Gluji

There are a number of procedures that you may want to try if you are experiencing problems with your Mac:

Restart your Mac

A surprising number of Mac issues can be resolved by simply rebooting your Mac.

If your Mac is running slowly or you are experiencing strange issues with your Mac then a reboot will reset a number of files and clear the RAM. This should be the first step during the troubleshooting procedure. If, after restarting, you are still experiencing issues then you should proceed to the next step.

Check .plist (preference files)

If you are experiencing consistent crashes or problems with a particular application then you may be suffering for a corrupt preference file.

A quick way to determine if this is the case is to the remove the offending file(s) and try the application again. With the prefernce file(s) removed, the application will create new ones. If this solves the problem then you can throw the old preference file(s) into the trash can.

The location of particular .plist files varies according to particular applications. Generally, the preference files are stored in the following locations:

a) Macintosh HD/Library/Preferences
b) ~/Library/Preferences (where ~ represents your home folder)
(e.g. Macintosh HD/Users/youruseraccount/Library/Preferences)

If you would like advice on where a particular application stores preferences files or which preference files need to be checked for a given application then feel free to contact me for further information.

Clear cache files

Cache files store frequently accessed information (e.g. to save unchanged images or text from being constantly downloaded from the internet when visiting a regular viewed web page). Sometimes, these cache files can become corrupted. Like errant .plist files, these cache files can also be cleared. As with stored preference files, cache files can be found in the library folders; this time within the Cache folders.

Care should be taken when removing cache files and there are applications available that will automate the process of clearing cache issues.

A favoured application is Onyx. This is a highly regarded (and free) application which can be downloaded from here: Onyx download.

Alternatively, certain system cache files can be cleared by ‘booting in Safe Mode’. You can boot in safe mode by restarting your Mac and, as soon as you hear the startup chime, press and hold the Shift key down. Keep your finger on the Shift key until you see the spinning cog wheel on screen or the desktop appears. Once fully booted, immediately shut down your Mac and restart it as normal.

We have much experience using Onyx (and similar applications), so if you have a question about clearing cache files or using this type of troubleshooting application for Apple Macs then let me know.

Check Activity Monitor

The ‘Activity Monitor’ application (Macintosh HD/Applications/Utilties), can help in determining what applications and processes are running, crashing or are showing evidence of problems.

Once opened, a list of applications and processes will be presented – you can click on the column headers to sort these processes by ‘Process Name’, ‘CPU’ and memory used.

Clicking on the ‘CPU’ column will show an ordered list of which applications or processes are proving most processor intensive. Numbers should be relatively small, increasing for intensive processes such as syncing or backing up, watching movie files (especially HD movies). If processes are shown in red then they have crashed or are non-responsive. If applications show extremely high CPU usage associated with increased fan activity then the applications or processes associated with this behaviour may need to be examined.

Likewise, clicking on the ‘System Memory’ tab will present information on memory usage. If free memory is extremely low and page outs are extremely high then you may want to restart your Mac. If your Mac continues to become slow and unresponsive during everyday use, free memory soon becomes low and page outs increase constantly, then you may benefit from purchasing and installing more RAM.

If you would like to know how to install RAM and where best to purchase it, then let us know and I’ll point you in the right direction.

Verify or Repair Permissions

OS X makes use of permissions to determine who (or what application) has access to particular files. If permissions become corrupted then you may experience issues accessing files or using certain applications.

The ‘Disk Utility’ application (Macintosh HD/Applications/Utilities) can be used to verify and repair permissions on a Mac running OS X.

By opening this application, selecting your hard drive and clicking on the ‘First Aid’ tab, you will be able to verify and repair the permissions on your system. It is suggested that you restart your Mac after running these verification and repair procedures.

Check or Repair Disk

If your Mac is suffering from a number of issues or continued corruption of files then you should use the ‘Disk Utility’ application to verify your hard drive. As with the ‘Verify Disk Permissions’ and ‘Repair Disk Permissions’ buttons, you will find the option to ‘Verify Disk’ under the ‘First Aid’ tab.

You may notice that the ‘Repair Disk Permissions’ button is dimmed. In order to repair any issues found during the verify disk procedure, you will need to boot from your installation disc and use the copy of ‘Disk Utility’ found on the install disc.

If ‘Disk Utility’ is unable to repair a disk then you may need to purchase a third-party application (e.g. Disk Warrior). Such an application is dedicated to disc repair procedures and can often fix problems that ‘Disk Utility’ is unable to repair.

We have much experience using these types of disk repair utilities for Macs. If you would like to know more about these types of applications then we can help – just send me a quick message.

Zap the PRAM/NVRAM

The PRAM (Paramter RAM) or NVRAM (Non-Volatile RAM) stores a number of system settings including details of the startup disk, network settings and so. These details can sometimes become corrupted and can be reset to default.

You can reset the PRAM or NVRAM by using the following procedure:
1) Shut down your Apple Mac
2) Locate the following four keys: CMD, ALT(Option), p and r
3) Restart your Mac and press and hold these four keys down
4) Keep these keys pressed down until you hear the startup chime a further two times
5) Let go of the four keys and your Mac will continue to boot

You may need to check your network settings and time and date settings after following this procedure. These settings can be found within ‘System Preferences’ (under the Apple icon in the top-left of the screen).

Reset the SMC/PMU

The SMC (System Management Controller) or PMU (Power Management Unit) are responsible for power management of your Mac.

The SMC is used by Intel-based Macs while older PPC-based Macs use a PMU.

If you are unable to boot your Mac, are experiencing battery issues or are suffering from excessive fan noise then these settings may have become corrupt.

The manner in which the SMC or PMU needs to be reset varies on a per model basic (e.g. resetting the SMC on a MacBook is different from resetting the PMU on an iMac G5 or SMC on an Intel iMac. If you would like to know how to reset the SMC or PMU for your particular Apple Mac computer then just let me know.

Create a new ‘dummy’ or ‘test’ account

One method to quickly determine if a problem is due to file corruption within your user account or ‘Home’ folder is to set up a fresh, ‘dummy’ or ‘test’ account. If the problem no longer occurs with a new account then you can be certain that the issue is due to a corrupt file, cache or preference file within your normal account.

To create a test account, open ‘System Preferences’ and click on the ‘Accounts’ preference pane.

Next, click on the small ‘+’ button to add a new account. Name this account (e.g. dummy), supply a password (e.g. dummy) and allow the account to administer the computer.

After this, log out of your normal account and log back in with this new ‘dummy’ account. You can then see if the problem occurs with fresh account settings. If the problem continues then the problem is system-wide rather than account-specific.

Once tested, log out of this dummy account and log back in to your normal account. You can then open ‘System Preferences’ again and select ‘Accounts’. The dummy account can now be deleted by clicking on the ‘-’ button.

If you have questions about these procedures or would just like someone to talk you through them then simply contact me for further advice and information.