If your Mac computer takes time to turn on, it is completely normal that you can become desperate, even more so when you are in a hurry to perform a task on it. However, we advise you not to lose your cool, as it could have an explanation and even a solution at your fingertips. In this article we will tell you all about the problems that make your Mac slower to start up.
It depends on the type of storage disk
The physical disk in which all the information of the Mac is stored can be HDD, SSD or Fusion Drive that ends up being a mixture of both, although the trend is that most already incorporate SSD. You can see what type of disk in the specifications of this or in About this Mac> Storage. Depending on which storage system you have, your computer may load slower.
What is an HDD?
Hard Drive Disk is the acronym for this abbreviation which in Spanish would come to mean “hard disk” or “rigid disk”. We popularly tend to think that they are all hard drives, but this is not true. The main problem that these types of discs represent is their reading and writing speed, something that affects precisely everyday actions such as turning on the Mac. If your computer mounts one of these discs, it is likely that it will start slower in most of times than if I had an SSD.
What makes an SSD different?
These acronyms stand for Solid State Drive, which means that it is a solid disk. These discs generally use flash memory to store data and ultimately provide greater durability than others and a higher data load speed. Is it possible that having an SSD the Mac starts slower than with an HDD? Perfectly and in later sections we will comment on the reasons, but as a general rule they are usually devices that make the macOS startup task faster.
How Fusion Drive Works
The third in contention is Fusion Drive, a mixed storage system that some Macs still carry. Although it will depend on the exact model, in most cases we find that the HDD is still the main disk, while the SSD occupies a smaller part and therefore, for practical purposes, it ends up working in the same way as hard drives and, therefore, it can generate a greater slowness when starting the Mac.
Check the storage space
Threading with all of the above, it must be said that the greater the capacity of the disk, the longer it will take to boot , even if it does not have all the memory occupied. While it is most visible on HDDs, it is also true for SSDs and Fusion Drives. Regardless of the size, in the end it also influences the fact of having a lot of data stored, so it is recommended that you observe how much storage the Mac has and, if you see it appropriate, free up disk space in order to improve performance in general. and more specifically during the ignition process. Remember that you can see the space occupied in About this Mac> Storage, where shortcuts are also offered to delete the files that are taking up the most space.
Be careful if you are in a beta of macOS
If you are a developer and you are testing a beta on your Mac computer, keep in mind that this could be the culprit that the operating system loads slower. A beta version can be more or less unstable, having bugs of all kinds, including a slower start-up process. If you want to rule out that this is the problem, go back to a stable version of macOS.
Update your Mac to avoid crashes
The software can clearly interfere with the Mac startup process regardless of whether it is in beta. The advice that is always given to ensure its optimal operation is to always have the latest version of macOS available . Not only will this get you the latest bug fixes, security patches, or visual and functional changes, but it will also fix the slowness to turn on your Mac if that’s the cause of it happening this way.
Can a system restore help?
What this action will do is erase all the data you have stored and leave the Mac as new for that purpose. Of course, if you want to also delete junk files that may remain in the software so that they do not cause slow startup or other problems, you must first erase the disk and not load the reinstallation of macOS. It will also be essential that you do not load any backup made with Time Machine or a similar tool, since in the end it would be an action that would leave the operating system practically the same, causing the errors to continue to be present if they were stored in that backup.
Does your Mac have enough RAM?
Perhaps this problem is more associated with the general operation than the start-up, but it is not ruled out that your Mac takes longer to start up due to its low RAM memory that, perhaps, may be accompanied by a slower processor. If you think that your RAM memory capacity may fall short both for this and for actions more typical of using the Mac as applications, you could ask if there is the possibility of expanding it. In the case of computers it is more complex, but for example in the 27-inch iMac it is a much simpler process and that you can even carry out yourself.
It could be a problem with the motherboard
If it presents other failures during its operation such as unexpected reboots or excessive slowness and you have already tried previous tips such as freeing up space, updating the software and even formatting the Mac; do not hesitate: some component on the motherboard is failing. There can be many causes, from a factory defect to knocks on the computer, going through the always fearsome problems due to the entry of liquids or humidity.
Contact Apple if the problem worsens
If the failure is very constant, you see that it worsens or you directly suspect that a hardware component is failing as we mentioned in the previous section, perhaps the most sensible thing to do is to contact Apple‘s technical service or, failing that, with an authorized establishment to give support. The technicians will be able to verify the exact origin of the problem and offer you an effective solution. Remember that you have the following contact channels available.
- Go in person to an Apple Store or SAT.
- Technical support website :
- Ask for a date.
- Support via chat.
- Free phone from Spain: 900 150 503
- Support App (available on iPhone and iPad)
If nothing else fails, don’t obsess
Even if your Mac is not the most powerful model or it could be old, don’t worry too much about the time it takes to turn on. If the computer works normally when it is turned on and you can carry out tasks normally, even if heavy tasks take longer, it is eventually normal. Nobody likes to wait, but it will be rare in any case that the Mac takes more than a minute to start up. Therefore, do not try to seek desperate solutions to this situation and if you consider that this problem is important enough to ruin the user experience, you can consider the possibility of buying another more powerful Mac.