Basic Apple Troubleshooting

Maybe I never mentioned it but I've been working for Apple Care some years ago and I'm still trying to help people who own a Mac from times to times.

The kind of issue like :

• my iMac won't boot
• I can't login into my session
• I forgot my login password - how can I reset my password
• How can I reinstall Mac OS X without losing my data ?

Sometime troubleshooting a Mac gets tricky and just won't work after a series of quick fixes, but to my experience fixing the mac starts by asking a few important questions - because there's nothing worse than a wrong diagnostic when it comes to repair - so ask yourself these little questions :
- Just before the problem happened was anything changed on the hardware level (new devices, new Ram installed ?)
- Just before the problem happened was anything changed on the software level (system updates, new application installed ?)

Now here's a compilation of useful links from the Apple kbase concerning iMac :

Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM
iMac G5: My computer stops responding during startup
iMac G5: Troubleshooting when your computer won't turn on
iMac G5: Troubleshooting when there's no picture on the display


And don't forget before calling Apple Care they will ask you the mac serial number so get it ready - you will save precious time during that call, also prepare the original install cd/dvd and the AHT (Apple Hardware Test) cd.

Good luck