I have a 2012 Mac Mini (running OS/X 10.11.6) with an Apple-provided internal 1TB fusion drive that appears to be suffering from some kind of performance problem — it seems to be getting slower and slower over time, to the point where it can be quite painful to use.
For example, applications can take 10-20 seconds to open, and Mac Mail in particular can take several minutes to bring up an email or bring up the file requester to add an attachment.
Is there any procedure recommended to bring the Mac Mini back up to its original speed? I suppose if all else fails I could always do a low-level format of the Fusion Drive and then re-install everything from a Time Machine backup, but I'm not certain that that would solve the performance problem, or that the Fusion Drive logic would be set up correctly after that. Is there anything less drastic that might be effective?
Spec summary:
- Late-2012 Mac Mini
- 1TB Fusion Drive (less than 75% full)
- 8GB RAM
- Mac OS X El Capitan 10.11.6
Best Answer
As you probably know, troubleshooting is a process of elimination and can require quite a bit of patience.
The first things I'd do in your situation are to try booting in Safe Mode and, if no joy afterwards, reset both your NVRAM and SMC.
Boot into Safe Mode
Follow these steps to boot your Mac Mini into Safe Mode:
If you're still experiencing problems, reset the NVRAM and then SMC.
Reset NVRAM
Older Macs had what's called Parameter RAM (PRAM), newer Macs use Non-Volatile Random-Access Memory (NVRAM). It may be worth you also resetting this. Here’s how to:
Note: When you log back in you may need to readjust some of your system preferences (e.g. speaker volume, screen resolution, startup disk selection, time zone information, etc).
Once you've reset your NVRAM, proceed to reset your SMC as well.
Reset SMC
Once you're booted back in, take a note of how your Mac Mini is running and we'll go from there.