MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017) slow

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Level 1

14 points

MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017) slow

Hi,

My MacBook Air has been super slow lately, up to a point that I formatted it, and reinstalled the HighSierra that came with it (had been running Catalina before formatting).

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to have helped much.

I ran EtreCheck - full report below - which suggests that there's a bunch of issues, even though I just formatted it.

Not sure what to do - considering buying their Power User Package... but thought I'd post it here first.

Anyone any suggestions as to what to do?

thx!

EtreCheck Report

MacBook Air 13", macOS 10.13

Posted on Mar 21, 2020 2:54 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

HWTech

Level 9

60,602 points

Mar 21, 2020 5:56 PM in response to dominic23

Try running the Apple Diagnostics.

Try an SMC reset and a PRAM reset (hold the PRAM reset for a full minute so it activates several times).

Is the laptop getting warm or hot when this happens?

Are any external devices connected? If so disconnect them.

With a fresh install the system may be indexing or even syncing files if you are using iCloud.

Did you erase the physical drive before reinstalling macOS? You have to click on "View" within Disk Utility and select "Show All Devices" before the physical drive appears in the left pane of Disk Utility. Erase the physical drive as GUID partition and APFS (top option).

Edit: Is the laptop plugged into the power adapter?

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Answer 2

Charl6s Author

Level 1

14 points

Mar 22, 2020 6:56 AM in response to HWTech

Hi,

thank you so much for the suggestions.

apple diagnostics: tried, no issue appears
SMC reset and PRAM reset: did both, didn't notice a change after
laptop doesn't get warm
no external devices
I erased the physical drive like you described. also removed a drive called Macintosh HD-Data
laptop is plugged in

So, I erased once again, reinstalled from scratch.

When restarting my Mac, it guided me through the initial setup.

First issue arises with adding my appleID: got a weird error message - see image in attachment

Restarted again, chose to set up appleID later.

Once logged in, added my appleID via system preferences (took a few tries, kept crashing, but succeeded in the end).

Installed EtreCheck (nothing else: only applications that are part of OS are now on my machine)

EtreCheck report still points to issues - see full report in attachment.

Major Issues:

unsigned files: There are unsigned software files installed that could be adware and should be reviewed.

Launchd FilesLaunchd script:/System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.corespeechd.plistExecutable:/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreSpeech.framework/corespeechdStatus:OtherInstall date:2018-04-26 23:34:08

poor performance: EtreCheck report shows poor performance. This is unusual.

Top Processes Snapshot by CPU:

Process (count) CPU (Source - Location)

system_profiler (2) 93.18 % (Apple)

mds 76.80 % (Apple)

mds_stores 63.98 % (Apple)

EtreCheckPro 25.76 % (Etresoft, Inc.)

WindowServer 24.40 % (Apple)

heavy CPU usage: Some processes are using an unusually high amount of CPU.

Top Processes Snapshot by CPU:

Process (count) CPU (Source - Location)

system_profiler (2) 93.18 % (Apple)

mds 76.80 % (Apple)

mds_stores 63.98 % (Apple)

EtreCheckPro 25.76 % (Etresoft, Inc.)

WindowServer 24.40 % (Apple)

Software problems: Software is causing performance problems.

Performance:

System Load: 24.10 (1 min ago) 46.38 (5 min ago) 26.29 (15 min ago)

Nominal I/O speed: 3.92 MB/s

File system: 120.47 seconds (timed out)

Write speed: 977 MB/s

Read speed: 1105 MB/s

***

Nothing but OS and EtreCheck are installed - I have no idea where any software issue could come from.

Tried buying the EtreCheck Power Package, but it doesn't seem to be available for purchase in my region (Portugal).

Normally I'd take it to an Apple Store at this point, but given the COVID crisis, those are all closed.

Really hoping to get my MacBook back to normal...

EtreCheck report, after reinstall of OS HighSierra

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Answer 3

Charl6s Author

Level 1

14 points

Mar 23, 2020 1:45 AM in response to HWTech

I ran DriveDX long version: no errors

The mPrime stress test: let it run for 10 minutes, while monitoring the temperature in the intel power gadget: didn't get warm at all. in the Activity Monitor it does show that it's using up to 300% of the CPU, but the fans don't get loud, and the temperature stays the same.

I installed MACS FAN CONTROL to check the fans too: mostly running at 1200 RPM. When I set the preset to FULL BLAST, I can hear the fans get louder and faster. I added a print screen where you can see the fan speed and temperatures.

I also attached a printscreen from the intel power gadget during the stress test:.

mPrime: copy/paste from terminal

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Answer 4

dominic23

Level 10

83,952 points

Mar 21, 2020 6:51 AM in response to Charl6s

From the report: Runaway process - A process is using a large percentage of your CPU.

Try suggestions given here:

https://support.apple.com/guide/activity-monitor/welcome/mac

Please be careful.

Contact Apple Support: https://support.apple.com/contact

Get started

https://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar

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Answer 5

Charl6s Author

Level 1

14 points

Mar 22, 2020 3:44 PM in response to HWTech

I'm not sure I understand completely. By erasing the physical drive identified something like "Apple SSD ...." it would have wiped everything from the drive. If you had to remove the "Macintosh HD - Data" separately then you may not have erased the whole physical drive. I may just be misunderstanding your note.

I removed the Mac HD-Data drive first, then formatted the physical hard drive.

I added the driveX report in attachment.

I ran the Unique Heaven Demo benchmark. temperature never exceeded 57 degrees, MacBook didn't get hot at any point.

Report also in attachment...

My SSD drive seems to be a SATA drive: here's what I found in system profiler:

Apple SSD Controller:

Vendor: Apple

Product: SSD Controller

Physical Interconnect: PCI

Link Width: x4

Link Speed: 5.0 GT/s

Description: AHCI Version 1.30 Supported

APPLE SSD SM0256G:

Capacity: 251 GB (251 000 193 024 bytes)

Model: APPLE SSD SM0256G

Revision: BXZ33A0Q

Serial Number: S2XVNY0K438417

Native Command Queuing: Yes

Queue Depth: 32

Removable Media: No

Detachable Drive: No

BSD Name: disk0

Medium Type: Solid State

TRIM Support: Yes

Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table)

SMART status: Verified

Volumes:

EFI:

Capacity: 209,7 MB (209 715 200 bytes)

File System: MS-DOS FAT32

BSD Name: disk0s1

Content: EFI

Volume UUID: 0E239BC6-F960-3107-89CF-1C97F78BB46B

disk0s2:

Capacity: 250,66 GB (250 656 219 136 bytes)

BSD Name: disk0s2

Content: Apple_APFS

Ungine Heaven report

DriveDX report

EtreCheck report

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Answer 6

HWTech

Level 9

60,602 points

Mar 22, 2020 4:48 PM in response to Charl6s

I don't see anything odd with the report on the SSD, but if you want to run the long/extended selftest, then use the following command in the Terminal app assuming the DriveDX app is still in your located in the Downloads folder:

sudo  ~/Downloads/DriveDX.app/Contents/Resources/smartctl  -t  long  /dev/disk0

Press the "Return" key at the end of the line to execute the command. You will be prompted to enter your admin password, but you won't see anything on the screen when you type it. When you run the command it should provide an estimated time of completion. Sometimes it will take longer to complete if the drive is being used a lot. You can check the results of the selftest by checking the DriveDX GUI or by using the following command (sometimes it will show the progress and other times it will only show the status once the diagnostic finishes running):

sudo  ~/Downloads/DriveDX.app/Contents/Resources/smartctl  -l  selftest  /dev/disk0

That temperature seems a bit low, but I don't monitor MBAirs as much as I do the MBPros. If the fan was above its idle speed, then it is probably Ok. Try running "mprime" in Torture Test Mode and show a screenshot of the system temps (Celcius) and fan speed after running the Torture Test mode for 10 minutes. This will put fully utilize all the CPU cores so the fan speed should increase significantly.

Check the Thunderbolt port out to make sure the contacts on both sides of the port looks clean and there is no signs of corrosion or burn marks. It can be very difficult to see these contacts clearly. I see a lot of MBAirs with dirty & corroded Thunderbolt ports. Things seem to gravitate to this port. May as well check out the USB ports as well, though they are less likely to have a problem.

Also check out this Apple article for troubleshooting Magsafe chargers & ports:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203207

Make sure to unplug the power adapter from the electrical outlet for a minute to reset the internal protective circuitry in the power adapter. Also try using another electrical outlet in another room.

From what you've shown so far I'm suspecting you may have a Logic Board issue since you are running a clean OS. Recently I've been encountering odd macOS issues when re-installing macOS when there is a known hardware issue (not this particular issue though). I think macOS is unable to handle certain types of hardware failures.

If you have a spare USB drive you can try installing macOS to the external drive to see how the laptop behaves to eliminate the internal SSD as much as possible (I think the SSD is Ok). The laptop may run slower from the external drive, but you really should see the spinning wheel nearly as much if the laptop is working properly.

Since you had trouble setting up the laptop with your AppleID, maybe it would be worth another clean reinstall (erasing the drive again) and just creating a normal user account without any attachment to an AppleID. This is about the only other thing I can think of that you can try without taking the laptop to be serviced.

Normally I would suggest installing Linux on the laptop, but I don't think it will give us any conclusive results here. It may be a good option to try if you just want to get this laptop online without the spinning wheels.

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Answer 7

HWTech

Level 9

60,602 points

Mar 23, 2020 11:45 AM in response to Charl6s

According to the Intel Power Gadget the CPUs were at their default 800MHz speed which most likely indicates a power problem. It could be your charger, or it could be any internal component inside the laptop.

Do you have the proper size power adapter? You can use a larger charger from a MacBook Pro (65W or 85W).

Here is an Apple article for troubleshooting Magsafe issues:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203207

Try unplugging the power adapter from the electrical outlet for a minute to reset the safety circuitry in the power adapter. Also try using another electrical outlet.

Outside of an SMC reset or using another power adapter you will need to get the laptop serviced. While the Apple Stores are closed for at least this week you may be able to find a local Apple Authorized Service Provider.

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Answer 8

HWTech

Level 9

60,602 points

Mar 22, 2020 11:57 AM in response to Charl6s

Charl6s wrote:

• I erased the physical drive like you described. also removed a drive called Macintosh HD-Data

I'm not sure I understand completely. By erasing the physical drive identified something like "Apple SSD ...." it would have wiped everything from the drive. If you had to remove the "Macintosh HD - Data" separately then you may not have erased the whole physical drive. I may just be misunderstanding your note.

So, I erased once again, reinstalled from scratch.

When restarting my Mac, it guided me through the initial setup.

First issue arises with adding my appleID: got a weird error message - see image in attachment

Restarted again, chose to set up appleID later.

Once logged in, added my appleID via system preferences (took a few tries, kept crashing, but succeeded in the end).

Looks like it may have been just a network or Apple server issue. I'm not sure as I don't tie my AppleID to my user account.

Tried buying the EtreCheck Power Package, but it doesn't seem to be available for purchase in my region (Portugal).

There is no need for the paid version if you are submitting the report here for analysis.

Normally I'd take it to an Apple Store at this point, but given the COVID crisis, those are all closed.

Really hoping to get my MacBook back to normal...

I certainly understand. While the Apple Stores are closed, you may find that a local Apple Authorized Service Provider may be open depending if you want to risk going out.

I want to check the health of the SSD. Try running DriveDX and posting the report here using the "Additional Text" icon which looks like a piece of paper. The trial version allows you to run the SSD's internal short selftest (assuming the SSD supports it). Unfortunately not all Apple SSDs allow access to the health information (aka SMART Attributes) or the self-diagnostics.

Also download and run either "mprime" or the "Unigine Heaven" demo benchmark. With "mprime" you just want to run the "Torture Test" mode. I just want to see if the system will heat up when running something stressful. If the system doesn't get hot, then it indicates the CPU is being throttled which likely means a power related issue. It should only take a few minutes of running "mprime" for the system to get hot.

I would like to have you reset the SSD to factory defaults, but I don't know if the SSD in the 2017 MBAir can be reset to factory defaults. Not all Apple SSDs support this feature. It also requires a Linux utility. Can you confirm whether this SSD is considered a SATA drive or a NVMe drive? Within the System Profiler click on the "SATA" and the "NVMe" options in the left pane to see which one provides information about the SSD in the right pane. You can access the System Profiler by Option-clicking on the Apple menu and selecting the first option which may be listed as "System Information".

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