# 3700- Troubleshooting Software Issues on the Macintosh® This document contains information about diagnosing and resolving issues encountered when launching or using software on a Macintosh®. Extension and Control Panel Conflicts Extensions and Control Panels devices are items that get load into memory at startup. They change the way the operating system works. Sometimes these extensions can create conflicts with the software. Extensions are found in the SYSTEM\EXTENSIONS folder, and the Control Panels are found in the SYSTEM\CONTROL PANEL folder. If you are running System 7.0 through to 7.1.2: 1. Create new folders called EXT DISABLED and CONTROL PANELS DISABLED outside of the SYSTEM Folder. 2. Drag all extensions from the SYSTEM\EXTENSIONS folder, into the EXT DISABLED folder. Drag the Control Panels from the SYSTEM\CONTROL PANEL folder into the CONTROL PANELS DISABLED folder 3. Restart the computer. If the issue is resolved, you must isolate the problematic extension or Control Panel by dragging back one at a time onto the closed SYSTEM folder, and restarting the Macintosh each time. Use a process of elimination to isolate the problem. 4. After isolating the extension(s) or Control Panel, check the version number for compatibility, or try reinstalling it. You may also wish to disable that device, and contact the original vendor for more information. 5. If you cannot isolate the error, perform a Clean Installation of the Operating System. Refer to the Mac™ OS manual or contact Apple (http://www.apple.com) for further assistance. If you are running System 7.5x or later: The above method can be used in System 7.5x or later, however, Apple includes a utility called Extensions Manager to help resolve this. This utility can be accessed by clicking the Apple Menu, and choosing the Control Panels. You can use Extensions Manager to selectively turn on and off individual Extensions or Control Panels, and save your selections in a set. Activated items have a check mark next to them while items without check marks are turned off. Refer to the Mac OS guide for more information. 1. Open the Extensions Manager from Control Panels, and save or make a copy of the current set of extensions being used. 2. Turn off all items in the Extensions, Control Panels, System, StartUp and Shutdown sections. Note: You may also choose the All Off set for testing purposes. If access to the CD-ROM is required then be sure to leave this extension turned on. 3. Restart the computer, and try to duplicate the problem. 4. If the conflict is resolved, Open Control Panels and the Extension Manager and turn on one item at a time, restarting the computer each time to test for the conflict. 5. After isolating the extension(s) causing your conflict, ensure you have the correct version of the extension. You may also wish to disable that device, and contact the original vendor for more information. 6. If you cannot isolate the error, perform a Clean Installation of the Operating System. Refer to the Mac™ OS manual or contact Apple (http://www.apple.com) for further assistance. Note: The Extensions Manager allows you to save working extensions under different set names. By holding the space bar down when you restart the computer, the Extensions Manager will launch and you can select a specific set name. The Program Fails to Launch or it Quits Unexpectedly There are a number of reasons an application may stop responding when launching. Some of the more common reasons are, not meeting the minimum system requirements, insufficient memory installed in the computer, or insufficient free hard drive space. If this occurs, try the following steps: 1. Ensure the computer meets the software's minimum system requirements. 2. Quit other programs to free up memory, and attempt to launch the application again. 3. Restart the computer to clear memory, and attempt to launch the application again. 4. Turn on Virtual Memory. Under the Apple menu, choose Control Panels, Memory. Turn Virtual Memory on, and restart the computer. Depending on free hard drive space, the Virtual Memory setting should be twice as much as the available built-in memory. 5. Use the Get Info Window to allocate more memory to the program. Click the application's Finder icon, and click Get Info from the Finder's File menu. Try increasing both the minimum and preferred memory size. 6 Drag the program's preferences (found in the SYSTEM\PREFERENCES) to an untitled folder on the desktop. Preferences can become corrupted, and will usually get rebuilt after restarting the program. If they do not get rebuilt, try reinstalling the application. 7. Rebuild the desktop by restarting, and holding down the COMMAND and OPTION keys. Answer Yes when prompted to rebuild the desktop. Note: Rebuilding the desktop will clear any information that has been put into the applications comment box. General Troubleshooting Guide - Memory Errors, System Freezes, Number Error Messages There are a number of things that can cause these errors. The most common type of errors on the Macintosh, are number errors. Some of the more common error codes (or message) are a Type 1, 2 or 3 Errors. On a Power Macintosh you may also experience a Type 11 error message. These errors are typically caused by Extension or Control Panel conflicts. To resolve this, perform the following steps: 1. Remove all peripherals from the back of the computer except the mouse, monitor and keyboard. (i.e. removable drives, network connections, scanners, modems, drawing tablets, digital cameras, printers etc). If the conflict goes away, add the devices back one at a time until the problem is resolved. 2. Use the Extensions Manager to isolate problematic System Extensions or Control Panel items. Try using the Mac OS base Extensions only, and restart the computer. 3. Turn Virtual memory on, and allocate more memory to the program. 4. Remove the Application and its preferences settings stored in the SYSTEM\PREFERENCES folder, and reinstall the application. 5. Rebuild the desktop by restarting, and holding down the COMMAND and OPTION keys. Answer Yes when prompted to rebuild the desktop. 6. Ensure the latest hard drive drivers, and system software revisions are installed. 7. "Zap the PRAM". The PRAM is a small area of memory where system settings for the Macintosh are stored. This PRAM may become corrupted. To Zap the PRAM, hold down the COMMAND, and OPTION key, P, and R as you restart the computer. Continue holding these keys until you hear a chime. After you hear the chime, release the keys. 8. If you cannot isolate the error, perform a Clean Installation of the Operating System. Refer to the Mac™ OS manual or contact Apple (http://www.apple.com) for further assistance. Corrupt Files or Documents That Fail to Open If a message stating that the document would not open because the "creating application could not be found" is generated, ensure you have the program which created the file installed on your computer. You may also try opening the file from within the application through its File, Open dialog box. You may try to open this file from another program which can read that particular file format. If nothing resolves this, try rebuilding the desktop. If you get a message that the file is corrupt or damaged or a "disk error" has occurred, try duplicating the file by pressing both the COMMAND, and the D key at the Finder level. Try to open the copy. If that fails, try using Apple's Disk First Aid to verify the hard drive or floppy disk. If the file is on a floppy diskette, try copying the file to the internal hard drive. You can also purchase third party software such as Norton Utilities to recover corrupted or damaged files.