How do I defrag my mini?

[boynigel]

i have a mini that i got in '12 that is running 10.7.5, 2.3 GHz w/2GB RAM. when i use the mouse lately it's doing this weird thing where the mouse/cursor will randomly disappear and then reappear somewhere else on the screen. when my other macs do this, i simply run Disk Warrior and the problem seems to go away. well, the mini doesn't have a cd drive and Disk Utility does nothing to fix this (says there are no problems found), so what are my alternatives for hard drive maintenance?

 

[GGJstudios]

i have a mini that i got in '12 that is running 10.7.5, 2.3 GHz w/2GB RAM. when i use the mouse lately it's doing this weird thing where the mouse/cursor will randomly disappear and then reappear somewhere else on the screen. when my other macs do this, i simply run Disk Warrior and the problem seems to go away. well, the mini doesn't have a cd drive and Disk Utility does nothing to fix this (says there are no problems found), so what are my alternatives for hard drive maintenance?

Your mouse issues likely have nothing to do with your hard drive. What kind of mouse? Wired? Wireless? USB? Bluetooth?

With very few exceptions, you don't need to defrag on Mac OS X, except possibly when partitioning a drive.

About disk optimization with Mac OS X

You probably won't need to optimize at all if you use Mac OS X.

 

[eschw95458]

I personally use iDefrag, it makes a world of difference

 

[boynigel]

Your mouse issues likely have nothing to do with your hard drive. What kind of mouse? Wired? Wireless? USB? Bluetooth?

With very few exceptions, you don't need to defrag on Mac OS X, except possibly when partitioning a drive.

About disk optimization with Mac OS X

wired mouse. it just started doing this. also if worth mentioning- when i put the computer to sleep these days, it takes upwards of 30 seconds to go to sleep from the time i click "sleep" from the drop-down.

 

[GGJstudios]

wired mouse. it just started doing this.

Make sure the mouse is clean and the connection is good.

also if worth mentioning- when i put the computer to sleep these days, it takes upwards of 30 seconds to go to sleep from the time i click "sleep" from the drop-down.

That could be an app or process that is hanging. Check the following locations for apps that automatically launch on startup and delete any you don't need/want:

• System Preferences > Accounts > yourusername > Login Items
  (Lion and ML users: System Preferences > Users & Groups > yourusername > Login Items)
  
  
• /Library/LaunchAgents/
  (Lion and ML users: In Finder, click Go > Go to Folder > then enter the path above)
  
  
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/
  (Lion and ML users: In Finder, click Go > Go to Folder > then enter the path above)
  
  
• /Library/StartupItems/
  (Lion and ML users: In Finder, click Go > Go to Folder > then enter the path above)

If you're having performance issues, this may help:

Performance Tips For Mac OS X​

If you need additional help, follow every step of the following instructions precisely. Do not skip any steps.

1. Launch Activity Monitor
2. Change "My Processes" at the top to "All Processes"
3. Click on the "% CPU" column heading once or twice, so the arrow points downward (highest values on top).
   (If that column isn't visible, right-click on the column headings and check it, NOT "CPU Time")
4. Click on the System Memory tab at the bottom.
5. Take a screen shot of the entire Activity Monitor window, then scroll down to see the rest of the list, take another screen shot
6. Post your screenshots.

 

[boynigel]

Make sure the mouse is clean and the connection is good.

That could be an app or process that is hanging. Check the following locations for apps that automatically launch on startup and delete any you don't need/want:

• System Preferences > Accounts > yourusername > Login Items
  (Lion and ML users: System Preferences > Users & Groups > yourusername > Login Items)
  

• 
  tried all that. the only thing that was launching was iTunes helper, which i got rid of, but it still gets hung up.

 

[GGJstudios]

tried all that. the only thing that was launching was iTunes helper, which i got rid of, but it still gets hung up.

Post your screen shots as explained in my last post.

 

[boynigel]

Post your screen shots as explained in my last post.

where does apple hide this? just looked in apps and utilities. don't see it

 

[GGJstudios]

where does apple hide this? just looked in apps and utilities. don't see it

Hide what? Activity Monitor? It's in your /Applications/Utilities folder, but you can find it quickly by pressing Command-spacebar and typing "Activity Monitor" in the Spotlight search window.

 

[boynigel]

Hide what? Activity Monitor? It's in your /Applications/Utilities folder, but you can find it quickly by pressing Command-spacebar and typing "Activity Monitor" in the Spotlight search window.

here you go...

 

[GGJstudios]

here you go...

Does that represent normal usage for you? Were you experiencing the mouse lag issues at the time of the screen shots? There's nothing I see there that looks like a problem.

 

[boynigel]

Does that represent normal usage for you? Were you experiencing the mouse lag issues at the time of the screen shots? There's nothing I see there that looks like a problem.

pretty much. this is just the "family" computer for web surfing, pics, and occasional music.

the mouse glitching is sporadic and random. not to the point where it's driving me crazy...yet. the eye on the mouse looks clean. i'll clean it anyway just in case.

if that doesn't work, maybe the problems will be something that goes away w/the next software update?

 

[GGJstudios]

pretty much. this is just the "family" computer for web surfing, pics, and occasional music.

the mouse glitching is sporadic and random. not to the point where it's driving me crazy...yet. the eye on the mouse looks clean. i'll clean it anyway just in case.

if that doesn't work, maybe the problems will be something that goes away w/the next software update?

It doesn't sound like a problem with OS X. It sounds more like an app or process is tying up the system momentarily. It wouldn't hurt to add some RAM when you can.

 

[boynigel]

It doesn't sound like a problem with OS X. It sounds more like an app or process is tying up the system momentarily. It wouldn't hurt to add some RAM when you can.

LOL... that's what they always say, and you're probably right. i AM a RAM cheapskate