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You can always try to close a resource-hungry app in the normal way first. Be sure you aren’t quitting a process that’s doing something important. To force-quit a process, select it by clicking it and click the X button on the toolbar. In some cases, there may be a single runaway application using 99% CPU that you’ll want to end. To launch it, press Command+Space to open Spotlight search, type Activity Monitor, and press Enter.Ĭlick the “% CPU” heading to sort by CPU usage and see the running applications and processes using the most CPU. Use the Activity Monitor - sort of like the Task Manager on Windows - to view your running processes and find ones devouring too many resources. RELATED: How to Force Quit Applications on Your Mac When They're Not Responding Some “cleaning” programs - like the Mac version of CCleaner - can remove temporary files and free up space, but they won’t make your Mac perform faster.
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Stay away from programs that promise to “optimize” your Mac and make it run faster. As with a Windows PC, there are many reasons a Mac might be slow. If your Mac seems to be running slower than it should, the variety of tips here should help you identify and fix the problem.
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