Macs are like the electric scooters of the computer world. They’re fun, easy to use, and make you look rad, but if you don’t maintain them very well, several problems might pop up that would get in the way of your entertainment. While there are lots of sources for advice on how to fix your own PC problems, Apple repair tips are a little harder to come by. Fortunately, we’re always here to help you figure out the best strategy for fixing pesky bugs that appear every time you boot up your Mac. Here’s a list of some common Mac problems and easy fixes you apply to them. If your Mac won’t boot, or you keep getting a Mac error that you don’t know how to resolve, Nerds In A Flash’s mobile Apple support team can come to you and fix your Mac problems – or take your MacBook or iMac back to our lair and have it ready in no time at all!
Rainbow Wheel
It may look pretty at first, but the rainbow wheel can get pretty annoying if it appears frequently. If you encounter this every time you try to open an app or simply open a new tab in your browser, then your Mac is most likely overloaded with software and files that are gumming up the works.
An easy fix is simply to quit all apps that are currently not in use, because even if you close out of an app, that doesn’t mean it’s not still taking up some memory (RAM, in this case) in the background. If that doesn’t help, try restarting your computer.
Startup Disk Full Error
If you get an annoying little alert that says your startup disk is almost full, that means that you’re running out of space on your hard drive. You can free up space by deleting unnecessary files. To find out which files are hogging the most room, open your Finder select All Files. Click on the gear icon at the top of the window, then select Arrange By > Size. You’ll be able to see everything on your computer and how much space it takes up. Deleting old videos or music is an easy way to save space.
Another thing you can do is go through your Downloads folder and delete files that you don’t need any more. If you’ve moved files from Downloads to other folders, you might have duplicates that are taking up double the space for no reason.
If your disk is full, but you don’t want to delete any files, contact Nerds In A Flash and we can set you up with a secure place to store all your data, or add some more space to your hard drive.
Frozen Mac
What’s even worse than the pretty rainbow wheel is the pretty ugly situation where an app just won’t close or becomes unresponsive. It can be a little scary when you’re trying to write a report, but the app freezes, and simply closing or quitting the app won’t do.
However, the easiest way for a Mac to handle a crash is to “Force Quit.” Go to the Dock at the bottom and right click on the app icon that’s causing so much trouble. If you hold down the Option key, the “Quit” option in the pop-up menu will change to “Force Quit.” This will shut down the app immediately, but, fair warning, any unsaved data will be lost!
Lost Connection
Occasionally, Mac users report intermittent Wi-Fi loss, and nothing’s more annoying than constantly losing your Internet connection while trying to binge-watch your favorite show on Netflix.
Macs can be configured to connect to a 5GHz network, as opposed to the standard 2.4GHz network. 5GHz networks have a shorter range, but there is less interference of it, and these networks can support faster data transfer. You’ll have to separate your 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks by accessing your router settings (consult your router manual if you’re unsure!). After you do this, go to System Preferences > Network > Wi-Fi > Advanced and tell your Mac to join the 5GHz network. If this sounds a little complicated to you, you can call Nerds In A Flash and we’ll help you through it!
Unreadable Flash Drive
If you like to live dangerously and disconnect your thumb drives or any other external devices without properly ejecting them first, then you might render these devices in an unreadable state the next time you try to use them.
If your drive is acting up, then you need to find the Disk Utility (Applications > Utilities). Plug in your drive, and it should appear in the left window of this tool, even if your drive doesn’t show up in Finder. From there, you can restore the drive and it should work good as new (WARNING: restoring the drive deletes all of the data stored on it). If your drive doesn’t show up in Disk Utility, it might be toast. However, professional computer support technicians (like Nerds In A Flash) can sometimes rescue data from corrupted drives. Give us a call if you’re worried you’ve lost something irreplaceable.
These are just some of the most basic problems that can afflict Mac users. Of course, there are countless problems that could show up out of the blue, some that can’t be fixed with just a simple reboot. Fortunately, we’re always willing to help you find a solution to your Macbook ails, so don’t hesitate to call the next time your Mac is whack.
