Tips for Speeding up Mac | Speed up sluggish Mac

Very often a Mac user search for tips to Speed up Mac Lion or other previous versions. If you are one of those users then you are at right place to get rid of Slow Mac. If you are frustrated of spinning beach ball we have got few quick and effective tips for revitalizing your Mac.

While experiencing slow Mac performance, the first place to look for, is your hardware configuration. It is to be noted that with each new Mac OS X generation, Apple increases most of the basic system requirements. Since, most of the advanced applications need more memory to perform complicated tasks so it is necessary to avail sufficient memory for OS. So, it’s self-explanatory that lack of memory and hard drive space are often the culprit for systemic slowdown.

The Modern Mac Machines generally possess an adequate amount of power, but depending on how you use your Mac you may experience varying degrees of performance. People usually abuse their Mac for slow performance. Most of the Mac users often have fifteen or more applications open at any given time. They leave their machines on for months. They reboot their Mac (one of the effective step to speed up Mac) only when some update is available. These things make their Mac machines a perfect candidate for poor performance.
What components can be rejuvenated so as to make Mac faster.

 

Hard Drive

Hard disks are very significant reasons for a slowing down Mac. If there is lesser free space in drive then it prevents Mac OS X from quick swapping of information to and from memory when needed. If your cursor is a spinning pinwheel more frequently than it is an arrow, then please check for either your drive is full or have some mechanical issues.

 

Upgrade your memory

2 GB of memory is minimum size required to by any modern version of Mac OS X like Mac Lion; however, if one works at heavy applications and pushes his Mac pretty hard, then he should consider upgrading the memory. Greater is the memory for your machine, lesser you will experience performance issues.

 

Removing unnecessary files

Sometimes the slow behaviour of Mac is due to some unnecessary files. These include:

1. Cache or Temporary files
   
2. Language files
   
3. Binary files
   
4. Duplicate files
   

Such files are none of any importance (depends from user to user) for a common user and simply eat too much of free space and thus slow down Mac performance. There are many third party applications to remove such useless files. Stellar speed up Mac is one of the best Mac speed up tool with an easy to use interface. This tool demands nothing more than just few clicks to revitalize your Mac.

The latest version of stellar speed up Mac v 2.0 is fully compatible with Mac Lion and is capable to resolve all the performance related issues in Mac.

Should I defrag Mac Lion , Defrag Mac OS X or prior versions of Mac

Should I defrag Mac OS X 10.7 or prior versions or not? - A very general question being asked recently by almost all the Mac users. The Mac users switching to Mac Lion are facing slower Mac since the upgrade. Although Apple is quite confident that there is no need to defrag Mac disk since the system has its own optimization tool. But it also recommends defragmentation if a disk contains frequently updated large files.

If a user has large Mac files but doesn't want to defrag Mac disk , then it is must to create a complete backup of all your important files and applications. Then you can re-install your Mac operating system and restore your backup files back to the system. Of course its a time consuming activity but eventually will make your Mac system to run faster in accessing your large files. Cloning utilities are the better options to create a complete backup of Mac drive.

 

Defrag Mac Os X

Fragmentation is the process of splitting your files into multiple parts and storing it to different locations on the hard drive. But, it takes more time to read fragmented files rather than a one lump of files. So, the basic requirement is to reduce the chances of fragmentation.

The HFS+ file system in Mac OS X is strong enough to handle fragmentation this is because the file system under Mac doesn't use the recently freed space as much as possible and look for other available free space to store the files and other information. And another thing Mac OS X uses method that will clump the smaller space in the hard disks into larger portions. And Mac OS X already performs its own defragmentation process which is known as “Hot-File-Adaptive-Clustering.” This greatly reduces the chances of fragmenting the files.

 

How is defragmentation different from optimization?

Disk optimization is different from Mac defragmentation. This deals with the organization of related files into logical groups to improve the Mac performance of the system rather than splitting it into multiple chunks across the hard disk. The most popular Mac tool to defrag Mac disk is Stellar Drive Defrag. The application is capable enough to improve the performance of your system.

Some Mac users are often confused whether they should defrag their Mac OS X or not? However, most users would rather use the disk optimization tools because it will enhance the performance of their system rather than defragmenting their files.

Speed Up Mac Lion | Speed Up Mac OS X 10.7

Its almost a month passed since I upgraded to Mac OS X Lion. I noticed a surprising fall in speed of Mac Lion and resulted in slow Mac OS X Lion. Then I realized that a limited system resources are not enough to support the new features and services in Mac Lion.

The other Mac Lion users like me, who are using Mac Lion with insufficient hardware configuration might have already faced kernel panic messages and lags in Mac Lion performance while working with multiple applications. A serious applications trials and Mac tools research led me to fix some issues to speed up Mac OS X 10.7.

Its important to note that Mac Lion has inbuilt tools to take care of its health by running scripts after fixed intervals. These scripts run on daily, weekly and monthly schedules to pull off the system logs, debris, caches and other redundant items that would impinge upon system speed. Since these actions are carried out on a predefined time, it may not take place always. The system should be ON and working at the time of script execution, otherwise the garbage files will keep on accumulating.

So, its suggested to close those unwanted program cycles, unwanted browser tabs and program windows that are not in use, to speed up the Mac OS. Disable Mac OS X services or daemons which are not much useful but drains a share of resources.

Stellar Speed Up Mac is a tool to Speed up Mac Lion and prior versions of Mac OS X. Its an ultimate and easy to use application to clear cache files generated by applications, unwanted language files, browser history items and software log files.

The application is comprised of three modules.

1. SpeedUp Mac : This option is meant for removing useless data from main volume (boot volume). There are five types of files that can be dealt with .
   

a. Large files
b. Cache and temporary files
c. Language files
d. Universal binaries
e. Duplicate files

User can also change the settings of these files for size, accessing frequency , setting file filtering and languages. The user can preserve the important files by deselecting it from the list.

2. Clean My Mac: This option of Stellar speed up Mac is designed for both bootable volume and non-bootable volume as well. The files which are removed are aagn the same as mentioned above .
   
3. Uninstaller : The option is self explaining which is designed to remove unused Mac applications from your machine and help you to avail free space on Mac drive. This section deal with Applications, Widgets and plugins installed in your system.
   

Do We Need to Defrag Mac Lion Hard Drive?

Many of the computer users who have recently switched from Windows to Macintosh, are in habit to defragment their hard drive so as to ensure fast performance by their computer. But, in Mac, they often ask - I don’t see any way to defragment Mac hard drive. Do I need to be concerned about this?

Apple offers an application to work upon Mac disks called Disk Utility. If you open up Disk Utility, you’ll notice that it doesn’t include a tool for defragmenting your hard drive. The reason for this perceived oversight is that a Mac running any version of OS X later than 10.2 does not need to be defragmented. OS X has its own built-in safeguards that prevent files from becoming fragmented in the first place.

• HFS+ file system in Mac doesn't use recently freed file space on a Mac disk. Instead, it looks for larger free areas already present on the drive, thereby avoiding fragmenting files just to fit them into available space.
  
• OS X dynamically gathers groups of small files and combines them into larger areas on your disk automatically. The process of writing the files to a new larger location defragments all of the files in the group.
  
• OS X implements Hot File Adaptive Clustering, which monitors frequently-accessed files that do not get changed (read only), and then moves these often-accessed files to a special hot zone on the hard drive. In the process of moving these files, OS X defragments them, and then stores them in the area of the hard drive that has the fastest access.
  
• When you open a file, OS X checks to see if it is highly fragmented (more than 8 fragments). If it is, OS X will automatically defragment the file.
  

The result of all these safeguards is that OSX rarely, if ever, needs to have its disk space defragmented. The only real exception to this is when your hard drive has less than 10 percent free space. At that point, OS X is unable to perform its automatic defragmentation routines, and you should consider either removing files or go for some third party defragmenting tool for Mac.

Its also important to note that although the Mac OS X is too smart to handle the fragmented files but its limited to 20 MB only. If a user want to defrag a file larger than 20 MB, he must use a third party Mac application like Stellar defrag drive to defrag his Mac disk or any particular Mac file.

Clone Mac Lion before you Switch from Lion to Snow Leopard

Since the release of Mac Lion, people are searching for ways to upgrade from Mac Snow Leopard to Mac Lion. But, if we talk about universal experience, not everyone is satisfied with Mac OS X 10.7. There are many Mac users who wish to step back to Snow Leopard. Although its possible but not easy because a simple re-installation may delete all your apps and data, stored in your system. It will be easy if you have a clone of your pre-Lion drive.

1. What if you don't have a clone of pre-Lion drive?
Unfortunately, if a user has no backup of his Snow Leopard , then he has no choice. In this case one must clean wipe his disk and install Snow Leopard. Lets discuss how to save your data and get back to Snow Leopard. All you need is a Snow Leopard Install Disk.

1.Create a backup of User folders to an external drive. This is to save all your documents and other data like photos, music, etc.
2.Insert the Snow Leopard Install disc and restart your Mac. Hold down C to boot to your DVD drive.
3.Go to Utilities in the menu bar once the installer pops up and select “Disk Utility.”
4.Find the drive in the sidebar where Lion is installed, select it and navigate to the Partition tab.
5.Click on the drop down menu under Partition Layout and select “1 Partition.” Hit Apply.
6.Now navigate to the Erase tab and make sure you select “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)” is selected, then hit Erase to delete all data on the drive.
7.Quit Disk Utility to get back to the Snow Leopard installer and proceed with the install.
8.Restore your User folder and documents from your Mac backup.

2. What if you have cloned your pre-Lion drive?
If you cloned your Mac before Lion installation, then you can have everything back as it was.
One of the most efficient application to clone Mac drive is Stellar Clne Drive. Its an easy to use Mac utility a Mac user. The method of cloning Mac disk with Stellar Drive Clone has already been discussed in earlier post. Assuming you’ve done that, follow the above instructions upto 6 and start the steps given below.

1.Attach the drive on wich you have stored your Snow leopard backup.
2.Go to -> System Preferences -> Startup Disk.
3.Select the external drive as the startup disk.
4.Restart and launch Stellar Drive Clone
5.Select your backup in “source” menu.
6.Select the Mac’s internal drive as the destination and hit continue.

So, the above discussion might support my point that is a user is planning to switch from Snow leopard to Mac Lion then he must preserve a valid backup of all his applications and data by cloning Mac.

How to Speed Up Mac Lion | How to speed up Mac OS X 10.7

Almost all the Mac users would have faced a situation where they find their machine has become sluggish. Here we shall discuss some tricks to speed up Mac performance. 
 
Clear the Cache.
Most Mac systems either use the web browser Firefox or Safari. Both browsers have a fairly large capacity to store the names and addresses of the websites visited. As this list of records grows longer and longer with the passage of time, the performance of the web browsers starts to get negatively affected. This also slows down the performance of the OS X. Hence, it is advisable to regularly clear the history of the web pages visited every few days to keep the browser working at optimal rates. 
 
Disable Apps & Effects you can do without!
Many people use programs that automatically update their desktop settings from time to time. This involves shifting the wallpaper by automatically picking from the stored files or downloading a new one each month. Even though such functions are a great way to jazz up your computer and seem very attractive because they are extremely convenient, the truth of the matter is that they use up a lot of the computer's memory space in order to be able to function. This again slows down the working of the computer. Hence it is important to remove any applications that change the desktop settings on their own on a regular basis. It might take some effort on your part, but it's hardly anything compared to the space and time that you will be saving.

Another attractive function that causes you to use up unnecessary space and thus interfere with the working of the OS X is that of animated desktops. While animated wall papers and folder icons and function buttons might seem like fun and are certainly a great way to jazz up the computer screen and bring it to life, the energy used to sustain these adversely affects the operating system in the form of extra space and battery power, thus resulting in slowed performance. 
 
Minimize the use of Memory-intensive programs.
For those who like their favorite applications to be used, to open up each new file, for example, opening up image files with Photo shop each time, here is a word of caution: resetting the default settings and adjusting them so as to use a more complex application for a relatively simple task each time involves using up more of the computer's performance power. If you specifically want to work on a file then right click and select the desired application using the 'Open With' tab, but for the default settings allow programs like Picture Preview for opening images to function regularly. This way the application takes less time to open and the work is done, without involving extra effort on the operating system to load up all the complicated tools and functions associated with the advanced program.

The Speech Recognition software is an attractive feature of the MAC system but if you do not use it on a regular basis or are not currently employing it then go to the System Preferences option and click on Speech Recognition and turn it off to save disc space and speed. 
 
Want more performance from your Mac?
Another effective method for improving performance is with the use of Mac speed up application like Stellar Speed Up Mac. I have used this application successfully on Mac Snow Leopard. I have to test whether this application can speed up Mac Lion with the same efficiency. 
 
Join me in next post for My experience with Stellar Speed Up Mac to SpeedUp Mac OS 10.7.

How to create free space on Mac hard drive

Stellar Speed up Mac is a Mac program that helps you to create free space on Mac hard drive. It shows the list of unused applications and data with space they are consuming.

Once you have installed the Speed up Mac launch it from Applications menu.The application will offer you three Options which are discussed here in details.

1. SpeedUp Mac : This option is targetted to deal with the unused applications and data in main volume (bootable volume). The software removes five types of files from boot volume.

a. Large files : The size of large files can be changed by clicking the settings icon.

b. Cache and temporary files

c. Language files : The user can select the language files to deleted

d. Universal binaries

e. Duplicate files: The duplicate files kill a lot of space on hard drive. Its very difficult to find duplicate files in your hard drive but SpeedUp Mac make it easy.

The user can preserve the important files by deselecting it from the list.

2. Clean My Mac: This module of Stellar speed up Mac is meant for both bootable volume and non-bootable volume as well.
3. Uninstaller : This module of application developed to remove unused applications on your Mac. This section deals deletes Applications, Widgets and plugins installed in your system.

How to use Stellar SpeedUp Mac

Step 1. Choose the type of file and make the necessary changes in its setting to remove them from your Mac drive.

Step 2. Select SpeedUp Mac if you want to deal with bootable volume else click Clean my Mac and choose the volume from where you want to remove useless data and continue the process.

Step 4. Select the uninstaller to remove applications. This offers you an option to delete the unused program by just drag and drop. It will clear all the related files of that application.

One can easily remove the unwanted application by dragging them directly to this window. The installer has four options to be implemented on all the partitions of your drive.These are

1. Applications 2. Widgets 3. Plugins 4. Uninstall

The fast performance and easy language brings this application more closer to Mac users.