Davethehiker wrote:
I must have some sort of virus that it fixed. OS working much faster. NIK filters started to crash PS CC but a re-installation of NIK filters fixed that.
Macs almost never get viruses. Malware, adware, and spyware, yes, but Mac viruses are very rare in the wild. MOST malware comes as a payload delivered via email, or by clicking on a web site that wants you to download or install something. "Phishing" emails are another method. Not only do they want you to cough up your personal credentials, but they may attempt to install something you don't need or want.
If you get an email asking you to click a link to fix your bank account information, or ANY suspicious or threatening email, put your mouse pointer over the email address in the header and it will display the ACTUAL email address that crap is from. It may say, "Chase Bank," but have a cryptic address ending in .ru (Russia) or .it (Italy) or .fr (france), or some other country extension. I get about five of this sort of email every single week.
NEVER install any "antivirus" software that is advertised via a pop-up on a web page, or in an ad on a web page, or in an email! If it is legitimate, it will be sold in the App Store, or other from another highly trusted source such as an online computer retailer.
Mac Protector, Mac Security, Mac Guard, Mac Shield, and FakeMacDef "software" are examples of pop-up poison. MacKeeper is borderline legitimate. But most experts warn against it, because it is an incredible resource hog.
If you ever get a warning from your browser that a site might be malicious, it probably is. Use the FORCE QUIT option in the Apple Menu to CLOSE the browser immediately. Then re-open it to your homepage and clear the cache. DO NOT go back to that site where you got the warning!
Older versions of the Mac OS required occasional "UNIX Permissions Repair." If something was flaky under those early versions (10.10 and earlier, particularly), Using Disk Utility to Repair Permissions on the startup drive would often cure a multitude of issues.
One of the best things you can do to keep an older Mac WITH A CONVENTIONAL HARD DRIVE running smoothly is to clone your ENTIRE startup drive, with Carbon Copy Cloner. That creates another volume identical to your first one. You can restore from that drive if something happens...
Next, back up your data and applications with a good backup program. Then start your Mac from an external drive (hold down Option at startup to see external drives that can boot your Mac). FORMAT your internal drive, destroying all data on it! Remember, you just made two backups...
Finally, install the latest OS version, and all your software, onto the INTERNAL drive, from the original sources. Finally, restore your data. This usually gives you clean operating system components, clean software, and gets rid of cache files and other gunk that accumulates over time. I recently did this to my Mac Mini (from Mid-2010), and it is MUCH zippier now!
If you have an SSD startup drive, you do not need to do what I just described. They work very differently, especially under APFS, Apple's brand new file system used on SSD drives only (fusion "hybrid" drives and conventional hard disk drives will be supported in a future release. For now, they are formatted with Apple's 30-year-old HFS, Extended, Journaled scheme, which is designed for drives with rotating platters.)