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it’s pretty inconvenient to do it manually If you have lots of snapshots. That’s why I recommended Maintenance, or the more complete tool, OnyX.
Please don’t trash your system for some snake oil. If you want to clean your system simply use Onyx, be very careful at the settings you select, the default are fine and dandy. For malware? Really nothing but malwarebyes and Sophos on that. You want an Adblock? Run ublock Origin.
I was asking myself the same question a few weeks ago and decided to look for reviews. Everything that I read was very positive and the software was even recommended by famous Apple-related podcasts in my country. Of course it was a sponsor but still.
Then I tried it myself. I think it's not so bad in itself. What I mean by that is that it's doing what it pretends to do when it comes to erasing trash files on your Mac.
However, I'd call it fishy sometimes. For example, it has an integrated RAM monitor which allows you to see the percentage of used memory at the moment and clean it whenever you want.
And I observed that it tends to show you much more used percentage of RAM than the Apple's Activity Monitor does. I tried the free version, I didn't buy it. Was that a trick to scare me and make me buy the whole software to have access to the advanced cleaning features?
I don't know but if you want a great free piece of software to clean your Mac, use Onyx. Definitely the best cleaner out there.
Hello,
Yes you can. The simple way is to user ONYX Software, which is free and is the best I think for many many years:
https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html
And install it for your specific major version of MacOS X. Then you can customize your login screen how you want.
In Onyx go to Parameters, Login, Select Background, use whatever image you want, apply, logout. And that is it. Also pay attention, there are other useful modifications in Login tab.
Have fun!
Hi !
The “other” storage represents a lot of things, that’s why it’s so difficult to clean :
-some documents, archives, disk images : PDF, .psd, .doc, . dmg, .zip, etc.
-temporary files
-cache files
-other files that can’t be classified by MacOS (cookies, history, and a lot more)
I) Up to date?
Is your Mac up to date ? I had the same problem and updating helped me to regain a lot of storage, about 30 Gb I would say ! I had to delete some files and apps to install the update, but it worthed it.
II) Personal files
Review the files with the extensions specified above
III) Cache files
Try to clear your apps Cache files.
1) Manually
ATTENTION, IF YOU’RE NOT SURE OF WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND THINK YOU MIGHT CAUSE HARM TO YOUR COMPUTER, DELETE THE FILES WITH A SPECIALIZED APP (see 2) !
They are located in the user folder then /library/Caches. Note that the library folder is hidden, you’ll have to enable hidden folders/files. DO NOT DELETE THE CACHE FILE ! Just delete the content ! In the best cases, you can gain 2 or 3 Gb, maybe even more !
2) With an app
If you’re scared of deleting manually the files and causing harm to your computer, you can use apps that do it for you (CCleaner for example, I think it works, but not sure).
There are a lot of other great apps for this. I use Onyx, it’s a really good, free and complete app (lots of useful features) I recommend you to use it.
Onyx download link : https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html
IV) Safari
Try to delete safari cookies and history as well.
V) If nothing works…
If nothing works, try a clean install. You can use a backup of your Mac if you want, but I would suggest a clean install, because the OS will be as fresh as on a new Mac.
That’s my advice ! :)
OnyX has a lot of daily, weekly, monthly scripts for maintenance built-in as a standalone utility. A lot of these shellscripts can be directly incorporated to RMMs and deployed in similar schedules. https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html
It’s sister application built for just these feature sets, thus called https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/maintenance.html “maintenance”
Backup first, then run
https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html
It will wipe temp files and clean up your machine
Because:
“Mac® OS X is a UNIX®-based system, built in part on both BSD® and FreeBSD®. UNIX systems run scheduled maintenance routines — known as maintenance scripts — to clean up a variety of System logs and temporary files. By default, these are executed between 03:15 and 05:30 hours local time, depending on the script.
If your Mac is shut down or in sleep mode during these hours, the maintenance scripts will not run. [1] This results in log files that will grow over time, consuming free space on your Mac OS X startup disk.
If your Mac is shut down or left in sleep mode overnight, the maintenance scripts should be run manually on a regular basis… unless you plan on devoting a large portion of your hard drive to the files cleaned-up by these routines!”
Please take this advice. DO NOT USE A USB HARD DRIVE FOR LONGTERM STORAGE. I can't tell you how many times I have heard this exact line from a customer. "I put my data on it and set it on a shelf. When I came back to it 6 months later it didn't work". They are trash and die all the time.
Clean my mac 3 is a decent cleanup program and I've had no issues with the free version. I have been using Onyx and it seems to work good, it's also has a real good price, free.
If you're an Apple guy I would just buy more icloud storage. You should be able to set it up so you only download the files from icloud when you use them instead of keeping all of them on the Mac/iPhone.
Do not turn off filevault!
​
You can use a tool like onyx to easily change this background - https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html
This tools also automates routine maintenance which keeps things running smooth, the option you are looking for can be found in Parameters>Login> Select new background.
​
Cheers.
​
I always run this software before upgrading Onyx (you should use the High Sierra version of course) It cleans up some mess from old stuff and so far never had a problem
Reset SMC, reset NVRAM and run Onyx in Maintenance with all boxes ticked. And failing all that, backup your documents, run a clean install and manually restore your documents and re-install your apps. Don't restore from Time Machine as this will restore your old system.
I believe it uses the file at /System/Library/CoreServices/DefaultDesktop.jpg. By default, that's an alias to /Library/Desktop Pictures/Sierra.jpg on 10.12. The safest way to change it is to use Onyx (free). In Onyx, choose the Parameters tab, and then the Login tab within that. Read the help file as instructed (there's a ? button to open it at the bottom of the window), so you can be sure your image is properly formatted.
Before anything else, I'd try running Onyx (free). Open it, switch to the Automation tab, and check all the boxes.* Click Execute, reboot when it's finished. Things may remain a little slow for a few moments while macOS rebuilds some caches that Onyx deletes, but there's a good chance it'll be more responsive after that.
If that doesn't work, you can try /u/TronLightyear's suggestions on resetting NVRAM and resetting the SMC, though SMC issues are usually more obvious than general slowness.
^* ^(You can uncheck "Automatically saved versions of the documents" if you like. If you're not experiencing browser issues, you can also uncheck "Web browser cache and history", but I'd leave that checked in your case.)
OnyX is what I use. It is the best all in one program I have found, it is donationware (freeware). OnyX is a multifunction utility for macOS which you can use to verify the startup disk and the structure of its system files, to run miscellaneous tasks of cleaning and system maintenance, to configure some hidden parameters of many of Apple’s applications, and more.
https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html
It will do what you are asking and much more.
If you just want a cleaner use Maintance also from Titanium Software. Maintenance is a system maintenance and cleaning utility for macOS which you can use to run miscellaneous tasks of system maintenance: run periodic scripts, rebuild the databases, delete application, font, and System caches, and more..
https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/maintenance.html
If you want something really basic and closer to the wording in your description, try CCleaner for Mac:
Is the drive formatted HFS+ or APFS?
I'd hazard a guess and suggest it's HFS+. I have seen this behaviour before when the disk's directory structure gets out of whack.
My first suggestion would be to Put Back the library from the trash, then restart. Once restarted, move the library to a different location on the drive and try deleting again. If that fails, go here and grab a copy of the maintenance tool Onyx. Each version of Onyx is specific to the OS version, so make sure you get the right one.
If that doesn't work, try deleting the file from another user account. If you don't have another account, create one with admin privileges and make sure the file in question is moved to a location that is accessible to both accounts—the Shared folder in your user account is the best place. Try deleting from here.
As an aside, it's always a good idea to have two user accounts: a standard one that you use daily and an admin account for maintenance and troubleshooting.
The last option is a bit of a Hail Mary and only works if the computer is not an M1 machine and the drive is formatted HFS+: use DiskWarrior to repair and rebuild the offending directory.
Onyx is well regarded, but it’s complex enough that users can screw things up if they don’t understand what they’re doing. The same person also makes Maintenance, which (I believe) contains a “safer” subset of Onyx’s capabilities.
One thing I’m wondering about is where all your applications store their support files. You mentioned that you run them off of your external drive, but is your home directory also there? Lots of applications will dump files into ~/Library/, so if your home directly is on the internal drive, it’ll get filled up
Hmm. If you're still on Catalina (or an earlier version) I'd recommend downloading Onyx and using the "Maintenance" tab to trying clearing out old files, caches, etc. They haven't updated for Big Sur yet though.
I use a software called Onyx. It basically clears up any cache, unnecessary flies, does some cleaning tasks and stuff like that. The first time I used it, I think it saved me like 6-7 gbs of space and it made my MacBook feel much faster. I also recommend researching up Optimization tips and tricks on YouTube or google. I do every once in a while and it helps me a lot.
Here is the link to Onyx if you choose to try it, it’s free.
Onyx has been a staple of every mac I have owned for as long as I can remember.
https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html
They also have another program called Maintance which I didn't know they made.
Looks like you are at 128 GB SSD. Right? The ~3 GB purgable can be recovered by OnyX.
https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html
I will say start using an external HDD for your work stuff. If you are going to play games (?) on windows, you will need more space.
Haven't personally used it but the only app I haven't heard or seen bad things about is OnyX: https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html
Keep in mind that clearing that stuff up wont make your mac run any better if you are trying to fix performance issues: http://www.thesafemac.com/the-myth-of-the-dirty-mac/
None that I'm aware of, I also couldn't find a recent list of Terminal bools and other changeable values, although I'm aware there are lists for (much) older versions of macOS.
E.g. version after version of tools such as Onyx had fewer big features year over year, although I haven't checked it the last couple of years.
Maybe try resetting launch services. I see this more often with video types more so than anything Apple Preview would normally have the default quick look extension for. I would actually recommend running through a couple of the maintenance options in a software called Onyx. Link below
https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html
If that doesn’t remedy the issue you may want to double check that PNG image file type is associated with preview rather than another application. This last happened to me when VLC took the “open with” association from just about all media types.
Not getting a whole lot out of that, at least that would be helpful. Essentially it's saying that there are inconsistencies in some of the data this process uses.
I did do some additional research that suggests rebuilding the spotlight index could help, or that it may also be linked to some iCloud data? What I would do is run first Aid on your disk. And rebuild your spotlight index.
In this case I might also recommend using the Onyx tool for Mojave since it allows you to do both of those things in one step in an automated way (as well as run some other maintenance type things). Just make sure you download the version for Mojave since it looks like that's what you're running. And under the maintenance tab make sure verify file system structure and rebuild spotlight are checked, as well as any other maintenance stuff you think you might want to do. Be mindful some of these things can take a long time. And if you do them independently (spotlight indexing in particular) can affect your computers performance or ability to do other tasks.
Some are, if used smartly and not running all the time.
The free Onyx does everything most people need to have done on a regular basis and run manually:
"verify the structure of the system files, to run miscellaneous maintenance and cleaning tasks, to configure parameters in the Finder, Dock, Safari, and some Apple applications, to delete caches, to remove certain problematic folders and files, to rebuild various databases and indexes."
Hi !
The “other” storage represents a lot of things, that’s why it’s so difficult to clean :
-some documents, archives, disk images : PDF, .psd, .doc, . dmg, .zip, etc.
-temporary files
-cache files
-other files that can’t be classified by MacOS (cookies, history, and a lot more)
I) Up to date?
Is your Mac up to date ? I had the same problem and updating helped me to regain a lot of storage, about 30 Gb I would say ! I had to delete some files and apps to install the update, but it worthed it.
II) Personal files
Review the files with the extensions specified above
III) Cache files
Try to clear your apps Cache files.
1) Manually
ATTENTION, IF YOU’RE NOT SURE OF WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND THINK YOU MIGHT CAUSE HARM TO YOUR COMPUTER, DELETE THE FILES WITH A SPECIALIZED APP (see 2) !
They are located in the user folder then /library/Caches. Note that the library folder is hidden, you’ll have to enable hidden folders/files. DO NOT DELETE THE CACHE FILE ! Just delete the content ! In the best cases, you can gain 2 or 3 Gb, maybe even more !
2) With an app
If you’re scared of deleting manually the files and causing harm to your computer, you can use apps that do it for you (CCleaner for example, I think it works, but not sure).
There are a lot of other great apps for this. I use Onyx, it’s a really good, free and complete app (lots of useful features) I recommend you to use it. The only disadvantage is that it’s in French only, but not sure.
Edit : there is an English version of Onyx
Onyx download link : https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html
IV) Safari
Try to delete safari cookies and history as well.
V) If nothing works…
If nothing works, try a clean install. You can use a backup of your Mac if you want, but I would suggest a clean install, because the OS will be as fresh as on a new Mac.
That’s my advice ! :)
After some digging, I found https://github.com/bitwarden/browser/issues/1718#issuecomment-874120202 and rebuilt my Launch service database. But then all my other extensions were gone, what a bummer! A deep clean of my Mac with https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html and a reboot helped, now all extensions show up again...
Try turning off and unplugging. Leave unplugged for a minute or so. Try reboot. If you can, try again, and before anything happens, hold down Command-Option-P-R and if it does chime, keep holding until it chimes at least twice. Some suggest until the third chime, then release.
Not sure from the icons what OS you are running. One way to clean a lot of stuff that can slow you down, as well as having sys services connection problems, if you are not using Monterey, go to
https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html
and download the version of OnyX that works on your OS. This is not one of those fakey "clean everything" programs and is free. Just read notes and guide. Best tools program since DiskWarrior.
Good luck!
Before doing anything download OnyX (https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html) and run the full maintenance (incl. cleaning up the system cache). The next time you boot the OS will rebuild the kernel cache.
May not be the solution but this has been for me a few times.
If you're comparing it to a more recent MacBook, it might just be that it's using a hard drive compared to a SSD - Apple still sold them as standard until around a year or two ago. It's kinda hard to upgrade the hard drive in an iMac (see here)
Otherwise try installing and running Onyx to see if you can clear any files or there are things clogging up the system
My go-to chainsaw for tweaking:
OnyX - OnyX is a multifunction utility that you can use to verify the structure of the system files, to run miscellaneous maintenance and cleaning tasks, to configure parameters in the Finder, Dock, Safari, and some Apple applications, to delete caches, to remove certain problematic folders and files, to rebuild various databases and indexes, and more.
Your Mac works fine without it too. It’s not windows. CMC doesn’t do anything more than the system doesn’t do already on set intervals. It’s self installed bloatware. Change any of the things you want changed (like daily, weekly monthly jobs) in terminal or with an app like Onyx. Set once move on with life. You can remove onyx if you don’t need any of the additional functionality.
Apple has a support page on how to do it. You can also try OnyX, which has a number of useful maintenance options including rebuilding the Spotlight index.
(If you’re using a pre-Big Sur version of MacOS, scroll down on the website to find the appropriate version for your OS.)
Carbon Copy Cloner will easily allow you to see size and creator date of SnapShots. Delete them as you wish. And make bootable copies of Big Sur.
OnyX [ https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html ] will allow you to check the size of files, permanently clean out old trash, delete useless stuff and logs, and delete files and apps, delete SnapShots, rebuild Launch Services database, XPC cache and many other functions.
Perhaps reverse the terminal command then restart to see if the issue goes away. And/or see if you can flush out the Dock's cache with Onyx.
have you tried using OnyX cleaner? It's a great piece of software that's been around for quite a while and updated frequently. I use it all the time to clear cache and rebuild libraries when there's an error. https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html
I use freeware called Onyx. In the video I walk through all the settings needed to clear cached programs. Onyx does registry repairing too but I haven’t used that. And the “Other Storage” seems to be related to caching issues with apps etc. Here is the link to onyx: https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html
A good trusted (“signed”) app I use prior to updates, etc., of macOS... works great to run prior to ^ these...
OnyX is a multifunction utility that you can use to verify the structure of the system files, to run miscellaneous maintenance and cleaning tasks, to configure parameters in the Finder, Dock, Safari, and some Apple applications, to delete caches, to remove certain problematic folders and files, to rebuild various databases and indexes, and more.
OnyX is a reliable application which provides a clean interface to many tasks that would otherwise require complex commands to be typed using a command-line interface.
WARNING: There is a specific version of OnyX for each major version of the operating system. Use the specific version, and don't try to use a non-compatible version.
Use this one. I have been using it for many years and its free as well.
https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html
To scan system for adware and malwsre etc...
There is Onyx available for Catalina - you can also change lots of hidden features in macOS (like disabling Spotlight or window animations etc. etc.). as well as all the maintenance tasks...
Could it be that your browser is somewhat hijacked? Do you have other browser installed or access to another computer?
Download These
Malwarebytes - install and scan https://www.malwarebytes.com
Onyx - install and run cleaning temp and cache https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html
You can also try booting in safemode and see if that happens.
Try a pram reset as well.
Are the +/- buttons inactive for all the categories or just Full Disk Access?
A couple of suggestions:
- Repair your disk permissions
- Run Onyx
If you've tried resetting and rescanning your plugins from the Plug-In Manager and you're still having the same issue, try quitting Logic, deleting its preference files from ~/Library/Preferences and relaunching it. If it's still not work, download Onyx (https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html) and run it in "Maintenance" mode with all boxes ticked. This flushes various caches, rebuilds your Spotlight index and other databases, and runs maintenance scripts. Reboot when it's done and then give your machine a bit of time to rebuild the Spotlight index. If that doesn't fix it a clean install almost certainly will. Let us know how you get on.
Try onyx. I’m falling asleep. But it’s possible to get you out of these type of jams. Run “Automation’s default settings. It quits everything before starting & then you need to restart after. This solves a lot of issues as my 120GB MB Air’s always crying about startup drive space. Edit: OnyX link
Try using OnyX software to perform some maintenance on your Mac before you decide to downgrade. Downgrade is possible, you just have to make a Mojave installer on a USB.
Use a tool to see the SMART values to see if its failed. https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html Onyx has this facility as do many free apps online
Try these...if it is too slow in responding...boot into safemode and try downloading the following apps...
Download these
Malwarebytes - install and scan
https://www.malwarebytes.com
Onyx - install and run cleaning temp and cache https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html
From their respective sites:
This may be a bit of a “broad sword” approach to fixing this but what I would do is download Onyx for your systems OS.
I would run all of the maintenance items and reboot the system.
By doing this you are eliminating a lot of potential points of failure. I am pretty confident that is going to address your issue.
If not report back.
If you really, really, need to run a utility on your Mac, get OnyX.
Download the version SPECIFIC for your installed OS.
I've been using it since Panther OS X 10.3 came out - 17 years ago (?) Jesus - a long time ago and it is superlative and won't kill your system.
You may need to look into how to do a rebuild of your Launch Services database for your particular version of macOS. It’s doable through Terminal but is also automated in utilities like OnyX and others.
Hey thanks! I appreciate that and forgot I posted. So I sort of figured that out on my own, I wasn’t positive Alfred didn’t cause it but I thought it magnified the issue. I figured out how to fix it like you said, although a simple restart didn’t fix it. It dawned on me I had this problem once in the last a year or two ago maybe and I started to think about how I fixed it, which led me to my allocations and re-discovering Onyx. I used it to repair start permissions and rebuild the spotlight directory. It fixed it, although spotlight can’t find most of the stuff on two of my externals now but it’s probably just a matter of time for that. If you don’t have it check it out it’s freeware and great. https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html
Thanks!
Have you tried using Onyx? It's a utility that performs various cleanups for macOS.
One of the tools allows you to Delete Local Snapshots (these are Time Machine backups stored on Macintosh HD. They get created when the Time Machine drive is not available).
Onyx > Utilities > Time Machine to see/delete Local Snapshots.
Deleting them may take a few minutes (depending on number and size)
Once Onyx has deleted them, manually start a new Time Machine backup.
macports is what i used for packages forever
onyx - https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html used to try and make finder a little better + disable startup sounds and other stuff.
hyperdock - https://bahoom.com/hyperdock help snap windows around to places
[macbb.org](www.macbb.org) forum worth joining
fuck icloud
⇧⌘-3 (shift-command-3): To take a screen shot of the entire screen. This will result in a image file on your desktop.
⌃⇧⌘-3 (control-shift-command-3):This will take screen shot of your entire screen and have it go straight to the Clipboard. Paste it into any application you want (Mail, Photoshop, Messages, etc). Very handy if you don't want to actually deal with the file sitting on your desktop. ⇧⌘-4 (shift-command-4): To get a crosshair cursor to take a screen shot of just a portion of the screen, press Command Shift 4. Drag over an area. This will result in a image file on your desktop.
⇧⌘-4, followed by space (shift-command-4, followed by space): To take a screen shot of a selected item, such as an open window, an icon, or the Desktop, press Command Shift 4, then press the Spacebar (this one is my favorite by far). The pointer turns into a camera icon that highlights items beneath it, as shown on the left. When the item you want to shoot is highlighted, click the mouse.This will result in a image file on your desktop.
⌃⇧⌘-4 (control-shift-command-4): This will result in a picture of the selected area to the clipboard.
⌃⇧⌘-4, followed by space (control-shift-command-4, followed by space): This brings up the crosshair cursor which allows you to take just a partial screen shot of your screen.
If you ever want to change the resulting screenshots from a PNG to a JPG to something else (like PDF), you can do that via a free program called Onyx. Onyx also let's you alter where all screenshots end up. I created a Screenshot folder in my Documents, and then put a shortcut on the Dock.
Sounds like you're using someone else's Mac, but who am I to judge. Here you go.. I recommend reading that link thoroughly.
You can also download [Onyx} (https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html) to do some of those functions automatically.
The correct Terminal command is:
chflags nohidden ~/Library
Note that the wavy line there is the tilde key, just below your esc key.
Also, unless someone is a full on coder, I'd highly recommend using the (still) free app called Onyx, available from Titanium software here (be sure to download the correct version). It allows users a better interface for doing changes like this without error. My suggestion is to use Onyx to hide/unhide the Library (and a ton of other cool tweaks that are safe to do inside Onyx).
Onyx is a powerful program with a small footprint for your hard drive. The Geek Squad uses it for preventative maintenance on every Mac they service...its main point in this instance is to remove unnecessary temp files. Before you consider any other repairs, I would run the version of Onyx that matches your OS. Run it with all the default options, restart your Mac, and you'll be left with space to work with. Chances are, you'll still have to figure out what you want to delete, but at this point, it's your least drastic option. Lemme know what happens. Namaste.
I'm in the same boat; the cleanest way to do it is with Jamf, but you could use a config profile if you have an old profile manager server or mass-deploy a plist using ARD to set do-not-disturb and a tool like Onyx to remove the icon from the toolbar.
Unless it’s a bug in Office, the only other suggestion I have is to run Onyx in Maintenance mode to clear as many caches as possible, rebuild your spotlight index, etc. Remember to give Onyx full disk access in the Privacy preference pane before you run it.
Download and run Onyx in Maintenance mode. This will clear app and system caches, rebuild various indexes and trigger cron tasks. Be patient while it runs then reboot. https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html
Report back with an update once you’ve done this.
Yeah. Apple made some changes to the system maintenance a few years back, starting with Yosemite and it's gone progressively downhill.
The most irksome thing is, there is an incredible, old as shit maintenance scheduler - Macaroni - (it was built for Tiger OS X 10.4) that I have on all my systems and it works a treat, even on my unsupported Mojave installs on my 2008 and 2010 macbooks.. and I'd recommend it.. but for your new machine and it's drive formatted to APFS, not HFS+.. it's probably not a good thing to use. Boo! :(
Just as a general utility to have, OnyX is one of the oldest and best. Use the version built for your OS. I've been using it since I was using Panther 10.3. I did just get OnyX for Mojave and stuffed that in my 2010 macbook and it runs and did the scheduled clean ups, but that was kinds of a pointless exercise on my system since it's got Macaroni already running.
I'd download Onyx (free at Titanium Software and reindex both Spotlight and Mail.
First, though, find out how big your Mail database is. Find it here:
Home: Library: Containers, and search for the folder called com.apple.mail. Get info and see how big it is. The main reason to do this is that some folks have never deleted much mail or many attachments and the size of that folder will impact how well search function works (from my experience). If you can, slim that sucker down, and then rebuilt both Spotlight and Mail via Onyx.
Mmmh, I don’t think rm-ing random files from the os is going to do any good unless you really know what you’re doing. Why don’t you get the onyx app and use all its cleaning and clearing features ? That would sound more reasonable to me.
Yeah, Chrome probably has several processes running and pushing your Mac's heat up.
Are you on Mojave? Has your Mac finished indexing?
Also, not related to your heat issue, but you should probably get rid of "CleanMyMac X". If you want to know why I say that, read the comments here. If you need to do some cleaning on your Mac just use Onyx.
Two ideas:
⌘- ⇧ - 4 actually just gives you the crosshairs cursor, which then requires one to drag a rectangle over the area to create a screen shot. I suspect that's what you mean, but wanted to be sure. (⌘- ⇧ - 3 is what takes a full image of the entire desktop instantly).
Download the free utility called Onyx (https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html ). Under the Parameters tab: General: you can select the path for all screenshots from here on out. While you're there, you can also choose what name you'd like all screenshots to be, as well as what file type you'd like (such as jpg, png, pdf).
Bonus: ⌃⇧⌘-4 (control-shift-command-4): This will result in a picture of the selected area to the clipboard. Actually only hold down the ⌃ key once you get the bulls eye cursor, it's easier.
>I've dug through System Prefs and set up basically everything the way I want it, and I messed with everything that I could find to mess with.
It sounds like you like to find settings and preferences. Then you should check out these two free Mac utilities, Onyx and TinkerTool. There's a little overlap, but both are powerful, respected, established power user tools for hidden preferences and various diagnostics.
Like there is a way to change the default locations and format of a screen shot, but these utilities put a GUI on it so you just have to open the utility and click some buttons and it's done.
And if you have those two known good tools, there is no reason for you to get sidelined by the many dubious Mac "cleaner" apps that are out there. Especially MacKeeper...never, ever install that on your Mac!
Malwarebytes for Mac works really good for most adware/malware removal.
Piriform makes a version of CCleaner specifically for Mac that works pretty well.
Only other program that I normally use on Mac OSX is OnyX: https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html. Does most of the basic maintenance/cleaning stuff that you would really need.
Download OnyX, select show hidden files in Finder.
See if you can find any of your files on the drive.
https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html
I'm not sure what could be causing successfully transferred files to disappear upon disconnection/reconnection.
If possible, create a secondary test account on your Mac and make some non-personal files to test with, then see if we can reproduce the issue under another account.
Leopard is happier with more RAM - 1Gb at least. Also, your iMac has the lowest spec Core Image compatible GPU, so not suited to Leopard. Sometimes, just a fresh install of any OS will speed things up - clear out all the junk. If you go with Leopard, get Onyx https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html to streamline Leopard. Or for best fit Tiger will seem faster.
keep the laptop and save your money for a massive upgrade later.
is osx feeling a little bit sluggish? download and run https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html and it might help your system feel snappier. it certainly wont hurt it!