Mac OS X 10.6: If your Mac computer runs slowly

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If your Mac computer runs slowly

If you find your Mac is running slowly, there are several things you can try to increase its speed.

Try these suggestions:

  • If an application is slow, check to see if it’s set to open using Rosetta, which allows software designed for PowerPC to run on Intel-based computers. Select the application’s icon and choose File > Get Info. If the “Open using Rosetta” checkbox in the General pane of the Info window is selected, deselect it.

  • An application you’re using may require more memory than your computer has. To see how much memory your computer has, choose Apple menu > About This Mac. Refer to the documentation that came with the software to find out what it requires. To find out how to increase its memory, refer to the documentation that came with your computer.

  • Quit any application that isn’t compatible with your computer. For example, an application may require a different processor or graphics card. To see what processor your computer has, choose Apple menu > About This Mac. To see what graphics card your computer has, open System Profiler, in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder, and then click Graphics/Displays. Refer to the documentation that came with the software to find out what it requires.

  • There might not be enough free disk space on your computer’s startup disk. To make disk space available, you can move files to another disk and then delete files you no longer need on the startup disk.

    Increasing disk space
  • Quit any applications you’re not using.

  • Your computer may decrease its graphics performance to save energy. If your computer does this, you can choose between graphics performance and energy savings in Energy Saver preferences

    If graphics-intensive tasks slow down your computer
  • Your computer’s disk may need to be repaired in Disk Utility.

    Repairing a disk
Last Modified: Aug 6, 2013
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