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excel

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 25, 2005
17
0
HEy guys, my IMAC's feeling really slow, now when I try to get to my widgets or other programs forthat matter, it take a long time to load. Is there some way to "clean up" my mac so it runs faster? Thanks
 
How much RAM do you have? How much free disk space?

The most effective way of speeding up your Mac is to ensure you have enough RAM to not need to use Virtual Memory.
 
BakedBeans said:
What the others said - but also try onyX

I ran onyx and it kept saying error applyscript 1767 or somthing like that what does that mean? Also I have a 2G 256 mb iMAC 20"
 
Clarify....

256Mb of RAM... thats the problem. Buy some more RAM dude. at least 512 for a decent run... 1 Gb would make it fly... 2Gb would be awesome (albeit expensive). (lol i didnt know iMac shipped with 256Mb... i thought they shipped with 512 as standard?

ie What applications are u running at the same time? With 256Mb of RAM you shouldnt be running more than 3 or 4 applications at a time, unless u want to turn ur iMac to iTurtle.

in the US, CRUCIAL sells RAM for cheaper. If ur in Aus, checkout epowermac.com.au for the best deals in RAM.
 
LACOSTE said:
u have maxed out ur RAM to 2Gb? not 256Mb RAM (as ur post implies) I dont understand why its going so slow. (also define slow lol)

ie What applications are u running at the same time?

I don't think i've maxed out my Ram cause when I click on my hard drive icon it says I hace 178 GB left? I'm running firefox with about 5 tabs open, MSN messenger, hardware monitor. I do have live camera widgets. Thanks for all the help so far!
 
excel said:
I don't think i've maxed out my Ram cause when I click on my hard drive icon it says I hace 178 GB left? I'm running firefox with about 5 tabs open, MSN messenger, hardware monitor. I do have live camera widgets. Thanks for all the help so far!

That is harddrive space not RAM.
you need something like this:
184-pinDIMM.gif

Bring your 256MB up to 512MB at least.
 
excel said:
I don't think i've maxed out my Ram cause when I click on my hard drive icon it says I hace 178 GB left? I'm running firefox with about 5 tabs open, MSN messenger, hardware monitor. I do have live camera widgets. Thanks for all the help so far!
That's hard drive space.

To verify how much memory you've got, go to the Apple menu and select About this Mac.
 
gekko513 said:
That's hard drive space.

To verify how much memory you've got, go to the Apple menu and select About this Mac.
thanks guys! I have 512 MB DDR SDRAM, I still find things slow when programs load
 
issue or RAM and Speed

Hmmm, I think it maybe an issue of perspective.

Having 512Mb is adequate, apps will run on a walking pace. The more RAM u got, things would seem speedy 1Gb etc.

I think the speed at which apps run is like a baseline dude. If u wanna see how fast it could go, add a 1Gb stick of RAM.

urs in an intel core duo iMac? then expect slowness when running apps through rosetta.

You can get used to the current speed, but i really recommend u order new RAM chips if speed is what ur after. The Duo intel core processor is speedy enough, its just that PowerPC apps require Rosetta translation and this takes some speed off compared to what u are normally used to.

Best bet: buy more RAM.
 
Wait, what type of iMac is it?

The old 20" G4 iMac came with 256MB RAM if I recall correctly. Is that what you have? Or is it a G5/Intel Core Duo? You said G2 but I have no idea what that means.

Is it this one?
fp_small1.jpg


Or this one?
4547597134443.jpg


Anyway, max out the RAM to 1GB if you have the G4 (top one) or 2GB if it's the G5 (bottom one).
 
OK, do this for me (please) - make sure you have the apps you mentioned open

1) Click the apple logo in the top left (blue)
2) Click 'about this mac'
3) Take a screenshot by pressing this button combo - +shift+3
4) Open activity monitor (Finder>Applications>Utilities>Activity Monitor>
5) Click the 'System Memory Tab and Press +shift+3 again
6) Post both photos here (if your not sure how just email them to me at algodden@gmail.com)
 
excel said:
thanks guys! I have 512 MB DDR SDRAM, I still find things slow when programs load
512 is OK for some people. It depends on the usage. You will definitely see a performance improvement for loading and switching between apps if you get another 512MB of RAM, but most programs will still run at the same speed when they are up and running.

Widgets will always be slow to load the first time you activate dashboard after a restart, but subsequent dashboard activation will benefit from more RAM.

If you want to improve widget loading time for the first activation, you can try Dashboard Kickstart. I haven't tried it myself, so I'm not sure if it's any good.

Edit: Some comments at the Dashboard Kickstart page suggests that DashboardStarter is a better app.
 
BakedBeans said:
OK, do this for me (please) - make sure you have the apps you mentioned open

1) Click the apple logo in the top left (blue)
2) Click 'about this mac'
3) Take a screenshot by pressing this button combo - +shift+3
4) Open activity monitor (Finder>Applications>Utilities>Activity Monitor>
5) Click the 'System Memory Tab and Press +shift+3 again
6) Post both photos here (if your not sure how just email them to me at algodden@gmail.com)

how do I post the sceenshot? I don't even know how to send it to you? sorry I'm new at this
 
excel said:
how do I post the sceenshot? I don't even know how to send it to you? sorry I'm new at this

You can just send the image to me as an attachment if you like. Open up your email account and copy my address into hte address box, then click attach and choose the images you want to send - then send the email.
 
BakedBeans said:
You can just send the image to me as an attachment if you like. Open up your email account and copy my address into hte address box, then click attach and choose the images you want to send - then send the email.

when I press the keys you tell me to nothing happens
 
excel said:
how do I paste the pic?

Just copy and type the text.... we can explain this, but it's easier. That way, we won't spend the next six months trying to figure out what kind of Mac you have. ;)

Start with the About This Mac window. All we need to know is the two lines between the Software Update button and the More Info button. For instance, mine says (on my iBook, not my iMac):

Processor 800 MHz PowerPC G4
Memory 640 MB DDR SDRAM

Start with those two lines. We're just very confused about what kind of Mac you have....this will be enough to get us started.
 
mkrishnan said:
Just copy and type the text.... we can explain this, but it's easier. That way, we won't spend the next six months trying to figure out what kind of Mac you have. ;)

Start with the About This Mac window. All we need to know is the two lines between the Software Update button and the More Info button. For instance, mine says (on my iBook, not my iMac):

Processor 800 MHz PowerPC G4
Memory 640 MB DDR SDRAM

Start with those two lines. We're just very confused about what kind of Mac you have....this will be enough to get us started.

Oh I have the new iMAC! was that all you're asking? LOL sorry guys
 
excel said:
Oh I have the new iMAC! was that all you're asking? LOL sorry guys

No, we still want to know how much RAM it has. Please just do what we asked, so that we can help you. It isn't complicated, and will not take you more than 15 seconds.
 
mkrishnan said:
No, we still want to know how much RAM it has. Please just do what we asked, so that we can help you. It isn't complicated, and will not take you more than 15 seconds.
He already posted that.
excel said:
thanks guys! I have 512 MB DDR SDRAM, I still find things slow when programs load
 
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