Slow, slow computer

[BASRPH]

i haven 2007 IMac running ElCapitan, 2.4 processor, and 4GB ram. It is so slow lately. If I want to move the page up or down or even wiggle the mouse a little I get the spinning beach ball thing. I called into Apple support to ask what I could do to eliminate this and was told they no longer support my machine. Maybe because of its age? I don’t know why. I don’t use this for gaming or anything other than emails, banking, reading the news, etc. Any suggestions of some things I could try to clean it up so it runs faster ??

 

[redheeler]

Yes, upgrade to an SSD. It will make a big difference even with a decade-old Mac.

 

[BASRPH]

Yes, upgrade to an SSD. It will make a big difference even with a decade-old Mac.

Not being a computer wizard how do upgrade to SSD? Is that something I have to take into a shop somewhere? What is SDD ??

 

[redheeler]

Not being a computer wizard how do upgrade to SSD? Is that something I have to take into a shop somewhere? What is SDD ??

SSD = Solid State Drive. You can find a step-by-step guide here, but it may be wise to use an Apple-certified repair shop if you've never attempted something like this before.

A 2.5" SATA SSD and 2.5" to 3.5" adapter bracket are the parts you'd need to replace the original hard drive with an SSD.

 

[BrettApple]

Yes, definitely upgrade to an SSD. I put a 256GB Crucial SSD in mine way back in 2012/2013 and it has performed very well even on El Cap. It’s a base model with the 2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo and 4GB of RAM as yours has. Still runs the basic apps and even Photoshop and Office 2016 just fine.

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

One word of warning do not try and put a 6Gbps SSD in as they are sometimes not backwards compatible with pre 2009 Macs. The Samsung EVO range is particularly unkind to older Macs. A slower 3Gbps will be much better.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

You didn't give us any idea of your financial situation in your opening post.

But... with a 10-year-old Mac... if you really want "speed"... it's time to think about either a new Mac, or perhaps a "late-model" Apple-refurbished one...

 

[Samuelsan2001]

i haven 2007 IMac running ElCapitan, 2.4 processor, and 4GB ram. It is so slow lately. If I want to move the page up or down or even wiggle the mouse a little I get the spinning beach ball thing. I called into Apple support to ask what I could do to eliminate this and was told they no longer support my machine. Maybe because of its age? I don’t know why. I don’t use this for gaming or anything other than emails, banking, reading the news, etc. Any suggestions of some things I could try to clean it up so it runs faster ??

Sounds like a dying hard drive, they rarely last as long as ten years, you have done really well.

As others mention an SSD will speed it up but to be honest at that age it might be time for a new machine as it could just die for any number of reasons now, logic boards going at that age are very common, as a power supply units and graphics cards. Any money you spend on i9t may be money wasted.