Check your Hard Drive:
Find your Hard Drive icon on your desktop (should be in top-right corner), select it with one click (only), then choose "Get Info" from the Finder's File Menu.
The resulting window shows Hard Drive capacity, space available and used space (right). Generally speaking, at least 10-15% available space is required by the OS; less than 10% means trouble is brewing.....

About This Mac:
Before you do anything (like upgrade, update or call for help), identify your machine by collecting system specs. Just ask your Mac:

Selecting "About This Mac" from the Finder's Apple Menu provides OS version, installed RAM information and identifies the machine's processor(s) as well as startup volume.

Much more complete and detailed specs can be found in System Profile under the More Info button, where you'll find most anything you might want to know about your Mac.
System Profile:
Illustrated here is System Profile's Memory pane showing specifications on each installed memory module in each available slot. Equally detailed and specific information is also available for every drive, card, port, and device. System Profile lists all application programs present, System extensions, all network info, and much more.

Serial Number:
Serial number and specs may be found on a label located inside battery bay (notebook), on back panel or on underside of stand (iMacs), but it is also recorded under "Hardware" at the top of your System Profile window (where it may be easily read and copied).







Start with an overall examination. Take nothing for granted.
It might be a good idea to take notes as you go through the inspection process. Some steps may seem unnecessary, but try 'em anyway, just in case. Be methodical.
Power down. Disconnect power to CPU and all components.
Two reasons for this: First, it eliminates any possibility of damage that might be caused by disconnecting/reconnecting powered devices. Second, removing power from computer and all components for a few minutes (including printer, modem, router, and all peripherals) will cause some devices to reset when powered on again, thus eliminating some possibilities right off the bat. Test wall outlet for 120v AC. Test and confirm power from each outlet on any surge suppressors or power supplies (UPS) in use and/or bypass these.
One-by-one: Disconnect, examine, reconnect each cable.
While things are shut off, take a good look at all cables, cable ends and ports. Are contacts clean and shiny, or are they dirty, dull and oxidized? Are connectors in good shape and intact? Damaged cables should be replaced; damaged ports may be another matter. If necessary, carefully clean connectors, blow out ports and plugs, then reconnect each device cable. Make sure plugs have a snug fit and cables aren't being strained, twisted or bent.
If a new device has been added recently - including any internal cards - remove it and leave that device aside for now. (Hardware problems often manifest themselves during startup, causing freezes, hangs and/or blank screens.)
Reconnect power to peripheral devices.
Turn on each peripheral and allow time for printers, modems, routers (etc.) to go thru their startup routines. When all external devices are up and running (typically a minute or two), reconnect power to the computer and turn it on. If problem remains, go to next step. If not, shutdown your computer and disconnect power. Then replace any cards or reconnect devices one-by-one, testing startup with each. If problem reoccurs, the last connected card/device might be at fault.

Check System Preference settings and device controls.
If you startup to a date/time error message, your computer's PRAM battery is probably dead. (Some machines may refuse to boot at all with a dead PRAM battery.) Replacement batteries can be found at your local Radio Shack, camera or electronics store. (Notebooks have something more like a capacitor than a battery, and an overnight charge will refresh most notebooks.)
Open System Preferences and check settings in relevant control panels and panes. Be sure to check the Accounts pane -> Login Items (or Startup Items) and make sure there isn't something launching on startup that might be the culprit. NOTE: Now is not the time to change anything other than those settings that may be related to the specific problem you are experiencing; you're likely to see login items installed by your OS (iTunes, for example) that should remain. Third-party (non-Apple) items are always suspect.
Try to isolate and identify the problem.
Record any error messages that appear. Is the problem repeatable? What action or event preceded the problem? Does it seem to be related to a specific application? If so, check the program's preferences (usually under the Application or Edit menu).
If problem appears to be related to a peripheral device - printer, scanner, modem, router, etc. - make sure any suspect device driver is current by checking its version numbers and system requirements. (Drivers on CDs included with most devices are usually unnecessary for use with Macintosh, or they may be already be outdated at time of purchase.)
Collect System Info:
The first item under the Finder's Apple menu is "About This Mac" and will identify your System version, installed RAM, Build info and specs. "More Info..." button opens the System Profiler (see Collecting System Info above).
Just about anything you might want to know is available from within the System Profiler, including operation and error logs. Selecting "ATA" from the left column produces info about ATA hard drives in the right column; "USB" shows all connected USB devices, just as "FireWire" shows all FireWire devices. Copy down processor speed (MHz or GHz, under "Hardware") and any other identifiers that might be helpful.

 Before you call for help:
Regardless of where you might turn for assistance, you'll save yourself time and frustration by having the following information readily available:
  • Machine model name and/or number, OS version, installed RAM and hard drive size.
  • Changes or events related to the issue, and specs for any peripherals involved.
  • A record of error messages, symptoms (when and where), and steps taken.
The amount of relevant information you have on hand when you call tech support will determine a lot of your success in receiving help. From a tech's point of view, it's much easier to have a coherent conversation when both parties know what equipment is in use, under which Operating System, and exactly what error messages or symptoms are being generated, when, where, and under what circumstances.






How much memory (RAM) is installed?
In ballpark numbers, 1-2GB RAM is barely adequate these days, we need more RAM, Capt'n! A freeze is probably an application running out of memory. (Polite apps might warn you first, but don't count on it.) Amount of RAM required depends on what you use your computer for, of course, and "power users" will likely never have enough.

Other possible causes include failing hard drives, corrupt (damaged) or missing System segments, wacky application software, and a whole slew of other things. A damaged input device can mimic a freeze, too.






Check System Prefs > Network, and Mail.app prefs.
Possibly the most common complaint comes from people who suddenly are unable to send or receive email. The problem might well be on your server's end, especially if you have a dialup account - assuming none of your machine's settings have been changed and all cables and devices are intact. Wait a day or so and try again.

Modems sometimes fail, too. A damaged modem may report any number of odd (and misleading) errors, it may endlessly try to connect or disconnect, or your system profile may insist that there is no modem connected (internal or external). Swapping your modem with a known-good one is probably the quickest way to diagnose a failing modem.

If you have broadband, the first solution to try is to shutdown your computer and remove power to your modem, router or gateway and any connected hubs. (If you use broadband and don't have a router, you really should get one.) Wait 3 to 5 minutes and reconnect power to modem, router and hub(s). After these devices have completed their startup routines, then startup your Mac and see if communications have been restored.






Make sure all connections are intact and power is on.
(Sometimes it helps to power-up printers and peripherals before starting up your computer.) Check settings; make sure your printer appears in Printer List (System Prefs -> Printer and Fax -> Setup). Check printer's ink tanks or cartridge. Look for any physical damage to the device or its ports.
If printer is producing distorted output (too small or too large, sideways, missing fonts or styles), check Page Layout settings in the application you are printing from. If output appears as a page of gibberish, or machine spews out blank pages along with the desired job, try printing something else from another application. Launch TextEdit, type something, and see if that prints properly. Consult your printer's manual and try running printer's self-test.

If you are trying to print a page from some web site, know that web pages are not necessarily designed to be printed and printer output might be spread over multiple pages in ways you wouldn't expect along with additional blank pages.

Sometimes there's just nothing to do.
This message appeared one day for no apparent reason, with no workaround. Tried every way possible to save this document - Photoshop simply refused access to anything, no matter what. Sure, blame it on the disk.






Check and fine-tune your System-wide settings.
Adjustments in System Preferences will frequently solve display "problems," while various view options (including those in Finder's View menu) can show or hide controls.



Clockwise from top: Disk Utility, Finder Prefs, System Prefs, and Get Info windows from OSX (Tiger 10.4).

Review System Preferences:
Your System Preferences control the appearance and operation of your machine's Operating System. System Prefs are available from the Apple menu and from its icon in the Dock at the edge of your screen (both illustrated at right).
Accounts, date/time, desktop color/image and screen saver options, Dock settings, network settings (email and internet), printer, keyboard and mouse, startup disk and most other controls are located in System Prefs. Each of these controls can be changed and customized to suite each user; settings are specific to each user account.
By the Way, while we're on the subject...
Many people think clicking a close button in a window's top-left corner () is the same as quitting the application. It isn't. It merely closes the window (in most cases), leaving the application open, active and running. Why is this important? Because applications load into memory (RAM) when launched, and quitting unused applications frees up precious RAM. Instead of clicking the close box when finished with an application, choose Quit from the File menu, or type Command+Q.
(Having said that, I should point out an inconsistency with the close button: Sometimes it _does_ cause an app to quit in addition to closing a window, as is the case with System Preferences and a few other System-related windows.)






Run Disk Utility periodically.
Inside Applications -> Utilities folder is the Disk Utility application. Running Disk Utility to verify your hard drive and repair permissions can fix many minor errors before they become bigger issues.

Check PRAM Battery (aka "backup" or "clock" battery):
If your Mac is 4-5 years old, its internal battery may be getting weak. Symptoms include a date and time error on startup, preference settings that revert to defaults, and possible startup issues. Most Macs use a 3.6v, half-AA-size lithium battery, others use a 3v CR2032 button battery. Replacing a battery is very easy on all towers (PowerMacs and Mac Pros), fairly easy on early G5 iMacs, but other models can be very difficult. Consult your owners' manual for details.

Clear web browser cache:
Safari has a simple and convenient menu item that empties Safari's cache (right), but - WARNING! - just above it is an equally simple menu command that will delete all bookmarks, history and every other modification to Safari, setting it back to its original, unused state: "Reset Safari..."
Firefox and other browsers also allow you to clear the cache, but the command is buried in browser prefs.

Clean out old emails:
We've seen mail apps so stuffed with old email - including unemptied trash and spam - that the drive is full. Empty the trash! Delete all that spam! Your inbox should be empty, with incoming emails either deleted, saved to a mail folder, or otherwise dealt with every time you retrieve new email.

 Archive old mail you wish to keep:
If you like, you can collect and export old emails from Mail to a TextEdit file. Here's how:
First, select the messages you wish to save. the idea is to get them all into a single group, so you might want to create a Mail folder to contain them, then drag each into the new folder. Select all messages by clicking the first one, scroll down to the last message, hold down Shift key and click last message.
With messages selected (highlighted), choose "Save As..." from Mail's File menu. From the resulting dialog box (right) give the file a name, select a destination, and be sure to save in Rich Text Format (to preserve links), then check the "Include Attachments" box to preserve all images and attachments inline with your messages.

 Five easy reasons to clean up those files:
  1. Your primary hard drive - or boot volume, if you prefer - requires a certain amount of free space to run efficiently. Deleting unused/unwanted files frees up space for file and volume optimization processes to take place. A crowded, near-full hard drive will be sluggish; a full drive will eventually refuse to even startup.
  2. Searching thru organized files is easy. When you save a file, pay close attention to where it is going, and be sure to send it into the proper folder - where it belongs. Whatever scheme you use to sort and organize things is fine, as long as it works for you. The Operating System creates a Home Folder for each user, along with root-level folders for Applications, Documents, Music, Pictures, Movies and the like, and that's a good place to start.
  3. A neat, well-organized drive makes for a neat, well-organized backup. Get all that junk off your desktop or you'll be seeing double when you mount your backup drive (duh!), empty trash (including email and browser cache), run Disk Utility's First Aid now and then. You _do_ have a backup plan in place, right?
  4. A nicely organized drive lends itself well to customization. A nice desktop photo and screen saver, custom window colors and fonts..... Since you'll be creating special folders to hold special files, why not create custom folder icons while you're at it? Shareware apps are available for creating icons, or you can download a ready-made set of custom icons. One of the best places to find such things is the Icon Factory <www.iconfactory.com>. Or google "custom OSX icons."
  5. If a drive fails - Heaven forbid! - a tech will have a much better chance of recovering your data if your files are well organized and properly stored under named Admin accounts. Directories get overrun, drives go wonky, video and music and photo libraries grow at alarming rates, things can ugly in a hurry. Good thing you have a backup, huh. (Hint.)
UNIX maintenance routines:
If you leave your computer running day and night, automated maintenance routines will run periodically - daily, weekly and monthly - as they are designed to do (usually in the wee hours of the morning). If not, and you are familiar with the Terminal application, you probably know the commands to execute these routines, bit if you're like most Mac users you'll want a graphical interface to these commands. A few recommended utilities are listed below. Some of these also include a few additional System tweaks and tricks. NOTE: Be sure to match utility version to your OS version.







Startup problems:
Startup issues are best handled by exploring all the easy solutions before moving on to more complicated suspects. Start with status of the boot volume and power supply.

 Reading Symptoms:
Simple as it may sound, failure on startup arrives in a variety of ways with a variety of symptoms (and clues). Try to answer these questions:
  • Did you hear the normal startup sound? No sound (is sound turned down or off)? A different sound, chimes or beeps perhaps? If so, how many?
  • Does the power button light up (or change color)? Does it stay on or go off when released? Is it pulsing? Does any sound at all come from the CPU (fans, drives spinning, other noises)?
  • Does an icon appear onscreen? If so, what does it look like? If it hangs, what's on the screen? Is the screen black, blue, or gray? What is the cursor doing? Do you get a message saying that you need to restart in four languages? (If so, sorry. See Kernel Panics, below.....)
  • How far do you get? Nowhere (black screen), to the Apple logo, to a blank gray, white or blue screen, to the desktop? What's on the desktop, what's in the menu bar? Anything launching on startup/login?
If you've checked all the usual suspects and machine still refuses to boot, try starting up from your (OS-version appropriate <-important!) System DVD:
  • Insert your System Install CD/DVD into the optical drive.
  • If machine is on, shutdown (hold power button down for 5 seconds).
  • Sometimes waiting 5-10 minutes with power disconnected helps.
  • Startup from optical drive by pressing "C" key during startup.
  • When you arrive at the Installer, ignore it and launch Disk Utility from the menu bar.
  • Select your hard disk in DU's window and run Disk Repair function.
  • If repairs complete successfully, restart. You're all done!
  • If you're stuck, call for an appointment and bring it on in.....
Set your Startup Disk (in System Preferences):
If your startup volume is not specified in your System Prefs, your Mac may take quite awhile to startup as it searches all connected volumes for an OS; check your Startup Disk setting and make sure the proper volume is selected (as illustrated below).

Some machines will not boot at all without a specified volume. If this applies to you, boot from (version-appropriate) System disc (hold "C" key during startup with bootable disk in drive), and set startup disk from the menu command.

 Pay special attention to the Operating System:
Having more than one Operating System per volume is not a good idea. In fact, it can be a disaster. (The lone exception, of course, was OSX + OS9 Classic Mode.)
Even if Disk Utilities passes all tests, various hardware tests pass, everything comes up OK, doesn't mean your Operating System is undamaged; a battered OS can certainly prevent startup.






The dreaded Kernel Panic (KP).
With instructions to restart in four languages, a Kernel Panic doesn't give you any other choice. Sometimes, a restart is, in fact, all that is needed and things will return to normal. If it appears again after a restart, something more serious has gone wrong.
Before putting yourself (and your Mac) thru the trials listed below, you might save yourself the trouble of trying to deal with a KP yourself and bring the machine to our shop for service. Having said that, presented below - for information purposes only - are a few basic steps toward diagnosing possible causes of a Kernel Panic, steps which you can do at home. What follows is a brief software test using disks that came with your computer, and the only type of hardware test available without use of proper tools and test equipment.
First (as always) startup from OS Install disk and run Disk Utility.
It's worth saying again: At the first hint of any trouble, startup from your OS CD (disk 1) or the OS Install DVD that came with your Mac (using Option key during startup), and run Disk Utility to repair permissions, if possible. If you can also verify and/or repair your hard drive using Disk Utility, the following steps may not be necessary.
Next, disconnect all attached devices and restart.
Normal troubleshooting routines start by checking simple things first in search of a quick fix, but troubleshooting Kernel Panics is a little different. We are eliminating possible causes by removing as many hardware components as possible, then reconnecting one at a time, with startup and test for KP. Disconnect all external devices and turn off everything you can, starting with Airport (if so equipped), network equipment and peripherals.

 KPs in general:
These can be indicative of both hardware and software problems, making them rather difficult to troubleshoot. The most common cause is defective or failed memory (RAM). Other causes include damaged ports, connectors, and peripheral devices; failed or corrupt hard drives; and failed or damaged logic boards.
If hardware is not the cause, other suspects include corrupt or missing Operating System, firmware issues, damaged device drivers, corrupt fonts, and incompatible application programs.

 KP while running, versus KP on startup:
The timing of a KP's appearance can be a significant clue as to its cause. If KPs appear during the course of operation, it might be connected to use of a particular application or a specific OS component. If so, uninstalling and/or reinstalling the suspect software might return your machine to normal. (If you're not sure about deleting things - don't. You can temporarily move a file to the trash and deactivate it without emptying the trash and actually deleting it. Just make a note of file's original location so that it can be returned to its proper location later.)
If a KP appears on startup - on each and every startup - the problem is probably more serious. It might still be a software issue of some nature, but more often than not it will turn out to be hardware related.

 Recent changes might suggest cause.
With so many potential causes, it might be helpful to recall events immediately preceding the appearance of a Kernel Panic. Any recent changes, additions or hardware/software installations may have been the cause; KPs might not appear until your next startup, so go back to the last change that was made before shutdown.

 Run Apple Hardware Test.
Try booting from Apple Hardware Test (AHT) located on disk 1 of the DVDs that came with your Mac: Insert disk 1, and startup while holding down the Option key (using Startup Manager); if AHT appears as a virtual volume, select it and continue startup. With older OS versions, AHT is on a separate (usually silver) CD. Examine contents of the System Profile tab to make sure all devices are properly identified. Next, run the Quick Test. If the Quick Test turns up nothing, try the Extended Test; if no error is produced, you might try letting it loop a few times.
If all tests pass without error, and all hardware is properly identified, that - sadly - does not mean everything is A-OK. We've had machines refuse to boot from anything _except_ AHT (including the OS Installer) but all AHT tests passed with flying colors anyway. (Logic board was DOA.)