Here's the first couple of troubleshooting things to do:
Technically, none of these things should work, but I could swear that they've solved seemingly unrelated problems for me and others.
1. Repair permissions. Start up from your OS X Install CD 1 by putting it into your optical drive while the computer is running, then restart the computer, and hold down the "C" key while the computer starts up. Continue holding down "C" until you see the grey Apple icon appear on the start-up screen. Once the installer loads, select English as your language, then go to the menu bar and find "Disk Utility". Run a permissions repair on everything you can. Just don't click any buttons marked "Erase". Restart when you're done.
2. Reset the power controller. Again, a random thing to do, but why not? Shut down your computer, and unplug the power cord and every other cord from the computer except your keyboard and mouse. Leave everything unplugged for 5 minutes (probably only needs 1 minute). Plug the power cord back in, but leave everything else except keyboard and mouse unplugged. Start the computer back up. Plug everything else back in.
3. Reset your PRAM. Restart your computer, and hold down the following keys while it restarts:
"Command" "Option" "P" "R". You have to hold them all down at the same time, and keep them held until you hear 4 startup chimes. Some say just do 2 chimes, but an Apple tech told me to keep holding for 4 chimes. What I usually do is go to the Apple menu, click Restart, then before I click the confirmation button, I'll go ahead and press Command+Option+R with my left hand, then click Restart, and hold the "P" down also while it shuts down, restarts and chimes 4 times. After all that, let go of the keys.
4. Download and use the free program Cache Out X:
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/14850
It clears all your system's cache files so that it's as if you're starting up OS X for the first time. Warning: if you clear your browsers' cache, you'll have to retype all your usernames and passwords at internet sites.
5. Download and use the free program Maintidget:
http://www.giantmike.com/widgets/Maintidget.html
It's a Dashboard widget that can run all of OS X's late-night maintenance programs and UNIX cron tasks when you want them to. If you shut down your Mac like me, or put it to sleep at night, those maintenance scripts will never get run. Maintidget lets you control when they run. Restart when you've completed.
6. If it's still funky, try deleting the preference files (.plist) for the affected programs, and/or any programs that could have caused the slow-down. Preferences are located in the folder: username > Library > Preferences.
