How to help my mac run faster?

[NewGranthems]

Hi

I have a late 2009 Macbook that i love. It's software is all up to date and the only problem is that when i have lots of programs (word, multiple broswers, itunes etc) it starts to slow down and stall and it's very frustrating. It seems to happen more the longer i use it and when i restart it , it starts working smooth again. I have about 20 - 25 gigs still available and was looking for ways to speed it up or stop it from doing it. I was wording if i got an wireless external hard drive, could i move a lot o programs and apps that i don't use everyday but need from time to time to it and access it wirelessly? is there any other things i can do to speed it up?

any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks

Grant

 

[harryb2448]

G'day an welcome to the forums.

Of course it is getting slower as it shows its age and why have all those programs up and running togther? A wi-fi drive will speed up nothing, and as you know your hard drive is too full as you need about 25% free space for it to work anywhere near capacity. You can use an external FW drive to remove excess programs certainly.

To show you the difference between older and new machine, a 2009 MB with 2GHz CPU returns a GeekBench test score of 2670. An early 2016 MB with a 1.3GHz CPU returns 7403. Answers the question doesn't it? You can increase the memory in your MB to 6GB, 1 x 4GB and 1 x 2GB, but the biggest bang you would get for your buck would be to install an SSD from OWC or Crucial. If you go this way order a new SATA cable as they get very brittle with age and heat and may well crack inside the cover hen you handle it.

I would think you already knew all of this before posting.

 

[ferrarr]

If you only have a 120gb hard drive, your available space is fine. How much ram do you have installed? 4gb is the bare minimum for macOS 11 (El Capitan). Depending on the size of your hard drive, moving some things off may help, but you can't move Applications, only files like documents, music, and videos.

I also agree with Harry about putting an SSD into that machine. When I did it in my 2011 MBP, it was incredible, I really never thought the speed increase would be noticeable, but it was.

 

[pigoo3]

It seems to happen more the longer i use it and when i restart it , it starts working smooth again.

Yes...you described things perfectly...this is exactly the way it works...especially if your MacBook is low on RAM. Restarting is a good solution. A RAM upgrade will help.

And like already mentioned. Your hard drive may be getting too full...and an SSD install will help make it feel more zippy!

- Nick

 

[fiery]

I just put a ssd in my mid 2010 and its faster than ever!