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Bluest

Member Since: 23 Apr 2016
Location: Lancashire
Posts: 4209

2007 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 XS CSW Java Black

Any Apple Mac IT experts?

I have a late 2012 Mac Mini which the Internet reckons should still function fine as a basic computer. I really only use it for web browsing.

The problem: It takes an absolute age from switching on to being able to to do anything. Launching apps takes forever. I reckon from booting up it takes 5 to 10 minutes before you can actually view a webpage for the first time. Launching Word or Excel takes twice as long, I don’t bother with them any more. Literally 10 minutes at least for Word to launch from The Dock. Once an app is open things improve a bit. Within reason, if I leave it switched on and keep the the apps I want open, it starts to function acceptably, but after a few days it refuses to go into sleep mode, so I have no choice but to switch it off.

Some expert told me it was due to lack of RAM, so I bought a kit to double it, this made no difference. Any ideas, or should I just write it off? 2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS

29th Sep 2019 7:24am

NJSS

Member Since: 26 Aug 2014
Location: Catherington
Posts: 31

I gave up on Apple kit some years ago due to problems of this nature.

I learnt were that one doesn't need Anti-Virus software or so-called “cleaning” apps. They are not recommended for Mac OS, as they can conflict with Mac's own built-in security, and they will slow your Mac by using unnecessary resources.

You might download and run EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com or https://download.cnet.com/EtreCheck/3000-2094_4-75749747.html which will give you a heads up on possible problems.

Note I am not a Mac expert, others may well not agree with the above

Good luck.

NJSS 2016 Discovery 4 Landmark
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none Electric yet.
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29th Sep 2019 7:36am

bear100

Member Since: 22 Mar 2010
Location: South Wales
Posts: 1917

2010 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 USW Santorini Black

Apple kit is great, your start up time should be seconds so there’s something not quite right, have you tried restoring from a recent back up? 2016 Range Rover Autobiography 4.4 TDV8
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29th Sep 2019 7:57am

newton-tony

Member Since: 18 Sep 2016
Location: Wiltshire
Posts: 122

2014 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 USW Firenze Red

As much RAM as possible and an SSD hard drive should make a big difference, assuming there are no other issues. Both are relatively cheap and further details here: https://guides.crucial.com/c/Mac_Mini_Late_2012

AV wise I use Sophos free and no issues: https://home.sophos.com/en-us/download-mac-anti-virus.aspx

Last edited by newton-tony on 29th Sep 2019 8:19am. Edited 1 time in total

29th Sep 2019 8:16am

Bluest

Member Since: 23 Apr 2016
Location: Lancashire
Posts: 4209

NJSS wrote:
I gave up on Apple kit some years ago due to problems of this nature.

I learnt were that one doesn't need Anti-Virus software or so-called “cleaning” apps. They are not recommended for Mac OS, as they can conflict with Mac's own built-in security, and they will slow your Mac by using unnecessary resources.

You might download and run EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com or https://download.cnet.com/EtreCheck/3000-2094_4-75749747.html which will give you a heads up on possible problems.

Note I am not a Mac expert, others may well not agree with the above

Good luck.

NJSS

Thanks I might give that a try, I don’t have any antivirus software, although I did used to have a subscription to a cleaner programme which I no longer have. However, I got that after these problems were already there in an effort to try and fix it. 2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS

29th Sep 2019 8:16am

Bluest

Member Since: 23 Apr 2016
Location: Lancashire
Posts: 4209

bear100 wrote:
Apple kit is great, your start up time should be seconds so there’s something not quite right, have you tried restoring from a recent back up?

The problems have been getting worse for long time so how far should I go back? I have Time Machine, but I don’t actually know how to restore from it without losing anything I’ve added recently. 2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS

29th Sep 2019 8:31am

Bluest

Member Since: 23 Apr 2016
Location: Lancashire
Posts: 4209

newton-tony wrote:
As much RAM as possible and an SSD hard drive should make a big difference, assuming there are no other issues. Both are relatively cheap and further details here: https://guides.crucial.com/c/Mac_Mini_Late_2012

AV wise I use Sophos free and no issues: https://home.sophos.com/en-us/download-mac-anti-virus.aspx

I’ve already doubled the RAM and it made zero difference. I’m not keen on blowing more money on an SSD when it’s current performance is so bad there must be some other underlying problem I think. 2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS

29th Sep 2019 8:34am

90 Dreamer

Member Since: 13 Jul 2019
Location: Oop North
Posts: 2154

2016 Defender 90 Puma 2.2 HT Corris Grey

Certainly with other 'old' Apple stuff it seems that more modern updates can actually have a detrimental affect.........

?? Might be worth restoring to an older operating system??

29th Sep 2019 9:54am

PCM

Member Since: 25 Jan 2019
Location: North East
Posts: 874

I had a macbook pro with exactly the same symptons.
Took it to Apple fearing the harddrive/ram/processor was damaged or soemthing serious was wrong.
They did a load of hardware tests and all was ok. What they told me was that as it's done so many software upgrades it's basically a software mess.

I backed it up to Icloud. (really easy). Restored it as a new laptop (Not time machine that puts all the knackered software back on it). and it's now working brilliantly.

Before you do ANYTHING. just back your data up. (2 minutes to set up) and restore it as new.
Should solve your peoblem as it's exactly what happened to mine.

PCM

29th Sep 2019 10:23am

Bluest

Member Since: 23 Apr 2016
Location: Lancashire
Posts: 4209

I’d be happy if I could do a fresh start and back up my data. All my photos are on external hdd, so they are fine whatever happens. Is there some instruction for doing it anywhere. I’m not familiar with iCloud 2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS

29th Sep 2019 10:42am

Roy5695

Member Since: 15 Feb 2014
Location: Cornwall
Posts: 1123

2011 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 XS DCPU Indus Silver

An SSD will certainly sort your issues out! I was having similar problems recently with my MacBook Pro 2011. New RAM and an SSD and its sorted, included in that was a fresh start with software though. so complete re-format and start again. Laptop is faster than it ever was even when new. So much so that I've sold my iMac and now just use my laptop with a separate monitor when home. Also means that I have all my software in one place and is easily transported wherever I go. 2011 Defender DCPU 2.2 - https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic30623.html

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Roy

29th Sep 2019 11:16am

PCM

Member Since: 25 Jan 2019
Location: North East
Posts: 874

Backup is really easy.
You can check on icloud.com to see all your data is actually there. May take a few hours though for the first backup. The others are incremental and happen in the background. Instructions below:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208682

29th Sep 2019 11:21am

Tim in Scotland

Member Since: 23 May 2007
Location: The Land that time forgot
Posts: 3753

If it scares you or you aren’t confident to do it yourself you can always visit one of the “geek” sessions at an Apple store for help too. They have very high speed WiFi in store if your home speed isn’t great. Pangea Green D250 90 HSE with Air Suspension, Off-road Pack, Towing Pack, Black Contrast roof , rear recovery eyes, Front bash plate, Classic flaps all round, extended wheel arch kit and a few bits from PowerfulUK Expel Clear Gloss PPF to come
2020 D240 1st Edition in Pangea Green with Acorn interior. Now gone - old faithful, no mechanical issues whatsoever ever but the leaks and rattles all over the place won’t be missed!

29th Sep 2019 12:21pm

Bluest

Member Since: 23 Apr 2016
Location: Lancashire
Posts: 4209

I just absolutely do not want to accidentally lose my photos and videos. There’s nothing else that is that important. 2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS

29th Sep 2019 1:03pm

davew

Member Since: 02 Jan 2012
Location: North Yorkshire
Posts: 888

1990 Defender 90 V8 Petrol PU Auto Rioja Red

I run a stack of Mac Minis from 2012 and earlier simply because they are good, solid and reliable hardware and will run any software you want. Mac, Windows or Linux.

The first thing I always do is max the RAM out and replace the hard disk with an SSD - the latter usually offers a massive performance increase, especially with boot times.

It's always worth starting from scratch if you can. If your Apple ID is set up with iCloud then all your settings, passwords, photos and documents can automatically be synched BUT that does normally mean using a paid iCloud subscription as you only get 5GB for free.

If you use iPhoto to store your images it's worth exporting them all for backup, they can then be imported into iPhotos on your new system.

I would get an external USB hard drive and use Carbon Copy Cloner to completely back up your existing hard disk. Swap out the hard disk for an SSD then copy your photos etc... back from the USB drive. Your original Hard Disk is an additional backup of your data then and is untouched and can be put back in if it all goes horribly wrong ! With Carbon Copy Cloner you will also be able to boot from the external USB if you find you're missing something.

If you're unsure about the above, find someone who can do it for you. Changing the hard disk in a Mac Mini can be quite daunting the first time and you may need to get some tools (Torx head screws hold most of it together). There are online guides available that will take you through it step by step. http://www.yorkshireoffroadclub.net/

29th Sep 2019 2:37pm

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