Here are my etrecheck results. All Greek to me:
Hardware Information:
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012)
MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro9,2
1 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 2 cores
4 GB RAM
Video Information:
Intel HD Graphics 4000 - VRAM: 512 MB
System Software:
OS X 10.8.4 (12E55) - Uptime: 0 days 5:34:12
Disk Information:
APPLE HDD HTS547550A9E384 disk0 : (500.11 GB)
disk0s1 (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB
Macintosh HD (disk0s2) /: 499.25 GB (461.47 GB free)
Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB
HL-DT-ST DVDRW GS31N
USB Information:
Western Digital My Passport 0748 1 TB
disk1s1 (disk1s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB
Reformatted 1 TB WD My Passport External Drive (disk1s2) /Volumes/Reformatted 1 TB WD My Passport External Drive: 999.83 GB (999.16 GB free)
Logitech, Inc. Logitech Speaker Lapdesk N550
Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub
Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)
FireWire Information:
Thunderbolt Information:
Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus
Kernel Extensions:
Problem System Launch Daemons:
Problem System Launch Agents:
Launch Daemons:
[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist 3rd-Party support link
[loaded] com.freemacsoft.appcleanerd.plist 3rd-Party support link
[loaded] com.machangout.glims.loader.plist 3rd-Party support link
[loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.privileged_startx.plist 3rd-Party support link
Launch Agents:
[loaded] com.machangout.glims.agent.plist 3rd-Party support link
[loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.startx.plist 3rd-Party support link
User Launch Agents:
User Login Items:
Garmin Express Service
Safari
Mail
Calendar
AppCleaner Helper
Messages
EtreFeed
Internet Plug-ins:
GarminGpsControl: Version: 4.0.3.0 Release - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link
FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 11.9.900.170 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link
Flash Player: Version: 11.9.900.170 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link
QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.1
JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 14.8.0 - SDK 10.7 Outdated! Update
Audio Plug-ins:
AirPlay: Version: 1.7 - SDK 10.8
iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.1 - SDK 10.8
3rd Party Preference Panes:
RCDefaultApp
Flash Player 3rd-Party support link
Logitech Control Center 3rd-Party support link
Perian 3rd-Party support link
Bad Fonts:
None
Old Applications:
None
Time Machine:
Skip System Files: NO
Mobile backups: OFF
Auto backup: NO - Auto backup turned off
Volumes being backed up:
Macintosh HD: Disk size: 464.96 GB Disk used: 35.19 GB
Reformatted 1 TB WD My Passport External Drive: Disk size: 931.16 GB Disk used: 634 MB
Destinations:
Time Machine [Local]
Total size: 310.49 GB
Total number of backups: 0
Oldest backup: 2012-08-08 20:07:53 +0000
Last backup: 2013-10-07 00:55:43 +0000
Size of backup disk: Adequate
Backup size 310.49 GB > (Disk used 35.81 GB X 3)
Mountain Lion [Local] (Last used)
Total size: 464.96 GB
Total number of backups: 1
Oldest backup: 2013-10-20 21:42:35 +0000
Last backup: 2013-10-20 21:42:35 +0000
Size of backup disk: Adequate
Backup size 464.96 GB > (Disk used 35.81 GB X 3)
Time Machine details may not be accurate.
All volumes being backed up may not be listed.
Top Processes by CPU:
2% WindowServer
2% EtreCheck
1% WebProcess
0% Safari
0% mds
Top Processes by Memory:
188 MB Safari
131 MB WebProcess
102 MB EtreFeed
98 MB Mail
70 MB WindowServer
Virtual Memory Information:
1.35 GB Free RAM
1.40 GB Active RAM
191 MB Inactive RAM
1.07 GB Wired RAM
280 MB Page-ins
0 B Page-outs
On to the second article…
- Back it up If you aren't using Time Machine, IMHO you should be and your Time Machine drive should be two to three times the size of the drive you are backing up. This has little or nothing to do with improving performance, it is simply good sense.
- check login items I will combine this with the next step
- identify and eradicate offenders Download and run the freeware application EtreCheck It scans your system and identifies potential problems. If you can't interpret the results post them here and someone will be happy to help. There is another app that is very useful to me when I am in a housekeeping mood CleanApp. It isn't free but it is on sale for $5. It will cleanly delete all traces of applications, identify unused files and applications and a number of other housekeeping tasks. Personally I would not fool with getting rid of language localizations as the article suggested. Too much work and too little gain.
- clean up your hard drive That is mostly what we have been talking about so far.
- add RAM Assuming you are running Mavericks as long as the "Memory Pressure" bar in Activity Monitor is green you are golden. Mavericks memory management is very different from previous versions of OS X and most of what we knew is no longer valid. Just watch the Memory Pressure and if it is yellow start pricing additional RAM. If it turns red it is definitely time to buy.
The third article is largely a rehash of the first two and as far as I can tell adds little or nothing to the discussion, so I won't go into it in detail.
