MacBook Running slow

holy wow, this worked! I too have tried different ways to speed up my macbook pro without having to buy new ram and this seemed to do the trick.... only like 3 months later of frustration with a super slow and sluggish computer. Wow, my photoshop and Dreamweaver takes only seconds to open and load my files now 😊.

thanks!

Macbook Pro 13" Mid 2010

10.9.5

2.4 GHz

4GB ram

500GB HD with 105gb free prior to this posting

It resets the SMC, ( SYSTEM MANAGEMENT CONTROLLER). A part of the logic board (Mother Board) .. or circuit chip thingy where everything comes together. Which helps control a lot of the power for the computer.

Thanks - An Apple Technician

Hi AppleFixitGuy,

I'm having problem with my Mac OS x10.7 (MacBook Pro 8.1), i have this Mac for about 2 1/2 years. Now i experienced running slow it takes time to turn on my laptop its about 5-10 minutes before it start.

Then if I open Safari to log on to Facebook, Tweeter etc. it also runs slow, i also experience everytime i hit like button on facebook it will open a pop-up on new tab. Its the same problem when i watched online like NBA or any news videos its always appear pop-up on the new tab. The worst experience is sometimes when i plug the mobile to charge, its totally shutoff my mac 😟 I hope you can also help with my mac problem...

Please assist.

Thanks & regards,

This is astonishingly helpful it worked immediately. Activity Monitor which was always showing very full statistics and constantly freezing up seems to have been solved by this. Thank you AppleFixitGuy !!

Another thing that can cause slow responses (i.e. the beach ball) is Safari. If you look at the Activity Monitor and "Safari" or "Safari Web Content" seem to be consuming a lot of CPU%, try doing a Safari reset. In the pulldown under Safari, click on "reset Safari". You'll have to reload all the tabs or windows you had, and go back and set your Safari preferences again (they will be reset to their default values), Good luck.

THANK YOU!

I cannot believe it was so simple to get my MacBook Pro running at a normal speed again. I was so confused as to why it became excruciatingly slow one day as I only use it for Microsoft Word files (maybe 50 saved) and 2 saved photos.

Thanks so much. I had been having slowness issues for some time now. Came across your post, tried it and I think it fixed my problem. It's only been a few hours and I can say my Macbook seems to be back to normal.

The original issue seems like an intel type issue of NOT clearing cache properly even on reboots, which do not allow the capacitive nature of dynamic (and even static) RAM to empty, even when "shutdown" if the power is still connected dynamic and static RAM can still hold data!

Add this is by way of possible explanation as to why the solution works!

ciao

I've been having the same performance problem with my Mac, and found your response on this page. I've been laughing at your "Dark Magic" response all morning! Thanks so much for filling my Friday morning with laughter! :-)

I have a mid 2009 Macbook pro that has made me an Apple convert! All of the sudden it runs like Windows Vista! I have 8g ram and 1t hardrive that is 3/4 full. Apple support to there credit has spent many patient hours with me to no avail. Basically the prognosis is my machine is too old. I except that. But there is no way in **** I will buy another Macbook Pro that may take a crap overnight and then need to be replaced. Bought top of the line last time and won't be fooled again. Sure MS machines are lousy, but I can buy 5 to 10 of them for the price of a top of the line MacBook Pro. Good Riddance " EL CRAPITAN! " !

I have 3 2009 machines -- 2 MBPs and an iMac -- all on El Cap, all running very well. One did experience a slowdown, the others never have. On the one that did, I went to disk utility, and ran "First Aid". Slowness gone! Your disk is pretty full, and if you've never cleaned it up, that might help. Also, if you don't totally shut down once in a while, things can seem to get sticky. If you haven't tried it, do a full "cold" shutdown, including removing the battery if you can. Wait at least 5 minutes, the put the battery back in, and boot up.

If it's just Safari, try a Safari reset.

If none of that helps, try a "genius bar" appointment. The online and phone support form Apple is probably the best there is, but there's nothing like a sharp nerd looking at your machine.

Good luck.

5 years and your computer is tagged "antiquated", after 7 years (such as my mid 2009 Macbook Pro) and your computer is considered "obsolete", Apple Genius bar no longer looks at "obsolete" machines and Apple carries no parts for them. I agree Apple phone support is tremendous. These discussion are also great. I will remove the battery and appreciate the suggestion. If that doesn't help then I will do a "Factory" reset. I have already reloaded the operating system to no avail. I have loved this machine, though it costs an arm and a leg. Hence my desire to keep using it. I would not hesitate to buy another Macbook Pro per se, but I am very hesitant to buy El Capitan! Cheers!

I had the MB replaced on my 2009 machine in June 2014 via an Apple Genius Bar appointment. Still running fine today with El Cap. I've never had the Genius Bar guys turn me down. But, OWC has a lot of stuff for older Macs, so you might check there. I bought some memory there and it worked great. The have great instructions, tools, and parts for machines Apple no longer supports.

This worked for me as well on OSX El Capitan. I have a MacBook Pro, Late 2011, which has been gradually becoming unbearably slow. The steps provided by AppleFixitGuy seem to have worked like a charm. Thanks for the solution!

There is this very simple and highly effective way of completely clean installing your OS. My MBP mid 2012 had gotten slower than the 90s machines because of installing and uninstalling thousands of softwares, but after I did a clean install last week, it is running even faster than the time I purchased it.

I would suggest go ahead and clean install the OS that you are running and it will give you remarkable results!

Don't fall prey to the softwares that claim to speed up your Mac. They are utterly useless!

Just go through a few YouTube videos or online forums that have the procedure of Clean Install.

Congo for your new and fast MB!