We Support Apples! Repairs • Training • RecoveryI’ve never turned down free advice, and as a result, I’m inclined to give some myself. This page is a collection of tid bits, resources and advice. My first and most important gem is
•••••• BACK UP YOUR DATA ••••••
And don’t give me any of that, “I thought Macs weren’t supposed to fail!” garbage, no one makes anything the way they used to, and it’s ALL made in China by the lowest bidder. After all there are mechanics for Rolls Royce! Hard drives are a mechanical devices and can and do fail. Apple makes it ridiculously easy to back up your data by using an external hard drive and their free Time Machine software that comes with Mac OS X 1.5 and up. So, NO EXCUSE, BACK UP YOUR DATA!
Apple Repair Extension Programs
Apple has a list of known issues with their products, they range from battery recalls, hard drive recalls and bad accessories. A complete list can be found at www.apple.com/support/exchange_repair/
Preventative Maintenance
Just like your car, there are a number of things you can do to keep your computer running smoothly. Here are a few recommendations for Preventative Maintenance.
- Do not eat or drink near your computer. If an accident happens, any resulting damage would not be covered under warranty. Crumbs and such from food can get into your computer under the keyboard or through the vents.
- Do not use your machine in a dirty or dusty environment. Enough dust can clog up fans causing overheating.
- Do not smoke around your computer, the dust, nicotine, and particulate matter is electrically conductive and if enough builds up inside your computer it can cause an electrical short.
- Have your Software Update set on a schedule. Having your software up to date with the latest security and bug fixes is essential to the smooth performance and compatibility of your machine.
- Run Disk Utility’s First Aid functions regularly to keep any software issues in check. This could alert you to any possible problems with your hard disk drive.
- Run Time Machine, or back-up your data is some other way onto an external hard disk drive. Hard disk drive failures can occur without warning taking your valuable information or memories with them.
- Shut down your computer on a regular basis to clear out system cache files, these can fill up your hard disk if left for long enough. Shutting down or restating your Mac also allows your Mac to run critical Unix maintenance programmes.
- Keep at least 10% of your hard disk drive capacity free in order for the operating system to have adequate room to save and swap cache files.
- Keep third party utilities and software to a minimum. Running a lean, clean machine is the key to having a happy machine.
- Run Software Update. Be sure you have the latest software updates on your computer to ensure compatibility.
- Try running Disk Utility's "First Aid" function to solve some software issues. This can be run directly from your computer, or the DVD that shipped with your system.
- Try reinstalling the Operating System (Mac OS X, Mac OS or simply OS). Make sure that you have a proper backup of all of your data. When reinstalling your OS, make sure that you do an “Archive & Install” so that your data is left intact.
- Reset your computers Parameter RAM. This can be done by holding down the Command-Option-P-R key at start-up. Keep them held down until you hear the computer restart 4 or 5 times.
- If you have a CD or DVD stuck in your computer, try restarting the computer while holding down the mouse or trackpad button. This may get it out if it’s not physically stuck.
- Check your warranty status. Even if you are certain as to your warranty status, check the following link to verify with Apple: https://selfsolve.apple.com/GetWarranty.do, if there is a problem, contact Apple to sort it out.