11 Fixes for Mac Running Slow [Step-by-Step Guide]

Are you getting frustrated with your slow Mac? If yes, then don’t worry, you can easily fix it on your own. 

While working on the Mac system, you may notice that your Mac system is getting slow. Due to this issue, multiple operations are delayed which may be important for your work. A slow Mac does not allow you to use it properly and after a certain time, it can freeze and crash. 

This problem generally arises if you are using an older version of the Mac Operating System. Whatever the cause is, Mac running slow can be very bothersome, but you can fix it easily. To solve this issue, you need to follow this article carefully. 

Here, in this guide, you will get to know all the possible solutions to fix this issue. We have listed the methods below in a step-by-step manner. So, follow and implement them to get rid of this problem quickly. 

Causes behind Mac Running Slow

There may be several reasons, both functional and technical, which may be causing your Mac system to run slow. Below are listed some of the most common reasons why this problem arises:

• Full Hard drive
• An outdated version of the Mac OS.
• Multiple applications running in the background.
• An older version of the hardware.
• Junk file.
• Malware infection or viruses.
• Too many Mac startup items.

How to Fix Mac Running Slow

Reasons for the Mac system slowing down can be several, but, there are some solutions to fix this issue on the Mac system instantly. So, read and perform them accordingly as instructed below.

Solution 1 – Check the Hard Drive Space

If the hard drive is almost full, then you may find that the Mac system is running slow. So, you can check the hard drive space by following these steps:

1. Click on the Apple icon located at the top left corner to open the Apple menu list.
2. Select the About This Mac option from that menu list. 
3. On the About This Mac window, go to the Storage tab and wait for some time to calculate how much space you are using. 
4. If it shows almost full, click on the Manage option present at the top right corner of the window.
5. Now a new window will open. On that window, you’ll see many tools for cleaning out space on the hard drive. Select any one tool and clean the hard drive.  
6. Once the process is finished, restart the Mac system and then check if the problem is solved or not. 

Solution 2 – Use Activity Monitor

The activity monitor is a very useful in-built utility in Mac OS. It allows you to view the Energy, Disk, Memory, Network, and CPU of every application. You can easily fix a slow Mac using the Activity monitor. Follow these steps:

1. Press the Command + Space buttons together to launch the Spotlight search box, type Activity Monitor and then press the Enter button. 
2. On the Activity Monitor window, click on the five tabs one-by-one to check which programs are taking up heavy resources on the Mac system.
3. After checking it, right-click on the application and select the Quit option. 

Solution 3 – Remove the Caches

If you do not remove the caches on the system from time to time, then you may find your Mac system is running slow. So, you need to remove them at the earliest. The following steps will help you:

1. At first, open the Finder window and click on the Go to Folder from the Go menu.
2. After that, type in ~/Library/Caches and hit the Enter Key. 
3. On the Cache window, select all the items and right-click on it. After that, click on the Move to Trash button. 
4. After doing this, empty the Trash bin and then restart the Mac system and then check if the system works properly. 

Solution 4 – Remove the Extensions to Make the Mac System Run Faster

Removing the Extensions from the web browser can eliminate this problem from the Mac system. Here are some steps that you can follow.

1. Open the Safari application.
2. Click on the Safari and select the Preferences option.
3. Go to the Extensions tab and delete the extensions that you do not need. 

Solution 5 – Optimize Storage

Another effective solution by which you can fix a slow Mac is to optimize storage. Go through these steps:

1. Click on the Apple icon to open the Apple menu list and choose the About This Mac button.
2. From the About This Mac window, go to the Optimize Storage section.
3. Click on the Optimize option. Now a confirmation will appear on the screen. Click on the Optimize button again. 
4. Once the task is complete, restart the system. 

Solution 6 – Reduce the Clutter

One of the easy ways in which you can quickly solve this problem is to use Reduce the Clutter option. The following steps will help you:

1. Click on the Apple icon to launch the Apple menu and select the About This Mac option.
2. In the About This Mac window, click on the Reduce Clutter button.
3. On the Reduce Clutter window, click on the Review Files option to check the files or documents and choose which ones are to be deleted. 

Solution 7 – Turn Off FileVault Disk Encryption

If the FileVault Disk Encryption is turned on, then you may see the system is getting very slow. So, you can simply disable it to resolve this issue by following these directions:

1. Go to the Apple Menu by clicking on the Apple icon and select System Preferences.
2. From the System Preferences window, locate the Security & Privacy icon, click on it. 
3. On the Security & Privacy window, navigate to the FileVault tab and click on Turn Off FileVault option to disable it. 

Solution 8 – Remove the Memory-Hogging Applications

Sometimes, rarely used programs take too much space and as a result, the Mac system gets slow. So, you can quickly remove those applications. Here’s how to do that:

1. Launch the Finder window and navigate to the Go tab.
2. On the Go tab, click on Applications. 
3. In the Applications window, a list of applications will appear. Choose the unused application and right-click on it. After that, click on the Move to Trash option to delete them.

Solution 9 – Update the Mac Operating System

An outdated version of the Mac OS can cause this problem. So, you must keep the system up to date. Follow these directions:

1. First of all, click on the Apple icon to open the Apple menu list and select the System Preferences button.
2. From the System Preferences window, click on the Software Update button.
3. On the Software Update window, if an update is available, click on the Update Now option to begin the update process. 
4. Once the update process is complete, restart your Mac system and then check if it runs smoothly or not. 

Solution 10 – Manage Login Items

Managing startup items can help you to increase the Mac system’s performance and speed. Below are certain steps that you can follow.

1. Open the Settings window.
2. On the Settings window, navigate to the Users and Groups window.
3. From the Users and Groups window, click on the Current User on the left panel and then click on Login Items.
4. Choose the startup items that you want to delete, and click on the “-” icon to remove them. 

Solution 11 – Upgrade the Internal Hardware

If the above solutions did not help you out then you can try to upgrade the internal hardware on your Mac to fix this problem. Sometimes, upgrading internal hardware can improve the system’s performance and speed. So, you need to add more RAM or upgrade the hard disk with a new drive.  

These are the solutions to fix the situation when your Mac is running slow. The above methods are very useful and easy to implement. You can also mention in the comments below on how these solutions were of use to you.