OP wrote:
"I have the non-retina with the DVD/CD drive on the right.
Tell me more."
First, PRINT OUT THIS MSG and save it for future reference.
You probably have the original platter-based hard drive inside.
If so, THAT'S what's "slowing things down".
You can VERY EASILY replace it with an SSD, and speed things up considerably.
This is cheap and ANYONE can do this in about 15 minutes.
Even you.
The hardest part is removing the screws and taking off the rear cover, then replacing the cover and re-installing the screws.
What you need:
A "bare" 2.5" SATA SSD. I'd get one the same size as your internal drive is now.
THE RIGHT TOOLS:
- Phillips #00 driver
- TORX T-6 driver
(these are available at hardware stores, or online, cheap)
A good set of instructions:
Go to ifixit.com and they have a detailed guide showing you the procedure.
Again, IT'S EASY.
SOMETHING ELSE I RECOMMEND for the job:
Get one of these:
SABRENT 2.5 Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool Free External Hard Drive Enclosure [Optimized for SSD, Support UASP SATA III] Black (EC-UASP)
tinyurl.com
When you get the SSD, put it into the enclosure FIRST.
Now, you can prepare and test it BEFORE you open up the MacBook.
This way, if something goes amiss, YOU STILL HAVE A WORKING COMPUTER.
My suggestions:
a. Put the drive into the enclosure
b. Connect it to the Mac (it's probably not formatted yet, so...)
c. Open disk utility.
d. You should see it on the list in the left.
e. Click on it's name ONE TIME. Now choose "erase"
f. Since you're using 10.12 "Low Sierra", erase the drive to "Mac OS extended with journaling enabled, GUID partition format"
g. Erase should take only a few moments
h. Now it should appear on the desktop (but it's still "empty", nothing on it)
i. Open CarbonCopyCloner and accept all the "defaults" for now
j. You'll see "3 boxes" in CCC, waiting for input
k. On the left, put your "source" (the internal drive)
l. In the middle, put your "target" (the SSD)
m. Don't bother with the box on the right -- not needed
n. Click "clone" and follow through
o. CCC may ask if you wish to clone the recovery partition. YES, you want to do this.
p. Cloning will take a while, it's copying the entire internal drive to the SSD
q. When done, quit CCC. Now it's time for a "test boot"
r. REBOOT, and IMMEDIATELY hold down the option key and KEEP HOLDING IT DOWN until the startup manager appears
s. Do you see the icon for the SSD? If so, that's good, click on it with the pointer and hit return
t. Now... the moment of truth... do you get "a good boot" from the SSD?
u. If you do, it will look exactly like it did booting from the internal drive. Go to "about this Mac" to be sure you're booted from the SSD.
v. Take a "look around". Try an app or two. Is everything OK?
w. If so, now it's time to "power down" and do the drive swap.
x. Referring to the ifixit guide, get to work. I didn't bother with the step about disconnecting the battery. Nothing went wrong.
y. When you get the drive replaced, IMPORTANT... do the "option key trick" boot again as in "r" above. Do you get a good boot from the SSD now that it's inside?
z. If so, good, but ONE MORE STEP: Open system preferences and go to "startup disk". Click the lock and enter your password, then select the SSD as the boot drive. Close system preferences and reboot ONE MORE TIME to see that the Macbook boots up and you get to the login display.
Sounds like a lot, but just check things off one-at-a-time and it will go quickly.
Finally, take the old HDD and put it into the enclosure.
It can now become your backup drive.
Did I
"tell you enough" ???