How to keep my iMac running smooth?

[smokey982]

I still consider myself a newb when it comes to Macs. So I'm just wondering if there's anything I need to do on a regular basis to keep everything running smooth on my iMac? For example, on my PC's I would occasionally run a disk cleanup and disk fragmenter. And maybe delete my temporary internet files. Do I need to be doing anything like this on my Mac?

 

[lparsons21]

No, you don't need to do those things with an iMac or any of Apple's other computers. One thing that can be of value is to do a restart every so often. I do about once a month.

Disk cleanup isn't a bad idea for some temp files, but the only thing it really accomplishes is getting back some space. If you're not running out of HD space, there is no real reason to worry about it. And the restart will get some of them anyway.

 

[jayn_j]

Not really much.
The iMac desktop leaves applications running by default after you close the active window. There is a setting to close them when the last window closes.
Also, they never come with enough memory. Look into doubling it.
The other normal stuff like defragging and memory management is taken care of by the underlying linux os.

 

[berck]

Don't just press the red close button on the window and think the application has stopped. Learn to use 'Apple Cmd' + q to actually quit the application. When my wife first started running under OS X, she'd have dozens of applications up and running. That is the quickest way to think the system is bogging down.

The system generally sleeps well, but it is good to restart the computer about once a month. I've found that the more you use different wireless networks, the more important this becomes. We've had a number of systems not be restarted in months that were fine because they were always on the same network.

In general, the UNIX/Linux/BSD based systems are better at disk management and defragging than Windows. OS X underlying system is BSD based, not Linux.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I reboot my mbp about every 10 days, or when a software update forces me, and it manages memory very well. I do have an app called MacKeeper that I run everyonce in a while -- I use it for the wise uninstaller (while you can just delete the package of an app to uninstall it, this will do a better job of cleaning up any supplemental files). And have used it to clean up a few other things like extra language files, but really the mac pretty much runs itself. So much easier than Windows.

I do run the Sophos Anti-Virus; it has never found a virus, but work requires some anti-virus, and Sophos uses virtually no resources, so I run it.

 

[Hall]

Instead of starting a new thread, this might be appropriate here....

After using this iMac for almost two years, I found that it has a firewall available. It's apparently OFF by default and I haven't turned it on either. Nonetheless, I've had ZERO issues and will leave it the way it is (if it ain't broke, don't fix it).

Does anyone have theirs enabled ?

 

[Hall]

Don't just press the red close button on the window and think the application has stopped. Learn to use 'Apple Cmd' + q to actually quit the application.

Has anyone ever read the reasoning (from Apple) behind this ? I quickly learned to click "App-name-in-title-bar"+Quit but I'm a geek and will bet most users just click the red-x button.

 

[JAG72]

Instead of starting a new thread, this might be appropriate here....

After using this iMac for almost two years, I found that it has a firewall available. It's apparently OFF by default and I haven't turned it on either. Nonetheless, I've had ZERO issues and will leave it the way it is (if it ain't broke, don't fix it).

Does anyone have theirs enabled ?

I have the built in firewall enabled. Just don't see the reason not to use it for the extra protection it gives.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I turned it on when I was spending a week on a lot of public wi-fi, but in general, it is off. At work, there is a University firewall, and at home, I have it through the router.

 

[Foxbat]

The whole Command-Q vs red-X is an old Apple feature. The idea being that Applications are more than Windows. Bring up Safari and you can have multiple Windows running. Where Mac and Windows differ is when you close the last open window, the application exits on Windows while it's still available on the Mac.

Why? Ask Steve... I just learned to Command-Q everything when I was done. Some of the newer applications don't do that, like iPhoto or the new Mac App Store.

I haven't found that my Mac Pro needs much maintenance other than the physical blowing out of dust bunnies from the heatsinks because it's on 24/7 Folding. After dealing with an office full of Windows machines and their problems, it's nice to be able to come home and relax with the Mac...