General Mac Advice
Mac machines are generally stable, but there are always times when any computer is seemingly a little under the weather. If you’re normally a Windows user though, you probably have no idea how to diagnose or begin to fix any problem that Macs may experience. So what can you do if your computer starts causing you trouble? This article will list a few pieces of general advice that will have your machine up and running at one-hundred percent again.
1. Restart- While this may sound like ‘duh’ advice, many times you can solve most of your problems by just restarting your computer. A fresh restart can make your computer fix itself instead of causing further headache.
2. Force Quit- Similarly to Windows, sometimes an application may become ‘stuck’ and unable to shut down. In Windows at this point you’d hit ctl-alt-delete and try to force the program to quit, but what do you do on a Mac? It works almost the same way on your Mac! All you need to do is bring up the force quit menu by pressing command-alt-escape and choosing what application to shut down. If you’re unable to relaunch the application after causing it to force quit simply try to restart your computer.
3. Delete Preferences File- The preferences file keeps track of your particular preferences for a certain application. Sounds great right? Well it is, until it causes your application to repeatedly crash that is! Don’t fear though, because there is a very easy way to fix this problem, delete your preferences! To delete preferences: open the finder and select your username, open the library folder and select preferences, work through the folder and find the preference files associated with your application, when found control click them to delete. Preference files will have the extension .plist and it should be noted that you should NEVER deleted a preference file if you can’t figure out what it’s used for.
4. Support- If all else fails, never be afraid to ask for support for your problems. Your first step should be going to your favorite search engine and asking for help to your problem. If that fails you don’t hesitate to call Apple or go to your closest Mac store. This may cause you to have to lose your computer for a short time, but at least it will work again, right?
Macs seem to have a totally different realm of problems than PC’s. That can be very scary for a new Mac user who understands nothing of how the OS works. Remember never to delete anything that you can’t identify and don’t be afraid of asking for help.
Photo Credits: kyz
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Posted by Fix Handyman on October 14, 2009 in
Computer
Running slow - get an influx of speed!
Old computer just doesn’t go as fast as it used to? Computers grow
old and often get bogged down as they grow older, but don’t fear
because there are many ways you can help make your computer feel
younger. This article will give you a few pointers that will make
your computer run as fast as it used to.
Clean Hard Drive Space.
When your hard disk space is taken up your
computer often slows down in the wake many applications being used
together. So how do you go about clearing some hard drive space?
It’s important to uninstall any program that you don’t use, clear out
any temporary internet files and empty your recycle bin. If you’re
using Windows Vista, you can also clear disk space from the “My
Computer Screen”. Once on the “My Computer” screen, right-click the C
Drive, go to properties, and then Disk Cleanup.
Don’t Run So Many Programs.
A silent problem with many computers is
the number of programs that hide in the background or that start
themselves on a fresh boot of your computer. Notable programs that
start themselves on the start of your computer are instant messengers
and anti-virus/spyware programs. The taskbar in the bottom right hand
corner of your screen often is where many of these programs minimize
too, search there for any you don’t wish to have running.
Run An Anti-Virus Program.
Don’t close that anti-virus software
just yet! Spyware often slows computers down and can cause no other
seeable results other than a slowdown in your performance. Many
spyware applications are hidden applications that only the trained eye
can find, so what can you do? Fortunately, many anti-virus programs
also come with a scanner that is great for located and destroying
pesky spyware programs. Be careful if you’re downloading a new
anti-virus program, however, as many of them are spyware applications
in disguise.
Defrag Your Hard Drive.
Defragmenting your hard drive can increase
the speed of your PC greatly, but be warned that defragging is time
consuming. Depending on the size of your hard drive and what you want
to defrag the process could take anywhere from 30 minutes to several
hours. The disk defragmenter program is very easy to find and is very
user friendly. If you want to access this program while running
Windows Vista, click the start button in the bottom left, and type
Disk Defragmenter into the search box and press enter. Select the C
drive as the drive you want to defrag and select enter.
These tips aren’t the only ways to speed up your computer, but they
are the most available and often times the most effective ways. If
you want to make sure that your computer is really speeding up, there
are many internet sites that will let you test your speed, simply test
before and after you try the above fixes.
Photo Credits: Gavin Loynes
This post involves:
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Posted by Fix Handyman on September 7, 2009 in
Computer, Tech Repair
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