Starting to get a bit slower??

Hello everyone! Hope you all had a great Christmas!!

So, i've had my MacBook Pro (2ghz Core Duo, 1gb ram, 80gb HD,128mb G-Card) for about 5 months now. However, just recently i have started to notice that it is taking longer to start up than it used to. Longer to shut down or restart (with my desktop image staying on screen for a good few seconds before shut down). It doesnt really seem to have slowed down too much when i am actually on the computer, although it is very slightly more sluggish when loading programs, etc.

So, i am just wondering if there is anything i can do to resolve this at all? I have used 30gb of my HD space, and i would'nt really say i have too much stuff on the system.

Are there any programs i can d/l to sort of 'defrag'? Anything within OSX that i can use - like a utility - to help clean things up at all??

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks


-MJC-

Try verifying disk permissions in Disk Utility (located in the utilities folder in applications)

Thanks, i'll look into it!

Also, i havent updated the osx since i got the machine. Could this help? I havent had access to a constant internet connection, but now i have, so i can do this.

Im just wondering though whether doing one big update now would mess things up at all??

Thanks again,

-MJC-

Disk Permissions problems have been greatly resolved in Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.x while in Panther this was indeed a very concrete problem that messed things up really bad sometimes.

I would download and use MainMenu... Darn! The guy is amidst a server move.

Ok well download OnyX and clean out users' caches, system cache, fonts cache and browsers cache. That ought to help.

And run the maintenance tasks if you don't leave that MacBook Pro of yours on all the time. You should find there are daily, weekly and monthly maintenance tasks and to keep your Mac fit and well, these need to be done.

MJC said:

Thanks, i'll look into it!

Also, i havent updated the osx since i got the machine. Could this help? I havent had access to a constant internet connection, but now i have, so i can do this.

Im just wondering though whether doing one big update now would mess things up at all??

Thanks again,

-MJC-

Click to expand...

Indeed, it would be best if you updated your system as well.

Ok, thanks a lot!

I'll take a look at OnyX and i am just starting my OS update now...wow! 'OSX update combined' is 300mb alone!! It wants to update to 10.4.8. Has anyone had any problems with this at all??

Thanks again

MJC

Before updating it's always best to do a backup of course. I use SuperDuper! on an external FireWire hard drive.

Also a good precaution is to unplug all peripherals, just leaving mouse and keyboard plugged in for the updating process.

Edited to add:

But don't stop the process if you've started the install. Just remember to do this next time.

OK.

So, i've just installed all updates on my system and i am now running OSX 10.4.8.

However, i am still starting up and shutting down slower than usual! whats going on? For christmas i recieved a brand new Cannon scanner and a Wacom graphics tablet. For both of these i had to install software to be able to use them. It was after this that i first started noticing the slow down.

Could these be the problem? and is there any way i can find out?

Thanks again,

-MJC-

One word - ONYX.

Clean caches, repair permissions then optimize. It will take a couple of reboots to see the full effect, but I recommend you do it.

Returns my MacBook to "factory state" (if not better) every time.

For christmas i recieved a brand new Cannon scanner and a Wacom graphics tablet. For both of these i had to install software to be able to use them. It was after this that i first started noticing the slow down.

Click to expand...

One of these might possibly have some badly written code in the software. Uninstall both and see if it makes a difference. If so, reinstall one of them to see if it's the culprit.

Ok. So, ive been busy but had a chance to have a look at Onyx. Now...what should i be clearing in order to ensure no damage is done to my system?

I dont want to clear a Cache and then find that the system wont start up! so what can i absolutely safely clean?

(edit: oh and what will cleaning the font cache do?)

Thanks again,


MJC

OnyX already discussed here.

Ok thanks!

But will clearing out all of the caches mess with anything or should it all be fine??

And will clearing the font cache wipe all my fonts????

Thanks

Cache is supposed to be data that is used only so certain applications or the Finder can access the same data faster so not really essential.

And faster means what exactly? Two milli-seconds? Not worth it when the cache folders are clogged to the gills and are doing the opposite of they are supposed to do i.e. make your computer faster.

One shining example of an app going down on its knees because the cache is too full is Safari.

By the way, the first restart AFTER you run OnyX will be quite a slow one, as Mac OS X repopulates caches with initial content. You will notice a startup speed up on all subsequent restarts.