Mac Trouble Shooting Report

by billbjohnson55@hotmail.com (Bill B. Johnson)

updated DEC 2000.

TROUBLESHOOTING BOOKS

My favorite is MACWORLD MAC SECRETS by David Pogue and Joseph Schorr. It comes with a free CD loaded with some really great shareware and freeware. Another great book is entitled SAD MACS, BOMBS AND OTHER DISASTERS by my e-mail friend Ted Landau. He's the person responsible for my favorite web site which is called MacFixIt. MacFixit is discussed in the next section. Someone told me there is a book entitled, THE MODEM FOR DUMMIES. Here's where you can find out about the books mentioned above as well as thousands of other books: http://www.amazon.com
Use this key word to start your search: Macintosh Also: All large bookstores such as Barnes and Noble have Mac related books.

MacFixIt

Go to this web site: http://www.macfixit.com/
Look for the words near the top of the first screen that say: "Reports". Click on "Reports". There are about two dozen separate MacFixIt troubleshooting reports on the list. Find the ones that you need and download them. I suggest that you download troubleshooting reports in case you have a major crash that prevents you from going on line and reading the reports. I also suggest that you place all of the troubleshooting reports in a notebook and keep the notebook near your mac. Place a copy of this report that you are now reading in the same notebook. Also, make use of the key word search section. I recently had trouble with Norton Utilities. I typed the words NORTON UTILITIES into the KEY WORD search section and got some great information that made it possible for me to solve the problem that I was having. I have this site bookmarked and I visit it every time I go on line in order to read the daily reports. This site is almost as great as the one mentioned above: Mac News Network: http://www.macnn.com/

DETERMINE WHICH MODEM SCRIPT YOU SHOULD USE:

There is a shareware program called, "Mac INIT Strings". The program has a database of over 70 modem manufacturers and over 700 modem models. Mac Computer Consultants should love this program. You will be able to determine which modem script or init string you should make use of with your modem. After you find the site, scroll down until you see these words, "Mac INIT Strings": http://www.mrdataworks.com/download.htm
related site: http://www.modemhelp.net/

OT/PPP CONTROL STRIP MODULE

I like it because it tells the connection speed at the bottom of the screen. I suggest that you use it if you have Mac OS 8.5 or higher installed. New users that don't have Mac OS 8.5 should not try to install it since it needs supporting programs before the control strip will function. Experienced Mac Users can install it if they have Mac OS 8.0 installed on their Mac. However, you will need to have the supporting programs installed on your computer such as the Apple Control Strip and Open Transport/PPP. http://www.home.ici.net/%7Edjw/software/index.html

Shareware:

http://www.versiontracker.com
This site keeps you informed about every Mac related product that's new or improved.

MAC OS 9 SITES

If you recently upgraded to OS 9, you will need to upgrade some of your programs. Here are some sites to provide help to you: http://www.versiontracker.com/systems/system9.shtml
http://www.macfixit.com/reports/macos9-2.shtml
http://www.macintouch.com/m90_compatibility.htm
To download Mac OS 9.0.4: Use the Software Update Control Panel in OS 9. Also, buy the latest edition of MacAddict magazine since it comes with a free CD that might have some upgrades and patches.

MAC OS X SITES

http://www.apple.com/macosx/
http://www.apple.com/macosx/aqua.html
http://www.arstechnica.com/reviews/2q00/macos-qna/macos-x-qa-1.html
Read what David Every says about it: www.macweek.com

POWER BOOK SITES

http://www.ogrady.com
http://www.powerbookguy.com
http://www.powerbookcentral.com
http://www.powerbook1.com
http://www.sonnettech.com/news/pr010500_pwrbook.html
http://www.info.apple.com/support/powerbook/solve.html
PowerBook 1400 FAQ available at: http://www.ivsoftware.com/pub/faq/PB1400_FAQ.html

DO YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SPECIFICATIONS OF YOUR MAC?

You need the specifications of your mac before you order RAM chips or when you upgrade your mac. http://www.everymac.com
http://www.macgurus.com/
http://www.lowendmac.net/compact/index.shtml
http://www.info.apple.com/til/
http://www.info.apple.com/applespec/applespec.taf
http://www.thechipmerchant.com
The above site has schematic drawings of motherboards. http://www.micromac.com
Scroll to bottom of home page and select Mac Specs. You can even examine a picture of your motherboard at this site. I wish that the parts on the motherboard were labelled.

PRUNE YOUR SYSTEMS FOLDER

http://www.mc04.equinox.net/informinit
InformINIT Shareware Manual It provides information on almost every extension, plus tips and tricks. I recently used it to help me determine which extensions that I could turn off in the Extensions Manager Control Panel. also: http://www.mir.com.my/~cmteng
Extensions Overload Shareware Program: Explains the source and function of almost every extension and control panel. The program also contains info. about error codes.

EXTENSIONS CONFLICTS

http://www.mac-conflicts.com
Is there a conflict between your extensions? If so, visit this web site. I also suggest that you purchase a program called "Conflict Catcher".

SCREENSAVERS

http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/Updates/
You can download a shareware screen saver called ECLIPSE which works great. Don't waste your money on an expensive screen saver--just use ECLIPSE. WARNING: An expensive screen saver called "After Dark" has lots of bugs and conflicts with other programs and extensions. I trashed it. Lots of mac screen savers at this URL: http://www.MacScreenSavers.com/
A screensaver that includes password protection: http://www.chaoticsoftware.com/ChaoticSoftware/ProductPages/NOVA.html
On the subject of passwords, there is a shareware program called FolderGuard. You can learn more about at http://www.maczsoftware.com/folderguard.shtml
Privacy Site: http://privacy.net/track/

FOR THOSE THAT ARE NEW TO THE MACINTOSH

http://www.mac-tips.com
http://www.macinstruct.com/tutorials/modem/tcp/
http://www.openmac.com/
http://www.macademy.com
http://www.macinterface.com/
http://www.mac-planet.com/
An excellent book for newbies: "Macs for Dummies" by David Pogue http://www.davidpogue.com

LINK A MAC TO A NON-MAC

http://www.kan.org/6100
If you have a 6100, this site was made for you. There is information at this site that tells you how you can cheaply link a mac to a non-mac computer and instructions on to how to install a Level 2 cache.

LINK UP TWO OR MORE MACS

http://www.farallon.com
Farallon's HomeLine Starter Kit

iMac RELATED SITES:

http://macsupport.about.com/blcenter.htm
iMac Troubleshooting: http://www.macfixit.com/reports/iMacII.shtml
http://www.info.apple.com/info.apple.com/support/pages.taf?product=imac
http://www.athenet.net/~gyounk/imac512.htm
http://www.mac-tips.com
http://www.theiMac.com
iMac Reset Button--press a button instead of using a paper clip. http://www.imacresetbutton.com
iMac related magazines: iMac Buyers Guide http://www.machome.com/imacbg.html
iMac Magazine http://www.imacmag.com
iMac Troubleshooting Handbook: http://support.info.apple.com/info.apple.com/manuals/manuals.taf
There is a new book entitled: THE iMAC FOR DUMMIES by David Pogue. Another one is entitled THE iMAC BOOK by Don Rittner. If you can not find them at your local bookstore, go to this web site: http://www.amazon.com

MAC RELATED MAGAZINES

MacAddict www.macaddict.com MacWorld www.macworld.com MacHome www.machome.com MacToday www.mactoday.com (For graphics professionals) MacTech www.mactech.com (For tech experts and programmers) MacWeek http://macweek.zdnet.com/
Canada's Macintosh Magazine www.macinsite.com Britain's Macintosh Magazine http://www.macformat.com/
Mac Related Online Magazine http://www.1984-online.com/
Another Mac Online Magazine http://www.macreport.com/
Online Buyer's Guide for Mac Related Products www.macbuy.com

FREE TECHNICAL SUPPORT

MacAnswers web site offers free technical support by means of e-mail. http://www.macanswers.com/
Here's the email address: mailto:answers@macanswers.com also: mailto:matt@macinstruct.com. It might take up to 48 hours to get a response. Other Free Technical Support Sites: http://www.nowonder.com/
http://www.interactivepages.com/
http://www.macinstruct.com/
(click on Ask MacInstruct) http://computingcentral.msn.com/topics/macintosh
http://www.micromac.com
http://www.macalliance.com/
http://www.theaskguys.com/index.html
http://macsupport.about.com/
http://www.strout.net/macweb.cgi

ASK JEEVES is a web site that will help you find things you can't find making

use of Yahoo and other search engines. It's the fastest and easiest way to find answers on the web. Bookmark it: http://www.ask.com

ERROR CODES

Many readers of Macintosh related newsgroups see posts on a regular basis asking for help in understanding what various error codes mean. I suggest that you download APPLE ERROR CODES. After you download it, make copies and place them in a notebook just in case you can't get your mac to start or get on the web because of a crash. Keep the notebook near your Macintosh. Various sites related to Apple Error Codes: http://www.bleurose.com/blableu.shtml
(download "Black & Blue") http://til.info.apple.com/techinfo.nsf/artnum/N1749
http://members.aol.com/raymeow/AEC.sit.hqx
http://www.mir.com.my/~cmteng
http://www.adobe.com/supportservice/custsupport/TECHGUIDE/MACSYS/main.html

UPGRADE OPTIONS FOR NEW AND OLDER MACS

http://www.fastermacs.com
http://www.micromac.com
http://www.macconection.com/
http://www.sonnettech.com/
G3 upgrade kits: http://shopper.cnet.com/
(key word: crescendo)

MISC. STUFF RELATED TO MACS

http://www.macnologist.com/
Professional Mac User Forum: http://www.insidetheweb.com/mbs.cgi/mb119485

EXCELLENT SOURCE FOR SOFTWARE AND OLDER MAC OPERTING SYSTEMS

http://www.macmn.com/performance.html
8.6 upgrade: http://www.info.apple.com/support/pages.taf?product=macos8.6

GET A LIST OF ALL OPEN FILES

The official name is "List Other Files Utility". It gives you a list of all of the open files as well as other information about those files. It helps you solve problems related to not being able to empty trash because of an open program. It also helps you solve "memory leakage" problems. http://www.Alsoft.com/AskAl/download.html
Peek-a-Boo can also provide you with a list of open programs and how much memory the programs are using: http://www.clarkwoodsoftware.com/peekaboo

PRAM BATTERY PROBLEM?

If you have intermittent problems starting your mac and the date suddenly becomes 1956, it means you need to replace the battery inside your mac. I found a web site devoted to the macintosh battery. It tells you how to change the battery and lots more info. about batteries on almost every Mac ever made. http://www.academ.com/info/macintosh/

PRAM BATTERY CHECKER

http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Program/5149/
It's a simple shareware program that keeps track of the year date. If it changes to 1956 which is the first symptom of a dying PRAM battery, it sends you a written message saying that you need to change the PRAM battery. Other interesting shareware programs are also at this site.

SCSI PROBLEMS or SCSI CHAIN PROBLEMS

APS Technologies sells a device (called APS SCSI Sentry II) that will make your SCSI Problems go away. The device monitors your SCSI chain and will fix errors as they occur. http://www.apstech.com/prod/item.cfm?cat=11&item=380

RAM PROBLEMS or RAM QUESTIONS

GURU is the industry standard tool for determining all possible memory upgrades for Macs, Clones and Powerbooks. It is a standalone program that runs on 68k and PPC Macs. http://www.newerram.com/guru.html
related site: Apple Memory Guide 8-99: http://asu.info.apple.com/swupdates.nsflartnum/n10084

GET A MANUAL FOR YOUR MAC

Download an official Apple manual for almost any mac:
http://www.info.apple.com/info.apple.com/manuals/manuals.taf?view=browse
http://support.info.apple.com/manuals/manuals.qry
ftp://manuals.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Manuals/
Secret Tip: If you downloaded a manual and Adobe Acrobat did not successfully translate it, you need to download the manual again. However, as soon as you see the garbled text on the screen, choose SAVE AS from the file menu. When you see a dialog box, choose SOURCE instead of TEXT. See tomorrow's report for more details.

APPLE LOGO CUPS, HATS, SHIRTS, ETC

http://www.machome.com/expressstore/entry.tpl
http://www.macsurfshop.com
Mac OS X T-SHIRTS: http://www.apple.com/thinkdiffert/shirts/

OFFICIAL APPLE STORE

http://store.apple.com (Phone: 1-800-MY-APPLE)

ASK AL - A MAC RELATED QUESTION ANSWERED EACH DAY

http://www.Alsoft.com/
Click on these words: Ask Al This site also has information about utilities such as DiskWarrior.

OFFICIAL APPLE SUPPORT RE: WEB SITES

Software Updates: http://www.info.apple.com/swupdates/
Related Site: http://asu.info.apple.com/swudates.nsf/Changes?OpenView&Count=50
Tech Exchange: http://www.info.apple.com/te/
Product Guide: http://guide.apple.com/usindex.html
Basic Troubleshooting: http://www.info.apple.com/basictroubleshooting/
Troubleshooting Reports: http://support.info.apple.com/te/troubleshooting/
Another Troubleshooting Report: http://til.info.apple.com/techinfo.nsf/artnum/n43050
Support Options: http://www.info.apple.com/supportoptions/
Feedback: http://www.info.apple.com/feedback/
Replacement Parts: http://www.info.apple.com/support/cip/g4cubecip.html
Apple's famous tech phone number: 800-SOS-APPL Prepare to wait and wait and wait. If your mac is not under warranty, prepare to pay.

APPLE'S TECH INFO LIBRARY

This is the same resource that Apple's tech support people use. Visit this site before making a phone call to Apple, Inc. http://til.info.apple.com

SHAREWARE AND FREEWARE

Macintosh Shareware Top Ten: http://swtopten.magnet.at/
Shareware Download library : www.macfixit.pair.com/library.shtml
MacWorld (magazine): www.macdownload.com MacAddict (magazine): www.macaddict.com/fun/shareware/index.html
MacHome (magazine): http://www.machome.com/software/default.lasso
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Program/5149/
http://www.cdrom.amug.org
http://www.download.com/
http://www.macoszone.com
http://www.Macs.Bon.Net/Startup.html
http://www.mactreasures.com (Software no longer found on retail shelves.) I suggest that you purchase at least one copy of MacAddict magazine. The magazine comes with a free CD that has lots of great shareware, upgrades, freeware and trial versions of various programs.

DO YOU HAVE AN OLD MAC?

If you have an old mac such a MacPlus or a Mac SE, MacAddict Magazine http://www.macaddict.com/trbshoot/oldmac/
has a section of their web site labelled, "This OLD Mac". Once you find the report on your particular old mac, make a copy of it and keep it near your computer. MacAddict is my favorite mac related magazine. If you have an old mac and want an old version of Netscape that is much smaller in size (needs much less RAM as a result), go to to this web site: http://www.netscape.com/download/archive/index.html
Other web browsers for old macs: http://www.edprint.demon.co.uk/se/macweb.html
http://www.eden.com/~arena/jagshouse/classicinternet.html
http://www.eden.com/~arena/jagshouse/GetYourCompactMacOnTheWeb.html
http://www.eden.com/~arena/jagshouse/CompactMac2.sit.hqx

Quicktime Movie: An Airplane flying under Eiffel Tower:

http://www.airspacemag.com/asm/web/site/QT/eiffel.html
The person that flew the plane loves his plane and his mac. The camera was mounted in the plane.