Defrag Powerbook h.disk and improve performance?

[Simon L]

Hi, I've had my powerbook just over a year now it doesn't seem to run as quick as it used to, now I appreciate there is more stuff on the harddisk but is there any built in Mac tools so I can defrag my harddisk?

Also any tips on making my Powerbook run quicker/improve performance?

What is the best way to uninstall programmes?

Thanks,
A Mac dunce

 

[wrldwzrd89]

Hi, I've had my powerbook just over a year now it doesn't seem to run as quick as it used to, now I appreciate there is more stuff on the harddisk but is there any built in Mac tools so I can defrag my harddisk?

Also any tips on making my Powerbook run quicker/improve performance?

What is the best way to uninstall programmes?

Thanks,
A Mac dunce

The Mac OS (starting with Panther, and continuing with Tiger) handles defragmentation itself now, on the fly (but only for files 50 MB or smaller, I believe - correct me if I'm wrong). You don't really need a dedicated utility, since the easiest way to completely defragment your hard drive on the Mac is to clone your hard drive, erase the original, then clone the clone back to the original.

I don't have any performance tips for you.

The way you uninstall a Mac application depends on the method used to install it. If the application was installed with a third-party install tool that supports uninstallation, use that tool to remove it. If it comes with an uninstall script (Virex and the Developer Tools are like this), use that. Otherwise, all that needs to be done is dragging the application to the Trash along with all of its supporting files (usually found inside the Library folder inside your home folder - occasionally there will be supporting files in the Library folder at the hard disk level as well). A search for the name of the application usually turns up most, if not all, of the supporting files. Unlike Windows, there's no harm in leaving unused preference files and shared libraries behind - all they'll do is sit there, taking up space, instead of messing up other things on your Mac.

 

[mad jew]

No need to defrag in OSX, it does this automatically for files under a certain size (20MB from memory).

To make a PowerBook run at maximum performance, assuming you've spent as much money as you can on RAM, is to... Well, really there no easy answer. A Mac will experience long-term slowdown to a much lesser degree than a PC. You've probably worked out by now that clicking the little red traffic light doesn't necessarily close the app so I'm assuming you won't have a multitude of processes running ATM. Sorry, I really can't help you any more than that.

And as for the best way to uninstall apps, just drag them to the trash. Apart from a select few (Office and Norton apps among them) this will usually suffice. However, if you really want to make sure everything's gone, do a quick search (either with Spotlight or Finder depending on which OSX you have) for a bit of the app's name to trash those too.

 

[Simon L]

No need to defrag in OSX, it does this automatically for files under a certain size (20MB from memory).

To make a PowerBook run at maximum performance, assuming you've spent as much money as you can on RAM, is to... Well, really there no easy answer. A Mac will experience long-term slowdown to a much lesser degree than a PC. You've probably worked out by now that clicking the little red traffic light doesn't necessarily close the app so I'm assuming you won't have a multitude of processes running ATM. Sorry, I really can't help you any more than that.

And as for the best way to uninstall apps, just drag them to the trash. Apart from a select few (Office and Norton apps among them) this will usually suffice. However, if you really want to make sure everything's gone, do a quick search (either with Spotlight or Finder depending on which OSX you have) for a bit of the app's name to trash those too.

Thanks for advice no defrag necessary sounds like the way forward!

 

[ChrisFromCanada]

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