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(719) 355-2440Remember that day when you first laid eyes on that sleek 7.7 inch, curved, squared body? It was a mere 1.4 inches in height and carved from virgin aluminum. This was not like any desktop computer you had ever seen before. Oh no, this was a Mac Mini which fit snuggly in the palm of your hands.
It was a love affair you thought would never end. But, soon after the honeymoon ended, responding quickly to one another, was beginning to fade. You witnessed more signs of slowing down and freezing up when you asked, “What’s taking so long?”
Unusual lagging activity between both of you showed up out of the blue and was entirely random. At first, you thought it was something you did, but then you had other suspicions.
As heartbreaking as it feels, rest assure, your Mac Mini is not seeing another user. It’s not sick, just bloated. It’s filled up with layers of “Leftover Stuff” you may have given it and forgot you put it there. But now your desktop is reaching out and needs a little help and support from you, to get it back in shape. Will you do that for them and rekindle that relationship you once had?
3 Easy Mac Mini Speed-Up Tips To Remove The Stuff, Trim The Fluff and Tighten The Buff.
To begin, we have put together three easy speed-up tips; every Mac Mini owner can try before they place a call to the Mac / Apple store. These speed-up tips will help your Mini regain some of the performance losses you are experiencing.
In your new role, you will partner up with your device. Your part will be that of a Mac Mini Fitness Trainer, and you will monitor your device’s wellness progress. Before you go into full-blown trainer mode, there are a few things you’ll want to be aware of first.
To familiarize yourself with the “Slow Down Landscape” here are some of the causes your Mac could be experiencing:
Of course, it could be something else. These symptoms give you a quick start, for what you are looking for before you begin. Do remember if you’ve tried everything and your Mini is still sluggish, contact Matt Stenson – Apple System Administrator at Colorado Computer Support, he is there to assist you.
Easy Speed-Up Tip #1. Trim The Startup Apps
When your device boots up it will also load your startup apps at the same time. However, those same startup apps, as convenient as it is to have them handy and ready to go, are also robbing your Mini of needed CPU time and Ram, which causes sluggish system performance, or slow boot-up time. To prevent any startup app from loading, when your computer first starts up, you can change that.
The fastest way to trim the startup apps is to go into your System Preferences -> Users & Groups -> Login items. Check off the apps you don’t want to load when your system first boots up. When finished restart your Mini. You should see a noticeable and faster startup difference. If you have any hesitation about which app is safe to turn off, then contact Colorado Computer Support, they will assist you.
Easy Speed-Up Tip #2. Turn Off Apps Not In Use
Applications require RAM and system resources when in use. If an app is left on, when not in use, that same app is still using up your Mini’s needed RAM and system resources. Similar to turning on your television at home and leaving it on as you walk out the door to work; you are not using it, but it is still using your electricity and running up your electric bill.
When your Mac Mini runs out of RAM, it may stop operating. To prevent that, you turn off apps not in use, by going into your Applications -> Utilities -> Folder and then start the Activity Monitor. Next, click on the tab marked “System Memory.” If you see any apps that are on, but no longer in use, close them. In here you are looking for available RAM space you can take back. This one step will boost your Mini’s performance pretty quickly.
Easy Speed-Up Tip #3. Remove Desktop Litter
We all have them on our desktops, program and file Icons. Shortcuts to a program or folder sitting on our disk drives. They are for quick and easy access, but the downside they are desktop litter slowing your system down. These quick-start points of entry are also using up system resources and taking away power from the Mini’s operating system. Furthermore, when you place partial or whole files on your desktop, it suffocates the Mini’s performance even worse.
Stop and consider, “Do I need instant access to all my apps, or could most of them be accessible in a folder on my drive?” To remove the desktop litter, think “less is more.” Only have 3 to 5 vital icons on your desktop. Everything else, group files or icons into folders, you can get to quickly on your drive.
Summing It Up
A Mac Mini will become sluggish. Over time all Macs do, but before you buy a new Mac, or take it into the Apple store, use the easy speed-up tips first. Better yet, if your Mini is operating smoothly, use the easy speed-up tips to keep the desktop running at its peak performance.
