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Re: Internet Problems - This is getting Old
joemikeb #56456 10/11/20 04:53 AM
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I went to Activity Monitor on my 2012 MBP. I only found a couple of apps open, Easy Find and something else with only 3 mb other than Safari. Now I am up to 2.76 gb memory and it green! I think it's a tad faster. App icons still insist on bouncing on the dock before opening. Is there anything else I can do besides add memory? My extensions are all disabled also.



Originally Posted by joemikeb
Originally Posted by plantsower
So there is hope! Seeing that I only use a small portion of my storage, I assumed I only used a small portion of my memory. WRONG! I will try to force quit stuff and see if that helps. Otherwise, thanks so much for the great suggestion for the extra memory. I am not close to any Apple Stores (an hour away and many hours in line), so I will try to figure out something else if it comes to that. Is it possible to force quit something important like the stuff I can't identify on the A/M which may cause me a problem? I will also watch the video.

In all probability, any attempt to free up memory by quitting apps in Activity Monitor will result in a crash. It would be better to stringently limit yourself to never having more than one application open at a time, and even that may not be enough. Apple no longer builds a Mac with only 4GB of memory with good reason. IPhones and iPad can get by with only 4GB because they do not have a lot of the background tasks and functions of Mac OS such as Finder, Spotlight, and true multitasking. That is part of the price we pay for all the cool features we like about our Macs. The only genuine solution is investing in more memory!

As I pointed out the Apple Store WILL NOT UPGRADE YOUR MEMORY. That is a do-it-yourself or third party job.

If you can navigate a sewing machine, with all the needle changing, threading, dust removal that goes along with it, and even if you can't or don't, you should have no problem installing the additional memory yourself. There are ten Phillips (cross) head screws and one internal connector to remove and then replace after the new memory is installed. The only trick is the screws are size 0 or 00 (the common Phillips screwdriver is a number 2), which are really small, so you have to have a micro size driver and a plastic "spudger" would also be very helpful. As I said previously, OWC will gladly sell you both for a buck or two when you order the memory from them.


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Re: Internet Problems - This is getting Old
plantsower #56461 10/11/20 02:40 PM
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Originally Posted by plantsower
I went to Activity Monitor on my 2012 MBP. I only found a couple of apps open, Easy Find and something else with only 3 mb other than Safari. Now I am up to 2.76 gb memory and it green! I think it's a tad faster. App icons still insist on bouncing on the dock before opening. Is there anything else I can do besides add memory? My extensions are all disabled also.

Green is good, but the bouncing is because memory is being paged out to swap files on the disk and vice-versa. Changing out the drive for an SSD would make paging faster, and could be done for only five or ten dollars more, but would not give as big a performance boost as increasing the memory. For around $100 you could have both 8GB more memory and a 256GB SSD. However, unless you are willing to do-it-yourself, count on spending another $135 for labor to install either or both.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Internet Problems - This is getting Old
plantsower #56463 10/11/20 02:53 PM
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You can see the memory options at this OWC page. Finding a link to the DIY instructions is a little convoluted, but go here and click the one that specifies memory.


Jon

macOS 11.7.10, iMac Retina 5K 27-inch, late 2014, 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 1 TB fusion drive, 16 GB RAM, Epson SureColor P600, Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, MS Office 365
Re: Internet Problems - This is getting Old
joemikeb #56466 10/11/20 05:36 PM
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Again, since I only pay bills on that Mac, I may just deal with the slow (but now faster) speed. The dock icons never used to bounce when I first got the MBP. Maybe because Catalina is using some of my memory? I can't find it under search in A/M but maybe it has stuff not called Catalina that is inserted? Not that I would, but do people change out processors? Would that make difference?

I don't understand how an SSD with only 120 GB would make it faster than a HD with over 400 GB free. Maybe just because of the way they work?

Anyway, I don't want to take up anymore of your time on this since I will probably not do anything unless it gets much worse. Thank you for all you've done.





Originally Posted by joemikeb
Originally Posted by plantsower
I went to Activity Monitor on my 2012 MBP. I only found a couple of apps open, Easy Find and something else with only 3 mb other than Safari. Now I am up to 2.76 gb memory and it green! I think it's a tad faster. App icons still insist on bouncing on the dock before opening. Is there anything else I can do besides add memory? My extensions are all disabled also.

Green is good, but the bouncing is because memory is being paged out to swap files on the disk and vice-versa. Changing out the drive for an SSD would make paging faster, and could be done for only five or ten dollars more, but would not give as big a performance boost as increasing the memory. For around $100 you could have both 8GB more memory and a 256GB SSD. However, unless you are willing to do-it-yourself, count on spending another $135 for labor to install either or both.


MacBook Pro - M2, Ventura 13.6
Safari Tech Prev 17.0
Safari 16.6
Firefox 116.0.2
iPhone 7 Version 15.8




Re: Internet Problems - This is getting Old
jchuzi #56467 10/11/20 05:38 PM
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Hi Jon:

I watched the video JoeMike sent me to at OWC regarding changing out the memory. It's pretty straight forward. Thanks for the link.



Originally Posted by jchuzi
You can see the memory options at this OWC page. Finding a link to the DIY instructions is a little convoluted, but go here and click the one that specifies memory.


MacBook Pro - M2, Ventura 13.6
Safari Tech Prev 17.0
Safari 16.6
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Re: Internet Problems - This is getting Old
plantsower #56470 10/11/20 07:12 PM
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Originally Posted by plantsower
Not that I would, but do people change out processors? Would that make difference?
It would be significantly less expensive and far easier to buy a new computer.

Originally Posted by plantsower
I don't understand how an SSD with only 120 GB would make it faster than a HD with over 400 GB free. Maybe just because of the way they work?
Hard drives are mechanical and move at mechanical speeds, especially the ones used in laptops to conserve battery power. Solid State Drives are electronic and have no moving parts so they are orders of magnitude faster. There is always something coming from the drive, so the faster access times of an SSD can make a noticeable difference in perceived speed.

Originally Posted by plantsower
Anyway, I don't want to take up anymore of your time on this since I will probably not do anything unless it gets much worse. Thank you for all you've done.
You are welcome and none of us would be here if we didn't enjoy it.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Internet Problems - This is getting Old
joemikeb #56471 10/11/20 07:33 PM
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Originally Posted by joemikeb
Originally Posted by plantsower
Not that I would, but do people change out processors? Would that make difference?
It would be significantly less expensive and far easier to buy a new computer. LOL! Got it!


Hard drives are mechanical and move at mechanical speeds, especially the ones used in laptops to conserve battery power. Solid State Drives are electronic and have no moving parts so they are orders of magnitude faster. There is always something coming from the drive, so the faster access times of an SSD can make a noticeable difference in perceived speed. I see.

Originally Posted by plantsower
Anyway, I don't want to take up anymore of your time on this since I will probably not do anything unless it gets much worse. Thank you for all you've done.
You are welcome and none of us would be here if we didn't enjoy it.😘


MacBook Pro - M2, Ventura 13.6
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