Mac Lists

5 Ways to Start the Year with a Faster Mac

Since updating to Mac OS X 10.5.6, I've noticed a slowdown with my old PPC Mac Mini. I'm not sure if the update is to blame, but I did a few maintenance tasks that seem to have improved the situation. Here is my short list of ways to speed up that tired old Mac and start off the new year with a revived, faster Mac.

1.  Delete Cache Files

Cache files are temporary storage files that can, over time, slow down your Mac. The easiest way to delete cache files is to use a free application called Onyx.

2.  Run Maintenance Scripts

Mac OS X automatically runs certain maintenance tasks every day, every week and every month. If your Mac is not on all the time, some of these cleanup tasks won't run and, over time, your Mac will begin to slow down. You can use Onyx to see when the maintenance scripts were last done and then run the needed ones. I was surprised to find that my last monthly automatic cleanup occurred four months ago. It's no wonder my poor Mac was crawling instead of running.

3.  Shut Down and Restart

If your Mac is on all the time, sometimes shutting it down completely and then turning it back on can help give it a burst of energy. Even if you put your Mac to sleep every night, it is a good idea to occasionally do a complete shut down and reboot.

4.  Check the System's Health

Use an application like Drive Genius to check and repair any structural problems with the operating system. Sometimes rebuilding the directory of a drive, even if no errors are indicated, can speed up the drive.

5.  Defragment the Drive

With the old Mac OS 9 operating system, defragmenting a drive on a regular basis was a necessity, but this has proven less valuable with Mac OS X. However, if you have been using the operating system for over a year and you've never reinstalled it, your drive may be badly fragmented by now. Drive Genius by Prosoft includes a "Defrag" option that lets you view the amount of defragmentation on your drive and, if the drive looks like mine did after a year (see the screenshot below), you can use the application to defragment the drive.

Before trying any of the suggestions on this list, you should (must) make sure you have a working backup of your drive. I recommend that you use either SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner to create a clone of your drive and then test the drive to make sure it is working properly.