HOME Glossary Connectors Note: Yes we know half the links on this particular page are dead, it is an archival page for those diehard veteran System 6 users who already have all the old software they need to fix their problems, but who may have forgotten some of the finer points of fixing their favorite old machine. We know you really drive a G4, but just can't bear to desert that old laptop with the 500K hard drive that you paid $5,000 for and use twice a year. We can't bear to throw away this page either. A general diagnostic procedure for Macintosh freezes and crashes System 6 Edition Introduction Application Freezes Crashes Hardware Issues Extension Conflicts/Bugs Finder/Desktop Integrity When you get to the Desktop Macintosh Troubleshooting Links Creme de la Mac Cribsheet Introduction This page answers the FAQ, "What can I try to keep my machine from freezing or crashing so much in order by level of desperation?" You might like to try simple things first, like the suggestions in our Cribsheet, the Chiron (download) DocMaker presentation or the Troubleshooting 101 (download) desk accessory and come back here if they weren't enough. Also see the fine explanations in Yale's Macintosh Guide. These sources are especially valuable if you are a newcomer to the Mac. They are not terribly likely to tell a System 6 user how to deal with problems specific to that operating system. If you run just System 6 or System 6 and System 7 concurrently on different machines, see McOrphan for basic information on what versions of software are worth considering for use. Most vendors no longer support System 6 users. You will find that companies will not ordinarily sell old versions of software that ran fine under System 6, they will only sell the latest version which probably will not. You may have a hard time finding some of the software mentioned here because it has gone out of general circulation. Most System 6 users have made the choice to stay with System 6 out of economic necessity or from being stranded with a critical application that is no longer supported under System 7. Be aware that some applications that run under System 6 and not under System 7 will run under System 8! Others stay with System 6 because of the slow performance and the high incidence of crashing that came with System 7 on older hardware. Some third party hardware is not compatible with System 7. Now that System 8 has made the popular Macintosh IIci obsolete, prices are plummeting and a basic IIci box without the keyboard and monitor can be had for less than $10, maybe even FREE. CAUTION: If you don't backup your data and run your favorite disk doctor software very regularly, your worst nightmare may be awaiting you. Equally important is scanning your hard drive regularly. If your disk doctor utility finds an error and says it was fixed, it pays to run it again to see if it really did, in fact, fix the problem. If it didn't, consider restarting from an emergency floppy and running it again. The author's favorites are Public Utilities by Symantec for System 6 users. Apple has released two programs called MacCheck and Apple Personal Diagnostics, neither of which is widely used and both require System 7 to run. One kind of preparation that will pay dividends eventually is to prepare a set of current, bootable emergency disks to keep on hand for troubleshooting. Minimally, have one with your favorite disk doctor, one with Apple's Disk First Aid, one with your hard drive formatting software and finally, one with a virus checker. If you use backup/restore software, you may want a copy on a bootable floppy. If you do a lot of troubleshooting, an additional disk with a hardware diagnostic tool, like Peace of Mind or Snooper can also be helpful. Many other specialized utilities will be mentioned in this document along the way. Another kind of preparation is defensive driving, prevention through good work habits. Save your PRAM settings with a free utility like Techtool during a period when your machine is stable. In General, save your work frequently. Try out one new piece of software at a time, particularly control panels and extensions. Keep a current copy of your System, Finder and critical preferences handy, if you value them. If you have removable media, make sure you have at least one bootable volume containing your current system software. Try to keep ten percent of the space on your system disk disk available at all times. If your only hard drive formatting software is what came with it several years back, make inquiries for getting something more current. If you have valuable data on a floppy and inserting it produces a message saying that it is unreadable, do not initialize it, lock it. Try to insert it in another drive or even in another Macintosh. If none are available, try it again after you have successfully inserted a second expendable floppy. If the floppy is substantially warmer or cooler than when it was written, it may be harder to read. You may have to try inserting it several times. Store your floppies in a low dust environment, preferably a container with a lid. If you are well prepared, your down time will be minimized. When a program crashes or freezes, unpredictable things can happen. PRAMs, boot blocks, and disk directories can become corrupted, so it is important to find and eliminate the cause in a timely way. Intro | Crashes | Hardware | Extensions | Finder | Desktop | Troubleshooting Links | Creme de la Mac Simple Application Freezes (no bomb) If your keyboard or mouse goes dead, determine first if it really is a machine freeze or if only the mouse or keyboard is frozen. First, be sure all affected cables are plugged in securely. If you use an alternate pointing device, like a trackball, it may freeze while the mouse is still functional! Substituting a different device that you are confident is working properly may solve the problem. NOTE! It is not advisable to remove or insert any connectors associated with your Mac unless you first shut down completely! It is possible to blow an internal fuse if you do. Another trick to outsmart mouse frost is to be able to Save in an application using a keyboard Command-S, very useful if just the mouse dies. In Netscape, for instance, I have additionally installed Command-S on the Save-As menu using ResEdit, for those many occasions when the Save command is dimmed. Only try this if you are comfortable with ResEdit. Other keyboard commands that may help depending on your situation are command-period to cancel a dialog box, command-W to close a window, or command-Q to quit. In any case restart your computer as soon as you are done saving any important work, if you are able to do so. The restart can be done via the power key on the keyboard, the programmer's reboot switch (triangle icon) or the main power switch. Each of these is actually very slightly different to the computer. If your crash of your machine is so complete as to be unaffected by pushing the power switch, you can try to hold it in for several seconds or simply unplug it. You may notice a folder called Rescued Items in the trash. It is usually empty or contains useless material. When a freeze happens while the machine is idle, be suspicious of an extension conflict. See the Extensions Conflicts/Bugs section below. If the freeze only happens only while printing a document, there may be insufficient memory to run the Print Monitor. You can try a different printer driver if you have one or you can try increasing your Adobe Type Manager cache setting if the document being printed uses lots of fonts. Test the printing with background printing OFF. The LaserWriter driver 7.1.2 works well under System 6. Other other newer versions may work, as well. If your machine freezes or crashes each time you boot it and you have an unprinted document pending, an attempt to print may be the cause. To remedy this, restart the extensions off and double click the desktop printer icon with the X through it. You will see a list of pending documents which you can select and drag into the trash. You can also just drag the icon itself into the trash. Sometimes a freeze will happen exclusively with a certain CD or floppy. For CDs this may be caused by some kind or dirt or gummy build-up that can be removed with careful cleaning. For a floppy, it may be time to run a recovery program to salvage what data can be saved, before you attempt to discard it. If the recovery fails, you can try copying the whole disk to a blank disk with a utility like Norton's Floppier or try opening any important files directly from the File menu using the program that created them. If you are unusually low on disk space, your machine may begin to freeze sporatically. Unknown to the user, many programs create invisible temporary scratch files as part of normal functioning. If there is not enough disk space to create these files, the program may freeze or even crash due to buggy code in the program. If you want to scour your hard drive of such remnants, you can try a program like File Buddy. Many of the following ideas do not work consistently, they are for the truly desperate. If you have a programmer's switch installed, you may also try entering debug commands for System 6 or 7 .The interrupt switch (circle icon) allows access to the debugger. Type the following cryptic commands. Method 1: G FINDER then press the RETURN key Obviously, the easiest of all to remember! Method 2: SM 0 A9F4 then press the RETURN key G 0 (zero) then press the RETURN key This is the so-called exit to shell (the Finder) Method 3: SM FA700 A9F4 then press the RETURN key PC FA700 then press the RETURN key G 0 (zero) then press the RETURN key If you accidentally press the interrupt switch, you can resume your work by typing G then RETURN. Defrosting Software For software that uses the modem, there is the Modem Re-setter application that might cut down on freezes and crashes when downloading or connecting to on-line services by giving you more predictable control of your modem. If your cursor freezes often, but your keyboard stays alive, you may want to explore shareware like RecognizeMouse, Escapade, or YesNoCancel to help you get by. The RecognizeMouse application tells the Mac to try harder to use your pointer. The other two control panels let you make choices in dialog boxes from the keyboard. Most of us are so mouse-bound that we are not aware that a Macintosh can be operated without a mouse using Easy Access or the freeware KeyMenu control panel. If the freezes only occur when using a certain program, there are more ideas to try in the When you get to the Desktop) section. For freezes during the restart process, see the next sections. Intro | Freezes | Hardware | Extensions | Finder | Desktop | Troubleshooting Links | Creme de la Mac Crashes When does it happen? 1) Before the extensions load (more than likely a Hardware Issue) 2) During extension loading (probably one of many possible Extension Conflicts/Bugs) 3) After extensions load when the finder starts (check Finder/Desktop Integrity) 4) After the desktop appears (see: When you get to the Desktop) IMPORTANT! Try to recall whether the problem first became apparent with the installation or enabling of new software or hardware. If so, start there. For example, if you had virus detection software turned ON during a recent install, it could have seriously affected your machine and caused your current problem. Keep a log of your freezes and crashes and record exactly what you were doing and what exact sequence led up to the problem. Then record what you tried and if it worked. Patterns can emerge that will help both you and any technical support people you may deal with later. Intro | Freezes | Crashes | Extensions | Finder | Desktop | Troubleshooting Links | Creme de la Mac Hardware Issues If you use any SCSI peripherals, you may want to unplug the SCSI cable after powering down and then try to restart. The SCSI cable is a heavy wire at least as thick as the power wire that plugs into a 25 pin connector on the rear of your Mac marked by a disk drive icon. If you have recently added a new SCSI device, you should be aware that each peripheral added to the SCSI bus must have a unique ID address number that is usually set by a switch on the back of each the peripheral device itself. The number ranges from zero to six. Zero is normally used as the ID for the internal drive. Make sure there are no duplicate IDs and also that there is a terminator plug installed on the last item in the chain unless internally terminated. A good rule of thumb is to have the highest ID numbers assigned to the fastest peripherals. If you have them or can borrow or buy some, try fresh, short, high quality (thick, gold-plated connectors) cables. Sometimes getting a chain of SCSI devices to work is a black art of trial and error. Be sure you never have two devices in a chain that are both internally terminated. Sometimes changing the device order or temporarily removing items in the chain can help. The total length of the combined SCSI cables should not be over twenty feet. A control panel like SCSI Probe or even better HDT Prober is very helplful. If you can successfully restart from a floppy, you can first try Disk First Aid on Apple's locked bootable utility disk. If the program terminates with an error message, try running it a second time, just in case. If this is not sufficient you can then try your favorite disk doctor, also from a locked bootable floppy. Another procedure is to update the disk drivers in your boot blocks on the system disk drive. Perhaps the simplest and fastest way to try this is to simply drag the System file out of the System Folder, close the folder and then drag the file onto the Sytem File icon and drop it back into the folder. Otherwise you can use Apple HD SC Setup if you own an Apple drive. If you use Silver Lining from LaCie, it will tell you if your disk drivers need updating. Both SCSI Director Pro (now discontinued) from Transoft and HDT Toolkit from FWB Software are serialized, so you may end up crippled in your hour of need. FWB's toolkit is frequently unable to update the drivers in any case. Be sure your copy of any such programs is current and ready to run. It is best to prepare a working copy of your favorite hard disk formatting utility on a bootable floppy in advance, just in case. Once you choose formatting software, stick with one program if you use it on removable media. NOTE: A floppy disk with bad boot blocks can crash a machine instantly, just by inserting it into the drive. Another problem for System 7 users is 400K floppies. Move all important data off of 400K floppies before you get involved with System 7. "Working with 400K floppies under System 7 is a real can of worms. Don't even try it if you can avoid it. It may simply hang the System, so you have to restart. On the other hand, it may cause the data on the floppy to become totally unreadable under System 6.or System 7. Lock the diskette! You cannot rename a 400K floppy disk, create a new file folder or even see folders!" -- via McOrphan Be aware that command-option-shift-delete will keep the internal hard drive from mounting during a restart while test-booting from an external hard drive or removable media. If you set the Startup Disk control panel to boot from another device, remember to set it back to your internal drive once it is running again. If you don't, your boot time may slow down. At some point in your examination of the machine, with the power OFF, try unplugging all cables one by one. Examine all connectors for bent, corroded or receding pins. First, reattach only the keyboard, mouse and Monitor, then reboot. Examine the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) with the ADB Prober utility if the keyboard or mouse are behaving erratically or not functioning at all. It will show you a list of all currently recognized mice, keyboards, et. al. on the ADB bus. A defective mouse or keyboard can cause a machine to crash, so if you can temporarily test your machine with a different set known to be working, it may help to isolate the problem. Be sure to try fresh cables in the process. If the machine does not see an ADB device on a regular basis, you can try RecognizeMouse. An overheated floppy drive can cause a crash, showing Errors 10 or 15. If this happens you might notice whether your fan is running and whether the weather is exceptionally hot. If the floppy is external, you can try pointing a fan at it. If you suspect another hardware problem, try running Snooper. Use it on a bootable floppy, if your hard drive won't boot. If your floppy or hard disk has given read or write errors, be sure to exercise it with a disk utility. Dust in floppy drives is a notorious cause of problems, but is not likely to crash a system unless you have actually booted from a floppy. If the boot block of a floppy is corrupted, inserting the floppy into the drive can crash your machine. If you have an older 680x0 machine and have installed a third party accelerator with a 68040 chip to boost performance, you may find that your system will crash more and more as you upgrade the version number of your system software. System 8 will not run at all on a machine with a 68040 accelerator. Details about accelerators and versions are discussed more completely on Shobaffum's Macintosh IIci Page. The 68030 accelerators do not seem suffer from this problem and a 50mHz version of such accelarators performs at roughly the same as speed as a Macintosh IIFX The end of this section is for the hardware savvy only. Apple considers most internal personal hardware troubleshooting to be inadvisable. Do so only at your own risk! Be sure to discharge any body static by touching a safe metal ground point after opening a Mac. SIMM contacts may be cleaned with a pencil eraser and reseated. The tiny plastic clip ears (especially on older SIMM sockets) are very, very fragile. If you hesitate at this point, ignore this suggestion. A safer approach is to test the memory continuously with a ram diagnostic program like Snooper for several hours. If you feel comfortable removing SIMMs, you can more directly verify third-party memory is not faulty by selectively removing/swapping banks of memory. If a sad Mac code shows up on the screen just below the icon, use it to locate a bad module as discussed below. For a Mac with a cache SIMM or board, you can try firmly reseating, removing or replacing it as needed. This can simplify your troubleshooting. If you have a 68040 accelerator add-in card, you can try pulling the card to see if the problem vanishes. When starting your machine, if you don't even hear the fan motor or the power cuts out unexpectedly, you might want to check your battery(s). The early Mac II series have batteries that are soldered in, but more current models use a battery holder. A leaky dead lithium battery can seriously damage a mother board with acid, so it should be replaced promptly. If a cell marked 3 V or 3.6 V tests below 3.3 V, it is probably gone or well on the way (Apple says 3.0 to the public and 3.2 to its service people). Testing the battery while it is still in the machine is recommended. The tiny nibs on the battery cover break off very easily. A new cover can be ordered with a replacement battery from Prefix Technologies at (800) 264-2530. A machine with a dead battery may not boot at all unless you put in a new battery or jump start it (techies only). Information from Apple, the Macintosh Battery Web Page or the Macintosh Motherboard Battery Page may also be of help. If you have any optional items plugged into your motherboard sockets, try reseating, removing or replacing them as availability allows. When Macs Go Sad If all attempts yield only the failure tone and a "Sad Mac", check the screen code for a clue about what has gone awry. According to the Macintosh Guide, the 10 most common sad Mac causes are: Corrupted Boot Blocks (Use your favorite hard disk utility to install new drivers) Corrupted System File (Reinstall the file) Corrupted Finder File (Reinstall the file) Problematic SCSI Chain (Double check your cabling and termination, check it internally, if needed.) Faulty or incorrectly installed memory chips (Reseat, rotate, or replace the modules) Faulty or incorrectly installed expansion cards (Reseat or replace the board) Physically damaged hard drive (Swap it out if you choose or use command-option-shift-delete) Physically damaged motherboard (check for resistor-like fuses with markings such as F1 or F2) Physically damaged power supply (sometimes there is a fuse hidden inside) For a Macintosh that boots and displays a "Sad Mac" immediately, the problem is probably caused by either faulty hardware, corrupted boot blocks or corrupted system files. The hardware problem may be bad memory. On earlier Macs, a screen code helped determine which memory SIMM caused the crash or whether it was something else. On Macs with 72 pin SIMMs or 168 pin DIMMs, you can remove memory modules one at a time rather than in banks, so no module code is needed. The crash sound or 'failure tone' varies dramatically by model. You may hear a simple chime, a dirge, bongos or an auto crash as detailed by Dave's "The Mac Line." and Marvin's Sanctum. Ironically enough, playing these .aiff sounds may crash your computer! If this happens to you, be sure that you have the current version of your browser and are using only sound plug-ins that were bundled with it. If the file still crashes your machine, your browser vendor needs to get some e-mail detailing the problem. Early Mac LC/Quadra QuadraAV PowerMac Otherwise, find a Mac technician. If you like to fix things and have an older machine, get an old copy of The Dead Mac Scrolls by Larry Pina if you can find one. For newer machines, you can use Upgrading and Repairing your Mac by Lisa Lee. On-line you can read the hardware FAQs and browse the Phoenix Mac Repair application. Authorized Macintosh dealers do not normally make board level repairs. They swap boards. This practice can be very expensive since there are so few boards. If there is critical data on a crashed hard drive, be sure you tell the technician. Or, even if there is another cause for the machine problem, inform the tech if valuable information is contained on the drive. Then, if the only option is to reformat the drive, you will be notified in advance. If you are willing to pay a premium price for a data recovery service to try to retrieve it, tell the technician that, too. A data recovery service may advise you NOT to run disk doctor software, because it will lessen their chance of recovering the data with the custom software that they use. Total Recall sells a Data Recovery Toolkit, but there is no way to know if it will work for you because the demo is disabled. Intro | Freezes | Crashes | Hardware | Finder | Desktop | Troubleshooting Links | Creme de la Mac Extension Conflicts/Bugs Extensions and control panels are files that appear as icons at the bottom of your screen when you startup your Macintosh. The more you have installed, the bigger the chance that one will not get along with another and you will start to have freezes, crashes or other unpredictable behavior either during the startup process or later when you are running programs. These files are found in special folders that live inside the System Folder. Which of these files are in use is normally controlled by extension manager software. Turn off all extensions using an extension manager or by dragging them into a folder. If this solves the problem, then you need to zero in on recently installed or enabled extensions. One method is by using a systematic 'divide and conquer' troubleshooting technique with an extension manager. Extensions load after the system, any enablers, or fonts in an order determined by your extension manager, usually alphabetic within category. Control Panels Load after the Extensions. The step by step visual appearance of the icons as they load may give a clue to which one of them failed to load or function correctly. The last icon to show up at the time of crashing may give another clue as to which extension caused the crash. Another twist is that on rare occasions the order in which two extensions load may be critical. For example, under System 6 the TrueType extension has to load before the Suitcase extension. A way to force this to happen is to rename it to sTrueType (since loading is alphabetic) or to use an extension manager that lets you control the loading order. Bear in mind that the most difficult problems to solve are those where two different problems occur simultaneously masking each other with a similar symptom. If you know that no new extensions have been installed recently and that your current configuration has been stable, it is possible that a preference file from one of your extensions has become corrupt. Note that applications like QuicKeys and Netscape keep important files in the preferences folder that may be irreplacable if deleted. At worst you may find that you have to get one or two replacements from a backup volume or recreate it them by reentering the needed data. If you directly delete a preference file for an extension, it is best to do it with extensions off. One specific file that can become corrupt and is expendible is the MacTCP DNR file created automatically by Apple's MacTCP control panel. It does not live in the preferences folder, but lays loose in the System Folder. It does not contain manually entered settings. If you have installed software recently and an Installer Cleanup extension persists after several boots, you may want to disable it or erase it manually after booting. If turning off your extensions eliminated your problems and you want ideas of individual items you can turn off that commonly cause problems, you can try items from the list below first. Make sure Easy Access is disabled (throw it away if you don't use it) Turn AppleShare off if you happen to have it on. Verify that the ATM database you have came with the version of ATM you are running. System 6 users with large hard disks can verify that the extension called Desktop Manager is enabled if you use it on your system. Most people don't. If you have more than about 1,000 files on a System 6 drive, your machine can tend to freeze without it. Errors 1, 2 and 3 are commonly seen from corrupt or buggy extensions. Such errors may not show up until you actually launch an application. Be especially suspicious about ever allowing two extensions to run on your system simultaneously that do very similar things, like DOS Mounter and PC Access, or Suitcase and Font Juggler. They may both patch the same area of code in the System in a way that is incompatible. WYSIWYG menu utilities and screen savers are particularly egregious in this area. If certain extensions refuse to load that have worked perfectly in the past and you are on a network, the problem may be a form of copy protection in those extensions that requires a unique serial number for each copy of the software on the network. You can remove the LocalTalk cable before you boot the machine to test for this and reconnect it later. Extensions from Now Software are notorious for this kind of behavior. For applications, it is usually sufficient to just turn off AppleShare. If you don't see any extensions load before your machine gives up and you have ruled out hardware problems, remember that fonts load before extensions. If you can boot from a floppy and remove any non-Apple fonts from your system folder, this may save the day. On very early Macs, it is essential to have Chicago and Geneva available, on newer Macs critical fonts are in ROM. A way to avoid this issue is to use a font management tool like Suitcase. Try running Help! from Teknosys at (800) 873-3494 if you own that product. It will make suggestions about incompatibilities that it finds. Older applications may not behave with file sharing, virtual memory, 32-bit addressing or Modern Memory Manager on and may require compatibility mode to be on if you have a 68040 based Mac like a Macintosh FX. Intro | Freezes | Crashes | Hardware | Extensions | Desktop | Troubleshooting Links | Creme de la Mac Finder/Desktop Integrity The Finder loads in the period after extensions and control panels have marched across the bottom of your screen, but before menus and desktop icons appear. If you freeze with a blank menu bar at startup, you may be able to get to the desktop if you just hold down the option key during this period the next time you restart the machine. If this works, be sure to rebuild the desktop by whatever method you choose from those described below. The Finder may need to have more memory allocated to it, especially when freezes or crashes consistently happen on the desktop. Under System 6 you can do this directly with Get Info. You can hold down the command and option keys during the boot period that follows extension loading to rebuild your desktop. This method may be more effective if you restart with extensions off. Better yet you can use a program that erases the desktop file(s) like the shareware extension DesktopReset or Reset DTDBs . A desktop rebuild will discard any comments seen in your Get Info boxes. The Generic Icon Page contains more detailed information about the desktop file. If all your files appear normally on the desktop, but are invisible when you want to open them in a program, you might want to try the freeware program Disk Rejuvenator from Aladdin Systems. It repairs a kind of Finder related corruption for hard drives. If you can boot from a floppy, but not the hard drive and have already checked the drive directory structure with a hard disk utility, you can try to install a fresh System and Finder after removing the old ones or stashing them each in a separate folder. It is safest to do an install using Apple's installer and factory distribution media. Intro | Freezes | Crashes | Hardware | Extensions | Finder | Troubleshooting Links | Creme de la Mac When you get to the Desktop The most important thing to do when you get to the desktop is to run your favorite disk doctor program. Both directories and files can become unexplainedly corrupt and will need occasional repair or replacement from your backups. If the program says it fixed something, run it again and see if it really did. If it didn't, consider booting from an emergency floppy and running it again. If the hard drive contains your only copy of critical data, back that data up to external media as your first priority. Run the most recent version of a virus program like the shareware program Disinfectant or SAM Virus Clinic from Symantec from a locked floppy if you are exposed to files from the outside world and don't screen them. If file sharing has been in use, delete the invisible file called AppleShare PDS. A corrupted PDS file may also cause your machine to have a slow restart period. You may have to install an Finder substitute to see the file. DiskTop is a commercial product that will do the trick. If the problem is application specific, you can reinstall the suspect program to see if that helps. If you tend to use lots of PostScript fonts in a single document as you would in a specimen book, it may be necessary to increase the font cache in the Adobe Type Manager control panel. Third party filters and plug-ins can be a subtle source of crashes. If you are troubleshooting an application that crashes and has add-ons, try removing them and replacing them in small groups as if you were looking for an extension conflict. When you upgrade to a new version of a product, you may need to upgrade any third party software as well. Older applications may not behave with file sharing or 32-bit addressing on and may require compatibility mode to be on if you have a 68040 based Mac like a Macintosh FX. If your Macintosh is in 32-bit mode and an old application you still want to run crashes, use the Memory control panel to turn off 32-bit operation and see if this helps. If you must do this, you are limiting the amount of physical RAM you can use to 8 megabytes. Deleting the associated preferences file may be sufficient to fix an application. For newer software such files are normally found in the Preferences folder which can be found in the System Folder. For older software the files will be found scattered loose in the System folder. View your other the contents of your Preferences Folder by date and consider which recently changed files, if any, might be contributing to your problem. Certain applications, like Quark, tend to need this kind of attention more often than others. If this gets to be a nuisance, keep a floppy with a backup copy of the worst offenders. Be sure to put key files from your Netscape preferences folder on the floppy too, like your preferences, bookmarks and global history. Remember that many extension conflicts do not actually show up until you begin to launch applications. They commonly manifest as errors 1,2 and 3 on 680x0 based Macs. If you boot with just a set of minimal Apple extensions on and experience no problems at all, then be very suspicious of an underlying extension conflict or bug. There are several applications with printable error charts - MacOS-Error-Guide or Mac-Error-Codes (in German). The most explanatory lists, however, are on internet web pages. I think the nicest is Macintosh-System Error Codes Explained. In real life charts are a poor way to pin down problems because they can seldom give useful advice on just what to do to eliminate the error. Most of the time error codes are really there to help programmers fix bugs, not to help users. Be sure to mention the exact text of an error message if you contact technical support personnel about your problem. An error code may help you know that the same problem is recurring. If you get an error 26 (Bad Program Launch), your application program may be corrupt. If you get other error numbers in the range 15-31, be suspicious of corrupt system software. The rest of the time your errors are likely to be hardware problems, conflicts, bugs or memory allocation issues. Occasionally you may run into errors that appear when you add or reconfigure SCSI devices. Check for and eliminate duplicate System and Finder files on your system drive. If you want to store a copy of your working System or Finder on your hard drive, keep it in compressed form. If nothing else has worked so far, you can try giving the System Folder a different name. Then move the contents to a newly created folder that you name System Folder. Bless it (make the Mac icon visible) by opening it and closing it even if you can see the icon already. If that fails, try dragging the System and Finder out of the System Folder, and then drag them back on top of the folder icon and drop them in again. Apple's code word for crashing is "stability." Each version of the operating System will have it own reputation for stability depending on the type of software that you run. System 6 and System 8 are both considered more stable than System 7. If you have a 68040 accelerator card, an "upgrade" to a new operating system can be a real disaster and is not advised unless you check with the manufacturer first. More detailed compatibility information for accelerators in general can be found on Shobaffum's Macintosh IIci Page. Migration to System 8 is only for machines with a built-in 68040 chip or PowerMacs. In these instances System 8 is said to be much more stable than any previous version of System 7. You will probably want to know about Mac OS 8 Quick Fixes, Mac OS 8 (MacFixIt), and Mac OS 8 (MacInTouch) first before you think about installing System 8 which only runs on newer Macs. You can zap the PRAM by pressing shift-option-command when opening control panel If your symptoms persist and you are convinced the PRAM is the cause, you might try removing your battery for 20 minutes with the machine unplugged. If your machine can't seem to hold onto the date or time PRAM settings, it is time to check your battery. If your battery is ok, but daily zapping of the PRAM is necessary to keep your machine running well, PRAM Auto-Restore can be used to restore your PRAM settings automatically everytime you boot the machine. When a program crashes, unpredictable things can happen. PRAMs, boot blocks, and disk directories can be corrupted. If you must use Open Transport instead of MacTCP, be sure that you have the very latest version or you may find that you will crash frequently with error 11 when accessing the internet. If you get lots of bombs from the stack colliding with the heap, you might risk increasing the size of the heap with the Heaptool control panel or the FreeRAM FKEY. ResumeToFinder and Bomb Shelter are control panel devices that may also allow you to save your work when a dialog box displays a bomb. This software adds a Resume button to the existing Restart button, so System 6 users have one more chance at recovery. In a final act of desperation you can reformat your system hard drive. If you have a second drive or even a removable that you can run from for a while, you may be able to learn whether the original hard drive is really the problem. Otherwise backup all your files and be sure you have a method to boot to a working drive with the software you will use to restore these files. A program or device that functions well to back up files under System 6, may not function at all under System 7 and vice versa. IMPORTANT! Don't overlook recording any serial numbers that you may need to reinstall files or applications. Also, record the file count, so you can double check the number of files backed up with the number of files restored. If you decide to reformat your hard drive, use the most current version of a good hard drive utility. For Apple hard disk drives, you may use what Apple supplies for the System that you are using, AppleHD SC Setup for early Macs and Drive Setup for Power Macs. For non-Apple drives programs like SCSI Director Pro, Silver Lining or Hard Disk Toolkit can be used. Once formatted, existing files are gone for good. If you use a backup program, do a trial restore of sample files to a test drive before you trash the drive, even if it is just a floppy. Install fresh system software from locked factory floppies or a CD, then restore any remaining files needed for your work except any FileSaver or Prevention data files and/or any suspicious preference files. Test each program and extension to see that they all work. If you are doing a first time install of System 7, be sure to check with vendors of any third party software or hardware you own for compatibility. Many out-of-business companies are unavailable to provide drivers or other support needed to run older products originally made for System 6 use. Be aware that System 7 was designed to run best on faster machines. It takes more memory, runs slower, is generally less responsive and crashes much more often than System 6. Many Macintosh users who have been forced to use Windoze at work notice immediately how much more stable it is compared to System 7. This is aggravated substantially on the web by the amount of crash prone software in use (e.g. Netscape). The Safe Install utility from Apple will give you a list of phone numbers for the software products. The earlier Compatibility Checker that came with System 7.1 may give some additional advice about software that is known to be incompatible. In any case, System 7 will be much slower, less responsive and more crash prone that System 6. Some errors are more indicative of compatibility problems than others. The leading contenders are: Bus Error (1), Illegal Instruction (3), Numeric Overflow (6), Privilege Violation (7), Unimplemented Trap (12) and the ever popular Error Type 11. When you run out of ideas and need to contact technical support, you may find that they would like the courtesy of a detailed system profile. Many profilers have come and gone over the years. Now Profiler is bundled with Now Utilities and you may find TAA on a product disk from CE Software. MugShot can be found on the web in places like Shareware.com and InfoMac. The news that profilers were useful and valuable finally made it to Apple and with 7.5.3 came the first release of Apple System Profiler. ASP reports can only be generated on certain Powerbook, Proforma, and PowerMac models. I am not sure whether that means that these are Apple's most trouble-prone models or whether users of older models just aren't that important. If you have a machine that crashes a lot and you have decided to live with it rather than have it fixed, you might like to try some software palatives. Safety Belt is a control panel from Alsis that helps you get running after a crash by telling you about files that were in use, but not saved when you crashed. If all this sounds too technical for you, unless you have a knowledgeable computer friend (not me), you will probably have to use a technical repair facility. Ask for an estimate of what it may cost to keep from being surprised later on. Don't forget to ask about the possibility of extended warrantee service. Be sure to tell them if there is critical data on your hard drive. Again, if you are an educational user or you have a new machine that is under 90-day warranty, Apple can be reached for their free advice at (800) SOS-APPL. Their Customer Support Program options are listed in a press release explaining the termination of their free telephone support. Good Luck. Intro | Freezes | Crashes | Hardware | Extensions | Finder | Desktop | Creme de la Mac Troubleshooting Links Macintosh Guide - Clear answers to many common questions from Yale TroubleShooting Flowchart The Startup Process Inside the System Folder Rebuilding the Desktop Installing a Clean System General Troubleshooting: Tech Support Online - Apple's guide to Basic Macintosh Troubleshooting Troubleshooting 101 - the simple things to try first in convenient Desk Accessory form Chiron - an application with printable tips, a chart of error codes, and a table of viruses Troubleshooting - chapter from Big Bad Book of Computer Consulant Terminology Macintosh Hardware Short Course Notes Troubleshooting the Macintosh by Mark Watts Macintosh Tips - crash related troubleshooting Software Troubleshooting Tool Complete Conflict Compendium - when your problems are application and model specific MacFixIt which includes the troubleshooting section from MacBible Part I and Part II Macintosh Tips and First Aid Miscellaneous Mac Matters - Troubleshooting Following freaky bugs in, around the Mac OS Smooth sailing with System 7.5.5: Only for the lucky Performa Problems & Solutions Page Macintosh Support Sites - a list of links to troubleshooting pages Troubleshooting Guide for Using the Berkeley Internet Kit for Macintosh with a Modem Hardware Repairs for Macintosh Products - great set of links to help maintain Macs Macintosh Hardware FAQ - basic advice on how to fix mice, keyboards, et.al. PinoutsDA - a handy desk accessory that lists cable pinouts for Macintosh Hardware. Phoenix Mac Repair (Download) - hardware advice, many Macintosh models (web site) UCS Knowledge Base - 4,500 answers to common computing questions, Mac & otherwise From the horses mouth: - More selections from Apple's TIL Macintosh: System Crashes and Basic Troubleshooting (1 of 2) Macintosh: System Crashes and Basic Troubleshooting (2 of 2) System 7.x: Troubleshooting Startup Problems (9/95) System 7.1: Troubleshooting Common Problems (10/95) Macintosh Computers: Excessive Disk Activity at Startup (4/96) Technote 1084 - Running CFM-68K Code at Interrupt Time Directory of /Apple.Support.Area/Apple.Software.Updates/US/Macintosh Repair Extension Program Summary for Mac Lemons Apple Support Information Freezes: Macintosh Computers & System 7.5: Freeze Troubleshooting (7/96) Macintosh Screen Freeze, Lock Up: Resetting & Restarting (12/93) Interrupt Button - an extension for freezes Netscape Defrost - an extension for network freezes Modem Re-setter and PortCloser - applications for modem-related problems Escapade and YesNoCancel - control panels for keyboard choices in dialog boxes Putting together the pieces: Monitor Database and Compatibility Lists Another Monitor Database and adapter from a company in France ADB Prober and RecognizeMouse - useful Apple Desktop Bus utilities GSF-Rasputin - shareware to help track down font name and ID conflicts Font Box - another shareware utility to help track down font name and ID conflicts Teknosys - makers of Help! conflict analyzer Dataviz - makers of a free Finder Size Updater program Finder Heap Fix - another more versatile Finder memory size application Norton Utilities - a review from MacUser magazine and new features from MacWeek Symantec - makers of Norton Utilities, SAM and Suitcase among many others pRAM - a nice writeup about pRAM from Todd's Mac pages How to reset PRAM and NVRAM Rites of spring include performing PRAM tricks PRAM-Reader - a user friendly PRAM zapper that saves and restores settings MacHistory - cribsheets that present essential features of many Mac models DA Piggyback - an application that converts troublesome Desk Accessories to Applications Heap (System 6) - a detailed explanation of System 6 heap crashes Heaptool - a control panel that automatically adjusts the heap at startup under System 6 FreeRAM FKEY - an FKEY that frees up Heap and shows status under System 6 Fixheap - an application that reclaims unused heap space leftover by poorly written programs Technote 1082: The Problem with and (Simple) Fix to Purgeable WDEFs ResumeToFinder, Bomb Shelter - extensions for crashes Mac Boot Key Combos - a list of useful keyboard shortcuts, some are pretty obscure Check 32! - a shareware application that looks to see if the 32-bit clean flag is set in programs MugShot Profiler Mac Technicians - lists over thirty repair and data recovery shops worldwide Authorized Macintosh dealers Extensions and Control Panels: MacInTouch System Folder Page Now Startup Manager Reference Library The InformInit - a great compilation of extension information both on-line and as an application Extension Overload - also has a downloadable guide Casady and Greene - makers of Conflict Catcher extension for System 7 Error Codes: Macintosh-System_Error_Codes_Explained - the nicest of many on-line lists Sad Mac Error Codes Applications with Printable Charts - MacOS-Error-Guide, System Errors 7.0.1 Dave's "The Mac Line" and Marvin's Sanctum - sounds section for sad Mac crashes with meaning MacInTouch Error 11 Tips Page Hardware problems not the Type 11 prime suspect Exploring Type 11 roots, as well as more print drivers Troubleshooting Power Mac Type 11 Errors PowerPC Interrupt Extension - recent patch to System 7.5.5, PowerMacs only Microsoft Type 11 Error Patch Software FPU - some people use this in an attempt to reduce Error 11s Power Macintosh: Meaning of Error Type 11 (10/96) System 7.x: Troubleshooting System Errors Type 1, 2, & 3 (8/95) Power Macintosh: Type 11 & No FPU Errors Technote (7/96) Syquest-Error-Codes - a list of what the LED error code means that Syquest owners see. Rebuilding a Hard Drive, Floppy or Desktop: Clean Install Process System 7: Reblessing Old System Folder After Clean Install 9/95 Apple HD SC Setup: Updating SCSI Disk Drivers (1/95) Initializing Hard Drive: Finder & Apple HD SC Setup (2/95) Apple HD SC Setup: How to Initialize an Apple Hard Drive (9/95) List Of Disk Recovery Tools For The Macintosh (9/94) Macintosh: Troubleshooting a Rejected Floppy Disk (9/95) Proper Care of Floppies a touch of humor System 7.5: Sad Mac Caused by FWB HDT Toolkit Version 1.3 (2/95) Power Macintosh Upgrade Card: Problem with SilverLining (11/94) taking a stab at sorting out Apple disk formatters Retrospect: Troubleshooting SCSI Problems (8/93) Generic Icon Page - contains useful background information about the desktop file LaCie - makers of Silver Lining hard disk formatting software FWB Software - makers of HDT Toolkit hard disk formatting software Transoft Technology - makers discontinued SCSI Director Pro hard disk formatting software DesktopReset - this extension will rebuild the desktop for System 6 users Reset DTDBs - this program will rebuild the desktop StripFat - remove excess code from fat binary programs to save disk space Viruses: So, what's new on the anti-viral front? SAM - Macintosh Virus Information - from Symantec Disinfectant 3.6 - free virus protection software Virex - from Datawatch checks files as you download them. Batteries: Macintosh Motherboard Battery Information Macintosh Battery Web Page Prefix Technologies - batteries, fuses, and other hard-to-find parts Mac Batteries - Mac Clock Mac LC Battery Alternative Data Recovery: DriveSavers MAC Drive Tips - best web recovery advice, they have a clean room too! Tekserve Recovery By Mail Lazarus Data Recovery Ontrack Data Recovery Total Recall - sells sevices and Data Recovery Toolkit software Créme de la Mac Quintessential Linkmeisters for the Macaholic Cult of Macintosh Well Connected Mac The ULTIMATE Macintosh NEXUS Mac Resources Nathan's Everything Macintosh Macintosh WWW Pointers Mac Orchard MacLink Todd's Mac Pages - great trouble section too J.R.'s All About Macs Page - includes trouble links Yahoo! - Macintosh Computers and Internet Mac-Mgrs MacinSearch - WWW Macintosh site search engine Ultimate Apple - including a Mac information search engine MacMedic-Version Tracker SHAREWARE.COM: Power Search Form The Macintosh E-Zine Newsrack Yahoo! - Macintosh Magazines MacSurfer's Headline News The online MacinStuff Times MacWEEK MacInTouch Home Page Macworld Online MacCentral! O'Grady's PowerPage - The PowerBook Resource. Macintosh Resource Page MacSOURCE: Current Mac News & Updates TidBITS Electronic Publishing Info-Mac HyperDigests - Q/A format, you can publish a tough question/useful insight via email. Vendors Macintosh Vendor Directory Cult of Macintosh-Vendors Guide to Computer Vendors (TM) Cribsheet The Basic Crash Course: This summary lists the most common sources of crash troubles for machines that have been stable for some time--no recent virus opportunities, no new fonts, extensions, system software, applications, patches or hardware added recently. When does this happen- 1) before the extensions load (more than likely a Hardware Issue) If you get a failure tone or a sad Mac, turn off the power, and simply try again. If this has no effect, you may want to pull the external SCSI cable, boot, shutdown, and the reinsert cable. If you still get a failure tone, boot to a floppy and run your favorite disk doctor. If you can boot to a floppy, but still have a problem booting to the hard drive you can update the boot blocks. 2) during extension loading (probably one of many possible Extension Conflicts/Bugs) Restart your machine with extensions off using the shift key. If turning the extensions off eliminates the crash, try turning on just the Apple extensions, if that doesn't work look for corrupted preferences or run your favorite disk doctor to see if it finds any corrupted files or directories. If this doesn't zero in on the culprit, try selective exclusion of extensions looking for a conflict and replace any faulty files from factory media. Failing that, you may want to Zap the PRAM (and the NVRAM if you have a PCI Mac). 3) after extensions load when the finder starts (check Finder/Desktop Integrity) You can delete the Finder Preferences file and rebuild the desktop. The most direct way is to restart and hold the command and option keys down after the extensions have loaded, until asked if you want to rebuild the desktop. Click yes. Other, possibly better, ways are detailed elsewhere. If you freeze with a blank menu bar at startup, hold down the option key right after the extensions have loaded. If during these attempts, you have never been able to get to the desktop, run your favorite disk doctor from a bootable floppy. Replace the System and Finder if all else has failed. 4) after the desktop appears (see When you get to the Desktop) The most important thing to do when you get to the desktop is to run your favorite disk doctor program. Both directories and files can become unexplainedly corrupt and will need occasional repair or replacement from your backups. If the program says it fixed something, run it again and see if it really did. If it didn't, consider booting from an emergency floppy and running it again. If your crashes are applications specific, just deleting the associated preferences file may be sufficient to fix your problem. Otherwise, it is best to reinstall the software from locked factory media after verifying that you have sufficient memory allocated. Troubleshooting Mac Applications offers a cribsheet approach. If these short tips don't suffice, explore the more detailed sections for additional ideas to try. Intro | Freezes | Crashes | Hardware | Extensions | Finder | Desktop | Troubleshooting Links | Creme de la Mac HELPFUL ADVICE ON THIS PAGE OR ITS CONTENTS IS ALWAYS WELCOME Email to crashtips@crashtips.com The information on this page may be used and distributed freely in electronic form, so long as its source is cited. Any trademarks mentioned on these pages are the property of the respective trademark owners. Disclaimer: These ideas are for informational purposes only and constitute neither an endorsement nor a recommendation. CrashTips assumes no responsibility with regard to the selection, performance, or use of these products or vendors. All understandings, agreements, or warranties, if any, take place directly between the vendors and the prospective users. CrashTips makes no warranties as to the completeness or accuracy of this information. What you do to your computer is your choice and your risk. If you are a film "fogger" or streetlights go out when you walk by them, it may simply be best not to use a computer. Our best information comes from you the reader to promote informed self-help for others. The ideas expressed are merely opinions of the author and generous contributors to this page. HOME
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Note: Yes we know half the links on this particular page are dead, it is an archival page for those diehard veteran System 6 users who already have all the old software they need to fix their problems, but who may have forgotten some of the finer points of fixing their favorite old machine. We know you really drive a G4, but just can't bear to desert that old laptop with the 500K hard drive that you paid $5,000 for and use twice a year. We can't bear to throw away this page either.
This page answers the FAQ, "What can I try to keep my machine from freezing or crashing so much in order by level of desperation?" You might like to try simple things first, like the suggestions in our Cribsheet, the Chiron (download) DocMaker presentation or the Troubleshooting 101 (download) desk accessory and come back here if they weren't enough. Also see the fine explanations in Yale's Macintosh Guide. These sources are especially valuable if you are a newcomer to the Mac. They are not terribly likely to tell a System 6 user how to deal with problems specific to that operating system. If you run just System 6 or System 6 and System 7 concurrently on different machines, see McOrphan for basic information on what versions of software are worth considering for use. Most vendors no longer support System 6 users. You will find that companies will not ordinarily sell old versions of software that ran fine under System 6, they will only sell the latest version which probably will not. You may have a hard time finding some of the software mentioned here because it has gone out of general circulation. Most System 6 users have made the choice to stay with System 6 out of economic necessity or from being stranded with a critical application that is no longer supported under System 7. Be aware that some applications that run under System 6 and not under System 7 will run under System 8! Others stay with System 6 because of the slow performance and the high incidence of crashing that came with System 7 on older hardware. Some third party hardware is not compatible with System 7. Now that System 8 has made the popular Macintosh IIci obsolete, prices are plummeting and a basic IIci box without the keyboard and monitor can be had for less than $10, maybe even FREE.
CAUTION: If you don't backup your data and run your favorite disk doctor software very regularly, your worst nightmare may be awaiting you. Equally important is scanning your hard drive regularly. If your disk doctor utility finds an error and says it was fixed, it pays to run it again to see if it really did, in fact, fix the problem. If it didn't, consider restarting from an emergency floppy and running it again. The author's favorites are Public Utilities by Symantec for System 6 users. Apple has released two programs called MacCheck and Apple Personal Diagnostics, neither of which is widely used and both require System 7 to run.
One kind of preparation that will pay dividends eventually is to prepare a set of current, bootable emergency disks to keep on hand for troubleshooting. Minimally, have one with your favorite disk doctor, one with Apple's Disk First Aid, one with your hard drive formatting software and finally, one with a virus checker. If you use backup/restore software, you may want a copy on a bootable floppy. If you do a lot of troubleshooting, an additional disk with a hardware diagnostic tool, like Peace of Mind or Snooper can also be helpful. Many other specialized utilities will be mentioned in this document along the way. Another kind of preparation is defensive driving, prevention through good work habits. Save your PRAM settings with a free utility like Techtool during a period when your machine is stable. In General, save your work frequently. Try out one new piece of software at a time, particularly control panels and extensions. Keep a current copy of your System, Finder and critical preferences handy, if you value them. If you have removable media, make sure you have at least one bootable volume containing your current system software. Try to keep ten percent of the space on your system disk disk available at all times. If your only hard drive formatting software is what came with it several years back, make inquiries for getting something more current. If you have valuable data on a floppy and inserting it produces a message saying that it is unreadable, do not initialize it, lock it. Try to insert it in another drive or even in another Macintosh. If none are available, try it again after you have successfully inserted a second expendable floppy. If the floppy is substantially warmer or cooler than when it was written, it may be harder to read. You may have to try inserting it several times. Store your floppies in a low dust environment, preferably a container with a lid. If you are well prepared, your down time will be minimized. When a program crashes or freezes, unpredictable things can happen. PRAMs, boot blocks, and disk directories can become corrupted, so it is important to find and eliminate the cause in a timely way.
If your keyboard or mouse goes dead, determine first if it really is a machine freeze or if only the mouse or keyboard is frozen. First, be sure all affected cables are plugged in securely. If you use an alternate pointing device, like a trackball, it may freeze while the mouse is still functional! Substituting a different device that you are confident is working properly may solve the problem.
NOTE! It is not advisable to remove or insert any connectors associated with your Mac unless you first shut down completely! It is possible to blow an internal fuse if you do.
Another trick to outsmart mouse frost is to be able to Save in an application using a keyboard Command-S, very useful if just the mouse dies. In Netscape, for instance, I have additionally installed Command-S on the Save-As menu using ResEdit, for those many occasions when the Save command is dimmed. Only try this if you are comfortable with ResEdit. Other keyboard commands that may help depending on your situation are command-period to cancel a dialog box, command-W to close a window, or command-Q to quit.
In any case restart your computer as soon as you are done saving any important work, if you are able to do so. The restart can be done via the power key on the keyboard, the programmer's reboot switch (triangle icon) or the main power switch. Each of these is actually very slightly different to the computer. If your crash of your machine is so complete as to be unaffected by pushing the power switch, you can try to hold it in for several seconds or simply unplug it.
You may notice a folder called Rescued Items in the trash. It is usually empty or contains useless material.
When a freeze happens while the machine is idle, be suspicious of an extension conflict. See the Extensions Conflicts/Bugs section below.
If the freeze only happens only while printing a document, there may be insufficient memory to run the Print Monitor. You can try a different printer driver if you have one or you can try increasing your Adobe Type Manager cache setting if the document being printed uses lots of fonts. Test the printing with background printing OFF. The LaserWriter driver 7.1.2 works well under System 6. Other other newer versions may work, as well.
If your machine freezes or crashes each time you boot it and you have an unprinted document pending, an attempt to print may be the cause. To remedy this, restart the extensions off and double click the desktop printer icon with the X through it. You will see a list of pending documents which you can select and drag into the trash. You can also just drag the icon itself into the trash.
Sometimes a freeze will happen exclusively with a certain CD or floppy. For CDs this may be caused by some kind or dirt or gummy build-up that can be removed with careful cleaning. For a floppy, it may be time to run a recovery program to salvage what data can be saved, before you attempt to discard it. If the recovery fails, you can try copying the whole disk to a blank disk with a utility like Norton's Floppier or try opening any important files directly from the File menu using the program that created them.
If you are unusually low on disk space, your machine may begin to freeze sporatically. Unknown to the user, many programs create invisible temporary scratch files as part of normal functioning. If there is not enough disk space to create these files, the program may freeze or even crash due to buggy code in the program. If you want to scour your hard drive of such remnants, you can try a program like File Buddy.
Many of the following ideas do not work consistently, they are for the truly desperate.
If you have a programmer's switch installed, you may also try entering debug commands for System 6 or 7 .The interrupt switch (circle icon) allows access to the debugger. Type the following cryptic commands.
Method 1:
G FINDER then press the RETURN key
Obviously, the easiest of all to remember!
Method 2:
SM 0 A9F4 then press the RETURN key
G 0 (zero) then press the RETURN key
This is the so-called exit to shell (the Finder)
Method 3:
SM FA700 A9F4 then press the RETURN key
PC FA700 then press the RETURN key
If you accidentally press the interrupt switch, you can resume your work by typing G then RETURN.
Defrosting Software
For software that uses the modem, there is the Modem Re-setter application that might cut down on freezes and crashes when downloading or connecting to on-line services by giving you more predictable control of your modem.
If your cursor freezes often, but your keyboard stays alive, you may want to explore shareware like RecognizeMouse, Escapade, or YesNoCancel to help you get by. The RecognizeMouse application tells the Mac to try harder to use your pointer. The other two control panels let you make choices in dialog boxes from the keyboard. Most of us are so mouse-bound that we are not aware that a Macintosh can be operated without a mouse using Easy Access or the freeware KeyMenu control panel.
If the freezes only occur when using a certain program, there are more ideas to try in the When you get to the Desktop) section. For freezes during the restart process, see the next sections.
When does it happen?
1) Before the extensions load (more than likely a Hardware Issue)
2) During extension loading (probably one of many possible Extension Conflicts/Bugs)
3) After extensions load when the finder starts (check Finder/Desktop Integrity)
4) After the desktop appears (see: When you get to the Desktop)
IMPORTANT! Try to recall whether the problem first became apparent with the installation or enabling of new software or hardware. If so, start there. For example, if you had virus detection software turned ON during a recent install, it could have seriously affected your machine and caused your current problem.
Keep a log of your freezes and crashes and record exactly what you were doing and what exact sequence led up to the problem. Then record what you tried and if it worked. Patterns can emerge that will help both you and any technical support people you may deal with later.
If you use any SCSI peripherals, you may want to unplug the SCSI cable after powering down and then try to restart. The SCSI cable is a heavy wire at least as thick as the power wire that plugs into a 25 pin connector on the rear of your Mac marked by a disk drive icon. If you have recently added a new SCSI device, you should be aware that each peripheral added to the SCSI bus must have a unique ID address number that is usually set by a switch on the back of each the peripheral device itself. The number ranges from zero to six. Zero is normally used as the ID for the internal drive. Make sure there are no duplicate IDs and also that there is a terminator plug installed on the last item in the chain unless internally terminated. A good rule of thumb is to have the highest ID numbers assigned to the fastest peripherals. If you have them or can borrow or buy some, try fresh, short, high quality (thick, gold-plated connectors) cables. Sometimes getting a chain of SCSI devices to work is a black art of trial and error. Be sure you never have two devices in a chain that are both internally terminated. Sometimes changing the device order or temporarily removing items in the chain can help. The total length of the combined SCSI cables should not be over twenty feet. A control panel like SCSI Probe or even better HDT Prober is very helplful.
If you can successfully restart from a floppy, you can first try Disk First Aid on Apple's locked bootable utility disk. If the program terminates with an error message, try running it a second time, just in case. If this is not sufficient you can then try your favorite disk doctor, also from a locked bootable floppy.
Another procedure is to update the disk drivers in your boot blocks on the system disk drive. Perhaps the simplest and fastest way to try this is to simply drag the System file out of the System Folder, close the folder and then drag the file onto the Sytem File icon and drop it back into the folder. Otherwise you can use Apple HD SC Setup if you own an Apple drive. If you use Silver Lining from LaCie, it will tell you if your disk drivers need updating. Both SCSI Director Pro (now discontinued) from Transoft and HDT Toolkit from FWB Software are serialized, so you may end up crippled in your hour of need. FWB's toolkit is frequently unable to update the drivers in any case. Be sure your copy of any such programs is current and ready to run. It is best to prepare a working copy of your favorite hard disk formatting utility on a bootable floppy in advance, just in case. Once you choose formatting software, stick with one program if you use it on removable media.
NOTE: A floppy disk with bad boot blocks can crash a machine instantly, just by inserting it into the drive. Another problem for System 7 users is 400K floppies. Move all important data off of 400K floppies before you get involved with System 7. "Working with 400K floppies under System 7 is a real can of worms. Don't even try it if you can avoid it. It may simply hang the System, so you have to restart. On the other hand, it may cause the data on the floppy to become totally unreadable under System 6.or System 7. Lock the diskette! You cannot rename a 400K floppy disk, create a new file folder or even see folders!" -- via McOrphan
Be aware that command-option-shift-delete will keep the internal hard drive from mounting during a restart while test-booting from an external hard drive or removable media. If you set the Startup Disk control panel to boot from another device, remember to set it back to your internal drive once it is running again. If you don't, your boot time may slow down.
At some point in your examination of the machine, with the power OFF, try unplugging all cables one by one. Examine all connectors for bent, corroded or receding pins.
First, reattach only the keyboard, mouse and Monitor, then reboot. Examine the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) with the ADB Prober utility if the keyboard or mouse are behaving erratically or not functioning at all. It will show you a list of all currently recognized mice, keyboards, et. al. on the ADB bus. A defective mouse or keyboard can cause a machine to crash, so if you can temporarily test your machine with a different set known to be working, it may help to isolate the problem. Be sure to try fresh cables in the process. If the machine does not see an ADB device on a regular basis, you can try RecognizeMouse.
An overheated floppy drive can cause a crash, showing Errors 10 or 15. If this happens you might notice whether your fan is running and whether the weather is exceptionally hot. If the floppy is external, you can try pointing a fan at it.
If you suspect another hardware problem, try running Snooper. Use it on a bootable floppy, if your hard drive won't boot. If your floppy or hard disk has given read or write errors, be sure to exercise it with a disk utility. Dust in floppy drives is a notorious cause of problems, but is not likely to crash a system unless you have actually booted from a floppy. If the boot block of a floppy is corrupted, inserting the floppy into the drive can crash your machine.
If you have an older 680x0 machine and have installed a third party accelerator with a 68040 chip to boost performance, you may find that your system will crash more and more as you upgrade the version number of your system software. System 8 will not run at all on a machine with a 68040 accelerator. Details about accelerators and versions are discussed more completely on Shobaffum's Macintosh IIci Page. The 68030 accelerators do not seem suffer from this problem and a 50mHz version of such accelarators performs at roughly the same as speed as a Macintosh IIFX
Apple considers most internal personal hardware troubleshooting to be inadvisable. Do so only at your own risk! Be sure to discharge any body static by touching a safe metal ground point after opening a Mac.
SIMM contacts may be cleaned with a pencil eraser and reseated. The tiny plastic clip ears (especially on older SIMM sockets) are very, very fragile. If you hesitate at this point, ignore this suggestion. A safer approach is to test the memory continuously with a ram diagnostic program like Snooper for several hours. If you feel comfortable removing SIMMs, you can more directly verify third-party memory is not faulty by selectively removing/swapping banks of memory. If a sad Mac code shows up on the screen just below the icon, use it to locate a bad module as discussed below.
For a Mac with a cache SIMM or board, you can try firmly reseating, removing or replacing it as needed. This can simplify your troubleshooting.
If you have a 68040 accelerator add-in card, you can try pulling the card to see if the problem vanishes.
When starting your machine, if you don't even hear the fan motor or the power cuts out unexpectedly, you might want to check your battery(s). The early Mac II series have batteries that are soldered in, but more current models use a battery holder. A leaky dead lithium battery can seriously damage a mother board with acid, so it should be replaced promptly. If a cell marked 3 V or 3.6 V tests below 3.3 V, it is probably gone or well on the way (Apple says 3.0 to the public and 3.2 to its service people). Testing the battery while it is still in the machine is recommended. The tiny nibs on the battery cover break off very easily. A new cover can be ordered with a replacement battery from Prefix Technologies at (800) 264-2530. A machine with a dead battery may not boot at all unless you put in a new battery or jump start it (techies only). Information from Apple, the Macintosh Battery Web Page or the Macintosh Motherboard Battery Page may also be of help.
If you have any optional items plugged into your motherboard sockets, try reseating, removing or replacing them as availability allows.
If all attempts yield only the failure tone and a "Sad Mac", check the screen code for a clue about what has gone awry. According to the Macintosh Guide, the 10 most common sad Mac causes are:
Corrupted Boot Blocks (Use your favorite hard disk utility to install new drivers)
Corrupted System File (Reinstall the file)
Corrupted Finder File (Reinstall the file)
Problematic SCSI Chain (Double check your cabling and termination, check it internally, if needed.)
Faulty or incorrectly installed memory chips (Reseat, rotate, or replace the modules)
Faulty or incorrectly installed expansion cards (Reseat or replace the board)
Physically damaged hard drive (Swap it out if you choose or use command-option-shift-delete)
Physically damaged motherboard (check for resistor-like fuses with markings such as F1 or F2)
Physically damaged power supply (sometimes there is a fuse hidden inside)
For a Macintosh that boots and displays a "Sad Mac" immediately, the problem is probably caused by either faulty hardware, corrupted boot blocks or corrupted system files. The hardware problem may be bad memory. On earlier Macs, a screen code helped determine which memory SIMM caused the crash or whether it was something else. On Macs with 72 pin SIMMs or 168 pin DIMMs, you can remove memory modules one at a time rather than in banks, so no module code is needed. The crash sound or 'failure tone' varies dramatically by model. You may hear a simple chime, a dirge, bongos or an auto crash as detailed by Dave's "The Mac Line." and Marvin's Sanctum. Ironically enough, playing these .aiff sounds may crash your computer! If this happens to you, be sure that you have the current version of your browser and are using only sound plug-ins that were bundled with it. If the file still crashes your machine, your browser vendor needs to get some e-mail detailing the problem. Early Mac LC/Quadra QuadraAV PowerMac
Otherwise, find a Mac technician. If you like to fix things and have an older machine, get an old copy of The Dead Mac Scrolls by Larry Pina if you can find one. For newer machines, you can use Upgrading and Repairing your Mac by Lisa Lee. On-line you can read the hardware FAQs and browse the Phoenix Mac Repair application. Authorized Macintosh dealers do not normally make board level repairs. They swap boards. This practice can be very expensive since there are so few boards.
If there is critical data on a crashed hard drive, be sure you tell the technician. Or, even if there is another cause for the machine problem, inform the tech if valuable information is contained on the drive. Then, if the only option is to reformat the drive, you will be notified in advance. If you are willing to pay a premium price for a data recovery service to try to retrieve it, tell the technician that, too. A data recovery service may advise you NOT to run disk doctor software, because it will lessen their chance of recovering the data with the custom software that they use. Total Recall sells a Data Recovery Toolkit, but there is no way to know if it will work for you because the demo is disabled.
Extensions and control panels are files that appear as icons at the bottom of your screen when you startup your Macintosh. The more you have installed, the bigger the chance that one will not get along with another and you will start to have freezes, crashes or other unpredictable behavior either during the startup process or later when you are running programs. These files are found in special folders that live inside the System Folder. Which of these files are in use is normally controlled by extension manager software.
Turn off all extensions using an extension manager or by dragging them into a folder. If this solves the problem, then you need to zero in on recently installed or enabled extensions. One method is by using a systematic 'divide and conquer' troubleshooting technique with an extension manager. Extensions load after the system, any enablers, or fonts in an order determined by your extension manager, usually alphabetic within category. Control Panels Load after the Extensions. The step by step visual appearance of the icons as they load may give a clue to which one of them failed to load or function correctly. The last icon to show up at the time of crashing may give another clue as to which extension caused the crash.
Another twist is that on rare occasions the order in which two extensions load may be critical. For example, under System 6 the TrueType extension has to load before the Suitcase extension. A way to force this to happen is to rename it to sTrueType (since loading is alphabetic) or to use an extension manager that lets you control the loading order. Bear in mind that the most difficult problems to solve are those where two different problems occur simultaneously masking each other with a similar symptom.
If you know that no new extensions have been installed recently and that your current configuration has been stable, it is possible that a preference file from one of your extensions has become corrupt. Note that applications like QuicKeys and Netscape keep important files in the preferences folder that may be irreplacable if deleted. At worst you may find that you have to get one or two replacements from a backup volume or recreate it them by reentering the needed data. If you directly delete a preference file for an extension, it is best to do it with extensions off.
One specific file that can become corrupt and is expendible is the MacTCP DNR file created automatically by Apple's MacTCP control panel. It does not live in the preferences folder, but lays loose in the System Folder. It does not contain manually entered settings.
If you have installed software recently and an Installer Cleanup extension persists after several boots, you may want to disable it or erase it manually after booting.
If turning off your extensions eliminated your problems and you want ideas of individual items you can turn off that commonly cause problems, you can try items from the list below first.
Make sure Easy Access is disabled (throw it away if you don't use it)
Turn AppleShare off if you happen to have it on.
Verify that the ATM database you have came with the version of ATM you are running.
System 6 users with large hard disks can verify that the extension called Desktop Manager is enabled if you use it on your system. Most people don't. If you have more than about 1,000 files on a System 6 drive, your machine can tend to freeze without it.
Errors 1, 2 and 3 are commonly seen from corrupt or buggy extensions. Such errors may not show up until you actually launch an application.
Be especially suspicious about ever allowing two extensions to run on your system simultaneously that do very similar things, like DOS Mounter and PC Access, or Suitcase and Font Juggler. They may both patch the same area of code in the System in a way that is incompatible. WYSIWYG menu utilities and screen savers are particularly egregious in this area.
If certain extensions refuse to load that have worked perfectly in the past and you are on a network, the problem may be a form of copy protection in those extensions that requires a unique serial number for each copy of the software on the network. You can remove the LocalTalk cable before you boot the machine to test for this and reconnect it later. Extensions from Now Software are notorious for this kind of behavior. For applications, it is usually sufficient to just turn off AppleShare.
If you don't see any extensions load before your machine gives up and you have ruled out hardware problems, remember that fonts load before extensions. If you can boot from a floppy and remove any non-Apple fonts from your system folder, this may save the day. On very early Macs, it is essential to have Chicago and Geneva available, on newer Macs critical fonts are in ROM. A way to avoid this issue is to use a font management tool like Suitcase.
Try running Help! from Teknosys at (800) 873-3494 if you own that product. It will make suggestions about incompatibilities that it finds.
Older applications may not behave with file sharing, virtual memory, 32-bit addressing or Modern Memory Manager on and may require compatibility mode to be on if you have a 68040 based Mac like a Macintosh FX.
The Finder loads in the period after extensions and control panels have marched across the bottom of your screen, but before menus and desktop icons appear.
If you freeze with a blank menu bar at startup, you may be able to get to the desktop if you just hold down the option key during this period the next time you restart the machine. If this works, be sure to rebuild the desktop by whatever method you choose from those described below.
The Finder may need to have more memory allocated to it, especially when freezes or crashes consistently happen on the desktop. Under System 6 you can do this directly with Get Info.
You can hold down the command and option keys during the boot period that follows extension loading to rebuild your desktop. This method may be more effective if you restart with extensions off. Better yet you can use a program that erases the desktop file(s) like the shareware extension DesktopReset or Reset DTDBs . A desktop rebuild will discard any comments seen in your Get Info boxes. The Generic Icon Page contains more detailed information about the desktop file.
If all your files appear normally on the desktop, but are invisible when you want to open them in a program, you might want to try the freeware program Disk Rejuvenator from Aladdin Systems. It repairs a kind of Finder related corruption for hard drives.
If you can boot from a floppy, but not the hard drive and have already checked the drive directory structure with a hard disk utility, you can try to install a fresh System and Finder after removing the old ones or stashing them each in a separate folder. It is safest to do an install using Apple's installer and factory distribution media.
The most important thing to do when you get to the desktop is to run your favorite disk doctor program. Both directories and files can become unexplainedly corrupt and will need occasional repair or replacement from your backups. If the program says it fixed something, run it again and see if it really did. If it didn't, consider booting from an emergency floppy and running it again. If the hard drive contains your only copy of critical data, back that data up to external media as your first priority.
Run the most recent version of a virus program like the shareware program Disinfectant or SAM Virus Clinic from Symantec from a locked floppy if you are exposed to files from the outside world and don't screen them.
If file sharing has been in use, delete the invisible file called AppleShare PDS. A corrupted PDS file may also cause your machine to have a slow restart period. You may have to install an Finder substitute to see the file. DiskTop is a commercial product that will do the trick.
If the problem is application specific, you can reinstall the suspect program to see if that helps.
If you tend to use lots of PostScript fonts in a single document as you would in a specimen book, it may be necessary to increase the font cache in the Adobe Type Manager control panel.
Third party filters and plug-ins can be a subtle source of crashes. If you are troubleshooting an application that crashes and has add-ons, try removing them and replacing them in small groups as if you were looking for an extension conflict. When you upgrade to a new version of a product, you may need to upgrade any third party software as well.
Older applications may not behave with file sharing or 32-bit addressing on and may require compatibility mode to be on if you have a 68040 based Mac like a Macintosh FX. If your Macintosh is in 32-bit mode and an old application you still want to run crashes, use the Memory control panel to turn off 32-bit operation and see if this helps. If you must do this, you are limiting the amount of physical RAM you can use to 8 megabytes.
Deleting the associated preferences file may be sufficient to fix an application. For newer software such files are normally found in the Preferences folder which can be found in the System Folder. For older software the files will be found scattered loose in the System folder.
View your other the contents of your Preferences Folder by date and consider which recently changed files, if any, might be contributing to your problem. Certain applications, like Quark, tend to need this kind of attention more often than others. If this gets to be a nuisance, keep a floppy with a backup copy of the worst offenders. Be sure to put key files from your Netscape preferences folder on the floppy too, like your preferences, bookmarks and global history.
Remember that many extension conflicts do not actually show up until you begin to launch applications. They commonly manifest as errors 1,2 and 3 on 680x0 based Macs. If you boot with just a set of minimal Apple extensions on and experience no problems at all, then be very suspicious of an underlying extension conflict or bug. There are several applications with printable error charts - MacOS-Error-Guide or Mac-Error-Codes (in German). The most explanatory lists, however, are on internet web pages. I think the nicest is Macintosh-System Error Codes Explained. In real life charts are a poor way to pin down problems because they can seldom give useful advice on just what to do to eliminate the error. Most of the time error codes are really there to help programmers fix bugs, not to help users. Be sure to mention the exact text of an error message if you contact technical support personnel about your problem. An error code may help you know that the same problem is recurring. If you get an error 26 (Bad Program Launch), your application program may be corrupt. If you get other error numbers in the range 15-31, be suspicious of corrupt system software. The rest of the time your errors are likely to be hardware problems, conflicts, bugs or memory allocation issues. Occasionally you may run into errors that appear when you add or reconfigure SCSI devices.
Check for and eliminate duplicate System and Finder files on your system drive. If you want to store a copy of your working System or Finder on your hard drive, keep it in compressed form.
If nothing else has worked so far, you can try giving the System Folder a different name. Then move the contents to a newly created folder that you name System Folder. Bless it (make the Mac icon visible) by opening it and closing it even if you can see the icon already. If that fails, try dragging the System and Finder out of the System Folder, and then drag them back on top of the folder icon and drop them in again.
Apple's code word for crashing is "stability." Each version of the operating System will have it own reputation for stability depending on the type of software that you run. System 6 and System 8 are both considered more stable than System 7.
If you have a 68040 accelerator card, an "upgrade" to a new operating system can be a real disaster and is not advised unless you check with the manufacturer first. More detailed compatibility information for accelerators in general can be found on Shobaffum's Macintosh IIci Page. Migration to System 8 is only for machines with a built-in 68040 chip or PowerMacs. In these instances System 8 is said to be much more stable than any previous version of System 7. You will probably want to know about Mac OS 8 Quick Fixes, Mac OS 8 (MacFixIt), and Mac OS 8 (MacInTouch) first before you think about installing System 8 which only runs on newer Macs.
You can zap the PRAM by pressing shift-option-command when opening control panel
If your symptoms persist and you are convinced the PRAM is the cause, you might try removing your battery for 20 minutes with the machine unplugged. If your machine can't seem to hold onto the date or time PRAM settings, it is time to check your battery. If your battery is ok, but daily zapping of the PRAM is necessary to keep your machine running well, PRAM Auto-Restore can be used to restore your PRAM settings automatically everytime you boot the machine. When a program crashes, unpredictable things can happen. PRAMs, boot blocks, and disk directories can be corrupted.
If you must use Open Transport instead of MacTCP, be sure that you have the very latest version or you may find that you will crash frequently with error 11 when accessing the internet.
If you get lots of bombs from the stack colliding with the heap, you might risk increasing the size of the heap with the Heaptool control panel or the FreeRAM FKEY.
ResumeToFinder and Bomb Shelter are control panel devices that may also allow you to save your work when a dialog box displays a bomb. This software adds a Resume button to the existing Restart button, so System 6 users have one more chance at recovery.
In a final act of desperation you can reformat your system hard drive. If you have a second drive or even a removable that you can run from for a while, you may be able to learn whether the original hard drive is really the problem. Otherwise backup all your files and be sure you have a method to boot to a working drive with the software you will use to restore these files. A program or device that functions well to back up files under System 6, may not function at all under System 7 and vice versa.
IMPORTANT! Don't overlook recording any serial numbers that you may need to reinstall files or applications. Also, record the file count, so you can double check the number of files backed up with the number of files restored.
If you decide to reformat your hard drive, use the most current version of a good hard drive utility. For Apple hard disk drives, you may use what Apple supplies for the System that you are using, AppleHD SC Setup for early Macs and Drive Setup for Power Macs. For non-Apple drives programs like SCSI Director Pro, Silver Lining or Hard Disk Toolkit can be used. Once formatted, existing files are gone for good. If you use a backup program, do a trial restore of sample files to a test drive before you trash the drive, even if it is just a floppy.
Install fresh system software from locked factory floppies or a CD, then restore any remaining files needed for your work except any FileSaver or Prevention data files and/or any suspicious preference files. Test each program and extension to see that they all work.
If you are doing a first time install of System 7, be sure to check with vendors of any third party software or hardware you own for compatibility. Many out-of-business companies are unavailable to provide drivers or other support needed to run older products originally made for System 6 use. Be aware that System 7 was designed to run best on faster machines. It takes more memory, runs slower, is generally less responsive and crashes much more often than System 6. Many Macintosh users who have been forced to use Windoze at work notice immediately how much more stable it is compared to System 7. This is aggravated substantially on the web by the amount of crash prone software in use (e.g. Netscape).
The Safe Install utility from Apple will give you a list of phone numbers for the software products. The earlier Compatibility Checker that came with System 7.1 may give some additional advice about software that is known to be incompatible. In any case, System 7 will be much slower, less responsive and more crash prone that System 6. Some errors are more indicative of compatibility problems than others. The leading contenders are: Bus Error (1), Illegal Instruction (3), Numeric Overflow (6), Privilege Violation (7), Unimplemented Trap (12) and the ever popular Error Type 11.
When you run out of ideas and need to contact technical support, you may find that they would like the courtesy of a detailed system profile. Many profilers have come and gone over the years. Now Profiler is bundled with Now Utilities and you may find TAA on a product disk from CE Software. MugShot can be found on the web in places like Shareware.com and InfoMac. The news that profilers were useful and valuable finally made it to Apple and with 7.5.3 came the first release of Apple System Profiler. ASP reports can only be generated on certain Powerbook, Proforma, and PowerMac models. I am not sure whether that means that these are Apple's most trouble-prone models or whether users of older models just aren't that important.
If you have a machine that crashes a lot and you have decided to live with it rather than have it fixed, you might like to try some software palatives. Safety Belt is a control panel from Alsis that helps you get running after a crash by telling you about files that were in use, but not saved when you crashed.
If all this sounds too technical for you, unless you have a knowledgeable computer friend (not me), you will probably have to use a technical repair facility. Ask for an estimate of what it may cost to keep from being surprised later on. Don't forget to ask about the possibility of extended warrantee service. Be sure to tell them if there is critical data on your hard drive.
Again, if you are an educational user or you have a new machine that is under 90-day warranty, Apple can be reached for their free advice at (800) SOS-APPL. Their Customer Support Program options are listed in a press release explaining the termination of their free telephone support. Good Luck.
Macintosh Guide - Clear answers to many common questions from Yale
General Troubleshooting:
From the horses mouth: - More selections from Apple's TIL
Freezes:
Putting together the pieces:
Extensions and Control Panels:
Error Codes:
Viruses:
Batteries:
Data Recovery:
The Basic Crash Course:
This summary lists the most common sources of crash troubles for machines that have been stable for some time--no recent virus opportunities, no new fonts, extensions, system software, applications, patches or hardware added recently.
When does this happen-
1) before the extensions load (more than likely a Hardware Issue)
If you get a failure tone or a sad Mac, turn off the power, and simply try again. If this has no effect, you may want to pull the external SCSI cable, boot, shutdown, and the reinsert cable. If you still get a failure tone, boot to a floppy and run your favorite disk doctor. If you can boot to a floppy, but still have a problem booting to the hard drive you can update the boot blocks.
2) during extension loading (probably one of many possible Extension Conflicts/Bugs)
Restart your machine with extensions off using the shift key. If turning the extensions off eliminates the crash, try turning on just the Apple extensions, if that doesn't work look for corrupted preferences or run your favorite disk doctor to see if it finds any corrupted files or directories. If this doesn't zero in on the culprit, try selective exclusion of extensions looking for a conflict and replace any faulty files from factory media. Failing that, you may want to Zap the PRAM (and the NVRAM if you have a PCI Mac).
3) after extensions load when the finder starts (check Finder/Desktop Integrity)
You can delete the Finder Preferences file and rebuild the desktop. The most direct way is to restart and hold the command and option keys down after the extensions have loaded, until asked if you want to rebuild the desktop. Click yes. Other, possibly better, ways are detailed elsewhere. If you freeze with a blank menu bar at startup, hold down the option key right after the extensions have loaded. If during these attempts, you have never been able to get to the desktop, run your favorite disk doctor from a bootable floppy. Replace the System and Finder if all else has failed.
4) after the desktop appears (see When you get to the Desktop)
The most important thing to do when you get to the desktop is to run your favorite disk doctor program. Both directories and files can become unexplainedly corrupt and will need occasional repair or replacement from your backups. If the program says it fixed something, run it again and see if it really did. If it didn't, consider booting from an emergency floppy and running it again.
If your crashes are applications specific, just deleting the associated preferences file may be sufficient to fix your problem. Otherwise, it is best to reinstall the software from locked factory media after verifying that you have sufficient memory allocated. Troubleshooting Mac Applications offers a cribsheet approach.
If these short tips don't suffice, explore the more detailed sections for additional ideas to try.
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Disclaimer: These ideas are for informational purposes only and constitute neither an endorsement nor a recommendation. CrashTips assumes no responsibility with regard to the selection, performance, or use of these products or vendors. All understandings, agreements, or warranties, if any, take place directly between the vendors and the prospective users. CrashTips makes no warranties as to the completeness or accuracy of this information. What you do to your computer is your choice and your risk. If you are a film "fogger" or streetlights go out when you walk by them, it may simply be best not to use a computer. Our best information comes from you the reader to promote informed self-help for others. The ideas expressed are merely opinions of the author and generous contributors to this page.