What troubleshooting step is often recommended for a slow Mac?

Freeing up storage space is a crucial troubleshooting step for a slow Mac because insufficient storage can significantly impact your system's performance. When storage space is limited, the operating system may struggle to operate as it needs adequate space to create temporary files, swap files, and cache data for efficient processing. This can lead to slow response times, lagging applications, and overall sluggish behavior.

When storage is available, the system can run more smoothly, allowing applications to launch faster and perform better. Regularly monitoring and managing storage can also prevent the system from becoming overloaded with unnecessary files, enabling it to operate at optimal efficiency. This practice is especially important as Macs can experience performance degradation even when a small percentage of disk space is occupied, making maintenance of free space vital for smooth performance.