People generally gravitate towards a MacBook because of its optimized performance, but that does not mean that a MacBook will never have performance issues. It could be because you’re using your Mac excessively for various reasons, you’re using it for other than the intended purposes, you’ve not addressed basic setup recommendations, and more. 
Before taking your MacBook to a service center, you should try and resolve the fundamental problems to eliminate the standard possibilities.
- You have power-related issues
If you have trouble getting your MacBook to shut down or constantly find it frozen, the answer may be as simple as resetting the PRAM, NVRAM, or SMC.
SMC -> System Management Controller
NVRAM -> Non-volatile Random Access Memory
PRAM -> Parameter Random Access Memory
All three are crucial components and store and process essential startup functions. Newer models of the Mac do not have PRAM.
How do you reset your NVRAM?
- Turn off your Mac
- Power it up and long-press Command + Option + P + R
- For older versions of Mac, hold till you hear the startup chime. For newer models, long press for 20 seconds
How do you reset the SMC?
- Turn off your Mac
- Turn on your Mac and long-press Shift + Control + Option
- You have not emptied the Trash
Let’s say you have deleted a large amount of data in an attempt to speed up your Mac but still find that your Mac is slow. One possible reason for this is that you have not emptied the Trash. All files that you delete are moved to the Trash.
But unless you delete them from the Trash, you will not see any changes since the files are still technically on your system. Manually delete the files or set a Bin preference to automatically clean the Trash every 30 days or sooner.
- Your battery is draining very fast
If you find that your battery is draining faster than usual, then reset Power Management and shut down your Mac before starting it up again.
If that does not work, reset your SMC as listed above. You can try changing the power cable to make sure that the charger is not faulty.
The best option for you may be to upgrade to a new version of the MacBook with better battery performance.
- Your files have disappeared from the MacBook
What if you find that your work files and mail folders have disappeared? To avoid this from happening, get into the habit of taking regular backups. Use Mac’s in-built Time Machine to create backups. You can also turn to iCloud or try external hard drives to take care of the MacBook’ storage.
If an update caused your mail folders to disappear, you could try rebuilding the Mail app. If that does not work, do not fret because you can always fetch your emails from the service provider online.
- Your external drive is not mounted or recognized
If you cannot see your external drive on Finder or if it does not mount, here’s what you can do:
- Unplug the external drive and restart your Mac
- Connect to drive again
- Boot up in Safe Mode
- Change the port
- Try a different connecting type
- Install drive updates
Your external drive may be corrupt, which is why the Mac does not recognize your device at all. You should first try to recover the data and then replace it.
- Your backups failed
What if the files you backed up to Time Machine failed?
Here’s how you can solve this:
- Make sure your Mac is up to date
- Restart the computer
- Check the network connection
- Check the backup
- Long hold the Option key and select the Time Machine menu
- Choose Verify Backups
- If there is an error, you will see a message with details
- Follow the instructions to resolve it
- Your Mac is running very slow
A slow Mac can be indicative of several issues at play. It could be due to unoptimized storage, hardware and software problems, insufficient disk space, and erroneous configurations. According to the article that covers reasons behind having a slow MacBook, some of the most effective solutions to the problem would be to:
- Clean up your hard drive
- Update your macOS
- Manage your files and data
- End processes with Activity Monitor
- Upgrade your hardware
- Get rid of unused apps
- Remove browser extensions
- You have logic board issues
To troubleshoot this, you can run the Apple Hardware Test or Apple Diagnostics to understand what is causing logic board issues.
To perform the test, follow these steps:
- Disconnect all externally connected devices
- Restart your Mac
- Press and hold D
- Apple Diagnostics will start
- All found issues will be listed
In Conclusion
You can fix the MacBook’s performance issues by restarting your computer and getting rid of bloatware. If DIY methods cannot solve your problem, take it to an Apple center and let the experts take over.
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