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LINKS
some links may only work with AOL
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Macintosh
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GET TO KNOW YOUR MAC
One of the best ways to start trouble shooting Mac problems is simply to get to know your machine better...and since I am not a Mac user, I am depending on the kindness of strangers and friends (and a lot of personal researching) to help me to gain an understanding of memory allocations and usage, storage types and speeds, software version numbers and so on....all of which are needed to figure out exactly whats going on when things backfire. You should be knowledgeable of the background of your system.....
FIRST, go to the "Apple" menu and choose the "Apple System Profiler"...Here you'll find important information like: ROM version...processor speed...system version...virtual memory status...PCI...USB...and FireWire bus status andevices attached....lists of control panels and extensions...and much more.
SECOND, in the "Finder" choose "About This Computer"...under the "Apple" menu...this will tell you how much memory is allocated to eac program and how much memory is still available.
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CAN'T RUN THAT NEW APPLICATION?
Having trouble getting a new application up and running? Try these four steps
(1) Give the app more memory. Start by setting the minimum and recommended mememory 25 percent higher. Select the application in the Finder and choose File/Get Info to change the memory settings.
(2) Trash the preferences file for the program, restart your Mac, launch the program again, and reset your preferences.
(3) Trash the application, including all extensions, control panels, and preferences, and restart your machine. Reinstall from scratch.
(4) When all else fails, try reinstalling your stystem software
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DELETE YOUR FILES IN PEACE
If you get warnings and error messages every time you empty Trash, these two tricks..
(1) hold down the Option key while emptying, this will even get rid of locked files.
(2) select the Trash icon, type Command-I, and uncheck the box labeled "Warn before emptying"
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VIRTUAL MEMORY
What do you do when you run out of real random access memory (RAM)? Easy...pass it off to virtual memory. To do this you need a virtual memory manager (usually a function of the operating system) that maps chunks of data and code to storage areas that aren't RAM. Virtual memory is really a part of your hard disk called a swap file, dedicated as a storage area for bits of data in RAM taht aren't being used much. By freeing up RAM, your're virtually increasing the amount of working memory available to you.
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CONSERVING MEMORY
if your short on memory or just want to make better use of what you have, get rid of files and applications you're not using. Apple puts alot of unneeded extensions and control panels in the system folder, such as drivers for printers you don't have. Also clean out that Apple Extras Folder. Finally, unless you're using it, turn off File Sharing and get rid of the corresponding extensions and control panel
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OPEN DOCUMENTS WITH THE CORRECT APPLICATION
Ever double click on a file to open it, only to get an error message that says the parent application cannot be found? Or do you want all your text files to open in Word instead of Simple Text? There's an easy fix...go to the File Exchange Control Panel...choose the File Translation Tab, and add any desired translations by first selecting an example document, then application you want to use to open it.
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USE FORCE QUIT TO GET OUT OF THE DEEP FREEZE
If you experience a freeze (that is, you can't do anything in your application and everything seems to stand still)...before hitting the restart button or pulling the plug, try hitting Command-Option-Escape. This forces the current application to quit and it also lets you save work in other apps before restarting. If your entire system has crashed, however, this command probably won't work.
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RUN APPLICATIONS AT STARTUP
You can set any program to run whenever you start your Mac, if you create an alias for it and place it in your Startup folder. Locate the program in the Finder, and choose File/Make Alias...now drag the alias you've just created into the System Folder...and drop it on top of the Startup Items folder.
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TROUBLE SHOOT USB PROBLEMS
These 3 tips should fix almost all common issues.
(1) make sure you have the very latest Apple USB drivers and either System 8.6 or 9.0 for iMacs, also make sure you have the latest ROM update for your machine. All can be found on Apple's support site.
(2) unplug all your hubs and devices and plug just the problem device directly into one of the Mac's USB ports (use the other for the keyboard/mouse) If it now works properly, go to step three. (If it doesn't, contact the manufacturer)
(3) buy a powered USB hub and plug scanners and printers into it. These draws the most power and often causes reliability problems when used with a non-powered hub.
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WHAT ARE TYPE 1, 3, AND 11 ERRORS?
TYPE 1 --These are memory errors: your program has tried to access memory improperly, or RAM is irreparably fragmented. This usually happens when you are using lots of programs, are switching backand forth between them, and haven't restarted in a long time. Get into the good habit of quitting programs your aren't using and restarting your Mac each morning.
TYPE 3 --These errors are illegal instructions, indicating a software problem, Update both your system and applications to fix them.
TYPE 11 -- These errors are miscellaneous problems usually caused by extension conflicts and corrupted files. A clean reinstall of your system should cure them.
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PUT YOUR MAC TO SLEEP FAST
Here's a quick keyboard shortcut to put your Mac into Sleep mode...Press Option-Command-Power, and your machine will start snoozing
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CREATE AN iDISK
An iDisk is a virtual disk that resides on Apple's Internet servers, but looks exactly like a regular disk on your desktop. The advantage of an iDisk is that you can access it from any Mac anywhere, not just your home machine. Also, you can give friends and family access to the public folder on your iDisk, making it easy to share files and photos. To set up your iDisk go to Apple's Web site and click on the iTools tab. Then follow the directions to open a free account. You'll even get a mac.com email address.
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SHARE FILES WITH PC USERS
The Mac can read PC disks, and most Mac apps open standard PC-generated file types like JPG, BMP, TXT, and DOC. Going in the other direction is not as easy. Here are a couple tips that cover most cases... save the file in question as a standard cross-platform file format such as Rich Text or plain text for word processing documents, and JPEG, TIF or GIF for images. Also, remember to apply the correct extension to the document name..such as .rft .txt .jpg .tif .gif
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CAN I BACK UP MY FAVORITE PLACES?
(1) You can back them up by making a copy of the file that bears your screen name in your America Online Data folder ..Here's the path ---- System folder...Preferences...America Online...Data
(2) Also you can...Open your Favorite Places list, select all (Command - A) and drag them directly to another storage place (a folder any place outside the System Folder on your hard disk, a zip disk, floppy, orwhatever medim you wish.) Now you will have a backup of your Favorite Places...safe and secure, easy to back up, and immediately accessible.
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HOW DO I INSTALL AOL ON ANOTHER COMPUTER WITHOUT LOSING FAVORITE PLACE, ADDRESS LIST, & CURRENT SETTINGS?
After installing AOL on your second computer ...sign on as a new user. When you get the screen requesting CERTIFICATE NUMBER and ID...enter your screen name for certificate number and your password for ID. Then copy the Data folder inside your AOL Preferences folder which is inside your Preferences folder in the system folder and send an email to yourself with the Data folder attached. Open the email on your NEW Mac and download the attachment to your hard disk and then move it to your America Online data folder (replacing the file that is already there) Here's the path to the Data Folder --- system folder...preferences....America Online
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