Tell me more ×
Super User is a question and answer site for computer enthusiasts and power users. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 2 down vote favorite

I've had my MBP for a little over a year now. It used to boot up lightenign quick, to the envy of my Windows friends. Not so much anymore.

What can I do to speed up the boot time on my OS X 10.5 MBP?

share|improve this question

4 Answers

up vote 3 down vote accepted

Get rid of any accumulated cruft you don't need, e.g.

  • Startup Items (Accounts -> Login Items prefs)

  • Background services such as web server, universal access, bluetooth etc.

  • Dashboard widgets

  • Extra preference panes

And:

  • Make sure you have enough (at least 10%) free space on your HD

  • Defrag

share|improve this answer
2  
widgets don't load until you activate dashboard for the first time actually – cobbal Jul 15 '09 at 7:58
Defrag? Don't bother. support.apple.com/kb/HT1375 – Arjan Jul 27 '09 at 21:56
Defrag - do bother if any of the following conditions hold: 1) You're about to bootcamp Windows; 2) Your drive is very full > 80%; 3) You work with large files; 4) You have system slowdown and have tried everything else. – alimack Feb 24 '10 at 15:15
You could also repair your drive with Disk Utility - any corruption will slow bootup. – alimack Feb 24 '10 at 15:23
up vote 3 down vote

Don't reboot? The only time I actually reboot my Mac laptops is after installing system updates. The rest of the time, I just let them sleep. This has worked well for years. The only time that this isn't an option is if won't be plugged in for days, since it does use a minimal amount of power.

share|improve this answer
I'm already there...I only reboot once every several days (like when i am on the road and want to conserve battery.) – Stu Thompson Jul 15 '09 at 13:51
Full ACK, I also just reboot when a system update requires it. – Marc Jul 16 '09 at 7:00
@Stu - instead of rebooting, use hibernate. it is quicker, and your apps will already be launched for you. – RedFilter Sep 25 '09 at 13:41
That causes its own problems - you can see RAM fragmentation if you really leave the Mac on for a long time. Rebooting usually speeds things up a bit. – alimack Feb 24 '10 at 15:16
up vote 1 down vote

I always do some maintenance every month, which usually involves clearing a few caches etc.

I feel as though it makes things faster, so it may help you too.

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/system_disk_utilities/onyx.html

share|improve this answer
up vote 0 down vote

I would recommend you to run Onyx.
See here.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.