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July 31, 1996 What to do when your Mac misbehaves
As an avid Mac user, I've gradually come to terms with its advantages&emdash;and problems. Apple can only tell you so much when it comes to troubleshooting, for example restarting your computer, rebuilding your desktop file, and reinstalling your system software. Mac users more familiar with problem-diagnosing software will tell you that they can't get by without a copy of Norton Utilities and Disk Doctor in particular. But what happens when you're stuck - you realize that maybe you shouldn't have a screen freeze every 15 minutes or that your word processing program isn't supposed to just quit on you in the middle of a paper? Where in heaven's name can you turn? To the web, of course. The web has quite an impressive collection of Mac troubleshooting pages at your disposal, and consulting them regularly should help keep you Mac-happy. The first page I'm featuring today if the Complete Conflict Compendium, probably the premiere page for troubleshooting. Mac users are encourage to post their problems while others reply with solutions they've found. Official Apple technical answers are there too, as well as input from the page's creator. The page is conveniently divided into categories: platform problems, system problems (with an emphasis on the latest, System 7.5.3), software problems and mystery problems. If you think your problem is caused by one of these, you simply select that category and it will give you a rundown of what systems and software, for example, conflict with each other and crash your computer. Did you know, for example, that RAM Doubler 1.6 will not work with 7.5.3? The Complete Conflict Compendium will tell you to get the RAM Doubler update 1.6.2 at Connectix's home site. Go here first when your Mac freezes or gives you mysterious Type 11 errors. The answer should be just around the corner. The second site is the Macintosh Netscape Troubleshooting page. If Netscape is causing your woes, this page gives you some helpful tips to solve your problems. Solutions include upgrading to the latest Netscape release, upgrading your PPP software, or reinstalling it, or even downloading a copy of Netscape Defrost, a small utility that helps to prevent your Mac from freezing during Netscape sessions. Not the most complete page, but a good resource nonetheless. The final site I've chosen today is the Sad Macs, Bombs and other Disasters Update site. An offshoot of Ted Landau's popular book of the same name, the Sad Macs home page is a chronological update of problem-solving for your Mac. Newly released software is tested and its conflicts are posted on the site, there is a collection of tips from Landau's book, most of which you can read online, and there are downloadable software updates and correction utilities to help you along the way. The site is very attractively designed, and keeps you busy reading all the news and gossip about Macs and their little glitches. I suggest you read the portions of Landau's book if you're still learning all about your Mac - his guide will definitely put you one step ahead of the game. If you'd like other Mac troubleshooting resources, or can't seem to find the sites I've just listed, go to the following Yahoo! category. |
JOYA'S WEB PIX