Not applicable to OSX

Your Mac is crashing on a regular basis. Something is wrong, but you've not been able to isolate the problem. Moving down a list, you've tried a variety of troubleshooting techniques. From rebuilding the desktop, zapping the PRAM, checking for extension conflicts, replacing suspect preference files, reinstalling programs, and replacing the finder. No luck. The problem is still there. Now it’s cursing time? Hold on, it’s a matter of perspective. Instead of cursing, how about thanking your lucky stars? It could be worse. A lot worse. For instead of working on a Mac, you could be faced with the hair-pulling problem of system corruption on a Windows computer. Not shaking yet? Imagine reinstalling every program on your computer and reformatting your hard drive too.

Yes, I’m a Mac man! But my preference for the Mac is based on experience. If you own a PC, so be it. There are reasons. I've owned a PC for 3 years, and I've seen things that will curl a Mac owner’s toes. And I’ve had more problems in a year with my PC than I’ve had in the last 10 years on the 5 Macs I’ve owned. A simple way to compare Mac to PC technical issues is to go to your local book store and find a copy of Sad Macs, Bombs, and other Disasters by Ted Landau. Flip through the pages- it’s easy reading. Now find one of those six inch thick PC repair books. Those are full of technical mumbo-jumbo that is well above the head of the average PC owner. And I have yet to find a PC trouble shooting book that describes how to reinstall a Windows System. Not upgrade, but reinstall due to a problem. I suspect, although unverified, that there are too many variables with all the PC machines out there to describe it. In contrast, I feel that I’m well versed in solving Mac problems. Mostly it’s just knowing my way around the Mac’s System. But I’m hopelessly over my head when it comes to PC issues, DOS, files scattered hither and yond, memory addresses, beep codes, and other user-unfriendly things.

My PC Problem
My intent is not to bash Windows. Yes, Windows is the number one operating system out there. But I refrain from calling it the most popular cause I can’t find anyone who will say something good about it. Really! Anytime I’ve talked to a PC technician and make a comparison favorable to the Mac, no one has ever countered with an I-love-Windows statement. Usually I hear a Windows negative comment. But Windows tech support feeds alot of families!

As I’ve become more familiar with the Windows Operating System (Windows 95/98), I’ve become more enamored with my Macintosh. I trust my Mac, have confidence in it, and reserve my most important computer tasks for it. I not suggesting that owning a PC box will immediately lead to disaster. But be ready for a roller coaster ride at any time. Within a couple of months of using a Windows98 box, I found myself reformatting my hard drive and reinstalling Windows from scratch with the help of a technician. I was not doing anything exotic when the problem arose. When this article was originally published, I devoted a full page to this nightmare. Since then I’ve had several more encounters. But I really don’t want to relive all the unpleasantness, and don’t think you care about PC problems. So I’ll dispense with PC troubleshooting, except to say, it was incredibly difficult. We were heavy into DOS, things had to be located on the hard drive, and I was typing all sorts of cryptic commands. If I had relied on this PC for really important things, it would have been a nightmare. And I’m not exaggerating- I’ll never own a PC without an extended warranty.

The Mac Advantage
One major difference between Macs and PCs is how they keep track of system and software components. You may have heard of the Registry. Window uses this text file to keep track of its components and programs. The Registry acts like a huge Preference file. If the Registry dies, Windows dies. If you have a serious backup, the situation can be salvaged. I talking about having a disk image of your entire hard drive stored somewhere, or there is a good possibility you’ll be starting from scratch. Windows is picky. With thousands of file scattered all over the hard drive, it all fits together like a giant puzzle. And when something falls out of place, there’s trouble. Windows deals with the problem of corruption in the Registry by automatically making a copy of Registry every time you start up, keeping 5 copies. (But it did not save me from reformatting my hard drive). Because of this structure, when Windows is reinstalled, you’ve also created a brand new, but dumb registry that has no clue where programs are located. Since the programs no longer work, they all have to be reinstalled. Why not start with a clean slate and reformat your drive too? That’s the Windows way. At least that is the Windows98 way. I can’t speak for newer Window versions like 2000, ME, or XP.

In stark contrast to Windows, the genius of the MacOS is revealed by its Finder and Desktop Files. They keep track of everything. And most importantly, they are updated on the fly and can be rebuilt (updated) at anytime, without complications! The MacOS is friendly, flexible, and forgiving. The clean install on the Mac can be accomplished in about an hour while retaining full functionality of all your precious programs. And you should never have to reformat your hard drive for a MacOS problem.

Get Familiar with your System Folder (Pre-OSX)
If your not familiar, take a look in the System Folder that sits on your hard drive. There’s a lot of stuff in there and most of it is clearly marked. The MacOS System is everything in the System Folder. But you should think of its primary components as the following Folders: Extensions Folder, Control Panel Folder, Preference Folder, Fonts Folder, the Finder, and another Folder called the System (within the System Folder). These components are used by the MacOS and in many cases enable functionality of installed programs. When a program is installed to the hard drive, depending on the type of program, components may be placed into the System Folder. Usually it’s an extension, a control panel, a preference file, or a folder. After installing a program, a log file normally appears showing where everything went.

The Preference File holds customized settings for your Mac programs. Unlike the Window’s Registry, preference files on the Mac are easy to work with. You can throw one away and no problem. The next time you start that program, a new Preference file will be created automatically. Personal settings and possibly the serial number will have to be entered. Removing a program on the Mac is usually as simple as trashing the program Folder, an associated extension, control panel, and preference file. That’s it.

Some Trouble Shooting
I mentioned trouble shooting a while back. When your MacOS acts up, the “clean install” is the last resort. Several simple troubleshooting errands can be tried to isolate a problem.

Utility Programs- As a Mac owner you must invest in a Utility Program such as Norton Utilities, Norton Systemworks, or Tech Tool Pro. If you don’t run one of these programs on a regular basis, I guarantee eventually, you’ll have a serious problem on your Mac. Disk First Aid which is included with the MacOS can’t the fix big problems.

Program Related?- Is the problem associated with one particular program? Sometimes, corruption will occur in the program’s preference file, causing it to act up. With the program shutdown, toss its preference file into the trash, restart the Mac and start up the program to see if the problem has gone away. Preference files are located in the System Folder/Preference Folder. The program will create a new preference file when it starts, but custom setting and maybe a serial number will have to be reentered. And if this does not solve the problem, the original preference file can be retrieved from the trash placed back into the Preference Folder.

If necessary, the second step is to reinstall the offending program from scratch.

Also be aware that the Finder has a Preference file that can be tossed. This can sometimes fix Finder related problems.

Zap the Pram- PRAM is parameter RAM (random access memory), a small portion of memory that stores basic but important information-the parameters that your Mac uses. It’s different than regular RAM because its settings are maintained with the power off. It receives power from your Mac’s battery. I don’t know exactly how it gets corrupt but it does. PRAM is reset by holding down Shift/Option/P/R keys when your Mac is starting up. A side note- If upon start, every time you start, your Mac’s date is set well into the future or past, your motherboard battery needs to be replaced.

Rebuild the Desktop- The invisible Desktop file keeps track of the desktop (the main screen you see after your Mac starts). It keeps track of where things are located and which documents belong to which applications. If it gets corrupt there will be problems. If all the icons on your Mac Desktop turn generic, this usually indicates a problem with the Desktop file. Rebuild the Desktop by holding down Option/Open Apple keys on start.

Tech Tool Lite- Makes life easier by down loading the free utility Tech Tool by Micromat. It makes zapping PRAM and rebuilding the desktop easier. This is not the same program as Tech TooL Pro, although it’s made by the same people.

Conflict Troubleshooting- Check for an extension conflict by starting the Mac holding down the shift key. It will start up with all its extensions turned off. If the problem goes away, it’s one of the extensions that’s causing the problem. If you need to have one or two extensions active to produce the problem (such as needing the CD-ROM drive to function) use Extension Manager (included with the MacOS) or Conflict Catcher to make up a troubleshooting extension set. If your Mac runs with a minimum extension set, then the problem is most likely extension related.

Conflict Catcher makes life much easier because it will run an extension conflict for you. Another advantage of Conflict Catcher is that it checks other items (like Control Panels) in your System Folder and looks at multiple conflicts. Plus it includes a manual!

If using Extension Manager, you must manually conduct a conflict test. To zero-in on an offending extension, it’s a fairly simple, but time consuming process. Disable half of the extensions, restart and see if the problem has gone away. If not, swap out the other half of the extensions. Once the group of offending extensions have been located, make note of them. In this group, the offender resides. With the offending group active, the problem should be active. Disable half of the active extensions, restart and see if the problem goes away. If not try disabling the other half. Each configuration change requires a restart. The idea is to cut the offending group in half each time, restart and check if the problem is there or not. Eventually you’ll be down to the offending extension. Disable it! If you really need this extension, you’ll have to check for updates and possibly talk to Apple or the parent company if you really need to have it working.

Mac Books- The Apple IIe was my first computer. A Mac Performa was my second. The Mac is simple enough that you can get a good book and figure it out. I never felt the need to take a class. That’s why I chuckle when family members tell me they need to go to school to learn Windows. Fortunately these days, more family members are using iMacs. As the iMac becomes very popular, I’m seeing lots of Mac and iMac books at the store. Sad Macs, Bombs, and Other Disaster by Ted Landau, published by Peachpit Press could be considered a primary troubleshooting guide. The Macintosh Bible published by Peachpit Press, The Little Mac Book, and The Mac OS9 Black book also have good info.

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