Sad Macs, Bombs, and Other Disasters: And What to Do About Them

(Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Sad Macs, Bombs, and Other Disasters and What To Do About Them, Third Edition is the definitive guide to have on hand when your Apple Macintosh rolls a bomb in your general direction. (For the MacNovice, the bomb indicates a terminal system error.) The book is the complete guide to troubleshooting the Mac, and has an entry for every imaginable disaster that might befall your Mac from bootup to shutdown. Along the way, you'll find some incidental treasure--advice on tuning your Mac, using virtual memory, decoding the deep mysteries of the System Folder, and performing routine maintenance tasks to keep your system cranking along at top speed. This edition also features new information on PCI Macs, PowerPC Powerbooks, coverage of Mac System 7.5/7.6 issues, and an entirely new chapter on Internet protocols, Web browsers, PPP and similar issues emphasizing "problems and solutions."

Sad Macs is not only well written, it's elegantly organized. Besides the kind of comprehensive index you might wish for in a troubleshooting guide, the author also includes an elaborate "Symptom Index." The final third of the book is devoted to "Fix-It" guides to specific problem sets, such as diagnosing problems with system extensions, and throughout these guides are usefully cross-referenced. If you've got a Mac, this is an essential utility, and a must-have desktop reference guide.

Product Description

The premier troubleshooting book for the Macintosh.With the introduction of increasingly complex Mac software and hardware the need has never been greater for a go-to, problem solving resource like Sad Macs, Bombs, and Other Disasters. If something goes wrong with your Mac, from an application that won't open to a document that won't print to a system crash, this book will tell you why it happened and what you can do to fix it. Organized by problem type, Sad Macs, Bombs, and Other Disasters delivers troubleshooting symptoms and solutions for each problem including a "Fix-It" section covering specific troubleshooting techniques in depth. With more problems covered and more in-depth explanations than any other book on the market, this book is the Mac user's one-stop, problem-solving shop.New material includes a chapter on online and Internet troubleshooting, including the World Wide Web. Clear explanations of modems, Open Transport (Apple's communication software), and of how to set up a trouble-free TCP connection are provided throughout in addition to practical advice on streamlining your Web browsing sessions and overcoming Web page loading delays. To keep their fingers on the pulse of current Mac pitfalls and receive professional advice, readers are provided access to a regularly updated companion Web site. This book has a Companion Web Site !

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Product Details

• Paperback: 964 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Pr; 3rd edition (March 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201688107
• ISBN-13: 978-0201688108
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,641,011 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sad Macs - an all purpose Macintosh reference., February 15, 1999

By A Customer

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!

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BUY THIS BOOK BEFORE YOU NEED IT! IT'S A MUST-HAVE..., October 10, 1998

By	MrMojo "MrMojo" (Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews

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!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Mac Troubleshooters' Bible - should come preinstalled!, October 4, 2000

By	"tjaniak" (Cadillac, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sad Macs, Bombs, and Other Disasters (4th Edition) (Sad Macs, Bombs and Other Disasters and What to Do About Them) (Paperback)

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.