Question Mac Mini 2014 Problems

[MotionMan]

I have a Late 2014 Mac Mini running Mojave (8 GB RAM). It has been running really, really slow - like all beachball, practically all the time. It takes forever for things to open, if they ever open.

I took it to the Apple Store and they found nothing wrong hardware-wise.

I am trying running it without any of my external drives and on only one monitor (I usually have 2), and it seems marginally better, but certainly not normal. It is basically unusable as my main unit (I have most of my files on the external drives).

I have an Early 2014 MacBook Air running on the same network without any of the same issues.

Clearly there is something sucking cycles - what is the best way to find out what is slowing it down?

I'd rather not have to reformat and reinstall just to test a theory.

Thanks.

MotionMan

 

[Oyeve]

What does SMART state for your HD? Could it be failing?

 

[MotionMan]

SMART Status: Verified.

MotionMan

 

[TheStu]

Activity Monitor will tell you what's using the resources.
Do you have an SSD in it, or the spinner that it shipped with?
How long has this problem been going on?

 

[Oyeve]

Also, if using SSD, how full is it?

 

[MotionMan]

Activity Monitor will tell you what's using the resources.
Do you have an SSD in it, or the spinner that it shipped with?
How long has this problem been going on?

The problem with Activity Monitor is, if I can get a reading from it, I am no longer having the issue I need a reading on;

Original SATA drive;

It has been REALLY bad for the past couple weeks; It started periodically for months.

Thanks.

MotionMan

 

[TheStu]

Have you tried setting up a 2nd user account and seeing if the problems persist?
What about a clean install?

Once the issue is isolated and solved, I'd recommend getting an SSD for the system.

 

[MotionMan]

Have you tried setting up a 2nd user account and seeing if the problems persist?
What about a clean install?

Once the issue is isolated and solved, I'd recommend getting an SSD for the system.

I did set up a second account to bring it to the Apple Store and I still had some problems, though, I guess, not as bad.

I want to try to avoid a clean install.

I have been saving up for an SSD.

Thanks.

MotionMan

 

[TheStu]

If the problems persisted with a second account, then it's deep whatever the issue is and a clean install may be the way to go.

 

[MotionMan]

If the problems persisted with a second account, then it's deep whatever the issue is and a clean install may be the way to go.

I was afraid of that.

I ordered a new SSD, so I will kill two birds with one stone.

Thanks

MotionMan

 

[MotionMan]

The new SSD arrived, I put it in an enclosure, installed Mojave and set it as the startup disk.

Seems snappier!

How do I change/fix the permissions so that I can access the data on the internal drive (the former boot disk)?

Thanks.

MotionMan

 

[Zaap]

Wait.. seriously. You're gonna run an ssd as a boot drive in an external enclosure? I'm assuming USB?

Crack that sucker open and install the SSD internally. iFixit and others make a toolkit for the mini that makes it fairly easy.

Then put the slow harddrive in the enclosure.


I don't know of any reason you shouldn't be able to access either drive while booted from the other. Tick the option in finder to show all mounted hard drives.

If for some reason the old drive doesn't mount try using disk utility to repair it.

 

[MotionMan]

Wait.. seriously. You're gonna run an ssd as a boot drive in an external enclosure? I'm assuming USB?

Crack that sucker open and install the SSD internally. iFixit and others make a toolkit for the mini that makes it fairly easy.

Then put the slow harddrive in the enclosure.


I don't know of any reason you shouldn't be able to access either drive while booted from the other. Tick the option in finder to show all mounted hard drives.

If for some reason the old drive doesn't mount try using disk utility to repair it.

Don't be ridiculous. I put it in the external enclosure while I set it up and make sure the problem does not persist. Once the new drive is set up and I am confident the issue has been resolved, then I will put it in the unit, replacing the old drive.

The new drive does mount, it just does not give me permission to access any of the data on it.

MotionMan

 

[Zaap]

Gotcha. Somehow the way you said it "seems snappier" despite how an external USB would actually have an SSD pretty choked- made me think you were happy leaving it like that.

I'm wondering if a permissions problem with your original drive caused it to be crawling in the first place. I've heard about this happening with Apple's System Integrity Protection since Sierra, where the permissions get wonky, even the system can't make needed changes to itself, and things just grind to a slow crawl.

 

[MotionMan]

I booted to the internal drive and am copying everything I need over to the SSD.

When booted to the internal drive and I open the SSD, it indicates that I do not have permissions for many folders on that drive (SSD).

MotionMan

 

[Builder1977]

Maybe a good old fashioned reset could fix your problems?

 

[MotionMan]

Maybe a good old fashioned reset could fix your problems?

What is an old fashion reset?

MotionMan

 

[Verndewdimus]

should have used super duper to clone the drive as boot then you wouldnt have permissions issues, THAT takes a whole bunch of reading and some admin terminal tricks to get past. im guessing your hdd was a 5400 , those are painfully tedious on a new mac.

 

[UsandThem]

I often have my new MacBook lagging, I can't understand why it began to work so badly, maybe someone knows how to solve this problem. For I gave too much money, but alas, there is no result.

Create your own thread asking for help instead of necroing someone else's post would be the first step.

 

[esquared]

Create your own thread asking for help instead of necroing someone else's post would be the first step.

Second half of the tag team just showed up.

 

[Kaido]

FWIW:

* The Late 2014 Mac Mini (1.4ghz dual-core i5) is the oldest Mini that can run the latest Mac OS (Monterey). FYI, older Macs can use OpenCore to bypass Apple's restrictions & get Monterey on them
* I just upgraded one to the latest version of OSX (12.1). Performance is limited by the CPU (even with a 1TB SSD & 16GB RAM), but it's decent for like a mom or grandma computer
* The reinstallation process is so easy! WinKey+R at boot to get into the pre-boot utilities, format the drive with Disk Utility, then reinstall Monterey from the utilities console

I threw Chrome & Office 2021 & a few other goodies on it, works just fine! I've also been working on some M1 Macs lately & they are really phenomenal! RIP Hackintosh I guess, haha!

 

[Oyeve]

FWIW:

* The Late 2014 Mac Mini (1.4ghz dual-core i5) is the oldest Mini that can run the latest Mac OS (Monterey). FYI, older Macs can use OpenCore to bypass Apple's restrictions & get Monterey on them
* I just upgraded one to the latest version of OSX (12.1). Performance is limited by the CPU (even with a 1TB SSD & 16GB RAM), but it's decent for like a mom or grandma computer
* The reinstallation process is so easy! WinKey+R at boot to get into the pre-boot utilities, format the drive with Disk Utility, then reinstall Monterey from the utilities console

I threw Chrome & Office 2021 & a few other goodies on it, works just fine! I've also been working on some M1 Macs lately & they are really phenomenal! RIP Hackintosh I guess, haha!

Phenomenal? HA! They run like crap unless its only apple SW. Chrome chokes, o365 choke as does adobe suite. I regret getting these at work. The 11 year old imacs they replaced run much more stable. Don;t even get me started on the whole fuzzy font fiasco.

 

[Kaido]

Phenomenal? HA! They run like crap unless its only apple SW. Chrome chokes, o365 choke as does adobe suite. I regret getting these at work. The 11 year old imacs they replaced run much more stable. Don;t even get me started on the whole fuzzy font fiasco.

Wow, that sounds like a real bummer! I've only used them on a personal level for basic stuff (mostly just for setting up for other people) & they are great...crazy battery life, runs fairly cool & quiet, etc. Sounds like they're not quite ready for prime-time in the business environment quite yet!

I do like those older iMacs! I've done a number of suction-cup upgrades haha. The new 24" M1 model looks pretty neat as well, but based on what you're saying, non-Apple productivity & creativity apps aren't quite up to snuff just yet?