My mac is very slow how can i speed it up

A cache is reserved within the memory of your computer. Essentially, caches are temporary holding places for items like fonts and web page graphics. Depending on what you use your Mac for and how often you use it, your cache can become full, which can be the reason for your Mac running slow. Now you might be asking how to speed up your Mac if the problem is a full cache.

The answer is quite simple- clear out your cache. You can do this by clearing out your browsing and download history, plug-ins and cookies, as well as images and files.

5 Top Tips to Speed up a Slow Mac

Having too much cache is a fairly common reason for a slow Mac, so make clearing out your cache one of the first solutions that you try. You will see folders with cached files. You will have to open the folders and delete the contents selectively or as a whole. The more applications that are running, the slower your Mac will work.

If this is the problem, then the solution for how to speed up your Mac is to eliminate some of the background applications. One way to do this is to identify which applications take up the most memory and eliminating them in order to create more space on your Mac, which will cause it to run faster. Those are the programs that you should force to quit in order to speed up your Mac. Every version of OS that Apple comes out with is bigger and better than the last. So naturally, if your Mac is running slow, the problem might be an outdated OS X.

How to speed up a Mac in 11 tips

However, keep in mind that updating your OS X should be one of the last solutions you try to speed up your Mac because it is a more time-consuming process to install a newer version and your computer will typically run slower for a bit after the installation. The more common sources of a Mac running slow is too much cache or not enough memory. However, if none of the above solutions help to speed up your Mac, you should try updating your OS X. Sometimes the problem does go deeper than lack of memory and a system update is needed. As it will take a little big long to complete the update, you have to be patient enough to wait for it.

The ability to customize settings on a Mac is truly fascinating. You can personalize the settings on your Mac to fit your specific needs, which can be a huge asset. However, if you customize too many settings, you might find yourself asking: When you customize too many settings, it can take up too much memory on your Mac, which can be the reason why your Mac is running slow.

If your Mac is running slow, you may think that a software update can fix the problem. After software is finished upgrading, your Mac might be slow initially but after a while, it should be faster than before. As you can see, there are several potential culprits behind your slow Mac.

However, the good news is that all of the solutions are fairly easy. That happens because macOS is constantly swapping memory to disk, especially for setups with low initial RAM. We start addressing this problem by understanding exactly what our Mac is capable of. Begin by exploring the hard drive and disk space available. Go ahead and follow this pathway:. At the top of this window, there will be a five tabs to help users navigate through their Mac system information.

This is where the magic happens. Click that button to see macOS System Information and a detailed breakdown of your storage usage. Here you have four automatic recommendations for saving space on your hard drive. If you need more space, you can always upgrade to a larger storage plan. However, this is billed monthly and can quickly add up over time. Since HD movies, especially in 4k format, are extremely large files, this can help keep your Mac from running out of space without thinking about it. If you turn this on, macOS will automatically delete old items out of the trash after 30 days.

Then you can easily delete as desired. There are a lot of options to free up extra disk space on your hard drive. However, some of these options are timely and take away from other projects you could be working on. It automatically scans, detects, and lets you choose what to delete—all with one click.

Why is my Mac Running Slow?

No micromanagement to optimize your disk space—Parallels Toolbox does the dirty work for you. The most popular and best hardware upgrade for a solid performance boost is an upgrade to your hard drive and RAM. Before making an expensive purchase and upgrading your hardware and replacing your hard drive or RAM, you can try an additional process by simply resetting your parameter random access memory PRAM.

• Reason 2. There is Too Much Cache.
• How to Speed Up Your Mac without Spending a Cent -?
• Why Is My Mac Running Slow? 5 Quick Tips to Speed Up Your Mac!.

Because PRAM is used in Macintosh environments with a battery to retain system information, it can be a helpful tip. Intel-based Mac computers also have a system management controller SMC that manages fans, lights, power, and system performance. You can reset your PRAM with the following steps:.

Shut down your Mac. Yes, shut it all the way down. Putting your Mac to sleep or logging out will not work. Find the following keys: You will need to hold these keys down in step 4.

11 tips to speed up your Mac | Computerworld

You must press this key combination before the gray boot screen appears. Continue holding the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup chime for the second time. Resetting PRAM and SMC may change some system settings such as alarm clock, fans, lights, mouse speed, power actions, startup disk, virtual memory, disk cache, and more preferences. Your computer operating with a lack of RAM is a tricky situation to be in, but it has a relatively easy solution.

Think of your RAM like a workbench; the more space you have on your workbench, the more projects you can have out and be actively working on. However, not all RAM is the same. Replacing RAM is as easy as click out, click in, screw on the plate, and boot your Mac to see a difference in everyday performance—but some Mac models cannot be upgraded since the RAM is glued and soldered into place.

While replacing the RAM can be an easy fix, it can also become a costly solution. A solid-state hard drive upgrade can make a huge difference in your everyday experience, regardless of what you may be using your computer for. Benefits of an SSD include better efficiency for energy consumption, more reliable, and quieter operation. Over the last few years, the pricing for SSDs has come down enough to be considered a reasonable investment for an older Mac. Phillips However, there are tons of wonderful third-party resources such as iFixIt.

A helpful bundle to purchase is the upgrade kit specifically created by iFixIt. You can also move your existing hard drive onto an external drive case and use it as a portable drive. However, this is a great opportunity to start fresh, too! Deleting or removing unused applications is quite easy and a quick way to save a ton of space. This will bring up your entire Applications Folder with all applications that are installed on your Mac hard drive.

There is one last step: Check the Trash to see if there is anything you want to save. When you empty the Trash, the application is permanently removed from your Mac, and you cannot get it back without re-downloading it from an external source such as a website, disk, USB drive, or carrier pigeon.