Macworld Mac Troubleshooting Superguide (1.0 ... - Take Control

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Foreword In these United States, when you’re in real trouble you have but one number to call: 911. Back in 2000, while we were racking our brains for a title for Macworld’s tips and troubleshooting column, we invoked this emergency calling code, preceding it with Mac so that its humble author (me) wouldn’t be additionally inundated with requests for help with small appliances and domestic disputes. Thus Mac 911 (macworld.com/mac911) became the primary place to go within Macworld’s pages for help with all things Apple. Since the column’s birth, we’ve seen the death (OS 9) and rebirth (OS X) of the Mac OS, the coming and going of countless Mac models, the explosion of the Internet, and the metamorphosis of Apple the computer company into Apple the media and telecommunications giant, responsible for two of the most game-changing products of the young century—the iPod and iPhone. Yet through all these changes, one constant remains: the desktops and laptops that we increasingly rely on for our work and pleasure sometimes act up in frustrating ways. Fortunately, as frustrating as these hiccups may be, they are often predictable. In this guide, we’ve distilled the Mac troubleshooting knowledge we’ve acquired over many years of putting together columns. Thanks to the first chapter—Installation—OS X sits comfortably on your computer. But maybe the next day you press your Mac’s power button, and nothing happens. Chances are that you’ll find a solution to your problem in the next chapter of this guide, Startup Issues, Crashes, & Freezes. If you then discover your printer is misbehaving, simply thumb to the next chapter, Hardware Help. And so on through the System Issues & Fixes, OS X’s Applications, The Internet & Networking, and Mac Maintenance chapters. And if, despite all your diligent efforts, no solution is found? There are directions for what to do next in the Support Tricks chapter. But allow me to also extend a personal invitation to Macworld’s Mac 911 forum (macworld.com/5222), where I and other knowledgeable Mac users are eager to lend a helping hand.

—Christopher Breen, senior editor April 2010

1 Click here to buy the full 122-page “Macworld Mac Troubleshooting Superguide” for only $10!

Table of Contents Installation 8

Upgrading Your OS Make sure the leap from Leopard to Snow Leopard goes as smoothly as possible with these installation tips.

14 Installing Programs Install new software on your Mac and know what to do when things don’t go according to plan.

Startup Issues, Crashes, & Freezes 18 Startup Woes Follow these steps if your Mac is taking too long to start up—or if it won’t start up at all.

26 Address Kernel Panics Just because a kernel panics doesn’t mean you need to. Here’s what to do in case of a kernel panic.

27 Application Freezes We give you multiple ways to unfreeze a pesky frozen application.

28 Application Crashes These step-by-step instructions will show you how to handle an application crash and get your system running again.

Hardware Help 34 Printer Problems Follow these directions if your printer won’t print, has queue issues, or is giving you other headaches.

40 Hard-Drive Issues Prevent unnecessary data loss by looking out for failing-hard-drive symptoms and fixing internal and external drive issues.

44 Bad Memory Diagnose and repair bad memory, which can cause persistent crashes, system slowdowns, and corrupted files.


table of contents

47

Other Glitches and Fixes Some other common problems that afflict laptop owners, messy eaters, and optical drive users.

System Issues & Fixes 52

Navigation Mishaps Solve problems with navigation mainstays including Spotlight, the Finder, and the Dock.

56

System Settings Fixes Take control of your system settings and make sure they work for you, not against you.

60

Built-in Troubleshooting Tools Your Mac is filled with utilities to help you troubleshoot, including the Activity Monitor, Disk Utility, and hidden menu bar information.

OS X’s Applications 64

Safari Snow Leopard’s portal into the Web can run into snags from time to time. Get surfing again in a snap with these tricks.

68

Mail Mail, your Mac’s communication hub, looks simple but can be complicated to set up properly. We show you how to do it.

75

iCal Stay on schedule and handle unforeseen calendar calamities.

78

Other OS X Programs Tame OS X’s other apps, such as iChat, Preview, and Address Book, if they give you problems.

The Internet & Networking 82

Testing Network Speeds Is your connection to the Internet really slow, or does it just feel that way? Find out for sure.


table of contents

85 Speeding Up Your Network Once you’ve determined that your connection needs assistance, follow these steps to get it back up to speed.

Mac Maintenance 92 Back Up Data One of the most important things you can do for your computer, and your sanity, is to perform regular backups.

98 Declutter Your Hard Drive To keep your Mac performing at the top of its game, make sure your hard drive is cleaned up and in order with these tips.

102 Perform Regular Maintenance There are a handful of regular tasks you should perform to ensure your Mac keeps working properly. We’ll tell you what to do and when to do it.

Support Tricks 110 Find Solutions Online If you still haven’t solved your computer’s problems, go directly to these sources for more information and instructions.

112 Go to the Genius Bar Not every issue can be dealt with at home. When you need professional help, the first stop is the local Genius Bar.

114 Look Beyond the Genius Bar If you don’t have an Apple Store near you, or if your woes are beyond its abilities, you still have other sources for professional assistance available.

116 Provide Tech Support to Others Now that you know how to fix Macs, your friends and family will start calling on you for help. These tricks will make getting them up and running easy.


Contributors Macworld Senior Editor Christopher Breen answers readers’ questions and offers troubleshooting advice in his Mac 911 blog. He is also the author of The iPod touch Pocket Guide and The iPhone Pocket Guide, fourth edition (both Peachpit Press, 2009, peachpit.com).

Glenn Fleishman writes about Wi-Fi at Wi-Fi Net News (wifinetnews .com) and is the author of Take Control of Sharing Files in Leopard (TidBits Publishing, 2007, takecontrolbooks.com). Senior Editor Rob Griffiths runs Mac OS X Hints (macosxhints.com), a repository of hidden OS tricks and workarounds, and offers Mac hints on Macworld’s Mac OS X Hints blog. Joe Kissell is the senior editor of TidBits (www.tidbits.com) and the author of Take Control of Maintaining Your Mac (TidBits Publishing, 2009). Contributing Editor Ted Landau continues to ferret out new ways to get into and out of trouble with your Mac. His latest book, Take Control of iPhone OS 3 (Take Control Books, 2009, takecontrolbooks.com), extends this perspective to the iPhone.

Mac Troubleshooting Superguide Editor Heather Kelly President and CEO VP, Editorial Director

Mike Kisseberth Jason Snell

Managing Editor Copy Editors

Jennifer Werner Peggy Nauts, Gail Nelson-Bonebrake

Art Director Designers

Rob Schultz Lori Flynn, Carli Morgenstein

Nancy Jonathans Tamara Gargus

Production Director Prepress Manager

Macworld is a publication of Mac Publishing, L.L.C., and International Data Group, Inc. Macworld is an independent journal not affiliated with Apple, Inc. Copyright © 2010, Mac Publishing, L.L.C. All rights reserved. Macworld, the Macworld logo, the Macworld Lab, the mouse-ratings logo, MacCentral.com, PriceGrabber, and Mac Developer Journal are registered trademarks of International Data Group, Inc., and used under license by Mac Publishing, L.L.C. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple, Inc. Printed in the United States of America.

Have comments or suggestions? E-mail us at ebooks@ macworld.com.


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Installation

M

ost of us face the prospect of upgrading an operating system with a mixture of excitement and dread. True, an upgrade brings cool new ways to work. But when you’re installing OS X on your Mac, you’re tinkering with its precious virtual insides, and sometimes things can go wrong. The same is true for regular software installations and updates. Here are some common OS X and software installation issues and remedies to make the upgrade process as trouble-free as possible.

Table of contents

8

Upgrading Your OS

14

Installing Programs


Installation

Upgrading Your OS

Y

ou’re ready to upgrade to 10.6. Unfortunately, not all installation needs are alike, and not all installations go smoothly. Here are fixes for common problems and alternative ways to install the OS.

Prevent Installation Issues Before installing Snow Leopard, make sure your system meets Apple’s minimum requirements—for example, Snow Leopard requires a Mac with an Intel processor; PowerPC Macs need not apply. In addition to Apple’s official specs, it’s best to have an extra gigabyte of RAM and at least 10GB of free hard-drive space for a smooth experience, both during installation and afterward. Before you begin installing, check to see if your Mac requires any firmware updates; you can look up your computer in this Apple support article for details (macworld.com/5333). Similarly, if you’ve installed an aftermarket video card in your Mac, be sure to check with the card’s vendor to see if there are new Snow Leopard–compatible drivers you need to download and install. Next, use Disk Utility to verify and, if necessary, repair your hard drive. The easiest way to do this is to boot your Mac from the Snow Leopard install disk; when you get to the Welcome screen, choose Utilities ▶ Disk Utilities. A major OS upgrade is also the perfect chance to check your drives for problems, clean house, and look for updates to your frequently used software. (Don’t forget to check for new versions of preference panes and other add-ons that run in the background.) As with any major software update or upgrade, you should be sure to back up before installing Snow Leopard. If the upgrade process goes horribly wrong, the quickest way to get up and running again is with a clone—a bootable backup that’s an exact copy of your original hard drive. For instructions on backing up, see the Mac Maintenance chapter.

Solve Common Installation Problems You’re ready to make the leap and upgrade to Snow Leopard. Unfortunately, people don’t all need the same setup, and not all installations go smoothly. Here are some fixes for problems you may run into and some other ways to install the OS.


Installation

Installing Programs

O

S X comes with more than 40 applications that install by default. You can also install additional applications from Apple and thirdparty developers such as Adobe and Microsoft to add features that don’t come built-in. Installing and uninstalling a program in OS X is extremely straightforward, but sometimes problems arise.

Uninstall Problem Software Does a particular program consistently crash when you try to perform a particular action, such as saving a file? If the symptom doesn’t occur with any other applications, check to see whether there’s a newer version of the problem software. If the misbehaving software turns out to be the latest version, there’s a chance your copy of it may be corrupted. In that case, it might help to uninstall and reinstall the software. Unfortunately, reinstalling won’t fix problems involving a program’s support files. For example, numerous programs place files in youruserfolder/Library/Application Support. Simply replacing the main program won’t replace these support files. Sometimes even using an application’s installer won’t do it. When you want to uninstall a piece of software, check the original disc or download package for an uninstaller (or find out whether the installer has an Uninstall option). If it has one, use it. In most cases, however, you can delete an application simply by dragging it to the Trash and selecting Empty Trash from the Finder menu. Unlike Microsoft Windows, which scatters countless support files and drivers in different places on your hard drive, OS X stores most support files inside the application bundle. (Although an application looks and acts like a single file, it’s actually a collection of files.) So when you delete an application, all of these files also get deleted. The exceptions to this are preference files, which almost all applications create and which are stored in a Library folder. However, these files do no harm if you leave them where they are. A few programs also store other kinds of support files; these, too, can usually be left where they are. If you really want to get rid of everything, you might try a shareware program called AppZapper ($13; appzapper.com), from Austin Sarner and


Startup Issues, Crashes, & Freezes

O

ccasionally something that looks like a complete computer meltdown actually has a simple fix. Before heading to the Genius Bar or rushing into more complicated troubleshooting techniques, try these tried-and-true remedies for some of the most commonplace Mac problems: startup issues, kernel panics, and application freezes and crashes.

Table of contents

18

Startup Woes

26

ddress Kernel A Panics

27

Application Freezes

28

Application Crashes



Startup Woes

I

t happens to every Mac user eventually: If your Mac is taking too long to boot, not starting up at all, or seems to start normally but then stalls before the desktop appears, try each of the following steps, in turn, until one succeeds.

Your Mac Takes Too Long to Start Up Your Mac was running fine. It started up quickly, it was zippy when you worked, and snappy when you played. But suddenly something’s wrong: when you start it up, it takes longer—maybe a couple of minutes, maybe more—than it once did. What’s slowing things down? There can be a lot of reasons your Mac is taking longer to start up. Here are the troubleshooting steps you should take, in order, to find out what’s wrong and fix it.

Check Hardware Peripherals The first thing to check is the hardware devices connected to your Mac. First, disconnect every external hardware device but your mouse and keyboard: that includes hard drives, printers, scanners, extra input devices, hubs, network cables, monitors, and even cables that connect to your iPod. Then restart your Mac. Startup still slow? If you have a spare mouse and keyboard, disconnect your current input devices, connect the spares, and restart. If the problem persists, and if you use wireless AirPort networking, select your Internet connection in the Network preference pane and make sure the correct DNS servers are listed in the DNS Server box; they should be the ones specified by your ISP. If one of these steps resolves the slow startup, you can figure out which device is causing the problem by reconnecting your peripherals one at a time and restarting after each addition. If and when your startup chokes up, the last peripheral you added is the culprit.

Uninstall New Software If peripherals aren’t the problem, your next suspect is recently installed software, OS updates, or driver updates. If you’ve installed something recently, the first thing to do is uninstall the suspect software. For a recently



Address Kernel Panics

I

t’s an ominous sign when your screen turns a shade darker and a message appears—in several languages—informing you that you must restart your Mac. Your Mac is suffering from a kernel panic. But there’s no need to panic if you experience it. Restart First, restart your Mac. Near the end of the startup, a “this application has unexpectedly quit” message will appear. Don’t worry: your Mac is informing you that OS X itself quit unexpectedly prior to your restart. Check for Updates Like application crashes, kernel panic problems often vanish after a restart. If not—and if the onset of the panic is linked to a specific application—there’s probably a fatal bug in that software. Contact the maker for an updated version or for technical support. Ax New Hardware Did you recently add RAM or a PCI card to your Mac? Regard such additions with suspicion, especially ones that add a kernel extension with the word driver in its name to your Mac’s /System/Library/Extensions folder. These can be potential sources of kernel panics. If you recently added a card or peripheral to your Mac, try removing it to see if that eliminates the panic. Try a Safe Boot If the kernel panic occurs at random moments or during startup, try a safe boot. Restart and immediately hold down the Shift key until the sundial icon shows up at the gray screen. Reinstall OS X If the safe boot succeeds but kernel panic strikes again when you boot normally, a file in the /System/Library/Extensions folder is generally the cause; a third-party application probably installed the file. The simplest approach is to reinstall OS X (for details, see the Installation chapter). Next, reinstall your third-party software only as needed until you find the application that triggers the panic.



Application Freezes

I

t’s a common problem. You’re about to select a menu command when suddenly your cursor turns into a beach ball that just spins and spins. You try everything from pounding on the keyboard to offering a sacrifice to the computer gods, all to no avail. Your application has frozen. First some good news: usually, only one application freezes at a time. This means if you move your cursor away from the program’s window, the beach ball should disappear and your Mac’s behavior should return to normal. But you’re still stuck with an application on ice. When you can’t access an application’s Quit command, how do you get it to quit? Don’t fret: OS X offers several alternative ways to forcequit a program. You only need to use one, as they all do the same thing; however, you may find one method more convenient than another. Sometimes, one may work when another doesn’t. Cycle through to find the best method for you: Force Quit Go to the Apple menu and select Force Quit (or press its keyboard equivalent: 1-Option-Escape). This brings up the Force Quit Applications window. You’ll see a list of all your currently open applications. Typically, the name of the frozen one will be followed by the phrase “not responding.” Select the program’s name and click Force Quit. Use the Dock Menu You can also force an application to quit from the Dock. Click and hold the frozen application’s Dock icon. When the contextual menu pops up, the item that normally reads Quit should say Force Quit. If it still just says Quit, hold down the Option key. This makes the Force Quit command appear. Use Activity Monitor On rare occasions you may need to quit a program—such as the Dock—that doesn’t have a Dock icon or appear in the Force Quit window. In that case, launch Activity Monitor (it’s in /Applications/Utilities). From the list in the main window, select the frozen application. Click the Quit Process button in the toolbar. In the dialog box that appears, click Force Quit.



Application Crashes

J

ust as unwelcome as the application freeze is the application crash. In this case, you’re not trying to force a program to quit; you’re trying to prevent it from quitting on its own. When an application crashes, you typically see a dialog box informing you that the application has “unexpectedly quit.” As with application freezes, the good news is that these crashes rarely bring down an entire Mac—they usually affect just the one application. The “unexpectedly quit” dialog box includes a Reopen button. Click it to launch the application again. With luck, the crash will not reoccur. If a program crashes repeatedly or your Mac begins misbehaving in other ways, it’s time to move on to a time-tested set of potential fixes.

Restart Your Mac Select the Restart command from the Apple menu. It’s amazing how often this simple act resolves a problem. If the crash is so bad that you can’t get Restart to work, press and hold your Mac’s power button until the machine shuts off.

Update the Problem Program Does a program consistently crash when you try to perform a particular action, such as saving a file? If the symptom doesn’t occur with any other applications, check to make sure the program doesn’t have a conflict with Snow Leopard. It’s possible you’ll need to update the program. Snow Leopard will also automatically check for known conflicting programs at installation and move them to an Incompatibility folder. Many programs automatically check for updates upon launch. Take advantage of this option. Other software comes with a separate update utility that can launch on a schedule. For example, look for the Microsoft AutoUpdate program in your Applications folder if you want to check any of your Office programs right away or set up a schedule. To check for updates from Apple, select Software Update from the Apple menu. You can set the Software Update preferences to alert you to new updates (see “A Date to Update”). For a program that doesn’t offer this sort of help, check for an update by going to the company’s Website or to VersionTracker (versiontracker.com).


Hardware Help

W

hen your computer has software issues, there are usually clear-cut steps you can take to resolve them. However, when a Mac’s hardware or peripherals are experiencing glitches, the first step most users take is heading to the Genius Bar. If you don’t know much about the insides of your system, it’s best to leave the troubleshooting to a professional. But before you pay a pro, you can try a few tricks and solutions on your own with minimal risk to your computer.

Table of contents

34

Printer Problems

40

Hard-Drive Issues

44

Bad Memory

47

Other Glitches and Fixes


Hardware Help

Printer Problems

P

rinting a document is usually one of the easiest things you can do on a Mac. Select File ▶ Print, and you’re pretty much done—that is, unless your printer refuses to print. Restocking the printer’s paper tray will often solve the problem, but when obvious solutions like that don’t work, figuring out what to do can be a difficult and timeconsuming troubleshooting task.

Your Printer Won’t Print If your printer completely stops printing, the best thing to do is to take a look at the following items. Check the Basics It may seem obvious, but before taking apart your printer, you should check these basic elements of your setup. Make sure your printer is turned on and has power. Then make sure you have paper in the paper tray. Typically, if there’s no paper, a light on the printer will blink, or a message will appear on the printer’s LCD display. Check the tray even if no error message pops up on your screen. Next, check that the cable (likely USB or ethernet) connecting the printer to your Mac or router is properly seated on each end. If you have the option to use a different USB port, do so if the printer connection remains unresponsive. If you’ve used AppleTalk to communicate with your printer in the Determine the Default Make sure you’ve designated past, you’ll find the printer you want as the default printer that when you in the Print & Fax preference pane.


Hardware Help

Hard-Drive Issues

S

ooner or later, nearly every Mac user encounters a hard-disk problem. Because the hard drive stores the data that enables your Mac to run, such problems can cause your Mac to seriously misbehave—applications can quit without warning, your Mac might get stuck during startup, and files can become corrupted. Fortunately, if you think you might have a hard drive problem, there are several easy steps you can take to diagnose and (often) repair it.

Partition Your Disk for Easier Repairs If your startup volume develops disk errors, you may need to run a repair program (such as Disk Utility) from another volume to fix them. That volume could be an external hard-drive or a bootable DVD. Another option is to keep a small partition on your main disk that includes a bootable copy of OS X and a repair utility or two. When trouble strikes, you can boot up from this volume and fix some problems without any secondary media.

Look for Symptoms Drives don’t always fail catastrophically. For instance, when a block goes bad, you may still be able to read from it occasionally. Likewise, a stuck drive may start to spin after it’s been on for a few minutes. Consider yourself lucky—there’s still time to save your data. (See the Mac Maintenance chapter for details on making a backup.) You typically discover bad blocks when reading from or writing to them, but the symptoms depend largely on what that block contains. If it’s a document, it might fail to open. If it’s core system software, system crashes may occur (although it can be hard to tell whether that’s due to media damage or software problems such as a corrupt directory). Other clues that there’s a hardware problem include frequent crashes within a variety of programs and unusually long application-launch times. Strange sounds can also tip you off; a drive that’s on its last legs might make disquieting grinding or clicking noises. If a drive is dead, you’ll hear nothing but eerie silence.

Address Logical Problems Many hard-drive malfunctions are the result of logical problems (such as errors in particular files on your disk or in the hidden directory structures


Hardware Help

Bad Memory

I

f you can’t find a software explanation for persistent crashes or corrupted files, you may need to look to your hardware—especially if you’ve recently added new memory to your Mac. For starters, you’ll need to confirm that the memory you installed is alive and kicking and that it’s the right type of RAM for your Mac.

Check to See if It’s Alive Select About This Mac from the Apple menu, and see how much memory it reports. If it’s not the amount you expect, your new RAM module is either dead or improperly installed. To find out which is the case, go through the installation again, making certain that the module clicks into its slot properly. If the memory still doesn’t register, you probably have a defective module. If the amount of RAM seems correct, open System Profiler (see “Mixed Memory Messages”). To do so, select About This Mac from the Apple menu and then click the More Info button. In the Contents pane, select Hardware ▶ Memory. In the right pane, you should see a list of all your

Mixed Memory Messages Find out what’s really going on with your RAM by opening System Profiler.


Hardware Help

Other Glitches and Fixes You Need FireWire 400 The latest MacBook Pros only have a FireWire 800 port. What if you need the older FireWire 400 port? You can have one, but it will require an additional purchase. You actually have two options. First, you may be able to get by with an 800-to-400 FireWire cable. Otherwise, if you have a 17-inch MacBook Pro, which carries an ExpressCard slot, you can purchase a FireWire 400 card for that slot. Regrettably, no other current MacBook Pros have such a slot. The latest MacBooks (as opposed to MacBook Pros) have no FireWire ports at all and no ExpressCard slot. With these Macs, if you need FireWire of any sort, you are simply out of luck. You’ll have to find an alternative device that uses USB.

The Battery’s Not Charging Do you have an older MacBook or MacBook Pro? Does the battery fail to hold a charge? Before you decide to purchase a new battery, make sure you’ve installed the latest compatible MacBook Pro Battery Update. This alone may fix the problem. To check, go to the SystemConfiguration folder in /System/Library/ SystemConfiguration and look for a file named BatteryUpdater.bundle. Select Get Info for the file (see “Powerful Update”). If its version reads either 1.2, 1.3, or 1.4 you should be fine. If not, or if no BatteryUpdater bundle is present, download it from Apple’s Website and install it (support.apple.com/kb/HT1359). Note that each update applies to a different kind of MacBook. Be sure to read the tech notes that come with each update to make sure it applies to your MacBook model. If installing the update has no effect, you probably need a battery replacement. The good news is that Apple may replace the battery for free, even if your MacBook is no longer under warranty. If your laptop qualifies,


System issues & Fixes

e

ven Snow Leopard’s basic features and controls can act up now and then. Essential tools you use to navigate your system, like Finder, the Dock, Spaces, and Exposé, are all prone to the occasional snafu, as are OS X’s system settings. We’ve listed some of the most common problems and easy solutions. Also included in OS X are some incredibly helpful troubleshooting tools that you can use to diagnose and remedy system problems. Get to know Snow Leopard’s utilities and their functions, then use them to tackle any other issues that may arise.

TABle oF conTenTS

52

Navigation Mishaps

56

System Settings Fixes

60

Built-in Troubleshooting Tools


SYSTEM ISSUES & FIXES

navigation Mishaps

S

now Leopard’s built-in navigation and searching tools are fairly straightforward. Should you encounter any issues, freezes, or general annoyances, try these fixes.

Force Spotlight to Find a File Sometimes Spotlight refuses to find what you’re looking for, even though you know the file exists. This problem occurs when Spotlight’s indexes get out of sync. To set things right, try rebuilding the indexes, forcing Spotlight to scour your drive again and serve up the right search results. Open the Spotlight pane in System Preferences. Click the Privacy tab and drag your hard-drive icon to the list of locations that you don’t want Spotlight to search (see “Starting Fresh”). Wait a few seconds; then select the drive and click the minus-sign button. By dragging the drive into this list, you force Spotlight to erase its index; when you remove the drive again, Spotlight notes that it is available for indexing and starts doing so. If you have a ton of files, rebuilding the index may take a bit of time. While your hard drive is being indexed, you’ll see a pulsing dot inside the Spotlight icon. If you try to use the Spotlight menu while Spotlight is reindexing, you’ll get a message saying that it’s busy indexing your drive.

Make Spotlight Search System Files By default Spotlight doesn’t search the guts of the System and Library folders. In part, this is to discourage you from tampering with essential files. But if you need to see these files, you Starting Fresh Forcing Spotlight to reindex your can force its hand. hard drive can fix spotty searches.



System Settings Fixes

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ac OS X offers countless ways to customize your Mac’s settings so they reflect your personal tastes (including the colors you see and the sounds your Mac makes) and your setup’s specifics (such as your network settings and security preferences). Here are fixes for some common issues Mac users might run into with their settings.

Fix Misbehaving Preference Panes If preference panes go missing or appear in duplicate, or if the System Preferences program crashes repeatedly, follow these steps: quit System Preferences (if it’s open), open your user folder, and navigate to the /Library/Caches folder. Delete the com.apple.preferencepanes.cache file. The next time you launch System Preferences, it should work normally.

Find a lost Setting If you’re not sure where a particular setting is located, use the Spotlight search bar at the top of the System Preferences window (see “Find That Setting”). For example, to find the settings that affect how text is displayed, simply type text in the search bar. You’ll be presented with a list of possible settings, including Enlarge Display Text, Font Smoothing, and Highlight Color. Click the desired setting, and System Preferences will highlight the pane that contains that setting and then open the pane for you. You can also use the up and down arrow keys to see which pane corresponds to which setting in the list, Find That Setting Locating the exact setting you without switching to need to tweak is easy with the search bar. the pane.



Built-in Troubleshooting Tools

S

now Leopard has a host of built-in tools that let you troubleshoot your own computer. The menu bar has hidden diagnostic information, and the utilities folder is filled with invaluable helpers.

Find Problems with the Menu Bar If you hold down the Option key and click various menu bar icons, you’ll discover they have some hidden tricks. Here’s what you’ll see: AirPort In addition to the hardware (MAC) address of the wireless station, which channel is in use, the signal strength (RSSI), and finally an indication of the data transmission rate (all available in 10.5), you can also see what mode your connected network is using (802.11n, for instance), security (such as WPA2 Personal), and something called the MCS Index, which appears to be related to the 802.11n standard. Sound If you use more than one sound input and/or output on your Mac, this menu is for you. Instead of using a third-party app such as Sound-Source, or opening System Preferences, just Option-click the Sound icon. Instead of the usual volume slider, you’ll see a list of available output and input devices; select one from the list to use that output or input device. This is a great timesaver. Battery When you Optionclick the battery icon, you’ll see


OS X’s Applications

S

now Leopard comes with a collection of applications that, for the most part, just work. Staples like Safari, Mail, and iCal will make up a large part of your daily computing routines. Any problems with them can quickly throw you off. If you’re experiencing issues with any of Apple’s included apps, check this chapter for a possible solution. Also take a look at the general program troubleshooting techniques mentioned in the Startup Issues, Crashes & Freezes chapter in this book. This chapter also looks at smaller apps, such as iChat and Preview.

Table of contents

64

Safari

68

Mail

75

iCal

78

ther OS X O Programs


applications

Safari

A

pple’s built-in Web browser, Safari, will help you access the rapidly increasing amount of news, information, and entertainment you get from the Internet. With Snow Leopard, Apple shipped a new version of Safari. Here are some common Safari issues and fixes.

Find a Stalled Web Page Safari’s useful Activity window (Window ▶ Activity) shows activity related to the Web pages you’re viewing. If you try to load a page Spot the Stall You can use Safari’s Activity window to spot stalled Web pages. and it stalls, for instance, the Activity window will show you exactly what’s causing the problem. Click the disclosure triangle next to the page in question, and you’ll see an entry for every item on the page. If an item is loaded, its size will be displayed; if it’s not loaded, a message will show its status (see “Spot the Stall”).

Handle Plug-in Crashes Safari 4 plug-ins such as Flash and QuickTime run as processes separate from the browser. So if, for example, Flash crashes, that crash won’t take down the browser with it. You can reload the crashed plug-in without having to restart your browser. To see a list of all installed plug-ins, open Safari and select Installed Plug-Ins from the Help menu. These plug-ins can be found in youruserfolder/Library/Internet Plug-ins. Remove plug-ins from their folder, restart Safari, and see if that fixes the problem. If it does, check for updated versions of those plug-ins. Otherwise, determine which plug-in is the culprit and stop using it.

Disable Automatic PDF Viewing If you click a link to a PDF document in Safari, the browser automatically loads the PDF in its current window. If you’d rather view the PDF in Preview or Acrobat or download it, you have to wait for it to load and then


applications

Mail

I

f you use Mail, you may run into a few common connection, account, exchange, and other issues. If you experience one of these common issues, read on for ways to get your e-mail going again.

Mail Is Experiencing Connection Issues If you encounter problems sending or receiving mail, you don’t need to guess at the nature of the problem. Find out exactly what’s wrong by choosing Window ▶ Connection Doctor. Mail then Call the Connection Doctor Mail makes it easy to see checks each of what accounts are giving you problems. your incoming and outgoing account connections, and displays a window with a plain English description of any problems it found, usually with advice for fixing them (see “Call the Connection Doctor”). For more information on troubleshooting Internet connections, see the Internet & Networking chapter.

Stop a Hung-Up E-mail Mail sometimes gets hung up in the process of sending, receiving, or synchronizing mail. If the program seems slow, you don’t necessarily need to quit Mail altogether. Choose Window ▶ Activity to display a list of all the tasks Mail is performing. Click the stop-sign icon next to any task to cancel it.

Mail’s Search Is Broken If the Find function in Mail no longer finds anything, you can restore it. The index for your messages is probably mucked up. Try a thorough reindexing by taking a trip to Terminal. Launch Terminal and enter:


applications

iCal

S

now Leopard’s included calendar application iCal can keep you on schedule and sync with your iPhone, MobileMe, and even online calendars.

General iCal Issues Before tampering with iCal’s settings, it’s wise to back up all of your calendar information. If you’re not using TimeMachine, you can back up a calendar by making a copy of its files, located in yourusername/ Library/Calendars. Reset Preferences If iCal is quitting unexpectedly or otherwise acting odd, you can try to fix it by resetting its preferences. Keep iCal closed and navigate to yourusername/Library/Preferences. Here you will find iCal’s preferences file (also known as .plist file), named com.apple. iCal .plist. Reset the .plist file by dragging it to your desktop, then logging out and back in to your system. Reopen iCal and see if it is working. Reset MobileMe Sync Data Some iCal issues are linked to synced calendars. If you have calendars that are synced via MobileMe, try to remedy the issues with a reset. Open System Preferences, select MobileMe, click the Sync tab, and click the Advanced button. Select your computer and click Reset Sync Data. Choose exactly what information That Syncing Feeling Resetting MobileMe you want to reset from sync data can clear up pesky iCal issues. the drop-down menu, and click the right arrow button so that the orange arrow is directed at the MobileMe icon (see “That Syncing Feeling”). Clear Calendar Caches If you’re still having sync issues you can delete iCal’s cache files. Again, make sure your calendars are backed


applications

Other OS X Programs

O

ther included Apple programs usually complete their straightforward tasks without issues. Occasionally small problems will pop up; when that happens, these easy fixes get you back on track.

iChat Login Issues A common iChat issue is not being able to reliably log in to iChat using a MobileMe AIM account. Sometimes it may work, but more often than not, it connects, then disconnects rapidly, over and over again, leading to a message from AIM stating that you’ve attempted to log in too many times. The problem is asRerouting iChat Having problems logging into sociated with certain iChat? Take a trip to iChat’s preferences. routers. The fix is to just change the AIM server port in iChat’s preferences to 443—the port for https connections. Make sure you’re logged out of your iChat account, then go to Accounts ▶ Server Settings, change the port from whatever it is to 443, then close iChat’s preferences (see “Rerouting iChat”). Since the issue is router related, you’ll need to make this same change on any Mac on your network.

Data Detectors Don’t Work in iChat Data detectors work by watching your e-mail messages for content that seems related to appointments—things like meet next Wednesday or lunch


The Internet & Networking

W

hen it comes to home networking and connecting to the Internet, the most common problem is “it’s

too slow.” But how slow is “slow”? Sometimes the connection between two computers on your network or between you and the Internet might feel slow, but it’s really running as fast as it can. Before you go about trying to speed up your network, you need to know whether or not it really is slower than it should be—and that means testing. In the pages that follow, we’ve provided four ways to test different aspects of network and Internet performance. Should those tests indicate that your network is slower than it should be, we’ve also got some advice for troubleshooting the problem. That usually means checking your network hardware, making sure it’s up-to-date, making a few software tweaks, or—if all of that fails—finding a new Internet service provider.

TaBLE oF CoNTENTS

82

Testing Network Speeds

85

Speeding Up Your Network


The Internet and Networking

Testing Network Speeds

W

hen you test the speed of your network and Internet connections, it’s important to remember that all speeds are theoretical. If your network isn’t delivering the 54 mbps you think it should, that doesn’t necessarily mean something’s wrong. In real life, data often moves at no more than 50 percent of rated speed.

Test Your Internet Connection There are several sites on the Web that will test the speed of your connection (by measuring the time it takes to download and upload data). Speakeasy.net (www.speakeasy.net) is one of the most popular; DSLReports.com (www.dslreports.com/speedtest) lists several more. To get an accurate measurement, make sure that nothing else is happening on your network or over your Net connection—no automated backups, no file downloads, no streaming video, not even e-mail. If possible, plug the computer directly into your broadband modem.

Test Your Wireless Network To find out how quickly a Wi-Fi client is connecting to your Airport base station, launch AirPort Utility, select your base station, and click Manual Setup. Then select the Advanced tab and click the Logs & Statistics button. In the Wireless Clients tab, you should see the unique MAC (Media Access Control) address Speakeasy.net Speakeasy tests the speed of of each adapter your Internet connection by timing file uploads and and the speed and downloads to and from servers around the Net.


The Internet and Networking

Speeding Up Your Network

B

ased on your speed-testing, you may have some idea of where the bottlenecks are in your network. For example, if you find that your network is running well, but your Internet connection is slow, then something could be wrong with your modem, your DNS settings, or your ISP. Conversely, if your Internet speeds are OK, but file transfers take forever, the trouble is likely in your home-networking hardware.

Check the Cables To begin with, make sure you have the right networking cables. Gigabit ethernet requires Category 5E cable (for short runs) or Category 6 (for long runs). Most cables have their type printed repeatedly in small letters along their length. Neither type of cable is expensive. If you have the wrong cable, replace it. Ethernet cables can also be surprisingly fragile, especially after years of use. Inspect your cables for bends or kinks. An ethernet line should never be folded over itself. The insulation should be smooth and rounded, with no twist marks or stretching. If you see any such signs of wear, replace the cable. If you’re storing ethernet cable, don’t coil it tightly; loops should be several inches in diameter. Avoid “ribbon wrapping”—tightly wrapping a loose end of a cable around the middle of the coil to keep it together. Rather, roll cable loosely, letting it fall into a loop. If you have an ethernet switch, you can use it to test your wires: First check the switch’s activity lights when a cable you know to be good is connecting the switch to a computer. Then connect the cable you want to test, and check the lights again. If status lights change, ditch the cable. While you’re at it, if you’re troubleshooting a slow Internet connection, check the cable from the back of your modem to the nearest phone or cable wall jack. That line can suffer from the same problems as ethernet cables: Look for bends and kinks, and make sure the insulation shows no signs of wear. If it does, replace it. With coaxial cable, check that the hard-to-turn hexagonal nut around the connector is as tight as it can be. To be sure, lift the cable to release tension while turning the nut.


Mac Maintenance

A

healthy Mac is a happy Mac. Take care of your system and be prepared for any troubleshooting disasters by regularly backing up all of your data, keeping your hard drive clean, and scheduling regular maintenance tasks. Time Machine, introduced in Leopard, makes creating a thorough backup and recovering from problems easier than ever. Having an organized and decluttered hard drive is easy when you know what to delete and how to find superfluous files. Add the tasks in the final section in this chapter to iCal. Regularly updating applications, performing hard-drive checkups, and even dusting (yes, dusting) will spare you Mac heartache down the line.

Table of contents

92 Back Up Data 98 Declutter Your

Hard Drive

102 Perform Regular

Maintenance


Mac maintenance

Back Up Data

T

he first step in any maintenance plan should be setting up a reliable backup routine. Backing up your data regularly won’t prevent Mac disasters, but it will help you get back on your feet quickly when something does go wrong, whether it’s dying hard drives, corrupted data, or accidental deletions. But while everyone knows they should back up their data, too few actually do. Using a unique 3-D interface, Apple’s backup program Time Machine attempts to turn the complex and sometimes confusing processes of backing up and restoring into simple, visual operations. Once activated, Time Machine works behind the scenes to automatically create time-based snapshots of your Mac, letting you instantly retrieve archived versions of files, folders, and programs.

How Time Machine Works Time Machine copies the files on your computer to a destination you designate—such as an external hard drive or a second drive inside your Mac. Then, once per hour, the program runs again, updating your backup to include whatever files have changed since last time. With each hourly backup, Time Machine makes what amounts to a snapshot of your entire system at that moment. If you look through the folders on your backup disk, you’ll see what appears to be a complete copy of all your files for each of numerous backup sessions. But to some extent that’s an illusion; Time Machine copies to your backup disk only those files and folders that are different from the ones in your previous backup. That way, your disk doesn’t fill up with multiple copies of files that haven’t changed. Time Machine keeps all of the day’s backups for 24 hours, but then it begins to delete older versions to save space. You can count on it to keep the first backup of any given day for an entire month. Even after a month, it preserves the first backup of each week until your disk is nearly full. Only at that point does the program begin purging files from your oldest weekly backups. The net result is that you can see your files as they looked at many points in the past. Keep in mind that Time Machine doesn’t work instantaneously—if you create a file and then delete it a few seconds later, Time Machine won’t


Mac maintenance

Declutter Your Hard Drive

A

s you use your Mac, it tends to accumulate lots of files—from the ones you create and interact with to preference and application support files, software downloads, and more. These bits can add up, and when your hard drive gets too full, performance can suffer. What’s worse, if OS X tries to save user data, virtual-memory files, or temporary files to your hard drive and can’t find enough free space, you can lose data. How much free space is enough? This is a point of frequent debate, but one good guideline is approximately 10 percent of your hard-drive capacity or 10GB, whichever is less. In addition, if you work with programs that store large temporary files—for example, Photoshop needs scratch space, and DVD-burning software generally requires free space equal to the size of the disc you’re burning—be sure to leave more room for that. Clean up your hard drive every few months, or whenever it starts filling up. And never delete a file if you don’t know what it is.

Remove Unneeded Stuff The first step in freeing up hard-drive space is simply to get rid of things you don’t use, such as programs you never launch, movies you never watch, and music you never listen to. If you’ve got old files that you’re keeping for posterity but don’t need on hand, consider burning them to disc and removing the originals from your drive. (But be aware that optical discs can go bad over time, so you might want to re-burn them every couple years. And be sure to store copies of important data with your off-site backups.)

Empty the Trash Deleting old, unwanted files requires one more step after dragging them to the Trash. Luckily, your Mac’s Trash is easy to empty—just Control-click its icon in the Dock and choose Empty Trash. But some people never do so, ending up with gigabytes of unwanted data on their drives. If you tend to forget, set up a repeating event in Apple’s iCal to remind you.


Mac maintenance

Perform Regular Maintenance

M

acs are relatively hassle-free—most people can get by without doing any routine maintenance at all. But you can greatly reduce your chances of problems, both big and small, by regularly performing a few simple tasks. In addition to backing up your data and keeping your hard drive clean, there are other tasks that occasionally require your attention.

Update Your Software Why suffer from bugs that have already been fixed or security issues that have already been patched? Software vendors regularly release product updates that contain new features or quash problems and incompatibilities. In general, you want to make sure you’re running the latest versions of all your software. Set Software Update, and any other automated utilities or built-in update locators, to check for updates weekly. If you’re checking manually, do so every few weeks for software you use frequently. (Note that updates that provide bug fixes are often free; larger updates that provide significant new features may require purchase.) Schedule Apple Updates Keeping OS X and other Apple software up-to-date is easy. Choose Software Update from the Apple menu, and this built-in utility will launch and then check Apple’s servers to see whether any new Apple software is available. If it is, you can choose to install those updates right then and there. Alternatively, tell Software Update to check for updates automatically: open the Software Update preference pane, click the Scheduled Check tab, and select the Check For Updates option. Software Update can check daily, weekly, or monthly and, if you like, automatically download any updates. Keep Other Software Current Many third-party programs— Microsoft Office, for example—have a similar feature that automatically checks for new versions and lets you know when one is available. You’ll often find this feature in a program’s preferences window (typically accessed through the programname ▶ Preferences menu item). You can also find out about updates at companies’ Websites, but if you have lots of third-party programs that don’t check automatically, a better approach


Support Tricks

O

nce you’ve tried every troubleshooting trick in the book, it’s time to look for outside help. There is a wealth of troubleshooting resources for Mac owners out there. First, if you’re still trying to solve your own problem, you can find fixes online with these search tips. Then, if you decide you need to get a third party involved, start with the excellent, free Genius Bar. If you don’t have an Apple Store nearby, or if your problem is beyond its scope, there is still hope, including other Apple solutions and Apple Authorized Service Providers. Once you’ve become a troubleshooting master, friends and family will start turning to you for assistance. Make helping them as easy as possible with a few key setup tips.

Table of contents

110 Find Solutions

Online

112 Go to a Genius Bar 114 Look Beyond the

Genius Bar

116 Provide Tech

Support to Others


support tricks

Find Solutions Online

O

ne way to avoid re-creating the wheel and zero in on an easy solution is to search the Web. It’s likely that you are not the first or only person to have experienced your problem, so chances are good that you’ll discover solutions online.

Start with a Google Search If you can type in the exact text of your error message or otherwise summarize your problem using a few keywords, you’re especially likely to get helpful results using Google. Use quotes to enclose exact phrases; this reduces the number of unwanted results. For example, if you type in the error message "the Preferences file could not be opened. The end of file was reached. -39", you’ll get a useful Microsoft Entourage Help Page, which tells you what to do if you have a damaged Identity database file. If you instead just type Entourage -39, you’ll have to wade through a lot of irrelevant information about HBO’s series Entourage (see “Google to the Rescue”).

Try Support Sites If Google comes up empty, search support sites for the products that are

Google to the Rescue A descriptive Google search is often the quickest way to find the solution to a problem.


support tricks

Go to a Genius Bar

A

t some point, if you work your way through the Internet’s suggested fixes without success, you’ll exhaust your patience. This can easily happen if the problem lies with the Mac’s hardware—in most cases, you can’t do those repairs yourself. And sometimes you might have a software problem that you can’t figure out, despite your best efforts. In either case, the time has arrived for a trip to the Genius Bar.

Bring Apple Problems to Apple The Genius Bar is best suited for problems with Apple products. Geniuses are less likely to help—and may even refuse to help—with problems involving third-party hardware and software. If you know your problem is with Adobe Photoshop or a Canon printer, for example, you’re usually better off contacting the makers of those products than dealing with the Genius Bar.

Make an Appointment The Genius Bar is incredibly popular, so make an appointment before you go. You can schedule your visit via Apple’s Website (apple.com/retail/ geniusbar) (see “Reserve a Genius”). Arrive a few minutes early to the store and check in with the concierge. In most cases, the Genius Bar will call you up within minutes of your appointed time.

Check Your Warranty Apple products generally come with a one-year warranty. If you purchase AppleCare (apple.com/support/products), that extends it for another two years. For a product that’s still under warranty, there’s a good chance that Apple won’t charge you for repair or replacement. Occasionally, it may offer a free repair or replacement even if the warranty has expired. It can’t hurt to bring in your hardware and check things out. If you expect to be paying for any repairs, you may face some difficult decisions. Many repairs cost almost as much as a replacement. Would you rather spend $800 to fix your three-year-old MacBook or get a new one for $1,000? Give this option some thought before your visit.


support tricks

Look Beyond the Genius Bar

T

he Genius Bar is not the only place you can turn for help. Whether you don’t have an Apple Store in your town or you’re just not ready to jump in the car and go, you have options.

Try the Telephone You can still find old-fashioned telephone support at 800/275-2273. It’s free for 90 days for most products, and for two years if you purchased AppleCare. If you prefer, you can avoid waiting on hold by placing your phone request at the Apple Expert page (apple.com/support/expert). You select your product and describe the issue you are having, and Apple will call you at an agreed-upon time.

Go Online If you are having issues making a purchase in iTunes or experiencing a problem with MobileMe, Apple also offers online chat help (macworld .com/4609). At this time, Chat help is only available for these topics.

Check Repair Options To find out more about your warranty status and what repair options are available for any Apple product, check out Apple’s Online Service Assistant (macworld.com/4611) for details (see “At Your Service”).

Learn More about Your Mac If what you need is general tutorial help rather than a fix for a specific problem, the Apple Store can still be of value. Skip the Genius Bar and instead select one of the many free workshops, from an iLife ’09 introduction to a session about using Final Cut Pro. Each store maintains its own schedule. Or, for more personal help, spend $99 and get a year’s worth of training sessions via Apple’s One to One program. You’ll find details about what’s going on at the store nearest you by visiting that location’s Website (apple.com/retail).


support tricks

Provide Tech Support to Others

A

fter learning the troubleshooting basics in this book, you may end up being the person your friends and relatives run to when they’re faced with a Mac problem. Providing help can be gratifying, but repeated requests can be frustrating: once you demonstrate your technical prowess, you quickly become the go-to person whenever someone’s Mac hiccups or burps. That means lots of calls for assistance. With these setup and maintenance tips, you can cut down on “emergency” calls that are hardly urgent.

Customize Accounts If you are helping a first-time Mac user you know well, ask him or her if you can create an administrator account for yourself. This gives you the power to put things right if necessary and lets you set up a limited account for the Mac’s primary user, which can help prevent him or her from making serious mistakes on the computer while learning. There are two options for limiting users—standard accounts and managed accounts. Standard Accounts A standard account limits users to creating folders and saving files in certain areas of the Home folder (so they can save files to the Documents folder but not to, say, the root level of the hard drive or the Library folder). Standard users can access programs, but they aren’t allowed to install software or use potentially dangerous preference panes, such as Sharing and Network, which require an administrator’s name and password for access. Standard accounts are particularly good for Windows switchers, who are familiar with computers but may get lost in a new interface. To set up a standard account, go to the Accounts preference pane, click the lock, enter the administrator password, click the plus-sign (+) button to add a user, and choose Standard from the New Account pop-up menu. If you fear that a user will accidentally venture into potentially dangerous areas of the startup volume, go to Finder ▶ Preferences, select the General icon, and uncheck Hard Disks, which will disable his or her ability to view hard disks on the desktop. Likewise, click the Sidebar tab and


support tricks

Take Control from Afar Regardless of how foolproof you believe you’ve made a Mac, you’re going to get calls for help, or perhaps need help solving a problem from someone more experienced than yourself. And unless you have a real fondness for the scenery on the drive over to your cousin Norbert’s house, it’s a good idea to configure his Mac so that you can connect to it and control it remotely. Snow Leopard makes this possible (and easy), thanks to Apple’s instant messaging client, iChat, which takes advantage of the OS’s screen-sharing capabilities. Here are the steps: Sign up With AIM AIM is AOL’s free iChat-compatible service. Go to the AIM Website and register Norbert for an account. Add AIM Account to iChat Launch iChat—this should bring up an Account Setup window. Choose AIM Account from the Account Type pop-up menu, and then enter the screen name and password in the appropriate fields. Click Done. Add Yourself as a Buddy In iChat, choose Buddies ▶ Add Buddy; in the sheet that appears, enter your AIM or MobileMe account name, as well as your first and last name. Turn on Screen Sharing In iChat, choose Video ▶ Screen Sharing Enabled. It’s not necessary to turn on screen sharing in the Sharing preference pane if you’re viewing this Mac’s screen via iChat. Add the Buddy to Your iChat On your Mac, add Cousin Norbert as a buddy (using the previously described process). Start sharing The next time Norbert has a problem, ask him to launch iChat and wait for your request to share his screen. To send that request, select his screen name in your iChat Buddy list, click the Start Screen Sharing button at the bottom of the window (the overlapping screen icon), and select Ask To Share nameofuser’s Screen (see “Sharing Means Caring”). When the request appears on his screen, tell him to click the window and the Accept button. His screen should show up on your Mac; tell him to let go of the mouse so you can take control of his Mac and try to resolve the Sharing Means Caring Screen problem. sharing is a fast way to take control.


Eventually, usually when you least expect it, something will go wrong with your Mac. It could be something small, like a frozen program, or something bigger, like a kernel panic. Luckily, many of the problems you’ll encounter as a Mac owner can be solved without involving the Genius Bar. This book will show you how to diagnose and remedy common problems on your own, as well as recognize when matters are beyond your skill level. Whether you’re using an iMac, MacBook, or Macbook Air, these pages are filled with solutions for many of the common problems that you might run into. Start out on the right foot with our chapter on solving installation issues when upgrading to Snow Leopard or adding new applications. Once you’re up and running you might run into stubborn programs, memory hogs, perplexing settings, or a glitchy Finder. Even Apple’s included programs like Mail, Safari, iCal, and iChat can run amok from time to time. A few tweaks to your settings or other easy fixes can get you back to computing quickly. We’ll walk you through what to do when your computer won’t start up, when it freezes, and when it crashes completely. Since one of the best ways of avoiding trouble is to have a proper Mac maintenance routine, we’ll tell you what tasks every OS X user should do regularly to prevent problems, including making backups. And if you get stumped and end up needing outside help, we’ve got tips for that, too, such as the best way to prepare for a trip to the Genius Bar. Macs run smoothly most of the time. This book will prepare you for the rare occasions when yours doesn’t.

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