slow macbook pro

Hi,

My Macbook Pro is sluggish and running slowly, how can i go about cleaning my computer up and freeing up some space?

Also, what is the safest device to use as backup for my Macbook Pro?

Thanks.

Regards,
Lisa

Welcome to the Mac Forums!

You didn't tell us which MacBook Pro you have... year and model? Generally, however, we recommend using the free OnyX maintenance and optimization utility to clean and speed things up. We do not recommend other so called clean up programs as they do not work and can actually harm your machine. Here is the download link to get OnyX: LINK

For backing up your Mac, an external hard drive and the free included Time Machine is the easiest and least expensive way. There is also Carbon Copy Cloner but it's not free.

Thanks - how do I know which Macbook Pro I have and year? Excuse my ignorance but I am not too clued up, it was a gift It is now 'hanging' and freezing constantly, am stressed as my WHOLE business is on here...

Click on the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your screen. Then select "About This Mac". Copy that info and paste it to your next reply.

If your machine is freezing or hanging, we need to find out why it's doing it.

And remember, the red X does NOT shut down programs, it just pushes them into the background still running. If you have a lot of programs running, your Mac will slow down.

Ok thanks, it's Mac OS X, Version 10.6.8
Processor 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory 2GB 1067 MHz DD3
Startup Disk Macintosh HD
Model MacBook 6, 1

Thanks for posting your specs. Download the free maintenance and optimization tool = OnyX from here. Use it in auto mode. And just for info sake, we do not recommend any other cleanup or optimization tools as most do not work. Be especially wary of a program called MacKeeper. It's snake oil.

chscag said:

Thanks for posting your specs. Download the free maintenance and optimization tool = OnyX from here. Use it in auto mode. And just for info sake, we do not recommend any other cleanup or optimization tools as most do not work. Be especially wary of a program called MacKeeper. It's snake oil.

Click to expand...

This was super helpful and exactly what I needed to know! Will be DL and running the link in a minute. I know you said to click the red X to quit so other misc isn't running but so many times I've just had to reboot to do anything. Where do I look to see what's running so I can quit anything I'm not using? Thanks!!


I went to the link and it DL mackeeper and the Onyx DL doesn't do anything??...HELP!

The llink worked for me. There is an ad at the top of the page that you need to ignore. The link to download OnyX is beside the image of the OnyX control panel.

Cheri Kentucky said:

I went to the link and it DL mackeeper and the Onyx DL doesn't do anything??...HELP!

Click to expand...

Try this link...it's the developer's website:

Titanium Software Onyx

- Nick

thanks for the quick replies!!... that was sort of misleading but I uninstalled mackeeper (where it says free quick scan and luckily didn't run it) .... got Onyx DL and run so here's to hoping my issue is resolved. Pretty sure shockwave is one of my biggest problems if anyone has any fixes/ideas on that I would appreciate that as well

From your earlier post, I'd say BACKING UP is actually your biggest priority ... you've kind of implied that you haven't yet done that ...

"Sounds like you need to upgrade. Check this site out Customized Macs - Build Your Own Mac With the Third Party Parts You Pick"

Is this reliable?

No, I think that's spam (or at least a jumping to conclusions!).

In addition to running maintenance as suggested by pigoo ... let us know if your hard drive is getting full (you can see the total amount of free space by opening any Finder window and looking at the bottom center), that could be playing a significant role. I also encourage people to actually QUIT (not close) applications when they aren't using them.

chscag said:

Thanks for posting your specs. Download the free maintenance and optimization tool = OnyX from here. Use it in auto mode. And just for info sake, we do not recommend any other cleanup or optimization tools as most do not work. Be especially wary of a program called MacKeeper. It's snake oil.

Click to expand...

Super thank you sooooo much for this, it really helped me a lot! I'm looking for answers for this problem as well.

chas_m said:

No, I think that's spam (or at least a jumping to conclusions!).

In addition to running maintenance as suggested by pigoo ... let us know if your hard drive is getting full (you can see the total amount of free space by opening any Finder window and looking at the bottom center), that could be playing a significant role. I also encourage people to actually QUIT (not close) applications when they aren't using them.

Click to expand...

Jumping to conclusions.

Spam link above deleted

I have an external hardrive and run timeline so think Im okay with the backup... just ran a repair to that as well....when I open finder I don't see anything about space at the bottom center there is nothing like a bar for anything. It' still running like someone poured syrup in it...sloggy and laggy and I just use it for fun I wouldn't "build" or "upgrade" without purchasing a newer one. Thanks for any assistance but I mostly use it for zynga games (don't judge!!) thinking shockwave is my biggest problem....locks and freezes but even copy paste on FB is like waiting for xmas...... thanks if you can help

That does seem odd. If your Finder window is missing the "space available" data on the bottom you can turn that "back on" by pressing command-/. It will then say how many items you are presently looking at in the window, and the total amount of free space available.

Generally speaking, slow performance is usually down to one of these three things:

1. Your hard drive is getting full
2. You are leaving too many programs open but inactive (closing rather than quitting) which is eating up all your RAM
3. Your hard drive is starting to fail and stumbling over bad sectors.

Okay I did the command-/ and it only shows # of items (2290) and nothing about space available? I seriously doubt my HS is getting full ...I'm just not that kind of user (mostly online) don't use many programs but I see if they're open on the bottom bar and I close them so doesn't seem to be the issue.... is there a defrag or something I can do to check the HD or something about failing? I live in an area that I have no local assist for a max (PC country) and it has to be sent off for anything and that's a half day trip to get to a place that can handle that. Im obviously not very savvy but this is my first Mac so any help is more than appreciated! Thanks for your patience