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Troubleshooting Mac® OS X, Second Edition

What's New?

About the Second Edition

Producing Troubleshooting Mac OS X, Second Edition has been a significant undertaking. This brief overview of what's new addresses the content of the Second Edition and highlights a few of the significant changes it includes.

What is covered in the Second Edition?

This book provides detailed troubleshooting advice for Mac OS X v10.3 Panther® and Mac OS X v10.2 Jaguar. Both versions of Mac OS X are addressed for the following reasons:

  • To address the troubleshooting needs of the widest possible range of current Mac OS X users: those using Panther, those thinking about it, and those who will stay with Jaguar.
  • Many of the techniques used to troubleshoot Mac OS X apply to both Panther and Jaguar.
  • The systems management techniques provided in this book, such as backup and recovery or protecting against power problems, are independent of the version of Mac OS X one is using and will benefit all users of such.

Headings are used to clearly delineate troubleshooting advice that applies to Panther, Jaguar, or both.

Changes in the Second Edition

The following list highlights just some of the many changes incorporated in the Second Edition.

  • Every chapter has been updated with the latest troubleshooting information for both Mac OS X 10.3 Panther and Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar, including over 20 new screen shots. The book has grown from 319 pages to 478 pages, cover-to-cover, an increase of 50 percent!
  • Fourteen (14) new chapters have been added to the Second Edition. In alphabetical order, these are:
    1. Disk Images.
    2. Fax.
    3. Fast User Switching.
    4. Fonts.
    5. Font Book.
    6. Freezes and Hangs.
    7. Keyboards and Keyboard Shortcuts.
    8. Login.
    9. Moving to a New Mac.
    10. System Profiler.
    11. Shutdown.
    12. Startup Items.
    13. Suppressing Login and Startup Items.
    14. Upgrading from Jaguar to Panther.
  • The division of the book into three major sections has been retained from the First Edition. These are: Getting started with Mac OS X, Prevention and Preparation, and Troubleshooting Mac OS X: A-Z. The only change from the First Edition is the title of the third section, which was done to emphasize its alphabetical sequence of chapters and to better differentiate this section from the title of the book.
  • The "About This Book" chapter has been enhanced with additional advice on how to get the most from this book, and the use of headings to delineate troubleshooting information related to Panther, Jaguar, or both. It includes a recommended set of chapters you might want to print for those who want hardcopy pages if a problem on their Mac prevents them from using the e-book.
  • The introductory material for the "Backup and Recovery" chapter has been significantly expanded to provide an even more in-depth tutorial on the author's comprehensive backup and recovery solution.
  • The "Console and Crash Logs" chapter has also been extensively updated and expanded. It includes guidance on troubleshooting with Console, using and interpreting crash logs, how to obtain help with these logs, and information about a variety of common messages that appear in Console.
  • The "Font Management" and "Font Problems" chapters of the First Edition have been combined and enhanced to form the new and expanded "Fonts" chapter in the Second Edition.
  • The new "Freezes and Hangs" chapter includes extensive advice on addressing these rare but troublesome occurrences, including a detailed tutorial on how to use SSH (Secure Shell) to terminate processes remotely.
  • A major rewrite of the "Kernel Panics" chapter adds guidance -- with detailed examples -- on how to read and interpret a panic.log file without first earning a Ph.D. in UNIX®. In addition to procedures for resolving kernel panics, the chapter includes new advice on how to obtain help with panic logs.
  • The chapters "Keyboard Shortcuts" and "Keyboard Problems" of the First Edition have been combined and enhanced to form the new "Keyboards and Keyboard Shortcuts" chapter in the Second Edition.
  • Improved procedures for uninstalling Mac OS 9 have been added to the "Mac OS 9" chapter.
  • The new "Moving to a New Mac" chapter provides step-by-step instructions for how to move your users and other important files from your current Mac and Mac OS X installation to a new Mac.
  • Guidelines for creating great posts that get answered on the Apple Discussions and other forums have been added to the "Obtaining Help Online" chapter, as well as tips on how to get the most from the AppleCare® Knowledge Base.
  • The "Software Update" chapter has been extensively expanded with detailed advice on preparing to install software updates, common problems encountered after software updates, and recovering from a failed software update.
  • The "Startup" chapter has been revised and expanded. Additionally, the section therein regarding login problems after startup from the First Edition has been broken out to create the new "Login" chapter to better address login problems.
  • The Glossary has been enhanced and expanded with additional terms, including links for further study to some of the best content on the Internet.
  • The Index has been improved and streamlined, with hyperlinks for page references
  • The Related links sections of virtually every chapter have been enhanced with links that execute searches on the AppleCare Knowledge Base to find new or additional information pertaining to the topics discussed in a chapter.
  • To improve on-screen readability, the style of hyperlinks has been changed to remove underlines. Hyperlinks to book or Internet continue to appear in a contrasting blue color to distinguish them from other text. The one exception to this is for hyperlinks to terms in the Glossary, which appear in green.
  • And that is just a short list of some of the many updates in Troubleshooting Mac OS X, Second Edition!
Buy the Book

Troubleshooting Mac OS X, Second Edition is priced at US$ 19.95 for a Single User License delivered via download after approval of your secure purchase by credit card or PayPal®.

Troubleshooting Mac OS X, Second Edition is not only an excellent value, but a superb investment in your productivity.

Take advantage of Dr. Smoke's comprehensive experience and expertise in preventing and resolving problems with Mac OS X: buy Troubleshooting Mac OS X, Second Edition today!

Buy the Book

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