MacBook Pro So Slow

4 gb of ram is too little for today's world and seems like a tiny amount to have with an i7 processor. Luckily it's easy to upgrade the ram and fairly affordable. You need at least 8 but I'd get 16 gB. You could just add one stick of 8 for 12 total and likely see a signiciant increase in speed since ram is where all of the stuff currently being used by the computer lives.

You should check your computer with apples system_profiler command to be sure no malware has found it way into your system as well..

Upgrading to a solid state hard drive will dramatically speed up your boot time and overall read and write speed. new ram and a ssd made my early 11 i5 Mbp function better and more reliably than a $3300 one I just bought...

nikkihoi wrote:

Hi There!

I’m having a terrible time with my MacBook Pro being so slow recently.

Here are the specs: MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2011) running on OS X Yosemite

Processor: 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7

Memory: 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3

Available Memory: 177.63 GB

I know it’s a little what the computer world would consider “old” side but is there something I can do to speed things up again?

Kappy gave you good advice. Please suggestions about "code injection/malware". They are not reality based.

Ways to help make a slow Mac faster

1. 17 Reasons Why Your Mac Runs Slower Than it Should
2. Slow Mac Performance? This Article Solves It!
3. Fix slow start-ups in OS X | MacFixIt - CNET Reviews
4. How to fix slow shutdown and startup times. | MacTip.net
5. 6 Easy Tips to Speed Up OS X Yosemite on Your Mac
6. OS X El Capitan- If your Mac runs slowly
7. Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on Performance
8. Tips to Fix Issues that affect Mac Performance
9. Avoid using any third-party cleanup software. Usually, this software does more bad than good. You don't need it. All computers become slower over time even under normal use. Experienced users erase the hard drive and do a clean install from scratch from time to time; or whenever installing a major OS upgrade. Doing so means you must maintain regular and multiple backups.
10. If you have enabled iCloud Disk and are storing your Documents and Data in iCloud, then consider turning that off and signing out of iCloud. It can slow down the computer considerably. Please see the following from the user, fotomac: "The solution was to SIGN OUT of iCloud and my problem STOPPED! NO MORE SPINNING BEACHBALL! My computer's speed increased to what it should be and all my Apps now work!"
11. Add more RAM or cut back on the number of concurrently running applications and utilities. Remove unnecessary anti-malware software and any software that promises to clean your Mac. Check for runaway processes: Runaway applications can shorten battery runtime, affect performance, and increase heat and fan activity. Also, visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on dealing with The Spinning Beach Ball of Death.
12. The Ultimate Fix: Backup everything, erase the drive, reinstall OS X, and restore your data from the backup. Reinstall third-party software from original media/scratch.

I'd be cautious about step 12 if I were you especially if y already have a reason for not upgrading to Sierra already. be sure youre running the final version of Yosemite though. You may also want to check for security updates and others that have not been installed automatically.. https://support.apple.com/downloads lists them although I've seen code injection/malware when using this site and thanks to the heartbleed bug all SSL certificates prior to its patch like the new Apple uses are technically meaningless.