This is the only way to see if a solution is just a temporary fix or a permanent one.
When troubleshooting a Mac, you go through a process of elimination. And troubleshooting can take a long time: you try a solution and then test to see if it works, sometimes waiting hours or even days to be certain. The operating system or specific applications are not working as they should. One of the components in your Mac has failed or is failing. New versions of macOS are generally compatible with Macs going back several years, but if yours is among the oldest supported by the current operating system, it may not have what it takes to be fully efficient. At some point the processor, drive, amount of RAM and/or graphics card simply can’t keep up with the latest software. Is your Mac running slow? There can be several reasons why a Mac isn’t performing as it should, but they are often due to one or more of the following:
