HOME
Glossary Connectors
Troubleshooting
Links
Macintosh
Guide - Clear answers to many common questions
from Yale
General Troubleshooting:
Putting together the pieces:
Error Codes:
Rebuilding a Hard Drive, Floppy or Desktop:
Viruses:
Batteries:
Data Recovery:
Cross-Platform
Cribsheet
Créme de la Mac
Quintessential Linkmeisters for the
Macaholic
The Macintosh E-Zine Newsrack
Vendors
MacinSearch and
Macinstein's
Mac Only Search Engine
Mac OS 8 & 9 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 several times. If this has no
effect, you may want to pull any nonessential cables, try to
boot, shutdown if you succeed, and the reinsert any cables
removed one by one. If you still get a failure tone and never,
boot to an external drive like a floppy or CD and run your
favorite disk doctor. If you can boot to an external drive, but
still have a problem booting from your internal boot drive you
might want to update the boot blocks with whatever utility you
normally use to format your hard drives (most people use the
freebie Drive Setup program from Apple).
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 base 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) with TechTool.
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 bootable media.
Backup your system folder and do a clean install 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 emergency
bootable media and running it again.
If your crashes are applications specific, just
deleting the associated preferences file(s) 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.
updated 12/2001
HELPFUL ADVICE ON THIS PAGE OR ITS CONTENTS IS ALWAYS
WELCOME
Email to crashtips@crashtips.com
(not for personal advice)
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.
Click
every day to help the hungry.