Tune Up tool

[sys-eng]

My wife's Apple laptop has been unusually slow the last couple months. When I had my computer business, I did not work on Macs so no experience with them. She spent over 2 hours doing clean up recommendations from an article in Mac World but no real improvement.

Can you recommend a free tune up tool that doesn't install ads & pop ups?

If not, any suggestions on what she an do?

 

[myleso]

Disk Warrior and TechTool Pro

 

[myPCTechs]

With a MAC you want to check memory first. Chances are good it's low on RAM and a simple upgrade can help.

After that, evaluate what's slow. All applications opening / closing? Juse one app? Or is it browsing the internet? There are multiple directions this could go based on what's happening.

 

[sys-eng]

With a MAC you want to check memory first. Chances are good it's low on RAM and a simple upgrade can help.

After that, evaluate what's slow. All applications opening / closing? Juse one app? Or is it browsing the internet? There are multiple directions this could go based on what's happening.

Opening any program is slow. So is browsing Internet. She did OS update, deleted files and programs, deleted unused files and caches, but nothing has helped. I'm suspecting the cooling fan is dirty causing the CPU thermal throttle to slow down. I've seen that on Windows laptops.

 

[FremontPC]

You can also download Volitans SMART Utility to see if the disk has any glaring problems like a wad of reallocated sectors, or sectors pending reallocation, etc.

30 day trial as I recall.

 

[FremontPC]

It would be good to get some basic info on it... model, month.

 

[cyabro]

Yea model please?

Plenty of reasons why it could be running slow.

Macs don't generally need a tune up as they work differently to a windows system.
If a mac is running slow it's usually a hardware issue, needs more ram, or needs a fresh install of macOS. An upgrade to an ssd if possible also helps a lot.

 

[sys-eng]

MacBook Pro late 2011
Sierra OS recently installed but no real difference in performance. The computer has become noticeably slower the last several months. Wife removed unused programs as Apple suggests though I don't know how that would make a difference if the programs ate not running. I have never seen that speed up a Windows computer if the disk drive was less than 80% full.

I understand there is nothing magical about an Apple computer but navigating it is not the same as Windows just like Solaris is different than HP-UX or z/OS and VMware is different from Hyper-V or z/VM.

If Windows, I would analyze the hard drive for space, fragmentation, bad blocks, and SMART log though it is rarely much help.

I would also run Autoruns to see what programs and tasks were launching.

Next, look at the error logs to see if there are significant problems such as network issues, failed updates, driver issues, etc..

I don't know how to do these things in IOS.

 

[cyabro]

What's the battery life like?
A failed battery in a MacBook can also cause the machine to run slow as it slows down the CPU clock.

It could also be the hdd cable.

 

[sys-eng]

Not sure about the battery but it is the original battery. She usually has the charger connected when using it.

Do these PCs have a problem with HDD cables?

 

[cyabro]

Not sure about the battery but it is the original battery. She usually has the charger connected when using it.

Do these PCs have a problem with HDD cables?

Mainly the 2012 model but we've had a few 2011 also.

 

[Archon Prime]

And if all that crap doesn't work. Backup, N&P with a fresh install. That will tell you it's not software.

 

[sys-eng]

Thanks for the Coconut utility. It reports the battery status as Good. The computer ran 5 hours then the battery was at 4%.

I will post the system specs later. I just have a screenshot of them but don't see an option for uploading a jpg from my phone.

 

[Krynn72]

I'm putting 100 internet money down, betting on a bad HDD.

For macs I just boot Parted Magic to check SMART, same as windows. You could even boot a WinPE disk and then use that to check smart or run a scan with something like Victoria HDD or whatever your preferred windows tool is.

 

[Markverhyden]

I've seen plenty of occasions where a disk utility reports false positives, meaning it says the drive is ok when it's not. If I've got a slow Mac the first thing I'll do is boot from a Thunderbolt drive. If it looks good then I'll just upgrade them to an SSD. Give the cost of SSD's I don't understand why techs don't just test the machine with one as part of the trouble shooting process. Spindles are so..... CDROM'ish

 

[sys-eng]

Ran coconut Battery utility, and it reports the battery good. When the charger was removed, the available capacity dropped from 99% to 60% in about 10 minutes so that leads me to think it is not so good. It did power the computer for over 4 hours before going down to 4%.

Ran Apple Hardware Test last night for 3 loops, and it reported no problems. It did not have any stats on the HDD so I don't believe it even tested it. Not much of a hardware test if it skips storage.

I read the recommendation about just replace the HDD with an SSD as an easy fix. Well, 1-TB SSDs are still quite expensive. The Samsun 850 1-TB SATA is about $380. I know there are other brands but I don't know any that really compare to the Samsung "drives".

 

[Markverhyden]

I read the recommendation about just replace the HDD with an SSD as an easy fix. Well, 1-TB SSDs are still quite expensive. The Samsun 850 1-TB SATA is about $380. I know there are other brands but I don't know any that really compare to the Samsung "drives".

Yes, but how much of the old drive are they using? The vast majority of users rarely top 30% capacity. So downsizing is practical.

Edit: I've put in SanDisk SDSSDHII960G's in several machines and not had any problems. All daily drivers, including 2 MBP's.