nCity Support

Housecalls:: While we no longer make housecalls like we once did, we will happily recommend local Mac techs who do. Driving used to take a considerable amount of time out of each day, time better applied to services provided here in the shop. We have access to countless resources here that are unavailable on the road, and we can respond to calls faster while saving travel expenses - all of which tends to reduce service cost and improve efficiency. In any case, p-p-please don't trust your Mac to a PC tech for experimentation; call someone who knows the Macintosh.
Shop services:: I realize that some folks may be reluctant to disconnect cables and haul equipment around, but we make it as easy as we can. We have most cables, adapters and connectors, monitors, input/output gizmos, and AC power modules for Mac notebooks, the Cube and MacMini. In most cases, all you need to bring is the computer (CPU) itself; leave monitors, keyboards and all your cables behind.
Please make an appointment.: We schedule appointments to accommodate our clients as best we can, so that we can provide our undivided attention to our clients' needs. Machines come here from all over the County, including some pretty rural, remote areas you probably won't find on any map; we will do whatever we can to make your visit to the MacShack as convenient for you as possible.
Online and phone support:: We spend too much time on the telephone, no doubt about it, but answering questions for our clients is part of what we do. The quality of phone support you receive - whether you call nCity, Apple, or anybody else - is directly proportional to the amount of info you have available, and your ability to communicate that information. It might help to have your Mac up and running when you call, just in case we can find a solution over the phone.
: The _best_ way to communicate questions (and answers) is thru the use of email. eMail is the only form of communication that allows inclusion of links, screen shots, attachments and printable step-by-step instructions. We check email every morning and periodically thru the course of the day, so you should receive a reply quickly, certainly within 24 hours.

Help is here:

Help Viewer's window, as opened from System Preferences' Help menu.
: Use the Mac's extensive Help Viewer for information and assistance with both System and application program setup, operation and details. Help menus are contextual; in addition to Help subject matter changing based on your present location within the OS and Finder, each application you open has its own Help menu, too. In fact, many applications have what amounts to a complete manual posted under their Help menus which provide almost anything you might want to know. I've always been a big fan of printed, paperback manuals (especially those with an exhaustive index), but using the Help menu has many advantages, not the least of which is cross-referencing and the ability to search for a given keyword.
: Apple's application programs tend to include the best of both worlds; a printed manual with installation instructions and enough info to get you started, complimented by an onscreen Help reference that covers more detailed and specific information.
: A Help menu is always available in your menubar. In addition, small question mark Help buttons appear in most dialog boxes and directory windows to answer questions and assist with decisions you'll be making along the way:
View Settings:

The Column View (View Menu) is the new choice for default in OSX Finder views. It combines the best of both List and Icon views, with the added benefits of graphic previews and inline file information. Icon View will be most familiar to longtime Mac users and retains all features from previous versions.

Folders containing multiple files with similar or identical icons might best appear in List View.

Window in Column View.

Keyboard and Mouse:

Use the Keyboard and Mouse System Prefs to set mouse tracking to fastest acceptable speed; laptops can be set to literally send cursor flying across the screen, and include "tap" functions that can replace mouse button. Custom keyboard settings will also improve machine's "feel."

An Eject (disk) Menu may be activated in the Menubar using appropriate option found under the Keyboard tab.

Keyboard Shortcuts:

Default keyboard shortcuts are also displayed in the Keyboard and Mouse controls; these may be programmed or modified as needed.

Customize the Dock:

A significant enhancement to the Mac's elegant interface, the Dock is always available; used as a shortcut to organize and launch apps and files (drag-and-drop), for navigation and system status. Don't hesitate to add applications and frequently used files to the Dock: Dragging any icon to the Dock automatically creates an alias there, while leaving original file in place. The Dock may also be customized in a variety of ways (System Prefs), including size, screen location and special effects.

Blank screen on wake from sleep:

Workarounds include turning off Energy Saver in System Preferences; manually selecting sleep then waking machine a few times (closing and opening laptops will work, too); press power button to produce shutdown dialog box, then cancel shutdown; and, changing your screen resolution in System Preferences -> Displays pane. If this problem is persistent, there may be some sort of software conflict going on, something running in the background, or it could be hardware related.

Machine wakes to blank screen.
Kernel Panics:: These may be related to a specific application or utility program, a corrupt Operating System file, or they may be symptomatic of a hardware issue. Use Disk Utility to repair permissions (startup from your OS CD or DVD disk 1 if necessary), repair permissions and verify/repair hard drive. See Kernel Panics section for more grisly details (link in sidebar, left).

Startup with command-line prompt:: Machine's PRAM needs to be reset. Restart, then _immediately_ press key the combination Command+Option+P+R until you hear two startup tones. Or, reset PRAM from the command-line by typing "reset-nvram" then press Return Key, followed by "reset-all" at the Open Firmware prompt and another Return (assuming firmware is not password protected). Your machine should now restart normally.

Abnormal Startup tones:: If you hear a series of beeps on startup, it usually means one or more RAM DIMMs have either failed or were just installed and are out of spec. Remove any third-party RAM and try restarting. If all installed RAM is original equipment, try removing one DIMM at a time between restarts until failed RAM is identified.
Blinking question mark on startup:

This usually means the Operating System cannot be found, and causes range from simple to severe. First suspect is whatever was installed or changed last time the machine was running. Try starting up from your OS CD or DVD, and try to undo whatever change was made previously - and Run Disk Utility on the hard disk while you're at it. Make sure you have a startup disk selected in System Preferences -> Startup Disk pane. If machine still refuses to startup, it may be time to bring it in for analysis;reinstalling your Operating System is usually a last resort. If your hard drive is malfunctioning, data recovery services may be required.

Machine unable to locate an Operating System.
System Preferences (controls) not responding:: Check cables and connectors first. Move keyboard and mouse to a different USB port, and make sure connectors are firmly seated. Sometimes moving a window will prompt a screen refresh (not a good sign, by the way, especially if cursor seems to hang periodically). You may have run out of memory (RAM), or perhaps you need to force quit an application that has stopped responding.
: This might also be the result of having more than one System installed on a single drive or partition. Utility programs (including Disk Utility) will find nothing wrong, application software may operate normally, but device drivers can seemingly "disappear" and all sorts of confusion can result. Only one OS is allowed on an ATA volume; backup copies must reside on a different partition or volume. Use modified dates and file size information from Get Info windows to sort out unnecessary OS copies.

Machine refuses to boot from OS CD/DVD, or OS installation fails:: System disk may be defective. If pressing "C" key, "D" key or Option key during startup doesn't work, either that disk is not a bootable disk or is has been damaged. See if the disk appears as an option in the Startup Disk control panel (System Prefs). Sometimes a CD/DVD can be repaired, so if the disk in question is a known-good OS disk - or at least it used to be - it might be worth taking to a video store to be polished.
: One giveaway symptom of a corrupt/defective disk is if CD/DVD's installer program has a generic "dog-eared page" icon. Another check is to boot from any available System, then open the suspect disk's window; an alias should appear named "Install OSX." Select the installer alias and choose "Show Original" from File Menu; if this results in a disk error message, the System CD is kaput.

About This Mac:

Selecting "About This Mac" from the Apple Menu provides OS version and installed RAM information and identifies the machine's processor(s).

Much more complete and detailed specs can be found in System Profile under the More Info button, where you'll find almost anything you might want to know about your Mac.....
System Profile:

: Illustrated above is System Profile's Memory pane showing specifications on each installed memory module in each available slot. Equally detailed and specific information is also available for every drive, card, port, and device. System Profile lists all application programs present, System extensions (which are nothing like the old style extensions), all network info, and much more.
Get Info:

Click any volume, folder, file or icon and choose "Get Info" from the File Menu to learn all there is to know about the object at hand, including creation and modified dates, location and size.

Get Info windows are especially useful for sorting through duplicate files when cleaning house. Open and compare info on duplicate files to find out which is newest and/or largest. Based on these comparisons, a decision can be made regarding which file to keep and which to delete.

These two file were selected individually; selecting multiple files and using Get Info on them simultaneously results in a combined info window.

Multiple Item Info:

With two or more files selected, the Get Info command produces a single window with combined statistics. This example is a result of selecting the same two documents examined individually above.

By the way, checking the Locked box in a Get Info window prevents the file from being deleted if it accidentally ends up in the trash.

Serial Number:

Somewhere on all CPUs is a sticker with the machine's serial number (and a bar code). Locations vary by model; it may be on the back, bottom or inside, behind a drive door or user access panel, inside a battery compartment or under a keyboard. It should be available in the System Profile. Machines are identified by serial number when addressing standard or extended warranty matters or component service issues.

Serial number in System Profile's Hardware specs.

Recording system, network and email Info:

Having system specifications, serial numbers, dates and details written down somewhere can be handy if tech support becomes necessary.

Having passwords, login and account information also safely stored away can be more than helpful if passwords and such go missing - it can be critical. The CheatSheet (button, right) may be used to record machine specs and/or login, network and email settings, and your passwords - just be sure to store any personal info in a secure location.

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