iCreate - UK (2019-08)

Speed Up Your Mac

E

VERYMACGETSSLOWEROVER

TIME.Whatwasoncea rapier-like

super-computercanstarttofeel

sluggishandtakelongertoperformtasksit

usedtorattleoffin theblinkofaneye,and

thespinningbeachballstartstobecomean

all-tooregularfeatureonyourscreen.What

causesthis?Oldhardwarestrugglingto

runthelatestversionofmacOSis a distinct

possibility,butit couldjustbethatyou

havefartoomanyapps,documentsand

Safaritabsopen.Overthefollowingpages

we’llguideyouthroughallofthequick-

fixsolutionsforremedyingyourlethargic

computerwhichshould,fingerscrossed,

provesuccessful.

However,if allelsefailsthenit might

betimetoacceptthatyourhardwareis

justgettingoldandwillundoubtedlyget

slower,nomatterwhatyoudo.If thisis

thecasethendon’tnecessarilygooutand

buya newMacjustyetbecausethereare

a coupleofhardwareupgradesthatyou

canconsider,suchasaddingmoreRAM

modules.Thesearerelativelycheapand

easytoinstallin mostMacsandaresure to

providea welcomespeedboost.Youcould

alsoconsiderbuyinga SolidStateDrive

(SSD)andmakingit yourMac’ssystem

drive– whichagainis a cheaperalternative

thanbuyinga newMac.Beforeyougo

downthoseroutesthough,trytheseMac

boostingtips.

4

Dynamic Desktop off

Effects, like Dynamic Desktop in macOS

Mojave, look good but suck processing

power. Go to System Preferences>Desktop

& Screensaver>Desktop and then change

Dynamic Desktop to a still image.

1

Quit apps

Are you one of those people who keeps

loads of apps running with hundreds of open

documents reduced to your Dock? If so,

close/quit all of the stuff that you don’t need

and it will undoubtedly speed things up.

5

Disable notifications

It probably won’t make a huge

difference to the running of your Mac,

but notifications do chip away at your

Mac’s virtual memory. Go to System

Preferences>Notifications to turn them off.

2

Restart your Mac

Although many of us probably don’t

do it as much as we should, restarting your

Mac can free up memory by flushing out

cache files, which might provide a small, but

welcome boost.

6

Edit preferences

Open your Mac’s System Preferences

and then look at the bottom row where

the third-party panes are displayed. If you

don’t require these, right-click and choose

‘Remove From Preference Pane’.

3

Update macOS

If your Mac is being sluggish then there

may already be a software update available

that addresses the issue. Click on the Apple

menu bar icon and choose About This

Mac>Overview>Software Update.

Before delving straight into the more advanced techniques for speeding up your

Mac, there are a few quick tricks you can try to see if they yield instant results.

The quick-fixes

Is your Mac feeling tired and sluggish? Then try these cost-effective

tips for a happier, faster and more efficient computer!