Archive for the “Mac Repair” Category

QUESTION:

Last night my internet connection went down. (Both my wife’s and mine computers at the same time.)
Mac OS X v10.4.? (updated to the most recent) PowerMac Dual 2.0
Mac Mini OS X v10.4.? (also current) Intel Mac
I thought maybe I had to turn off the router and that would fix it. No luck there.
I called Verizon FIOS tech support and I reset the router. (pushing the little button in the back) Still no luck. They say everything is ok according to their systems and there is no problem in my area. They said to call Apple. :sigh:
I can:
- ping websites using the Terminal
- ping websites logging into the router
- I can chat using Adium
- I can send email using Thunderbird
- I can access my gmail account (sent test emails back and forth to it from home email.)
- I can access photoshoptechniques.com and google (and gmail)
I Cannot:- access any other web pages
I rebuilt Permissions but nothing changed.
I searched google but got frustrated since the first several pages did not help and I couldn’t get any of them to load.
Has anyone heard of something like this?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

ANSWER:

I recommend (and clients have had great results) AppleJack for monthly maintenance and problem solving.
http://applejack.sourceforge.net/
Info about AppleJack
http://www.pcworld.com/printable/art…printable.html
http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?…05041817191411
Among other things, AppleJack deletes caches. If you have a damaged cache that has to do with browser history…

One possibility is that your DNS setting is corrupt or has been modified.
Check your Network settings (ethernet or wireless)
Some high level Domain Name Servers are
Level7 4.2.2.2 and 4.2.2.1
OpenDNS 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220
https://www.opendns.com/homenetwork/start
When troubleshooting internet problems
Start with computer, then router and then cable/dsl modem/router turn off in that order
Computer to wall.

Go the opposite direction and wait for the led’s to stablize, powerup next device…
Another troubleshooting step is to setup a TEST user in Accounts in System Preferences.
Logout and login as TEST user, test, if it works, there is probably a preference (plist in user/library/preferences that is damaged.

AppleJack DOES Delete the DNS Cache
SEE http://forums.macosxhints.com/showthread.php?t=66160
The DNS Cache Flush Command (Panther Tiger)
Once you go to a Web site, or do any DNS lookup, the IP gets cached for quite a while. This becomes a royal pain if you’re a systems administrator who is in the middle of migrating domains from one server to another. Executing
sudo killall lookupd lookupd -flushcache
clears the cache, restarts the caching daemon, and fetches fresh DNS records. And there was much rejoicing…
Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5) command has changed to dscacheutil -flushcache and lookupd has been deprecated.

OSX Hard Drives should have 10 to 15% of their capacity empty or available.

A Thread in the MacFixIt Forums about missing hard drive space

http://www.macfixitforums.com/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/353391

WhatSize - a utility for viewing files and their sizes version 4.3.1, released on August 19, 2008

Grand Perspective - a free utility for viewing filesizes

Newer Technology Universal Drive Adapter - connects ATA/IDE/SATA to USB2 *New 2008 Version* $29.99

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/U2NV2SPATA/

About Apple Macs & FireWire 400 for external startup/booting

All FireWire Equipped Apple Computer models since 2001 support booting this drive via FireWire when a proper, supported OS has been loaded onto this Drive.

Booting via FireWire requires Mac OS 8.6 or later or any version of Mac OS X.

About Apple Macs & USB 2.0 for external startup/booting

Apple Officially supports USB 2.0 Bootability on all Intel Processor based desktop, laptop, and tower models. Unofficial support exists for various PowerPC models.

AppleJack 1.43 OSX 10.2 - 10.4.11

http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=2005041817191411

AppleJack is a command-line utility that makes a number of troubleshooting procedures available via single-user mode at startup. And, perhaps more importantly to the typical user, it makes these procedures easy to perform. After installing AppleJack — you should print out the ReadMe file during installation so you have a copy handy — it simply becomes part of the single-user mode interface: AppleJack FREE - donations

http://applejack.sourceforge.net/

DiskWarrior 4 - OSX 10.3.9 - 10.5

http://www.macworld.com/article/131153-3/2007/12/eddyawards2007.html

DiskWarrior turns ten years old in fall of 2008, and in the past decade, no other utility has come close to challenging its prowess at repairing disk-directory problems. DiskWarrior 4 () is no exception. The long-awaited Intel-native version of the utility adds features for ferreting out corrupted preference files, repairing OS X permissions, repairing and rebuilding access control lists, and repairing more types of disk problems than previous versions could handle. DiskWarrior remains as valuable today as it ever was.—ROB GRIFFITHS Alsoft; $100 OSX 10.3.9 - 10.5