How to Free Up Memory on Mac: The Ultimate Guide | Parallels (2024)

Have you ever wondered why your Mac seems to be running a little low on memory? It is sometimes frustrating to work using such a computer, since there will be lags whenever you try to accomplish various tasks, such as opening programs. You might even get late on a project and lose some clients when your Mac is slow. Perhaps you have been wondering whether there is a way to free up some of the computer's memory and improve its performance. There are a few things you can do to accomplish that.

If you have enough RAM, but your Mac still suffers from slow performance, there may be a hardware issue. One way to address this is to install more RAM. However, if you do not have the budget for new RAM or want to fix the problem first - what can you do? Read through our guide to get some proven tips.

How to free up memory on a Mac

Understanding how to free up memory on your Mac is critical; here are a few pointers to keep the Mac running smoothly.

  1. Restart your Mac. This is the easiest method of freeing up RAM on your computer, which explains why IT people always advise you to turn your Mac off and then on. When you restart your Mac, it will clear its current RAM and any cached data. That way, when it boots up again, it should run more smoothly.
  2. Update your macOS. Your Mac's memory problems may be due to the specific macOS version being outdated. We recommend that you check and ensure you are running the latest version. If not, consider updating it.
  3. Examine the Activity Monitor. The Activity Monitor application is preinstalled on every Mac computer. You can locate it in the "Utilities" as well as at the "Spotlight" by typing "Activity Monitor". To open the Spotlight window, you can click "Command" and then space.
  4. Clean your Desktop. MacOS developers made the software in such a manner that it assumes that Desktop icons are less active. Therefore, with more icons, comes heavy memory usage on the Mac. To clean up some memory, we recommend that you cleanse the Desktop.
  5. Delete Cached files. We recommend that you rid your system of junk, for instance, cached files, incomplete downloads (old logs), and other temporary files.
  6. Configure Chrome's Task Manager.With Chrome's Task Manager, you are able to discard heavy memory processes within your browser, besides being able to see how pages weigh on your Mac's CPU usage.
  7. Use a Mac memory cleaner.
  8. Close the Finder windows.As you know, every window in Finder utilizes memory. You can free some up by pressing on Finder, going to the windows, and then select "Merge All Windows".

Parallels Toolbox is extremely simple to use and effective at helping you free up some memory on your Mac. You only have to press a button and you can use it as many times as you need to consecutively. Here are the steps you will follow to use the tool:

  1. Launch your Parallel Toolbox (If you do not have it, you can download it and install it on your Mac by double-clicking on the downloaded file)
  2. Go to the "Library" section and scroll down to the section that says "Clean Up"
  3. Under "Clean Up" select "Delete". From here, you can delete again by pressing the "Clean Up" that pops up at the bottom, followed by "Delete"
  4. Repeat the process until the "Disk Cleanup Complete" shows up

Conclusion

In this guide, we have discussed numerous aspects of managing memory on your Mac. We hope these tips have been helpful! If you would like to learn more about the Parallels Toolbox, please check out its specific qualities on our website.

How to Free Up Memory on Mac: The Ultimate Guide | Parallels (2024)

FAQs

How to Free Up Memory on Mac: The Ultimate Guide | Parallels? ›

High RAM usage is normal for resource-intensive apps. But if you want to lower it, there are a few quick things you can do right away: restart your Mac, close unnecessary browser tabs, and quit unused apps.

How do I clear unwanted memory on my Mac? ›

Move or delete files
  1. Delete music, films, podcasts or other media, especially if it's media you can stream or download again as needed.
  2. Delete files in your Downloads folder. ...
  3. If you use the Mail app for your email, choose Mailbox > Erase Junk Mail from the menu bar in Mail.
Jan 22, 2024

Why is my Mac memory always full? ›

High RAM usage is normal for resource-intensive apps. But if you want to lower it, there are a few quick things you can do right away: restart your Mac, close unnecessary browser tabs, and quit unused apps.

How do I free up RAM using Clean My Mac? ›

To quickly release memory, as much as possible and safe at the moment, click Free Up (in the App Store version of CleanMyMac X, click Optimize). To release even more RAM, close the apps that consume most memory. You can also free up RAM alongside with other Maintenance tasks.

How do I fix not enough memory on my Mac? ›

There are other ways you can tackle the problem, too.
  1. Restart your Mac. This is the first thing you should try. ...
  2. Update macOS. ...
  3. Close apps you're not using. ...
  4. Clear disk space. ...
  5. Update apps. ...
  6. Close browser tabs. ...
  7. Uninstall applications. ...
  8. Reduce the Finder's memory usage.
Sep 3, 2024

How to free up memory? ›

Here are a few steps you'll want to try before you take drastic measures to free up RAM.
  1. Restart your device. ...
  2. Try other browsers. ...
  3. Clear RAM cache. ...
  4. Update software to the latest versions. ...
  5. Delete unused extensions. ...
  6. Use optimization software.

How to clear the cache on a Mac? ›

There is a shortcut to delete browser cache. In Safari, it is Option + Command + E. If it doesn't work for your Mac, check what it is by clicking Develop in the menu bar with Safari open and looking next to Empty Caches. For Chrome and Firefox, it is Command + Shift + Delete.

How to free memory on a Mac? ›

How to free up memory on a Mac
  1. Restart your Mac. ...
  2. Update your macOS. ...
  3. Examine the Activity Monitor. ...
  4. Clean your Desktop. ...
  5. Delete Cached files. ...
  6. Configure Chrome's Task Manager. ...
  7. Use a Mac memory cleaner.
  8. Close the Finder windows.As you know, every window in Finder utilizes memory.

How can I clean up my Mac to make it run faster for free? ›

How to Optimize your Mac® system
  1. Update your software. Install any patches, security updates, and application updates. ...
  2. Tidy your start-up. ...
  3. Clean out un-used apps. ...
  4. Clean out the downloads folder. ...
  5. Tidy up your storage disk. ...
  6. Clean out the cache. ...
  7. Remove resource-hungry programs. ...
  8. Take out the trash.
Sep 9, 2024

How to clear cache RAM on Mac? ›

Here's how to access the system cache files on Mac:
  1. Open Finder, click Go menu, and select Go to Folder.
  2. Type ~/Library/Caches/ in the window and click Go.
  3. Your system, or library, caches will appear. ...
  4. You can open each folder and delete unneeded cache files by dragging them to the Trash and emptying it.
Mar 10, 2023

How do I reset my memory on my Mac? ›

Shut down your Mac, then turn it on and immediately press and hold these four keys together: Option, Command, P, and R. You can release the keys after about 20 seconds, during which your Mac might appear to restart. On Mac computers that play a startup sound, you can release the keys after the second startup sound.

How do I clear my RAM? ›

5 Ways to Free up RAM on Any Computer
  1. Restart Your Computer. The first thing you can try to free up RAM is restarting your computer. ...
  2. Update Your Software. It's important to be running the most updated versions of your computer software and applications. ...
  3. Clear Your Cache. ...
  4. Try a Different Browser. ...
  5. Remove Browser Extensions.
Sep 15, 2023

Why is my Mac storage always full? ›

Apps are among the top consumers of disk space on Mac. If you don't keep track of them, they might quickly become the reason your startup disk is almost full. It's easy to delete apps on your own. Open the Applications folder and move the apps you don't need to Trash.

How do I wipe the memory on my Mac? ›

Use Erase All Content and Settings
  1. From the Apple menu  in the corner of your screen, choose System Settings.
  2. Click General in the sidebar.
  3. Click Transfer or Reset on the right.
  4. Click Erase All Content and Settings. Don't see this button?
Jun 25, 2024

How do I fix high memory usage on my Mac? ›

Therefore, with more icons, comes heavy memory usage on the Mac. To clean up some memory, we recommend that you cleanse the Desktop. Delete Cached files. We recommend that you rid your system of junk, for instance, cached files, incomplete downloads (old logs), and other temporary files.

How do I see what's taking up memory on my Mac? ›

You can see the amount of system memory being used on your Mac. In the Activity Monitor app on your Mac, click Memory (or use the Touch Bar) to see the following in the bottom of the window: Memory Pressure: Graphically represents how efficiently your memory is serving your processing needs.

How do I clear my memory card on my Mac? ›

Manual way to clear an SD card on Mac
  1. Plug your card into your Mac.
  2. From the Applications folder, go to Utilities and open Disk Utility.
  3. Find your card in the sidebar and click it.
  4. From the toolbar, select Erase.
  5. Choose an appropriate format and click Erase > OK.

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