MACOS irritations

Grapple with some common eccentricities of macOS itself

31 Speed up your system

If your system is running slowly, save any open files, restart your Mac and then run a software update by going to  > App Store > Updates. One common reason for a slow system is too many applications running at once; try quitting a few of them. You might want to think about how many items you have opening at login, too – go to  > System Preferences > Users & Groups > youraccount > Login Items to check and remove unnecessary ones. It’s wise to remove any items you don’t need. If this doesn’t have an effect, try starting up in safe mode (apple. co/2rLNfwe) to make sure third-party software isn’t responsible. This also automatically scans and repairs corrupted system files on your startup disk.

32 Correct the time on your Mac

An incorrect system time can lead to all sorts of issues with web pages not loading correctly. To update this, go to System Preferences > Date & Time. Click the padlock and enter your administrator password to make changes. Make sure ‘Set Date and Time Automatically’ is ticked and you’re using your nearest time server – for example, Apple Europe. Next, go to the Time Zone tab and select your country from the map, or use the Closest City pop-up menu.

33 Find a missing file

If you’re sure you saved a file but don’t know where, click the Spotlight icon at the top right to search for its name – eg, ‘holiday’. Alternatively, you can search for files with a particular extension such

34 Reset your login password

If you’ve forgotten the password you use to log in to your Mac, the easiest way to reset it is to have another computer administrator do it for you. Ask them to go to System Preferences > Users and Groups, select your account then click on the Reset Password button. After resetting your password, you’ll need to create a new login keychain. Simply click Create New Keychain the first time you log in with your new password. as ‘jpg’. If your file is still missing, it may have accidentally been deleted. If you’ve been keeping Time Machine backups, you can restore any number of files or folders by following the steps provided at apple.co/2rOoz5f.

35 Sort out failing backups

If you back up your Mac with Time Machine, you may see an alert saying a backup couldn’t be completed. If you use an external drive to back up, reseat the connection, click the Time Machine icon in the menu bar and choose Back Up Now to try again. If you’re using a Time Capsule, update its firmware (apple.co/2qcmm3g), then restart it. Make sure your Mac is connected to the same network as your Time Capsule.

36 macOS won’t start

If the operating system won’t start up, check carefully for any error messages. A flashing question mark signifies that the OS wasn’t detected and may indicate a hardware issue.

Contact Apple Support if this happens. If your Mac boots to a blank white or grey screen with a loading bar, remove any peripherals, then do an SMC reset (see apple.co/2seM4WF). If start up still fails, contact Apple Support for further troubleshooting.

37 macOS freezes after login

Sometimes your Mac will start up but then freeze on login. The screen may even turn blue. If other users can log in to the Mac without any trouble, the issue is most likely to do with incompatible software or a corrupt font. You need to restart your Mac in safe mode (apple.co/2rLNfwe), then go to System Preferences > Users and Groups. Click on your name on the left, then on the Login Items tab to remove any third-party applications.

38Fix the message ‘Your startup disk is almost full’

You will see this message if there’s very little free space on your Mac. Click  > About this Mac and click on the Storage tab to see what data’s taking up the most space. Click the Manage button to store some of your files in iCloud, remove watched TV shows and films and automatically empty the Trash each month. Items in your Downloads folder can usually be safely deleted as you can often download them again.

39 Force your Mac to shut down

On occasion, your Mac will refuse to power off. If another user is logged in, macOS will prompt you to enter an admin password before closing down. Otherwise it’s likely you have a runaway app. Save any files that you’re working on, then click  > Force Quit. Select each app and click Force Quit. Now try shutting down.

40 Reinstall macOS

If your system is still behaving badly, you can try to erase the startup disk and reinstall macOS. To do this you’ll need to know the Apple ID and password you used to install your OS. Make a backup if you can, then restart the Mac holding ç+R. Follow the steps at apple. co/2qQXr8t to set up the Mac as new, and apple.co/2t6fu9A to restore data from Time Machine.