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2009 Macbook Pro Slow - What To Do?

T

takecare

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 24, 2011
11
0
Hey guys,

I purchased my Macbook Pro in 2009 (new), and since then it's been running fine...unfortunately in the past few months it's gotten slower and slower to the point where it's very noticeable.

My Macbook Pro is 250GB with 2GB RAM. I have attached some screenshots with some more information.

If any of you could help me and give me some advice on how to speed up my Macbook, I'd really appreciate it! I've already turned off Widgets, and only selected "Calendar" to auto run at start-up.

Thanks in advance.

2mzl14z.png


9zm7l.png


k99b12.jpg


3599sb8.png


3587u9v.png
 
simsaladimbamba

simsaladimbamba

Guest
Nov 28, 2010
22,670
30
located
The following shows you what is slowing you down:
ibkCMNNAOKOYSq.png

You don't have enough RAM, thus the PAGE OUTS are that big, meaning the content of your RAM gets copied to the HDD if more RAM is needed.

You can get up to 8GB for that 2009 MBP and it currently costs around 40 USD vai Newegg to get it.


BTW: Lion might run on 2GB, but it will work much better on 4GB.


PS: Thanks for the screenshots and wealth of information, I wish more posters would do that when asking similar questions.
 
N

neenja

macrumors 6502
Jul 17, 2008
292
0
def look into gettin 8g of ram, your system can handle it. it will help A LOT. very cheap now n days also.

also, back up your stuff and do a clean install. it may take some work but trust me its worth it.

when you installed lion, did you do an update or clean install? just wondering.
 
Nice

Nice

macrumors regular
Mar 17, 2010
113
10
(look at my sig) I have the same mbp. after installing lion it was the same for me - the mbp was veeery slow. after upgrading to 8 gigs its blazing fast, always at same speed and I can work with a lot more applications without any speed decrease or speed lag.

one thing to look after: the time between closing the lid of your mbp and sleep will increase a few seconds (in my case cca. +5 sec), but it depends on how many apps you have opened, because before sleep the mac copies the content of your ram to the hdd
 
sweetbrat

sweetbrat

macrumors 65816
Jun 17, 2009
1,443
1
Redford, MI
Like the others said, do the RAM upgrade. It's cheap, and in your case it should really help a LOT. Also, check out Corsair memory on Amazon. For a while they were giving a $10 mail-in rebate, but I'm not sure if it's still available or not.
 
T

takecare

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 24, 2011
11
0
thank you so much guys! I really appreciate it and definitely will go about upgrading to 8GB ram, but is there anything else I can do to speed up my computer?

When I updated to Lion, I just updated I didn't do a fresh restore.

Are there any more screenshots or information I can give that would help you guys out?

Also, it's okay that 70GB of my harddrive is music?
 
T

takecare

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 24, 2011
11
0
simsaladimbamba said:
The following shows you what is slowing you down:

You don't have enough RAM, thus the PAGE OUTS are that big, meaning the content of your RAM gets copied to the HDD if more RAM is needed.

You can get up to 8GB for that 2009 MBP and it currently costs around 40 USD vai Newegg to get it.


BTW: Lion might run on 2GB, but it will work much better on 4GB.


PS: Thanks for the screenshots and wealth of information, I wish more posters would do that when asking similar questions.
Click to expand...

Hey, I saw the link you attached to "Upgrading RAM In Macbooks", but I didn't know which guide to look at for my 2009 Macbook Pro (Aluminum one), because all of them say 15 inch for some reason (mine is 13 inch). Also is it easy to install the RAM? Could you please link me to a guide to upgrade the RAM from 2GB to 8GB in a 2009 13" Macbook Pro? I'd really appreciate it man. And no problem, I actually am very good at using computers and iPhones and am usually the one helping people out on other forums, so I know that the more information the better :)
 
simsaladimbamba

simsaladimbamba

Guest
Nov 28, 2010
22,670
30
located
takecare said:
Hey, I saw the link you attached to "Upgrading RAM In Macbooks", but I didn't know which guide to look at for my 2009 Macbook Pro (Aluminum one), because all of them say 15 inch for some reason (mine is 13 inch). Also is it easy to install the RAM? Could you please link me to a guide to upgrade the RAM from 2GB to 8GB in a 2009 13" Macbook Pro? I'd really appreciate it man. And no problem, I actually am very good at using computers and iPhones and am usually the one helping people out on other forums, so I know that the more information the better :)
Click to expand...

It is right there:
Unibody MacBook Pro (2008 - )

In late 2008 Apple introduced the 15" Unibody MacBook Pros, which use a new unibody construction and a GPU switching system and much more.
In early 2009 the 17" Unibody MacBook Pro has been released, in the summer of the same year the 13" Unibody MacBook Pro has been unveiled.
With the 2009 update of the MacBook Pros, the battery was not user replaceable anymore.
The Unibody MacBook Pros use Intel's Core 2 Duo and Dual Core iX CPUs and all models use and accept 204-pin 1066 MHz PC3-8500 DDR3 SO-DIMM SDRAM and in some cases even 204-pin 1333 MHz PC3-10600 SO-DIMM DDR3 SDRAM.
The Core 2 Duo and Dual Core iX MacBook Pros (2008 - 2010) can have a maximum RAM of 8GB (the 2008 models need an upgraded BOOT ROM). (info)
The first Quad Core iX MacBook Pros (2011 - ) use 204-pin 1333 MHz PC3-10600 SO-DIMM DDR3 SDRAM can take up to 16GB via two 8GB modules of 204-pin 1333 MHz PC3-10600 DDR3 SO-DIMM SDRAM. (info)​
GUIDES
Click to expand...

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/MacBook_Pro_13inch_Mid2009.pdf
 
V

v654321

macrumors member
Aug 6, 2011
78
23
Vilvoorde, Belgium
Also, if you can spare even a bit more money I'd really advise you to check the SSD route. Ram and an SSD are the biggest upgrades you can do and you will literally experience a massive speed increase in just about everything you do, aside from processing power obviously.

Not sure whether you use your optical drive very often, otherwise look at taking an optibay and move your 250GB disk in there so your primary HD slot can be used for an SSD.
 
T

takecare

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 24, 2011
11
0
v654321 said:
Also, if you can spare even a bit more money I'd really advise you to check the SSD route. Ram and an SSD are the biggest upgrades you can do and you will literally experience a massive speed increase in just about everything you do, aside from processing power obviously.

Not sure whether you use your optical drive very often, otherwise look at taking an optibay and move your 250GB disk in there so your primary HD slot can be used for an SSD.
Click to expand...

For now, I think I'm just going to upgrade my RAM to 8GB, but I'll definitely keep this in mind for the future! Thanks man!

Also, when upgrading my RAM...do I get rid of the 2GB ram that came pre-installed and use the 8GB one instead? Or can i install the 8GB along with the 2GB?

How do I know whether or not my battery is replaceable?

Also, I'm still kind of confused about what is the correct RAM Card i should get for my computer.
 
V

v654321

macrumors member
Aug 6, 2011
78
23
Vilvoorde, Belgium
In Lion: Go to "About This Mac", click on the "More Info" and then click on the Memory. There you can find out whether you have one or two memory modules and what type they are.

Typically you'll have 2x1GB so you'll have to replace this with 2x4GB.

If you have a lid on the bottom of your computer where your battery is, it's user replaceable. If you don't (if it's just one main bottom plate), then you can have your battery replaced by an Apple service point.

Install Coconut Battery to check on the health of your battery.
 
simsaladimbamba

simsaladimbamba

Guest
Nov 28, 2010
22,670
30
located
takecare said:
For now, I think I'm just going to upgrade my RAM to 8GB, but I'll definitely keep this in mind for the future! Thanks man!

Also, when upgrading my RAM...do I get rid of the 2GB ram that came pre-installed and use the 8GB one instead? Or can i install the 8GB along with the 2GB?

How do I know whether or not my battery is replaceable?

Also, I'm still kind of confused about what is the correct RAM Card i should get for my computer.
Click to expand...

Page 44 of the User Guide I linked to and the guide I linked to tell you what kind of RAM you need to get and how many sticks you have.

The battery in your MBP is not user replaceable, as there is no latch to do so.
 
T

takecare

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 24, 2011
11
0
v654321 said:
In Lion: Go to "About This Mac", click on the "More Info" and then click on the Memory. There you can find out whether you have one or two memory modules and what type they are.

Typically you'll have 2x1GB so you'll have to replace this with 2x4GB.

If you have a lid on the bottom of your computer where your battery is, it's user replaceable. If you don't (if it's just one main bottom plate), then you can have your battery replaced by an Apple service point.

Install Coconut Battery to check on the health of your battery.
Click to expand...

simsaladimbamba said:
Page 44 of the User Guide I linked to and the guide I linked to tell you what kind of RAM you need to get and how many sticks you have.

The battery in your MBP is not user replaceable, as there is no latch to do so.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the help again. Just making sure. This memory will work fine right? I checked and I have 2 slots with 1GB.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ction-_-cables-_-na-_-na&Item=N82E16820233179
 
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