How to Factory Reset and Speed Up a Slow Macbook Pro (Updated 2022)
Have you ever experienced a slow MacBook Pro or Air? Well, it can be irritating to wait for the MacBook to run simple apps. Sometimes, resetting your MacBook is the only way of improving its performance. When it comes to this, there is the need to have the right procedure in mind. The last thing you want is to further mess up the performance of your device.
Today, we want to look at the process you should take on how to factory reset and speed up a slow MacBook.
We still have to consider that you might end up with some files remaining on your hard drive even after resetting the device. For this reason, you need the CleanMyMac X tool for a deep clean before resetting your MacBook.
Download the software and install it on your device. Launch the app to access several tools that it has to offer. For this exercise, we recommend that you opt for a Smart Scan option. The Smart Scan option will go through the Mac looking for system junk, hidden background apps, and any of their leftovers.
Once it is done with the scanning process, it would ask which files you want to delete. By removing these junk files from your device, it means you will have a fresh system after the reset process.
Now that you have managed to clean the system, let us proceed to the reset part. Here we go.
How To Restore Your MacBook Pro/Air to Factory Settings
1. Backup your data first
Losing your important data is a possibility each time you reset a Mac. It is best if you backup your data before working on the reset process. For most people, the option would be copying as much data as possible to their external hard drive.
To make the process easier, then you should consider using the Time Machine app inbuilt in your macOS. The best part about Time Machine backups is that you can recover your individual files faster in the event of a catastrophe.
Hoping that you have cleaned the system using the CleanMyMac X tool to remove all the junk, you should now have a leaner system to backup through Time Machine. Here are some steps to consider.
- Using the Apple menu, select System Preferences and then Time Machine
- There will be a window of Time Machine that shows up
- From the window, select the disk to use for Time Machine backup and then check the box “Back Up Automatically”
- That is it. The tool will start the backup process. Depending on the size of the files, it might take a long time. Give it enough time to do the backup before resetting the device.
You still have the option of drive-cloning your hard drive. The video below gives you more insight on how to clone your drive. Check it out for more tips.
2. Reset your NVRAM
NVRAM stands for non-volatile random access memory. NVRAM is important for storing certain files so that the operating system can access these necessary files faster whenever needed. Depending on the type of Mac, the NVRAM can have different types of files stored. Some of the files include:
- The speaker volume
- The recent kernel panic files
- Startup disk selection
- Screen resolution
There can be a lot more information. As you can see, the reset of the NVRAM is crucial to make the device work better even when resetting.
Resetting NVRAM is easy. You have to shutdown your device, wait a few seconds, then turn it on. Immediately, press and hold the keys Option, Command, P, and R. Keep holding these keys until the device restarts and you hear the startup sound again. Release the keys as the reset process of NVRAM is over.
3. Restart Mac in Recovery Mode and Erase Hard drive
As part of resetting your MacBook, the next step is to boot into Recovery Mode and Erase the startup disk. Considering you have already made a backup of your data, there is nothing much to worry about even if you erase the startup hard drive.
How do you restart in recovery mode? Here are the steps to follow.
- Shut down your MacBook and then turn it on
- Immediately, press and hold the keys Command and R until the Apple logo appears
- Release the keys and wait for the macOS utilities window to appear
From the window that appears, you will have options such as restore from time machine backup, reinstall macOS, get help online and disk utility. For the sake of resetting the Mac, we choose Disk Utility first to erase the hard drive before proceeding.
Since you have chosen Disk Utility, the interface changes to bring tools for erasing the hard drive. Select your startup hard drive and click Erase. When erasing, make sure you choose the correct format. For macOS, choose the Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format. Now click Erase and wait for the device to finish the process.
When it is done with erasing, quit the Disk Utility tool to go back to macOS utilities to reinstall your operating system.
4. Reinstall the macOS to reset the MacBook
Once you get to this part, you have done most of the hard work now proceed to reinstall the macOS to have a clean operating system. To proceed with the reinstall process, choose Reinstall macOS from the options listed in the macOS Utilities window.
The installation process is not hard as you can follow the onscreen instructions that come up with each step. If it is the first time and you are not sure how to proceed. The video below should give you more insights.
In Summary
Any MacBook that goes through resetting should be better at performance. This is because the operating system is now fresh without any cases of broken permissions, malware, and so much more. The result is that you end up with a device that performs better.
Now that your slow MacBook is performing better, consider optimizing it more often. The CleanMyMac X software shared in this content is a great optimizing tool. Do the optimization weekly to keep your device working swiftly for longer.
Each time you add a new app, make sure it comes from reliable publishers. The last thing you want is to have infected apps that might end up affecting the performance of your MacBook again.