[Hidden-tech] Need quick advice on Mac OS 10.2.8, please

[brian jones]

In the past I've used Norton utilities for defraging among other things, but 
apparantly they are not updating for newer os x's.  So I purchased Drive 
genious by prosoft.  Otherwise there are a few things to consider.  Firstly, 
though, that there is some disagreement among mac experts as to the 
neccessity of doing certain things.  And ideally, you should back up 
important data before trying anything.  I would say repair disk permissions 
and shut off any background programs.  And then use this list of suggestions 
before buying any new software.
Good luck,
Brian



General Steps in OS X Troubleshooting

These are not listed in any particular order, nor do all of these steps 
apply to all cases. Different problems require different solutions.

Software

Log Out/Log In. Sometimes a quick log out/log in will fix a simple problem.

Restart computer. See above.

Zap the PRAM. Reboot your computer while holding down the command-option-p-r 
keys simultaneously. Don't let up until you have heard the startup chime 
three or four times. If you need assistance finding the command key on your 
keyboard, see image at bottom of this post.

Reset Open Firmware. This is a step for G3, G4, and G5 Macs only. If you 
have an Intel Mac, you should Zap the PRAM (see previous point). Reboot your 
computer while holding down the command-option-o-f keys simultaneously. At 
the prompt, type
reset-nvram and hit the Return key, then type
reset-all and hit the Return key again. Your computer will reboot.
* Note that these commands are correct for New World machines, those with 
colored plastics (iMacs, Blue and White PowerMac G3) and newer. Old World 
machines (G3/233 All-in-one, beige G3, etc.) are slightly different--just 
type the reset-all command.

Repair Permissions. Open Disk Utility (by default, it is located in 
/Applications/Utilities). Select your boot partition, then click the First 
Aid tab. Click the "Repair Disk Permissions" button.

File System Check. This can be done in several ways, including
1. Boot to single user mode by holding down command-s during the boot 
process, then at the prompt typing
fsck -y and hitting the Return key. Continue to run fsck -y until no errors 
are found. (Note: if your hard drive is journalled, you will need to run 
fsck -yf. Attempting to run fsck -y will result in a message reminding you 
of this. Thanks to Petroffski.) Then type
shutdown -r now and hit the Return key to reboot.
2. Boot to a full OS X Install CD. From the Installer menu, select Disk 
Utility. Select your hard drive boot partition whose file system you wish to 
check, click on the First Aid tab, and click the "Repair Disk" button.
3. Boot to a third party disk utility CD and run the file system check 
offered therein. At this time, I can recommend DiskWarrior http://alsoft.com 
and Drive 10 or Tech Tool Pro 4 http://micromat.com . The third party disk 
utilities generally do a better and more complete job than the first two 
options and have been known to rescue drives that are inaccessible.

Reset PMU. Software PMU reset is ONLY for Apple portables, not desktop 
computers. The procedure is specific to each machine, so I can't give a 
synopsis here. Instead, check Apple's Knowledgebase article for resetting 
PMU on iBooks and PowerBooks and Apple's Knowledgebase article for resetting 
PMU on MacBooks and MacBook Pros. This does roughly the same thing that 
pressing the PMU button or CUDA switch does for desktop Macs (see the 
Hardware section below for more information).

Log in to clean user account (or create a new user account if necessary). 
Many problems are user-specific, and knowing whether or not this is true 
about a specific problem is an invaluable piece of troubleshooting 
information. If a problem is found to be user-specific, then it can often be 
traced to a corrupted preference (.plist) file or corrupted caches.

Trash the prefs. If a problem is related to a specific program, try trashing 
or renaming the preferences file associated with that program. Preferences 
that are unique to a single user are found in
/Users/shortusername/Library/Preferences/ (where shortusername is the short 
username of the user in question.)
Preferences that are common for all users on the computer are found in
/Library/Preferences/
So for example, if iTunes crashes, try renaming 
Users/shortusername/Library/Preferences/com.apple.iTunes.plist to 
/Users/shortusername/Library/Preferences/com.apple.iTunes.plist.old while 
iTunes is not running. Re-launch and see if the problem has disappeared.

Disable hacks. Yes, Mac users tend to love our system enhancements, and 
there's nothing wrong with that. But when we run into problems, they are 
always suspect. When troubleshooting, always disable system hacks.

Disable Startup Items. In the same vein, there's nothing wrong with Startup 
Items, but when troubleshooting problems, an important step is to disable 
programs that automatically start up. In OS X 10.2, they are found in System 
Preferences > Login Items, or you can look in the Terminal at 
/Library/StartupItems. The similarly-named /System/Library/StartupItems 
should be left alone.

Install the combo updater of your OS. In some cases, computers which were 
updated to the latest point release of OS X using Software Update have had 
problems which were fixed by downloading the combo version of the same 
release and installing it overtop of their existing OS. For example, if 
someone is having problems with OS X 10.3.3, they may wish to download the 
combo version of 10.3.3.

Update your firmware. Although Apple does not tend to release frequent 
updates for firmware, in some cases (like the early CRT iMacs) it is vital 
that people update their computer's firmware before updating their OS. In 
other cases, an older version of the firmware can cause flaky behavior. In 
any case, check Apple's support pages for firmware updates for your 
computer.

Clear system and user caches. One way to do this easily is with Cache Out 
X(thanks to john wilson), or with Jaguar Cache Cleaner / Panther Cache 
Cleaner/Tiger Cache Cleaner or else here is a more DIY method.

Uninstall Recent Software Additions. If installed something directly before 
the problem began, even if it appears unrelated you should uninstall that 
software package as a troubleshooting step.

Check what your Console says. If your problem has a specific event 
associated with it, for example an application quitting unexpectedly, then 
open up the application named Console (it is in /Applications/Utilities) 
before the event. Trigger the event and see what messages simultaneously 
appear in your Console.

Safeboot. Reboot and just after you hear the startup chime, but not before, 
hold down the shift key. The procedure is explained more completely here: 
http://forums.osxfaq.com/viewtopic.php?t=4680 . In some ways, this step is 
redundant with the Disable Startup Items and the File System Check (1. fsck) 
steps above, but since it does not involve the terminal or any changes to 
your setup, it may be preferable for some people.

Reinstall System. This should be a rare step, but in some cases it is best 
to reinstall the operating system.



Hardware

Check for hard drive space. Your computer must have adequate hard drive 
space to operate normally. Check to make sure that your hard drive has at 
least 5% if not 10% of it's capacity available for use. If it doesn't, then 
buy a bigger hard drive or delete some old junk immediately.

Verify hard drive age. Hard drives do wear out over time. If your hard drive 
is around three years old or older, you should be much more diligent than 
usual with backing up and it may be time to think about replacing it. If you 
are having continuing problems with disk corruption, bad blocks, or other 
drive-related issues with an older drive, these are warning signs--you 
should definitely replace it immediately. (Thanks to Mark Hollis.)

Memory checks. Run a thorough memory checker overnight. If you are 
comfortable with the command line, I'd recommend memtester Download / 
Information or if you prefer a GUI, try Rember.

Run Apple Hardware Diagnostic CD. If you have one, it can be useful in some 
cases.

Remove Unnecessary Peripherals. Other than keyboard and mouse, remove all 
peripherals attached to the computer, including any hubs.

Remove Unnecessary cards & memory. Other than one main Apple-provided video 
card, remove additional expansion cards. Although making your computer have 
less memory is usually a bad idea, if you can't explain a problem any other 
way and don't have a good memory checker available (or can't get one to run 
because of problems), then you should remove additional memory other than 
the original Apple-provided memory stick.

Push the hardware PMU (or on older computers, the CUDA) reset button. Most 
desktop Macintoshes have a small button on the motherboard called the PMU or 
CUDA button, often near the PRAM battery. If you are having serious 
problems, you may wish to turn off the computer, hold the PMU button in 
briefly, wait for 10-15 seconds, then turn the computer back on. Don't press 
the PMU button twice within 10-15 seconds: Apple claims that this can have 
negative consequences.

Replace PRAM battery. Many Macs have a small battery on the motherboard 
which powers the PRAM when the computer is switched off. When the PRAM 
battery is low or depleted, some odd issues can occur. The simple fix is to 
replace the battery.