System Tools for Mac OS X.2

[Hermia]

My 18 month old mac is getting a bit slow and I just wondered what I could do about it? I am a novice mac user. On my old PC I used to just use the disc clean-up thingy and defragging etc. There doesn't seem to be anything similar on the mac though.

[honkytonkman]

Before I answer.. What spec is your Mac? RAM, speed etc? To find out, click on the blue Apple at the top left of your desktop, choose About This Mac and make a note of Memory, and Processor. Thanks.

[Hermia]

Hi. Errr, Mac OSX 10.2.3. 128 MB. 700 MHz Power PC G4. Does that help? Would you believe I am the office PC whiz at work and a Mac dunce at home!

[honkytonkman]

Ok.. well first of all I'd recommend a load more RAM. OSX is a real memory-hog so something like 1Gb RAM wouldn't be too much. Try somewhere like http://crucial.com

[honkytonkman]

Ooops!! I clicked the Submit button by mistake! LOL Ok.. As I was saying, 128mb RAM is really way too little to make a G4 run well, especially with OSX. Try crucial.com or www.macwarehouse.co.uk for decent RAM. Your machine can either take a maximum 1.5gb or 2Gb of RAM (I'd need to trawl the Apple site for the exact amount) so buy at least 1GB (2 x 512mb sticks). You'll be surprised at the difference. For example, I have an old G4 350mhz with 1.5Gb and it runs easily as well as my work Mac which is a lot newer. If you want to go a step further, treat yourself to a copy of DiskWarrior (by Alsoft). It's a lifesaver and keeps your Mac running sweetly. This program scans your HD and shows you in a Graph how 'fragmented' the directory is, and then builds a new directory. It's like an instant tune-u. (As the Mac person at work I run it regularly on all our Macs to keep them in tune). Norton Utilities is a similar program BUT personally I'd avoid it, as it's more invasive and tends to repair small bits, whereas DiskWarrior looks at the problems as a whole and is one of the best purchases you'll ever make. You just boot up from the DW CD (holding down the 'C' key from startup) and then it's just 2 clicks of the mouse. One other thing. OSX likes at least 3GB of spare HD space to do its thinking (that's after the programs are running). Any less and your machine will run S.LO.W.L.Y. Let me know how you get on - I'll watch this question. Best of luck!