[Mac] First Aid

Historical text from HellasProject (2009–2014). It is not current advice or a present-day service.

I am posting a list of Mac computer First Aid, as written on macephemera.gr

Restart
Simple as it sounds, there is a chance your problem will be solved just by restarting.

Free space on the startup disk
When Mac OS does not have enough memory for the work it must do or that you assign, it has to use available hard-disk space, writing what we call “swapfiles”. When there is no space on the disk, the system inevitably slows down visibly. Specs say you need at least 500MB to 1GB, but from personal experience we know systems only run acceptably with 3GB free.
So Mac OS needs ample free space on your hard disk. To free it, throw out anything you do not use. There are helper apps that show what takes the most space (e.g. WhatSize) and others that warn you when free space crosses a limit you set. Do not hesitate to use Activity Monitor, usually in /Applications/Utilities.

Repair permissions
Start your Mac normally and run Disk Utility, usually in /Applications/Utilities. Select your disk or disks and press Repair Permissions.

Repair the filesystem
There are various ways. You can first start your Mac from the CD or DVD that came with it. Insert the disc, choose restart, and hold C during startup. You should then see the OS installer. Depending on the OS version on the disc the installer differs, but with a little hunting in the menus at the top of the screen you will find Disk Utility. Open it, select your disk, and press Repair Disk.

If you do not have access to the OS CD or DVD, you can start the Mac holding Command + S. The computer will start in “Single User Mode” and prompt you to type a command. Type “/sbin/fsck -fy” and press enter. To continue starting normally type “reboot” and press enter.

Whichever of the two methods you use, when the check finishes you will see the log, the report of what error was found and whether it could be fixed. If errors remain that cannot be fixed, it would be good to install a third-party program such as DiskWarrior or TechTool Pro and run all the checks they suggest. Avoid installing Symantec programs such as Norton Utilities, though, as they have not proved stable and safe.

Clear system and user caches
Use a third-party app to clear all caches on the system. Each cache stores information, settings, and preferences for various apps, and deleting them often solves a problem because Mac OS recreates them from scratch. Utilities that help are SystemOptimizer X and Xupport.

Update
Mac OS updates come in two forms: updaters that take the system from the previous to the current form, and combo updaters that contain all previous updater changes. A good solution is to download the combo updater that matches your system version from Apple’s site and “run it again”. The combo updater is often recommended for system updates.

Also update your apps to the latest version, either automatically (such options often exist inside them) or by downloading the latest from the company’s site. There are sites that link every new update that ships. Among them are VersionTracker and MacUpdate.

Delete haxies
A haxie is anything you install on your own that changes basic system parameters you did not have access to before. Examples are the colour of the menu bar and default app icons. Haxies may be very pretty and useful, but they often cause many problems in Mac OS, especially when the OS updates and they do not. Two of them are Application Enhancer and ShapeShifter. It would be good to remove them using uninstall from their installers or from their menus.

Create a new user
Often inside ~/Library/Preferences, settings for various programs are stored that create incompatibilities or overlay others and thus conflicts. If you can isolate them, fine. Because it will be quite time-consuming, it is often suggested you create a new user. To do that go to System Preferences, the Accounts tab, and add a new user account. Then Log Out from the Apple menu top left and enter Mac OS with the new account. If the problem does not appear, you found the solution. Move your files from the previous account and, when you are sure it works correctly, delete the previous one.

Start in Safe Boot mode
Do this by holding Shift at startup. That temporarily disables the contents of ~/Library/StartupItems/, /System/Library/Extensions/, and /Library/Extensions/. If the problem no longer appears, uninstall whatever seems to have been installed after the OS install.

Start the system in verbose mode
Hold Command + V at startup. The system will start showing you each step it takes. Someone with specialised knowledge may notice an error in the startup process and perhaps know how to fix it.

Look at the error logs
Every operation and every error on your Mac is written in the system logs, so reading them can help someone with specialised knowledge find the problem. To find them choose About This Mac from the menu top left, press More Info, and on the last tab you will find the logs.

Disconnect all external devices
Restart with all external devices disconnected (not merely switched off), except keyboard and mouse. If the problem is gone, we usually mean an incompatibility of some external device (which may be fixed by installing its latest drivers), a broken external device, a broken cable, or a broken port on your Mac. To isolate the device that is at fault, try starting each time with a different device connected to all available ports. If you have many devices on a hub, it will take a while to isolate the problem. Also try a different keyboard and mouse, especially if you do not use Apple’s.

Run Apple Hardware Diagnostic
With your Mac came a CD or DVD titled “Apple Hardware Diagnostics”. Start your Mac with it by holding C at startup (disc inside) and run all possible checks. In case of error, a solution will be suggested.

In general there is a chance it is an internal hardware problem, such as a bad RAM chip, a bad PCI card, etc. In that case try replacing the parts that seem or that you know have a problem yourself, or take the machine to a service centre that can repair Macs.

Reset firmware
Resetting firmware brings the computer’s ROM to the point it was when it left the production line. Information such as the time and power-management settings is lost. To do this hold command + alt + O + F at startup. You will enter the computer’s Open Firmware. Type: “reset-nvram” and press enter, then “reset-all” and press enter again. The computer will then restart on its own.

Reset PMU
The PMU (Power Management Unit) and how to reset it differs from machine to machine. Consult Apple’s site (Support) for instructions. This usually solves problems such as the Mac shutting down after a specific time or the computer not turning on at all.

Reinstall the system
If you want to reinstall the OS but keep settings and preferences, as well as applications and utilities, you can use OS X’s Archive & Install option. You choose it from the OS installer when you start the computer from the CD or DVD that contains it, and it does this: it safely moves settings and preferences, keeps every kind of application, and creates a folder on your hard disk where it places files from the previous system you may have wanted to keep. In short you have a new system without having needed to back up.

If that does not fix the problem either, you can try installing the system after first completely erasing your disk, i.e. formatting. That is also done from the OS installer options and you should first have started the computer from that disc.

Source: macephemera.gr