Uninstalling Mac Applications : The Basics

Mac applications come as a package and can be easily removed by just dragging to trash. Many users think that the entire associated files are deleted and need not to care about anything but that is not the case. Application create preference files which are stored in /Home/Library/Preferences/. Although, these files do not interrupt other applications but they do occupy some space in disk and the volume goes increasing with time.

Do you know how to go to library folder in Mac?

Click Go > Go to Folder type ~Library

Sometimes applications may have uninstaller too, which removes the application. In some cases the uninstaller can be invoked by customizing during the installation process.

Some applications may store these files in /Home/Library/Applications Support/ folder. You can see there if the application has created a folder. These can be deleted manually from Applications Support folder. Again, they are nothing but space occupiers once the application is trashed.

Some applications may install a Startupitems or a Log In item. These are usually installed in the /Library/StartupItems/. You can delete these items from the list by following the path Accounts icon -> LogIn Items tab. Select the item from the list, you want to remove and click the "-" (minus) button.

Do you know what are daemons?

I am not describing daemons here but mentioning the way to delete them. Follow  /Library/LaunchAgents/ and /Library/LaunchDaemons/.

If you want to see it the application has installed any other files then the best way is to search with finder. You can search for application name or developer name. Unfortunately, the Spotlight doesn’t search into certain folders. In such cases you need to go for some third party applications like Stellar SpeedUp Mac.

Some applications install items to determine if it is already installed. This is called a receipt which is stored in the /Library/Receipts/ folder. We must delete these items to which usually are stored with ".pkg" extension.

There are many utilities that can uninstall applications. Here is a selection:

·       Stellar SpeedUp Mac

·       AppZapper

·       Automaton

·       Hazel

·       CleanApp

·       Yank

·       SuperPop

·       Uninstaller

·       Spring Cleaning

Defrag Macbook with Stellar Defragmenting software

Like many other Macbook users I used to think that my Mac can never get slower and can never be infected by virus attack. But, my idea didn’t remain so.  My Mac started slowing down after 3 years and it was becoming pathetic to work with it.

I searched online to fix the issue but, didn’t get any workable answer. My cousin, who is a Sr. developer at Microsoft, shared his knowledge with me and suggested to find some defragmenting software for Macbook.

As everyone knows there is neither such built-in application for the task nor is suggested by Apple. According to Apple, Mac HFS+ file system is smart enough to handle file fragmentation.

But, still I wanted to give a try and continued my search for some third party tool. I got Stellar Drive Defrag in its latest version ie; 3. It shows option to defrag either a volume or a single large file.  On selecting my bootvolume, it shows fragmented files, which was very shocking. 

Stellar Drive Defrag

I did nothing but defrag my volume and restart the machine. This time I can see my Macbook working like it used to, a couple of years ago.

Pros: Very clear and precise interface to perform with effective results.

Cons: Takes little longer at large volumes

Recommendation: Can be recommended to Mac users who have tried every possible solution to to fix their slow Mac.

How to check and remove garbage in my Mac

When our Mac starts slowing down, we start thinking about upgrading RAM, OS X defragmenting etc.. But, there are some smart Mac users who know the actual cause of this fall in speed. Here, we are discussing the same.

Before we jump into the technical frames of the issue, imagine a home with 3 rooms and 6 members living for last 5 months, where all the doors and windows are shut. All the necessary items like food, vegetables, clothes, newspapers, magazines etc. can be taken in but no waste is allowed to throw out. How will you define the picture? – “Messy and Unbearable”.

The same scene can be painted for ours too. It happens when we keep installing applications, storing same photos, movies and videos in different volumes (in the name of creating backups) and never care about those cache and binary files, stored in every corner of Mac disk. These unnecessary files eat too much space and thus resources to bring the performance down.

So, it goes quite obvious that like our homes, our machine also needs cleaning. We must monitor the applications, cache files, duplicates being stored in our Mac. Here is the list of files which Make Mac messy.

1.     Useless applications
2.     Universal Binary files
3.     Cache
4.     Language files
5.     Duplicate data
6.     Log files
7.     System Junks
8.     Useless large files

How to remove this garbage from Mac drive? 

Although the task can be done manually but, up to some extent only. Smart users do this Mac cleaning task with Stellar Speedup Mac. This tool is the perfect choice for removing all types of unnecessary files in just few clicks. It scans your disk thoroughly and lists the files to be deleted. You can have a look of them before removing them permanently.

Here are some screenshots of Stellar Speedup Mac v3.0 showing different features of the best Mac cleaning application.

So, if you are struggling with slow and sluggish Mac then this is the perfect time to install the trial version of this tool and check for amount of space that can be cleaned, gaining speed of your machine.

How to improve Mac startup | Minimize Mac startup Time

My Mac has very slow startup and shut down which irritates me a lot. Everyday in the office I struggle with my slow Mac and get scolded for late project delivery.

Do you share the same feeling? Is your Mac also suffering from sluggishness?  Here we are disclosing some very helpful and practical solutions for this problem.

1. Replace HDD with faster SSD
An SSD (Solid State Drive) can bring a perfect improvement to your Mac speed since it avails Mac to read more data (files) than a simple HDD (Hard Disk Drive).  The random access time in SSD is about 0.1 ms as compared to 5 to 10 ms for HDD.  It simply means faster loading of files and faster booting. Those who have recently bought their Macbook need not to worry because it already comes with SSD.

Please note that SSD is not a cheap solution and costs more than HDD. Although upgrading hard drive is not easy in Mac but it increases speed to a very noticeable rate.
 
2. Another method to add speed to Mac startup, is to remove all unnecessary fonts installed on Mac.
Application -> Font Book Right-click and select Remove <font> or Remove <font> Family
The method demands attention otherwise there may be a loss of essential system fonts.
 
3. Remove login items which you don’t need
One of the simplest ways to get your desktop more quickly is to remove processes, which get launched automatically at startup.  Actually this practice will make your desktop appear more quickly once you’ve logged in as normal.
•    Go to System Preferences and select Users & Groups
•    Select user name in the left hand window pane and the Login Items button on the right hand side
•    Remove the items which you don’t need, from the list and prevent them from running

4. Disconnect the peripherals
Its good to disconnect the peripherals when you they are not in use. It’s necessary because checking updates and other processes can delay the startup of your Mac.  Disconnecting these unused devices becomes more important when they are not working properly.

Problem not solved?
If you are not satisfied with these solutions and still facing the same irritating situation then you need some specified software for this task.

Stellar SpeedUp Mac is the perfect match for this task. It cleans your Mac drive and creates free space to be used by OS and thus improves its performance.

Which items does Speedup Mac remove?
With the passage of time there accumulates plenty of unnecessary items, which kill free space and bring down the overall speed of machine. Stellar Speedup Mac scans the Mac disk for these unnecessary items and removes them permanently from the disk. Here is the list of file types, which can be cleaned with tool.

•    Cache files
•    Log files
•    System Junk
•    Trashes & Leftovers
•    Manage extensions
•    Universal Binaries
•    Language files
•    Duplicate files
•    Large files

No other option is as successful as Speedup Mac to give rocket speed to your Mac. Many users have tried it and found their Mac running as they were on day 1. We recommend you to try the application before you buy it. Visit: http://www.stellarspeedupmac.com