13 ways to make Your Mac Run Faster Right Now
13 ways to make Your Mac Run Faster Right Now
Macs are expensive. If you throw down good money for one of your own, you probably don't want to replace it every year. Here are a few suggestions to make sure you get more life out of your computer and keep it running in tip-top shape.
Remove apps you don't use anymore
Browse your Applications folder and see if there are any programs in
there you don't use anymore. If so, use an uninstaller to get rid of
them and free up hard disk space.
We recommend AppZapper to help with the uninstalls.
Free up hard drive space in general
If you fill up your hard drive to the point that you have less than 10 GB of space left, this can cause some problems with virtual memory. If your drive is filled with stuff, either delete it or move it to an external hard drive so you can give your computer a break.
Run Monolingual
Your Mac and many of the programs you install come with alternative languages that you'll never use. You can delete them to free up hundreds of megabytes of storage space with a free app called Monolingual.
Close memory-hogging processes
Get rid of dashboard widgets
you don't use
RAM is what lets you run multiple programs simultaneously. If your computer starts acting sluggish and it's been a while since your last upgrade, adding RAM is a cheap way to squeeze more life out of your computer.
Clean up the apps that launch at startup
Go to System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items. Browse the list of apps that appear there -- if any of them are apps that you don't immediately need when your computer starts up, remove them from the list.
Update your software
It's just good practice to make sure you're running the most current software. Run Software Update every now and then to download the latest updates. They can fix problems behind the scenes that make your computer run slower than it should.
Use a lightweight web browser
Chrome, Firefox, and Opera are all good options. They tend to run faster than Safari and won't hog your machine's memory.
Shut down or restart your computer more often
Your Mac has a few tools that it uses automatically to help maintain itself. Some of these tools only run during shutdown and startup. Get into the habit of turning your computer all the way off every now and then.
Buy an solid state drive.
Instead of a spinning hard drive, an SSD works like a souped-up USB drive and grants you much faster access to your files. It's a tricky installation, so we recommend you take it to a professional.
Make sure your computer stays cool
A hot computer is a suffering computer. If your computer gets too warm, arrange some fans near it or prop it up to get better air circulation underneath it.
Repair permissions
This is commonly debated, but repairing disk permissions can supposedly help your computer run more efficiently. Open Disk Utility from your Applications folder and click on "Repair Disk Permissions."
