Ah, the bane of every newbie Mac owner: the dreaded signs that a Mac computer breakdown is looming. Of course, anyone who buys a new electronic device, be it a Mac or anything else, wants to believe their latest purchase is unbreakable. And while Apple products do tend to have relatively long life spans, there comes a time when the inevitable occurs. The point of today’s post is to sum up some of the most often encountered alarm signals, that should lead you to call in a computer expert and take a good look at your Mac.
It doesn’t even matter how long you’ve owned that Apple computer for: it could be years or days; we’re willing to bet you’ve heard of the dreaded ‘kernel panic’, another rather sure fire sign that a Mac computer breakdown is on the way. What effectively happens during such occurrences is that the computer freezes up and a message pops up, prompting you to restart the machine. What it means is that the errors your Mac is dealing with are serious enough for the system to cease operation. What it also means is that the system has already tried to solve the issue itself – and failed. Time to call in an Apple expert, then.
Messed up graphics
Graphic card issues don’t necessarily spell an impending Mac computer breakdown, but they’re frustrating, and they’re definitely not a good sign either. So, what can you do, when your screen is working, but not the right way? Assess the situation, first of all. Are the colors on your screen all wrong? Are you seeing lines across the screen? This means that there’s a malfunction of the graphics card, which is determining it to send all the wrong operation instructions to your computer. Ideally, such an issue should not be left unattended, as it can degenerate into preventing your machine to function altogether.
Random clicks
It all depends on where these clicking noises are coming from – and, most often, their source is your Mac’s hard-drive. If you believe this to be the case, you should know it’s a sure sign of an impending Mac computer breakdown. The best course of action: back up all your files to an external hard-drive and rush over to the nearest Apple store to ask for help. You don’t need us to tell us that the HDD is your Mac’s heart, brain and memory, do you?
Lags or hangs
Most Mac computers will face a hang-up and this doesn’t have to mean there’s something dramatically wrong with them. However, if you’re faced with this issue on a regular basis, you might have to start worrying, as it can signal a problem with the RAM memory of your machine. Luckily, a Mac’s RAM memory is relatively easy to fix and/or repair, and the cost of a new memory set isn’t all that high either. If your Mac computer has experienced more than one hang over the course of the past week, that’s a clear signal you ought to have the issue investigated as soon as you can. Alternatively, you could check out these maintenance tips for Macs, see if anything you’re doing right now could use some improvement.
Mac computer breakdown signaled by device that won’t start
This is a fairly common occurrence – your Mac simply won’t start at all, no matter how much time you give it, or how many times you’ve tried. It’s one of the most dramatic issues, but it’s not as serious as some of the other ones on our list. That’s because it usually signals a mechanical problem with your power supply inside the computer. While this issue also needs addressing right away, it’s usually a matter of changing one or several electric cables.