MAC OSX Cleanup

[PaulTech]

I'm new to MAC's and a customer has a Apple iMAC OS X that is running slow:

They said that a bunch of Fonts were downloaded to the computer and they wonder if it is infected.

I used the following procedures to do an initial clean but the computer is still running slow (based on http://lifehacker.com/5252183/clean-up-and-revive-your-bloated-sluggish-mac):

1. Utility Monitor -> note the resource hogs
2. System Preferences -> Account -> click User Account -> Login Items (these are items that launch on startup) (click items to remove and click minus sign)
3. Uninstall unneeded Apps (http://www.noodlesoft.com/hazel.php <- 14 day trial)
> Enable App Sweep
4. Maintenance: Applications -> Utilities ->
> verify and repair disk permissions (takes some time!)
> Onyx > Cleaning System
5. Clean Disk Space -> http://www.derlien.com/ http://lifehacker.com/software/hard-drives/download-of-the-day-disk-inventory-x-mac-211335.php
6. Font check -> http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2509

I read good things about http://www.maintain.se/cocktail/index.php but have not used it yet.

So the questions I have are:

1. What other utilities and procedures do you suggest? Should I try cocktail?
2. What to I run to check for an infection on a MAC computer?
3. Should I just re-install the OS. The customer is hesitant because of one of the programs.

Thanks, as always, to the awesome Technibble community!

 

[BillMoney]

On macs that become slow I run hardware diags then reload if no hardware issues are found

 

[altrenda]

2 cheap (actually free) things to try are
restart in Safe Mode (cleans things up a bit)
create a new user account.

if they upgraded the OS, how much ram do they have. Macs love ram.

also, slowness can be a sign of a failing hard drive.

 

[cyabro]

On macs that become slow I run hardware diags then reload if no hardware issues are found

What are you using for the hardware diags?

 

[BillMoney]

What are you using for the hardware diags?

Eurosoft PC Check will work with macs but I use AHT Apple Hardware Tests (for all Macs prior to June 2013) for a mac after June 2013 then use Apple Diagnostics, put osx disc in and hold D to boot to diags

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1509

 

[Markverhyden]

So the questions I have are:

1. What other utilities and procedures do you suggest? Should I try cocktail?
2. What to I run to check for an infection on a MAC computer?
3. Should I just re-install the OS. The customer is hesitant because of one of the programs.

Thanks, as always, to the awesome Technibble community!

To be honest I have seen very few apps that fix "slowness". In fact I have seen where these various "fix your computer" apps have actually caused problems. So I would start by removing them.

If the machine is running 10.7 or better you can boot into recovery mode and run the disk check and permissions fix from the recovery partition. If prior to 10.7 you can boot from the recovery disk, make sure it is the same as the machine version, and they are available, if I remember correctly, from the pull down menu.

Are they running any VM's, Parallels or Fusion? I have seen where they can really slow things down. There can also be problems with browsers and Java. Those I have never found a solution to other than nuke and pave.

Hardware. As mentioned above low RAM as well as failing HD's cause the same symptoms. Also certain iMacs, older ones, had logic board problems - the old caps problem, as well as NVIDIA issues.

If the machine was not patched there is a very slim chance that it might have malware. But as I said it is slim.

Best of luck.

Edit: forgot to mention. Did you flash the PRAM?

 

[ajgyomber]

Paul,

You might want to use SuperDuper! prior to do anything and clone their drive just in case. SuperDuper is a great utility for cloning Mac drives.

--AJ

 

[PaulTech]

"recovery mode and run the disk check and permissions fix from the recovery partition"

Could someone expand on how to do this one? Thanks.

 

[altrenda]

"recovery mode and run the disk check and permissions fix from the recovery partition"

Could someone expand on how to do this one? Thanks.

These are really basic things, like safe mode or chkdsk in windows. I think Google will help.

as stated above Recovey Mode is only available in Lion or Mountain Lion and is reached by holding the Option key while booting. You can also Fix Permissions from within any version of the OS from Disk Utility. But don't expect it to fix your problem.

Slowness in Macs is caused by the same things as windows - hardware problems like bad hard drive, ram, or board, or software problems with the OS or a program.

 

[Markverhyden]

Actually to access recovery mode in 10.7 or 10.8 you need to hold down Command + R when powering up the machine. I guess, technically, you could hold down the Option key and select the recovery partition. But on newer models that is part of the BIOS if I remember correctly. And the recovery mode does not work properly on most Mac Pro towers from my experience.

 

[trevm999]

So the questions I have are:

1. What other utilities and procedures do you suggest? Should I try cocktail?
2. What to I run to check for an infection on a MAC computer?
3. Should I just re-install the OS. The customer is hesitant because of one of the programs.

1. Don't try any more apps, unless it is Diskwarrior.
2. 100% of the time people come in saying their mac has virus, they don't. Well, sometimes they have malware programs for windows downloaded, that is all I've ever caught.
3. Do a backup with Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper, after reinstall you can use migration assistant to transfer just the applications back into the new install. Some products keys won't always transfer, ie MS Office 2011, I've had good luck with everything else though.

Make sure you test the hardware first (RAM, hard drive) I wouldn't worry about apple's tests unless you need to. Just use Memtest, and you can boot up to a Parted Magic disc to test the HDD with GSmartControl.