Don't know if you did anything with your MacBook yet, but I have had that issue before on the same model MacBook, without the battery the computer will run super slow for me internet recovery mode wouldn't even load after I connected to the internet.

I installed a new battery and it runs a lot smoother, some known issues for the A2179 with a dead battery is slow boot up, frozen apple logo with loading bar, and high fan speeds. If you put a new battery in it then it will probably run a lot smoother.