7 Steps To Troubleshoot Your Mac If It Is Not Working

Every Mac owner would be familiar with some of the common troubles like a hung up system or blank screens. It is unusual for any system to be free from technical troubles. This is why companies that offer computer repair in Elk Grove, or computer repair in any location, are extremely popular. It is helpful as a computer owner to be able to go to a professional for advice on repairing your equipment when technical troubles occur. 

However, 90% of the Mac troubles can actually be resolved with only 10% of troubleshooting techniques. Yes, you read that right!

But, what about the rest of the troubles? What if your computer breaks down and fails to start up again? Well, as the experts from Tucson computer repair center explains, you should try basic troubleshooting, first. And if it still doesn’t work, you should find yourself an expert repairman and get it fixed.

Here are 7 steps that you can follow for troubleshooting your Mac before you take it to a repair shop.

Plug-In Charger And Recheck After A While

As a rule of thumb, the basic troubleshooting that you can do is checking the power to your Mac. If you’re using a laptop, make sure that the charger is plugged in and is turned on. Try cleaning the head of the charger with a soft cloth and also the slot for the charger pin. This would ensure that there’s no dirt in between the diodes and the charger is in contact with the laptop properly. Leave your charger plugged in for at least 10 minutes before you try to wake your Mac up.

Try Another Charging Cable

If cleaning and replugging do not help, you should try using another charging cable. Get one from a store or you can ask your friends to lend you for a while. Plugging in a different charger will help you identify if there’s something wrong with the charging cable or the charging port. Simultaneously you can also try to plug your charger in another Mac, to check if the charger is working or not. In most cases, troubleshooting the charger issues is the easiest part. And also, is the easiest to resolve. You can simply replace the charger if it’s broken. Or if the port is damaged, you can get it replaced within minutes and only for a few dollars.

Look For Any Physical Signs Of Damage

For mac systems that do not seem to have a broken charger or any other issue with the charging mechanism, the next step should be a visual inspection. Look for any physical signs of damage. For example, there could be a dent under your Mac, or there could be a burnt plastic-like smell coming from your system. In either case, it suggests that something might have broken inside and you would need expert help repairing it. Usually, physical damages result in hardware failure, and it would be best for you to replace that part.

Check For Any Signs On Display

There’s a difference between a Mac that doesn’t start up and a Mac that doesn’t work. The aforementioned troubleshooting tricks are good for the former issues. However, for troubleshooting a Mac that doesn’t work but does turn on you’ll need some smarter techniques. Usually, your Mac would tell you about the issues that it faces. In other words, your Mac is smart enough to tell you the problems and suggest a possible course of action to resolve it. Look for any visible signs on the display. For example, there could be tinted borders, or a warning message or simply a yellow hazard sign in the middle of the screen. You can easily find what the problem is and how you can solve it with the help of Google and your phone. (Or if you prefer you can use any other search engine as well.)

Try Resetting Your NVRAM

Often some of the settings or programs that keep running after you shut down are the reason for your system’s failure. These settings are usually the brightness settings or volume controls. But, you can still troubleshoot these issues. Though it might seem a bit tough unless you have an extra pair of thumbs. Press Command+Option(Alt)+P+R while pressing the power button. Make sure that your system is turned off before you try this reset trick. You’ll need to keep these buttons pressed until you hear your system restart. You’ll hear the fan sound. Hopefully, this should resolve your Mac troubles and set it right again.

Reset Your System Management Controller

If resetting your NVRAM doesn’t help, there might be some issue with your System Management Controller. The SMC reset is usually the last resort before you take the hardest step- reinstalling your MacOS. Here’s how you do it.

For MacBook

Shut your MacBook off and unplug all the power cable. Make sure that the system is completely turned off before you reconnect the power cable. Now, you need to press Shift+Ctrl+option/Alt keys while pressing the power button. You don’t need to keep holding these keys for long. But rather you need to release these keys at the same time. The light on your power cable should flicker at this moment. The SMC for your MacBook is reset now. You can turn on your MacBook now.

For Mac Desktop

Resetting SMC for Mac desktop is not as difficult as resetting SMC for MacBook. Simply unplug all the cables. Wait for 5-10 seconds. Press the power button for 5 seconds and release it. Now, plug the power cable back and you can restart your system now.

Reinstalling Your MacOS

If none of the troubleshooting tricks seem to work for your system, you may rather try reinstalling your MacOS. This is the easiest step that you can do. But remember it will erase all your settings and preset menus. When starting up your system, you’ll need to enter the recovery mode (press Command and R keys together). Select install the latest Os option and follow the prompts on the screen. This should resolve any and all issues with your software.

Most of the troubleshooting tricks in this article are quite basic. But, if you face fierce issues that are not resolved easily, it is best that you find expert help for your Mac.