Having downloaded numerous apps, and not always uninstalled them correctly, is there a way of cleaning up my mid-2011 iMac hard drive of file remnants please, thereby making it faster to boot and use on a daily basis?
iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2011), OS X El Capitan (10.11.1)
You would need to go to the apps' developers websites and see if there is an uninstaller; generally, if you installed it by dragging it to your Applications folder, you can just drag it to the trash. If the app came with its own installer, then you should use their uninstaller. You could consider erasing your hard drive and reinstalling the OS - obviously, make a back up first or you'll lose all your files. However, that should only be necessary if there are some problems.
Having said that, enough empty space on your hard drive plays a role in slow downs as does not having enough RAM. So, how much empty space do you have and how much RAM is installed? Also, slowdowns can be caused by unnecessary "cleaning" software or AV software - do you either installed?
Unfortunately I have installed, (and incorrectly uninstalled) various AV and cleaning software, which I'm sure is causing my problems. This is why I need "pointing" to software that will clean my hard drive, without leaving yet more files which may exacerbate my difficulties. I have 4GB of RAM, installed when purchasing my mid-2011 iMac.
Ahh, so try either one of these for adware/malware:
automated:
https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/mac/
manual instructions from Apple:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203987
If you've got Mackeeper, go to their site and get their uninstaller. For any other cleaning apps, also check their sites for uninstallers to make sure you get all of it.
You could also run this and post the result here:
Please download and install EtreCheck from http://etrecheck.com/
Run it and post the report here. The EtreCheck report will help us to see what you have install so that we can help you get rid of it.
Is it possible to "clean up" my iMac hard drive?
