Question

Need to learn to support Mac computers?

Asked by: JeffParton

Had a Mac computer (extremely powerful MAC) in the past had an issue with performance when using DreamWeaver.  Found that she had thousands of "link" files that was being updated constantly.  I fixed this.  Now this same computer has everything working extremely slow.  Entourage, Opening files, Opening applications, etc.  Everything is slow.  I don't even know where or how to look at a MAC to even start to gain insight into any possible issues.  I am a PC person.

Anyone know of any GOOD online or other resources to learn how to support mac computers from an IT standpoint and not from a standard end-user standpoint?  Or have any ideas on where to start in trying to find where or why this is happening?  I don't even know where an EventLog is on a mac as opposed to a PC?

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Asked On
2009-11-05 at 08:47:27ID24875055
Tags

Macintosh Computers

,

Support

Topics

Apple Operating Systems

,

Apple Hardware

,

Apple Networking

Participating Experts
2
Points
500
Comments
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Answers

 

by: strungPosted on 2009-11-05 at 09:13:09ID: 25751654

You can access all the Mac event logs by opening Console.app found in \Applications\Utilities. Make sure you show the view with the left hand sidebar showing all available logs.

You can also have a look at Activity Monitor, also found in the Utilities folder. This is the Mac equivalent of TaskManager and will identify which processes are hogging CPU cycles and memory.

Have a look at Activity Monitor first.

Also make sure that she had not filled her hard drive. Macs will run really slowly if there is not enough room left on the boot drive for scratch files and virtual memory.

You will find a bunch of other useful utilities in the Utilities folder.

 

by: strungPosted on 2009-11-05 at 09:14:52ID: 25751667

P.S. you will find a lot of good information here:  http://www.thexlab.com/

and here  http://www.macfixit.com

 

by: strungPosted on 2009-11-05 at 09:17:38ID: 25751680

You should also open Disk Utility and run both Verify Disk and Repair Permissions. If Verify Disk shows and disk corruption, you can repair the disk by safe booting (hold down the shift key) which automatically runs Repair Disk before mounting the drive. Then recheck Verify Disk to determine if the repairs have been made.

 

by: strungPosted on 2009-11-05 at 09:20:15ID: 25751711

Another useful freeware tool is ONYX:  http://www.titanium.free.fr/pgs/english.html which will clean caches and run maintenance scripts. Note that there are several different versions, each specific to a particular version of the Mac OS and it is important that you use the right one.

 

by: JeffPartonPosted on 2009-11-05 at 09:29:24ID: 25751806

You can access all the Mac event logs by opening Console.app found in \Applications\Utilities

I am a complete novice, how exactly do you open this console.app from this folder?  Do I just browse to the application and double-click it or what?

Again, i am sorry i am a complete novice.

 

by: Philip_SparkPosted on 2009-11-05 at 09:31:20ID: 25751824

I run with all Strung has said.

Here's also some pointers for doing a clean install.

http://www.tuaw.com/2007/10/26/leopard-how-to-clean-install/

It is specifically targeted at Leopard, but the general gist will also cover Tiger etc. If you think there might be issues, you can google for a Tiger clean install.

I would add the archive and install is best if you're worried about wiping stuff.

What OS version is she running?

 

by: JeffPartonPosted on 2009-11-05 at 09:33:11ID: 25751841

@Philip - no clue, it is embarrassing how little I know about macs, how do I tell?  How do i know if she is running Leopard?  What OS? I know she runs a virtual xp to connect to our servers.  

 

by: strungPosted on 2009-11-05 at 10:30:48ID: 25752376

You can tell what version of the OS she is running by pulling down the Apple Menu to About this Mac.

You can then click on the More Info button to get a complete inventory of her hardware and software in a printable format.


 

by: strungPosted on 2009-11-05 at 10:32:02ID: 25752387

One more thing to try: Download and run the DNSChanger Trojan Removal Tool:  http://www.dnschanger.com/

on the off chance that her computer has the only common Mac Trojan.

 

by: strungPosted on 2009-11-05 at 10:33:21ID: 25752400

To open Console.app, just browse to it in the Utilities folder and double click on it. Same with Disk Utility and Activity Monitor.

 

by: JeffPartonPosted on 2009-11-09 at 10:54:20ID: 31650575

Thanks :)

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