25 Ways to Speed Up Your Mac

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25 Ways to Speed Up Your Mac

Posted 04/28/2009 at 10:51:09pm | by Michael Simon

While you're waiting for Apple to nail down a release date for the next major version of OS X, here are a few easy ways to get your Mac tuned and toned in time for Snow Leopard:

Open Up and Say, ‘Ahhhhh’

Tucked away in the Utilities folder is Activity Monitor, a useful app that’ll provide you with a comprehensive overview of CPU usage, system memory, disk activity and network performance to help you locate any issues with your hardware. Before troubleshooting with any of the tips below, a perusal of your Mac’s vitals will make it easier to diagnose, prescribe and dispense the proper medication.

I Can’t Quit You, Baby

Let’s start off easy. Mac newbies and recent switchers might not realize it, but OS X doesn’t automatically assume you’re done using an app just because you close a window. While that’s good for productivity, lots of open, idle apps--especially bloated ones, like Photoshop--can slow down your system. So when you’re finished with them, make sure to properly quit.

Flip the Switch

If you have multiple accounts on your Mac, your side might be negatively affected by apps still running on one of the other users’ screens. By logging out all other accounts before settling in for a lengthy work session, you’ll likely find things a little snappier.

Fidget with Your Widgets

Even the most obsessed users don’t need every widget running on their Dashboard, and shutting down at least a few of them--especially if you’re not running Leopard--will save precious FLOPs. Like leaving too many apps running inconspicuously in the Dock, having a host of widgets silently spinning in the background can eat into your processing power and drag down your Mac.

Update, Update and Away!

While automatically scheduled to run weekly tests for new updates, it can’t hurt to occasionally check your Software Update preference pane to make sure an OS update hasn’t slipped in under the radar--a point update can be like a blood transfusion for your Mac, and the sooner it’s installed, the better off you’ll be.

Remember Your Permission Slip

It might not be the panacea the forums would have you believe it is, opening Apple’s Disk Utility is a good first step toward getting your Mac in tip-top shape. Simply click on the First Aid tab and then Repair Disk Permissions. Think of it like a 3,000-mile oil change for you Mac.

Stick to the Scripts

Like any UNIX-based system, OS X runs a series of maintenance scripts daily, weekly and monthly to keep everything clean and uncluttered. However, unless your Mac is an insomniac, it’ll miss it’s nightly 3:15 a.m. scheduled appointment. Thankfully, you can run them yourself, either by getting your hands dirty tinkering under the hood using Terminal, or downloading any number of apps, such as Onyx or Cocktail, to help you out.

Cache Rules Everything Around Me

One of the most common causes of OS X slow-down is the result of an abundance of stored temporary files, namely overflowing system, user and font caches. A relatively simply Terminal commands can clear them out:

atsutil databases -remove

will flush those pesky font buildup, but there are an array of third-party apps (including the two linked above) to help you here, too.

Feel Free to Chime in at Any Time

After every script, cache dump, permission repair or software update, a good, old-fashioned restart will help keep your Mac so fresh and so clean. And since Macs don't usually need to be restarted, try to remember to do it once a week.

COMMENTS: 19

TAGS: OS X, Utilities, speed

COMMENTS

A great tool to help with these tips
Submitted by homemaderobot on Wed, 2009-04-29 05:06

Check out a program called Xupport. While this can be a paid application, you do have the option of running it for free (which gives you a delay in loading, but its worth it). The program helps with optimizing your system, clearing caches, running maintenance scripts, disabling 3D effects or changing the color of your dock, managing virtual RAM, etc.

I use it at work mostly, but I also run it on my macbook every once and a while. You can find it in Apple's Download section.

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Your "Stick to the Scripts" tip is obsolete.
Submitted by obvioustroll on Wed, 2009-04-29 05:31

There hasn't been a need to run the daily, weekly or monthly scripts by hand since 10.4. These jobs are now managed by anacron and periodic (10.4) or by launchd (10.5) - in either case, if the computer is sleeping or off when the time to run a job passes, it will just run the job the next time it's started.

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not really obsolete
Submitted by Michael Simon on Wed, 2009-04-29 07:46

I included the scripts tip for a number of reasons. First, not everyone has Leopard, and the 10.4.3 "launchd" update was known to sleep on the job. Also, some people have reported problems with maintenance script automation after waking from sleep in Leopard. So, I think it's best to run them when things get slow, even if they might be redundant.
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Scripts are NOT automatic
Submitted by MacRob on Wed, 2009-04-29 12:07

I have had Leopard since the day it came out, and I have never had The scripts run unless the computer was on at the time they were scheduled. I usually shut down when I'm not using my Mac. I just checked my scripts, and the monthly hasn't been run since Feb 1, 2009. I'm going to wait until May to check again, then I'll do it myself if it doesn't take care of itself.OSX 10.5.6 on a MacPro.

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evidence!
Submitted by Michael Simon on Wed, 2009-04-29 13:22

This is exactly what I'm talking about. The script(s) are supposed to run as soon as the computer wakes from sleep (assuming it was sleeping through the scheduled 3 a.m. maintenance) but that doesn't always happen. So, running them manually is a good habit to get into.
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great article - terrible finish
Submitted by garyedgar on Fri, 2009-05-01 11:23

I know it's harmless fun - but is it possible for this magazine/website to write an article just once without trashing Windows? It's just lazy and frankly for people who aren't blindly fanatical - not in anyway helpful. Just a suggestion.

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great article - terrible finish
Submitted by dBraf on Sat, 2009-05-16 11:52

Different strokes - I didn't see that particular comment as Windows bashing, to me it was a reminder to 'keep things in perspective'. We now live in a consumer society that conditions us to be dissatisfied with what we have, to tempt us to 'buy more'. I have 2 'hot' Apples (iMac24+MacBookPro17) 4Gb each and i still find myself looking for more speed (why I'm reading the article) and it's only when I have to help a friend/colleague with a PC that i appreciate how lucky I am and how much extra stress they have to tolerate in their environment !

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Aiyay!
Submitted by Gaursun on Mon, 2009-05-25 13:57

I agree. I just switch to Mac a few months ago. When I am at work on the pc's and dealing with issues for hours and sometimes days at a time that seem wholey unproductive, due to slowness, etc. etc. it is like a breath of fresh air to get home and I do want to bear-hug my Mac. Thanks to MIchael for the great tips on upkeep, this site is always wonderfully informative.

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"Automatic" scripts ?
Submitted by edwinblaw on Tue, 2009-05-05 07:35

I, too, have had Leopard, updated to 10.5.6, since issue. I also have 'Cocktail' but never used it. As a result of this excellent article, I did check and found the last script run was last July.

I also thought if it tried to run and couldn't it would then run when awakened. Apparently not so. I just used 'Cocktail' to set my 'run' to 1300 when the machine is usually awake but I am at lunch.

Thanks for the tip. I am also a Maximum PC avid reader and I see a similartiy and THAT IS a compliment,

Ed The only love you can buy is that of a dog.

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Monolingual – DON'T USE!!!!!!!!
Submitted by dmckill on Wed, 2009-05-06 11:43

Before you download Monolingual...PLEASE READ! I, as well as a few designers I work with, read this article and decided to try some of the space saving suggestions that we hadn't tried in the past. Upon downloading Monolingual and running the software, we found that we saved anywhere between 1GB and 3.5GB respectfully on our machines. The problems occurred after shutting down and restarting the next day. All of us had issues opening Adobe Acrobat (CS3 in Leopard) and one designer couldn't open ANY CS3 programs, while I, myself, couldn't open Microsoft Office. It was until we ran Monolingual that these issues/problems arose. We had to re-install the OS as well as the software to fix all the problems we ran into. If you're going to try this piece of software...BEWARE and definitely BACK-UP your data!!!!!

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Monolingual
Submitted by JustinMHas on Mon, 2009-05-18 19:03

Very true. I have an old PowerBook G4 and it had a kernel panic while running monolingual. I was running software update at the same time and you could make a case that monolingual wasn't the cause of the kernel panic, but it's definitely something to consider. Also, monolingual only freed up about 128 MB of space on my MacBook Pro, which could be a lot for some but isn't that much for a 150 GB drive.

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Editor/Proofreader anyone?
Submitted by nemodomi@comcast.net on Thu, 2009-05-07 17:57

I'm stunned by the large number of typos in this article. Are you guys professional or what? Seriously, I'd be embarrassed to have this kind of non-quality on my Web site if I were you. BTW I'm available for meticulous editing and proofreading services at very reasonable rates if you're interested, though I imagine, by appearances, that you're NOT. Good luck.

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Grammar Nazi Rebuke!
Submitted by Jokotai on Tue, 2009-08-18 13:27

Your own post here is very poorly stated. So, first, don't post to random magazine forums in the hopes to drum up business for yourself. Second, if this is an example of your writing expertise, find another line of work. I've seen better editors in high school classrooms.

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Clueless
Submitted by gskibum on Fri, 2009-05-22 18:47

About 75% nonsense this article is.I'm amused as to how he confuses storing documents on one's Desktop (prior to OS X) with the occasional need to rebuild the Desktop File. That was an idiotic myth that still won't die.Documents stored on the Desktop had nothing to do with the pair of invisible files known as the Desktop File. They were completely unrelated and there was ZERO performance hit by storing files on one's Desktop.I’ve heard this claim going back at least to the System 6 days, and it has always been nothing but complete nonsense. Time after time people would mistakingly associate the pair of invisible files known as “Desktop DB” and “Desktop DF” with the Desktop folder. The only thing in common with the two invisible files and the Desktop folder are their names! Every volume, whether an internal hard disk, external hard disk, Zip disk, Benoulli or Syquest or whatever had this pair of invisible files. The Mac OS would store information within these files about the association between any given application and the icons associated with and it and documents created with it. Desktop DB stood for Desktop BNDL. These files could become corrupt which is where the old “rebuild your Desktop” troubleshooting step came from,There was in no file system association. I would dismiss out of hand any and all advice coming from a supposed Mac expert that makes such a claim as storing files on the Desktop wastes resources any more than storing files in say, the user’s Documents folder. It is a demonstration of just how little they understand the way the Mac OS works.Nothing but fluff articles like this are why I don't subscribe to this magazine.

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Stacks in the dock...
Submitted by kevkevallen on Sun, 2009-06-14 21:22

Rendering icons in the Stacks in your Dock hog more memory than you might think, especially if you have a ton of stacks, and a lot of files in those stacks. Even alias's can hog memory if you have enough of them. Remember, when it comes to memory, every Byte counts!

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While System Preferences is
Submitted by macosx on Fri, 2009-08-14 07:09

While System Preferences is open, take a look at a few other things. Apple has generously included a number of very useful features as preferences. Some, however, may not be useful to you, such as Universal Access (which offers help for visually and hearing impaired users) or Bluetooth (which allows certain devices to be used wirelessly). If you don't use these features, verify that they are turned off. This will save you some valuable RAM and processor resources.
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Backup before using idefrag, is there another way to do it??...
Submitted by ManuelHuerta on Sun, 2009-08-23 11:12

I checked the iDefrag "Readme file" that came with the demo version, and they say that you should do a BackUp of all your important files, just in case, so that does not give me much security using this software, so I have 2 questions: Is there another way to defragment my mac besides using iDefrag or is it secure using it?, and How often should I defrag my mac?

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Nice list
Submitted by lora.a on Fri, 2009-10-09 17:10

I use Xupport mostly, but I also run it on my macbook every once and a while. You can find it in Apple's Download section.
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Great tips
Submitted by sam77am on Sat, 2009-10-24 23:45

Wow, nice to see cool tips here...thanks all!

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