Take Control of Speeding Up Your Mac, 2nd Edition

Book description

If your Mac seems a lot slower now than when you first bought it, it’s not your imagination. Over time, your Mac can become bogged down with extra background tasks, run out of free RAM and disk space, and encounter a wide variety of other issues that lead to slow performance. With expert advice and a little detective work, you can find and fix these problems—returning your Mac to its original, peppy self.

Don’t depend on random tips that may or may not help. In this book you’ll learn how to find and address the exact causes of slow behavior, with before-and-after tests to confirm your results. You’ll discover how to optimize CPU and RAM usage, eliminate disk bottlenecks, improve network performance (including web browsing and email), speed up peripherals, perform strategic software and hardware upgrades, and much more.

This book covers 10.9 Mavericks or later, including 10.14 Mojave.

In this practical, hands-on book, Joe Kissell shares the results of his extensive research:

  • Learn the Basics: Separate fact from fiction when it comes to commonly recommended performance tips.

  • Diagnose Speed Issues: Use benchmarking and other diagnostic tools to pinpoint speed problems and test your fixes.

  • Try Quick Fixes: Discover the most effective techniques for overcoming random, temporary speed problems.

  • Lighten Your CPU’s Load: Track down apps that are bogging down your processor and teach them to behave.

  • Increase Available RAM: Turn off or manage processes that are using too much memory so there’s more to work with.

  • Improve Disk Performance: Fix disk errors, avoid running out of space, and eliminate inefficient disk access.

  • Boost Network Speeds: Speed up Wi-Fi and Ethernet network access, DNS lookups, web browsing, and email.

  • Monitor System Resources: Use Activity Monitor and other tools to keep tabs on your Mac’s CPU, RAM, disk, and network usage.

  • Upgrade Your Hardware: Learn when and how to install additional RAM, a new hard drive, an SSD, or other hardware upgrades.

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Table of contents

  1. Read Me First
    1. Updates and More
    2. Basics
    3. What’s New in Version 2.1
    4. What Was New in the Second Edition
  2. Introduction
  3. Quick Start
  4. Learn What Makes a Mac Fast (or Slow)
    1. The Three Most Important Determiners of Mac Performance
    2. Myths, Misbeliefs, and Half-Truths
  5. Try a Few Quick Fixes
    1. Restart Your Mac
    2. Quit Inactive Apps
    3. Prune Login Items
    4. Log Out of Other Accounts
    5. Upgrade Your Firmware
    6. Reset the SMC
    7. Update macOS
    8. Upgrade Your RAM
  6. Diagnose Common Speed Problems
    1. Understand Diagnostic Principles
    2. Benchmark Your Mac’s Performance
    3. Check Your Resource Usage
    4. Test Specific Speed Problems
  7. Fix File and Directory Problems
    1. Run Disk Utility
    2. Check for Damaged Preference Files
    3. Check Your Fonts
  8. Lighten Your CPU Load
    1. Prune Startup and Background Items
    2. Update Your Software
    3. Watch for CPU Hogs
    4. Pause Background Apps
    5. Adjust App Priority
  9. Increase Your Free RAM
    1. Reduce the Number of Open Apps, Windows, and Tabs
    2. Reduce the Number of Desktop Icons
    3. Watch Out for Memory Leaks
  10. Improve Your Disk Performance
    1. Tame Disk Access
    2. Free Up Disk Space
    3. Defragment and Optimize Your Disk
  11. Speed Up Your Browser
    1. Quit and Reopen Your Browser
    2. Have Fewer Tabs and Windows Open
    3. Block Ads and Trackers
    4. Manage or Disable Flash
    5. Manage Extensions and Plugins
    6. Use a Faster Browser
  12. Speed Up Your Email
    1. Adjust Checking Frequency
    2. Consolidate Your Accounts
    3. Keep Your Inbox Trim
    4. Optimize Your Rules or Filters
    5. Rebuild Mailboxes or Database
  13. Speed Up Your Network
    1. Understand Factors Influencing Network Speed
    2. Monitor Network Activity
    3. Check Your Wi-Fi Connection
    4. Check Your Wired Ethernet Connection
    5. Use a Faster DNS Provider
    6. Test Your Broadband Service
  14. Speed Up Booting, Sleeping, and Waking
    1. Learn What Influences Startup Speed
    2. Speed Up Startups
    3. Manage or Disable Safe Sleep
  15. Speed Up Mouse and Keyboard Input
    1. Speed Up Your Pointer
    2. Enhance Your Pointing Device
    3. Speed Up Typing
    4. Speed Up Keyboard Control
  16. Upgrade Your Hardware
    1. Add RAM
    2. Upgrade Your Hard Drive or SSD
    3. Add an SSD
    4. Add a Secondary Drive
    5. Use a RAID
    6. Add a Second (or Larger) Display
    7. Buy a New Mac
  17. Speed Up Your Peripherals
    1. Learn About Buses and Ports
    2. Explore USB and Thunderbolt Options
  18. About This Book
    1. Ebook Extras
    2. About the Author and Publisher
    3. Credits
  19. Also by Joe Kissell
  20. Copyright and Fine Print

Product information

  • Title: Take Control of Speeding Up Your Mac, 2nd Edition
  • Author(s): Joe Kissell
  • Release date: January 2019
  • Publisher(s): Take Control Books
  • ISBN: 9781947282179