I've looked up what could cause this and there are several things. But one of them was said to be an old OS (I use Mavericks). Also, upgrading from one OS to another without doing a clean install could cause slow downs because of bloat.

So, my questions are:

1) Can I upgrade from Mavericks to Sierra without getting Yosemite and El
Capitan first?

2) Do I need to upgrade to the original Sierra first and then do the upgrade?

3) How does one do a clean install instead of just an upgrade?

Thanks.

Before you take any drastic steps, shut down the computer, reboot the modem, and restart the computer. For my modem, the procedure is to unplug the modem for about 30 seconds, plug it in again, and then wait for all the lights to be steady. This can take a few minutes, so be patient. In my case, it turns out that the modem was not at fault (Time Warner exchanged it several times) but there was something else on the line that needed fixing. Rebooting the modem, as above, was a temporary fix only.

As to your other questions, you can go all the way from Mavericks to Sierra without installing intermediate OSs. When you download Sierra from App Store, you get the latest version, not the original. (Actually, I'm not sure of that, but if you get the original it's easy enough to update via App Store.) I can't answer your question about doing a clean install.

Hi Jon:

You know actually whenever I reboot my router (which I did the other day), I reboot my modem too because they are on the same surge protector. I just turn the surge protector off and they both go out. So, that hasn't helped. I shut down my computer every night, also.

It's loading slowly today again. So frustrating. When I read about the updates, there are pros and cons which I have to weigh. I imagine if I go all the way from Mavericks to Sierra I am going to have a learning curve to conquer.

1. Assuming your MacBook Pro is a mid 2010 or later model it is capable of running Sierra. Earlier model MacBook Pro's stop at El Capitan. And you can upgrade directly from Mavericks to Sierra. CAUTION: You will run into apps and app versions that work in Mavericks, but either do not work at all in Sierra or have limited functionality in Sierra. There is no handy dandy list of these incompatibilities or partial incompatibilities for you to look at. The best solution is to be sure all of your apps are up to date. In some cases the app may have to be replaced.
2. You can upgrade to MacOS 10.12.4 from Mavericks in a single step. Just open the App Store, search for macOS Sierra and click on it.
3. The clean install as we once knew it no longer exists. Just run the installer and go.

OK. Great info. Thanks.

Please set me straight on that one.

Since Rita's running a HDD, she can still zero all data on her drive or, as the case may be, partition, install a fresh Sierra download while booted from an external drive or another partition, and either do a full migration or reinstall her apps and import whatever data she needs from her source by hand.

And those of us with SSDs can do the same thing with the exception of zeroing all data.

Clean install, no? (My installation is actually optimized for clean installs, and I've done many over the years, both upgrading and refreshing my deuced Mac(hina), but I've stopped doing them because OS X/mac OS has evolved to the point at which the gyrations no longer appear to be worth the time and effort they require.)

It seems to me that the only things that have changed are that clean installs are now done via download rather than from discs, and SSD erasure limitations make zeroing all data impossible.

Yes it is possible to erase the drive and start over from scratch, but once you restore your data and or applications from a clone or Time Machine backup, it isn't clean any more. I don't know about anyone else, but I have far too much data to lose it all and start over from absolute zero. It has taken nearly three months just to switch to a new accounting app.

And like you, I have found it isn't worth the hassle any more.