If your Mac’s running at a snail’s pace, there are a few simple things you can do to speed it up! My Macbook’s only a few years old but already I’m starting to notice a decrease in performance — windows opening slower, startup and shut down taking forever, applications lagging, etc. I decided it was time to give my trusty Macbook a tune-up. Below, I have complied a list of simple things you can do to speed up your Mac.
Remove Startup Items
Remove unneeded startup items. Click the apple, go to System Preferences, and click on Accounts. Go to the Login Items tab, and remove any applications that you don’t want to launch every time you login. Do this by highlighting the application and clicking the minus button.
Shrink The Dock & Remove ‘Other’ Applications
Shrink the size of the dock in System Preferences under dock. Also deselect Animate Opening Applications.
Remove any unused applications under Other. Open the item and there should be a “Remove” option.
Turn Off Widgets or Disable Dashboard
Turn off unused widgets in the dashboard. Click F12, and uncheck any widgets you don’t regularly use. You can also completely remove the dashboard from your Mac. I never use my dashboard and I dislike having applications running that I don’t use or need, so I opted to remove it from my computer. Launch Terminal and then enter the following commands…
To turn Dashboard off:
defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean YES To turn Dashboard on:
defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean NO To restart the Dock after making either change for it to take effect:
killall Dock Delete Unused Files and Cashe
Delete unused applications and files to clear space on your computer. Make sure to use an application such as AppCleaner to remove applications.
Download a maintenance application such as OnyX to clear out your computer’s cache. (Note: Make sure you download the correct version for your OS)
Run activity monitor
Check what programs are running by opening your activity monitor in the utilities folder. Check to see what applications are using the most memory. Turn off any you aren’t using.
Optimize Your Laptop
If you’re on a laptop, check the Options under Energy Saver in System Preferences to make sure the processor performance is on the highest setting.
23 Comments
Thanks for the tips! I have way too many apps on my computer, so I’m definitely going to give AppCleaner a try. I also have a bad habit of leaving my mac on for weeks. Which really slows it down. If I use these tips and remember to restart my computer, then it should be running fast once again. Thanks.
Turning off universal access, internet sharing, bluetooth and speech recognition if they’re not needed can also give a small performance boost.
Jay Willingham has written-NOT HAS WROTE.
You should have someone check what you are publishing. Poor English usage makes you look uneducated
He made a mistake. You should know that your post indicts you as an asshole.
Right on!
Silly me, there I was thinking this forum was designed to help people with computer problems NOT English Grammar.
@MBClayton – comments like that make you look an arsehole
Wow .. Thanks for the tips they do help
Thanks for all the helpful tips!!!
Your instructions about removing an item from dashboard are not clear to me. I accidentally put something there that I cannot remove. Please help
@MB CClayton
Firstly, speaking of grammar, in common English usage, there should be a space between initials such as ‘MB’.
Secondly, unless Jay Willingham likens himself to the Queen of England, and likes to refer to himself in the third person, it is extremely unlikely he wrote that piece about himself.
Thirdly – get a life!
Like gadabout, I found the instructions about removing an item from dashboard unclear. I don’t know how to “click” F12. All I can do is press the F12 button and that just increases the volume. Holding down F12 for a period of time does nothing either. I would like to get rid of a few widgets; the clock, weather forecast and I have a printer widget on the dashboard too. I frequently use the calculator and the calendar so I would like to keep these.
i am interested in this site but would like to know if this is the same thing as defragmentation or am i old school?
i am a senior citizen but would like to learn. i was introduced to my first computer in 1978, (apple, but i love the mac. thank u. also is this a FREE thing to use?
I just get the volume control when I click F12 too so what you’ve got to do is click on the Dashboard, then click “Manage Widgets” and uncheck any boxes next to the widgets you don’t use. Simple.
A great way for Mac users to get rid of a lot of Apps, widgets, junk files, duplicate files (and their residue which can slow down your system) permanently, and increase security, etc. is to download “MacKeeper” – a lot of Apps bundled into one download. I bought it ($40/single) a few days ago and was able to clean up my hard-drive/systems/utilies and regain 1.8 Kbs of storage in the process with better security and speed. You get all the updates/upgrades for free after that.
After updating to LION f12 no longer controlled volume, it goes to dashboard and back. Select fn F12 = vol up; fn F11 = vol down.
Thank you for this wonderfull help – easy to follow – I like to see graphic like you did – helps to understand and don t have to reread all steps to be followed
I tried, as you suggested, to remove 75% of the languages , but cannot find the way to delete it. Could you tell me how please
Thank you
Doreen
I TOO have problems with Dashboard, and haven’t been able to get rid of some “widgets” that got added somehow.
And I am mystified by the reference to the F12.
Is f12 the default to show dashboard in the expose settings?
Hold down the “fn” button when you press F12.That will take you to Widgets. Then press the “Manage widgets” button. You’ll get a list of all your widgets with check boxes to remove the ones you don’t use. I unchecked about half of those on my list.
I get the widgets with f12 but don’t see a “Manage Widgets” button. Where is it? I would love to get rid of a couple widgets.
Good stuff, here. Thanks for all the tips., especially “fn” + “F12″ key tip; and others designed to speed up my Mac. First time I have really cleaned up my Mac in almost 5 years. Thanks MacKeeper and other “posters” here.
Most useful blog for computer maintenance. Thanks to MacKeeper and others including the writer who noted the wrong verb form in a credit to the author. Old publishers like me automatically think we are helping to call attention to such errors. We do this not to be pedantic (ie., trying to show off superior educational capabilities with language instead of just electronic bit stuff), but to improve the quality for all. Sloppy language can cause failures to communicate, sort of like computer code with bugs that can stop it.