We probably get asked this question every day: why is my Mac so slow? We have all experienced the beachball, spinning wheel of death and slow load times. The good news is that the answer is (usually) quite simple to find.
Everybody who has used a computer for more than a few years will have experienced the dreaded ‘slow down’. Your new PC or Mac is great out of the box, blazing fast. But over time things slow down.
You know the rot has begun when it takes 10 minutes to warm up in the morning before you can click anything. Maybe your applications and programs don’t open so quickly any more. Switching between tabs, apps or windows is painfully slow. You see the egg timer, the beach ball, the spinning wheel of doom or the funny blue swirly circle all the time.
Whatever you call it, work isn’t getting done, blood pressure is rising and you’re getting very, very fidgety.
We’re mainly Apple folk at Purple, but there is a really simple process of elimination to identify the cause of slowdowns on both Windows 10 and any macOS version. It’s pretty much the same for both.
The first thing you’ll find when you search about a slow Mac or slow PC is somebody selling you software to make your computer go faster.
These only work in very, very few cases. They usually work by freeing up disk space you might not actually need to reclaim (this makes a very marginal difference, unless the disk is totally full, in which case you have bigger problems anyway).
Furthermore, adding more software that scans and messes about with your computer is obviously not going to make performance better. So don’t do it. We’ve seen these tools delete vital files and interfere with system-level processes. Some have even been regarded as malware. That’s before they have bullied and pestered you into a permanent subscription fee.
We’re a Mac house at Purple so this comes in at number 2, even if it’s not applicable to everyone.
SATA drives are mechanical with high speed spinning parts inside. They are high capacity. Flash or solid-state drives (SSDs) have no moving parts and are smaller capacity for the same money. Both have advantages but SSDs are 10 to 20 times faster than SATA and tend to fail less often as there is no mechanical wear. Fusion or hybrid is a blend of both.
As recently as 2020, Apple were still selling new iMacs with SATA drives in them, despite the whole operating system being highly complex and practically designed to run on SSDs. New iMacs running the latest operating system, out of the box, were running horribly slow.
If you have a Mac or PC, check out the disk type. For Macs, Apple menu > About this Mac > Storage and check the label under the grey hard disk icon. Anything other than Flash or Solid State is very likely to be the root of your performance issues and you should consider an upgrade. For PCs, press Windows + R to open the Run box, type dfrgui and press Enter or Return. The disk type will be shown.
Don’t forget that a hard disk can also fail. This can definitely make a Mac running slowly. SATA drives become more and more likely to stop working every year after their third birthday. The not-so-sweet spot is usually around 6 to 7 years. A gradual but rapidly worsening performance problem with your computer is usually a sign of an impending drive failure.
Many laptop and tablet users are prone to shutting the lid and never, ever properly restarting their system. The same can also be true of desktop computer users or iMac users.
So if you have any computer, but especially a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Surface Tablet or any other Windows 10 portable… Shut It Down. Wait. Now turn it back on. This refreshes the underlying operating system, network connections, disk controllers and everything else “under the hood”. These all need to be running smoothly before you have any chance of your applications performing well too.
If the computer is in such a mess that you can’t even control it effectively to troubleshoot, use Safe Mode ( macOS here, Windows 10 here). This stops unnecessary apps and processes from opening when you start up. If the computer runs normally in Safe Mode, you can go looking for the rogue application. You might also find that a clean reinstall of the operating system will fix your issues.
We speak to many people who have underperforming computers and are under the impression that if they throw away unwanted documents, it will help the computer go faster. This is mostly a myth.
Both Windows 10 and macOS constantly write, edit and remove system files from your computer hard disk to keep things running smoothly. They typically need somewhere around 10 gigabytes of space to handle their routine operations. Computer performance is therefore only affected when you reach the very upper limits of your hard disk space, often the last 5% of capacity. A totally full hard disk can actually cause operating system corruption when it can’t write the files it needs, leading to even worse problems with performance.
The problem is, when you have a ‘tidy up’, unless you are trashing thousands of photos or video files, you won’t be making much of a dent in your hard disk and so are unlikely to improve a slowly running Mac. Even a few thousand emails or documents, unless they contain large media like high quality photos, will simply not make enough difference. They might only add up to a few gigabytes which will quickly be replaced. This only ever kicks the can down the road.
If you need a quick fix, we recommend trashing unwanted applications (easier on a Mac), clearing your Downloads folder (which usually contains replaceable data) and emptying your Trash or Recycle Bin (after checking it first!). This usually makes enough of a difference to buy some time. But longer term you’re usually going to need to upgrade your hard disk.
Although 9 times out of 10 these days the hard disk is the problem, on rare occasions the user is actually just trying to do too much.
Applications require RAM (confusingly called memory) to run. They also need enough processor power. A slowly running Mac is not uncommon for people working with video editing, photo editing and large documents. These all require lots of RAM and processor power.
Make sure you don’t leave too many apps running when not in use. On the Mac this is a common problem because apps do not usually quit even if all their windows are closed. Be sure to fully quit unused apps from the corresponding application menu at the top left. Alternatively use shortcut CMD + Q, or click and hold the app icon in the Dock and choose Quit from the popup menu.
If you notice your system speeds up when intensive apps and files are not running, you may just need a better hardware specification. Some computers can have the RAM upgraded quite easily and cheaply. Processors cannot usually be upgraded in Macs or portable devices, it is however possible in tower-style PCs.
You will notice that we’ve not talked about old favourites. Actions such as defragmenting your disk (which generally happens automatically nowadays), or telling you to have a good old fashioned tidy up. None of that will make any tangible difference, so save yourself the time and energy.
Most of the time you will be dealing with one of the above 5 reasons in one form or another. Get in touch if you need any help improving the performance of your Mac or PC.
Contact us today and we can quickly diagnose your slowly running Mac problem. Get your productivity back on track.
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| Date | Name | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| May 25th | Peter G | The support was fast and successful. Everything worked just perfect. Bravo! |
| May 15th | Mark H | As usual, timely and efficient. |
| May 15th | Caroline C | Thank you so much for resolving my problems so swiftly this morning. That's very much appreciated. |
| May 10th | Kelly C | Dean has been amazing to work with throughout this project! He was very responsive and knowledgable. We look forward to more support from Dean and team in the future! |
| May 3rd | Craig L | Quick service as usual. |
| May 3rd | Amanda H | Many thanks Lochie for a quick and successful response |
| May 3rd | Craig L | Helpful as usual. |
| Apr 21st | Lorna S | Dean has given excellent support |
| Apr 19th | Jane E | Thank you James for responding so quickly, identifying the issue with my battery and booking me a session with Apple. I'm very grateful. :) |
| Apr 18th | Craig L | Good service as usual. |
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