A Next-Gen Troubleshooting Guide for MacBook Users

Apple reveals to have more than 100 million active MacBook users throughout the
world. This shouts out the ever-growing popularity of Apple devices. Despite the
pandemic, around 5.51 million people purchased MacBooks in the third quarter of
2020. With this, Apple expects to have more customers and increased sales in its kitty.

MacBooks – The Limelight of Apple

MacBooks are a final product of a well-recognized brand named Macintosh Laptop
Computers powered by Apple Inc. To tenfold the features and benefits of MacBook,
Apple collaborated with iBook and PowerBook. At present, Apple has two major
categories in MacBooks, including – MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. The line of
MacBook Air was released from 2006 to 2012, whereas MacBook Pro came into
existence from 2015 to 2019. However, one can still buy these products from Apple
stores.

macOS

MacBooks comprises macOS (Mac Operating System), which is considered to be the
most reliable OS in the technological world. With time and if not maintained well, you
may witness a difference in Mac’s performance and processing. However, it is no rocket
science, yet the greenhorn often finds it challenging to deal with MacBook
troubleshooting aspects.

If you are one of those facing the same, here is something meaningful waiting for you.

Reset NVRAM and PRAM

Thinking about PRAM and NVRAM? PRAM is ‘parameter random access memory’
whereas NVRAM is ‘nonvolatile random-access memory. NVRAM is a memory type
used for storing and quick access to MacBook’s settings. On the other hand, PRAM is
another type of memory found in Macintosh Computers for – volume, time zone, display,
and different sorts of settings.

There are times when NVRAM and PRAM settings are turned off, which results in
battery issues. Here are steps to fix it.

1. Turn off the system
2. Now turn on the system
3. Press and hold – Option-P-R keys until you hear the start-up tone.
4. Hold the command keys until the system restarts.
5. Release the keys, and you are done.

Reboot your MacBook

If you desire to fix the performance issues or want to settle back for the default settings,
just reboot the system, and you are done. To reboot, follow these steps –

1. Click on the Apple icon on the top left corner of the screen
2. This will display a drop-down menu. Click on ‘Restart’
3. This will shut down and restart or reboot the system in a few moments

Change the MacBook Name

It is one of the widely common ways to personalize your MacBook usage experience.
With this, you can give your MacBook a customized name. Here, people often fail to find
out the settings and end up altering other settings instead. To change the MacBook
name, all you need to do is –

1. Go to the System Preferences
2. Click on the ‘Sharing’ option.
3. Now, go to the ‘computer name’ settings.
4. This will take you to a screen asking for a ‘computer name.’ Tap the ‘click here‘
   box to enter a new computer name and save it. Now, you would see a
   personalized name displayed on a MacBook user’s place.

Reset the SMC

Resetting the entire SMC (System Management Controller) will bring several changes to
your MacBook. From the display to features, you may end up witnessing almost a new
MacBook. The type of reset settings and processes depends on which system you have.
Here is how to reset the system management controller on the Apple desktop –

1. Power off the system
2. Unplug the charger cord
3. Wait for at least 15 seconds now
4. Plug the cord back to power
5. Wait for the next five seconds
6. Press the power button to turn on the system

Here is how to reset the system management controller on MacBook (with non-
removable battery) –

1. Power off the MacBook
2. Unplug the USB-C power adapter and remove it from the MacBook
3. Use the keyboard and press command (shift-control-option) on the left side
4. Immediately press the power button.
5. Hold all these keys for the next 10 seconds at least
6. Release all keys
7. Plug the adapter again
8. Power on the MacBook to witness the difference obtained

Evaluate and Repair Disk

At once, it may sound technical, but you can detect issues in the disk and repair it too. In
the most recent MacBooks, Apple has highlighted this feature as ‘First Aid.’ This is
used when you know there is something wrong with your MacBook, but you aren’t aware
of what it is. For this, you have to switch to the recovery mode. To do so, first, reboot the
MacBook, press the command+R keys until the Apple logo appears on the screen.

This will take the recovery console to Disk Utility. Now, select the primary hard disk and
click on ‘Repair Disk’ or ‘First Aid’ to start the repair and recovery.

Analyze and repair the Disk Permissions

Repairing disk permissions has become obsolete with OS X EI Capitan as it preserves
the file system automatically. And if you have OS X Yosemite, then here is what to do.
Open the ‘Disk Utility’ option, then press ‘Command+Space and type ‘Disk Utility’ to
launch the Spotlight. Now, this will open the primary hard drive from where you have to
select the ‘Repair Disk Permissions’ option to start the repair process.

Set Safari to Default

Safari – MacBook’s browser comes with dynamic settings to improve the user
experience. However, it can be set to basics in no time. Those who have been using
Safari for years without clearing the cache memory may often bear webpage loading
issues. If you have been encountering something similar, it is an alarming time to clear
Safari’s cache memory. For this, go to the browser ‘Safari’ – select the ‘Reset Safari’
option – check the boxes you want to delete, including – clear history, reset top sites,
remove all webpage preview images, etc. In no time, you can witness a performance and
speed boost.

Note – You may not find these settings if you have a new macOS version.

Key Takeaway

Using and maintaining MacBooks is no daunting task. All you need is to be familiar with
the ins and outs of your device. People often experience slow performance and
processing when MacBooks are not maintained well. But that can be fixed using the
above-mentioned tactics.