My day job is now as a system’s administrator for a school. I basically keep the servers running, all of the computers in working condition, repairs and tech support as needed, and tons of other things vaguely computer related. I’ve had a lot of headaches and I wanted to make a quick list of some of the problems that I’ve had and the solutions that seem to fix them. Any comments, corrections, or additions are greatly appreciated.

Safari won’t quit

This is a big one. A user logs out or tries to quit Safari and Safari just hangs. Spinning beach ball and everything. Eventually, Safari cancels the log out.

• Delete the “Syndication” folder - In my tests, deleting ~/Library/Syndication/ worked most of the time.
• Remove the “Safari” folder and the “Syndication” folder - In the instances where the above didn’t work, removing ~/Library/Safari/ and ~/Library/Syndication/ seemed to resolve the issue.

Firefox won’t launch

There were a few computers that simply would not launch Firefox. It’d bounce once and then stop. Here are a few possible fixes that worked for me:

• Delete the profile - Remove the user’s profile and, well, the entire app support folder at ~/Library/Application Support/Firefox/. Rename it, delete it, whatever. It worked sometimes.
• Boot into Safe Mode - I have no idea why, but if the above didn’t work, this usually did. You can boot into Safe Mode (hold Shift while starting up a Mac), check to see that Firefox is working, and then restart into regular mode.

Google search isn’t working in Firefox

• Delete the formhistory.* files - Delete the files in ~/Library/Application Support/Firefox/Profiles/<your profile>/formhistory.*.

Word 2004 won’t work with Equation Editor

Yes, I know it’s old, but 2008 has even more headaches. Besides, I’m not changing what people are familiar with and works until there’s (a) something better (unfortunately, I can’t convince people to use iWork although it’s available to them) or (b) it stops working.

• Delete the Microsoft preferences folder - Delete the folder at ~/Library/Preferences/Microsoft/. You may also want to delete the MUD folder (~/Documents/Microsoft User Data/). Quit all Office apps before doing either, of course.

Word 2008 has database issues

Frankly, Word 2008 has a lot of problems, especially when starting up. I’ve found that the same basic approach works for 2008 as for 2004:

• Delete the Microsoft preferences folder - See above on 2004 and Equation Editor.

Open a *.wpd file

I have no idea how people continue to get away with using exceptionally old software in modern computing environments. I’m constantly asked to resurrect files from the early 90s.

• NeoOffice - Probably 19 times out of 20, the files are exceptionally old versions of Word, AppleWorks, or an even earlier (and possibly defunct) Word Processor. OpenOffice works well enough, but pound for pound, NeoOffice handles more files and does it better.

• ZamZar - ZamZar is a webservice that works fairly well on a wide range of file types if you don’t need a document converted immediately. It’s free and appears to work fairly well.

Convert media files

If I’ve learned anything, it’s that there is no common format for electronic media. Sure, mp3 was a kind of de facto standard, but AAC has started to supplant it due to iTunes’s dominance. There’s still a ton of WMA files wandering around out there. This doesn’t mention any of the dozens of smaller formats or the rise of Ogg in open source circles. Video is even worse. Learning to use ffmpeg is probably for the best, but compiling it and using it is a pain. Here are a few applications that make it easier.

• VideoMonkey, Handbrake, Evom - There are a bunch of video converters based on ffmpeg out there. VideoMonkey is one of the newer ones that I’ve come across. It’s definitely incomplete, but it reminds me of iSquint (now discontinued), so I keep an eye on it. Handbrake (formerly MediaFork, formerly Handbrake) went from being a DVD ripper to a fairly brilliant all-purpose media conversion tool. However, I give my users Evom. It looks good, works well, and is simple compared to the other options.

A bluetooth mouse/keyboard is on the fritz

Usually, it’s a mouse that’s really jumpy.

• Try to reconnect with the computer - Just run the Bluetooth hardware deal from System Preferences and press the button under the mouse/keyboard. Reconnect and try again.
• Change the batteries and reconnect - You can probably just change the batteries, but if I do that, I reconnect anyway.
• Change the computer - It is with great sadness that I have to say that I’ve found laptops to have a much shorter Bluetooth range than iMacs. If someone wants to walk across a room with a device, the computer may have to move to a central location or be swapped for one with better rance.

Can’t log in to a network account

If your users have networked home folders administered through Open Directory but can’t log in, check the following conditions (note: no where near an exhaustive list, but the most common that I’ve come across):

• User can connect to the network - If the user can connect, skip to the next possibility.
  • Ethernet cord is plugged in/Airport is on and connected - Even if an ethernet cord is plugged in, make sure it’s seated well. Unplug and replug just to be sure.
  • Port is working - If you still can’t connect to the network, consider the connection. Try another computer connected to the same port or wireless base station.
  • Parental Controls - If the administrator on the computer has turned on parental controls for other users, it can completely kill internet access. Log in as the administrator and check the settings in System Preferences. If you’re using OD, configure all users and computers through that to avoid the “Did I set it here or on the computer?” questions.
• User can connect to the network but can’t log in to a network account - Open Directory Utility.app in the Utilities folder. Make sure that it’s set up to get users from the OD server. Mimic a working computer’s settings if possible.