Especially here at the library. Our computers are set up and
maintained by professionals, proper operation is confirmed before
they are deployed. For that reason, you can be fairly certain if the
computer isn’t working right that something has probably
changed. Most of the time you can fix the
problem by checking the proper and secure connection of all cables
and simply restarting the computer. If possible, you
should then try to recreate the circumstances that caused the
original error to determine if the problem is fixed or will continue
to repeat.
Often the exact nature of the error is reported to you by the
computer itself. If it tells you that it can’t communicate with
the printer, that usually means that a cable has gotten unplugged or
the printer is unavailable for some reason. (i.e. a cable or power
problem at that device.) If the screen tells you that it can’t
find file “MS Mathlib Extensions”, then you may need to use
findfile to search the hard disk for it. Missing files sometimes just
need to be relocated, more often, they have been accidentally deleted
by a user and require reinstallation of the offending program. If the
computer tells you that there isn’t enough memory available to
run a certain program or load a particular document, those settings
can often be fixed in the finder. If there is an error code on the
screen, jot it down for reference.
Occasionally, the computer is unresponsive and offers you no help.
It may be totally frozen and require a restart. In other cases, The
computer appears to be “locked up”. The cursor moves, but
you can’t seem to attact the computer’s attention. What can
you do then?
Some applications are very CPU intensive and can slow the computers
response time to a crawl. Often the best way to handle this is to
just wait until the computer has completed the operation it is
performing. Sometimes this just isnt’ practical. The standard
way to tell a Macintosh computer to stop and listen is to hold the
command key and tap the period key a few times. Often this will stop
the process and return control of the computer to you.Restarting the
application and the computer are not necessary.
Typing <Command-.> may not work. Your next line of defense is
to type <Command-Option-Esc>. This should quit the active
program (even the Finder). This isn’t the most graceful exit for
the offending application, but it allows you to quit the locked up
program and then save data in your other open applications before
restarting the computer. You should probably do a restart as soon as
possible after you have exited a program in this way.
The next alternative is to “soft-boot” the computer by
typing <Command-Control-Power>. This will restart after most
lockups. On rare occasions, you may have to toggle the
computer’s power switch or press the reset button. The new iMac
computers use an industry standard USB bus for their keyboards. This
standard doesn’t support the soft boot and those computers must
be softbooted by pressing the upper reset switch inside the cable
compartment on the right side of the computer.
This is usually a sign of more serious trouble. You may be able to
start the computer with the system extensions turned off and verify
that the problem resides in software rather than hardware, but even
if the computer restarts, more frequently than not, you won’t be
able to use the computer for many of your frequent applications until
the software problem has been diagnosed and repaired. Usually this
problem is created by unauthorized installation of software on a
computer which adds software resources or replaces existing resources
with incompatible versions. Occasionally you can restore full
functionality by “zapping” your PRAM (parameter RAM) but
this may require you to reset other items in your computers
personality like screen resolution and finder preferences. To zap the
PRAM either reboot the computer holding <command-shift-P-R>
until it beeps twice or use TechTool v.1.1.6
Sometimes, the system software on your startup disk is so damaged
that you ‘ll need to restart the computer from a bootable CD.
It’s probably going to keep trying to boot from the bad system
file. You can bypass the internal disk drive by holding
<Command-Option-Shift-Delete> keys until the “Welcome to
MacOS” screen appears to allow the computer to seek another
bootable drive.
The computer won’t start up at all. No lights, no startup sound,
no screen display. Recheck all cables and try again. 95 times out of
100 it’s a bad connection. If the machine still won’t come
up, be sure that the outlet it is plugged into has power. Check to
see if you get power indication on the monitor, it may be a monitor
problem. The rare occasion of a “dead” piece of gear
usually signals a dead power supply and these require action by a
service technician.
If, on bootup, the Macintosh makes an unusual sound and shows a “sad” macintosh icon with a row or two of 8 characters beneath it, try restarting from a known good system CD.If this doesn’t work, unplug the computer, disconnect any peripherals from the SCSI chain and try again. If this doesn’t work, try rebuilding the desktop by holding <Command-Option> on bootup and answering “yes” to the “Rebuild the desktop” dialog or using TechTool v.1.1.6. The next step is to zap the PRAM. If none of these solve the problem, it is probably caused by a hardware problem that must be addressed by a technician.
Can sometimes be cured by going into the Preferences folder within
the system folder and throwing the (presumeably corrupted)
preferences file for that program into the trash. Most programs will
then recreate the necessary preferences, although it you will have to
then recustomize any changes that you made from the standard program
defaults. Damaged applications may sometimes have to be
reinstalled.
Viruses are seldom a problem on the libraries Macintosh computers.
Most of the known Mac viruses can be removed by an application on the
staffserver called Disinfectant 3.7.1
What if the computer is just “slow”?
1. Restart.
If it’s still slow,
2. rebuild the desktop file with TechTool v.1.1.6
If it’s still slow,
3. Be sure that your data is backed up.
4. Use Norton Utilities 4.0 Speed Disk to optimize the disk.
Check the book “Sad Macs, Bombs, and Disasters” (available upstairs in Computer Services or downstairs in the lab.) for a fix for your specific problem.
This is a living document. Please let me know if it is helpful and make suggestions for solutions or areas of coverage that I have not delved into.
Thanks,
Alan