Making 2010 MBP a little less sluggish

[JPNFRK7]

Hey Guys, I have a 2010 MacBook Pro and for a while now OSX has been feeling pretty sluggish. I have tried cleaning out old files and trimming resources trying to find a little bit more power. Every time I go in to try and clean I find files that are sometimes 5 years old. Of course I can't recall all of the apps that I have installed so I can't really tell what Preferences and left over files to delete.

Could someone point me in the correct direction on possibly backing up only important data and reinstalling OSX? Or if we don't need to go that drastic maybe something a little less invasive?

I have two 250GB hard drives that I can use to backup if you guys suggest multiple backups. I also don't want to affect my Windows Bootcamp partition if possible.

Thanks

 

[Dark Void]

Hi,

Do you still have the 10.6 Snow Leopard disc that shipped with your MacBook Pro?

In terms of backing up your important data, Time Machine should do just fine.

 

[JPNFRK7]

Hi,

Do you still have the 10.6 Snow Leopard disc that shipped with your MacBook Pro?

In terms of backing up your important data, Time Machine should do just fine.

I have both disks. Also wouldn't Time Machine backup the files that I am trying to get rid of?

 

[johnnnw]

OSX is pretty good in the sense that a reinstall probably won't do much, because it's not that bloated.

The only way to get a huge noticeable difference is get an SSD. Makes it feel new.

 

[Dark Void]

I have both disks. Also wouldn't Time Machine backup the files that I am trying to get rid of?

It would indeed, but you can take that backup later on and choose what you want to restore.

What I would do is: preform a Time Machine backup of your entire disk using an external. Then, a clean installation of Snow Leopard via your disc. Use the Time Machine backup on the clean installation to choose what you want to be present on the new installation. Upgrade that installation to Yosemite (or keep it as Snow Leopard if that is your preference) via the App Store.

There are other methods of course, like a Yosemite USB installer, but this seems pretty simple being that you have the disc. I hope this helps.

 

[JPNFRK7]

It would indeed, but you can take that backup later on and choose what you want to restore.

What I would do is: preform a Time Machine backup of your entire disk using an external. Then, a clean installation of Snow Leopard via your disc. Use the Time Machine backup on the clean installation to choose what you want to be present on the new installation. Upgrade that installation to Yosemite (or keep it as Snow Leopard if that is your preference) via the App Store.

There are other methods of course, like a Yosemite USB installer, but this seems pretty simple being that you have the disc. I hope this helps.

It helps immensely. Im used to iPhone backups and restoring and I have never done anything like this with a computer. Just to be sure, the backup can come from a newer version of OSX and be restored on an older version of OSX?

 

[Dark Void]

It helps immensely. Im used to iPhone backups and restoring and I have never done anything like this with a computer. Just to be sure, the backup can come from a newer version of OSX and be restored on an older version of OSX?

What version of OS X are you currently using? In any case, this Apple Support link should help you.

 

[JPNFRK7]

What version of OS X are you currently using? In any case, this Apple Support link should help you.

10.10.4

 

[Dark Void]

10.10.4

If you're backing up 10.10.4, just reverse the steps that I listed. Do the OS upgrade via the App Store before moving your important files back on via the Time Machine backup.

I don't think it matters anyway to answer your initial question, but I could be wrong.

 

[JPNFRK7]

If you're backing up 10.10.4, just reverse the steps that I listed. Do the OS upgrade via the App Store before moving your important files back on via the Time Machine backup.

I don't think it matters anyway to answer your initial question, but I could be wrong.

Alright thanks. Im going to start the backup now and start the "restore" after. Ill post my results after.

 

[Dark Void]

Alright thanks. Im going to start the backup now and start the "restore" after. Ill post my results after.

Just to clarify - choose "Set Up as New Mac" for a fresh install. If you "restore from the Time Machine backup," you will be right back where you started with all of the unwanted files present. If you set up as new, you can then simply plug the external drive in and select what you want off of it via Time Machine.

 

[JPNFRK7]

Just to clarify - choose "Set Up as New Mac" for a fresh install. If you "restore from the Time Machine backup," you will be right back where you started with all of the unwanted files present. If you set up as new, you can then simply plug the external drive in and select what you want off of it via Time Machine.

Cool. I excluded a few files (Mostly media from iTunes) that I could just download again quickly.

When its time to put the disc in, do I need to restart and hold option?

 

[JPNFRK7]

So I finally finished putting my data back on my Mac. First problem I ran into was my OEM Disc did not want to restore the Startup Disk. So I found a article on Apple's Website that suggested holding "Command + R" at startup and choosing Disk Utility to erase the Macintosh HD Partition. This resulted in an error: "Could not unmount disk". I then found another article that suggested holding "Command + Option + R" at startup. This allowed me to choose Disk Utility and erase the Macintosh HD Partition.
From that point on it was pretty simple. I did however without realizing it, restore what I thought was a clean backup from all the preference files and turned out not to be. I'll probably try it again in the future to get rid of the files. Otherwise, Thank You Dark Void for answering my questions. Im now sitting on 10.10.3 using a backup from 10.10.4 (to answer on of my earlier questions).

 

[Dark Void]

So I finally finished putting my data back on my Mac. First problem I ran into was my OEM Disc did not want to restore the Startup Disk. So I found a article on Apple's Website that suggested holding "Command + R" at startup and choosing Disk Utility to erase the Macintosh HD Partition. This resulted in an error: "Could not unmount disk". I then found another article that suggested holding "Command + Option + R" at startup. This allowed me to choose Disk Utility and erase the Macintosh HD Partition.
From that point on it was pretty simple. I did however without realizing it, restore what I thought was a clean backup from all the preference files and turned out not to be. I'll probably try it again in the future to get rid of the files. Otherwise, Thank You Dark Void for answering my questions. Im now sitting on 10.10.3 using a backup from 10.10.4 (to answer on of my earlier questions).

Thanks for posting back. Where you able to restore only the files that were important to you?

 

[JPNFRK7]

Thanks for posting back. Where you able to restore only the files that were important to you?

I had the option to in Migration assistant but had just copied my users folder (which had the bad files). Now that I know how to do this Ill probably try and do it again in the near future.

 

[Dark Void]

I had the option to in Migration assistant but had just copied my users folder (which had the bad files). Now that I know how to do this Ill probably try and do it again in the near future.

Okay, sounds great. I'm glad progress is happening for you.

 

[yjchua95]

I had the option to in Migration assistant but had just copied my users folder (which had the bad files). Now that I know how to do this Ill probably try and do it again in the near future.

Do it again when you get an SSD upgrade for it. An SSD makes a night and day difference.

 

[JPNFRK7]

Do it again when you get an SSD upgrade for it. An SSD makes a night and day difference.

A SSD is definitely in my future when some other priorities get done first. Im going to keep this computer as long as possible before upgrading.

 

[JPNFRK7]

I did run into a road block today being that my iCloud Photo Library will not load or repair itself. I dont know if this has anything to do with going from 10.10.4 to 10.10.3 so im upgrading to 10.10.4 to try and recover my pictures (Luckily I have the iCloud Library backed up on my Time Machine backup). I have 24.56GB of pictures that I need to get back :/