Is your Mac slow? Do you see the spinning pinwheel of death every day? Don’t put up with it! Here’s how to diagnose the issue so you can fix the problem.
How to Diagnose a Sluggish Mac
There are many reasons why your Mac might have performance issues. If you can figure out what’s wrong, you can take steps to rectify it. You can fix most common causes of a slow Mac yourself, and relatively easily. Here are some of the easier tips you can try to speed up your Mac.
Hardware issues, though, are the exception. If your Mac has a problem with a particular component, the fix becomes more complicated. Even desktop computers like the iMac are notoriously difficult to repair yourself—Apple uses heavy amounts of glue and solder in its manufacturing process.
In a worst-case scenario, you can always ask Apple to take a look. If you book a free Genius appointment at an Apple Store, they run a full set of diagnostics on your machine. From there, they should be able to recommend a fix for the problem. If you want Apple to repair your machine, you have to pay out of pocket if the warranty’s expired, unless you have AppleCare.
Remember, it’s free to book an appointment at an Apple Store, find out what’s wrong with your machine, and how much it will cost to fix. The company only charges you for repairs after it has your consent to make them.
RELATED: 10 Quick Ways to Speed Up a Slow Mac
App Crashes: How Software Can Slow Down Your Mac
When software isn’t working correctly, it can make your machine seem unresponsive. Sometimes, just the app that’s crashed exhibits this behavior; other times, misbehaving software might attempt to take your whole machine down with it.
If you suspect an app crashed, right-click its icon in the Dock, hold the Option key on your keyboard, and then click Force Quit. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Command+Option+Esc to force quit the current app.
If you’re not sure which app has crashed, or you think one crashed in the background, launch Activity Monitor. Click the “CPU” tab and view the “% CPU” column in descending order. This way, the apps using the most processing power appear at the top. If you spot anything using more than its fair share, click it, and then click the “X” to kill the process.
