Problems and SolutionsFreezes, Crashes and Errors
Problems and Solutions
irst, naturally, it's helpful to know under what circumstances the computer crashes, whether you get an error message, or a blank box on screen, etc.
N.B. A blank box that appears with a ">" in the top left hand corner can nearly always be dismissed by typing "G" then [RETURN]. This little error is quite common due to extension conflicts or simply having some types of Performa models where the system was not programmed correctly. The box comes up usually when you first press the [Apple] key after load up. Just one of the many errors in System 7.5.
Esp.1 & 2:
f you get an error message before the computer freezes, this can be helpful, depending on the situation. Often, the error will be a type 1 or 2, which are bus and address errors respectively. These occur more often than not after an "Unexpected quit" has occurred. It is not very helpful as you are only told about the error after (and if) you safely return to the desktop. The computer is simply saying that the application did something wrong. Causes are many since the error could have occurred a long time ago but did not show itself.
So here are a few pointers.
t could be that the RAM did not clean itself properly since a last application used it. This is a common, though not too frequent occurrence that mainly happens on computers with large amounts of RAM &/or applications open at once. Simply try again, if this happens often though, it is probably something more serious.
his is nasty, but is unlikely. If the error always occurs when you try to do a certain operation, usually from a menu bar, then it could be a damaged resource inside the application. If this is the case, re-install the application from the master disks. If the problem still occurs try another pointer.
A good idea at this point if you do have an error number is to download yourself a copy of MacErrors whose cool icon is being modelled to the left there. It's only 55k or so big and it contains an almost complete compendium of errors on the Macintosh. Click here for more info.
here are two ways of trying to do this, both are fairly unreliable if the computer has frozen badly, i.e. if the Finder itself has frozen. They involve telling the computer to 'Force Quit' the application.
aturally, if a force quit does succeed, then you should immediately save any other open files and then reboot since the RAM will not be left clean and other errors may still be lurking in the finder because of this. For more information on this click here.
ress the [Apple], [Alt/Option], and[Esc] keys together. And a dialogue box should ask you if you want to Force Quit the program. Click OK and hopefully it should do just that, usually giving a dialogue box saying that the application you were just in has unexpectedly quit (surprise). If this fails, Restart by any means you care to try.
old down the [Apple] key and the [boot] key together. The [boot] key is the key that appears in the top, center or right of your keyboard depending on whether you have a normal or extended one. It looks like an arrow-head pointing left. This will work on most computers, but for those that it does not, there should be a small [Interrupt] button on the side or front of your CPU. Pressing this by itself will bring up the desired effect. For more information on these extra buttons, click here.
his effect is a rectangular box appearing in the middle of your screen with a ">" prompt in the top left hand corner. If this does not appear, restart your computer, its now too late to do anything.
Click me for a whole new set of (useful/pointless) ways of restarting
SM_0_A9F4 [Return] (Funny numbers should fill the box)
G_0 [Return]
ith any luck, the box should vanish, with the application, and possibly give you an error message type 1 saying the program has unexpected quit. Otherwise you will have to Reboot by any means you want to, or alternatively click above for some others you may not have thought of.
roblems can also happen due to a conflict of System Extensions (INITs) or Control Panels (CDEVs) that you have installed on your computer. CDEV's?, INITs? what are they? Sometimes, these (especially the older ones) were not written with too much expertise. As a result, the memory that they nab may actually be in use by something else. They act like the foolish man who built his house on the sand. The waves came in to take the sand for themselves, down with the house...
ere's the problem: These programs do take up memory and every so often, one of them will take up some memory that was not actually available for it to use. The result of this is nearly always an error when the robbed program tries to use its memory, and conflicts with the extension. Hence the phrase INIT Conflict or Extension Conflict
Stopping this:
irst, try loading without extensions, by holding down the [Shift] key at start-up. A message saying "Extensions Off" should appear under "Welcome to Macintosh" or whatever it says normally. Now Try and cause some errors. If you still can, then forget this section, it's not an extension conflict.
Otherwise, Read on:
ext, you have to isolate which extensions are doing this. To achieve this, extensions must be dragged out of their folders and placed anywhere else that is safe. (The Desktop is a good idea). Keep dragging out groups and restarting until you are error free. Then try dragging out twos and threes from the troublesome groups to find which one(s) [There is a good chance two or more could be conflicting with each other] are causing trouble.
much easier way is available. Try and get hold of an extension managing program. Possibly the worst example of one of these is Extensions Manager, which comes with all Systems from 7.5, if you don't have it, fear not, its not really worth it. Alternatively:
oth of these programs manipulate extensions. Symbionts won't cost you a penny over the download time and is smaller than CC3. It allows you to selectively turn off extensions. either just before boot-up by pressing space or in the finder by accessing the control panel. You can then choose to disable/delete/open any particular one(s) with the double click of a button.
For more info, click on Symbionts above.CC3 is a commercial version which takes nearly ALL the trouble out of the process. It will check itself for any conflicts and rearrange the extensions as necessary. For more info, click on Conflict Catcher 3 above.
Back to: Problematic Files, Failed bootings, Printer Problems
nother little alternative is that the Desktop file of your computer may have become corrupted. The Desktop is an invisible file (in fact a group of invisible file) that lurk on every floppy disk, hard disk and piece of Mac formatted media you can find. Their job is to keep track of what is actually on the storage medium.
ometimes, they go wrong and the information they hold becomes invalid. This, in all honesty, is unlikely to cause a crash, but it is worth looking at since it could lead to lost information. If the Desktop files cannot locate or 'forget' about the existence of the file then according to the computer, the file does not exist.
o repair these files, the process is very simple. Simply restart, and throughout the bootup sequence, hold down the [Apple] and [Alt/Option] keys, until you are greeted with an alert box asking you if you really want to rebuild the desktop file on the disk. Click OK and sit back while it does so.
You do have the option to cancel during the operation, but it is very inadvisable, as you will have an incomplete desktop file. This means that 7/10 of your icons-custom or otherwise, will not show up. It also means that applications may not recognise their documents and opening a document without first opening an application may bring an error message saying that the creator cannot be found. In short, it creates chaos.
N.B. This Process can also be used to rebuild desktops on floppy disks or any other writable media. Simply hold down the specified keys while inserting the disk/or cartridge etc.
N.B.2. Even though this may not be a problem, it is advisable to do it once a month or so, since it will keep the size off the desktop files down and also prevent desktop related problems from appearing.
he process of rebuilding the desktop will also erase any comments that you may have put in the Info windows of a file. (The window accessible by [Apple + I] in the finder or from the file menu. I do not know anyone personally who does actually use this little feature, but if you happen to, this can be irritating. The answer is to install a very small extension called Comment Keeper, which will take care of the problem for you. Click for more info.
Back to: Other Problems, Failed Bootings, Trash Problems
