How to Survive the 17 Worst Mac Disasters
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Macs are pretty reliable computers, but that doesn’t mean they’re not vulnerable to user error, accidents, and, in some cases, just plain stupidity. We compile a list of the most common “uh-oh” moments on a Mac and show you how to make them all better--and prevent them from happening in the future.
No computer is trouble-free. Even Macs behave cantankerously sometimes, abruptly refusing to act like the well-mannered, delightful machines we know and love.
That said, while PCs can be perverse, Macs are rarely malicious. Usually they only act up when provoked--for example, if you splash your MacBook’s keyboard with a beverage or don’t tend to basic maintenance chores. And sometimes, just like people, our Macs get tired and overworked and just need a little TLC.
When disaster strikes a Mac, there’s usually a fix-it-yourself solution. Sometimes you luck out and the cause and effect are clear. If you update the OS and an app refuses to run properly, logic tells you that the app will also need an update, for example. More often, mitigating Mac disasters requires you to work through a few key steps, from the most obvious and easily addressed--is the computer plugged in properly?--to the more complex. In all cases, try to keep your head and resist the urge to throw things--especially the Mac itself.
Here we present 17 survival tactics for common Mac, iPhone, and iPod disasters, ranging from the truly serious to the merely annoying. If you have any doubts about your ability to deal with a problem, it’s always best not to tread into unfamiliar territory, lest you make things worse. In those cases, take your machine to a professional to sort the problem out. And—you knew this was coming--don’t forget to back up important data regularly. If you don’t back up, even a little problem can turn into a major crisis. (Leopard users, you have no-brainer backups built into your OS with Time Machine, so you really have no excuse! For a step-by-step how-to on keeping your key files backed up with Time Machine, see www.maclife.com/backup.)
SURVIVAL TACTIC: If you accidentally douse your MacBook’s keyboard with a drink or other liquid, you need to move superfast to save your machine. Immediately disconnect the power cord from the computer and remove the battery. Then turn the machine over with the lid partly open and the hinge facing upward to let the liquid drain. Do not flop it over and lay it flat—you want to separate it from the moisture. Place paper or cloth towels under the machine to sop up the mess, and refresh them as needed.
After the machine disgorges whatever you spilled on it, don’t turn it on for 72 hours or longer—you want it to dry out completely before starting it up. Some people swear by hair dryers to speed up the drying-out process, but blow-drying your MacBook’s innards may bake whatever was in the liquid onto delicate computer components, so it’s better to let it air-dry. In fact, if you desperately need the data contained on the hard drive and are willing to pay in the area of $600 and up to get it back, your best bet is to contact a data-recovery company such as Tekserve (www.tekserve.com or 212-929-3645) or DriveSavers (www.drivesavers.com or 800-440-1904) shortly after you pull the plug on your computer. Be sure to ask if they want you to send the computer in as is (still soggy) or let it dry out first.
If your data is backed up (and you know it should be; see “5 Ways to Head Off Disasters Before They Strike,”), and you just want to see if you can save the Mac itself, let it dry out completely, turn it on, and see if it starts up. You may also opt to bring it to an Apple Store or a local Mac repair shop to have it checked out before you try this. (Just be aware that damage from liquid spills and food drips are not covered by Apple Care—and, yes, they can tell what happened, so don’t try to fib and say the computer “just stopped running.”)
If you’ve opted for the self-help route, and your now-dry computer starts up, your next step depends on what you spilled on the machine. Plain tepid water is the least likely to cause long-term problems (ice water on a hot motherboard is a really bad combination and most likely fried your computer on contact). A Mac may survive a dousing of sugary, acidic, or milky drinks, but problems will almost certainly crop up later as the residue starts to slowly corrode your computer’s innards. So once you’ve ascertained that the computer is working, you need to get it cleaned up pronto. If you’re totally confident in your ability to take your computer apart, swab down any sticky bits with distilled water or denatured alcohol (sold at hardware stores), and put it all back together again safely, go for it. If not, bring it to an Apple Store or a local computer expert for a thorough cleaning.
If you drenched a peripheral keyboard attached to a Mac tower or iMac, disconnect the keyboard from the computer immediately, and turn the keyboard upside down to drain the liquid out. Let it dry out for 24 to 48 hours (depending on how much you spilled), then plug it back in. Chances are good you killed the keyboard, but it’s worth a shot to see if it survived. Unless significant amounts of liquid also splashed the Mac, your computer should be fine.
SURVIVAL TACTIC: When your Mac has malingered on the startup screen for an hour or so with no apparent intention of booting up, start the troubleshooting process by shutting off your computer and taking a few deep breaths.
Now press the Power button, and immediately press and hold down the Command key and the S key as the machine starts up. This boots you into Single-user mode and you should see white text appear on the screen.
When you see the # command prompt, type /sbin/fsck –fy (“fsck” is a file system consistency check utility) and hit Return. Now sit back and let your Mac attempt to find and fix whatever problem is plaguing it. This could take 15 minutes or so—or even longer if things are really messed up—so be patient.
If and when you see the message “File System was modified,” repeat the step above again, and again, until you finally, hopefully, see a message saying, “no problems were found.” When that happens type reboot and hit Return again.
If these steps don’t pull you out of startup purgatory, grab your OS X install disc and insert it into the drive. Hold down the C key this time as the Mac starts up. If you’re running OS 10.4 or later go to \Applications\Utilities\Disk Utility, select your hard drive in the left-hand pane and click Repair Disk on the First Aid tab. If no disk errors are reported, click Repair Disk Permissions. When that process is done, restart your Mac.
If you’re running OS 10.2, you can follow the same steps, but you’ll find what you need under Installer\Open Disk Utility.
If all of the above doesn’t work, you’ll probably need to turn your computer over
to Apple for some expert care.
SURVIVAL TACTIC: If you hit the Power button and don’t hear the startup chime, the power indicator doesn’t light up, and you don’t hear any sound at all from the hard drive or the Mac’s fan...first, take a deep breath. Next, disconnect the power cord, pull out the battery (if it’s a laptop), disconnect all peripherals (printer, scanner, and others) and count slowly to 60. Reconnect the battery and the power cord, and see if the machine starts normally. If it does, you can plug in your peripherals one at a time and be on your way—disaster averted.
If this tactic does not work, disconnect the power and pull the battery again. Now try resetting the System Management Controller. The reason is that if the System Management Controller’s settings have become corrupted, your Mac may not be able to recognize its battery and/or power supply. On a MacBook or MacBook Pro, hold the power button down for 5 seconds, then reconnect the adapter, and press Power to (we hope) start the computer. Other Mac portables will require you to take slightly different steps. For example, with a MacBook Air, you’d need to hold Shift-Control-Option on the left-hand side of your keyboard and hold down the Power button. For other Mac models, check Apple support or Google SMC+Your Mac’s model name to find out how to reset the System Management Controller.
SURVIVAL TACTIC: If your Mac isn’t the perky little speed demon it once was, chances are it’s your fault. If you’ve downloaded slews of toolbars and apps you rarely use, and your Desktop is cluttered with folders and icons, it’s time to clean house. Dump the software you don’t use, collect all the folders and icons into one folder (each and every thing on your Desktop sucks up a tiny bit of memory, so consolidate it into one folder containing all the other folders you may have), and consider turning off useless but cool features like the system animations, zoom effects, and scrolling bars that gobble up system resources. The easiest way to do this is to download TinkerTool (www.bresink.de), a free application that lets you adjust all the preference settings in OS X to your heart’s content.
Also, consider your Mac’s sleeping habits. OS X comes with a set of UNIX scripts that are set to run automatically at 3:15 a.m. every day, weekly at 4:30 a.m. on Saturdays, and monthly at 5:30 a.m. on the first day of the month. If your machine is usually off or sleeping during these times (the UNIX machines for which these scripts were originally devised were always kept on), system-clogging clutter will build up in your temporary directories, and your Mac won’t run as speeidily as it should. Try to make sure your machine is on for most of these scheduled runs, if you can. If you’re running Leopard, the scripts will run the next time you start up. Or you can alter the programmed script timing with a utility like Cocktail ($14.95, www.maintain.se) or Leopard Cache Cleaner ($8.99, www.northernsoftworks.com).
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