What is Ailing your Mac?
If your system isn’t functioning as well as you had hoped, it is cause for concern. But, unfortunately, Macs don’t come for cheap, and you would want to get your money’s worth.
Take a look at some of the most common problems reported by Mac users and their solutions. So, the next time you encounter these issues, you can take a breath and know it is within your control.
Mac Fails to Boot Properly
Are you experiencing startup issues? Sometimes, Macs fail to boot correctly, and you may find yourself staring at a gray or blank startup screen.
When this happens, boot your device in Safe Mode. In this mode, macOS boots with the bare minimum of drivers and software needed and will thoroughly check your startup disk. It will even repair directory issues that may be the reason behind the startup ills.
You can start your Mac in Safe Mode by pressing and holding the Shift key. You’ll see the Apple logo appearing and then the login screen. Release the Shift key when the Apple logo disappears, and you can see the login screen.
You may have to wait a few minutes before seeing the login screen because macOS will run diagnostics on your hard disk.
You can leave the Safe Mode by restarting your Mac without pressing any keys.
The Device Keeps Shutting Down
Apple devices are advertised as the standard of reliability. So, when these machines start to cause trouble, it is normal to feel disheartened. However, while these machines are not invincible or flawless, they are better than other products available. So, don’t panic when your Mac keeps shutting down. The cause of an unexpected shutdown might be indicative of software or hardware issues.
If your MacBook keeps shutting down, you can fix the problem by force quitting the background apps, resetting the SMC, and resetting the PRAM/NVRAM.
The Apps are Unresponsive
You may find that an application is occasionally tripping up your device and hanging. When an application freezes or hangs, it will prevent you from doing anything on your Mac. You cannot even quit the app.
When this happens, resort to Force Quit. Press Command + Option + Escape to bring up the Force Quit menu, highlight the app that’s not responding, and click the Force Quit button.
You can also select multiple un functioning apps and quit them the same way.
The Login Items are not Compatible
Are you staring at a blue screen after switching on your device? It may mean that one of the startup items is not compatible with macOS. Identifying the problem child will take a bit of trial and error. First, you must remove the login items one at a time and start your Mac after each removal. This will help you understand which app or program was giving you trouble.
You can do this by going to System Preferences > clicking Users & Groups > clicking your name on the left under Current User > clicking the Login Items tab > highlighting an application and clicking the minus sign below. The login item will get removed from the list, and you can restart your device to see if the startup issue is resolved.
If not, you have to get back on the list and remove another app. It would be best if you kept going until you had found the culprit.
Once you’ve found the problem child, you can add the remaining items back to the login list by clicking the plus sign.
Kernel Panic
If your Mac is restarting continuously and the screen is black with an error message saying you need to restart your device, it means your Mac is experiencing kernel panic.
Kernel panic is similar to the blue screen of death in Windows. It happens without any prior warning and will not let you save your work.
Some of the reasons why your system might be experiencing kernel panic are:
- Outdated drivers, plugins, and firmware
- Broken disk permissions
- Incompatible peripherals
- Lack of memory space or RAM, etc.
You can fix kernel panic in the following ways:
- Run a clean-up process by doing a safe boot and disabling the apps or software that might be causing the problem
- Run First Aid and Repair disk permission via Disk Utility
- Update all the firmware and software
- Check the peripherals and ensure they’re compatible with your device
- Update the RAM and memory space
If the problem persists, you must erase the drive and reinstall macOS. Before doing this, ensure to back up all the essential files and documents.
Final thoughts
Some MacBook problems reported by users are seemingly harmless if fixed on time. This guide provides the guidance needed to solve these problems and ensure you can complete your tasks without a glitch.
