How To Find Out What Is Slowing Down Your Mac

If you’re a Mac user, you may notice that your Mac is not running as fast as it once did after some time. This can be frustrating and can slow down your productivity. However, there are certain things that you can do to find out what is slowing down your Mac and address the issues to improve its performance. In this article, we’ll explore how to find out what is causing your Mac to slow down and what measures you can take to fix the problem.

1. How To Find Out What Is Slowing Down Your Mac.

1.1 Check which apps are using up your resources.

1. The first thing to do when you’re experiencing slow performance on your Mac is to identify which apps are using the most resources.
2. To do this, follow these steps.
3. Open the “Activity Monitor” app ( refer to the article How To Use macOS Activity Monitor To Manage Processes ).
4. Click on the “CPU” tab to view the apps using the most CPU resources. The app at the top is the one that is using the most resources.
5. Click on the “Memory” tab to view which apps are using the most memory. The app at the top is the one that is using the most memory.
6. If an app is using too many resources, you can either quit the app or force quit it by selecting it and clicking on Apple Logo —> Force Quit at the top left corner of the window.
7. You can also refer to the article How To Find Daemons And Agents Running In macOS Background & Stop It to learn how to find and stop the background daemon or agents process.

1.2 Check your storage.

1. The second step is to check your storage.
2. If your Mac is running low on storage, it can slow down significantly.
3. To check your storage, follow these steps.
4. Click on the Apple logo at the top left corner of the screen.
5. Select “About This Mac”.
6. Click on the “Storage” tab to view how much storage is available.
7. If you’re running low on storage, you’ll need to delete files or move them to an external hard drive.

1.3 Check for malware.

1. The next step is to check for malware or viruses.
2. Malware can slow down your Mac and can also cause other problems.
3. To check for malware, follow these steps.
4. Download and install reputable antivirus software such as Avast or Malwarebytes.
5. Run a scan of your Mac to check for any infections.
6. If you find any viruses or malware, remove them using the software you downloaded.
7. You can also refer to the article How To Identify Malware In Activity Monitor macOS to learn more.

1.4 Check for software updates.

1. Software updates can also cause your Mac to slow down.
2. It’s important to always have the latest updates installed to ensure that your Mac runs smoothly.
3. To check for software updates, follow these steps.
4. Click on the Apple logo at the top left corner of the screen.
5. Select “App Store…”.
6. Click on the “Updates” tab to see if any updates are available.
7. Install any available updates.

1.5 Clear your cache.

1. Another common cause of slow performance on a Mac is a full cache.
2. Clearing your cache can help to speed up your Mac.
3. To do this, follow these steps.
4. Open a “Finder” window.
5. Click on the “Go” button at the top of the screen.
6. Select “Go to Folder…”.
7. Type “~/Library/Caches” into the search bar.
8. Select all the files in the folder and delete them.

1.6 Clear your desktop.

1. If your desktop is cluttered with files, folders, and documents, it can slow down your Mac.
2. It’s important to keep your desktop organized and only keep files that you need.
3. To clear your desktop, follow these steps.
4. Create new folders for different categories of files, such as “work” or “personal”.
5. Move all files from the desktop into their respective folders.
6. Keep only essential files on the desktop.

1.7 Check your startup items.

1. Finally, the last step is to check your startup items.
2. Startup items are the apps that launch when you start up your Mac.
3. Too many startup items can slow down your Mac.
4. To check your startup items, follow these steps.
5. Click on the Apple logo at the top left corner of the screen.
6. Select “System Preferences…”.
7. Click on “Users & Groups”.
8. Select your user account.
9. Click on the “Login Items” tab.
10. Deselect any apps that you don’t need to launch at startup.

In conclusion, if you follow these seven steps, you should be able to identify what is slowing down your Mac and address the issues to improve its performance. It’s important to keep your Mac running smoothly so that you can work productively and efficiently.