Zoo Clean Up Mac OS
Many of you would have faced the situation where your Mac slows down drastically. The most common reason behind it is the running out of hard drive space. If you happen to have a look at the hard drive space in such a situation, it being below warning limit may put you in panic! And in the rush and alarm of the moment, to free up some space, transferring everything to a removable device like a USB or an external hard drive may seem like a great idea. However, in addition to transferring data to another device, there are other ways too to free up space so as to allow your Mac to stop being sluggish and start being a little more active. This discussion will be pointing out some simple tips and tricks to cleanup Mac.
7 Steps total
Cashe files are the scourge of earlier Mac OS X versions, including El Capitan, as they need regular cleaning. Go to /Library/Caches/ Remove only the contents of the cache folders, but don’t delete the folders. Repeat the same actions for /Library/Caches (omit the “”) and /Library/Logs.Cache files are located in multiple folders, so it might take plenty of time to clean them up. Discover the innovative world of Apple and shop everything iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, and Apple TV, plus explore accessories, entertainment, and expert device support. The latest news in entertainment from USA TODAY, including pop culture, celebrities, movies, music, books and TV reviews.
Step 1: Let go of the old files
Okay, this step will take a little time and a lot of will power. But you might actually end up getting rid of a lot of old pictures, screen-shots, documents, music files and videos this way. First decide on a time threshold – 1 or max 2 years. Scan your drive for all files, which are older than the threshold time. Then corner out the ones, which you’ve not opened for very long time. We can bet you’ll find a few files you didn’t even remember existed on your machine. Take a deep breath, and delete them permanently. If you’ve not used something for a year or more, you probably won’t use it at all. And if you can’t get yourself to deleting that stuff, well, consider naming yourself “the antique collector” and stop fretting about your slow Mac.
Step 2: Uninstall unused applications
Check all the applications installed on your Mac. Do you really need all of them? How often do you use them? Maybe you installed an application last year, upgraded it and all and used it quite often back then, but with the launch of a newer, fresher application doing the same thing, your focus shifted. You might have not realized it then but you might no longer want the previous application. Find out such applications and uninstall them. There might even be some games or utilities you might have installed earlier but which have run their life for you and you’ve got bored of them. Get rid of them
On your Mac, it is even easier to uninstall such applications. For the ones you purchased from App Store, use Launchpad to uninstall. Click on the icon of the application in the Launchpad display and hold it down till it wiggles. You may see an X button on the icon. If so, click on the X and the application will be uninstalled. For other applications, delete the folder than was created during the application’s installation. But make sure to go through the application’s README file before uninstalling it
Step 3: Delete files related to uninstalled applications
This is an oft-forgotten step. After you uninstall an application, make sure all its related files have been removed. To find all files related to an application, type the application’s name in the search box of a Finder window and click Enter. Then choose the appropriate files and trash them. Be careful not to delete documents or files created with a deleted application that you might need in the future.
Step 4: Clean your Mac’s Startup Items
A lot of applications have an auto-setting to include themselves in your Mac’s startup items. Applications included in startup items start automatically when your Mac starts up. As such, they tend to make the boot up longer and slower. Most of these applications are not needed to run immediately and can be started when required. Go to System Preferences -> Users & Groups -> Login Items and check for any such applications. Select them and click on the minus button below the list to remove them from the startup list.
Step 5: Check for Duplicate items and Remove them
Often unknowingly we download multiple instances of the same file or create more than one copies of it. Search for such duplicates on your Mac and deal with them. If it is an important file, transfer one copy to an external media and delete all the rest from the machine. Only one instance of one file should be present on the Mac. The duplicate problem is especially true with music files and videos.
Step 6: Clean the desktop
The last place to get our attention while cleaning up is the poor desktop. Most of us make our desktop look like a crowded train station with hardly any place left to step. While it seems very easy to place everything right there, the effect could be taxing on your Mac’s speed. Each desktop icon occupies a part of the RAM which results in a slower machine. So it’s pretty simple mathematics – loose the desktop icons and let the Mac’s RAM breath
Step 7: Take software’s help
You could prefer to not take the headache and hire professionals in the form of online tools to cleanup Mac. There are some pretty good ones available in the market which cleanup your machine, optimize its performance and speed it up. Just download one and let them do the job for you. Of course, it will cost you a bit, but the work done will be well worth it.
All in all, to keep your Mac healthy, clean it up regularly – form both the inside and outside. Clean up and take regular backups with Time Machine. Cleanliness in the workplace will keep you happy and tension free!
Zoo Clean Up Mac Os X
References
- Free Mac drive cleaner