Finder OS 10.8.5 slow

[TamaraM]

I've had Macs for years, and my finder windows have never been slow or lagged before. I have plenty of memory (8 GB) and space (220 GB free), so I'm not sure what could be causing this, especially the delays of .5 second or more when expanding folders-I'll even get the beach ball occasionally. Any suggestions?

 

[pigoo3]

First thing to try is reboot/restart the computer.

- Nick

 

[TamaraM]

Oh, yes, I've tried that.

I've repaired permissions; actually done a couple of clean installs, which I would rather not do again; watched my activity via the activity monitor and nothing really pops out as a memory hog except the usuals (PowerPoint, etc).

I'm at a loss...

 

[pigoo3]

Try running the free maintenance app "Onyx":

Titanium's Software • Index page

Then click on the auto button.

- Nick

 

[TamaraM]

Try running the free maintenance app "Onyx":

Titanium's Software • Index page

Then click on the auto button.

- Nick

OK, I did that, and the Finder was quicker, even when Chrome was opened, but once I opened Outlook it got noticeably slower to expand folders, though no beachball, and not as slow as it has been.

Should I just go ahead and open software one by one and notice their effects? Then in combo? I usually have at least Acrobat Pro, Word, Outlook and Chrome opened all the time, and then Excel, BusyCal (mostly as a bridge between my iPhone and Outlook calendars).

Do any of these programs raise any flags for you in particular? Thanks a lot for your help, Nick!