterey, Ventura (beta and non-beta), and Sonoma all running in their own APFS volumes in those two SSDs, all coexisting happily. My main system, Ventura, is still running from the internal SSD of the Studio.