slow computer
Why is my macbook pro running slow
We need more details. I offer some hints on my paid for tip page*:
http://www.macmaps.com/Macosxspeed.html
Go to Apple menu -> About this Mac and verify your operating system.
If you are indeed running 10.4 something, it may be you are running software that is not optimized for your Mac. Starting with Mac OS X 10.7 and later, PowerPC CPU based applications are no longer supported. But starting with 10.7.3 you also have support for the latest Java and more websites than with 10.6.8 or earlier. PowerPC application support though is slower than having Intel Mac native applications in many cases. Other things that could be slowing you down including a hard drive over 85% full, or not having sufficient memory for the operating system installed. Using system optimizers can actually slow you down. The worst of these is Mackeeper, as this page explains:
http://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3036
If your data is backed up, we can do more to isolate the slowness of your Mac. That means two separate copies of your data off your main computer.
* Links to my pages may give me compensation.