As true as Macs may be , some do split up down — just like televisions , microwave , and most other electronic devices . But your Mac has an advantage that most other production do n’t : it may be able-bodied to discourage you before a problem step up from minor chafe to dispatch disaster . It can also aid you figure out which of the many computer hardware component that make up your Mac is make a difficult - to - diagnose symptom . you’re able to try these preventative steps at home :
1. Monitor SMART warnings
SMART is the self - congratulatory name for adrive - monitoring technologythat , with some luck , will warn you of an impending hard - effort unsuccessful person . The engineering is build into the effort ; sure software can get to the data and cover the results to you . The skillful of these utilities are the 1 , such as Julian Mayer ’s free SMARTReporter ( ) , that continually check a driveway ’s status and direct you an immediate admonition if a job is detected .
alas , your Mac can access SMART information only for ATA and SATA crusade , so block about using it with your external FireWire or USB private road . And even when it ’s working as mean , SMART is not all that fresh . A drive can still fail without warning — which is why you still need to back up your data .
2. Check your Mac’s memory
The symptoms of a defective retention module can be subtle . Everything may work fine most of the time until — bang!—a seemingly incomprehensible crash or data loss occurs . That ’s why it pays to sporadically chink the integrity of your Mac ’s storage — peculiarly if you ’ve recently impart newfangled modules . Kelley Computing ’s devoid utility program Remberis an excellent option . It ’s based on a command - line program called Memtest , by Tony Scaminaci ( ) . While Memtest does n’t have Rember ’s friendly user interface , it can be go in the Mac ’s single - user startup mode , a bare - bones environment that allows for a more thoroughgoing testing of memory . In either eccentric , expect to wait several 60 minutes for dependable results .
name MemoryKelley Computing ’s free Rember usefulness puts a friendly face on double - checking the integrity of your Mac ’s memory .
3. Check other hardware
The installation disk that come with your Mac include a special program called Apple Hardware Test . On Intel - based Macs , you access it by guard down the 500 key at inauguration when the disc is in the drive . The software package runs a readiness of symptomatic checks on several of your Mac ’s hardware components . Alternatively , for the most complete suite of tests available , try TechTool Pro 4 , fromMicromat . ( TechTool Pro 4 is one of the pecker let in in Micromat ’s $ 229 TechTool Protege [ ] , a 1 GB FireWire drive loaded with emergency public-service corporation . )
Neither Apple Hardware Test nor TechTool Pro can fix computer hardware trouble . You ’ll still need to exchange or rectify bad parts . But either can help you set whether a given problem is due to a specified ironware factor .
4. Read messages
If you ’re still stuck attempt to name a strange symptom or mistake message , launch OS X ’s Console service program . From here , you could read the log files that OS X maintains . These log criminal record subject matter detailing almost every meaning event that happens on your Mac , particularly those that signal a trouble . The two most critical logs are console.log ( which opens by default when Console is launch ) and system.log ( which you may afford by selecting Open System Log from the File menu ) .
Although much of the content of these logs will make little sentience to most users , contain particularly for late messages that denote to a computer hardware component or to a computer hardware - pertain technology ( such as FireWire , USB , or Bluetooth ) . Such substance can mean that the name component(s ) is a contributing campaign of the symptom . For external constituent , you’re able to easily confirm this by disconnecting a equipment and seeing whether the symptom die off .
[ Senior Contributor Ted Landau is the laminitis ofMacFixIt . ]
