Unwanted Software and Severe OS Slowdowns

[Dev]

Good morning!

I joined to see if I can get some help with a couple of issues I'm having. First is that the Geek Squad installed their LogMeInRescue software when they helped me last month with a Webroot issue. I've removed that software by trashing it and emptying my trash, but it still launches on startup every time I restart. Would anyone be able to help me identify steps to kill it for good?

Next, every day or so, my entire OS slows down horribly. It'll run just fine for about 24 hours after a restart, and then all I see for up to ten minutes at a time - even when doing something simple like switching the active app - is that awful spinny prismacolor wheel. I tried searching for my doctor's phone number this morning while it was behaving like this, and it took a full two minutes for the text I typed to even begin to appear in the search box.

When this happens, I have to force quit all open apps - usually there are only five of them - and restart, after which it goes back to normal for roughly a day. Then we start the dance all over again. The Cmd-Opt-Esc method of bringing up the force quit menu takes a good five minutes to process, and if I don't do this before the restart, the problem isn't solved when it comes back up. (Force quit is required because when the Mac does this the dock stops responding entirely.)

For reference, I'm using an iMac from late 2015, running OS X 10.12.6.

Any pointers anyone can give me for either issue will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
-Dev

 

[honestone]

If you still had that LogMeInRescue software on your machine, you could use the excellent free application AppCleaner, available from here:

https://freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/

It works great, and i have used quite a few times to get rid of an app and just about all its associated files.

Short of that, you can try and do a search of either that entire "string" "LogMeInRescue", or part of it, to try and find any left over files. I don't use Spotlight, preferring the excellent (and free!) application EasyFind, available form here:

http://www.devontechnologies.com/products/freeware.html

Now, a couple of more questions:

1. What exact late 2015 iMac model do you have? There seems to be 2 of them:

21.5" Model: https://everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/specs/imac-core-i5-1.6-21-inch-aluminum-late-2015-specs.html

27" Model: https://everymac.com/systems/apple/...-inch-aluminum-retina-5k-late-2015-specs.html

2. How did you "upgrade" to Sierra? Did you do an upgrade "in place", ie, have Sierra basically overwrite what was on your machine?

3. Have you ever done any disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs from a software perspective? You can actually do quite a lot of disk cleanup on your own, and there are some excellent products available (both free and commercial) that can help you with those tasks. Two of the best (that I use) are Onyx and Tech Tool Pro.

4. Are you making backups to an external device? That is so, so critical!

5. Is all your third party apps compatible with Sierra? This link can help you with that:

https://roaringapps.com/apps

Note that if you have the 21.5" model, and purchased it "as is", ie, without any upgrades, it comes with a 1 TB 5400 rpm internal drive. Given that slow rotational speed, your machine is not going to be a "speedy one", and thus frequent disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs is just about a necessity.

 

[Dev]

@honestone - thanks for such a quick and helpful reply. I'll try to address your points mostly in order:

1. Regarding the unwanted LogMeInRescue issue, I should clarify. The app doesn't appear in the Applications list in Finder, nor does it appear anywhere on a search. There's nothing for me to drag into the AppCleaner to let it do its thing. My next step will be contacting the Geek Squad again and making them fix it, but I wanted to ask here first for potential solutions because everyone I've ever interacted with there knows less about Macs than I do, which is a real feat.

2. I have the 21.5" late 2015 model, and as you suspected I did buy it "as is." It's never been the speediest of machines, but in the entire time I've owned it I've also been clueless as to how to do basic Mac maintenance. I downloaded OnyX from your point 3 and ran most of its functions this afternoon, and you would not believe the improvement in overall performance I'm seeing. It's like I'm working on an entirely different computer! So, thank you for that recommendation - I've added reminders to keep up on that maintenance now.

3. My upgrade to Sierra was handled entirely by the automated "you've got an OS upgrade" notification in the App Store. So, in place.

4. I've been making backups to external devices since external devices were invented.

5. All my apps are compatible with Sierra.

6. I'm inappropriately charmed by the little squirrel icon on that EasyFind app you recommended.

I think at this point we can consider the poor performance a maintenance issue. I'll return and add a comment if it tanks to the point of being unusable again, but I think you've solved the performance problem. (A safe assumption, I think, given that you solved performance problems I didn't even know I had.)

Thank you again for explaining things to a newb!

 

[honestone]

Thanks for the detailed reply. I of course understand that AppCleaner would not be useful for getting rid of unwanted "stuff" associated with the unwanted LogMeInRescue issue, but I would strongly recommend downloading it. It is very, very useful, and an excellent program, especially considering that it is free! (From my perspective, the best free apps are AppCleaner, Onyx, EasyFind, VLC (can watch ANY kind of video), and Hand Brake).

I wonder what kind of "rogue" stuff that software from Best Buy installed. Seems strange you can't find anything associated with it.

OS upgrades "in place" are "OK", but when a new Mac OS comes out, I prefer to do a clean, fresh, "virgin" installation of the new Mac OS. Once that is done, via Migration Assistant (offered at the end of the installation), I can "migrate"/copy needed stuff from my most recent backup. I will actually do that when I upgrade to High Sierra, but that might be a while, given that 1) there are still quite a few issues with High Sierra (especially being reported here, although some of them might be via poor planning), and 2) 3 of my critical applications (SuperDuper! for my backups, Tech Tool Pro (an excellent commercial disk cleanup/maintenance/repair program), and Logitech Control Center (for my Logitech mice)) have not been upgraded yet.

Speaking of Onyx, yes, it is very, very helpful. The "routines" you should run are:

1. Under the Maintenance tab, run Permissions, Scripts, and Rebuilding.

2, Under the Cleaning tab, run everything except Erasing.

Also, you should really consider purchasing an additional disk cleanup/maintenance/repair program. Two of the best are Tech Tool Pro (mentioned above, and I depend upon it) and Disk Warrior. There was a recent "sale" on Tech Tool Pro. It is normally $99.95, but it was included in a bundle for a total bundle price of less than $40.

You can also do a lot of disk cleanup on your own. And if I were you, I would get into the habit of using Onyx at least once a week. Myself, every Saturday, I run Onyx, Tech Tool Pro, and SuperDuper! for both of my Macs. Also, I am constantly doing disk cleanup on my own (primarily having "deleted" EMails permanently deleted in Outlook 2016, my EMail client). My Macs are "lean, mean, and clean", and I rarely, if ever, have issues.

I would also recommend you re-download the Sierra Mac OS from the App Store. When you do that, a file entitled "Install macOS Sierra" will appear in your Applications folder. You should then make a copy of it somewhere else.

Finally, are you using Time Machine for your backups? Time Machine is fine, but I much prefer SuperDuper!. It makes a bootable backup/clone of your system, and it makes either recovery from a disaster, on installation of a new Mac OS (or even a re-installation of a current one) easier and faster than via Time Machine (after booting your Mac to the (hidden) Recovery HD partition). You can use SuperDuper! in demo mode, and it si available from here:

http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html

The other, excellent, and similar product is Carbon Copy Cloner, available from here:

https://bombich.com/

SuperDuper! costs $27.95, and Carbon Copy Cloner costs $39.95.

Let su know if you need more assistance/information, etc.