How to Make Peace With Your Computer

Computers are funny things. We rely on them completely, but they’re also incredibly fickle. Try as we might to get them to do what we want, we always seem to fail. 


The good news, though, is that it doesn’t have to be that way. Even if your computer is running slower than normal, or you’re just not getting on with it, you don’t have to ditch it for a new one. Instead, you can follow the advice below:


Close Unnecessary Apps


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Closing background apps is one of the best ways to speed up your computer and form a better relationship with it. The fewer system resources you use, the faster it will run. 


Try shutting down your Mac and restarting it to see which programs open at launch. If you want to prevent programs from running, you can right-click Dock or use the Force Quit option. 


Go Into More Detail


Sometimes, it’s not always clear what’s actually slowing you down. Some programs are significantly more resource-hungry than others. 


To solve this issue and only close the programs that are causing problems, go to the Activity Monitor and then take a look at all of the processes currently on your Mac. Some you shouldn’t close, but you will recognize others – they’re the programs that you have open and are using right now. 


Take a look at the percentage of RAM and CPU usage. If they are higher than, say 10 percent, it suggests that the application is a resource hog and responsible for the poor performance of your machine. Close it and see if that solves the issue. 


Learn How To Fix Common Errors


Even though Apple designs the Mac with user experience in mind, you will still encounter the occasional error, even if you have a new machine. 


The trick here is to learn what the most common errors mean and how you can solve them. For instance, the Mac scratch disk full error is extremely common and occurs in Photoshop, a program that many Mac users rely on. However, once you understand it, you can easily solve it.


Always Leave Plenty Of Free Space


Nothing is more annoying than having to constantly accommodate a lack of space on your Mac. Whenever you want to download something new, you have to get rid of something old. 


The only real solution here is to offload some of the files from onboard storage to another location, either an external hard drive or a cloud storage option. Both of these cost money, but with the HDD, you will save over the long term because you will avoid subscription fees. 


Update Your Software


Another popular strategy is to regularly update your software so that all of the apps running on your Mac do so smoothly.


macOS is helpful because it provides you with an easy-updater tool. Go to System Preferences and then click Software Update. Your Mac will then scan for any new versions that might have been released. You can also go to the Apple icon on older Macs and click the Software Update option.

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