OS Rot

[thejadedmonkey]

I've had this computer since 2006.

It started slowing down, and so I put more ram into it... a few years later, Applecare told me my hard drive was failing because it took so long to boot up. I wiped the computer, which got rid of many of the start up items, and sped it up... I upgraded the OS to Snow Leopard (which I immediately downgraded). Then I got the mouse fixed.

By this time, the computer was slow, hot, the mouse was erratic, and programs took a long time to upgrade. My Windows 7 netbook would run better. Applecare just told me it was because my computer was old, and a new computer would fix my problems.

Then I saw a post by someone on here, who said that he created a new user account and it made his powerbook run like new. I did that, rebuilt the driver cache, and guess what. My erratic mouse is no more, and my computer runs like new again!

So let this just be a word of warning, OS X suffers from OS Rot just like any other OS, and sometimes a fresh install, without transferring your user account, but creating a new one, can really help speed up your computer.

 

[calderone]

No, this is just a case of not knowing what you are doing just like Windows users.

 

[Nermal]

No, this is just a case of not knowing what you are doing just like Windows users.

Wow. A user posts a tip that has worked for many people and helps to track down the cause of problems (in this case, a user account issue) and you respond with a rather rude post. There is nothing wrong with creating an additional user account in order to isolate or work around an issue.

 

[calderone]

Wow. A user posts a tip that has worked for many people and helps to track down the cause of problems (in this case, a user account issue) and you respond with a rather rude post. There is nothing wrong with creating an additional user account in order to isolate or work around an issue.

Where did I dispute that this isn't a good troubleshooting technique?

The OP was giving this as a solution to a problem, not as a method for determining the root of a problem.

 

[QuarterSwede]

For my wife it was a failing hard drive.

Sloooooow as crap when it should have screamed for months. Then a few days ago she was working in iPhoto when the event she was working in just disappeared. I then opened up Time Machine to restore the iPhoto library when it stalled before finishing freezing the computer. I forced it off and it refused to boot. I popped in the Snow Leopard disc (I still think it's better than Leopard) and when it couldn't find a hard drive I tried the Tech Tool Deluxe (from AppleCare) diagnostic disc which it refused to run. Made a Genius bar appointment and got a brand new hard drive (w/40 more GBs to boot). That's the 4th hard drive I've had die on me over the years. I HATE mechanical HDs. SSDs are where it's at.

 

[OzExige]

Wow. A user posts a tip that has worked for many people and helps to track down the cause of problems (in this case, a user account issue) and you respond with a rather rude post. There is nothing wrong with creating an additional user account in order to isolate or work around an issue.

ahhh New Zealand

"home of the long ... <insert must be appropriate> ..."

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

Never heard any proof that setting up a new account and transferring all you're data to that new acc works but...

 

[Blondie :)]

I'll have to keep this in mind just in case my MB starts to get slower than cold tar in a few years has anyone been able to make this same type of result with Snow Leopard?

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

How good is this method?

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

I've had this computer since 2006.

It started slowing down, and so I put more ram into it... a few years later, Applecare told me my hard drive was failing because it took so long to boot up. I wiped the computer, which got rid of many of the start up items, and sped it up... I upgraded the OS to Snow Leopard (which I immediately downgraded). Then I got the mouse fixed.

By this time, the computer was slow, hot, the mouse was erratic, and programs took a long time to upgrade. My Windows 7 netbook would run better. Applecare just told me it was because my computer was old, and a new computer would fix my problems.

Then I saw a post by someone on here, who said that he created a new user account and it made his powerbook run like new. I did that, rebuilt the driver cache, and guess what. My erratic mouse is no more, and my computer runs like new again!

So let this just be a word of warning, OS X suffers from OS Rot just like any other OS, and sometimes a fresh install, without transferring your user account, but creating a new one, can really help speed up your computer.

This method has worked for me in Lion.