Post: #1

I have a 3 year old Macbook Pro that i mostly us for online access. Recently its gotten slower, specifically in Firefox when I have multiple tabs open. Any suggestions on how to 'speed' it up? Thanks in advance

Post: #2

I've noticed on my Macbook Pro that Firefox tends to slow down over time while Chrome does not. (I don't use Safari because I've been using Firefox/Chrome since before I got a Mac)

Restarting Firefox will make it back to being fast. I typically restart it about once a week.

Post: #3

I have a macbook pro retina that is older than yours. Do you have any extensions in Firefox or Safari?

Try uninstalling them and see if that improves performance. Worked for me.

Post: #4

You could save all your files and do a factory reset

Post: #5

Nuke the firefox data folder and start over, turn on sync beforehand so you don't lose anything. While you have all those tabs open I'd look at task manager and see how much RAM it's using, firefox is a hog. Also I would change this setting to limit to 1 process for less RAM usage:



If you need RAM then buy some and add it in, do macbooks still have memory slots?

Post: #6

(03-26-2018 12:41 PM)DJ-Matt Wrote:  Nuke the firefox data folder and start over, turn on sync beforehand so you don't lose anything. While you have all those tabs open I'd look at task manager and see how much RAM it's using, firefox is a hog. Also I would change this setting to limit to 1 process for less RAM usage:

If you need RAM then buy some and add it in, do macbooks still have memory slots?

Nope. After 2012 the jackasses at Apple started soldering the RAM to the MB and gluing in the batteries.

Post: #7

Does this model have an SSD or hard drive? If I recall, 2015 models are still upgradeable if they are not the new unibody construction.

Post: #8

I'd save anything important on an external hard drive and then re-install the OS. Mine was faster after and I have no more annoying pinwheel.

Post: #9

Used to work as a "Genius" at the Apple Store back in the day. That place is as left-wing and feminist and SJW blue-pill as possible but that's a story for another day.

Anyways, there's a chance it could be adware thats causing a bunch of system processing to run in the background and hog up CPU and RAM and thus slowing down your system. The apple-supported adware removal tool (and the ones we used at the Genius Bar to remove adware off customer's macs) is called "adware medic." If I recall properly, it's been purchased by a larger company and now has a new name, but if you Google "adware medic" the appropriate link should still pop-up. Super easy to use.

A more drastic option would be to simply wipe out the hard drive and reinstall a fresh copy of the OS. Save any important pictures/files you need on a USB stick (or external hard drive if you wanna save a ton of files). The wipe and reinstall can be done yourself at home, but if you're not a big computer guy it's way easier (and probably faster) to just go into the Apple Store's genius bar and get one of the "geniuses" (genuii?) to do it for free.

Post: #10

If it doesn't have an SSD then replacing the HDD with an SSD would make a big difference

Post: #11

(03-26-2018 01:29 PM)Baphomet Wrote:  

(03-26-2018 12:41 PM)DJ-Matt Wrote:  Nuke the firefox data folder and start over, turn on sync beforehand so you don't lose anything. While you have all those tabs open I'd look at task manager and see how much RAM it's using, firefox is a hog. Also I would change this setting to limit to 1 process for less RAM usage:

If you need RAM then buy some and add it in, do macbooks still have memory slots?

Nope. After 2012 the jackasses at Apple started soldering the RAM to the MB and gluing in the batteries.

That why I got thinkpad. Easier to maintain and fix. As for the macbook, run adware scan that The_e_man suggested or clean reinstall of OS.

Post: #12

(03-27-2018 01:17 AM)The_e_man Wrote:  Used to work as a "Genius" at the Apple Store back in the day. That place is as left-wing and feminist and SJW blue-pill as possible but that's a story for another day.

Anyways, there's a chance it could be adware thats causing a bunch of system processing to run in the background and hog up CPU and RAM and thus slowing down your system. The apple-supported adware removal tool (and the ones we used at the Genius Bar to remove adware off customer's macs) is called "adware medic." If I recall properly, it's been purchased by a larger company and now has a new name, but if you Google "adware medic" the appropriate link should still pop-up. Super easy to use.

A more drastic option would be to simply wipe out the hard drive and reinstall a fresh copy of the OS. Save any important pictures/files you need on a USB stick (or external hard drive if you wanna save a ton of files). The wipe and reinstall can be done yourself at home, but if you're not a big computer guy it's way easier (and probably faster) to just go into the Apple Store's genius bar and get one of the "geniuses" (genuii?) to do it for free.

This seems to have helped a lot - it took 3 things off my computer and its flying now. Thanks!

Post: #13

It's a known issue that Firefox has performance issues on OSX. I also have a mid 2014 Macbook Pro Retina 13". Whenever I use Firefox the CPU fan kicks to 100% speed and everything starts slowing down. For years I didn't know that my Macbook had a CPU fan.

I personally think Apple just doesn't want you to use anything other Safari, but that's just me. I reluctantly use Safari, it gets the job done but in the future I'm not going to buy a Macbook again despite its excellent user experience.

Post: #14

Related subject, my driver on my old macbook pro has taken a shit.

6 years of travel photos and digital memories possibly gone....

I didn’t upload to the cloud because I don’t trust it.

Took it to the apple store and the gave me a card for “drive doctor” or something.

So shitty.

Post: #15

I keep all my important stuff on Dropbox and also backup my dropbox files to an external once a month. Just make sure you keep your external files encrypted.

Post: #16

(03-27-2018 10:08 AM)monsquid Wrote:  It's a known issue that Firefox has performance issues on OSX. I also have a mid 2014 Macbook Pro Retina 13". Whenever I use Firefox the CPU fan kicks to 100% speed and everything starts slowing down. For years I didn't know that my Macbook had a CPU fan.

I personally think Apple just doesn't want you to use anything other Safari, but that's just me. I reluctantly use Safari, it gets the job done but in the future I'm not going to buy a Macbook again despite its excellent user experience.

Try the advice and program I was given - my mac has been working awesome all day and the fans havent come on once. They had been on a lot the last few weeks.

Post: #17

Apple stopped making good products years ago....unless you're a "creative" switch back to PC

Post: #18

Post: #19

Ad blockers are very memory intensive, with the exception of ublock origin.

I'm considering switching to brace anyway, since firefox is making moves to hinder using startpage as default search engine.

Post: #20

Onyx is a great utility for cleaning up a macOS machine.

Post: #21

Would advise getting more RAM if you have one of the MBPs that you can open.

Post: #22

Maybe it's dust builtup, then the laptop get's too hot and the CPU slows down. Look for a tool that shows you CPU frequency in realtime.

Post: #23

My strategy is to buy reasonably priced laptops with a sturdy center hinge based on the expectation that I expect two years of good use. Anything else is bonus. This prevents me from overpaying.

I keep the software on my computers to an absolute minimum. I also do my best to minimize the load my hard-drive is carrying by keeping non-essential files on external drives.

I've recently gone to a two computer model. One small, lightweight laptop (just a tiny netbook generally) that handles my day-to-day needs, while I keep all of the files and software that I need routinely on a larger laptop, which is still lightweight, but not nearly as portable as the tiny thing I haul around each day. I'd have to pay a lot more money to have serious processing power in a tiny ultraportable, but the same computing power is much more affordable once I move up to around 1.3kg. With that computer being put to work on heavier duty work like Photoshop and video editing, it makes sense to have a larger computer anyway so that I get a larger screen for the graphics jobs.

If I tried to squeeze all the features I want into one computer (portability, powerful processor), I'd end up with a fantastic computer, but with the price-tag I would have to pay for it, I'd be fucked if it stopped working at any point inside of 3 years. Going with the two computer combo allows me to get the same value while hedging my bets and then I have a backup PC if I need to do a warrantee exchange at any point.

I usually do a complete return to factory settings about once a year on the computer I own. Wipe the slate clean. This improves speed for a time. I've heard that having the dust cleaned out of the inside helps too, although I've never had it done. Never needed it that badly, but then again, I don't try to stretch my computers to 5 years of use.

Post: #24

Laptops and like phones are items you use everyday, I would personally invest more into better specs then try and budget things (money permitting).

Post: #25

Back up yer shit, and do a recovery mode wipe and reinstall.