2-yr old MacBook problems, web downloads, MS Word opening

[mike97208]

I'm having some trouble with my MacBook when it come to downloading websites and when opening certain applications like MS Word. I have MS Office 2008 for Mac and Adobe CS3 installed.

The problem with the website downloads is that it seems like it's starting to take longer and longer for them to download and even when I'm looking at the website the URL address bar is still half filled with the blue color that indicates the download status. And the round thing that spins where the refresh button is keeps on spinning. Also sometimes the multicolored ball appears for a long time. I empty my cache a few times a week—maybe that's not the problem or maybe I need to do it more.

MS Word takes quite a while to open, but maybe it's supposed to be that way.

I do not have any kind of virus/malware protection software installed.

What do I need to do? Below are my computer's specs.
Thanks.

13.3" MacBook laptop (first with the Santa Rosa chip—November 2007)
2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor (Intel-based Mac, 64-bit processor)
Intel GMA X3100 Chipset model
Mac OS 10.5.8
4 GB of SDRAM memory
144 MB VRAM (video RAM)
Color LCD monitor with 1280 x 800 resolution
Depth: 32-bit color
120GB hard drive

 

[johnnyham]

Try checking out some of these tips for speeding up Safari (if that's what you're using).

You could always *gasp* try changing browsers. Even though I don't use it, I would recommend Google Chrome. Based on the handful of times that I have used it on my Mac, it performs far better than Firefox.

Of course, make sure that your system is completely up to date. I've noticed a significant increase in the performance of Safari 5.0.

Another factor could be your Internet connection. It could be that your ISP is getting really congested. Try running an Internet speed test on your Mac, then again on another computer.

As for Word taking awhile to open, Word 2008 on my computer always takes 3 or 4 minutes to load. I've never really bothered with trying to speed it up. During the school year, I leave it running pretty much 24/7, and during the summer I don't use it anyways.

As a last ditch effort, you could just reinstall OS X. Having a clean install always helps speed things up and it makes you get rid of those apps you never use.