How can I speed up a Mac Computer
Hello,
I am trying to speed up the performance of my Mac Laptop. I am not familiar with Mac yet therefore I am asking :
what are the steps I should take to speed up my Mac
are there any utilities that I should download to optimize my Mac
are there utilities already built in my Mac that will increase the performances
Any other advices are more than welcome
I am running OS X version 10.8.5
Thank you
I am trying to speed up the performance of my Mac Laptop. I am not familiar with Mac yet therefore I am asking :
what are the steps I should take to speed up my Mac
are there any utilities that I should download to optimize my Mac
are there utilities already built in my Mac that will increase the performances
Any other advices are more than welcome
I am running OS X version 10.8.5
Thank you
Dave Baldwin
How and why are you thinking that it is slow? Most of my clients tell me their computer is slow when it is really the fact that they are going to slow websites. Not because the computer itself is slow.
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SOLUTION
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For clearing up your hard drive, I'm a fan of http://www.omnigroup.com/omnidisksweeper/ It lets you see which folders are taking up the most room.
ASKER
Dave: It's not the internet or the browser that is slow. Is the OS. When I double click any program it takes 6-7 or 8 seconds to open.
Quizwedge: Thank you for your 4 important points. I am following them one by one. About point # 4 due to the fact that I am not familiar with Mac would you please provide step by step how to disable any start up items I don't need. This is exactly what I was thinking to do but I don't know how to accomplish it.
Bbao: I like the free utility you are mentioning. I google it and there are several options. Which one is the right one :) ? Everytime I download some programs or utilities from the net I also download a bunch of junk. If you are familiar with this utility would you please send the right link to download it so I won't make any mistake.
Thank you so much everyone.
Quizwedge: Thank you for your 4 important points. I am following them one by one. About point # 4 due to the fact that I am not familiar with Mac would you please provide step by step how to disable any start up items I don't need. This is exactly what I was thinking to do but I don't know how to accomplish it.
Bbao: I like the free utility you are mentioning. I google it and there are several options. Which one is the right one :) ? Everytime I download some programs or utilities from the net I also download a bunch of junk. If you are familiar with this utility would you please send the right link to download it so I won't make any mistake.
Thank you so much everyone.
Stole this answer from strung over at https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/28539817/Osx-yosemite-moves-really-slow.html?anchorAnswerId=40388695#a40388695
I probably should have posted my points in reverse order since the free options are at the bottom. Checking startup options first is a good idea.
To see if memory is an issue, you can use Activity Monitor. Apple has instructions at http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1342 You want to make sure that Active + Wired is not close to the total amount of RAM. Inactive memory should be available for use, but I've found that's not always the case.
To find out if the hard drive is full, use Get Info on the hard drive. I skimmed parts of this article, but looks like it gives you the directions with pictures: http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/os-x-using-finders-get-info-and-inspector-windows Simple answer is click on your hard drive and press command and i on your keyboard. If you report back the capacity and available numbers, that would let us know if a full hard drive might be the issue.
Removing Startup items:
System Preferences>Users & Groups>Log in Items
Highlight and use the minus button at the bottom left to remove startup items. (Unchecking does not remove them - simply tells them to load in background)I probably should have posted my points in reverse order since the free options are at the bottom. Checking startup options first is a good idea.
To see if memory is an issue, you can use Activity Monitor. Apple has instructions at http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1342 You want to make sure that Active + Wired is not close to the total amount of RAM. Inactive memory should be available for use, but I've found that's not always the case.
To find out if the hard drive is full, use Get Info on the hard drive. I skimmed parts of this article, but looks like it gives you the directions with pictures: http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/os-x-using-finders-get-info-and-inspector-windows Simple answer is click on your hard drive and press command and i on your keyboard. If you report back the capacity and available numbers, that would let us know if a full hard drive might be the issue.
ASKER
Thank you Everyone