Macbook Air (1st Generation) is crazy slow - running on 10.6.8

A friend just gave me his old macbook air (1st generation) to see if I can get it into working condition. It currently works and is running on 10.6.8, however it is EXTREMELY slow.. I am wondering if it is possible/recommended to revert to 10.5.6 - something I saw in another forum - but I'm not even sure how to do that. Anyways any simple tips (for a novice computer guy) would be much appreciated.
Thanks!

You can also free up some RAM and make the performance better by deactivating the Dashboard. Open terminal, and do the following command:
defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean YES
then do:
killall Dock
I'm not sure yet how to activate it. This command doesn't erase the dashboard but it deactivates it. Or, you can just instead of deactivating it, remove all open things on the dashboard, such as the calculator, the note thingie, the clock, etc.

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Problems syncing 64GB iPad 2 to MacBook Air 1st Generation

Before I had an iPad, I used a MacBook Air for portable applications and travel. I never kept much on my MacBook Air (just word files, and the occasional song or photo). I had an old iMac for home use, and to sync with my little mini-iPod for the gym. (The iMac has a huge photo archive and gym music; the MacBook Air has some old precious family photos, some recent trip photos, and a more car-friendly, thoughtful collection of music. It also now has back-up from all my iPad 2 applications, books, movies, iTunes classes, and music)
Since May, I have been backing up my iPad 2 64GB to my 1st Gen MacBook Air, and loading more photos and songs on my iPad and my Air. Silly me...I clearly wasn't planning ahead...since there are only 72GB of memory on the 1st Generation Airs. So, of course, now the iPad 2 has 36GB or so of data on it, and the MacBook Air has run out of room. I can no longer sync, and all the apps on the Air are running slow!
I tried moving all media files off the Air to a 1TB external storage device, but that's unruly. When I try to sync, I get difficult questions about whether I want to "replace all files on the iPad 2"? And even if I were brave enough to say "yes", with so many files on an external device, the MacBook Air no longer feels portable.
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I had the same beeping problem, using an apple cable plugged directly into one of my iMac's USB ports. Worse, at one point in trying to eliminate my iPad Air beeping, iTunes would not recognize my iPad as a device. After trying various remidies I saw posted, I elimited the beeping and was able to sync with my iMac by doing the folowing:
1. Restart both my iMac and iPad, with them disconnected, and an apple connection cable in one of the iMac's USB ports (not in a USB hub).
2. Open iTunes on the iMac
3. Eject every device that iTunes identifies, even though they are not connected (for me, two iphones and my wife's iPad). After uyou eject the last device, the "x devices" button will disappear.
4. Connect the iPad Air to the iMac via the Apple cable. I heard a single beep, and iTunes found my iPad in about 5 seconds.
5. I was then able to sync/backup my iPad to the iMac.
Hope this works for others.

Can I use a T-shaped connector with my MacBook Air 1st generation?

My charger recently stopped working and I was able to get a quick replacement. However, it's one of the old models of chargers with the T-shaped connector. WIll it still work with my MacBook Air. I know it's slanted downwards so that might pose a problem. Any answers or advice?

The Magsafe 1 connectors can be used both the T and the L.
The new Magsafe 2 connectors can't because they don't fit.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2346

My Macbook Air first generation is slow and applications don't work!

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Thank you.

Two other factors that could impact performance like that .... reduced memory and a too full hard drive/SSD.
If you click on the apple on the menu bar, and about this mac, does it show you the memory size you expect to have, ie, 2GB?
If you can, bring up the Activity Monitor (on your hard drive in applications/utlities) to see if anything is hogging the CPU.
On your hard drive/SSD, how much free space do you have? You need 5GB minimum with 10% to 15% being better, for systems usage. Less than that can really slow the system down.
If you can, bring up Disk Utility (on your hard drive in applications/utilities) and do a verify disk to check the disk status.
You could reset PRAM ... won't hurt and 'might' help
Shut down the computer.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
Release the keys.
You should be able to run the Apple hardware test by disconnecting any devices, leaving the power adapter in, and reboot holding the D key down. Run the extended test.

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Macbook Air first generation able to upgrade to Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard? Some web sites open a bit on the evaluation, said that the first generation of Air not suitable to install Snow Leopard, click here to collect the views of Members, thank you ~
中：
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HI,
Check out this thread.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2129230&tstart=0
Carolyn

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http://www.amazon.co.uk/MacBook-Squirrel-Running-Acorn-Sticker/dp/B00MJGK0T4/ref =sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1424776145&sr=8-3&keywords=ice+age+apple+sticker
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Hi T,
Either of these will give you the info you seek:
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I'm running Lion on a Late 2008 MacBook Air.
With no other applications running, I can no longer Check for Software Updates. It gets about half way through the checking process and then freezes.
The MBA passes Disk Utility. Thoughts?
Thanks
Jim Taylor

How long do you leave it?
Mine can sometimes sit for quite a while (maybe 10 minutes??) before it finally finishes.
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charlie

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Hi MrDooley,
Welcome to the Support Communities!
The article below may be able to help you troubleshoot your Wi-Fi issue.
iOS: Troubleshooting Wi-Fi networks and connections
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1398?viewlocale=en_US
Reset network settings by tapping Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings.
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iOS and OS X: Recommended settings for Wi-Fi routers and access points
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4199
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Hi all,
I do not know why but my Macbook Air with OS Lion is taking to long to start up and this problem started without any reason.
The Software if updated.
I surfed on internet trying to find a solution, I experimented several potencial solutions but till now I could not solve the problem.
It is very quick shutingdown but it takes arround 30 min. to start up.
Thank you very much for your help

Hi there. Thanks for your comments.
I have tried all the different combinations of RAM setup, and as stated in my initial topic, the Mac Pro boot up time only slows when I have more that 2 modules. Where I place these does not seem to make a difference.
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thanks for your responce

Macbook Air 1st Gen - Kernal Taks

I have a 1st Gen MacBook Air. It has been working fine for as log as I have had it, until two weeks ago when the 'Kernal Task' has been running at somewhere between 120 - 140% with no applications running. With an application running it can show over 200%.
I am running an app named iStat which shows CPU, Memory, Temperature usage etc.
After looking at several discussions I haven't found anything which replicates my problem because of the following:
1) iStat show the temperature of the MBA to be about 40 degrees - not hot. Also the metal casing is not hot so I don't think it's a heat related issue
2) I'm not using an external plug-ins such as USB devices nor monitors
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Thanks.

Hi A Brody,
Thanks for your post and your welcome. I should have said that there are other symptoms too, apologies.
Activity monitor also shows the CPU usage being taken up mostly by Kernal Task, to very similar percentages as iStat. However the most obvious indication that something is not quite right is that the whole machine runs incredibly slowly. Anything from opening an email or internet page (doesn't have to a graphics heavy one) to typing or slipping between apps takes an age. Perhaps the clearest example of this can be seen when there are no apps running and I run my the cursor over the apps in the doc (I have the magnification feature active) and the normal smooth transition from app to app clunks and churns away. So that often the cursor will stick and then jump across the screen as it eventually catches up with the position of my finger on the trackpad.
Any ideas?

Been using Macbook Air, now everything else feels slow lol

Hello all! I just have a quick question about the new AMD FX 8-core processors.
I'll get around to how this relates to all things mac, please be patient!
I'm hosting a DNSBL (DNS Blacklist) server for www.mailer.mobi and for a server
I'm finding the CPU more than adequate. It runs all of the server processors ok,
but for normal desktop stuff it just feels a little slow. I'm comparing it (a
3.2 GHz 8-Core AMD) to my lappy which is an Intel Core-i7 1.8 GHz Macbook Air. The laptop
feels significantly faster. It's strange. Has anyone else had similar experiences
with the AMD CPU's vs. the macbook air? I'm thinking maybe I'm feeling the
speed difference because of the solid state memory vs. a conventional hdd.

I'm comparing it (a 3.2 GHz 8-Core AMD) to my lappy which is an Intel Core-i7 1.8 GHz Macbook Air. The laptop feels significantly faster. It's strange.
Its is, as you surmised, a perforamnce benefit of the SSD drive - and proves rather effectively how slow even today's high speed traditional hard drives really are.
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MacBook Air heats up quickly, is slow, freezes

Hi there.
My MBA has recently started acting up -- CPU gets pegged and fan spins up to max with seemingly no load. Freezes on occasion -- just basically sluggish and sickly performance. Report follows. Any advice would be very much appreciated:
Problem description:
MacBook Air CPU gets pegged with seemingly little stress
EtreCheck version: 2.0.6 (91)
Report generated October 20, 2014 at 5:03:04 PM PDT
Hardware Information: ℹ️
MacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2012) (Verified)
MacBook Air - model: MacBookAir5,1
1 2 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 2-core
8 GB RAM Not upgradeable
BANK 0/DIMM0
4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok
BANK 1/DIMM0
4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok
Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported
Wireless: en0: 802.11 a/b/g/n
Video Information: ℹ️
Intel HD Graphics 4000 -
Color LCD 1366 x 768
System Software: ℹ️
OS X 10.9.5 (13F34) - Uptime: 0:17:50
Disk Information: ℹ️
APPLE SSD SM256E disk0 : (251 GB)
S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified
EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 250.14 GB (59.96 GB free)
Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB
USB Information: ℹ️
Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)
Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub
Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
Thunderbolt Information: ℹ️
Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus
Gatekeeper: ℹ️
Mac App Store and identified developers
Kernel Extensions: ℹ️
/Applications/Utilities/DiskWarrior.app
[not loaded] com.alsoft.Preview (4.1.1) Support
/System/Library/Extensions
[not loaded] com.Belcarra.iokit.USBLAN_netpart (3.1.1 - SDK 10.6) Support
[not loaded] com.Belcarra.iokit.USBLAN_usbpart (3.1.1 - SDK 10.6) Support
[not loaded] com.RemoteControl.USBLAN.usbpart (3.1.1 - SDK 10.7) Support
[not loaded] com.kensington.trackballworks.driver (1.1.0) Support
[not loaded] com.leapfrog.driver.LfConnectDriver (6780) Support
[not loaded] com.sierrawireless.driver.SierraSupport (1.4.5) Support
[not loaded] com.sierrawireless.driver.SierraSupportKicker (1.4.5) Support
[not loaded] com.sierrawireless.driver.SierraSwitch (1.2.0) Support
Startup Items: ℹ️
FanControlDaemon: Path: /Library/StartupItems/FanControlDaemon
HP IO: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HP IO
OnDemand: Path: /Library/StartupItems/OnDemand
ParallelsDesktopTransporter: Path: /Library/StartupItems/ParallelsDesktopTransporter
ParallelsTransporter: Path: /Library/StartupItems/ParallelsTransporter
QuickBackStartupItem: Path: /Library/StartupItems/QuickBackStartupItem
Startup items are obsolete and will not work in future versions of OS X
Problem System Launch Daemons: ℹ️
[failed] com.apple.AOSNotificationOSX.plist
[failed] com.apple.softwareupdated.plist
[failed] com.apple.wdhelper.plist
Launch Agents: ℹ️
[loaded] com.adobe.CS4ServiceManager.plist Support
[running] com.bitdefender.antivirusformac.plist Support
[running] com.bjango.istatmenusagent.plist Support
[running] com.bjango.istatmenusnotifications.plist Support
[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist Support
[loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist Support
[invalid?] com.parallels.desktop.launch.plist Support
[not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer.plist Support
[not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer_desktop.plist Support
Launch Daemons: ℹ️
[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support
[invalid?] com.adobe.versioncueCS4.plist Support
[failed] com.apple.qmaster.qmasterd.plist
[not loaded] com.barebones.textwrangler.plist Support
[loaded] com.bitdefender.AuthHelperTool.plist Support
[loaded] com.bitdefender.upgrade.plist Support
[running] com.bjango.istatmenusdaemon.plist Support
[loaded] com.bombich.ccc.plist Support
[loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist Support
[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist Support
[loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist Support
[loaded] com.oracle.java.JavaUpdateHelper.plist Support
[invalid?] com.parallels.desktop.launchdaemon.plist Support
[not loaded] com.sierrawireless.SierraReset.plist Support
[invalid?] com.sierrawireless.SierraSerial.plist Support
[running] com.sierrawireless.SWoCMon.plist Support
[invalid?] com.SoftwareSecure.Canberra.plist Support
[not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer_service.plist Support
[loaded] net.sourceforge.MonolingualHelper.plist Support
User Launch Agents: ℹ️
[running] com.pia.pia_manager.plist Support
[invalid?] com.skype.c2c_service.plist Support
[loaded] com.valvesoftware.steamclean.plist Support
[running] ws.agile.1PasswordAgent.plist Support
User Login Items: ℹ️
GrowlMenu UNKNOWN (missing value)
TrackballWorksHelper Application (/Library/PreferencePanes/TrackballWorks.prefPane/Contents/Resources/TrackballW orksHelper.app)
iTunesHelper ApplicationHidden (/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)
Dropbox Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)
Google Drive Application (/Applications/Google Drive.app)
Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
MWExWebPlayer: Version: (null) Support
o1dbrowserplugin: Version: 5.4.2.18903 Support
Unity Web Player: Version: UnityPlayer version 4.5.0f6 - SDK 10.6 Support
Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9
Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.3.3.3 Support
OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin: Version: 12.3.1 Support
RealPlayer Plugin: Version: Unknown
Silverlight: Version: 5.1.30514.0 - SDK 10.6 Support
FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 15.0.0.189 - SDK 10.6 Support
Flash Player: Version: 15.0.0.189 - SDK 10.6 Support
QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3
googletalkbrowserplugin: Version: 5.4.2.18903 Support
iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0 - SDK 10.8
AdobePDFViewer: Version: 9.3.2 Support
SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.4.4 - SDK 10.6 Support
JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 67 Check version
User Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin: Version: 1.0.105 Support
Safari Extensions: ℹ️
1-ClickWeather (Disabled)
TrafficLight (Disabled)
SafariRestore (Disabled)
GMail Counter (Disabled)
The New York Times (Disabled)
1Password
ClickToPlugin (Disabled)
Twitter for Safari (Disabled)
Audio Plug-ins: ℹ️
DVCPROHDAudio: Version: 1.3.2
3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️
Adobe Version Cue CS4 Support
AppTrap Support
Flash Player Support
Flip4Mac WMV Support
Java Support
TrackballWorks Support
MacFUSE Support
Time Machine: ℹ️
Mobile backups: OFF
Auto backup: NO - Auto backup turned off
Volumes being backed up:
Macintosh HD: Disk size: 250.14 GB Disk used: 190.18 GB
Destinations:
Beber500 [Local]
Total size: 499.76 GB
Total number of backups: 2
Oldest backup: 2014-10-20 21:11:36 +0000
Last backup: 2014-10-20 22:14:10 +0000
Size of backup disk: Too small
Backup size 499.76 GB < (Disk used 190.18 GB X 3)
Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️
      41% BDLDaemon
      16% CalendarAgent
      12% WindowServer
      6% Dropbox
      3% mds
Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️
69 MB CalendarAgent
52 MB BDLDaemon
34 MB SystemUIServer
31 MB Airmail
21 MB mds_stores
Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️
12 MB Free RAM
1.47 GB Active RAM
1.47 GB Inactive RAM
1.20 GB Wired RAM
573 MB Page-ins
10 MB Page-outs

As per your EtreCheck info, BitDefender is using 42% of CPU resources.
Try shutting it down or disabling it to see if performance improves.

Macbook Air (1st Generation) is crazy slow - running on 10.6.8

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