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How can I identify and remove junk files on MacBook Pro?

Hi everyone,


I have a question (or request for help lol) concerning the health of my MacBook Pro 2019.


I have been using Apple computers for approximately 14 years and every time I bought a new laptop I did the backup using Time Machine and transferred all my personal files (and surely all the junk) to the new one. Since, years have gone by and as a kid I probably downloaded things I shouldn't have (like torrent and stuff like this), I was wondering wether there is a way of checking and cleaning junk files (such as in LaunchDeamons or similar) or not. Is there a way of just checking some specific folder and deleting unnecessary files or how do I move from here? I hope I made myself clear, being English not my mother tongue.


Thank you very much in advance. Cheers from Italy



[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Posted on Jan 10, 2025 2:14 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jan 10, 2025 7:42 AM

The "runtime" issue is just that on a modern Mac with a SSD, most people would expect EtreCheck to run and get to spitting out it's report in 3:00 or so. Almost 6:00 is slow. But it does depend on a number of factors - including the age of your Mac. For example, I still have a 2012 MacBook Pro running Catalina that I use for certain things. Sure I replaced the HDD with a SSD ages ago - but a 2012 MacBook Pro with a SATA SSD is never going to be as fast as any 2020's era M-series Mac with a NVMe SSD attached directly to the logic board.


Your system actually isn't that bad. The main issue I see is some "partially uninstalled" software and related leftover crud in your launch agents and daemons.


Quick aside - daemons are programs that run completely in the background. Agents are background programs that you interact with (they pop up dialog boxes and so on). You only have LaunchAgents in your home folder at /Users/<your name>/Library/LaunchAgents (sometime abbreviated as ~/Library/LaunchAgents). There is a folder for each in the root Library at /Library


You mentioned already removing Clean My Mac - did you follow the developer's uninstall instructions? If not, things like the LaunchAgents/LaunchDaemons can get left behind, and still try to run.


CCleaner is similarly useless.


You have two VPNs (or had at least since they seem to be partially uninstalled). Lots of people will say you don't any - but I also see a PT.updd.plist entry in one of your screenshots, which I believe is for Popcorn Time - so I assume you use a VPN for changing your geolocation to unlock content. In which case I would say to find a VPN that is lightweight and easy to uninstall (e.g., I believe Surfshark and NordVPN both have App Store versions).


Similarly for Anti-malware, although Avast isn't the worst when it comes to consuming system resources and performs well against the Virus Total tests. And you seem to use Microsoft Office, so there can be a valid use case for them if rountinely sharing files with colleagues on Windows.


Again, though, much of your Microsoft products are in that "partially uninstalled" list. So you may want to reinstall and uninstall some things - according to the developer's instructions, or at least use those "review" buttons in Etrecheck to find and/or delete the files.

21 replies

Jan 22, 2025 8:36 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thank you everyone for all the suggestions. I got my laptop checked and it appears my Northbridge and south bridge are almost gone so I might need to buy a new one instead of fixing it for around 6/700 euros. Next time, I am gonna use the laptop as new, no Time Machine or anything, thus avoiding continuing this legacy of junks from 14 or so years ago. I won't install any crap and certainly avoid VPNs from now on.

Jan 22, 2025 8:39 AM in response to TheTradeHunter

Thank you everyone for all the suggestions. I got my laptop checked and it appears my Northbridge and south bridge are almost gone so I might need to buy a new one instead of fixing it for around 6/700 euros. Next time, I am gonna use the laptop as new, no Time Machine or anything, thus avoiding continuing this legacy of junks from 14 or so years ago. I won't install any crap and certainly avoid VPNs from now on.


Thanks Grant for your kind suggestions, I will certainly make a good use of them. Actually, I did not know that I could still have a backup and have just the files to be transferred. This way I should not be getting all the unwanted junk and apps, am I right?

How can I identify and remove junk files on MacBook Pro?

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