99 tips For a Fast Performing MAC ( part 1 )

This post is going to list 99 different speed tips for speeding up your Mac. I have done a couple of these posts before, but those were more discussions. This post is designed to tell you what to do in each section. Each item is going to be quick, simple and easy to complete. Over the past couple of weeks I have been collecting these and using them. Although none of these tips will make your Mac hundreds of times faster than it already is, if you have a slow Mac or are experiencing slow downs a couple of these could help. There are lots of them here, but there is always more. If you have any tips please post them below in the comments.

1) Get Intel or G5 Binaries

A rather simple first tip. If you are running on either an Intel or G5 check the download site of your applications to see if there is specific binary for your computer. You may need to upgrade to get the best speed.

2) Slim Down Universal Binaries

In a similar note to the previous tip you can save a bit of RAM and disk space by removing the binary in applications that you wont use. Xslimmer is the best application for this job.

3) Clear Caches

Your computer runs on Caches. If a cache becomes corrupt or full of erroneous data removing it could actually speed up your computer. Find your caches files under /Users/[name]/Library/Cache. Once as your delete them a new one will be created.

4) Web History

A large web history will mean your web browser will have to load it during start up. A big history can slow this down. Delete really old entries to speed up browsing. Disable it all together for an even quicker load.

5) Reduce Firefox Extensions

The more extensions you have the more RAM your computer uses. Delete and uninstall Firefox extensions you don’t use.

6) Optimize Firefox

You can speed up Firefox by changing a couple of settings in the about:config page. Open it up and add the following values. Use the search bar at the top to search for these values and change them appropriately.

network.http.pipelining = True
network.http.proxy.pipelining = True
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests = 8

7) Reduce Mailbox Sizes

A massive mailbox (1,000 + messages) will take longer to load, this is because Mail has to read the large database and message files associated with it. Split large mailboxes down into folders and smaller mailboxes.

8) Check Mail Less Frequently

If you set Mail to check every minute you put a lot of load on your Internet connections as well as your computer. Increase the time it takes to check for messages to give your Mac a break.

9) Delete Unused RSS Feeds

Since Mail (and other RSS readers) can show RSS feeds you may end up collecting a lot of feeds. Delete any old and feeds you don’t read to increase performance. You can find my RSS feed here.

10) Remove Previous Recipients

If you message a lot of people Mail adds all of these addresses to a list. Removing any unused emails in Window > Previous Recipients can speed up Mail.

11) Delete Duplicate Fonts

In font book delete any duplicate fonts in font book to reduce errors and enable your Mac to speed up when using fonts.

12) Delete Any Unused Fonts

If you have hundreds of fonts which you don’t use, asking for them in applications will slow down your Mac. Deleting them will save your computer time.

13) Validate Fonts

Validate your fonts to make sure they are correct. Like most items in this list, speeding up your Mac means removing anything that is corrupt. Font validation is under the File menu item in Fontbook.

14) Remove Old Events In iCal

Similar to the history tip in your web browser. Go through your old events in iCal and delete them. It will save iCal time when it has to load.

15) Reduce iCal Subscriptions

This, again, is similar to the RSS feed tip. In iCal delete any unused subscriptions that you don’t use. Although it may not take up a lot of remove removing it will save just that little bit of RAM.

16) Rebuild A Mail Box

Along the lines of corruption once again if you have a Mail box that is getting bloated and it is slowing down you may need to rebuild it. Under the Mailbox menu item when you have selected your mailbox is the Rebuild option. Use this to rebuild your mail database.

17) Remove Smart Playlists In iTunes

All of that scripting in the smart mailboxes can cause iTunes to open and run slowly. Delete any unused smart mailboxes and give iTunes a break.

to be continue...