How to “memory clean a Mac”
If you've been searching online for "memory clean Mac" with the help of your favorite search engine, we have 7 ideas to help you out.
What RAM is and how it affects you
Your Mac's RAM (random-access memory) is quicker than other types of storage on your system, so your Mac performs certain processes with RAM to help make your computer faster. If your RAM begins to suffer, so does your whole Mac, especially if you're currently running an older system that has 4GB of RAM or below. If you've been looking far and wide on the web for "memory clean Mac", this is something useful to know. Most current Macs and well-specced PCs come with 8GB of RAM or above. This places them in a stronger position to handle any resource-hogging, badly performing websites or apps, something that can also easily affect an average, non-technical user.
Things you can do to speed up your Mac and increase RAM
1. Free up some hard drive space
Keeping at least 20% of your Mac's hard drive space free gives you a way to support your computer's virtual memory if you've run out of RAM. If you suspect your hard drive space is low, find out by following this pathway from the macOS desktop screen:
Apple icon > 'About This Mac > 'Storage'.
Doing this should reveal a window showing a visual breakdown of how you're currently using your Mac's hard drive, color-coded to show different types of files. To find out more, you can also do this:
'Manage' > 'Review Files'
The next screen should reveal a menu called 'Recommendations', which allows you to sort through the different types of files on your Mac, such as 'Large Files' and 'Downloads' across your installed applications or 'Documents'. You can sort these by 'Last Accessed', 'Kind' and 'Size' to get a clearer idea of what you might be able to get rid of. Use 'Last Accessed' to find really old files on your system. These could be redundant documents or media files that are of no use to you anymore.
2. Delete some apps
Here's a top tip from us. Apps can sometimes take up the biggest share of your hard drive space, so click 'Applications' within the 'Recommendations' menu screen to start browsing through the apps installed on your Mac. Keep in mind that some of these will still be useful to you and your system. While effective, uninstalling apps using macOS's standard method could take up your time. This is why CCleaner for Mac includes an in-built function that allows you to do it from one simple app without you needing to drag items to your 'Trash' or 'Bin' folder or jump between other folders. Even if you originally came to this page looking for a quick fix relating to "memory clean Mac", this is still something useful to know.
3. Restart your Mac
Perhaps you've heard the many jokes about how turning computers on and off fixes IT problems, but there is some truth to it. Restarting your Mac cleans its disk cache and RAM, so, in effect, it's a way of refreshing macOS and your machine. This is definitely something worth trying if you've been searching for "memory clean Mac" online. However, it may not be the best option for times when an important app has crashed, and you don't want to lose valuable data. The short-term benefits could definitely help you, but it's up to you to weigh up the risk of losing certain data.
4. Shut down web browser tabs
It's no secret that web browsers can take up a large amount of RAM. Popular browser extensions like ad blockers, while clearly useful, can also add to this effect too - as can any new browser tabs you open. If you've typed "memory clean Mac" online in the hope of finding a fast way to speed up your Mac, this could help you. That being said, we're not saying that you need to change your online browsing habits. Web browsers can also collect junk files which, over time, can, in addition to other files, contribute to an overly full hard drive and slow down your machine as well. CCleaner for Mac is just what you need for dealing with this exact problem, easily clearing junk that accumulates from your regular online activity.
5. Clean up your desktop
Is your Mac's desktop screen like the digital equivalent of an overcluttered noticeboard of paper notes? If so, you're hardly alone. What you may not know is that macOS treats all these items tagged to your desktop in the same way it would treat an active window. Basically, the more items you have displayed the more RAM you use. Apple has developed 'Stacks' to help organize cluttered desktops. It's worth jumping in here again to say that CCleaner for Mac can clear up "clutter" in a slightly different way. You can use our app to clean your 'Trash' or 'Bin' folders, fix broken permissions that can cause your Mac applications to crash, and even easily remove installed programs (as we said earlier).
6. Disable some startup apps
Is your Mac particularly slow every time it starts up? If you have many apps on your system (use the method we mentioned further above to check), some of these could also be set to launch automatically by themselves each time your Mac starts up.
This absorbs valuable processing power from your Mac and slows it down. A visit to macOS's 'Activity Monitor' can help reveal if there is a problem. Apple provides its own way of disabling startup items, but CCleaner for Mac gives you a way of doing this - all from a dedicated app that can also handle other computer optimization tasks. So, if you've been spending time on the web searching for "memory clean Mac", this is yet another thing you can try that could have a major impact on the performance of your computer.
7. Download CCleaner for Mac
Our Mac optimization app is available as a free version and can carry out all the tasks we've mentioned above, such as disabling startup programs, fixing broken permissions, and uninstalling apps. You can even use CCleaner for Mac to clean away files from a Mac that you want to sell or give away to someone else. This is because it removes all traces of deleted files so they cannot be pieced back together again. Download CCleaner for Mac today.