I've been having a slow Mac a little recently, and I'm getting worried about the outcome if I keep the problem unsolved for a long period of time. So I looked multiple results yet none suited my problem until I came here, this was extremely useful especially for those people like me that are unexperienced and have no clue on what we're doing. I'm really grateful, thank you! :D
Lots of good tips for anyone wanting to keep your Mac running smoothly, lots of good stuff including very relevant Apple support articles. Good reminders on routers and internet services too. As always, another great video!
I'm an IT tech but I don't use Mac computers consistently, it was nice to get a concise and clear refresher on what things can be done to maintain them. My relative recently purchased a macbook pro and it has been good to brush up for future cases of maintenance. Thank-you for the video
YES, GARY, YOU WERE RIGHT!!!! My MacBook Pro was running super slow, with the dock icons jumping up and down without launching the apps, or the wheel turning for ever not getting anywhere, or freezing at random for no reason. Apple Tech Support made me do a lot of tests and reinstall the operating system without any improvement. After watching this video I deleted an antivirus I had installed and one of those cleaner apps and now it runs as fast as new.
I think the cloud storage sync is key here. It slows everything down. I do all of these things that you've suggested. One other thing to consider, the app itself may be up to date but the framework that it runs on may be broken or outdated. Some apps are 32 bit, some apps are not native to Apple silicone and use Rosetta. If the app dev hasn't updated the app to the newest framework then it will run slow.
I've KNEW there HAD to be a video out there SOMEWHERE that would admit that you don't need those apps to fix it! I'm not a technical person, but I've never trusted that would really be the issue. I also knew there HAD to be someone honest out there who would share their tech knowledge & well, here you are! Thank you sincerely.
I've been looking for clear concise video like yours. awesome! I can't believe how many are viewers not giving you credit. great job! only 12,000 likes ! woo... keep them coming, brother.
Would love a version for beginners. .. it was going GREAT until it got to the part to check at the bottom to make sure everything was "compatible with programming" - then it lost me completely.
This was more than helpful! Thanks so much for putting this video together. I've been frustrated all day, and your video is the only thing that helped. My Mac is running smoothly again!
Guys if you are having a problem with your mac being slow(beach balling every time you do something)then do what Gary suggested "user groups - login items" get rid of what you don't need. Amazing. Thanks so much.
go to system preferences select apple id logo top right select icloud, uncheck the NEWS item so it is not "background updated", otherwise its dragging performance down. That alone has speeded up all the applications to similar performance as before!
I have an 8 years old macbook air and it is still working like a horse. I started enjoying my machine even more when I discovered this channel. Thank you Gary.
Hey Gary, thanks for the reminder, I keep forgetting that I have this computer since 8 years ago and I keep asking that it behaves like new... Thanks for sharing
Hey bro, I want to respect the concision and clarity of your video. RESPECT!!!!!!!!! I haven't watched this yet, but one thing that has really slowed my mac is the accumulation of crud in the vents. I use a powerful vacuum cleaner attached to a very small tube to suck the dust out of the vents. This works miracles. Done it more than once. It's not easy. You DEFINITELY don't want to use canned air, that just makes things worse. Now I"m going to watch the video and see if he mentions it, but mostly, what else he says.
Excellent video. My Mac was running slow for years and I even tried with the Apple help but no huge improvements. However, with your Tip #4 everything change. My Mac is alive again and running perfectly. Thanks you so much.
Great advice. Thank you. What worked for my old 2014 mac mini was to buy an external Samsung SSD and boot off that device. This speeded up my old mac by up to 10-times. I suspect the old hard drive was getting errors as you mentioned. Also, i suspect maybe some old installed apps had processes running that I could not find to delete. I tried removing the files but I think things were still going on so booting off the SSD was a restart for my system which might be why it was much faster. I had some trial Virus software that I suspect did not get removed when I deleted the files. I tried clearing up and tidying and resetting. Thank you for all of your helpful advice.
Hi Greg…. May I ask? …. I also have a late 2014 (which doesn’t feel that long ago to me!) and I was about to try that by plugging an external SSD and selecting that as the home for a reinstall of the operating system. Do you still use your pc’s HD or do you put all your files and the operating system on the SSD? Is that what people mean when they say “boot off the ssd” ? Thanks for sharing :) my imac looks almost new….. I find it hard to accept that after buying the best thing in the shop and only 8 years later I have to chuck it out…. Everything else that I purchased even last century is generally still working fine including my 1982 turntable.
@@spivvo Hi. Yes, you are correct. Selecting the SSD as Home for the OS means it should boot off that device. You must re-download the MACOS to that SSD first after a SSD drive format. After I did that I saw a popup saying did I want to boot off the SSD but it might need to be changed in the System preferences. I still use the old HD for storage and the SSD to put new things. I still see an icon for the old HD so you should still be able to access the old HD and files. Its made a big difference to me as everything fires up instantly instead of after 30-seconds or so. The really irritating thing was mouse-right-click. That took 20-seconds to show menus, but that is also instant now. I agree with you about how ridiculous it is to scrap something that is only 8-years old so this fix stopped me buying a new mac-mini for a lot more money than my 2014 mac mini which I really did not want to do. Let me know if you need any more info about what I did. Good luck. I really wish I had not gotten rid of my 1980's turn table. I thought Vinyl was dead. How wrong was I. 8-(
Running the disk utility in recovery mode did the trick. I don’t know how but it is running fast again. Thank you!! I have an old Mac mini 2012 and it’s good now - I thought it was ready for the junk yard. Can’t thank you enough.
once a year i do a full system-restore from my time-machine backup drive. this allows the OS to put files next to each other on the hard drive and avoid back sections of hard drive (making read/write faster). my mac is generally much faster after this.
I use only native MacOS apps on my computer. Don't need the bloat, don't need the clutter. I love Safari, Notes, Reminders, etc. These apps are highly optimized to work very well on your computer.
Don't buy a new Mac if you have a slow older machine with an optical drive. Before I swapped in an SSD to my late 2012 MBP I downloaded a drive speed app, just to check. The difference is night an day. Both read and write speeds are 10X faster. Yes, TEN TIMES faster and no more spinning beach balls. It's a beast for the demanding tasks I use it for, like music creation. When you have the case off the machine that's also a good time to remove the cooling fan (s) and clean out any dust build-up because excess heat is another cause of slower running. I did need a little help on the phone from apple support when installing the SSD. That help is freely available.
If anyone is interested in the greatest success that I have had was by following the Mels Speed Method (i found it on google) without a doubt the most useful treatment that I have ever tried.
There are many components to speeding up Macs. One place I discovered which succeeds in merging these is the Mels Speed Method (check it out on google) definately the most useful treatment that I've seen.Check out the amazing info. #RPG
Excelent video and advise, thank you. However, my experience with newer OS versions is bitter then you are describing, so to me that is not a myth. Experienced it first hand when I would have to deal with thermal throttling. My CPU would stay in idle at 75-80 degrees Celsius. Downgraded the OS and idle temp came down to 37 and it made the computer perform amazing fast.
Thank you for the insight. My problems started suddenly. Everything it does has a lag time. Hard drive is under a quarter full. I will try the other suggestions . Again thank very much!
This is gold. My new Mac is slow. I need to go to the Mac Store; but the info here is the best I"ve seen on the internet. I purchased this new Mac and has not had it 4 months and its running slow. A lot you gave here is excellent. This information helped me a lot. Thank you. ☺️
Another very helpful video. Excellent point about calling your ISP. I did this recently, and after an hour on the phone, I ended up with a better cable package, faster internet speed, and they shipped me a new modem. And the plus? Saved $20 a month! BTW, I find this approach often works in other areas of life - subscriptions, insurance, etc. As you point out, companies are more than happy to let you pay higher rates, so calling periodically to ask for a better deal is often well worth your time.
I gad a agin, slow 2013 27" iMac, struggled with everything then I replaced the original had drive with a Samsung Evo 860 SSD! Literally gobsmacked at the performance. It's like a new machine and only took around 40 minutes from start to finish! Was looking at upgrading to a newer iMac but I think I've got at least another year out of it just by changing to an SSD!
There are several components to speeding up Macs. One resource I found which succeeds in merging these is the Mels Speed Method (google it if you're interested) without a doubt the most helpful treatment that I have ever seen.Check out the super information .
Bruhhh thank you so much! My macbook was STRUGGLING to move and I cleaned up my hundreds of files on my desktop and now it's moving normal. JFC I bet this is common sense for most people but I didn't know lol
Great video and very helpful. I have a 2014 MBP that still runs very nicely. I don’t want to upgrade just yet so instead want keep it running the way it always has. This has been very helpful as a maintenance tool, some of which I already do but there are gems in here that I simply never thought of doing. Thanks for the great tips. Have subscribed.
There are a few factors in speeding up Macs. One resource I discovered that succeeds in merging these is the Mels Speed Method (google it if you're interested) definately the most useful treatment that I've heard of.look at the unbelievable information
This is the second time I have watched this video which is helpful because I don't always remember some of the things that could help speed up my machine, thanks Gary.
Using App Cleaner to remove apps is a better option than just deleting an App from the Applications folder though because it will also delete files that are used by the App, like Preferences, etc. Another good idea is to back up with Time Machine, or Carbon Copy Cloner first and then wipe your hard drive and reinstall Mac OS. Then migrate your User folder stuff back over to the clean installation.
LOL. I'm not your MAC guru (old timer). Took me awhile to figure out what Gary meant by putting things into the DOCUMENTS folder. I opened a can of worms and found pics and files that dated as far back as 2004. Geez, what memories. Thanks Gary.
I have the 9 year old one iMac and deleting those old "cleaning apps" as well as those old downloads. Activity monitor is the way to go. It's performing fine now. Memory is at 5.7 out of 8GB
I really felt the information was very useful; however, i'm a novice and felt that at times things were going too fast...ie; clearing out desktop and finder? I'm going to keep trying.
I was a Senior advisor and most of complaints of slow Macs are caused by the costumers, not the machine. Huge libraries opened along with infinite tabs on browser 😬
A lot of great tips, very helpful. I seriously started noticing a huge difference while walking through each step as you were talking about it. Thank you!
Sometime you just need more memory! Was on OS 10.11/HD, upgraded to OS 10.15/SSD. Upgraded memory from 8 GB to 16 GB for $80 shipped on a mid-2012 MAC book. Tabs that took 2 to 3 seconds open with 8 GB memory/ OS 10.15/SSD, are instaneous now with 16 GB memory.
Thank you so much Gary, for your very clear and precise sharing. You are my default Goto whenever I have issues with my Mac. Stay safe and stay well. Best regards to you and your family.
Steven L I have a 2009 Mac book pro. Please don’t laugh....but I don’t want a new computer it has a CD slot. I need that, I have all my art stored on dozens of CD. I only use the computer for emails and my art/ photos. But that spinning ball is driving me crazy. I have tried everything suggested with no positive results. Would you have any suggestions?
*ANY Mac U have NOT SPENT $ 10,000 on!* RE: The APPLE COMMUNITY!!! DO PPL BUY A "NEW CAR" EVERY 4 YEARS? THAT WORKS FINE? *_SO TIRED OF "THEM' TELLING ME "MINE IS VINTAGE_* 2012---IT IS THEIR {APPLE} NOT READY FOR RELEASE UPDATE VERSIONS------AKA *CATALINA*
I dunno - ok I just wanted to know what the guy meant by an old mac so i knew if mine’s what he was referring to or not. If yours still does what you need it to then keep using it buddy 👍
@@shrivignesh806 yes thank you. I am fine~ Just petrified to download Big Sur after the horrendous problems & I mean *problems!* I had~ due to the *Catalina* Edition++++ *AND I >>>> I know it was the glitches in there-* Apple had not ironed out before release! I had just spent a bunch of money, having the device fixed, when they released "IT"! *I don't expect my computer to ever _RECOVER*_
Thanks for the vid. I literally bought the latest macbook from last year in december, and as we speak, as I am typing this, the words are showing up 5-10 seconds after I have typed them. That is how slow my new macbook I spent 1800SGD on is at the moment. No more macbook for me. Back to thinkpad
That's not normal. Either your storage is almost completely full (check) or something you have installed is causing an issue. I'd take it to the Genius Bar for a look. They will figure it out.
I'm curious what others pay for their internet service. i'm in NY and in my area can only get a "triple play" that includes internet, TV and land phone- ugh-it is very expensive. There are only two major companies offered- and each doubles it's costs and then continues to increase after 2 years.
I feel glad that in the country where I live, in some cases you can go with different companies for landline and internet, although not all companies will offer those two separately, and TV is entirely optional, as such a thing exists as "Freeview" (although to even have a TV connected to an ariel, a TV licence fee has to be payed, which the fee is currently £157.50 per year, and the only way to avoid paying that fee is to not have any equipment connected such that it could even theoretically receive Live TV broadcasts, and also you wouldn't be able to watch catch up on BBC iplayer, although interestingly you can watch catch up for any of the other free to view channels, just not the BBC ones, without a TV licence)
If the “Genius” says you need a new Mac, get a second opinion from an unbiased source: a consultant who works on Apple products, but doesn’t work for Apple.
The best thing I have found is when I bought my new MAcbook air and it had SSD!! It is instant. My MacMini with late 2014..is slow as molasses. The MAcbook can run circles around it.
He says nothing like that. He DOES explain why older equipment sometimes can't work as well, and also correctly points out that 10 year old machines are being hit with tasks that weren't even imagined when they were designed. This is one of the best such tutorials I've seen, and your 11-word slam is a rude, uninformed, and inappropriate distortion of 14 minutes of really great content. I especially appreciated how he accompanies his explanation with on-screen examples in real time. What's the point of making such a mean, unhelpful comment?
Great tips to make your Mac faster. I would like to request you kindly to prepare a step step guide video how to install emsigner for digital signature.
Gary, on a different topic. Do you recommend using Little Snitch and their new Micro Snitch now that everyone is working from home. Hope you can make a video no these two products, pros and cons.
macmostvideo many Mac power users recommends Little Snitch to monitor inbound/outbound data from their Mac to see if there are any unusual activities. In case your mac has hidden software that phones home to the maker. seems to be an interesting app.
I agree with you 100 percent. This is why I always get the base model because most time I forget there other things in play when working on my computer, one thing I like doing the most is clearing the cashe on my Mac at least once a week mainly to control my storage and clear my safari and chrome, like I said I agree with you sir..... Just subscribed
Hi Gary, just to say I do no go to anyone else except you now, for all my help with my Mac. I have really taken off when it comes to power use because of your fantastic videos. Please keep them coming.
I use a 2017 MacBook Pro. I had problems with some USB connected items so I replaced the cheap USB hub with a USB dock. This solved the problems and also improved internet speed (It included an ethernet port). Also, it dramatically reduced the fan noise. I had previous problems with overheating and had the battery replaced and the case which had warped (all done free at the Apple shop where I bought it 3 years prior). Just to mention therefore that a good USB dock might be worth a try. I'll definitely upgrade my old router following this video, many thanks!
After an update to Big Sur 11.06.06 on iMac from 2015. The whole computer slowed down. After checking the Activity Monitor saw that that Chrome was taking more than 50% of the Memory. Switched to Firefox and gained the lost performance.
I'm one of those people who has always shut down my MacBook Pro (2017) when I am done using it. If I decide to let it "go to sleep" by just closing the lid, should I keep it plugged in overnight? You mention that some maintenance tasks go on in the background when the MacBook is asleep, so I'm wondering if it should be plugged in during that time.
Also, you can replace your SSD. It costs very little money and transforms the entire experience, and can make a very old mac as if you just bought it! Unfortunately, this won't work with newer macs since you can't open them and modify the parts with your hands.
I love this guy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I thought he was a nerd (he is), then listened to him and his voice so calming and knowledgable. He's like the Morgan Freeman of Mac help...
I had Monterey on my m1and it was perfect. I updated to Ventura, which was a big mistake. It has slowed opening logic pro up and is sluggish in general. Plugins used to open instantly and now they take their time. It could be that the plugins are not compatible with Ventura, however, they all passed validation and once in the session the session is ok, minus the tiny delay in opening the plugin.
Great video Gary! Sometimes my Mac does not wake up from sleep mode. So I have to press and hold the power button, which I believe is terrible for any computer. Any tips? Thanks!
I'm on my Mac mini and am starting and stopping your video and following all your advice. It's fantastic! I may not even need to buy a new Mac mini, yet. :)
