Aug 23, 2016. Dec 15, 2018. May 02, 2016.
Is your Mac running slow? There could be several reasons behind it, such as low-disk space, outdated macOS, opening many memory-hungry apps at once, etc. If your Mac is performing up to mark, don’t panic, there are various ways to speed up your Mac. Let’s take a look!
1. Use Activity Monitor to identify Memory Hogs
The Activity Monitor provides a convenient way to check which apps are consuming most system resources. You can access it through Finder → Applications → Utilities → Activity Monitor, or open Spotlight by pressing the Command and space bar keys and then type in ‘Activity Monitor.’
In Activity Monitor, you can see all the processes running on your Mac, and there are many you cannot or should not close. So before you do anything, go to the menu bar at the top of the screen and click on View → Windowed Processes.
Now, click on the CPU button in Activity Monitor and the “%CPU” column. This will list all apps according to the amount of CPU they are using. If you notice that any specific app is hogging a lot of CPU power, then you can close it by clicking on it in the list and then clicking the x button in the left corner of the Activity Monitor.
Also, note that if some apps are using a lot of power, it may be time to update them so that they can function more efficiently.
2. Prefer Safari over other browsers
Many apps can be a drain on your Mac, but Google Chrome is especially notorious. Even though it may be your favorite browser, there’s no denying that it hogs more RAM and processing power than others.
Therefore, it’s recommended that you use Safari or Firefox to keep your Mac running fast. Another option is to only open a few tabs in Chrome at a time, but you will need to check if this makes much of a difference.
3. Close Unnecessary Apps
Running a lot of different apps at once consumes plenty of memory and power. So it’s a good practice to close the apps that you’re not actively using. A quick way to see which apps are open is to check the Dock on your Mac. Open apps have a dot under their icon. To shut down an unwanted app, right-click on its icon in the Dock and select Quit or ‘Force Quit’ if you see the option.
Alternatively, if you press Cmd + Tab, you can access the App Switcher and see all open programs. As you tab through them, you can select an app and press Cmd-Q to quit it.
If you’re not able to quit the app and only see the colorful spinning ball, you can close apps from the Apple menu. Click on the Apple logo at the left corner of the menu bar and then click on Force Quit.
You will then see a list of all open applications, from which you can select which to quit.
4. Stop Programs from Opening at Startup
Sometimes, a lot of apps may be automatically opening up when your computer powers up, which can be a drain on the system. So it’s a good idea to manage these as follows:
5. Empty the Trash & Downloads
This one sounds obvious, but you may often let files pile up in your Downloads as well as in Trash. So be sure to look through the Downloads folder in the Finder and delete everything you no longer need. Similarly, discarded files in Trash take up unnecessary space, which you can reclaim by right-clicking on Trash in the Dock and then selecting Empty Trash.
Moreover, if you’re running the latest version of macOS, you can choose to let Trash automatically delete items every 30 days. Here’s how:
6. Delete Old and Large Files
Over time, you can gather a lot of files on your Mac and often forget about them. Too much clutter can clog up your system, so you should get rid of old files as well as huge files. You can search for large files using the method below:
7. Remove Unwanted Programs and Widgets
Now and then, you should take stock of the apps you have installed on your Mac and remove all the unwanted ones. This can help clear out space on your system to keep it running smoothly. You can delete apps by merely dragging them into the Trash icon at the bottom of the screen.
Further, you can also delete unwanted widgets from the Notification Centre as described below:
Now, remove any unwanted widgets by clicking the red-colored minus icon beside them.
Increase Internet Speed Mac8. Keep your Mac up to date
Usually, your Mac automatically updates to the latest version of macOS whenever it becomes available. This helps keep your computer speedy and safe. You can manually check for software updates by clicking the Apple icon in the top left corner of your screen and then selecting About This Mac.
Click the Software Update button to check if any new versions are available.
9. Delete Cache and Temporary Files
Caches are groups of files that usually help you to speed up your Mac. They are retained to be reused. For instance, a web browser caches web pages to make them load faster the next time you visit them.
The problem is that caches and temporary files can also clog up your disk space, so you should clear them to speed up your Mac. Bring up Go To Folder by hitting Command+Shift+G from your desktop or in the Go menu in Finder.
In the Go To Folder box, type in: ~/Library/Caches/
Now, delete the files that are taking up most space. You can even delete them all because they will be automatically recreated as needed when you use your Mac.
10. Upgrade Your Mac RAM
The more RAM that you have on your Mac, the more windows or tabs you can keep running without slowing down the system. The standard RAM on most Macs in 2020 is 8 GB or more. You can check the RAM on your system by clicking on the Apple icon in the menu bar, selecting About This Mac, and clicking on the Memory tab.
You should consult a professional to work out if it’s possible to add more RAM to your system and how much to add.
Summing Up
There are several things you can do to speed up your slow Mac and get it running efficiently again. Perhaps the most important is to have enough space on your disk. If you have a lot of data, you can invest in some of the best external SSDs to keep your computer light and unburdened. Let us know in the comments below if you’re looking for any more Mac tips and tricks.
Jignesh Padhiyar is the co-founder of iGeeksBlog.com who has a keen eye for news, rumors and all the unusual stuff that happens around Apple products. During his tight schedule, Jignesh finds some moments of respite to share side-splitting contents on social media.
Why is my Mac so slow? Is there any effective way to fix it? Read on this iMobie guide to fix Mac/MacBook Air/Pro running slow problem.
Mac Tips & Issue FixesMac Related TipsMac Problems & FixesMac Clean Tips
Q: ” Why is my Mac running so slow? I have a MacBook Pro (2019) model. It’s old but hardly used, and is slowing down. I am wondering why my Mac is running slow and how can make it run like new?”
— A User from Yahoo Answers
Macs like all computers, Windows or Vista, can run slower over time. By performing a few simple clean up and maintenance tricks, you can have your slow Mac back running like new in no time. Here in this iMobie guide is by no means a comprehensive list of things that could be slowing down your Mac and how to fix it to speed up your Mac.
Also Read: How to Free up Space on Mac >
Reason 1: Mac hard drive is nearly full
First of all, go to check and see if you have enough free hard drive space to work with: Click the Apple menu > Select “About This Mac” > Click on the “More Info” button > Choose the “Storage” tab to check the disk storage overview and capacity.
Like every Mac user, you might have stored many huge video files, thousands of photos and music tracks on your Mac computer. The popularity of using solid-state drives (SSDs) of Mac computers means considerably less capacity than traditional hard drives. Even an iPhoto library can quickly fill up a MacBook Air’s 64GB or 128GB SSD, and nothing slows a Mac than having too much on a hard drive.
Solutions:
Firstly, find the large media files on your Mac, delete the unused videos, apps, photos, etc. Or you can move all of them to an external hard drive, and remove them from your Mac.
Secondly, remember empty your trash cans, say the user account’s main trash can and the iPhoto/iMovie/Mail trash can.
Thirdly, remove the junk files generated from your web browser, system, or applications. A quick and effective way is using a smart Mac cleaning software, MacClean.
Why Is My MacBook Running Slow and How to Fix It with MacClean
Also Read:
Reason 2: Don’t have enough RAM
A question from a Mac user: “I have a 27” iMac (Late 2012, OS X 10.9.2) with 8GB RAM. The usage of memory is always above 7GB, even though I don’t think I am running that much stuff. This leads to the occasional hanging of a program and occasional feeling of the computer being lagged.”
Yes, most Macs ship with between 4GB and 16GB of RAM. If your Mac has only 4GB or 8GB RAM, the system might be running low when launching programs or loading documents.
How To Speed Up Your Mac
You can check your RAM by using the Activity Monitor application (under Utilities in the Application folder). Click on System Memory tab and have a look at the pie chart at the bottom. If the chart is largely red or orange which means you are running out of RAM.
Solution:
Step 1. Open up Terminal: ~/Applications/Utilities.
Step 2. Enter the command: Purge, and tap the enter tab.
Step 3. Give your Mac a minute or two to complete the process.
Open up Activity Monitor to see the before and after results, you’ll find the Free size increases in System Memory.
Can’t Miss: How to Free Up Memory on Your Mac >
Reason 3: Lots of unneeded login items
Login items are a bunch of services and applications that should launch every time you start up your Mac. When you turn on your Mac, you may notice the process taking longer and longer over time. One of the reasons might be that you’ve allowed two many items to creep into the system over time.
Solution:
Kill the unneeded login items.
Step 1. Open up System Preferences, and click the Users & Groups.
Step 2. Click the Login Items tab, and you’ll see a list of apps that open every time you turn on Mac.
Step 3. Select the login items you want to kill and click the “-” button to remove them.
Lots of unneeded login items
Reason 4: Having too much on Mac desktop
Every document file on your desktop requires memory to store. If you keep too many items on your desktop, this can slow down your Mac speed to some extent. Accordingly, keeping a relatively clear desktop helps to ensure your Mac good performance where it should be.
Solution:
Clean up your desktop is a really easy job. First of all, delete the files you don’t need anymore, and empty the Trash. Classified the files on your mac, and move them to some folders. Name the folder so that you can easily find the one you need.
You May Like: How to Clean Cache on Mac >
The Bottom LineMac Running Slow How To Clean Up
You can make your slow Mac run faster with the above 4 solutions now. If you have any questions on this guide, please let us know in the comment section. Don’t hesitate to share this post with your friends if it solves your problem. In addition, download MacClean to fix your slow Mac and have a free trial now >
How To Fix A Slow Macbook Pro
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