4 Tips to Speed Up a Slow Mac

We're already showing you how to get in shape in 2017 with our Cool Fit videos

But in this video, I'm going to show you four ways to tune up your Mac. So let's get started

I've mentioned this before on the channel, but one of the main issues of Mac's running slow

is that the hard drive is nearly full. When free space on the hard drive gets too low, the OS can't operate efficiently and spend

more time doing smaller read-write operations, which is why you'll start to see the wheel

of death more often. You can find out how much space is left by going to the Apple logo in the top left

and clicking on about this Mac. Then choose the storage tab to see how much available free space your Mac still has

If the remaining space is less than 2 gig, then your computer is struggling

A good rule of thumb is to keep at least 3 times the amount of installed RAM free

For example, if you have 2 gig of RAM installed, keep at least 6 gig free on the disk

To free up space, you can use MacOS's storage utility tool to optimize storage, empty trash automatically

and reduce clutter. or if you're on a map that doesn't support MacOS Sierra, you can use an app such as Omnidisc Sweeper

which does pretty much the same. I've done full tutorials on each, which I'll make sure to leave links to in the description

down below. The disk directory is the list of files stored on your hard drive along with their locations

Sometimes this can get out of sync with the actual files on disk. If a program crashes or doesn complete saving a file correctly the information in the directory might not match what it actually on your disk If a program crashes it could corrupt cash files then this could make them partially or completely unreadable There are lots of utilities to help with these problems one simple solution is built

into your Mac. The Safe Boot will run a full scan on your drive sector and also fix any problems found in

the disk directory, clearing cash files of old data ready for a clean start on your

next reboot. If you want to perform a safe boot, simply restart your computer and hold down the shift key

until you reach the desktop. Wait a few minutes and the progress bar may appear on screen depending on your version of OS10 or MacOS

Once you reach the desktop, release the shift key and restart. For more advanced disk directory repairs, I highly recommend Disc Warrior

If your Mac when boot at all, you can often get things working again with this useful utility

When your Mac starts up, programs you use frequently can be set to automatically launch at startup

Safari, Mail, Dropbox, etc. Several background processes may also get loaded to support programs you've installed

like backup software, and some programs may have configured themselves to launch its startup

whether you want them to or not. Skype anyone? To prune these down, check in a few places

First, visit system preferences and then users and accounts. And then click the login tab

Here, you'll see a list of items set to open automatically when you log in. Some of these items may no longer be needed

You can also remove any programs that may have configured themselves to run automatically which you don use To remove an item select it and click the minus sign A long delay at startup could be a sign of a missing shared network drive If you previously connected your Mac to a server or another networked Mac say at work

that drive may have been added to the list of items to open up at login. If you're then on another network or the share is unavailable for some reason, the Mac will

pause as it waits for a response from the missing disc. Check to see if there are shared drives or volumes in the login items list

And if so, remove them. The next few steps are a bit more advanced

You need to be familiar with locating and deleting configuration files on your hard drive

If you're not comfortable with these steps, skip these and head straight to the next section

On the hard drive, there are a few more folders you can check as listed on the screen

These folders contain .p list files that launch background processes, backups, VPNs, etc

You can delete items you recognize as outdated or programs no longer needed

Also, note that in OS1010.7 and above, the user library folder is invisible by default

To make it visible, hold down the option key, then in finder, click on Go and then library

The more RAM you have, the more programs you can run simultaneously with less need to cache

and store data on the much slower disk storage. Doubling or quadrupling the amount of installed RAM, if possible, will make a noticeable

difference in how smoothly the computer functions. You can see how much memory is installed on your Mac under the Apple menu by choosing

about this Mac. For how to install more RAM in your MacBook or IMac check out the links in are slightly older but still relevant videos Quitting unused applications can also improve performance I come across many people complaining about bizarre behavior on their Macs only to find 30 apps running simultaneously

Quitting or force quitting most of them can substantially improve performance. If you need to force quit, restart the computer afterwards

Speaking of restarting, why do techs always tell you to do this? Well, for one thing, it tends to solve problems more than half the time

So, it's our default response for a quick fix. But more seriously, after your computer's

been running for a while and swapping lots of things in and out of RAM, or after a program

has crashed, small errors can snowball into bigger glitches. Rebooting the computer clears out everything from RAM, soaps all-running processors, reloads

the OS, and brings things back to square one. Sometimes problems seem so vast that a fresh installation of the operating system is attempting fix

In my experience, this isn't routinely needed. It's definitely worth trying the steps I've mentioned previously before replacing the OS

However, if you've tried all the steps I've mentioned and are still having problems, an OS

reinstall might help. Remember to back up all of your data first, using either time machine or making a clone of the hard drive

I'll make sure to leave the link in the description down below for how to do this. Well, it's it for this video

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