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Systems and Technologies

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting a problem can be an art form, but a lot of the work boils down to finding out what the actual problem is so that you can fix it. (The art can come from a thorough working knowledge of what you're trying to troubleshoot, and an intuition for finding the right source of the problem quickly.) In order to find out what the problem is, you must get enough information so that you can narrow your focus.

How to troubleshoot

Modern computers often have a lot of services running all the time -- from necessary background processes like printing and networking to the more-observable bits that draw graphics on your screen. It's helpful, then, to be able to turn off portions of the computer's operating system that you don't need, and also limit what applications you are running. If you are selective and take notes when you turn off these systems and don't launch application programs, you are narrowing your focus. Each time you narrow your focus, you should try to repeat the problem; if it does not repeat, you have an idea about the source of the difficulty -- it is likely in one of the services you have disabled or applications you aren't running.

As an example, for many years, classic Mac OS power users have known that they may need to Troubleshoot extension problems. Thankfully, in Mac OS 8 and 9, Apple bundled the free Extensions Manager application -- and some pre-built "extensions sets" -- that helped speed up this process. Selecting an extension set narrows down the extensions that are running. By figuring out what extensions are and are not running, you can determine where a problem lies -- because if the problem happens in one extension set and not another, the differences help you trace the problem.

Extensions pyramid: Mac OS classic Extensions troubleshooting pyramid, featuring four different extension set states

(To see step-by-step instructions for how this works in "real life," check our Troubleshoot extension problems page.)

Many of the same concepts of narrowing down the problem can be applied easily to Mac OS classic and Mac OS X. It helps, when working with either operating system, to understand the relationships between its internal systems. Sometimes, understanding these subsystems can help narrow the focus before you begin. As an example, if you are having a problem printing, you will probably want to look most closely at networking (if you have a networked printer), the printing subsystem, and font handling. If you want to become a power user or be able to troubleshoot your own problems, we recommend you take the time to understand some of the technical information available at the Apple Developer Web site.

Further troubleshooting help

We have a collection of troubleshooting-related information that can help you track down even obscure problems on your own:

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Question: How do I fix Macintosh-related problems?
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