When I moved from Windows onto the Mac, I had been of the mindset that this OS would perform as smoothly as it did on Day 1 for the rest of its computing life. Surfing the web, it seems a whole lot of people had come to similar conclusions. After all, this is the OS that is supposed to be free from viruses, hackers, worms and all similar forms of evil code (and coders). Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong.
The fact is that the Mac is as prone to attacks and bugs as its Microsoft rival. But you know what? If you have the patience and time to follow a set of simple steps to take care of your Mac, you could very well have a perfectly performing Mac OS that lets you work happily ever after…
But before you begin, I would recommend making a backup of your Mac using Time Machine or any other backup app. If you don’t have a backup plan as yet, it’s high time you get one now.
1. Cleaning Up Your Startup
This is a very simple step and so we’ll begin here. It’s always a good idea to check out your startup list to see which programs currently launch automatically at system startup. To check this out, simply click on the ? on your bar, go to System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items. Go through the list and untick each app that you do not need to be ready at startup.
2. Find CPU and Memory Hogs
This step is a very important. If avoided, it has the potential to make your computer drag along incessantly. What you got to do is go to Application > Utilities > Activity Monitor. Once opened, you will be shown a list of running apps and processes. If any processes relating to inactive programs are shown, you might want to check out if that is supposed to happen – most probably it shouldn’t. You could also see if there are any runaway processes. If you find one, simply restart it.
3. Get Rid of Apps You Don’t Need
If you’re a long time Mac user, you might have unknowingly installed a few apps that you never really needed, or there might be some apps that you don’t use anymore. What you got to do is, open up your Application folder and drag to the trash any app that you don’t use. A fail safe way to know if you would require the app is: Think about how many times you’ve used that particular app in the last 6 months. If the answer is 0 then try to predict how many times you might use it in the next 6 months. If this answer is 0 too, then drag that app to the Trash Bin.
4. Calling in the Maintenance Team
Simply run Disk Utility by going to Applications >> Utilities >> Disk Utilities. There you can get the computer to verify and repair disk permissions and verify and repair the disk itself. These operations are time consuming, and you cannot do them while other applications are running, so you should probably do this step when you do not need your Mac for some time – whether you’re on lunch break, coffee break, napping or checking out some of our cool Macbook cases.
5 & 6. SMC Reset & Battery Calibration
SMC reset is the first thing you ought to do if you are facing increased system temps, higher fan speeds, or lowered battery life. Battery Calibration is a process which is done after the SMC memory is reset so that it can update itself with the latest values of your battery life, voltage, etc. You can find details on how to reset and calibrate your Apple MacBook Pro here. If you feel that your battery is not charging as fast as it used to, option + mouse right click on the battery icon and it will show you the current status of your battery. If it shows Normal, your charger might be at fault. Feel free to check out our MacBook Chargers for one that fits your specifications.
7. Keep your Mac Updated
I really can’t stress how important this is. Apple occasionally issues software updates for the Mac and any of the other Apple applications that you run within Mac like iTunes, Mail, Safari et al. It is highly recommended that you try to keep your Mac updated with the latest updates made available because they also hold security updates for any worms or malware that may have surfaced for the Mac. You can Update your Mac software by clicking on the ? and selecting Software Update.
Conclusion
These tips should get your system running smoother. If you use your Mac as your primary system, it might get prone to scratches and nicks. Browse through our MacBook Protectors to get your Mac protected without the use of heavy cases or bags. If your Mac shows heats up a lot, you might want to try out this laptop cooler review of the Thermapak – we stock it in black and white. If on the other hand you do want the shock protection that comes from thicker cases you could go through our Macbook Accessories page and shop to your hearts desire.
This guest blog written by Dilin Anand.