Slow iMac since OSX 10.7 install

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Ever since loading OSX 10.7.3, (& having to upgrade to MS Office 2008) my iMac has been running slow, ESPECIALLY when in any of the MS Office 2008 apps (Word or Excel).
According to the "About This Mac", my processor is 2.4GHzIntel Core 2 Duo and Memory says "2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM."
After launching Word, using it for awhile, then quitting, things are still gummed up and I find that clearing cache seems to help a little. Firefox 10.0.1, esp. after I've run Word, is also responding slowly.
What can I do to speed things up? Do I need more RAM?
Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!
 

chscag

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2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
Lion barely crawls along with 2 GB of memory (that's the recommended minimum). Add another 2 GB and you should see an improvement. There may be other things that you can do to speed the system up somewhat. Download the free OnyX maintenance cleanup utility and run it in automatic mode. That should also help.
 
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Thanks, chscag!
How do I go about adding another 2GB of memory? Is it expensive? I'm kind of a novice with this stuff--appreciate your help!
 

chscag

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Adding memory to an iMac is very easy. You didn't mention the year and model but I'm assuming it's an older iMac since it uses DDR2 memory. Your machine probably has one memory slot which houses two modules: 2 x 1GB = 2 GB.

Remove both of them and replace them with 2 x 2GB = 4 GB. All that's needed is a good phillips screw driver and care. Memory can purchased from Crucial or Other World Computing on the web. Or, you may be able to buy it locally but make sure it's memory for a Mac not a PC.
 
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Looking at my Apple Store Order Acknowledgment it says "IMAC 20/SD" The date is 10/07. Does that help? Is there by any chance a DIY video on YouTube or something that I could watch first, so as to feel comfortable that this is something I can do myself? It sounds easy enough & I'm pretty handy, but don't want to mess up! Like, how do I even get the thing opened up? Do I just unplug it completely & do the job? Do I lose any data or configuration settings?
 

chscag

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Sure, I understand. Here's a link from OWC to a video that shows how to install memory in an iMac. Click here.

You can buy the memory modules direct from Other World Computing (OWC) who are Mac specialists. I buy my memory from them. Click here.
 

dtravis7


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Is yours the 20" 2007 iMac? Makes no difference just curious. I own a 20" late 2007 with a 2.4 Ghz C2D. I upgraded the ram to 4GB and it made quite a difference in Lion especially with large apps running. Very easy to do. The Video Chscag linked you to will show you how.
 

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