Sometimes the Desktop database becomes corrupt. This causes icons to change or disappear. It can also cause applications not to run.
How: When you start your Mac hold down the "Apple" and option keys. You will be asked if you want to rebuild your desktop. The Desktop may also be rebuilt by using TechTool Pro.
If the PRAM is corrupt many strange things can occur. The Mac may not recognize certain drives, may loose printer or date settings, and may not even boot.
How: When you start your Mac hold down the ("Apple"-option-P-R) keys. This will cause the machine to reboot and play the startup chimes again. Keep all the keys held down until the system restarts between 3 and 7 times. The PRAM many also be zapped by the TechTool Pro. If you zap your PRAM, several control panels will revert to their default settings. They include Appearance, AppleTalk, ColorSync Profile, Map, Memory, and Mouse. Reset them after each zap. Don't reset your date and time until after you check the Map control panel; the former is dependent on the latter. After zapping your PRAM, make sure you reset your Mac's Map and Date & Time control panels before you start sending e-mail; if you don't, your messages will appear to have been sent in 1956, dropping them out of sight in most people's In boxes.
Sometimes extensions conflict with each other causing the Mac to freeze up or crash. Start the Mac with the extensions off to see if this solves the problem.
How: When you start your Mac hold down the shift key until you get the message the the extensions are disabled. You can also use the Extensions Manager to turn off certain extensions and control panels.
New viruses can find their way into computers, especially if you download files or use disks. Viruses can cause strange problems to occur or may even erase data or cause the system not to boot. Use Disinfectant or other virus scanning software..
How: Virus scanning is best accomplished by starting the Mac with a System Disk other than it's hard drive.
Sometimes the Mac's hard disk driver can become corrupt. Make sure that you install the latest driver available.
How: Use Apple's Drive Setup for Apple hard drives. For non-Apple drives use the utility that came with your hard drive.
Things sometimes just get goofed up on the hard drive. A hard disk utility (Disk First Aid) can sometimes fix the problems for you.
How: In order to fix all possible problems you will need to start your Mac from a System Disk that comes with your Mac. If Disk First Aid is unable to repair the problems you will need to use Norton Utilities or Tech Tool Pro.
Boot from another device to see if the problems are solved.
How: To boot from a CD or external hard drive see the "Handy Key Combinations" section of this page.
Preferences files can become corrupt and cause problems with applications or Mac operation.
How: Open the System Folder and then open the Preferences Folder. Find the preferences file that you suspect is causing the problem and trash it. It is always a good idea to delete the Finder Preferences. (Don't worry about losing these files, a new preference file will be created the next time your run the program).
The Mac has a battery inside that keeps the date and time and other settings current. If this battery fails all sorts of things can happen including no video and loss of network and Internet capabilities.
How: Check the date and time in the control panels. If the year has changed to 1956 or 1904 it is a sure sign of a dead battery.
Outdated software can cause many different problems and conflicts.
How: Click on your application icon one time - then press command-I. This will give you an information box that should tell you the version of the program. Check with the software company or the version tracker web site for the most current version.
If there is more than one copy of the System or Finder on your startup disk unexpected things can happen.
How: Use the Find command under the file menu and search for "system" and "finder". If there is more than one copy of either, trash them from the non-active system folder.
If an application runs short of memory allocated to it, the application may crash or not even load.
How: Click on your application icon one time - then press "Apple"-I. This will give you an information box that has memory settings fields at the bottom. You may want to increase the preferred memory setting.
If any of these settings is out of range unexpected results can occur. If you have Virtual Memory turned on it should not be set to more than double the internal RAM.
How: Open the Memory Control Panel. Usually you will want to click in the "Use Default" box.
Sometimes applications or files become corrupt, causing unexplained problems.
How: Install application or files from an known "clean" source. If possible, delete old files first.
A fragmented drive can cause your Mac to run slow.
How: You will need to use Norton Utilities or Tech Tool Pro.
If your hard drive is full or almost full your Mac may have errors and may not even print.
How: Open your hard drive and select "view by icon" under the views menu. This will give you a reading of bytes free.
If you are having crashes or freezes you may be low on memory.
How: Launch all the programs you normally have running. Go to the finder. Under the Apple Menu select the first option (About this computer). This will tell you the largest unused block of memory.
This is the last resort and there are several ways to do this. You can reinstall the system software from your system CD or disks. If you choose this option try to perform a "clean install". The best and most reliable way to install new system software is to backup your entire hard drive and reformat. Then, copy the needed data from the backup to your hard drive.
Sometimes it is important or handy to take a picture of the desktop picture (especially if you want to copy and paste into a word processing document or just want to remember your settings.
How: To take a picture of your desktop by push Apple-Shift-3. The picture will be saved to your hard drive as a Simple Text graphic.
Sometimes it is handy to have a text clipping, URL or picture that you can open quickly.
How: Select any text and drag it to your desktop. You'll get a text clipping that you can read without opening the originating application. Try it with Web pages- drag the URL to your desk and it's like a bookmark. It works with images too!
A great site to visit for many more tips is located @ http://www.macinstruct.com/tutorials/
Apple
Apple Computer's home page.
Apple Support
Apple's support page.
Apple's Technical Information Library
Apple specs and technical resource.
Download.com
A searchable database of Mac and Windows shareware and freeware (slow to load).
MacAddict
MacAddict magazine's web site.
MacCentral
Hot news, product announcements, and special reports.
MacFixit
Latest news about troubleshooting and updates. Lots of downloadable utilities.
MacInTouch
Lists news about new products, updates and troubleshooting.
Version Tracker
Lists all the latest updates and new releases of Mac software.
Rebuild Desktop: Option*Apple at startup
Zap PRAM: Option*Apple*P*R at startup
Boot system from CD-ROM: C at startup
Boot system from external hard drive or CD-ROM: Shift*Option*Command*Delete at startup
Disable Extensions: Shift at startup
Force quit an application: Apple*Option*Escape
Quit all applications and shutdown: Apple*Control*Option*Power
Eject a floppy disk without leaving a ghost image: Apple*Y
Make Extension Manager appear during startup: Space at startup
Close all windows of the desktop: Option and click in the active window close box.
Empty trash without confirmation screen: Option, Empty Trash
Erase a disk automatically when you insert it: Command*Option*Tab
Restart System: Control*Apple*Power Key
Restart or shutdown: Power Key
Move from window to window on desktop: Apple*Tab