Fresno Mac Software Troubleshooting Service: We can help with Mac software troubleshooting
On Monday, you have a perfectly functional piece of Mac software. On Wednesday, you notice some of its features are sluggish or not performing quite as expected. By Friday, the software just refuses to work! You’ve tried rebooting, reinstalling, winding back, rolling forward, but every which way you shimmy, this infuriating software package refuses to play nice.
What happened? How can perfectly software go bad? And why do bad things happen to good people?
We feel your pain! We’re here to help. We’re Nerds On Call. Our mission is to help the good folk of Fresno with their computing problems — and that includes helping you with the hair-tearing-out frustrations of Mac software troubleshooting. So if you need help with uncooperative software on your Mac, give us a call on 1-800-919-6373. Wherever you are in Fresno, one of our computer techs can come to you with a guru’s grab bag of Mac software troubleshooting know-how.
Before you call, though, try this handful of simple DIY Mac software troubleshooting tricks. While these won’t solve every problem you face, they’re a great place to start.
Problems with just one piece of software
Your first challenge is to figure out if you’re Mac software troubleshooting one piece of software or several. Take a moment to open all of your main applications and watch for error messages. Are there common threads? Are all your Microsoft products misbehaving, for example? Or are your failing software packages related to one kind of task? Or, after sniffing around, are you sure the problem is confined to just one software package?
Let’s assume your Mac software troubleshooting problem only affects one software title. Here’s what to do next.
1. See if the software requires updating
Fire up your Mac App Store. See the updates tab? Click on that and check to see if the software has an update pending. If so, go ahead and hit the update button and test the software to see if your Mac software troubleshooting problem is now resolved.
2. Test with other files
Next, let’s check to see if your problem originates from the software or the files it’s trying to open. For example, you may be trying to open a particular spreadsheet in MS Excel. Try creating a new file. Is the problem still evident? If not, your software may be fine, but the file you’re trying to open may be corrupt.
3. Delete and reinstall the app
This Mac software troubleshooting step is a bit more involved. If you aren’t feeling confident, call us at 1-800-919-6373, and we’ll be happy to send a trained Fresno computer tech to your door. Uninstall the software by dragging its icon (you’ll find it in the Applications Folder) to your trash can. Try reinstalling from scratch, preferably using only the default settings at first.
Mac software troubleshooting across multiple apps
So, let’s go back to that first foray into Mac software troubleshooting when you tried to figure out whether your problem was happening in just one app or if the problem manifested across multiple apps. Let’s hone in on the latter scenario.
1. Create a new user account
If your software problems are happening in titles in the same ecosystem — for example, Microsoft or Adobe — then your account configuration may be the problem. One easy way to rule that out is to create a new account and login as that user. If your account configuration is to blame, your next Mac software troubleshooting step is to contact their help desk and describe your problem. They can help you clear your account of troublesome data and start over.
2. Reset your Mac’s cache files
Next, let’s take a closer look at your Mac’s cache. A cache is a place where your computer stores those files it uses regularly. Your Mac’s cache makes it zippier, but when it becomes corrupt, your Mac’s operating system can slow to a crawl as it attempts to draw from files that no longer work.
This Mac software troubleshooting step is a bit fiddly. First open Finder. Then pull down the Go menu and select Go to Folder. Then type ~/Library/Caches/ and click Go. Move all the contents of that folder to a temporary folder on your desktop. Just delete that folder from your desktop if your problem suddenly vanished. If the problem persists, you may as well put the files back.
3. Try the software in safe mode
Failing that, the next Mac software troubleshooting step is to open your Mac in safe mode, which is just a pared-down running state where many of your drivers and settings are temporarily switched off. To start in safe mode, simply shut down your Mac, then turn it on while holding down the shift key. If everything appears to work perfectly in safe mode, your software might be impacted by a hardware or driver issue. If you aren’t all that keen about the idea of tinkering with your Mac’s insides, just drop Fresno Nerds On Call a line via our contact page. We can help.
Mac software troubleshooting stressing you out? We can help.
If you tried those steps above only to hit a Mac software troubleshooting dead end, don’t despair. These tricks are only the tip of a veritable nerdish iceberg of potential solutions. One of our friendly Fresno computer techs can come to your home and perform a complete system diagnostic and Mac software troubleshooting. Whatever the problem, we’ll find it.Just give us a call at 1-800-919-6373 or use our contact form for a professional Mac software troubleshooting service.
