Trash Can

[klt13]

My MacBook Pro has been running awfully slow and I'm figuring it's partly because all of the files I've downloaded and deleted. I'm nervous to delete my trash can because I'm not sure if there's something in there I will need (hoarding via computer). Should deleting my trash can affect anything in a big way?

 

[snaky69]

My MacBook Pro has been running awfully slow and I'm figuring it's partly because all of the files I've downloaded and deleted. I'm nervous to delete my trash can because I'm not sure if there's something in there I will need (hoarding via computer). Should deleting my trash can affect anything in a big way?

If there's anything in the trash, it's already "not being used" by anything in the computer. Empty away without a second thought.

Your sluggishness likely has nothing to do with a full trash can though, it can be a plethora of reasons.

Is your hard drive too full? (it's good practice to leave at least 20% free space)
Are you running out of RAM?
Is your hard drive dying? (they tend to slow down lots and make noise before finally giving way, always keep a backup).

 

[makaveli559m]

If there's anything in the trash, it's already "not being used" by anything in the computer. Empty away without a second thought.

Your sluggishness likely has nothing to do with a full trash can though, it can be a plethora of reasons.

Is your hard drive too full? (it's good practice to leave at least 20% free space)
Are you running out of RAM?
Is your hard drive dying? (they tend to slow down lots and make noise before finally giving way, always keep a backup).

You forgot to take in account if he has gigs of stuff in his trash can than yes it would be sluggish. Not to mention maybe the harddrive should be checked for errors or if something is taking up cpu usage too.

 

[klt13]

If there's anything in the trash, it's already "not being used" by anything in the computer. Empty away without a second thought.

Your sluggishness likely has nothing to do with a full trash can though, it can be a plethora of reasons.

Is your hard drive too full? (it's good practice to leave at least 20% free space)
Are you running out of RAM?
Is your hard drive dying? (they tend to slow down lots and make noise before finally giving way, always keep a backup).

How do I check that? I've had this computer since '09 and I'm a student. The program I am in requires me to use it continuously for 6-7 hours a day (another reason I'm sure it's starting to slow down). I feel super computer illiterate right now, but I guess that's what these forums are for right?

 

[snaky69]

How do I check that? I've had this computer since '09 and I'm a student. The program I am in requires me to use it continuously for 6-7 hours a day (another reason I'm sure it's starting to slow down). I feel super computer illiterate right now, but I guess that's what these forums are for right?

Reboot your computer tomorrow in the morning, and use it as you would normally.

At the end of the day, open up activity monitor (you can find it in the utilities folder of the application folder, or through spotlight) and open up the Memory Tab,

if you are able to post a screenshot of that, please do. We'll see if you're not simply running out of RAM constantly and paging out, which a simple and relatively cheap upgrade could fix.