Macbooks: 5 ways to make your Macbook faster
We all wish our beloved Apple Macbooks could run as fast as they did when we first took them out of the box for good. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The more you use a computer and start filling it with your data and clutter, it starts to bog down and performance takes a serious hit.
Do not worry! There are many ways to change this and greatly improve the performance of your old Macbook. Here are our top 5 tips to make your Macbook faster!
1. Clean up the clutter
Over time, you start to accumulate hundreds, if not thousands, of old files, apps, photos, videos, and music. This data quickly begins to fill up your Macbook’s hard drive, greatly affecting its performance. Ask yourself: do you really need everything that’s currently on your hard drive? Those old photos of that party years ago that everyone has already forgotten? That 2 hour long video of your nephews’ fifth grade play? That app you downloaded the free trial for and then never used? Increasing the available space on your Macbook’s hard drive is one of the best ways to dramatically increase its performance.
2. Delete unused language files
Many of the applications on your Macbook will include multiple language variants for users around the world. You probably only need your native language variant, but those unused language files still take up valuable space on your Macbook. There are several methods to get rid of these files, the easiest of which is with a free application called Monolingual. This simple application does only one thing: it removes the language files you don’t need. You can manually select the languages you want to keep and the app will get rid of the rest. Easy!
3. Clean startup and background running apps
When you install an application on your Macbook, how often do you take the time to read everything in the installation dialog before clicking ‘Install’? I guess never. You’d be surprised what some apps ask you to agree to when you click the ‘Install’ button. Many of them ask you to agree to let them start every time you turn on your Macbook, and just sit quietly and run in the background. This may not seem like a big deal, but they are using up valuable system resources when you don’t want them to. Hogging precious CPU and RAM capacity that could otherwise be used for the task you’re working on. To remove these unwanted startup applications, go to System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items. There you will be able to select the apps you really want to launch at startup and get rid of the apps you don’t want.
4.Repair disk permissions
This is commonly debated, but fixing disk permissions can supposedly help your Macbook run more efficiently. Open Disk Utility from your Applications folder and click “Repair Disk Permissions”.
5. Shut down more often
Your Macbook, like you and me, needs to rest sometimes to perform at its best. Your Mac also has some tools that it uses automatically to help keep you on track. Some of these tools only run during shutdown and startup, so get into the habit of shutting down your computer completely from time to time to allow these tools to do their job. It’s also a great way to extend the life of your Macbook’s internal battery.
Still not getting enough of a performance boost? It may simply mean that your Macbook needs a RAM upgrade. However, keep in mind that not all Macbook variants allow users to upgrade the internal RAM on their own. A quick Google of the specific model of your Macbook followed by the words “RAM Upgrade” will give you an answer right away. These RAM upgrades are usually quite inexpensive and can keep your Macbook running smoothly for years to come.
Computers work best when they’re clean and have room to breathe. Consider this the next time you use your Macbook.