1. Restart, then check login items
Choose Apple menu → Restart. Then open System Settings → General → Login Items & Extensions and remove anything you don't need starting automatically.
2. Free up space
A Mac with a nearly full drive slows to a crawl. Go to System Settings → General → Storage to see what's using space; the recommendations there can empty the bin automatically and move old files to iCloud. Aim for at least 15–20% free.
3. Find what's hogging it
Open Activity Monitor (press Cmd + Space and type its name). Sort by % CPU and then by Memory. A browser with dozens of tabs or one runaway app is often the whole problem.
4. Update macOS and your apps
Check System Settings → General → Software Update, and the App Store for app updates. Old versions of apps can run badly on newer macOS.
5. Try safe mode
Starting up in safe mode checks the startup disk and clears some caches. How you do it depends on whether your Mac has Apple silicon or an Intel chip — Apple's support site explains both. If the Mac is quick in safe mode, something that loads at startup is the culprit.
Upgrade or replace?
- Some older Macs can take an SSD or more memory, which can transform them.
- Newer Macs have everything built in, so the fix is software and storage tidying.
- Apple has said macOS Tahoe is the last version for Intel Macs. If yours is Intel, it's worth planning ahead — I'll give you a straight answer on whether to repair or replace.
