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Is Your Apple Crashing? Here’s How to Troubleshoot Your Mac Before Taking It to Get Fixed

Did you know that there are now a staggering 1.8 billion active Apple devices worldwide? Even more impressive is that the company added 150 million of that in 2021 alone.

While not as best-selling as iPhones, Macs make up a sizeable chunk of those active devices. After all, they not only look good; they’re user-friendly, fast, thin, and lightweight, too.

However, Macs can still run into problems, such as the dreaded spinning beachball of death. From there, it can freeze, crash, and shut down.

Fortunately, it’s easy to troubleshoot your Mac, which you should do before panicking. We’ll show you how in this guide, so keep reading, as it can save you from the trouble (and the cost) of getting a pro to fix it.

Check if You Have Enough Storage

Your Mac’s disk drive, or storage, contains all permanent data you save on your computer. It’s non-volatile, keeping information stored even when you power off the device. The data remains in your drive as long as you don’t delete or overwrite it.

So, if you don’t practice routine file clean-up, you can expect your Mac to run out of disk space. You can no longer save new permanent data onto your drive if that happens. Unfortunately, that could include critical macOS and software updates.

Outdated software, in turn, can behave erratically, usually in the form of lags or crashes.

Thus, a crucial step in troubleshooting a Mac is determining you have enough disk space. You can check out https://setapp.com/how-to/check-disk-space-on-your-mac for a step-by-step guide.

Free Up Some Disk Space

Once you’ve confirmed you have don’t have enough disk space, it’s time to delete old or useless files. You can start by clearing your desktop of clutter, and don’t forget to empty your Trash folder.

Remember: Your Mac only moves files you delete to Trash, and they remain there until you empty the folder.

Next, go through your Applications folder to see if there are any apps you no longer need or use. Delete them all by moving them to Trash, and empty the folder again.

If you have tons of files that you want to keep but rarely access, transfer them to an external hard drive. You can also move them to iCloud or another cloud service. Moving them out of your Mac helps you free up disk space for vital data, such as critical updates.

Verify If Misbehaving Apps Require Updates

By default, apps you get from the Mac App Store don’t update automatically. The same goes for software you download and install through your browser.

The problem is that outdated apps can result in buggy performance and incompatibilities. That can make them freeze during operation and make the colorful beachball spin for ages. Worse, they can cause your entire Apple computer trouble and force it to crash.

So, if you notice problems with your Mac while using specific apps, they likely require an update.

You can confirm that by going to the App Store; it should show you if there’s an update available for your faulty apps. Keep in mind that the App Store only lists applications you downloaded through it.

For non-App Store apps, check their menu bar, status menu, or internal Preferences page. They should have a notification saying that they require an update.

Download and Install Software Updates

Download and install all available app updates right away. That can help ensure they become compatible with your OS again. Doing so also protects you from security flaws that plague outdated applications.

Check Your RAM Usage

If you use apps requiring a lot of free memory, your Mac may freeze and then crash due to a lack of resources. The more programs you run simultaneously, the higher the likelihood of that happening.

So, it’s best to track your available RAM as you launch apps on your next Apple computer startup. You can do that with the Activity Monitor tool, which you can find in your Launchpad. You can also open it through Spotlight Search (type in ‘Activity Monitor’ and press the Return key).

Once you have Activity Monitor on your screen, click the Memory tab. You should see a list of all active processes, with each item showing how much memory they’re using. The ones consuming the most resources usually show up at the very top.

Next, look at the lower section of the window where it says ‘Physical Memory’ and ‘Memory Used.’ The more RAM currently in use, the closer the numbers in those fields. If you let that gap get even smaller, you can expect your Mac to slow down further or crash.

Quit Unknown or Less Important Apps

Activity Monitor gives you the Quit option straight from its interface. So, while you have the tool open, go through the list to see which apps or processes you can do without at the moment. Please pay particular attention to unfamiliar names; they can be potential malware.

That may have come as a shock, but unfortunately, Macs get infected with malware. Even Craig Federighi, Apple’s head of software, admitted this was a problem. Moreover, he noted that the company discovered and removed 130 Mac malware types in 2021.

So, when you find any suspicious items in the Activity Monitor list, Quit it. Highlight that process and then click the X icon at the top of the window. Do the same for all other safe apps you don’t need to use at the moment.

It’s also wise to run a malware scanner to detect malicious programs on your Mac. Some of these apps may even offer to quarantine or remove the threats.

Force Quit Unresponsive Apps

The X icon in Activity Monitor also gives you the Force Quit option. Select that if an app you want to close isn’t responding.

If that app freezes while on your screen, you can use the Force Quit shortcut, Option + Command + Esc (Escape).

Troubleshoot Your Mac Like a Pro

As you can see, there are plenty of ways to troubleshoot your Mac whenever it crashes. Most of them have to do with storage, memory, and updates. So, make sure you look into these components first whenever your device misbehaves.

Are you ready for more tips on technology or gadgets? If so, feel free to take your time reading our latest news and blog posts on these topics!

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