Contents 3

Contents

About This Book .......................................................................................................................................... 20Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 20How this book is organized .......................................................................................................................... 22Notational conventions used in this book ................................................................................................... 23Getting the most from this book .................................................................................................................. 23About the recommendations made in this book ......................................................................................... 24About the Warning and Disclaimer ............................................................................................................. 24About your license to use this book ............................................................................................................. 24Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................................... 25

Getting Started with Mac OS X ................................................................................................................... 26

Installing Snow Leopard.............................................................................................................................. 27About installing Snow Leopard .................................................................................................................... 27

Pre-installation issues and precautions ................................................................................................ 27Installation options ............................................................................................................................... 30The author’s Snow Leopard upgrade process ...................................................................................... 32

Troubleshooting installation ........................................................................................................................ 32Resolving common installation and post-installation problems ............................................................... 33

Alert “…this disk cannot be used to start up your computer” ........................................................... 33iPhone or iPod touch not recognized ................................................................................................... 34Prompt for System Events at log in....................................................................................................... 34Starts up in Tiger or Leopard after installing Snow Leopard .............................................................. 34Starts up to grey screen after installing Snow Leopard ........................................................................ 34Previous Time Machine backups unavailable after installing Snow Leopard .................................... 35

Related links .................................................................................................................................................. 35

Learning Mac OS X ...................................................................................................................................... 36Related links .................................................................................................................................................. 37

Maintaining Mac OS X ................................................................................................................................ 38Routine maintenance .................................................................................................................................... 38Maintenance myths ....................................................................................................................................... 38Related links .................................................................................................................................................. 39

Upgrades: Planning, Researching, Buying, and Installing ....................................................................... 40Planning upgrades ........................................................................................................................................ 40Researching upgrades ................................................................................................................................... 41Buying upgrades............................................................................................................................................ 41Installing upgrades ........................................................................................................................................ 42Buying a new Mac ......................................................................................................................................... 42Related links .................................................................................................................................................. 43

Providing Feedback ..................................................................................................................................... 44

Prevention and Preparation........................................................................................................................ 45

An Ounce of Prevention .............................................................................................................................. 46Do… .............................................................................................................................................................. 46Do not… ....................................................................................................................................................... 47Additional advice for Mac portable computer users ................................................................................... 48

Contents 4

Backup and Recovery ................................................................................................................................... 49About backup and recovery .......................................................................................................................... 49Planning your backup and recovery solution ............................................................................................. 50

Recommended backup and recovery applications .............................................................................. 51Determining the volume of data to be backed up ............................................................................... 52Backup Devices ...................................................................................................................................... 53Providing for off-site data protection ................................................................................................... 54Backup strategy ...................................................................................................................................... 55

Additional considerations in backup and recovery ..................................................................................... 57Implementing your backup and recovery solution ..................................................................................... 58Recovery ........................................................................................................................................................ 59

Recovering an entire disk or volume from a Copy .............................................................................. 59Recovering individual files from a Copy .............................................................................................. 59

Related links .................................................................................................................................................. 59

Create a Test Account ................................................................................................................................... 61Creating a test account .................................................................................................................................. 61Using a test account in troubleshooting ...................................................................................................... 62Related links .................................................................................................................................................. 63

Disk Utilities ................................................................................................................................................. 64About disk utilities ........................................................................................................................................ 64Recommended disk utilities ......................................................................................................................... 65Related links .................................................................................................................................................. 66

Error Codes................................................................................................................................................... 67

First Aid Folder ............................................................................................................................................ 68

Obtaining Help Online ................................................................................................................................ 70Questions about using your Mac or Mac OS X ........................................................................................... 70Questions about third-party applications ................................................................................................... 70Questions not answered in Mac Help .......................................................................................................... 70Guidelines for creating good posts ............................................................................................................... 71Other sources of help online ........................................................................................................................ 72Tips for using the AppleCare Knowledge Base ............................................................................................ 72Related Links ................................................................................................................................................. 72

Organizing Information About Your Mac ................................................................................................. 73File computer, peripheral, and software information ................................................................................. 73Protect important CDs and DVDs ............................................................................................................... 73Keep a Mac Diary .......................................................................................................................................... 74

Protecting Against Power Problems ........................................................................................................... 75Protecting against power outages ................................................................................................................. 75

Disconnecting the power is a last resort ............................................................................................... 75Purchase an Uninterruptible Power Supply ........................................................................................ 75How a UPS keeps your computer running during a power outage .................................................... 75Buying a UPS ......................................................................................................................................... 76Automatic shutdown software .............................................................................................................. 77Using a UPS ........................................................................................................................................... 78

Protecting against power surges ................................................................................................................... 78Recovering from power problems ................................................................................................................ 78Related links .................................................................................................................................................. 78

Contents 5

Security ......................................................................................................................................................... 80About security ............................................................................................................................................... 80Apple security updates .................................................................................................................................. 80Physical security ............................................................................................................................................ 80

Temporarily locking your Mac ............................................................................................................. 80Automatically log out after a period of inactivity ................................................................................ 81Smart Cards ........................................................................................................................................... 81

Passwords....................................................................................................................................................... 81Choosing a secure password ................................................................................................................. 81The firmware password ......................................................................................................................... 81The Master Password ............................................................................................................................. 82Changing and resetting passwords ....................................................................................................... 82

Keychains ....................................................................................................................................................... 82Network security ........................................................................................................................................... 83

AirPort network security ....................................................................................................................... 83Routers ................................................................................................................................................... 83Firewalls ................................................................................................................................................. 83Router vs. firewall .................................................................................................................................. 84Virtual Private Networks ....................................................................................................................... 84

Data security.................................................................................................................................................. 84Access Control Lists ............................................................................................................................... 84Encrypted disk images .......................................................................................................................... 84FileVault ................................................................................................................................................. 85Secure data removal .............................................................................................................................. 85Secure Virtual Memory ......................................................................................................................... 86

Parental Controls .......................................................................................................................................... 86Enabling Parental Controls ................................................................................................................... 86Configuring Parental Controls ............................................................................................................. 87Disabling Parental Controls .................................................................................................................. 87Parental Controls caveats ...................................................................................................................... 88

Detecting and avoiding malware and spyware ............................................................................................ 89Hardening Mac OS X .................................................................................................................................... 90Related links .................................................................................................................................................. 90

Troubleshooting Mac OS X: A-Z ................................................................................................................. 91

General Mac OS X Troubleshooting .......................................................................................................... 95The last change may be the cause ................................................................................................................. 95If you suspect a software problem… ........................................................................................................... 95If you suspect a hardware problem… .......................................................................................................... 96Use your warranties and support agreements ............................................................................................. 96Seek help online ............................................................................................................................................ 96Related links .................................................................................................................................................. 96

Activity Monitor ........................................................................................................................................... 97About Activity Monitor ................................................................................................................................ 97Troubleshooting with Activity Monitor ....................................................................................................... 98

Checking CPU usage ............................................................................................................................. 98Checking RAM usage .......................................................................................................................... 100Checking free space on the startup disk ............................................................................................. 102Checking disk activity ......................................................................................................................... 103Checking network activity .................................................................................................................. 104Finding and terminating errant processes ......................................................................................... 105Sampling a process .............................................................................................................................. 107

Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 108

Contents 6

Airport Base Station and Time Capsule Status Lights ........................................................................... 109Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 109

Applications ................................................................................................................................................ 110About applications ...................................................................................................................................... 110

Mac OS X applications ........................................................................................................................ 11064-bit and 32-bit applications ............................................................................................................. 111Microsoft Windows applications ........................................................................................................ 111Installing applications ......................................................................................................................... 112Associating documents with applications .......................................................................................... 113Changing the preferred application that opens a document ............................................................ 115Opening a document in an application other than its preferred application .................................. 117Application preferences files ............................................................................................................... 118Preventing problems with applications .............................................................................................. 119Uninstalling applications .................................................................................................................... 119

Troubleshooting applications ..................................................................................................................... 120General application troubleshooting .................................................................................................. 121Force Quit ............................................................................................................................................ 122Deleting application preferences files ................................................................................................. 123Reset Launch Services.......................................................................................................................... 124

Resolving common problems with applications ....................................................................................... 1263D graphics performance problems on MacBook and MacBook Air .............................................. 126Applications open slowly .................................................................................................................... 126Application preferences reset to default values .................................................................................. 126Applications quit unexpectedly or fail to open .................................................................................. 127Applications are unresponsive ............................................................................................................ 127Cannot install an application .............................................................................................................. 128Cannot sync data with iSync or MobileMe ........................................................................................ 128Cannot use this version alert............................................................................................................... 128Documents open in the wrong applications ...................................................................................... 129Error -10660 attempting to open a document ................................................................................... 129Error -10810 opening an application ................................................................................................. 130iDVD ‘08 quits unexpectedly after installation .................................................................................. 130iTunes quits unexpectedly or fails to open ......................................................................................... 130Reinstalling an application bundled with Mac OS X ........................................................................ 130Reinstalling a factory-installed application ........................................................................................ 131Safari quits unexpectedly .................................................................................................................... 131Users must register a previously-registered application .................................................................... 132

Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 132

AVI and DivX Files ..................................................................................................................................... 133About AVI and DivX files ........................................................................................................................... 133Playing AVI and DivX files on Mac OS X .................................................................................................. 134Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 134

Burning CDs and DVDs ............................................................................................................................ 135About burning CDs and DVDs .................................................................................................................. 135Troubleshooting burning CDs and DVDs ................................................................................................. 136Resolving common problems burning CDs and DVDs ............................................................................ 137

You cannot burn a CD or DVD .......................................................................................................... 137Error code -43 when attempting to burn a disk ................................................................................ 137Error code -50 while burning a disc in iTunes ................................................................................... 137Error codes 0x80020022 or -2147352542 ........................................................................................... 138Error codes 0x80020025 or -2147352539 ........................................................................................... 138Error codes 0x80020060 or -2147352480; buffer underrun error .................................................... 139

Contents 7

Error codes 0x8002006D or -2147352467 .......................................................................................... 139Error codes 0x8002006E or -2147614830 .......................................................................................... 140Optical media do not mount or appear on the desktop .................................................................... 141Problems with DVD-RAM discs ......................................................................................................... 142Unknown Error alert while burning .................................................................................................. 142

Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 143

Cache Cleaning ........................................................................................................................................... 144About cache cleaning .................................................................................................................................. 144Side effects of System cache cleaning ......................................................................................................... 145Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 145

Console and Crash Logs ............................................................................................................................ 146About Console ............................................................................................................................................. 146Troubleshooting with Console ................................................................................................................... 149

Set up Console for troubleshooting.................................................................................................... 149Checking Console for clues ................................................................................................................. 150Examining some common messages .................................................................................................. 150

Troubleshooting Console............................................................................................................................ 153Resolving common Console problems ...................................................................................................... 153

Changes to windows applied to all windows when Console is reopened ......................................... 153About crash logs .......................................................................................................................................... 154

Application crash logs ......................................................................................................................... 155System-related crash logs .................................................................................................................... 155Panic logs ............................................................................................................................................. 155

Troubleshooting with crash logs ................................................................................................................ 156The case of the corrupted calendar .................................................................................................... 157The case of the third-party mouse...................................................................................................... 157The case of the corrupted preference file ........................................................................................... 158Obtaining help with crash logs ........................................................................................................... 158

Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 158

Dashboard .................................................................................................................................................. 159About Dashboard ........................................................................................................................................ 159

Opening and closing Dashboard ........................................................................................................ 160Included widgets .................................................................................................................................. 160Opening widgets .................................................................................................................................. 160Closing widgets .................................................................................................................................... 161Configuring a widget’s preferences ..................................................................................................... 161Installing and removing widgets ......................................................................................................... 161Refreshing widgets ............................................................................................................................... 161Preferences files for Dashboard and widgets ...................................................................................... 162Finding new widgets ............................................................................................................................ 162Developing widgets ............................................................................................................................. 162

Troubleshooting Dashboard ....................................................................................................................... 163Troubleshooting an individual widget ............................................................................................... 164Testing third-party widgets ................................................................................................................. 165Reset Dashboard .................................................................................................................................. 166Recovering text from lost or removed Stickies ................................................................................... 167Recover Stickies text from a copy of the Stickies preferences file ...................................................... 168

Resolving common Dashboard problems ................................................................................................. 168DashboardClient consumes increasing amounts of memory ........................................................... 168DashboardClient quit unexpectedly ................................................................................................... 168Removed widgets reappear in Dashboard after syncing with MobileMe ......................................... 169Weather widget displays data for the wrong city ............................................................................... 169

Contents 8

Web Clip widget is blank ..................................................................................................................... 169Widget displays no data ...................................................................................................................... 169

Related Links ............................................................................................................................................... 170

Data Recovery ............................................................................................................................................. 171Data loss scenarios ...................................................................................................................................... 171

You trashed important files but have not emptied the Trash ............................................................ 171You trashed important files and emptied the Trash .......................................................................... 171You initialized your hard drive ........................................................................................................... 171Your hard drive has crashed or your Mac is severely damaged ......................................................... 171

Data recovery utilities ................................................................................................................................. 172If you cannot start up your Mac from a data recovery utility disc ................................................... 172

Data recovery services ................................................................................................................................. 172Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 173

Disk Images ................................................................................................................................................ 174About disk images ....................................................................................................................................... 174Troubleshooting disk images ...................................................................................................................... 175Resolving common problems with disk images ........................................................................................ 176

Cannot eject a disk image because it is in use .................................................................................... 176Disk image…may be damaged… alert ............................................................................................... 176Disk images fails to mount .................................................................................................................. 177Disk images mount slowly .................................................................................................................. 177Spotlight does not index disk images when mounted ....................................................................... 178

Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 178

The Dock ..................................................................................................................................................... 179About the Dock ........................................................................................................................................... 179

Getting the most from the Dock ......................................................................................................... 180Troubleshooting the Dock .......................................................................................................................... 181

General Dock troubleshooting ........................................................................................................... 181Quit and relaunch the Dock ............................................................................................................... 181Reset the Dock ..................................................................................................................................... 181

Resolving common Dock problems ........................................................................................................... 182Application fails to open when clicking its Dock icon ...................................................................... 182Cannot add or remove icons in the Dock ......................................................................................... 182Folder aliases within folders do no list contents ................................................................................ 182Lost @ icon in the Dock ...................................................................................................................... 183Many icons accidentally dropped into the Dock ............................................................................... 183Minimized QuickTime movies do not play in the Dock ................................................................... 183

Related Links ............................................................................................................................................... 183

Fast User Switching .................................................................................................................................... 184About Fast User Switching .......................................................................................................................... 184Troubleshooting Fast User Switching ........................................................................................................ 185Resolving common Fast User Switching problems ................................................................................... 185

Cannot restart or shut down with Fast User Switching ..................................................................... 185Character Viewer or Keyboard Viewer appear persistently ............................................................... 186Cube effect does not appear when switching users ........................................................................... 186Internet connection drops when switching users .............................................................................. 186

Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 187

FileVault ...................................................................................................................................................... 188About FileVault ........................................................................................................................................... 188

FileVault caveats, restrictions, and side effects ................................................................................... 189

Contents 9

Should I use FileVault? ........................................................................................................................ 190Before enabling FileVault… ................................................................................................................ 190

Troubleshooting FileVault .......................................................................................................................... 190Resolving common FileVault problems .................................................................................................... 191

Account appears to have been reset to a new account ....................................................................... 191Cannot enable or disable FileVault ..................................................................................................... 191Forgotten password for a FileVault-protected account ..................................................................... 192

Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 192

Finder .......................................................................................................................................................... 193About Finder ............................................................................................................................................... 193

Hidden and invisible files .................................................................................................................... 193Troubleshooting Finder .............................................................................................................................. 193

Install Refresh Finder .......................................................................................................................... 194Relaunch Finder................................................................................................................................... 194Delete Finder preferences .................................................................................................................... 195

Troubleshooting third-party Quick Look generators ............................................................................... 198Delete Quick Look preferences ........................................................................................................... 198Determine installed Quick Look generators ...................................................................................... 199

Resolving common Finder problems ......................................................................................................... 200Error -10810 attempting to relaunch Finder ..................................................................................... 200Finder displays incorrect date or time for files or folders.................................................................. 200Finder is slow when moving or copying many files ........................................................................... 200Finder quits unexpectedly or relaunches repeatedly after log in ...................................................... 200Finder quits unexpectedly or stops responding ................................................................................. 201Finder relaunches when attempting to open a folder ........................................................................ 201Finder returns error code -10660 when opening a document .......................................................... 201Open With lists multiple copies of the same application .................................................................. 202Quick Look does not work .................................................................................................................. 202Recent Items is not working ................................................................................................................ 202Restoring an object removed from the sidebar .................................................................................. 202Spotlight Comments are not saved on remote volumes .................................................................... 203Unable to copy, move, or modify an object ........................................................................................ 203

Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 204

Finding Corrupted Files ............................................................................................................................ 205About corrupted files .................................................................................................................................. 205Troubleshooting corrupted files ................................................................................................................. 205Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 205

FireWire Problems ..................................................................................................................................... 206About FireWire............................................................................................................................................ 206Troubleshooting FireWire .......................................................................................................................... 207Resolving common FireWire problems ..................................................................................................... 210

Problems saving files to FireWire drives ............................................................................................. 210Slow data transfer when videoconferencing ...................................................................................... 210

Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 210

Fonts ............................................................................................................................................................ 211About fonts .................................................................................................................................................. 211

Font management ................................................................................................................................ 211Previewing uninstalled fonts ............................................................................................................... 211Protected fonts ..................................................................................................................................... 212Safe Mode ............................................................................................................................................. 212

Troubleshooting fonts ................................................................................................................................. 213

Contents 10

Corrupted fonts ................................................................................................................................... 213Font cache corruption ......................................................................................................................... 213Incompatible fonts .............................................................................................................................. 214Missing or disabled fonts .................................................................................................................... 214

Resolving common font problems ............................................................................................................. 215Fonts window missing columns or controls ...................................................................................... 215Text appears garbled ............................................................................................................................ 215

Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 216

Font Book.................................................................................................................................................... 217About Font Book ......................................................................................................................................... 217

Validating fonts .................................................................................................................................... 220Avoiding common problems from misunderstanding Font Book ................................................... 221

Troubleshooting Font Book........................................................................................................................ 222Delete Font Book preferences ............................................................................................................. 222Check permissions of folders important to Font Book ..................................................................... 223Check for corrupted font collections.................................................................................................. 223Reset Font Book ................................................................................................................................... 224

Resolving common Font Book problems .................................................................................................. 224Cannot change or install fonts in the User library ............................................................................. 224Cannot create new font collections or change existing collections ................................................... 224

Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 224

Freeing Space on Your Startup Disk ......................................................................................................... 225Determining available space on your startup disk .................................................................................... 225Simple ways to increase available space ..................................................................................................... 225What about moving my Home folder or the Users folders? ..................................................................... 227Related Links ............................................................................................................................................... 227

Freezes and Hangs ...................................................................................................................................... 228Troubleshooting freezes and hangs ............................................................................................................ 228

An application is unresponsive, frozen, or hung ............................................................................... 228Your Mac is unresponsive, frozen, or hung ........................................................................................ 228

Killing processes remotely using SSH ........................................................................................................ 228Manually forcing a shutdown or restart .................................................................................................... 233Determining the cause of a freeze or hang ................................................................................................ 233

Resolving persistent application freezes ............................................................................................. 233Resolving persistent system freezes ..................................................................................................... 233

Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 233

Hard Drive Sleep ........................................................................................................................................ 234About hard drive sleep ................................................................................................................................ 234

To sleep or not to sleep? ...................................................................................................................... 234Energy Saver preferences and hard drive sleep .................................................................................. 235Issues with hard drive sleep ................................................................................................................. 235

Troubleshooting hard drive sleep ............................................................................................................... 236Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 237

Hardware Testing ....................................................................................................................................... 238Apple Hardware Test .................................................................................................................................. 238

Using the Apple Hardware Test ........................................................................................................... 238Loop Mode ........................................................................................................................................... 239

RAM testing................................................................................................................................................. 239Other hardware testing utilities .................................................................................................................. 240

Micromat TechTool Deluxe ................................................................................................................. 240Micromat TechTool Pro ...................................................................................................................... 240USB software debuggers ...................................................................................................................... 240

Related Links ............................................................................................................................................... 240

Contents 11

Help Viewer ................................................................................................................................................ 241About Help Viewer ...................................................................................................................................... 241Troubleshooting Help Viewer ..................................................................................................................... 243

Reset Help Viewer ................................................................................................................................ 243Check for broken help book aliases .................................................................................................... 244Check for corrupt or incompatible help books ................................................................................. 245

Resolving common Help Viewer problems ............................................................................................... 246Connection failed alert when opening help ....................................................................................... 246Help Viewer quits unexpectedly or displays a blank window ........................................................... 246Help Viewer does not list help for a specific application ................................................................... 246HVURLHandlerDomainError error 1002 when opening help ........................................................ 247Modem connects to the Internet when opening help ....................................................................... 247

Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 247

Isolating Troublesome Peripherals .......................................................................................................... 248Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 249

Kernel Panics .............................................................................................................................................. 250About kernel panics .................................................................................................................................... 250

General causes of kernel panics .......................................................................................................... 251Known causes of kernel panics ........................................................................................................... 251

Troubleshooting kernel panics ................................................................................................................... 252Troubleshooting roadmap .................................................................................................................. 253Troubleshooting table.......................................................................................................................... 254Troubleshooting third-party kernel extensions ................................................................................. 255

Using and interpreting panic logs .............................................................................................................. 256Troubleshooting with panic logs ............................................................................................................... 261

Example 1: Simple Backtrace Analysis .............................................................................................. 261Example 2: No kernel loadable modules in the Backtrace ................................................................ 262Example 3: Hard drive problems ........................................................................................................ 263

Obtaining help with panic logs .................................................................................................................. 264Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 264

Keyboards and Keyboard Shortcuts......................................................................................................... 265About keyboards and keyboard shortcuts ................................................................................................. 265Troubleshooting keyboards ........................................................................................................................ 266Troubleshooting keyboard shortcuts ......................................................................................................... 267Resolving common keyboard problems .................................................................................................... 268

Images of keys appear on the screen while typing ............................................................................. 268Keyboard Viewer or Character Viewer appear unexpectedly ............................................................ 268Long delay between pressing keys and characters appearing ............................................................ 268No visual feedback from Brightness, Eject, or Volume keys .............................................................. 269Numeric keypad does not work .......................................................................................................... 269One key fails to work ........................................................................................................................... 269Sounds accompany typing .................................................................................................................. 269Startup keyboard shortcuts do not work ........................................................................................... 270Volume keys do not provide audible feedback .................................................................................. 270

Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 270

Keychains .................................................................................................................................................... 271About keychains .......................................................................................................................................... 271

Keychain passwords and keychain locking ......................................................................................... 271

Contents 12

Reset Safari ........................................................................................................................................... 272Troubleshooting keychains ......................................................................................................................... 272Resolving common keychain problems ..................................................................................................... 272

Frequently prompted for keychain password..................................................................................... 272Resetting Safari removes Web site accounts and passwords from keychain ..................................... 273Secure Notes appear garbled after syncing or copying keychain ...................................................... 273

Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 273

Login ........................................................................................................................................................... 274About login .................................................................................................................................................. 274Troubleshooting login problems ................................................................................................................ 274Resolving common login problems ........................................................................................................... 274

Insecure Startup Items alert after log in ............................................................................................. 274Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 274

Mac OS X Maintenance Scripts ................................................................................................................ 275About the Mac OS X maintenance scripts ................................................................................................. 275Manually running the maintenance scripts ............................................................................................... 275

Why run the maintenance scripts manually? ..................................................................................... 276Reviewing the logs from maintenance scripts ........................................................................................... 276Verifying maintenance script execution ..................................................................................................... 277Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 277

Mac OS X Standalone Updates ................................................................................................................. 278About Mac OS X standalone updates ........................................................................................................ 278Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 278

Mac-Windows Integration ........................................................................................................................ 279About Mac-Windows Integration .............................................................................................................. 279

Caveats and limitations of Mac-Windows Integration ..................................................................... 280Troubleshooting Mac-Windows Integration ............................................................................................. 281Resolving common Mac-Windows integration problems ........................................................................ 281

Error -43 when using Windows file sharing....................................................................................... 281Finder does not reflect additions to a Windows shared folder ......................................................... 281Unable to connect to a Mac from Windows a computer................................................................... 282Unable to connect to a Windows computer from a Mac................................................................... 282Unable to copy files to a Windows computer from a Mac ............................................................... 282Unable to find a Windows computer in the Network browser ......................................................... 282

Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 283

Make Yourself the Owner of an Object ................................................................................................... 284Determining privileges and ownership ...................................................................................................... 284Obtain Read & Write privileges and ownership of an object ................................................................... 285Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 285

Migration Assistant ................................................................................................................................... 286About Setup Assistant and Migration Assistant ........................................................................................ 286Move to a new Mac from an old Mac ........................................................................................................ 286Move to a new Mac or Mac OS X installation from a backup .................................................................. 287Old Mac pre-migration checklist ............................................................................................................... 288New Mac pre-migration checklist .............................................................................................................. 289Post-migration activities ............................................................................................................................. 289Troubleshooting Migration Assistant ........................................................................................................ 290Resolving common post-migration problems .......................................................................................... 291

Contents 13

Aperture 2 quits unexpectedly ............................................................................................................ 291Applications or preference panes do open after migration ............................................................... 291Network connection failed migrating from Mac OS X 10.4.11 ....................................................... 292

Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 292

Mouse and Trackpad Problems ................................................................................................................ 293Troubleshooting mouse problems ............................................................................................................. 293Troubleshooting trackpad problems .......................................................................................................... 295Resolving common mouse and trackpad problems .................................................................................. 296

Black rectangle appears and follows the mouse pointer .................................................................... 296Handwriting input menu does not appear in menu extras ............................................................... 297

Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 297

Networking ................................................................................................................................................. 298About networking ....................................................................................................................................... 298

Local networks ..................................................................................................................................... 298AirPort networks ................................................................................................................................. 298Connecting to the Internet and Internet connection sharing ........................................................... 300File sharing ........................................................................................................................................... 300Networking in different locations ....................................................................................................... 300Remote access to your Mac ................................................................................................................. 301

Troubleshooting networks .......................................................................................................................... 302Resolving common networking problems ................................................................................................. 303

Cannot connect to .local hostnames .................................................................................................. 303Cannot connect to an 802.11n-only network .................................................................................... 303Cannot connect to the Internet with a new AirPort base station ..................................................... 303Cannot download large files ............................................................................................................... 303Cannot join an iChat audio or video chat .......................................................................................... 304Cannot send or receive e-mail using Mail .......................................................................................... 304Cannot transfer files between Macs via Bluetooth ............................................................................ 304Error -50 downloading iTunes Store purchases ................................................................................. 304Problems with simultaneously sharing files and connecting to the Internet ................................... 305Internet connection terminates unexpectedly ................................................................................... 305Web pages or downloads fail to load or complete, respectively ........................................................ 305

Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 306

Performance ............................................................................................................................................... 307About performance ..................................................................................................................................... 307Troubleshooting performance problems ................................................................................................... 308Resolving common performance problems .............................................................................................. 308

Process kernel_task using high CPU .................................................................................................. 308Processes mds, mdimport, and mdworker are using high CPU ....................................................... 308SystemUIServer shows high CPU usage or is frozen or hung ........................................................... 309

Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 309

Plug-ins and Input Managers ................................................................................................................... 310About plug-ins and input managers .......................................................................................................... 310

Plug-Ins ................................................................................................................................................ 310Input managers .................................................................................................................................... 312

Troubleshooting plug-ins ........................................................................................................................... 312User-installed vs. system-wide plug-ins ............................................................................................. 313Problems with application-specific plug-ins ...................................................................................... 313Problems with plug-ins for Mac OS X technologies .......................................................................... 314

Contents 14

Preventing plug-in problems .............................................................................................................. 314Troubleshooting input managers ............................................................................................................... 315Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 316

Printing and Printer Sharing .................................................................................................................... 317About printing and printer sharing ........................................................................................................... 317

Challenges in sharing Mac printers with Windows users .................................................................. 318Troubleshooting printing and printer sharing .......................................................................................... 319

Troubleshooting printing .................................................................................................................... 319Troubleshooting printer sharing ......................................................................................................... 319Troubleshooting with CUPS ............................................................................................................... 320

Resolving common printing and printer sharing problems ..................................................................... 320Cannot print to a printer connected via USB-to-Parallel cable or adapter ...................................... 320Canon wireless printers missing in Print dialogs............................................................................... 320Scale option does not work when printing from Preview ................................................................. 320Shared printers cannot be seen on the local network ........................................................................ 320

Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 321

Problems from Insufficient RAM and Free Disk Space ......................................................................... 322About memory management in Mac OS X .............................................................................................. 322Determining if your system is at risk ......................................................................................................... 322

Determine the available space on the startup disk ........................................................................... 323Determine the amount of paging the system is performing ............................................................. 323

Permanently resolving the problems ........................................................................................................ 324Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 324

Reinstalling Mac OS X ............................................................................................................................... 325Reinstalling Snow Leopard ......................................................................................................................... 325Erasing and reinstalling Snow Leopard ..................................................................................................... 326Reverting to a prior version of Snow Leopard........................................................................................... 327

Repair Disk Process ................................................................................................................................... 328About Repair Disk ....................................................................................................................................... 328

Repairing your Mac OS X startup disk ............................................................................................... 328Devices, partitions, and volumes in Disk Utility ............................................................................... 328

General Repair Disk process ....................................................................................................................... 329Repair your Mac OS X startup disk ........................................................................................................... 330Repair volumes other than your startup disk ............................................................................................ 331Repair volumes using a bootable duplicate ............................................................................................... 331The emergency Repair Disk process .......................................................................................................... 332Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 332

Repair Permissions Process ...................................................................................................................... 333About Repair Disk Permissions .................................................................................................................. 333Repair Permissions from your startup disk ............................................................................................... 334Repair Permissions from the Mac OS X install disc .................................................................................. 335Repair Permissions in Terminal ................................................................................................................. 336Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 336

Reset Home Folder Permissions ............................................................................................................... 337

Resolving Disk, Permission, and Cache Corruption .............................................................................. 338Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 338

Safe Mode .................................................................................................................................................... 339About Safe Mode ......................................................................................................................................... 339Performing a Safe Boot for Safe Mode ....................................................................................................... 339Safe Login .................................................................................................................................................... 339Starting up in Safe Mode from the Startup Manager ................................................................................ 340

Contents 15

Scanners ...................................................................................................................................................... 341About scanners ........................................................................................................................................... 341Troubleshooting scanners ........................................................................................................................... 341Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 342

Shutdown .................................................................................................................................................... 343About shutdown.......................................................................................................................................... 343Troubleshooting shutdown ........................................................................................................................ 343Resolving common shutdown problems ................................................................................................... 344

Cannot shut down while using Fast User Switching.......................................................................... 344Mac restarts after shutdown ................................................................................................................ 344Mac will not shut down....................................................................................................................... 344

Related links ................................................................................................................................................ 345

Sleep ............................................................................................................................................................ 346About Sleep ................................................................................................................................................. 346

Sleep vs. Shut Down ............................................................................................................................ 346Power management in Mac OS X .........................................................................