How-Tos

Tutorial: Startup fails (particularly after a system or security update); solving

Many times after a major system update (such as an incremental Mac OS X update, i.e. Mac OS X 10.4.5 or a Security Update) can cause an inability to properly startup -- you may see a blank grey screen, pause indefinitely at the Apple logo, see a blue screen, or experience other symptoms.

There are a variety of potential solutions for this issue.

Delete Caches/.plist files If you experience startup problems, first try starting in Safe mode (hold the "Shift" key while you startup), then delete some cache and .plist files to make sure … Read more

Tutorial: What to do when a Mac OS X application will not launch

It?s a frustrating scenario: You click on a regularly used application only to find that it will not launch ? either bouncing indefinitely in the Mac OS X Dock or simply providing no feedback whatsoever. There are a number of potential solutions for this problem, ranging from simple and relatively quick to more tedious.

Update prebinding Many cases of application launch-failure can be resolved easily by simply updating prebinding, via the following steps:

Log in as an administrator Open the Terminal (located in Applications/Utilities) Type: sudo update_prebinding -root / -force and press Return. When prompted for a password, enter your … Read more

Tutorial: An introduction to reading Mac OS X crash reports

The advent of the CrashReporter in Mac OS X was a boon for developers -- suddenly, a capsule of what caused the problem with a given application could be instantly captured by the end user and sent back to the developer for examination.

Unfortunately, deciphering the logs generated by CrashReporter (stored in ~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter) can be a daunting task, making them less than explanatory for a user attempting to diagnose problems on their own systems.

The following is a quick introduction to pulling salient information from crash reports and using them in potential troubleshooting routines.

Operating System, date and … Read more

10 simple steps for securing your Mac

1. Inspect files with Get Info Even if an application doesn't automatically launch a potentially malicious application or script, you might still be tricked into manually launching one. The problem, in essence, is that Mac OS X allows any item to carry a custom icon. So a shell script could appear to the user as a .jpg image, a movie or any other type of file. Upon double-clicking the seemingly innocuous files, a shell script is executed, or an application launched that can delete local user files and wreak other account-constrained havoc.

As such, one of the best protective … Read more

mac.column.ted: Ten Good Years: MacFixIt's 10th Anniversary

Ted Landau March 2006

This month is the tenth (10th!) anniversary of MacFixIt. Hard to believe!! Ten years on the Web is a very long time. That's like 75 in human years, isn't it? MacFixIt was started back before the word blog was in our vocabulary, before podcasts and RSS feeds, when Java still meant a cup of coffee. The World Wide Web itself was still relatively new; Netscape was still the dominant browser and Internet Explorer was just in its infancy. Macs were running System 7 and Mac OS X was not yet even a dream. It … Read more

mac.column.ted: Intel Mac NSFAQ

Ted Landau February 2006

Thinking about getting an Intel Mac? Perhaps you have some questions you want answered before you decide for sure. Then you've come to the right place. But this article is a bit different than some others you may have read. Its focus is on Mac OS X software, rather than the new hardware itself. In particular, it looks at some of the problems you may confront running Mac OS X and related software on an Intel Mac ? and how to solve them. I call this my Intel Mac NSFAQ (not-so-frequently asked questions).

Q. Where is … Read more

Tutorial: Resolving slow startup: Speeding up Mac OS X boot time

A variety of factors can affect Mac OS X startup time, though there are a few not directly tied to the speed and resources available on your Mac. If you think you are experiencing inordinately boot times, run through the following list of shotgun techniques for a possible speed bump.

Check PRAM -- reset, or replace battery Especially on some older PowerMac G3s, problematic PRAM (parameter RAM) or a defective PRAM battery can cause delays in startup as the system constantly re-checks for connected devices and other hardware that are normally stored in PRAM.

The first thing to try in … Read more

Tutorial: Common workaround -- create a new user account

One of the most consistently successful workarounds for eliminating a broad group of problems under Mac OS X is the creation of a fresh user account.

The problems that can necessitate creation of a new user account are many, but usually involve corruption or some other conflict caused by a file in the User Library folder (~/Library) -- particularly a problematic .plist file, font, or kernel extension.

Creating a new account is easy enough -- simply open the "Accounts" pane of System Preferences, click the padlock and enter your administrator password, then press the " " (plus) button … Read more

Tutorial: Preferences Files: The Complete Story (Part IV)

Ted Landau

In this installment of our continuing series on preferences (.plist) files, we finally delve into the details of how to interpret and edit .plist files. I'll be primarily showing you how to do make changes using Apple's Property List Editor (PLE) but I will also briefly cover how it can be done using the defaults command in Terminal.

[Note: As you read along, if it seems as if something is missing, it's probably because it was covered in a previous part of this tutorial series; you can catch-up on all the fun by reading Parts I & II … Read more