Resetting/restoring my laptop? My laptop is completely bogged down so much that it barely performs anymore. I'm wondering if I have it completely backed up, if restoring it would let...

beckleybunch Loc: Indiana

My laptop is completely bogged down so much that it barely performs anymore. I'm wondering if I have it completely backed up, if restoring it would let me start new. I've purchased a Lightroom work flow course and want to "begin again" with knowledge of Lightroom and how to not take up so much space etc. Any suggestions? I really only use it these days for my photos. Is this a really bad idea or one that would work?

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

beckleybunch wrote:

My laptop is completely bogged down so much that it barely performs anymore. I'm wondering if I have it completely backed up, if restoring it would let me start new. I've purchased a Lightroom work flow course and want to "begin again" with knowledge of Lightroom and how to not take up so much space etc. Any suggestions? I really only use it these days for my photos. Is this a really bad idea or one that would work?

Perhaps if you give us some precise details about the laptop - make, model, configuration, OS type and version then the UHH community may be able to help a little.

beckleybunch Loc: Indiana

It's a MacBook Pro, if that matters.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

What does "bogged down" mean?

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

beckleybunch wrote:

It's a MacBook Pro, if that matters.

It helps, but people may need more detail. We have plenty of MAC gurus on the forum, so they can ask for the information they need. Since I'm in the Windows world I now know that I can't help you!

LarryFB Loc: Depends where our RV is parked

First, how old is the MacBook Pro, what is the size of the hard drive in the computer, how much RAM do you have, and what Operating System are you running.

You can get all this information just by clicking on the apple icon in the menu bar

IBM

boberic wrote:

What does "bogged down" mean?

What planet you come from , just kidding , as we grew up living with in walking distance to one of the biggest bogs in North America. We
Hunted ducks and deer , and got Christmas trees there , and it was like walking on a very thick sponge ,

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

IBM wrote:

What planet you come from , just kidding , as we grew up living with in walking distance to one of the biggest bogs in North America. We
Hunted ducks and deer , and got Christmas trees there , and it was like walking on a very thick sponge ,

You grew up on Pennsylvania Ave or Capitol Hill, Washington, DC?

IBM

Peterff wrote:

You grew up on Pennsylvania Ave or Capitol Hill, Washington, DC?

No I grew up N D. B.C.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

IBM wrote:

No I grew up N D. B.C.

Aah, one of those naturally healthy wetland places. Lots of sphagnum moss and peat perhaps?

beckleybunch Loc: Indiana

LarryFB wrote:

First, how old is the MacBook Pro, what is the size of the hard drive in the computer, how much RAM do you have, and what Operating System are you running.

You can get all this information just by clicking on the apple icon in the menu bar

This is what it says:
MacBook Pro 13inch mid 2012
MacOS Sierra 10.12.3
2.5 ghz intel core 15
4gb memory
It's says 112.97 GB available of 498.88

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Regardless what else you do to improve performance, I strongly suggest that you expand the memory to at least 8GB, and 16GB would be better, especially if you want to run any PP aps on it. Very few things will slow a computer more than paging to disk when it has insufficient RAM and must constantly move data to and from disk which should reside in RAM. Memory upgrades are not expensive, easy to install, and readily available. Here's one company that sells upgrades:
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/apple-memory/?gclid=CjwKEAjwgZrJBRDS38GH1Kv_vGYSJAD8j4DfmPEiKut75brc-g862qJcPJQbcgfv8uyqpe-y3vo2RhoCiSHw_wcB&cm_mmc=google-_-us-_-dram-_-null&ef_id=WSL14QAAAFzcdExy:20170525224530:s

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

TriX wrote:

Regardless what else you do to improve performance... (show quote)

Good advice, as usual.

Rbode Loc: Ft lauderdale, Fla

beckleybunch wrote:

This is what it says:
MacBook Pro 13inch mid 2012
MacOS Sierra 10.12.3
2.5 ghz intel core 15
4gb memory
It's says 112.97 GB available of 498.88

Trip gave you good advice.

Your MBP will support 8GB ram {apple}, third party can take it to 16GB [$$]. Simple if you want to DIY, I never had problem with OWC [Other World Computing] parts, tool kits if you need them.
But first you need to get external drive [seagate has a 1TB for under $100.00] to back up your hard drive. Go join Apple support communities ask some questions, good help there.
Then decide what data you can let go of that 385.91 data you have cumulated.

After you have backed up your computer you should run apple diagnostics starting with lower levels working up. Last run The APPLE DIAGNOSTICS, with your year MBP you should be able to snatch AD from the net if finder/spotlight can not locate it. If you can pick up a screw driver by the handle you can do it. Information and instructions are abundant.

LarryFB Loc: Depends where our RV is parked

Just saw your response and the other excellent responses. Certainly go up to 8Gb of ram, use Time Machine and at least one external hard drive to back up your data, two would be better.

I have the same MBP but have 8 GB of ram and a 750 GB HD. Lightroom and Photo Shop work well although Somewhat slow to load.

I think the biggest difference is the RAM!