The thing with computers is that they need to be updated regularly. As time goes on their OS systems become older and they might not work as fast as the other devices that you own. However, this may become an expensive thing to keep on doing and in the meantime, your Mac becomes even slower. So what do you do? Luckily, there are a few easy solutions to the problem. Here are 5 things you could do to speed up your Mac without spending a lot of money.
1. Replace your Mac hard drive with an SSD
The spinning hard drive may be what is slowing your computer down, which is why it is advisable to replace it with a solid state drive (SSD). It’s very easy to replace and it will not even take you more than an hour. SSD’s usually start at about $200 on Amazon.com, which is much less than what you would pay for a brand new MacBook Pro or iMac. The only thing you need is a screwdriver, some decent technical skills and you are ready to hit the journey to a faster Mac.
2. Add more memory
Seeing as you are going to open your Mac to replace the hard drive, you might want to consider adding more memory or RAM to your device. Again, it is a very easy process, but you’d have to do some research to find the right type of RAM for your Mac. Crucial is a handy website that will help you in finding the right type of RAM for your specific model and it will assist you in locating the slots if you do not already know how to do so.
3. Clean the hard drive
If replacing the hard drive is not an option for you, then you might want to think of cleaning your entire hard drive. Sometimes a slow computer simply needs a good old data sweep. To do this, you can uninstall all the programs and software that you do not use by simply moving them to Trash. Next, you are going to have to clean up some of the programs that you do not use. Take time to go through files that have been broken or that have changed permissions and fix them in order to get more speed out of your Mac.
4. Reduce login items
When we download applications they might pop up when we start our computers without us realizing that they have permissions to do so. This can cause bad lag. You can easily remove these items by going to the Users & Groups tab in the System Preferences menu. You will find an option that says Login Items from which you can remove them.
5. Keep up with the latest OS X
The best thing that you can do is make sure that your software is up to date when it is due. Apple releases free OS X upgrades, so all you have to do is download and install them.
Although there are many ways that you can speed up your Mac, the five options above are usually a good place to start. If you are unable to perform these tasks on your own, contact a local computer repair company to assist you.
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