Emergency Handbook Includes troubleshooting, hard disk repair, and software installation information for your iMac
K Apple Computer, Inc. © 1998 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. Under the copyright laws, this manual may not be copied, in whole or in part, without the written consent of Apple. Your rights to the software are governed by the accompanying software license agreement. The Apple logo is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
Contents 1 Problems Starting Up Problems 7 7 Computer won’t start up, restart, or shut down 7 Single icon appears in middle of screen 8 Computer beeps 8 Computer freezes 8 Message appears 9 Normal desktop doesn’t appear 10 Hard disk icon doesn’t appear on desktop 10 Computer starts up from wrong disk 11 Solutions 11 Take notes. 11 Wake up your computer. 11 Restart the computer. 12 Force your computer to restart. 12 Shut down the computer. 12 Force your computer to shut down. 13 Quit open applications.
Re-bless the System Folder. 16 Make sure you’re using the correct disk as a startup disk. 16 CD disc is jammed. 17 Resolve system extension conflicts. 17 Reset the PRAM. 19 Make sure memory is installed correctly. 20 Replace the computer’s backup battery. 20 Test and repair the hard disk directory. 21 Reinstall system software.
Testing Your Hard Disk for Physical Damage 50 5 Reinstalling Your Computer’s Software 53 Reinstalling System Software 53 Before Installing System Software 53 Reinstalling Mac OS System Software 54 Selecting Which Software to Install 55 Performing a Clean Installation 58 Reinstalling Your Custom Extensions, Fonts, and Control Panels 59 If the Clean Installation Didn’t Solve the Problem 60 Problems During Installation 60 Responding to Messages About Your Hard Disk 62 Reinstalling Individual Applications 62
C H A P T E R 1 1 Problems Starting Up Problems Computer won’t start up, restart, or shut down Computer won’t start up. Try these solutions: m Make sure your computer is getting power. (p. 13) m Force your computer to restart. (p. 12) m Increase the memory available for system software. (p. 15) m Make sure memory is installed correctly. (p. 20) m Replace the computer’s backup battery. (p. 20) Unusual sound occurs when you try to start up the computer.
Computer won’t shut down. Try this solution: m Force your computer to shut down. (p. 13) Single icon appears in middle of screen Icon with blinking question mark appears. Try these solutions: m Make sure external devices are properly connected and turned on. (p. 14) m Re-bless the System Folder. (p. 16) m Resolve system extension conflicts. (p. 17) m Reset the PRAM. (p. 19) m Test and repair the hard disk directory. (p. 21) m Reinstall system software. (p. 21) Icon with X appears.
m Reinstall system software. (p. 21) Computer freezes during startup or while you’re using your computer. Try these solutions: m Take notes. (p. 11) m Make sure external devices are properly connected and turned on. (p. 14) m Force your computer to restart. (p. 12) m Resolve system extension conflicts. (p. 17) m Test and repair the hard disk directory. (p. 21) m Reinstall system software. (p. 21) Keyboard or mouse doesn’t work.
Disk corruption message appears on startup. Try these solutions: m Take notes. (p. 11) m Check RAM disk settings in the Memory control panel. (p. 15) Normal desktop doesn’t appear Screen is dark. Try these solutions: m Wake up your computer. (p. 11) m Make sure your computer is getting power. (p. 13) m Reset the PRAM. (p. 19) No icons appear in windows, and pointer alternates between an arrow and a wristwatch. Try this solution: m Reset the window display. (p. 16) Empty flashing box appears.
Computer starts up from wrong disk Try these solutions: m Make sure external devices are properly connected and turned on. (p. 14) m Make sure you’re using the correct disk as a startup disk. (p. 16) m Reset the PRAM. (p. 19) m Test and repair the hard disk directory. (p. 21) Solutions Take notes. If you see an error message or the screen freezes, you don’t have to take action immediately.
Restart the computer. Often you can eliminate a problem simply by restarting your computer, which clears the computer’s memory. Always try restarting the proper way: 1 If you can, save any open documents before restarting. 2 Open the Special menu and choose Restart. Note: You can also press the power button (®) on your Apple USB keyboard or on the front of the computer. A dialog box appears. 3 Click Restart. If the computer freezes: Try quitting open applications. See “Quit open applications.
If the computer freezes: Try quitting open applications. See the following section, “Quit Open Applications.” Force your computer to shut down. If you are unable to shut down your computer the normal way, unplug your computer. Wait at least 30 seconds before turning your computer back on again. Quit open applications. When you restart your computer, the computer tries to quit all open applications. Sometimes an application doesn’t get the message to quit and you have to quit the application yourself.
Make sure external devices are properly connected and turned on. m Make sure connectors are plugged in all the way. Try unplugging connectors on all of the devices, then plugging them back in. m If the device has a power cord, make sure the cord is plugged into a working electrical outlet. m Make sure the device is turned on. m If you are connected to an Ethernet network: m Check the settings in the AppleTalk control panel to make sure that Ethernet is selected.
m If that doesn’t solve your problem, shut down your computer again. Turn off and disconnect all external equipment, except your keyboard and mouse. Then restart the computer. To determine which piece of equipment may be causing the problem, reconnect one device, start up your computer, and make sure the device is operating correctly. Then shut down the computer.
If none of these suggestions work, install additional memory, or RAM, in your computer. See the online documentation that came with your computer for instructions on how to do this. If this doesn’t solve your problem, return to “Problems” on page 7. Reset the window display. There may be a problem with the display of the windows. Restart the computer and hold down the Option key until the desktop icons appear. When the desktop appears, all windows will be closed.
m If your computer is trying to start up from a CD that is not a startup CD (it has no system software on it), press the Open button on your CD-ROM drive, carefully pull out the tray, and remove the disc. Gently push the tray in and restart your computer. Note: If your computer started up from a CD, the disc will not be automatically ejected when you shut down. Restart the computer while pressing the Open button on the drive. The tray should open so you can remove the disc.
3 Notice the name of the currently selected set of extensions in the Selected Set pop-up menu so that you can return to it later if you want. 4 Open the Selected Set pop-up menu and choose the “Mac OS 8.1 base” set. This makes the computer start up using only the software installed at the factory. 5 Click the Continue button to continue startup. 6 When the computer is ready, try the same actions that caused the problem.
Reset the PRAM. Your computer stores information in an area of memory called parameter RAM (PRAM). Resetting the PRAM replaces the information stored there with the default (original) settings. Some system preferences are stored in PRAM. Third-party software programs may also store information in PRAM. When you reset the PRAM, some of these preferences are lost. Make sure you make a note of the settings before you reset PRAM.
Make sure memory is installed correctly. If you hear one or more beeps, there may be a problem with the memory in your computer. If you recently installed RAM in your computer, check the installation instructions in the online documentation that came with your computer to make sure it is properly installed. Make sure you’ve used the proper type of RAM for your computer. If this doesn’t solve your problem, return to “Problems” on page 7. Replace the computer’s backup battery.
Test and repair the hard disk directory. Follow the instructions in Chapter 4, “Testing and Repairing Your Hard Disk Directory.” If this doesn’t solve your problem, return to “Problems” on page 7. Reinstall system software. Follow the instructions in Chapter 5, “Reinstalling Your Computer’s Software.” If this doesn’t solve your problem, return to “Problems” on page 7.
Where to Find Onscreen Help Mac OS Help Step-by-step instructions for using the Mac OS are available from Mac OS Help. To open the help system, choose Help from the Finder’s Help menu. Mac OS Info Center The Mac OS Info Center contains information about your computer and the Mac OS, including troubleshooting information. Double-click the Mac OS Info Center icon on the desktop to open the Info Center. Click this button to see the online user’s manual.
C H A P T E R 2 2 Problems Using Your Computer Problems With Applications, Documents, and Memory Message appears saying there’s not enough memory. All the memory in your Macintosh is in use by other application programs, system software, and system resources. m Quit other open programs to free memory, then open the program you want to use. Note: Make sure you have quit other applications, not just closed their open documents.
3 If the number in the Minimum Size box is larger than the largest unused block, not m m m m enough memory is available to use this program. To free memory, quit open programs or restart the computer. You can also type a smaller number in the Minimum Size box if you want to open the program using less memory. But some programs don’t work well if you assign them less memory.
Software quits unexpectedly. The application program needs more memory, or there is a software problem. m Write down what you were doing when the message appeared, and write down the text of the message. This information may help a technical support representative diagnose your problem if you later need to contact Apple or the manufacturer of the application program. About the codes in error messages: The number codes in error messages are used in software development.
Also, try reinstalling the program from the original disks. If reinstalling doesn’t solve the problem, contact the manufacturer of the program to see if the program contains software errors or “bugs” and if it is compatible with the version of system software you’re using. m Sometimes incompatible system extensions or control panels can cause system software problems. Restart while holding down the Shift key; this temporarily turns off all system extensions.
Application won’t open because a file can’t be found. Macintosh programs designed specifically for the PowerPC microprocessor (also called “native” applications) use special files called “shared libraries.” Any necessary shared libraries should be installed automatically when you install these special Macintosh programs. Follow the directions that came with your program to reinstall it. If the shared library is still missing, contact the software program’s manufacturer for assistance.
If the files are there and you still get the message, it means that you don’t have enough memory to run the application. You may be able to open the application if you try one or more of the following: m Quit other open applications. m Reduce the amount of memory allocated to the application: 1 Select the application’s icon in the Finder. 2 Choose Get Info from the File menu. 3 Type a lower number in the box for Preferred Size. m Install more memory (RAM).
Older Macintosh programs don’t work properly. m Some older Macintosh programs are not completely compatible with Macintosh computers that have the PowerPC microprocessor or Mac OS 8.1. Contact the program’s publisher to see if an upgrade is available. Window disappears. m Another window may be covering the one you’re looking for. Move, resize, close, or hide windows until you see the one you want. m The program the window is associated with may be hidden.
Can’t mount Mac OS, DOS, or ProDOS partitions. m Use PC Exchange to mount these partitions as individual volumes on the desktop. (PC Exchange is a control panel that is part of system software.) Note: If the disk contains both Mac OS and DOS-format partitions, PC Exchange will recognize only the Mac OS partition. Can’t resize Mac OS, DOS, or ProDOS partitions.
m Try starting up your computer from the system software CD that came with your computer. Insert the CD and restart while holding down the C key. (See Chapter 3, “Starting Up From a CD,” on page 45.) If only the hard disk icon appears on the desktop, then there may be a hardware problem with your CD-ROM drive. If the CD-ROM disc icon appears above the hard disk icon, reinstall your CD-ROM software. The easiest way to do this is by reinstalling your system software.
Can’t eject disc. m If file sharing is on and you are having trouble ejecting a disc, turn file sharing off in the File Sharing control panel in the Control Panels folder, available in the Apple (K) menu. “This is not a Macintosh disk: Do you want to initialize it?” message appears. m Make sure that the Foreign File Access extension is installed and turned on. Use the Extensions Manager control panel in the Control Panels folder in the Apple (K) menu to turn it on, then restart your computer.
m Make sure that the Foreign File Access, ISO 9660 File Access, and High Sierra File Access files are present in the Extensions folder in the System Folder on your hard disk. If these files are not present, reinstall your CD-ROM software. The easiest way to do this is by reinstalling your system software. See Chapter 5, “Reinstalling Your Computer’s Software,” on page 53. Problems Using Photo CDs Icon doesn’t appear on desktop. m Reinstall the CD-ROM and QuickTime software.
m If the device is connected to a USB hub, do the following: m If the hub has a power cord, make sure the cord is plugged into a working electrical outlet. m Try unplugging one or more devices from the hub. Message appears saying a device may not provide all of its functions because it requires more power. m If the device has a power cord, make sure the cord is plugged into a working electrical outlet.
m If you suspect a keyboard problem, borrow an Apple USB keyboard from another computer and connect it to yours. If that solves the problem, you may need to repair your keyboard. Consult an Apple-authorized service provider. m Make sure the cables on your device are not damaged or frayed. If so, contact the manufacturer of the device or see the documentation that came with the device.
m The printer may be out of paper or may need attention. Check the printer status lights and any messages on your screen. m Open the desktop printer icon and check for status messages. m Print a detailed report. (In the Print dialog box, select “Print detailed report” under Error Handling.) m Reinstall your printer software. m Check the settings in the application’s Page Setup dialog box. If there is a setting for “printer type,” make sure it is set to the type of printer you are using.
m Open the Memory control panel in the Control Panels folder in the Apple (K) menu; then make these changes: m In the Disk Cache section, increase the Cache Size slightly. (Because the amount of memory available for opening programs decreases as you increase the size of the cache, do not set the Cache Size too high.) m In the Virtual Memory section, click Off if you haven’t already done so.
m ATI Video Memory Manager Note: If these files are missing, you need to reinstall system software in order to have them on your computer. m Turn off virtual memory. (Apple recommends turning off virtual memory whenever you use 3D applications.) Open the Memory control panel, click the Off button in the Virtual Memory section of the control panel, and restart your computer. Right-angle bracket prompt (>) appears.
m If the sounds are regular or melodic, they may be caused by interference from electrical equipment. Move the computer farther away from any such equipment. m If you hear one or more beeps, there may be a problem with the memory in your computer. If you recently installed RAM in your computer, check the installation instructions in the online documentation that came with your computer to make sure it is properly installed. Make sure you’ve used the proper type of RAM for your computer.
m Make sure you have the access privileges you need to view the files. Ask the network administrator or the owner of the shared item to give you access. See the information on file sharing in Mac OS Help (choose Help from the Finder’s Help menu). File sharing can’t be turned on. m Make sure AppleTalk is turned on in the Chooser. m Make sure you have at least 400K of space available on your hard disk. m Some disk-formatting programs don’t work with file sharing.
Your computer can’t connect to devices outside its local network. m Check that your router address is correct in the TCP/IP control panel. Your computer can connect to hosts by IP address, but not by name. m Check the settings in the TCP/IP control panel: m Check that you have entered valid domain names in the Additional Search Domains box. m If you have entered your local and administrative domain names, double-check to make sure they’re correct.
Audio stops playing when you double-click a CD-ROM disc icon. m You can’t open data files on a CD-ROM disc and listen to audio tracks on it at the same time. Audio CD begins playing automatically when inserted. m Your computer is set to automatically begin playing audio CDs when they are inserted. To turn off this feature, use the QuickTime Settings control panel to change the automatic play setting. Sound comes out of computer’s speakers even though headphones are plugged in.
If the files are there and you still get the message, it means that you don’t have enough memory to run the application. You may be able to open the application if you try one or more of the following: m Quit other open applications. m Reduce the amount of memory allocated to the application. Follow these steps: 1 Select the application’s icon in the Finder. 2 Choose Get Info from the File menu. 3 Type a lower number in the box for Preferred Size. m Install more memory (RAM).
C H A P T E R 3 3 Starting Up From a CD To test, repair, or initialize a hard disk, or to install or remove system software on a hard disk, you need to start up your computer from another disk. You can start up your computer using the software install CD-ROM disc. Starting Up From the Software Install CD Follow these steps to start up from the software install CD. 1 Turn on your computer if it’s not already running. 2 Press the Open button on your CD-ROM drive.
When You’re Done With the CD When you start up your computer from a CD, the CD cannot be ejected in the usual way. To restart your computer from the hard disk and eject the CD: 46 Chapter 3 1 Choose Restart from the Special menu. 2 Immediately after hearing the startup sound, press the eject button on the front of the CD-ROM drive. Note: You can also change the startup disk by opening the Startup Disk control panel and selecting the hard disk. Restart your computer.
C H A P T E R 4 4 Testing and Repairing Your Hard Disk Directory If you see a message reporting that a disk is “damaged” or unreadable, the directory on your hard disk may have become corrupted. The directory can be corrupted m any time the computer is not shut down properly, using the Shut Down command m when your computer freezes or crashes Repairing Corrupted Data on Your Disk Most data corruption can be fixed easily by using Disk First Aid.
Disk icons appear in a box at the top of the Disk First Aid window. 4 Click Repair to begin testing and repairing the disk directory. If Disk First Aid Cannot Correct the Problem m Make sure you started up from the software install CD. See Chapter 3, “Starting Up From a CD,” on page 45. m Try running Disk First Aid a second or third time. Sometimes repeating the process corrects the problem. m Use the Drive Setup utility (typically located in the Utilities folder) to update the driver.
Updating the Hard Disk Drivers 1 Start up your computer from the software install CD. (See Chapter 3, “Starting Up From a CD,” on page 45.) 2 Locate the Drive Setup icon and double-click it to open the Drive Setup program. 3 In the list of drives, click the disk you want to update. 4 From the Functions menu, choose Update Driver. A message appears saying the new driver won’t be available until you restart your computer. 5 Restart your computer. (See “Restart the computer.” on page 12.
1 Start up your computer from the software install CD. (See Chapter 3, “Starting Up From a CD,” on page 45.) 2 Locate the Drive Setup icon and double-click it to open the Drive Setup program. 3 In the list of drives, select the disk you want to initialize. 4 Click Initialize. If initialization fails, choose Initialization Options from the Functions menu to select the “Low level format” and “Zero all data” options. Then try initializing the disk again.
2 Locate the Drive Setup icon and double-click it to open the Drive Setup program. 3 In the list of drives, click the disk you want to test. 4 From the Functions menu, choose Test Disk. 5 When a message tells you that the testing is complete, click Quit. If the test reveals a problem, the hard disk may be damaged. Consult an Apple-authorized service provider for assistance.
C H A P T E R 5 5 Reinstalling Your Computer’s Software If you are having problems with the system software or applications that came with your computer, you can replace software in the following ways: m reinstall system software—if you encounter system software problems or you want to add or remove system software components m reinstall individual applications—if you inadvertently erased an application on your hard disk, are having problems with an application, or an application is damaged m restore your
m Software that runs in the background: If you are using software that runs in the background, such as virus protection software or access control software, you may need to turn it off before you reinstall system software. For instructions, see the documentation that came with the software. It is highly recommended that you back up the data on your hard disk before installing system software.
The Select Destination dialog box appears. If necessary, use the pop-up menu to choose another destination disk. If you want to perform a clean installation, skip to “Performing a Clean Installation” on page 58. Otherwise, continue with the following step. Note: A clean installation gives you a fresh start with system software. It is sometimes the best way to solve a persistent problem. 4 Choose the destination disk from the pop-up menu and click Select. The following dialog box appears.
Custom installation: Click Add/Remove. Proceed to “Custom Installation” on page 56. Standard Installation 1 Follow the instructions on your screen until you see the Install Software window. Note: Your screen may look slightly different from the one pictured here. 2 If you want to update the hard disk drivers and create an installation report, click Options. In the window that appears, click the appropriate checkboxes, then click OK. 3 Click Start.
2 Open the pop-up menu next to each software product and choose an option. m Customized Installation—lets you choose the components to install m Customized Removal—lets you choose the components to remove Note: Recommended Installation installs the standard components. 3 All available components for the software product appear in a window. To select all components or none, open this pop-up menu and select the appropriate option. Select the components you want to install or remove.
Performing a Clean Installation This section provides instructions for what is commonly called a “clean installation” of system software. Performing a clean installation is more complicated than a standard installation, but it is sometimes the best way to solve a persistent problem. A clean installation gives you a fresh start with system software. When you install system software using a clean installation, the Installer creates a new System Folder on your hard disk.
4 Click Options. 5 Click the Perform Clean Installation checkbox so that it has a checkmark in it, then click OK. 6 Click Select and follow the instructions until you see the Install Software dialog box. 7 To install software other than the basic system, click Customize and follow the instructions in the section, “Custom Installation” on page 56. 8 Click Start to install the software. A new System Folder is installed on your hard disk. (The old System Folder is renamed Previous System Folder.
If the Clean Installation Didn’t Solve the Problem You may have a hardware problem. Consult an Apple-authorized service provider. You may want to revert to the Previous System Folder so that you do not have to reinstall your custom extensions, fonts, control panels, and other items not installed with Mac OS 8.1. To use the previous system again, follow the steps in this section. Reverting to the previous System Folder may not work. If it doesn’t, you’ll have to perform a clean installation again.
The files on your hard disk disappear when you start up from the CD. m If no files appear on the hard disk except for a single document called “Where have all my files gone?”, you started up your computer from a CD with system software earlier than Mac OS 8.1. To see the contents of your disk, you must start up your computer from a disc with Mac OS 8.1 (or later). You can’t install or restore software. m Make sure your computer started up from the software install CD.
m The System and Finder files may be locked. To see if your System file or Finder file is locked, open the System Folder and select the System or Finder icon. Open the File menu and choose Get Info. To unlock the file, click the Locked checkbox to remove the checkmark. m Try performing a clean installation of system software. See “Performing a Clean Installation” on page 58. You see a message that the installation was not successful.
Restoring All Original Software The Apple Software Restore application, located on the software restore CD, restores all your original software, including original system software, factory settings, and applications that came with your computer. This application gives you the option of erasing your hard disk before restoring the original software, or just replacing the original software (“Restore In Place”).
7 Click Quit when the process is complete. Erasing Your Hard Disk This procedure completely erases the contents of your hard disk before restoring the original contents (original system software, factory settings, and applications that came with your computer). 1 Start up your computer from the software restore CD and open the Apple Software Restore application. For instructions, see Chapter 3, “Starting Up From a CD,” on page 45. 2 Click the OK button on the introductory screen.
C H A P T E R 6 6 Contacting Apple for Help If this handbook has not helped you solve your computer’s problem, try getting information from Apple’s product support site on the World Wide Web. See the next section, “Obtaining Information via the World Wide Web.” If you can’t find answers on the support Web site, or don’t have access to the Web, contact Apple for assistance. For information on how to contact the Apple Assistance Center, see the service and support card that came with your computer.
Have This Information Available Before Calling Have the following information and software available when calling the Apple Assistance Center: m a description of the problem (for example, the computer freezes in only one application or at startup) m what you have tried to do already m the type of computer m the serial number of your computer m the version of system software, third-party software, external devices, and so on (especially if the problem involves something you have added to the computer) m the
Index Can’t find it? See also Mac OS Help’s onscreen index. Open the Help menu and choose Help; then click the Index button. A C Administration password, forgetting 40 Apple Assistance Center 65, 66 AppleCD Audio Player 31, 41 Apple Guide.
Can’t find it? See also Mac OS Help’s onscreen index. Open the Help menu and choose Help; then click the Index button. disks. See CD-ROM discs; hard disk documents.
Launcher 29 locked files 28, 62 Mac OS partitions 30 Mac OS system software.
P Can’t find it? See also Mac OS Help’s onscreen index. Open the Help menu and choose Help; then click the Index button. parameter RAM.
system software memory problems 9, 15–16 message about 9 not recognized by computer 16 reinstalling 53–64 removing 57 updates for 65 System suitcase file, damaged 48 T TCP/IP control panel 40, 41 Tech Exchange 65 Tech Info Library 65 testing extensions and control panels 18 testing hard disk 50–51 3D accelerator 37–38 3D Surround Sound 42 troubleshooting.
