TEK911 - Mac Tips

Mac Tips (page 1) (page 2)

Force Finder Quit

Press [option] [apple] and [esc] simultaneously.

Rebuild the desktop

Should be done at least once a month to ensure the proper icons and aliases show on the desktop.

Hold down the [Command] [Option] keys during boot up.

When the desktop appears, a dialogue box appears asking if you really want to rebuild your desktop. Click "yes".

If you have more than one hard drive, you might be prompted to rebuild for each hard drive.

Reset the PRAM

PRAM, or parameter RAM, works closely with your system's power management. It is mainly responsible for correct date and time functions. Whenever troubleshooting a power issue, you should always reset your PRAM first.

Hold down [Command] [Option] [P ] and [R] keys simultaneously during boot up.

You should hear a second or even third startup chime indicating your PRAM has been reset.

Reset the date and time, as it will have changed.

Booting from a CD

This works for the system disks that came with your computer, Norton Utilities, as well as other diagnostic programs.

Insert the CD in the CD-ROM drive.

Hold down the [C] key on the keyboard during boot up.

Booting with extensions off

Check for extension conflicts. Extension problems are probably the single biggest cause of system errors. The standard conflict- checking technique is to disable all extensions

Hold down the [Shift] key during startup.

If the system error disappears, it's time to find out which extension was causing the error.

Recovering a trashed file

If you empty the Trash and then suddenly realize that it contained is a file you didn't want to delete, you might be able to recover it.

Reboot immediately by pressing [control] [command] and the power key -- don't use the Shut Down or Restart command.

This trick might work because the Macintosh doesn't really delete a file until it goes through the shutdown process. So, when your computer starts back up, you just might find your file either in the Trash or right where it was before you put it in the Trash

More tips and links

The Macintosh Guy

RD Net's Tech Toolbox

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