using a Mac for the first time

Dill

Someone has kindly gifted me their old iMac computer. I am using it for the first time this evening, but am finding it incredibly slow, especially the internet! Is this usual?

I've never used a Mac before, - I have always used Windows in the past. My old XP was much more responsive.

I'm wondering if there's something I can do to make it go quicker?

(I think the internet is Safari 4.something. It won't let me upgrade to anything more recent?)

The only thing that seems quicker is the start-up, lol

thescouselander

There's lots of things that could be slowing you down but safari 4 is quite old. How old is the machine itself?

You could try downloading an app like onyx and run the maintainance scripts.

paddyrg

There's nothing inherent in being a Mac or PC per. se. affecting speed, however the age might be a giveaway. Safari 4 could be from 2008, so no spring chicken.

You could try seeing if Chrome installs, and if that improves things?

Roland_Sausage

If it's running Safari 4, it's probably a pretty old machine and possibly quite low specced.

Click on the Apple icon (top right) and select About This Mac, and see what the specs are.

Roland_Sausage

paddyrg wrote: »

There's nothing inherent in being a Mac or PC per. se. affecting speed, however the age might be a giveaway. Safari 4 could be from 2008, so no spring chicken.

You could try seeing if Chrome installs, and if that improves things?

Chrome only runs on 10.9 and above nowadays, which the OP isn't going to have.

http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/11/10/google-to-discontinue-chrome-support-for-os-x-snow-leopard-lion-mountain-lion-in-april-2016

Dill

Roland_Sausage wrote: »

If it's running Safari 4, it's probably a pretty old machine and possibly quite low specced.

Click on the Apple icon (top right) and select About This Mac, and see what the specs are.

Thanks. It says

Mac OS X
Version 10.4.11

I think they said it's about 8 years old? Having said that I'm sure my XP laptop must be at least that old and the XP is like speedy Gonzalez compared to the Mac!

Roland_Sausage

Dill wrote: »

Thanks. It says

Mac OS X
Version 10.4.11

I think they said it's about 8 years old? Having said that I'm sure my XP laptop must be at least that old and the XP is like speedy Gonzalez compared to the Mac!

What about the processor and Memory, and even the model of machine? Should all be mentioned on the same screen

Dill

Model Name: Mac
Model Identifier: iMac5,2
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 1.83 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache (per processor): 2 MB
Memory: 512 MB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: IM52.0090.B09
SMC Version: 1.6f0
Serial Number: W863445LWH5



(Excuse the formatting, am still using a windows keyboard!)

Roland_Sausage

Dill wrote: »

Model Name: Mac
Model Identifier: iMac5,2
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 1.83 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache (per processor): 2 MB
Memory: 512 MB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: IM52.0090.B09
SMC Version: 1.6f0
Serial Number: W863445LWH5



(Excuse the formatting, am still using a windows keyboard!)

OK, this thing is actually just over 10 years old, and the 512MB of RAM is probably why it is running so slow. It can be upgraded to 2GB but not sure how easy this would be and whether it would be worthwhile.

The machine is basically obsolete.

knightstyle

One thing to check is that you quit each application when not using it, if you just click on the red button in the top left corner you ust close the window and leave the app running.
To close an app click on the app name and scroll down to quit ..... and click on this. Plus if it hasn't been used for a while do a couple of restarts.
You can see what is running by pressing cmd plus alt plus esc this is for closing apps that do not close in the normal way.

fishybusiness

Dead easy to upgrade the RAM and cheap too.

It will still be slow, perhaps too slow for modern browsing. Also, you may find fan noise a problem - likely it will have to work hard and will get hot hence the fan spins up.

Had a 2.5GHz macbook until recently, 4GB memory and ssd drive, only just fast enough for modern browsing.

IMO don't spend anything on it, move on and if you like macs buy a newer model.