{"id":55510,"date":"2019-11-05T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-05T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/?p=55510"},"modified":"2019-11-08T12:32:10","modified_gmt":"2019-11-08T18:32:10","slug":"speed-up-macos-catalina-with-these-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/55510-speed-up-macos-catalina-with-these-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Speed Up macOS Catalina with These Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Icon<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Did you recently upgrade to macOS Catalina? After the initial thrill of seeing a new desktop and exploring new features, did you notice that your Mac isn\u2019t as fast as it used to be? While it isn’t normal for the Mac to slow down after a system upgrade, it has been known to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re one of the unlucky ones experiencing a slowdown, perhaps slow startups, logins, or application launches, maybe your Mac is just performing poorly in general. No matter what the performance issue is, these tips are a good place to start to get your Mac back on its feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before You Begin, Make a Backup<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many of these tips involve modifying the Mac\u2019s system in some way. That means before you try any of these tips, you should have a current backup to restore from should anything unexpected happen. Don’t assume a third-party backup app that you\u2019re using still works with macOS Catalina<\/a>. Check with the developer, and upgrade to a Catalina compatible version, if needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you have your backup<\/a>, let\u2019s get your Mac running like a champ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slow Mac Startup<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After installing macOS Catalina, you may notice your Mac is a bit sluggish when starting up. Be aware that the first time you start up your Mac after upgrading to Catalina or any new version of the Mac OS, your Mac may indeed experience a slow startup. This is normal as your Mac performs routine housekeeping chores, removes old temp files and caches, and rebuilds new ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But once that initial startup is complete, your Mac’s subsequent startups should no longer seem slow. If you\u2019re still experiencing slow startups, it could be because of excess resources being used by Login Items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remove Login Items<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not uncommon for apps to install Login Items (sometimes referred to as Startup Items) into a user\u2019s account; the login items are usually small apps or helpers that work with the app in question to provide a service the app needs. Login items can also include apps that you have manually added to the Login Items list so that they will launch and be running whenever you log in to your Mac.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Users
Remove unused and out-of-date login items, such as EyeTV Helper, which has been on my system for years even though the EyeTV app is long gone.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Either way, login items make use of some of your Mac’s resources, such as RAM, CPU, and GPU. Having too many login items running can impede performance. To make matters worse, in some cases the login item that is running is for an app or service that is no longer present on your Mac or is no longer supported by the current version of the Mac OS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This can result in delays when your Mac starts up, or cause issues when launching or using other apps. It\u2019s also likely that the older helper app that was left behind is merrily using resources for no actual purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Removing login items can increase the resources available to your Mac and improve performance. The actual process to remove a login item is an easy one, though deciding which ones to remove and which to keep may be a bit harder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start by removing login items you no longer use, and then remove those you don\u2019t actually need to run automatically. Remember, you can always add a removed app back to the Login Items list if you need to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip<\/em><\/strong>: Removing a login item does not delete the item from your Mac; it only stops the item from automatically launching each time you log in.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

  1. Launch System Preferences, located in the Apple menu, or select its icon in the Dock.<\/li>
  2. In the System Preferences window, select the Users & Groups preference pane.<\/li>
  3. Select your user account from the User & Groups sidebar.<\/li>
  4. Select the Login Items tab.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    A list of Login Items for the selected user will be displayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Tip<\/em><\/strong>: You can use the Screenshot app included with macOS Catalina to capture an image of the Startup Items list<\/a>. You can then refer back to the image to see which items you removed and which were present when you started.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    Tip<\/em><\/strong>: Before you remove a login item, right-click on the item in the list and select Show in Finder from the popup menu. A Finder window will open, displaying where the item is located on your Mac. Write down the item\u2019s location if it\u2019s in an unusual location.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    The login items list will include the app\u2019s name, the type of item it is (such as application, service, or unknown), and if the any window associated with the app should be hidden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. To remove an item, click the Lock icon in the bottom left of the window, then supply an administrator password and click the Unlock button.<\/li>
    2. The lock icon will change to display an open padlock icon.<\/li>
    3. Select the item from the list you wish to remove by clicking or tapping once on the item\u2019s name to highlight it.<\/li>
    4. Click the minus (-) button at the bottom of the list.<\/li>
    5. The selected item will be removed.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Tip<\/em><\/strong>: You can shift-click to select multiple items for removal.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

      Should you need to add any items back in, use the instructions in this post:
      \u2022       How to Enable Apps at Login<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Once you\u2019ve completed the process of removing appropriate login items, you should restart your Mac and see if it\u2019s performing up to par.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Cache and Temporary Files<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Cache and temporary files are usually used by your Mac to help speed up operations. They can enhance system, apps, and user interface performance. Normally the Mac is fully capable of managing cache and temporary files on its own. But once in a while, especially when the system has a dramatic change take place, such as upgrading to a new version, the files meant to speed things up can actually slow things down, by becoming excessively large or corrupt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"OnyX
      Third-party utilities, such as Onyx, can help remove cache files.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      I normally don\u2019t recommend clearing out the cache files or removing the temporary files, but if you’re having performance issues and have tried everything else, removing these files can sometimes help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      You can find instructions on how to do this in the Rocket Yard guide:
      \u2022       Tech 101: How to Clear Cache and Temp Files from Mac OS<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Use Safe Mode for a Clean Startup<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      When you\u2019re experiencing a slowdown it\u2019s hard to decide where the problem is; it could be hardware, the OS, Apple-supplied apps or services, or third-party apps. It’s hard to put a finger on the culprits when they seem so intertwined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      That\u2019s where Safe Mode comes in. Safe Mode is a special startup process that prevents most third-party items from loading at startup. It will also verify and repair basic drive problems your Mac may be experiencing. Safe Mode will also delete and rebuild many of the Mac\u2019s cache files, including those for fonts, kernels, and the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"macOS
      When starting up in Safe Mode, you\u2019ll notice red text in the upper right corner of the login screen indicating the boot-up mode.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      Starting up in Safe Mode can help you locate issues. If your Mac runs normally in Safe Mode, but is slow when booted up normally, then the problem could be caused by third-party apps. If you start up in Safe Mode and then your Mac runs fine when you boot up normally, it may have been a corrupt cache file or a drive that needed to be repaired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Use the Rocket Yard guide:
      \u2022       Safe Mode & Single-User Mode: What They Are, How to Use Them<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Apps Behaving Badly<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      macOS Catalina has major implications for older apps. Catalina no longer supports 32-bit apps; it requires 64-bit versions<\/a>. Catalina also has quite a few security changes that could result in some older apps not performing well with your new system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      If you\u2019re seeing apps that take a long time to launch, that crash, or simply seem to be missing in action, you will likely need to update the apps to a current macOS Catalina-ready version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"App
      Use the App Store to update your apps to current versions. I had previously updated my apps, so none were listed. If you have any apps in the list, you can update each one or update them all.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      If you acquired the apps from the Mac App Store, you can update the apps by launching the App Store and selecting Updates from the App Store window\u2019s sidebar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n