3 year old macbook, 10.6 leopard, completely slowing down to a halt.

I've had this macbook for three years. So far, no problems, until now. I have found, lately, that if I try to run two programs together, for instance utorrent and a movie, the computer slows down to an aboslute halt, and then takes nearly thirty minutes to reboot and get back to normal. I tried copying a file to a USB, and it took 15 minutes to copy 3GBs, and then didn't even complete it. It's extremely frustrating, though I'm sure there is a relatively easy fix. I just have no idea what it is. this is my first Mac, so I don't really know the ins and outs right now. Help would be so greatly appreciated!!! Thank you!!

Your computer is running slowly because it is stuffed.
If I may, its your computer not mine, a suggestion. Get yourself an external hard drive and use it for regular backing up. You are in grave danger now of losing everything on the drive because of the problem of overcrowding.
For now,
1. erase as much as you can from the drive;
2. buy the OS 10.6 DVD - you will need it. If you are in the US, this works: http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
3. buy an external drive for regular backing up. This is an example of what you can get for <$100.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=136&cm_s p=Masthead-_-Computer%20Parts-_-Spot%2036

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I just upgraded to Maverick on my2 year old Macbook Pro and it has slowed down the computer terribly. All I see is that whirling circle every time I do anything. How do I go back to old OS. Terrible upgrade -- forces you to buy a new Mac!!!!

I just upgrade to Maverick on my 2 year old MacBook Pro and it has slowed down the computer terribly. All I see every time I do anything is that crazy circle going round and round. I don't recommend you upgrading. How do I get rid of it. I believe it forces you to buy a new macbook!!!!

It does not. First things first have you tried restarting?
Try restting PRAM
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379
Try booting up in Safe Mode
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1455
Also open "activity monitor" and look and see what is using a lot of processing power.

I have a 41/2 year old MacBook running Snow Leopard 10.6. Can I upgrade to Mountain Lion on this machine?

Can I updgrade an old Macbook to Mountain Lion so I can put stuff in iCloud? I am currently running Snow Leopard but I've been told this machine will not upgrade to Lion or Mountain Lion.

First we need to know which one of the 9 different models of MacBook you have. To see which model you have go to the Apple in the upper left corner and select About This Mac, then click on More Info. When System Profiler comes up check the Model Identifier and post it back here.
The Early 2006 model 1,1 Core Duo can only run a maximum of 10.6 Snow Leopard. The models Late 2006 Core 2 Duos 2,1 through Early 2008 4,1 can only run a maximum of 10.7 Lion. The Late 2008 model 5,1 Aluminum Unibody through the Mid 2010 White Unibody model 7,1 can run 10.8 Mountain Lion.

4 year old MacBook Pro suddenly running VERY slow. What's going on?

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You may find some useful information here.
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3521
Installing additional RAM (if possible) and Snow Leopard might also help.
Ciao.

I have a 3 year old Macbook pro, snow leopard. Do I need to upgrade?

Just wondering if I need to upgrade to Mt Lion or not or if I need to upgrade anything on it? Also, what can I do to make my computer to keep running smooth, since warrenty has expired? Using Mac OS X 10.6.8 snow leopard

cc12345 wrote:
Also, what can I do to make my computer to keep running smooth, since warrenty has expired?
Backups, especially bootable clones.
Most commonly used backup methods
Keep your performance up by learning how not to over tax your machine or over fill the boot hard drive.
Why is my computer slow?
How to safely defrag a Mac's hard drive
Don't use Safari as it's a older version on 10.6 and not receiving updates, use Firefox instead
Install AdBlock Plus into Firefox and Web Of Trust, search online for "Make Firefox 10x faster" if you have broadband and it will REALLY make your browsing faster as it downloads all the elements at one time, instead of one at a time like slow Safari does.
More information
https://discussions.apple.com/community/notebooks/macbook_pro?view=documents

My 3 year old Macbook Pro is getting slow..

Hello, i have a 3 year old Macbook Pro which have been great use to me. When i first purchased it, the boot up time was extremely fast, and the general speed of the mac was superb. However 3 years later the machine take at least 3 mins to boot up and is pretty slow when i use it to carry out my daily tasks.
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Use a Utility like MainMenu or OnyX to clean out the caches, archived and temporary files.
Do a Parameter RAM reset - hold down apple/option/p/r keys at start up and wait for three chimes before releasing the keys.
Use Disc Inventory X to examine your hard drive and see a) if there's anything there taking a lot of space you can delete and b) that you still have 10%+ free space.
Consider doing a clean install of the OS and all Applications, it's a lot of work but is the one sure way of "starting over"

My MacBook Pro is three years old and seems to be running slower. Ideas of what to do?

My MacBook Pro is three years old and seems to be running slower. Any ideas?

Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a diagnostic test. It won’t solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find nothing has changed after you complete it.
Third-party system modifications are a common cause of usability problems. By a “system modification,” I mean software that affects the operation of other software -- potentially for the worse. The following procedure will help identify which such modifications you've installed. Don’t be alarmed by the complexity of these instructions -- they’re easy to carry out and won’t change anything on your Mac.
These steps are to be taken while booted in “normal” mode, not in safe mode. If you’re now running in safe mode, reboot as usual before continuing.
Below are four lines of text in monospaced type, which are actually shell commands -- little programs. They’re harmless, but they must be used exactly as given in order to work.
First and most important, don’t run these commands until you have verified that they’re legitimate. Never execute shell commands from an untrusted source without knowing what they do, or at least that they don’t do anything harmful. I’ve posted these same commands, with minor variations, many times on this site. You should be able to find other discussions in which they were used without ill effects. Do that before proceeding.
Some of the commands will probably line-wrap in your browser, but each one is really just a single long line, all of which must be selected. You can accomplish this easily by triple-clicking anywhere in the line. The whole line will highlight, and you can then either copy or drag it. The headings “Step 1” and so on are not part of the commands.
To begin, launch the Terminal application; e.g., by entering the first few letters of its name in a Spotlight search.
Step 1
Copy or drag -- do not type -- the line below into the Terminal window, then press return:
kextstat -kl | awk ' !/apple/ { print $6 $7 } '
Post the lines of output (if any) that appear below what you just entered (the text, please, not a screenshot.)
Step 2
Repeat with this line:
sudo launchctl list | sed 1d | awk ' !/0x|apple|com\.vix|edu\.|org\./ { print $3 } '
This time, you'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. You may get a one-time warning not to screw up. You don't need to post the warning.
Step 3
launchctl list | sed 1d | awk ' !/0x|apple|edu\.|org\./ { print $3 } '
Step 4
ls -1A {,/}Library/{Ad,Compon,Ex,Fram,In,La,Mail/Bu,P*P,Priv,Qu,Scripti,Servi,Sta}* 2> /dev/null
Important: If you synchronize with a MobileMe account, your me.com email address will appear in the output of the above command. Change it to something like “[email protected]” before posting.
Remember, this is all drag-and-drop or copy-and-paste, whichever you prefer -- no typing, except your password.
You can then quit Terminal.

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Under CPU: 3.5% user; 5% system; 91% idle; 441 threads; 90 processes.
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I'm trying to install Snow Leopard to my 4 year old Macbook stuck on 10.5.8, but it keeps saying "The application 'Install Mac OS X' cannot be used from this volume." I've tried almost everything to solve this, but I can't find anything at really helps my situation. I've looked on some of these discussions, and they haven't really helped much. My Macbook has a: 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, and is stuck on OS X 10.5.8. Please give me your input and help

Are you using a Retail version of Snow Leopard that looks like this?
Or gray discs that look like this?
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How can I upgrade the OS on my 5 year old MacBook Pro 17. It is currently running 10.4 (Tiger). I have an IMac 27 running Lion but have Snow leopard discs which came with the purchase. Can these be used to upgrade?

Buswab wrote:
How can I upgrade the OS on my 5 year old MacBook Pro 17. It is currently running 10.4 (Tiger). I have an IMac 27 running Lion but have Snow leopard discs which came with the purchase. Can these be used to upgrade?
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Good Luck
Pete

I have MACBOOK PRO - 3 years old, lately it is running very slow. I have reset it to factory settings - no joy. Did pressing Cntrl, option, shift start button for 10 secs - still no joy. Any suggestions?

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Were you trying to get to Recovery mode to repair the hard drive or reinstall?
OS X: About OS X Recovery

My MacBook is almost two years old and has started running really slow. It gets bogged down when it is running different programs at the same time, like Safari and Pages. It didn't react this way until recently. Any advice would be very welcome.

My MacBook is almost two years old and has started running really slow. It gets bogged down when it is running different programs at the same time, like Safari and Pages. It didn't react this way until recently. Any advice would be very welcome.

Launch Disk Utility and select the icon of the internal drive (the drive itself, not the volume icons below it.) Is the SMART status "Verified?" If not, replace the drive immediately. If the status is "Verified," the drive may still be failing. Back up all data, if you haven't already done so. Reinstall Mac OS X, then run Software Update. Test with all wired peripherals disconnected. If it's still slow, you have a hardware problem.
Mac OS X 10.6 Help: Reinstalling Mac OS X

I have an 8 year old MacBook Air running OS X 10.6.8; can I upgrade to most current operating system or is it maxed out?

I have an 8 year old MacBook Air running OS X 10.6.8. Can it handle an upgrade to Lion and then to Snow Leopard or is hardware incapable. Additionally, I have a 3 year old Mac Mini running same OS X 10.6.8, with new solid state hard drive. Can I upgrade that one?

8 years old? Not likely. The first MBA was released in January 2008. It can be upgraded to Lion although it meets only the minimal specifications to run Lion. Snow Leopard would likely perform better than Lion on that hardware.
Lion System Requirements
Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor
2GB of memory
OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended)
7GB of available space
Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
An Early 2009 Mac Mini is capable of running Mountain Lion.
Upgrading to Mountain Lion
You can upgrade to Mountain Lion from Lion or directly from Snow Leopard. Mountain Lion can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $19.99. To access the App Store you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.6 or later installed.
If you need to purchase Snow Leopard you can still purchase a copy from Apple's online store's telesales agents.[1-800-MY-APPLE (1-800-692-7753) or Customer Service and Sales Support at 1-800-676-2775.] Ask for a Sales Representative.
Third-party sources for Snow Leopard are:
Snow Leopard from Amazon.com
Snow Leopard from eBay
After you install Snow Leopard you will have to download and install the Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1 to update Snow Leopard to 10.6.8 and give you access to the App Store.
If you need to purchase Lion call 1-800-692-7753 or 1-800-676-2775. Ask for a Sales Representative. They will check your Apple ID, and email you a code and instructions. The cost is $29.99 (as it was before) plus tax. It's a download.
Be sure your computer meets the minimum requirements:
Apple - OS X Mountain Lion - Read the technical specifications.
Macs that can be upgraded to OS X Mountain Lion
iMac (Mid 2007 or newer)
MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)
MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
Xserve (Early 2009)
Are my applications compatible?
See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps - App compatibility and feature support for OS X & iOS.
For a complete How-To introduction from Apple see Apple - Upgrade your Mac to OS X Mountain Lion.

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3 year old macbook, 10.6 leopard, completely slowing down to a halt.

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