Mac Troubleshooting

Need help fixing, troubleshooting or resolving problems on your Mac? I've written a Mac OS X troubleshooting book (PDF) for anyone who is looking after a small or medium size network of Macs, or who just needs help maintaining Mac OS X 10.4 thru to 10.6. Specific chapters cover start up and hard drive problems, concise troubleshooting advice, fixing common hardware issues, transferring or backing up data, basic setting up a Mac OS X server and configuring a router, as well as networking assistance and discussing some good basic security.

Mac help in a book

'Fix a troubled Mac' is primarily focused on troubleshooting techniques. It's full of step by step guides, diagrams, screen dumps and photos. Designed with clear & concise information that is easy-to-search and quickly find the information you need.

chapters

The PDF contains up-to-date URLs for laterial topic navigation within the book and on the internet (for additional info) and has an extensive set of topic bookmarks.

keywords

What's inside the PDF?

Fix a troubled Mac is designed for any experienced Mac user. A couple of chapters focus on an office or studio setup; specifically on what is involved in setting up and getting a Mac OS X Server configured and maintaining a local area network.

Other chapters go into detail about how to implement a backup strategy and what you need to know about networking (without becoming boring and tiresome to read).

For the flustered person who cannot think straight, i have a couple of chapters that focus 100% on clear step by step troubleshooting, perfect for when your Mac won't startup or your User's account has stopped working. Use it in the wee hours of the night, when your Mac has stopped working and you have no-one (outside of google) awake to help you.

And when you're not stressed, you can read the book cover to cover and pickup advice that takes years to collect and implement.

Who is the author?

dirtymouse (me). i'm a three times retired Mac technical person who keeps coming out of retirement to do crazy but fun Mac and networking support work for large scale film & creative projects. Prior to that, i worked freelance as a Mac troubleshooter for about ten years. Back when you could have a 40mb scsi hard drive for about $1000! When i'm not doing the above, i update this book and run my primary business: foof (selling protective sleeves for the MacBook).

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Read some user feedback

from Nigel on slashdot
"This book has very little blatant philosophy, and almost entirely consists of practical advice. The few philosophical statements are 100% focused upon troubleshooting"

"This isn't just a paper book in eBook form - a serious attempt has been made to take advantage of the format."

from Ray in USA:
"I pretty much had a working knowledge of each individual part of a network (router, switches, DNS, etc.) but your book put them together in a way no one had done before. Thank you for this."

from William in the USA:
"Excellent work! Intelligently assembled, the production is great, the links are really good. Keep it up!"

from Charles writer of Applelinks in USA:
"I really like the book, and you and I seem to share similar philosophies on a number of issues"

"There is a ton of useful information in this book and it is attractively and usefully presented"

from Simon of Yaean Design in China:
"Packed with zesty data saving tips, baked in years of experience, sprinkled with humor and served electronically"

from Alan of Mactivate in Ireland:
"A valuable, easy to read, concise troubleshooting reference guide for Macintosh administrators & certified technicians"

from Anthony of Antart in Australia:
"I think it's an excellent tool for the anybody with a good working knowledge of the Mac OS and in charge of a lot of Macs in transition from OS 9 to 10. From that point of view, you have nailed it."

from Jason in the UK:
"thanks for providing such an excellent resource as when you are out in the field supporting macs it's not everytime you'll know exactly what to do"

from Bob in USA:
"I have read it cover to cover twice since. I have been in computing since 1968 and this may be the only time this has happened."

"The organization is logical, The writing is clear and to the point and with humor, The layout is superb"

from Artie in USA:
"Thanks for the great reference book.

I have owned Mac's for 15 years and have a network of friends who brainstorm problems. This book is like putting everyone in a room together to help each other while not being intoxicated"

from Richard of P-Space in Australia:
"wow, the book is fantastic"

from Neil of Oneword Design in South Africa:
"The book is awesome. Invaluable resource! Great to have information like this at your fingertips"

from Rui, of 'Tao of Mac' in Portugal:
"Whatever your level of expertise, this is a must-have if you have to support a number of Macs"

"More than just something to read - it's a useful reference that you'll be going back to."

from Mark of Focus Recording Studios in UK:
"Fix a Troubled mac is a must have for mac users that want to fix their own machines.... Essential!"

from Jezza of Moocows in Japan:
"this book is stuffed to the brim with all the vital information you need to get your mac running again smoothly. Good mix of no-nonsense advice sprinkled with personal experience."

from Davin of DIT in Australia:
"Finally a technical reference that isn't a drag to get through. Anyone that regularly reads reference material will appreciate your concise writing style"

a Slashdot comment in USA:
"I am glad to see a book that compiles the often hard-to-find information... the big question: does it come with a paper clip for that disk drive button? :)"

from Jesse of VA in Australia::
"there's lots of stuff in there that would (and has) taken me ages to figure out"

PDFs for iPhone

The full version of the PDF can be viewed with bookmark index support using GoodReader (via the App store).

Note: PDF is not included with above app.

The PDF's below (from the full book) are available for free, useful within any iPhone PDF viewer.

Applescripts

  • KnockoutDock 1.3 (not compatible with 10.6)
    is a simple Applescript designed to make the Dock as un-obtrusive as possible without losing the features of Expose, Dashboard, Application switching or ScreenSaver Hot Corners.

  • SwitchFinderShortcuts 1.0
    is a simple Applescript designed to swap the Finder keyboard shortcuts for 'Create New Folder' (cmd-N) and 'New Finder Window' (cmd-shift-N)

Current Version 2.4.0

Publication Issue No: 22
Release Date: 18-Feb-2010
A4 Pages: 223
PDF Size: 25.8mb

rss Next Version: v2.5
due 2011 sometime


Do you offer a demo?
Yes, you can download it here. There is the occassional carefully placed demo page notice and printing from the PDF is not available.

Do you have a picture preview?
The pictures below are from a few different sections in the book, just to give you an idea of the content :)

Reassure me on ebooks, i hate them!
I also loath badly designed ebooks. This was motivation for me to get my ebook right. 'Fix a troubled Mac' works best using Apple Preview at 140% size. It is fully indexed (use the bookmarks feature), it is straight forward to navigate with (using the embedded topic links for lateral navigation), is fully keyword (or phrase) searchable, and the page numbers match the page numbers of the pdf. It is also fully printable.

Can I print your book?
Yes, the full version (the one you purchase) is fully printable. I personally don't recommend printing the entire book, as you lose the search, index and links functionality. You also waste paper.

Can I put your PDF on my iPhone?
Yes, using GoodReader (via the app store). supported features:

  • Keyword search
  • Bookmark support
  • Navigation Links
  • External URL Links

How do I access your book if my Mac crashes?
Make a copy and put it on your emergency firewire drive (or iPod) or iPhone via GoodReader or pop it on your Mac OS X file server.