My MacBook has slowed down considerably on opening websites and loading Internet pages, and I need to know how to remedy this frustrating situation. I saw "Detox My Mac" advertised and wondered if that might help. Please advise.
MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.5)
Probably not. Most third party 'repair utilities' are rubbish and can damage your system.
When did you last empty the cache in Safari?
Probably not. Most third party 'repair utilities' are rubbish and can damage your system.
When did you last empty the cache in Safari?
I emptied the cache today.
Dont install or use all the "clean my mac" and Mac Keeper etc etc , all these apps are useless fluff and rubbish.
if you want an anti-virus most here use, its free ClamXaV 😊
Okay, I won't download "Detox My Mac" as I suspected it might be harmful when I asked the question...
I'll try ClamXaV.
1GatorGirl wrote:
Okay, I won't download "Detox My Mac" as I suspected it might be harmful when I asked the question...
I'll try ClamXaV.
ClamXav is an anti-malware application which does not do any of what DetoxMyMac does, but that's a good thing.
You don't need to pay for any application to take care of "application leftovers, trashes & downloads, history & archieves, unused languages, cache files, logs & reports." Many of these are handled automatically by the system and there are freeware apps that can do the rest if they are really necessary.
I'm know Klaus1 has many more tips, so I'll just tell you to start with Randy Singer's Macintosh OS X Routine Maintenance.
I am downloading the ClamXav update now. It is taking forever...
Thanks for the Randy Singer link.
Please answer as many of the following questions as you can. You may already have answered some of them.
1. Have you restarted your router and broadband modem since you first noticed the problem? If the answer is no, do that now and see whether there's any change.
2. Are any other web browsers installed, and are they the same?
3. What about other Internet applications, such as iTunes and the App Store?
4. Are there any other devices on the same network that can browse the Web, and are they affected?
5. If you can test Safari on another network, is it the same there?
6. If you connect to your router with Wi-Fi and you can also connect with Ethernet, do that and turn off Wi-Fi. Any difference?
1GatorGirl wrote:
I am downloading the ClamXav update now. It is taking forever...
It shouldn't take long to get the application, but due to changes in the signature database their network is swamped right now. That should clear up in the next day or so.
I hope you realize that ClamXav is not going to solve your current problem.
Yes, I realize that ClamXav is not going to solve the current problem.
No infected files were discovered.
1. Yes, I restarted the router and modem yesterday with no discernable difference. I will try this again.
2. I have Safari as the default web browser. Google Chrome is installed, also. Performance seems to be the same on both.
3. iTunes and the App Store are slow loading, also.
4. iPhone 5 and iPad mini are on this same network. They seem to be performing faster than the MacBook Pro.
5. I will try to run Safari on another network.
6. I don't know if I have an ethernet cable to try the connection. I'll have to look.
Thanks.
Thank you for taking the time to respond to my concerns in this thread, Klaus1, PlotinusVeritas, MacMacs0, and Linc Davis.
I have learned much from you in following your advice, reading the articles you linked, etc. You have forgotten more than I'll ever know about MacBook Pro, but I am much more knowledgeable and confident thanks to your help and will be able to apply your suggestions in the future, as needed. It's good to know that this forum exists, and expert help is readily available, also.
In the process of troubleshooting, I discovered that the major culprit in my situation was an outdated modem. I replaced the old modem with a new Motorola model and am now back up to speed (pun intended).
Anyhow, I definitely appreciate your support.
No, dont use or install it.
UNDERSTOOD!
Hmmp careful now!
Gatorgirl and everybody: The Mac will run slow when the disk is full - also with temporary rubbish - files created while you watch a video and you never see, because the OS will delete them. So if your disk is above 85% full - you have to do something, delete files and empty the trash. You need a utility to find duplicates, and quickly identify the files you do not need - like support for all the foreign languages, the cache files - and the problem is that deleting files also in the application cache can give you big problems, so a tool makes sense.
The problem is that one tool that is very much advertised and used by many is no more than spyware. The question here could be rephrased: "Is Detox just as bad as M??Keeper?". I use ClamAV, have paid for it and contribute also since they intend to develop it to also protect your browsing - not just the email scanner. It scans the files that the browser place, to see if this is malware, but this comes from Linux and based on the same security as on Mac.
Run "Disk Utility" - hold CMND+R while you boot, and make it verify and repair the disks.
This will report disk usage: and if more than 80%, you must delete files and recover space. When you verify and repair, you run through the file system, and this will find disk pages that is marked as "used" but really not used by anything and recover the space. If the verification finds errors, it has 7 back-traces that can be used to recover the disk, but you risk loosing the last 2-3 minutes. The system is remarkably resilient - use the system provided utilities to "repair" the disk. Even on an SSD, the time spent searching in the indexes can be dramatically reduced, and the spinning of the wheel reduced - because shorter search in the file system. This is a Unix property and has been around "always". The 85% is also well known constrain - it is not related to fragmentation, but pointers in indexes are used to say where "next page" is, and when searching for "next spot" takes time, the system becomes slow.
I don't know about this one - I'm very suspicious.
However, I do use Dr. Cleaner from Trendmicro - Trend Micro is a reputable virusscanner, they have a number of products and Dr. Cleaner is free.
Is "Detox My Mac" safe to use?
