Keeping my Macbook Fast

Besides running Onyx, what can I do to keep my Macbook running smoothly?

I don't have very many things installed, and am sure to delete bits of things when I get rid of them.

Also, what exactly does Onyx do?

 

@OP: I'm no expert with OSX but I make sure to run the OSX maintenance scripts every few days. I think that OSX automatically runs these tasks by itself, but I'd rather do them early than wait for them to be necessary.

To run the scripts, open up Terminal and type in "sudo periodic daily weekly monthly". It's an Administrator level program, so it'll prompt you for the password for it to run.

Also, after installing programs, I make sure to repair permissions in Disk Utility.

 

Cool didn't know about those, thanks!

Are they different than the scripts Onyx uses?

 

You don't need to do anything to keep your mac running smoothly. I know, it seems so counter-intuitive coming from windows. But really, you don't have to do anything.

 

Onyx should be run in the default Automation mode fairly often - say once a month at least - it reduces clutter and does the one major thing that causes many things to fail - repairs permissions.

Generally speaking though, a Mac is practically as hands-off in comparison to e.g. Vista in terms of general running as long as you do regular maintenance. It's the same difference as OS upgrades and pricing - with Windows, you get a large chunk every few years. With Mac, you get small chunks at more frequent intervals, adding up to a little more at the end which you may not notice because it comes in more palatable pieces.

There are some long-term issues that may take too long to troubleshoot in practical terms, necessitating a complete reinstall - but you're unlikely to run into these issues unless you're a heavy user. Normally it should be just a matter of Onyxing every few weeks. If as a light user you get problems beyond that, then it's likely something that needs a more involved fix in any case.