06-12-2011, 06:00 AM

Hey guys, i love my new sandybridge iMac and im obsessed with keeping it running in tip top shape just like the first day i bought it, i use onyx right now to keep it clean but im not exactly sure what all the options are or do in onyx, im thinking about investing in mackeeper due to it being so highly recomended, does anyone have any suggestions or personal situations where they have found mackeeper worth/not worth buying? Please help me decide!

06-12-2011, 06:35 AM

So highly recommended where? By whom? Recommended by all those ads they're running on practically every Mac related web site you visit? Attempting to prey on the gullibilty of those recently removed from Windows?

It's surely not recommended here by anyone that I'm aware of that's had a Mac for any reasonable length of time and/or over about a couple of hundred posts on the forum.

This is not Windows. This is one of the advantages of using OS X. You really do not need to do all that time consuming maintenance that was required on that other OS.

Do a search for that software and you'll find at least a couple of other recent threads.

06-12-2011, 10:48 AM

i Guess your right, im just into keeping my things running perfect...even my iphone 4, so i saw it deleted unused files and languages, i saw it was antivirus and encryption, so i figured it may be a good idea but you just changed my mind! What are the things you use? How do you keep your mac running fast?

06-12-2011, 11:55 AM

I spent 4 hrs+ a week maintaining my previous Windows machines including making great use of Blackviper's site for stopping all miscellaneous unneeded services and doing a clean install every 6 months. The hardcore gamers out there will understand this one.

I run Onyx when I notice a slow down - perhaps once every 3-4 months for me. Others I trust have commented they can go 6 months.

I try to maintain 40% free space on my system drives. When I get to 30% free space I put a larger drive in the machine. Others would recommend you can get by with a lot less than that - there are some here that would say 10-12GB is ok. Personally, I would never advise running a machine at less than 15% free space unless you like a machine that beachballs.

I've run a defrag a total of 4 times in 4 1/2 years - primarily related to how I use my machine. This would not be required for most users.

That's it - period.

My 4 1/2 yr old MBP runs faster now than when new.

And I still run Windows machines here. While I don't spend the amount of time maintaining them as I did when I was gaming on them all the time, they still get more attention than my Macs.

My wife's 4 yr old MB has never had any maintenance run on it whatsoever and it has gone through in place upgrades from Tiger to Leopard to Snow Leopard. She still has 80% free space on the original drive in her machine. Her computer went from one that required me to "fix it" every few months to one that has not required me to touch it when I moved her to OS X.

06-12-2011, 12:19 PM

Ok you just relieved me, im an ex windows user too and honestly windows sucks compared to mac, i cant believe how much malware spyware and viruses are just running rampid through the system that you have to worry about every day oppose to mac not really having any, i dont know how i ever dealt with it, which defrag app do you use?

06-12-2011, 12:27 PM

I use iDefrag - doubtful that you'll ever need to run a defragger unless you are hitting the 30-40% free space range and/or after some period of time of moving massive amounts of files on and off the machine.

06-12-2011, 01:56 PM

So highly recommended where? By whom? Recommended by all those ads they're running on practically every Mac related web site you visit?

It's amazing how many sites they are on, I visited a PC software site a few days ago and there it was, a ad taking up the whole browser window because it detected I was on a Mac.
IMO good apps don't need advertising, I doubt 1Password has any advertising and it's selling like hotcakes.

06-12-2011, 02:07 PM

On top of the advice given here, I'll point out that OS X has maintenance scripts that are run daily, weekly and monthly that do a bit of cleaning (more info here). The only downside is that they run during the middle of night so if your machine isn't on, they won't run. That said, you can run them manually and I get the feeling that OnyX runs them as part of the automation process (daily, weekly and monthly log files on my machine all show that they were last run when I last ran OnyX).

06-14-2011, 09:44 AM

I use onyx myself on my MBP and iMac approximately every 3 months. As you mentioned you are not sure what all the options within Onyx are or do. I cannot stress hard enough, do NOT experiment with these options. Doing so may cause severe problems with your system should you make a mistake. I only use the "automated" services within Onyx and that itself is probably more than the average user needs but is, in my experience, entirely safe.

06-14-2011, 10:26 AM

Some things I do to keep in tip top shape (and some good practices):

- Repair permissions regularly (via Disk Utility)

- Dont keep lots of crap on your desktop

- Keep your hard drive with decent amount of free space

- Quit apps if you dont need them

- Restart, or Shut down every now and again to clear the memory

- Keep liquid away from your machine

- Keep startup items to a minimum (reduce boot times)

- Maintain a logical, well labeled file structure (improves spotlight searches)

- Run AppFresh to keep all my third party apps up to date

- Use AppTrap to uninstall unwanted applications (properly)

- Run Software Update every month (If it doesnt start automatically)

- Empty browser caches every month

- Move any unnecessary files to an external Hard drive and move all files currently in use to internal prior to use

- Run Time Machine every week

the list goes on.

12-22-2011, 11:19 AM

I too have been bombarded with Mackeeper ads and being a new user of iMac with OSX Lion I have considered downloading it but thanks to you guys I will save my money.
ta very much
Mike

12-22-2011, 03:57 PM

In short if you want to keep your Mac running perfectly, avoid MacKeeper, CleanMyMac, MacScan etc like the plague. The only folk recommending these programs are the developers.

12-27-2011, 12:49 PM

I "bought "the program,and then I realized it was messing up my computer. I believe it has some malware or the program was hijacked some how. I called the developers etc. but am still having problems because of the Mackeeper. I cannot remove all of its little bits of programming. Guess I'll go to the Apple Store Genius bar and get them to remove all the bits for me.
DO NOT INSTALL MACKEEPER...!!!
I should have known better, I have had Macs for 20+ years.

12-27-2011, 12:54 PM

Funny thing is since I've upgraded from SL to Lion, I've run Disk Utility a few times as precaution/maintenance but it has not yet turned up any permissions that need repairing. For some reason, SL regularly would need permissions repaired. I'm amazed by how much cleaner/better Lion is.

And that's not a slam against SL. I enjoyed SL. I just enjoy Lion so much more.

12-27-2011, 01:10 PM

Originally Posted by MYmacROX

Funny thing is since I've upgraded from SL to Lion, I've run Disk Utility a few times as precaution/maintenance but it has not yet turned up any permissions that need repairing. For some reason, SL regularly would need permissions repaired. I'm amazed by how much cleaner/better Lion is.

And that's not a slam against SL. I enjoyed SL. I just enjoy Lion so much more.

Same here it has yet to list anything.