When it comes to performance, speed and durability in operating systems, Apple systems are considered to be the leader. Although MacBook’s are positioned under the supreme category of laptops, they are not immune to internal bugs, performance slowdown, and other technical problems. However, there are few tips which can be followed to keep yourMacBook in pristine and healthy condition.
- Freeingstorage space: Data clean-up is essential for any operating system, whether it’s Windows or Apple. As the SSD losesfree space in your MacBook, the performance starts to become lacklustre and the speed gets slower. You should check the hard drive space of your MacBookregularly by simply going to the ‘About this Mac’ and clicking on the ‘Storage’ tab.
If your MacBook is running out of free space, go the ‘Manage’ tab and free drive space using four recommendations. The first recommendation allows you to offload optimized version of documents, files, photos and messages into your iCloud database. The second recommendation suggests removing TV application content, such as downloaded shows and movies which you’ve already watched. The third recommendation automatically starts a cleaning mechanism by removing trash and items in the trash folder older than30 days. The fourth recommendation is called ‘reduce clutter’, which assembles any large data files, unsupported applications and downloads and lets you manually delete as per your need. This process helps to de-clutter the system and makes itrun faster and healthier. For more information on how to free up space, read https://setapp.com/how-to/how-to-find-and-delete-duplicate-files-mac.
- Identifying resource-hogging applications: After a certain period of time, you’ll feel that your MacBook requires a mid-day nap to rejuvenate for multitasking. This is a sign of multiple redundant applications hogging most of the system’s resources. Prolonged occurrence of resource-hogging may lead to permanent and long-term damage to MacBook’s performance and health. Therefore, the best solution is to review the activity through ‘Activity Monitor’ with Spotlight (or Pressing Command button and Spacebar together). The reviewing process is simple, as you haveto look for applications which have constant fluctuations in the CPU and Memory Tabs usage. For instance, check for Chrome’s usage of CPU and close the application if it’s using more than its allocated share of system resources.
- Frequently running Disk Utility: Macbooks come with an integrated Disk Utility application under the Utility folder in the Applications section. Running your Disk Utility once every month is a good way to keep your hard drive in a healthy condition. This process can be run using two functions – Repairing Disk Permissions Function and Repairing Disk Function. The first function allows you to simply assess the condition of the hard disk and streamlinethe functionality of the disk. This function can be run in the application folder itself. The second function is more comprehensive,repairingthe errors in the hard drive itself. This function can only be run in the recovery mode during the booting process. This helps in identifying and handling anyerrors and corruptions in the hard drive.
- Updating applications and system: To keep the system healthy and functioning effectively, run all the updates suggested by the MacBook itself. It is essential to keep the firmware updated with recent bug removals, efficiency improvement additions, and to handle vulnerabilities, among other things. The system updates are non-negotiable for a long and healthy life of aMacBook. Having said that, updates can be installed as per your leisure. However, you should check and update your system and applications at least once every month.
- Prolonging battery health: It is believed that a healthy battery leads to a happy system. Apply systems have a battery life designed up to 80% of the battery’s original capacity. For instance, the Latest MacBook Pro models have a battery life of 1000 cycles. The longer the battery cycles, the better the battery health your MacBook will have. Updating to latest Mac Operating System is essential for a healthy battery. Besides, the display screen consumes the majority of the battery. Therefore, putting the brightness on a relatively dim mode may substantially prolong the battery life by increasing the time without a recharge. Also, try to close all the power-draining applications whenever they are not required. For instance, removing peripherals, such as wireless mouse and keyboard, that consume a lot of power.
- Upgrade your graphics card, if you’re using heavy graphic dependent programs: Running a heavy graphic dependent program or application on a relatively low graphic card MacBook may damage the life of the system significantly. The system will be working on 100% capacity most of the time, with all hardware working on full potential. Although the performance won’t be impacted in the initial months, you’ll feel the lacklustre performance in the medium term. This can be eliminated by updating to a higher RAM system or graphics card system, if you constantly use heavy graphics-dependent programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Aftereffects, STATA, among others. The high RAM/graphics card systems will easily manage these applications without running at 100% capacity, thus keeping the system healthy in the long run.
- Keep your MacBook under optimal temperature: A MacBook operates under a specific range of temperatures and humidity. For instance, the best-suited temperature for a MacBook is between 10º to 35º C (50º to 95º F) and humidity between 0% to 90% non-condensing. Overheating may reduce the performance and life of the MacBook. Therefore, using a cooling pad may help in reducing the scenario of heating up of MacBook and improve the health substantially.
- Avoid filling hard drive capacity to its potential: For a long and healthy life of your MacBook, keep your hard drive free for at least 5-10% of the capacity. Nearing 100% capacity utilization of hard drive leads to slowing down of the system. Once the hard drive reaches its capacity, it starts re-organizing and re-writing new data, which drives the system to many errors and issues. Management of drive space is essential for the health of your MacBook.
