Sad Macs, Bombs, and Other Disasters

by Ted Landau

Updated to include System 7.5, this guide presents information on how to diagnose and solve problems which occur while using the Mac. Information is included on Quadras, Colour Powerbooks, Power Macs... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0201688107
• ISBN13: 9780201688108
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Peachpit Press
• Length: 64 Pages
• Weight: 2.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.9" x 7.3" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

The Mac Troubleshooters' Bible - should come preinstalled!

This book is a godsend for Mac users. It systematically covers every area of the Mac, chapter by chapter... extention conflicts, printing, networking, Internet, file-system coruption, memory management, etc... It shows you how to perform routine maintenance like using Disk First Aid, flashing the PRAM, and rebuilding the Desktop. Its appendices covers the most comon "what-if" scenarios and steps you through different solutions until you find one that works. It even covers quirks unique to specific OS version from 7 to 9.0.4. It even gives you a sneak-peak at features that will be available in the upcoming MacOS X due out in 2001.All in all I say this book should be on the bookshelf of every Mac owner.

This book is a must for anyone who repairs Macs

If you repair, upgrade Mac's or diagnose faults then you must have this book. This is the only Mac repair book that I have that has worn out edges on it. Wether you are looking for a fix for a problem or just wish to browse the contents then this book does not come up short.

I'm eagerly awaiting its sequel (edition 4)!

As a school, we have the sad situation of living with a mishmash that includes the Mac SE, II, LC, Quadra, PPC, and G3. This could be a major headache for the people in charge of keeping all these machines running for their various uses. Sad Macs, however, makes this management a whole lot easier. Now that we've added G3s to our ever-growing collection, we're looking forward to the 4th edition!

Sad Macs - an all purpose Macintosh reference.

I don't buy too many books as here in Australia they are prohibitively expensive. So, it was with considerable caution I shelled out $35.00 for Ted's Sad Macs. As it turns out, It has EVERYTHING I ever needed to know about the Mac. Ted's understanding of the platform is very comprehensive - both from a hardware and software perspective. Honestly, I have had this book for over 12 months and I still read it whilst sitting on the loo. No, this is not an indication of the book's laxative affects, but rather every time I peruse it's pages, I learn something new. Not only does Ted cover nearly every conceivable aspect of the Mac, how it works, what happens when it doesn't, how to fix it, how to fine-tune it etc, he is also the GURU of the MacFixit website, which has solved several of my software-related problems. But, that's another story. If you love Macs and yearn to learn more - this is the book for you. I don't wish to infer that other books may not be as good, all I wish to convey is that Sad Macs was worth every dollar and cent! Happy reading!

BUY THIS BOOK BEFORE YOU NEED IT! IT'S A MUST-HAVE...

The two books I use the most when working with my Mac is "Sad Macs" and MacWorld's "Mac OS 8 Bible." If I had to pick between the two, I'd have to go with Landau's tome.If you read chapters one and two before your Mac has a problem you will be way ahead of most folks in knowing how to operate your computer and you'll be on your way to becoming a "power user." You will also likely prevent most of the problems that are likely to occur.If you do run into a problem this book will save your behind! All the detail may be a tad overwhelming at first but stick with it and you will soon begin to grok the mysterious inner-workings of your Mac. Just be sure to carefully follow each step in the diagnostic procedures and don't skip-ahead of the text because you might miss something important. I recently had a serious problem according to a dignostic procedure I had run using Norton Utilities and the info in a small sidebar in Sad Macs prevented me from performing an unecessary reformating of my main hard drive.I also recommend keeping a separate, written log (yep-the ol' fashion way, paper in a file folder, just in case your venerable Mac won't let you access your computer files...) Write down every change you make to your Mac, including maintenence using repair utilities and particularly installation of new software (which should ideally be done one program at a time, then wait a few days or a week of regular, steady operation without problems before loading another). You would be amazed how easy and quick it is to track-down extension conflicts and other problems if you could only remember what had been recently done to your computer.Ted also maintains a website called MacFixIt. He posts all kinds of updates three times a week and the website has a searchable archive. I check-in every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning right after I check my e-mail.Thank you Ted for writing this book!