Fixing a Frozen Mac

A colorful spinning beach ball is an unwelcome sight on your Apple, at least when that ball never seems to leave the screen. A beach ball that just keeps spinning is a sign that a cranky Mac has turned into a frozen Mac or that at least one of the programs on the machine is throwing a high-tech temper tantrum. The following sections help you deal with a frozen Mac.

Using Force Quit

Force Quit is the Mac's common way of telling an iced application "I've had it; I'm not going to take it anymore!" Choose Mac menu --> Force Quit or press Command+Option+Esc. A window appears, and you can click the name of the deviant application (not responding probably appears next to its name). With Force Quit, you typically don't have to reboot your computer.

Because you will lose any unsaved changes, Apple throws up a little admonition before allowing you to Force Quit. Alas, you may have no choice.

Dealing with a program that quits on you

Sometimes, for unknown reasons, a program keels over. You could reopen the app and hope that this was a one-time aberration caused by mischievous space aliens. Or, you might have a chronic ailment on your hands.

When programs suddenly drop, you may see dialog boxes with the word unexpectedly, like the ones shown in Figure 1. The box on the left appears the first time you experience this issue; the box at the right shows what happens if the problem persists. If so, you may want to click Try Again to safely relaunch the fussy program. OS X restores the application's default settings (thus setting aside newer preferences settings), in case something you did caused the snafu.

Figure 1: When an application unexpectedly quits . . . and quits again.

Assuming that everything went swell from there, you'll be given the option of keeping the new settings upon quitting the program. Your old preferences are saved in a file with a .saved extension, in case you ever want to go back. If that is the case, move the newer and current preferences file from its present location and remove the .saved extension from the older file.

If the problem continues, it may be time to visit the library. (No, not that kind of library.) A Preferences folder lives inside your Library folder, which in turn resides in your Home folder.

These preferences files have the .plistsuffix and typically begin with com.followed by the name of the program, as in com.microsoft.Word.plist. Try dragging a .plist file with the name of the troubled application out to the desktop. If the program runs smoothly, trash the corrupted preferences file.

Forcing a restart

Force Quit usually rescues you from a minor problem, but it's not effective all the time. If that's the situation you're in now, you'll likely have to reboot. The assumption here is that your frozen computer won't permit you to start over in a conventional way by choosing Mac menu --> Restart.

Instead, try holding down the power button for several seconds or press Control+Command and then the power button. If all else fails, pull the plug (or remove the battery from a laptop), though only as a last resort.

Safe-booting

Starting up Tiger in Safe mode activates a series of measures designed to return your computer to good health. It runs a check of your hard drive, loads only essential kernel extensions (system files) while ignoring others, trashes font cache files, and disables startup and login items.

To start in Safe mode, press the power button to turn on your computer, and press and hold the Shift key the instant you hear the familiar welcome chime. Release Shift when the Apple logo appears. You'll know you've done it correctly because the words Safe Boot appear in the login window. (Prior to Tiger, the words Safe Boot appeared on the OS X startup screen; this feature was not an option before OS X version 10.2.)

Because of its under-the-hood machinations, it will take considerably longer to boot in Safe mode. This is normal. So is the fact that you can't use AirPort, a USB modem, or your DVD player; you can't capture footage in iMovie; and you can't use certain other applications or features.

If the Safe boot resolved your issue, restart the Mac normally, without pressing Shift. If not, it might be time to check your warranty or call in an expert.

Covering Common Mac Problems

our computer won't have to visit the emergency room or undergo major surgery, but a little first aid is probably in order here and there. The solutions to several Mac problems are offered in the following sections.

Fixing a jumpy mouse

The optical-style mice included with the most recent Macs don't get stuck like their ancestors because this kind of critter doesn't use the little dust-collecting rolling ball on its underbelly. However, optical mice don't particularly like glass or reflective surfaces, so if you find your mouse on one, use a mouse pad or slip a piece of paper underneath it.

If your mouse just doesn't respond, unplug it from the USB port and then plug it in again, just to make sure that the connection is snug. If you have a wireless mouse, make sure that the batteries are fresh.

Dealing with a stuck CD

When your Mac won't spit out a disc, take a stab at one of these fixes:

• Quit the program that's using the disc, and then press Eject on the keyboard.

• Open a Finder window, and click the little Eject icon in the sidebar. Or, try dragging the disc icon from the Mac desktop to the trash.

• Log out of your user account (under the Mac menu), and then press Eject on the keyboard.

• Restart the computer while holding down the mouse button.

Fixing your Mac's clock

If your computer can no longer keep track of the time and date, its internal backup battery may have bit the dust. You can't replace the battery yourself, so you'll have to contact the Apple store or visit an authorized service provider.

Making programs open nonnative files

The Mac makes certain assumptions about which application ought to open a particular file when summoned. But say that you want the Adobe programs Photoshop and Reader to be responsible for JPEGs and PDFs, and Mac's own word processor, TextEdit, to take care of Word DOC duties.

Here's what to do:

1. Highlight the icon of the program that you want to be opened by a different application and press Command+I.

2. In the Get Info panel that appears, click the right-facing triangle next to Open With and choose the application to handle the document from here on out.

Alternatively, access the Open With command by highlighting the file icon in question and choosing File --> Open With. You can also bring up the Get Info pane from the same menu. Still another way to get to Open With: Press Control while clicking the icon (or right-click if your mouse has two buttons).

3. If you want the application to open each and every file you beckon in the future, click Change All.

Handling kernel clink

Out of the blue, you are asked to restart your computer — in numerous languages, no less. Your machine has been hit with a kernel panic. The probable cause is corrupted or incompatible software.

The good news is that a system restart usually takes care of the problem with no further harm. If not, try removing memory or hardware you've recently added. Or, if you think some new software you installed may have been the culprit, head to the software publisher's Web site and see whether a downloadable fix or upgrade is available.

Fixing DNS problems

If you're surfing the Web with Safari or another browser and get a message about a DNS entry not being found, you typed the wrong Web address or URL, the site in question no longer exists (or never did), or the site is having temporary problems. DNS is computer jargon for Domain Name System. Similar messages may be presented as a 404 not found on this server error.

Curing the trash can blues

In the physical world, you may try and throw something out of your trash but can't because the rubbish gets stuck to the bottom of the can. The virtual trash can on your Mac sometimes suffers a similar fate: A file refuses to budge when you click Empty Trash under the Finder menu.

Try junking the files by holding down the Option key when you choose Empty Trash.

A file can refuse to go quietly for several reasons. For starters, you can't delete an item that is open somewhere else on your computer, so make sure that it's indeed closed. Moreover, you may be trying to ditch a file to which you do not have sufficient permission. The other most likely explanation is that a lockedfile is in the trash. You can unlock it by choosing File --> Get Info and making sure to deselect the Locked check box.