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MAC TIPS
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Damaged Floppy Disk...
Ever inserted a floppy into your Mac and gotten the error, "this disk is
unreadable do you want to initialize it?"
There is a possible fix for this: Eject the disk, then open "First Aid" (which
should be located within your system's utility folder). Make sure First Aid is
the active program and then insert the floppy. Highlight the floppy in First
Aid and click "Verify." It should say "You need repairs." Click on "Repair"
and it that should solve the problem. You must verify first or you will not
solve the problem.
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Booting from a CD...
Booting from a CD is useful for diagnostic purposes. It ensures that the
system software your computer is booted from is "known-good."
The suffix ROM (as in CD-ROM) stands for "Read Only Memory": this means just
that the data that have been stored on the disc can only be read, or
interpreted by the computer, not written to. This is important because all
software, system and application alike, can become corrupted at some point or
another. Corrupted software can cause you all sorts of problems, from system
freezing, to crashes, to incorrect image display etc. So if you think your
software may be corrupt, it might be a good idea to boot from something that
isn't or can never become corrupt, like a CD-ROM. To boot from a CD, simply
put it in the CD-ROM drive and hold down the 'C' key on your keyboard during
the boot sequence. This works for Norton Utilities, your system software disks
that originally came with your computer, as well as a number of other
diagnostic programs.
Moving your Control Strip...
Lots of people ask me how to move their control strip around the desktop
making it more easily accessible. To move the Control Strip, simply hold down
the Option key and drag it wherever you like. You can even customize the order
in which each button appears on the strip by doing the same thing for each
button.
Rebuild your desktop...
Your should rebuild your desktop file at least once a month to ensure your
Mac shows the proper icons and aliases on your desktop.
Hold down the "Command-Option" keys while your computer boots up. Once you
reach the desktop, a dialogue box will appear asking if you really want to
rebuild your desktop. Click "yes" and let it do its thing. Note, if you have
your hard drive partitioned or have an external drive, it will prompt you to
rebuild each of these files.
Zap your PRAM...
PRAM, or parameter RAM, works closely with your system's power management. It
is mainly responsible for correct date and time functions.
Whenever troubleshooting a power issue, you should always Zap your PRAM first.
To do this, hold down "Command-Option-P and R" keys simultaneously on startup.
You should hear a second or even third startup chime when you do this. Your
PRAM has been reset. Once you reach the desktop, you'll need to reset the date
and time, as it will have changed.
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