DB your gonna love this…

my mac downloaded a software update from apple on friday, it then instructed me too reset, i hit reset, and then all my mac would do was reboot get to the load screen and stay there.  so i looked in the manual that came with it tried that to no avail, tried the apple website (navigation wise its pretty shite) so i phoned apple UK, they would not helped me unless i had apple care (£120) or they would help me for a one off payment of £35.  i agreed, tried a variety of things yet my mac would not work, he said that it might be hardware issue and that i would need to take it to a apple shop, the nearest shop he could find was in southampton or france ( i live in cornwall), but because it was hardware he would not bill me for the £35.  anyway couple of hours later i let my mac cool down and tried some of the advice again it worked, so i figured i would share this info which in theory would of cost me £35.

if your mac gets gets too the load up screen and will not go any further try this…

insert the installation disk that came with your mac, after you have reset and hold down c until the spinning gear starts then take your finger off.  you should be taken to the normal screen with the menu at the top.  now you can try one of two things disk utility, which will repair all your permissions (this one is safer and quicker) or you can reinstall your mac software however your installation disk will only let you go so far because it will notice you have mac installed go into options and go for archive and install, this will then take all your files (media,music,text and software applications put them to oneside and then reinstall all the software on your mac then put your media files programs etc back into place, though be warned this will take roughly an hour.  your mac should then reboot good as new, you will need to update your software again though.  but i think i just saved you all 35 pounds and a hour and a half on the phone.  i also thought we could use this as a mac thread to share help and advice and info…

well we all know macs aren’t immune to the odd little feck up…but in my opinion they’re still better than most (not all) pc’s. Upgraded to Leopard last weekend and found a couple of key apps weren’t compatible and unless I paid to upgrade them, they wouldn’t work! If you’re thinking of upgrading to Leopard, I’d wait a while….

Sonic screwdriver no good then?

thats quite funny gary…i liked that one.  was tempted to use my fist on occasion.

Bailey..

No..I agree…

Now its working again…start reading up on the web on Mac help..and print it out…

DB

here we go…

free mac anti virus just type clamx av into google will take you where you need to go, i dont know if it works with leopard.

macs inbuilt internet stealth mode-go to system preferences-sharing-firewall-advanced-click on stealth mode, your computer will now hide itself from others eyes.

type idefrag into google, will take you to the download site, same principle as on windows its free but you can pay to upgrade to more powerful settings.

go to system preferences-security-turn on vile vault-it will encrypt all your files and decrypt them when/whilst your using them.

google for either macjanitor, or onyx, download this free software and it will enable you to fine tune your mac to your desires.

google for cache out, this will remove all logs and caches you dont want/need.

i always remove the mac built in software i do not use (idvd,ilife,chess,etc saves a lot of space if you dont need it dont keep it.

finally your mac is preprogrammed to work with pretty much all printers, if you dont need or use a printer its worth removing these youll save roughly 1gb.  go to finder type in epson or canon, now click on whichever one ends with .pkg on the end and trace it back to the folder its stored in.  open the folder and you can now remove all these useless drivers, also hidden in there are language packs you can remove these as well (not the english ones obviously).  this will free up a lot of space.

if any one else has any hints or tips for mac users please post em.  if you screw this up i am not liable/to blame.

oh one other i like, go to apple.com find the widget section and download istat pro its free, and it shows what temp your macs at, whats running, your disk space etc…

Did you once suffer from Dirty Mac, baileyk?

Gary Sanderson - 17 November 2007 07:03 PM

Sonic screwdriver no good then?

That made me smile gary

is that slang for something?

i got what gary was saying at 7.20pm, fuck that was worth the £11k degree.

I’m always there with a laugh and a joke

Right when you don’t bleedin’ need one…

like a drunk uncle at a wedding.