Is your computer still feeling blue? After we took the time to understand how our Mac used its memory, we still weren't happy with the performance. So we searched out help for our ailing Mac and found this helpful guide that gave us a few pointers.
The most useful tip we discovered was cleaning out our startup items. We always did this with our PC, but didn't realize how many programs were actually starting up on our Mac. Clearing out the unnecessary programs gave us a noticeable performance boost. We didn't mess with the suggestions for getting rid of extra code or other ideas to clear up hard drive space. It made us a little squeamish and we weren't hurting for extra storage. However, the idea to get rid of all the unused pre-installed language features that came with the computer seems like a good way to find some needed space, if you need it.
So, the next time you are tidying up your Mac, keep in mind these helpful performance tweaks.
Thanks for this tip; I spent 6 hours over the weekend purging old files off of my iBook's hard drive, and now he's going to be further improved via your tweaks.
Love the new Media/Tech section of the site; great stuff so far!
view Sydney's profile
I was grateful for the link I found here to TreeProfessional. I had no idea how much junk I had on my computer. I spent hours clearing some of it out. I'd also like to clean up my start menu but I'm a PC user. Any advice on cleaning up the startup items on a PC?
view anne's profile
anne,
It's been awhile since I've owned a PC, so I've asked a friend for advice. Go to Start -> Startup and you'll see your startup items. Delete anything you don't use.
Hope that's helpful!
view Kelly's profile
Kelly,
I appreciate your efforts to lend a hand. How nice of you.
There is no "startup" when I click on Start.
I swear, my next laptop is gonna be a Mac.
view anne's profile
Anne,
You can right-click on anything on the start menu--that's a program and not a system item (i.e. printers and faxes)--and tell it to be removed from the list. You can also right click in an open area (not directly on a program) and clean up stuff in the properties area. I've confirmed this in XP. If you have something earlier, let me know via email at kate at apartmenttherapy dot com and I'll find out for you.
view kate's profile