Take Control of Maintaining Your Mac, 3rd Edition

Start on the Right Foot

Whether you’ve just unpacked a shiny new Mac or you’re hoping to get an older machine into shape, your first step should be to perform some initial cleanup and preparation tasks. These tasks will help your Mac run better now and will make ongoing maintenance tasks easier.

Install the Latest Version of macOS

If your Mac is already running the latest version of macOS, good for you! Skip to Turn On Automatic App Store and macOS Updates (next). If not, your first step should be to upgrade.

All Macs introduced in 2012 or later—and even some introduced as long ago as 2010—can run macOS 10.14 Mojave. (And, frankly, if your Mac is more than seven or eight years old, you might want to think about buying a new model.) Since Apple ...