If you suspect an app crashed, right-click its icon in the Dock, hold the Option key on your keyboard, and then click Force Quit. Subsequent restarts will help bring your Mac to average speed. I had no problem with a slow MAC until installing Catalina. The OS sees each icon as an independent window, causing delays when performing Finder searches, for instance. Reasons Your MacBook Pro/Air is Slow and How to Fix These Problems 1. To see the memory, click the “Memory” tab, and reorder the “Memory” column in descending to see similar results. A newer operating system will always be faster than its predecessor. Spotlight is Indexing. If you have a lot of tabs or windows open on your internet browser, this can cause your MacBook Pro to slow down as it attempts to load and reload all of the information found on those pages. These may be causing your browser performance to lag. Sometimes the volume errors on your disk may cause slow performance. Some common tasks that might push your Mac over the edge are: If you have hundreds of tabs open in a browser like Chrome, don’t be surprised if you encounter memory issues. Here are some of the easier tips you can try to speed up your Mac. These activities can slow down your system. These simple actions may fix your MacBook internet slow connection. You can delete this file by locating com.apple.finder.plist in the ~/Library/Preferences/ folder. Click the Manage button. Install it on a USB stick, start your Mac, and then run it. If it’s not functioning correctly, you might encounter slowdowns, freezes, and sudden shutdowns. You can play around with deactivating certain extensions that might only be needed occasionally. I personally own and make extensive use of a MacBook Air. Your Mac includes a basic diagnostic tool you can run yourself. There’s nothing worse than a slow Mac or the dreaded spinning beach ball of death when things get really bad. For years now, Apple releases a new operating system for your MacBook each year. Apple Diagnostics can only tell you so much in the form of a reference code. 22. iCloud syncing (in 10.7.2 and later) can slow things down. Here’s how to diagnose the issue so you can fix the problem. Click the Apple icon in the upper left corner, then About This Mac and then select the Storage tab. An example is a Flash player extension or Grammarly to help you avoid grammatical mistakes. Using the intuitive interface and filters in the app allows you to obtain a list of the files on your computer. Hungry software, like Photoshop, open in the background. A quirk in the way Mac’s operating system handles graphics causes items that are stored on your desktop to take up more resources than expected. And when they do eventually die, data recovery is impossible. Click System Report, and then choose Storage. If you can figure out what’s wrong, you can take steps to rectify it. Follow these steps to do so: Note: If Apple Diagnostics doesn’t start, try holding Option+D instead. If you encounter repeated issues with the same apps, you might want to consider using something else (or drop the developer an email). In a worst-case scenario, you can always ask Apple to take a look. 1. Whether this is due to system or user error, it can slow the performance of your system down to a crawl. Open System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver, click the Desktop tab and uncheck the Change picture option. It might be labeled a MacBook, MacBook Air or a MacBook Pro. For example, MemTest86 is a free tool you can use to check your computer’s memory. If your Mac is running slowly, the problem can be with a particular application. Is your Mac slow? At iKeema, we are a team of dedicated experts with profound knowledge devoted to solving all your queries related to M ac/MacBook Pro/MacBook Air, and other all other iOS devices . Processes that have completely crashed appear in red with the words “Not responding” next to them under Activity Monitor. Disk Drill data recovery software offers a great free tool that can help you quickly accomplish this goal. Running FirstAid to Fix Volume Errors 11. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to fix this, including: And some web apps can tax your machine just as much as native ones. You can then use the Mac benchmark charts to see how it stacks up. And fast performance means it gets to use a lot of Mac’s CPU resources compared to other browsers. Doing two or more of the above (or similarly intensive processes) simultaneously. The easiest way to see how much of your hard drive is being used is to open up your Mac’s Disk Utility and select your main hard drive. There are many reasons why your Mac might have performance issues. Not as simple as it sounds, cleaning up a hard disk actually takes a lot of manual efforts. Click on Login items and you can select which of the programs that you want to execute on startup. Ideally, your hard drive shouldn't be more than 85 percent full. Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. This method will speed up your Macbook by up to 250%. So, I guess a major macOS update will slow down boot time. If it says “Failing,” this could be the source of your problems. Downloading applications, creating documents, and storing digital media of all types can quickly start to eat up the free space on your hard disk. This will open the Storage Management window. If your machine constantly crashes or is sluggish due to a failing hardware component, it’s time to consider purchasing a new one. Send them to the trash. For a more detailed report, you’re better off booking a free appointment at the Genius bar. This utility should give you more information than Apple claims it will. 21. Update software to prevent a slow Mac Once in a while Apple releases software updates. That happens because macOS is constantly swapping memory to disk, especially for … If your internet is as slow when your smartphone or other device is connected to Wi-Fi, chances are, the trouble is not with your Mac. There is a reason Apple keeps on updating their operating system. Moreover, … Remember, your old Mac might still hold good resale value. Clean Your Mac’s Hard Drive One of the first places to look when you discover your Mac is running slow is your hard drive. Allowing them to become too large can be detrimental to your computer’s performance. 2. If your Mac has a dedicated GPU, you can test it with tools like Heaven or Cinebench. In order to have a better performance, no matter you play the games or use some working apps, some users choose to cost plenty of money to buy a new Mac. Fixing them is a must because after all, they touch on the Mac’s basic and most-used functions. Replacing HDDs with SSDs was the right decision as it improves the overall performance. There are three types of caches that can be cleaned on a Mac. Discuss: Fix your slow Mac once and for all Sign in to comment. A failing drive can also cause issues. Today I show you how to fix a slow Macbook. 7. Then, click the Screen Saver tab, click the drop-down menu next to Start after, and select Never. How-To Geek is where you turn when you want experts to explain technology. Eventually, the drive will become “Fatal,” and you’ll have to replace it or your Mac. Click on the “FirstAid” button to fix the volume errors and fix them. Join 350,000 subscribers and get a daily digest of news, geek trivia, and our feature articles. Any problems that arise there will likely require that you replace your Mac’s logic board. This way, the apps using the most processing power appear at the top. If you have an old Mac and you’d like to squeeze as much life out of it as possible, here are a few things you can try: The right time to buy a new computer is when you need one. Below we will run through the various checks you should make to speed up your Mac if it is running slow. When you first started using the computer its storage capacity might have seemed more than sufficient for the activities which the machine was intended to perform. pic.twitter.com/RUThfobvLS, — Catty 🦇 (@_hellocatty) October 1, 2015. pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.overrideAttributeFunctions(); Tim Brookes is a technology writer with more than a decade of experience. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Command+Option+Esc to force quit the current app. If you want Apple to repair your machine, you have to pay out of pocket if the warranty’s expired, unless you have AppleCare. Mac is Running Slow due to Lack of Hard Drive Space Running out of space may not just ruin your system performance—it can also cause the applications you’re working with to crash. At times, the Finder app slows down and negatively impacts your computing experience. How to Fix a Slow MacBook Pro by Upgrading the OS If you asked, “Why is my Macbook Pro much slower than normal?”, take a quick look at the last time you updated your version of macOS. It removes junk files from Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Opera all in one place, covering caches, cookies, browsing history, download history and sessions. Change the Screen Saver on the Chromecast with Google TV, Make Phone Calls From Windows 10 With an Android Phone, How to Use Outlook’s “My Templates” Add-in For Quick Text Entry, How to Use Shortcuts Directly From iPhone and iPad Home Screen, How to Close All Google Chrome Windows at Once, © 2020 LifeSavvy Media. As we are all too well aware, time changes everything. Step 7: Upgrade your memory You might be surprised at what is there, and removing some apps can have a dramatic impact on your startup speed. Even desktop computers like the iMac are notoriously difficult to repair yourself—Apple uses heavy amounts of glue and solder in its manufacturing process. Because a slow startup is normal and expected after the installation of a new macOS version. One example of this would be if you use a web-based spreadsheet tool, like Google Sheets, to crunch a lot of data. As your Mac ages, expect its performance to decline. A quick and effective way is using a smart Mac cleaning software, MacClean. After that, things start to go downhill. Don’t put up with it! If you spot anything using more than its fair share, click it, and then click the “X” to kill the process. Too many extensions and plugins negatively affect your browser’s responsiveness. Over time, many Mac computers can become slow. This tool is useful to rule out hardware issues, but it’s pretty useless for troubleshooting purposes. You will obtain a graphic display that indicates how much of your disk is in use and how much is available. You are Using an Outdated MacOS. You can restart your computer by going to the Apple menu > Restart. This article has been approved by Brett Johnson, Data Recovery Engineer at ACE Data Recovery. If you have less than 20% free space, you should seriously consider some disk maintenance. There are also temp folders that contain system files that probably should be left alone unless there is an overwhelming and compelling reason to touch them. If you’re thinking about selling your old Mac, here are some tips to help you out. When you're trying to save a file and the spinning pinwheel of death appears. One way to glean more information is to benchmark it with an app like Geekbench. As long as your hardware meets the specifications, you should go ahead and upgrade your OS. He's invested in the Apple ecosystem, with experience covering Macs, iPhones, and iPads for publications like Zapier and MakeUseOf. Status” and see what is written alongside it. If your Mac has a problem with a particular component, the fix becomes more complicated. You can then free up space on your Mac. The company only charges you for repairs after it has your consent to make them. A general rule of thumb is to keep 15 percent of your startup disk free at all times. Please try each step until you fix your problem. To do that: Tips to Fix the Problem of a Slow Macbook Tip #1 – Clear Disk Storage The most recent Mac models come with solid-state drives. Click the “Storage” tab to see a breakdown of your current disk usage. In some cases, it may be a good idea to upgrade the version you’re working with. Your MacBook was never more streamlined than those first few times you fired it up. Problem 1. When you see the screen that asks you to select a language, release the D key. 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