My 2010 MacBook Pro is running slow

I would first recommend restarting in Safe Mode and if that doesn't fix it try both a SMC and PRAM reset.

_SMC RESET_

• Shut down the computer.
• Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
• On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
• Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
• Press the power button to turn on the computer.

_PRAM RESET_

• Shut down the computer.
• Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step
• Turn on the computer.
• Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
• Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
• Release the keys.

Roger

Please click the "Safe Mode" link in my first post. Starting in Safe Mode clears out some caches that may have become corrupted. Once you have started in Safe Mode then do the SMC reset and follow that with the PRAM reset.

Difficult to say. You can check Activity Monitor (Applications - Utilities - Activity Monitor) click the *System Memory* tab towards the bottom. Run Activity Monitor with the rest of the apps that you normally run so it gets a good idea. Then check to see:

1. How much Free Ram you have. Report back how much is Free.
2. Check the column called %CPU and see if you have an app that is taking up a lot.

Glad you got it sorted out and thank you for the star.

It's probably fine. You can always do another SMC reset, they don't hurt a thing and sometimes it takes more than 1 reset.