Is there a 'Disk Cleanup' equivalent for OS X?

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Is there a 'Disk Cleanup' equivalent for OS X?

Hi,

As about a million other newbies would say: I'm very sorry if this is a dumb, stupid, or ridiculous question. And if its in the wrong sub forum.

I'm new to Mac, and got my very first MacBook Air (2017 model) yesterday, which was very exciting! Having used Windows all my life, switching to OS X has been a little bit of a learning process for me, like finding where things are, learning what this and that does, etc. And so far, very nice!

However, I was wondering where the 'tools' are. Things like a 'disk cleanup' or defrag program. I know my MacBook doesn't need any maintenance right away as I've only just got it, but its nice to know where these things are for future reference.

If someone could point me in the right direction that would be fantastic! Or if you have any recommendations for clean up programs, that's even better!

Thanks! 🙂

MACBOOK AIR (13-INCH, 2017), macOS Sierra (10.12.5)

Posted on Jul 3, 2017 6:48 PM

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Answer 1

Jul 3, 2017 6:54 PM in response to Notleks

HI,

Never use a third party so called cleaning utlity on a Mac. Your Mac runs maintenance in the background for you.

Third party cleaning utilties can slow your Mac to a crawl.

"Having used Windows all my life"

Never install third party anti virus software on a Mac. Your Mac has System Integrity Protection pre installed > About System Integrity Protection on your Mac - Apple Support

Mac tips for Windows switchers - Apple Support

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Answer 2

Jul 3, 2017 6:53 PM in response to Notleks

Notleks wrote:

However, I was wondering where the 'tools' are. Things like a 'disk cleanup' or defrag program. I know my MacBook doesn't need any maintenance right away as I've only just got it, but its nice to know where these things are for future reference.

If someone could point me in the right direction that would be fantastic! Or if you have any recommendations for clean up programs, that's even better!

Welcome to the world of Macs!

"Clean up" programs are about the worst things you can put on your Mac. You do not need them. They do more harm than good. The Mac handles its own maintenance.

The other generally unnecessary category of software on a Mac is anti-virus software.

You might find this article by a long time forum member helpful:

Effective defenses against malware and other threats

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Answer 3

Jul 4, 2017 7:45 AM in response to Notleks

I'll just add to the good advice you have gotten so far. If your MBA has a solid state drive the drive firmware itself does "cleanup." Every time you save a file it is moved to a new location. Solid State drives do not have sectors in the usual sense, so there is nothing to clean up. In addition, software that overwrites deleted files ("secure erase") won't work on an SSD, because the location of the deleted storage is unknown. Which means, if you want secure erase you should encrypt your drive using the built in File Vault feature (System Preferences->Security & Privacy).

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