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How To's
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Rebuild your desktop and Zap your PRam.
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The main area you work in when you start up your Mac is called the Desktop. It shows things like documents, folders and applications. Each of these items is shown by an icon. |
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| All of this information is contained in a database called the desktop database. As you trash icons, download files, and install applications, this database changes. Each time you trash an icon, it leases a little gap in the desktop database. These gaps can cause inefficiency in the database and make your Mac perform slower. Removing these gaps will make your Mac work at peak efficiency. |
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| Keep in mind that it takes thousands of these gaps for you to notice a difference in performance. We have had customers use their Macs for years and NEVER rebuild the desktop - and the Mac worked just fine. We recommend re-building the desktop, but it not a requirement. |
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| Removing these gaps is called Rebuilding your desktop, and it should be done about once a month - depending on how much you use the Mac. |
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Rebuilding your desktop is easy! |
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- Start your Mac up and immediately hold down the command and option keys. Keep holding the keys down until the Mac asks you if you wish to rebuild the desktop.
- Release the keys and click OK. It will then rebuild the desktop - it make take anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes depending on how much data is on your hard drive.
- You are done.
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Zapping your PRam is just as easy, but a little background will help. |
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All Macs have a PRam memory in them. This memory is battery backed up (all Macs also have a PRam battery) and holds your settings such as which printer you have selected in the chooser, the time and date, and which disk to start up from. Over time, this PRam memory may become slightly corrupted - not a big deal, but Zapping the PRam will straighten it out. |
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| If you are having difficulty with your Mac, Zapping the PRam may resolve it - it may also reset some settings such as time and date or which printer to print to, but those are easily set. |
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Follow these steps to Zap (reset) the PRam: |
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- Start your Mac and immediately press and hold down the following keys: Command-Option-P-R.
- After a few seconds the Mac will restart and make the Chime sound.
- Let it chime 3 or 4 times
- Let go of the keys.
- You are done
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