Any startup/processes tweaks in OS X similar to that in Windows?

Joined
Jun 9, 2007
Messages
47
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Houston
Your Mac's Specs
15" 2.4GHz MBP
I'm very new to the OS X world. Only a one week old Mac user as of yesterday. I've installed and uninstalled plenty of programs trying to figure out what works best for me. I uninstalled by either dragging apps out of the application folder to the trash or using the uninstall method that is included with the program. If OS X is anything similar to windows, there are still some residual trash from deleted apps somewhere on my HDD, and maybe even my startup. How do I tweak my startup apps and completely delete uninstalled programs? I'll most likely be reinstalling the OS once I feel I know what I want in terms of programs and utilities, just so I have an OS that is as clean as can be. Any help on this is greatly appreciated.
 
Joined
Oct 10, 2004
Messages
10,345
Reaction score
597
Points
113
Location
Margaritaville
Your Mac's Specs
3.4 Ghz i7 MacBook Pro (2015), iPad Pro (2014), iPhone Xs Max. Apple TV 4K
AppZapper......

There is no where near as much stuff left over in OSX like there is in Windows, and what is won't cause any issues with the system or it's operations.
 
Joined
Feb 2, 2004
Messages
12,455
Reaction score
604
Points
113
Location
PA
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook
Good to hear that you are enjoying your Mac.
Let me stop you and remind you of something first....
You aren't using Windows anymore. You can stop thinking like you are. ;):D
What I mean by this is can be seen in your post here:
I'll most likely be reinstalling the OS once I feel I know what I want in terms of programs and utilities, just so I have an OS that is as clean as can be.
This is completely and absolutely unnecessary. That is a Windows "tactic" to get things running smoothly. You don't need to do that with a Mac. In 20 years of using a Mac I have never had the need to do that.

Also, I would assume that you are referring to the "msconfig" in Windows when you are talking about streamlining your startup. There really isn't anything like that with a Mac, so there isn't anything to worry about. You won't have to trim anything down. Yes, there is a "startup items" list in your System Preferences for Accounts, but that is about it. As long as you haven't added anything to it, you are fine.

Your uninstalled apps are uninstalled. Relax. Enjoy. Don't try to find Windows-type solutions to Windows-type problems that don't exist on a Mac. :D
 

dtravis7


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
30,133
Reaction score
703
Points
113
Location
Modesto, Ca.
Your Mac's Specs
MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
I completely agree with DB on this. If you still are worried and might loose sleep, get Appzapper that Baggss recommended. It will kill everything, but really it's not needed. And remember, there is no registry with all those entries that never get zapped in OSX.
 
OP
K
Joined
Jun 9, 2007
Messages
47
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Houston
Your Mac's Specs
15" 2.4GHz MBP
HAHA...thanks guys. I guess old habits die hard. I love the mac for its simplicity and design. After just a week's use, I'm wondering why aren't more people using this instead of windows. I appreciate the responses.
 
Joined
Dec 3, 2006
Messages
9,383
Reaction score
417
Points
83
Location
Irvine, CA
Your Mac's Specs
Black Macbook C2D 2GHz 3GB RAM 250GB HD iPhone 4 iPad 3G
Now THAT'S a question for the ages :p

But I'll agree with DB. I've had my Macbook since December and lord knows how many programs I've installed and uninstalled. If this were on a Windows machine, I would have reformatted at least once by now just to get rid of the garbage. But my Mac runs as smoothly as it did on day one, which still blows my mind.
 

bobtomay

,
Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
26,561
Reaction score
677
Points
113
Location
Texas, where else?
Your Mac's Specs
15" MBP '06 2.33 C2D 4GB 10.7; 13" MBA '14 1.8 i7 8GB 10.11; 21" iMac '13 2.9 i5 8GB 10.11; 6S
Ditto Kash - Definitely would have done a fresh install with XP by now. And check out this post from yesterday, try running that much junk in a XP machine and still maintain that boot time.

Which is making it even harder to decide what to do for my next desktop.
Do I get the hardware I want and an OS that will use that hardware?
Or get the OS I want and the hardware that will use that OS?
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2007
Messages
23
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I guess I'm still focused in the windows world as well, right now. This has been one question that has been nagging me since I began pondering the move to mac. Ok, I know I will switch as soon as I can afford a new PC since it makes no sense not to switch right now.

Still, here is my question. How can we be sure OS X is running at peak performance. Background apps drive me nuts. Do widgets cause the OS to slow? Any other background apps that are CPU and memory hogs? How do we shut those down if we want to?
 
Joined
Dec 3, 2006
Messages
9,383
Reaction score
417
Points
83
Location
Irvine, CA
Your Mac's Specs
Black Macbook C2D 2GHz 3GB RAM 250GB HD iPhone 4 iPad 3G
Things always require RAM, that's for sure. So yes, widgets take up RAM, not a lot, but they add up as you keep tacking on more widgets. And you already know that applications need RAM when running, so if you want to run more programs, be sure you have enough RAM.

That's pretty much the best you can do to optimize OS X. Give it more RAM and it'll eagerly use it.
 
OP
K
Joined
Jun 9, 2007
Messages
47
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Location
Houston
Your Mac's Specs
15" 2.4GHz MBP
Ditto Kash - Definitely would have done a fresh install with XP by now. And check out this post from yesterday, try running that much junk in a XP machine and still maintain that boot time.

HAHA...I made it a priority to strip down my startup items in XP and Vista, and even then I don't ever remember it starting up as fast as the OS X has.

Did a search on MainMenu App, seems like an application I need to try out later when I get home.

The only program that seems to startup slow for me is Entourage, but everything else seems load up very quick. This is on a SR 2.4GHz MBP with 2GB. Pondering the upgrade to 4GB, since RAM is so cheap these days and I'll be using the MBP for some minor video editing when I get back from my vacation at the end of July.

I appreciate the responses everyone. I've never felt this good about a 2,500.00 purchase. It's now a chore to come to work and have to use an XP machine, what a frustration. ;P
 
Joined
May 2, 2005
Messages
118
Reaction score
1
Points
18
Location
Essex England
Your Mac's Specs
IMAC 20 inch dual core. 16 GB ipad.
Before you buy any more RAM ( I'd be happy with what yoy've got) try a little App called I free mem. It's cheap and when you want a lot of memory it will get it back for you.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top