It’s common knowledge that a laptop slows down as it ages. While there are different ways a macOS can slow down, the most noticeable sign is when the laptop boot-up process is taking longer. However, you may notice that even if your laptop is relatively new, it’s still possible for it to start up slower than usual. So, does this mean that the MacBook Pro slow startup issue can happen randomly? Well, the answer to that question is a bit more complex than you might imagine. With that in mind, this article will why this issue happens and how you can solve it. Let’s start with a brief overview of the topic.
An Overview of MacBook Pro Slow Startup
The MacBook Pro slow startup issue is exactly what the name suggests, it’s when the laptop boots up slower than usual. It’s important to keep in mind that this does not have a direct correlation with a laptop’s poor performance. Just because the laptop is booting up slowly doesn’t mean its performance after it starts up will be slow as well. Similarly, just because the laptop is performing slower than usual doesn’t mean it’ll boot up slower as well. This is because the reasons why a laptop boots up slower are different from the reasons why a MacBook Pro may be performing slower than usual.
MacBook Pro Slow Startup: Potential Causes
There are generally four reasons for MacBook Pro slow startup. Here’s a look at each one:
1. Numerous Apps are Opening at Startup
When a computer or laptop boots up, several apps and processes open in unison. These are what people call startup apps, and as the name suggests, they are programs that open when the system starts up. While certain startup apps are indeed necessary for your laptop’s operation, not all of them are. Unfortunately, since the laptop attempts to open all startup apps while booting, it may end up slowing down the bootup process if there are too many of these startup apps.
2. Your Desktop is Full of Icons
Every desktop icon is considered an individual program by the system. Since the desktop is the first thing you see when the laptop boots up, the system usually attempts to open these programs first. This contributes to a MacBook Pro slow startup the same way startup apps do.
3. The Laptop has an Outdated OS
Every time the operating system updates, it’s typically to make it compatible with the latest version of Apple apps. If your OS isn’t updated, then chances are the system cannot keep up with your apps, hence why it struggles to boot up in the first place.
Fortunately, there’s a solution for each of these causes. Let’s start with the solution to cause #1.
Solution #1: Disable Startup Apps
The solution to the first cause would be to simply disable startup apps on your laptop. The process is simple since there’s a specific feature for this. With that said, here’s how you can solve MacBook Pro slow startup by disabling startup apps:
- Click the Apple logo in the upper left corner of your laptop.
- Select System Preferences… from the dropdown menu.
- A popup window will appear. There, find and click Users & Groups.
- A new window will appear. There will be two tabs in this window, Password and Login Items. Go to Login Items.
- You’ll get a list of startup apps currently enabled on your laptop. To disable an app, simply select the item and click the minus icon below the list.
Keep in mind that only the startup apps that you can disable will be shown in the list. The ones that are absolutely necessary for your laptop’s operation won’t be shown, so you can disable all the items without experiencing any issues with your laptop.
Solution #2: Organize Your Desktop
The macOS system considers desktop icons as individual programs. They may not consume too much RAM, but if there are too many icons, then they can pile up. That’s why you must organize your desktop regularly, and here’s how you can do that:
- Go to your desktop.
- Click the View tab from the top menu bar.
- Select Group Stacks By from the dropdown menu.
- Choose how you’d like to organize the stacks. It can be file name, type, extension, etc.
Doing this will compile the icons into one icon, also known as a stack. It’s like a folder, but for desktop icons.
Solution #3: Update Your Operating System
The last solution is to basically update your operating system so it’s no longer outdated. Here’s how you can do it:
- Click the Apple logo on the upper left corner of the laptop.
- Select System Preferences.
- Click Software Update.
- There should be a button that says Upgrade Now or Update Now. Click that button.
- Follow the onscreen instructions and wait.
BONUS: Speed up Your Laptop With Mac Cleaner
As helpful as they may be, the aforementioned solutions require a considerable amount of time and effort. You must at least spare a few hours of your time to use all of them. And even then, the extent to which they can speed up the startup of your MacBook Pro might be negligible. After all, the most they can do is reduce the startup time of your laptop by a minute, which is laughable compared to the hours you take off your time. However, it’ll be worth it if you use Mac Cleaner.
Mac Cleaner is a software that specializes in deleting useless files. Though that might be the case, it has a feature that can speed up your laptop, which can potentially fix the MacBook Pro slow startup. Here’s how you can use the software:
Step #1: Open Mac Cleaner On Your Laptop
To start with, you must open a browser and head to the software’s download site. Click the Download Now button there to download a DMG file. Then, open that file to run the installer. Follow the on-screen instructions to proceed to the next step.
Step #2: Select Speed Up Your Mac
Mac Cleaner currently has a total of six modules, namely (1) Clean Up Junk, (2) Delete Large Files, (3) Delete Duplicate Files, (4) Erase Private Data, (5) Speed Up Your Mac, and (6) Manage Apps & Extensions. For your purposes, you’ll only require the Speed Up Your Mac module as it allows you to speed up your MacBook Pro in different ways. In particular, it can lower the time it takes for your laptop to boot up. It does in four different ways, though they all primarily involve deactivating certain apps and processes. Anyway, select the module by clicking on it from the left side of the interface.
Step #3: Click Start Now
Once you select the Speed Up Your Mac module, you’ll find blocks of text explaining how the module works. You can read it if you want to learn more about the module. To proceed, click the Start Now button at the bottom of the interface.
Step #4: Pick Disable Login Items
Upon clicking Start Now, the software will take you to the next page where you can find four different options on the left side of the interface. These correspond to the actions you can take to speed up your Mac. Here’s a look at each option:
- Disable Login Items allows you to force quit programs that automatically open when the laptop boots up.
- Deactivate Heavy Consumers can forcefully close apps and processes that consume CPU excessively.
- Remove Launch Agents temporarily removes apps and processes that opened due to other apps opening.
- Free Up RAM clears your RAM by temporarily deactivating unnecessary apps and processes that consume RAM.
For your purposes, you only have to select Disable Login Items. This is because the main reason for a MacBook Pro slow startup is due to many apps and processing opening at once. With this option, you can reduce that number and disable certain items from opening automatically when the laptop boots up. Once you select that action, you’ll get yet another list on the right side of the software. That list will consist of apps and processes that you can disable. Simply select the ones you want to disable by clicking on their checkboxes. You can also click Select All if you wish to disable all the items in the list.
Step #5: Deactivate the App/Process
Once you’re done selecting, click the Deactivate button at the upper right corner of the interface. This will finalize the process and all you have to do now is wait while the program attempts to deactivate the selected programs.
With this, the next time you start up your laptop, you’ll notice that it boots up faster, and that’s because it’s not opening fewer apps and processes than it did before, which contributes to its slow startup. But keep in mind that certain programs are necessary for the laptop to function properly, so you mustn’t deactivate all the apps and processes, only the useless ones.
Final Words
Although you can slow down the aging of a MacBook Pro, it isn’t possible to stop it completely. For that reason, there will always be a time when your laptop becomes unbearably slow. When that time comes, it would be best to simply buy a new laptop since as you may already know, it takes a few hours to speed up a MacBook. Perhaps the only exception is when you have a tool like Mac Cleaner that can speed up your laptop with just a few clicks. But even then, you cannot completely prevent a device’s aging. In short, if your laptop is already old, consider getting a new one.
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