Is your MacBook not functioning? Whether your Mac laptop won’t turn on, you cannot connect to Wi-Fi, or you’re seeing the spinning beach ball, this guide will help you troubleshoot the common Mac problems in no time.
Fixing the Gray Screen at Startup
A blank gray screen at startup indicates an issue with a firmware update. If the gray screen shows the Apple logo, it means there’s an issue with the software.
In the former case, you must ensure that the firmware is upgraded. You can confirm this by checking whether you are running the up-to-date version of macOS. For this, you need to start your Mac, and you can do this by starting in Safe Mode. First, hold the power button until you see loading startup options > choose a volume > hold the shift key > click continue in Safe Mode. Then, open the App Store app and click Updates to ensure the software is updated.
Fixing the Spinning Beach Ball
The colorful beach ball can quickly become annoying if you have to stare at it regularly.
Typically, the ball appears when you’re trying to do too many things simultaneously on your system. Or when an app cannot handle the things it is supposed to do.
Usually, the spinning beach ball appears for a few seconds, but users refer to it as the spinning beach ball of death when it stays longer. If this happens, you must go to the Activity Monitor and check the RAM and CPU sections. Then, you must stop all the programs and apps hogging system resources.
Another reason for seeing this beach ball is your system is running out of space. You must clear space on your device by deleting all the redundant, unnecessary files. Eliminate the large files and downloads.
If an application is causing the problem, look in the Activity Monitor. See if any app or program is greedy. If so, you must quit the process or application.
Fixing a Mac That Won’t Start Up
So you are pressing the power button, but your Mac isn’t turning on? It would be best if you did the following:
- Ensure the power cable is undamaged and plugged in securely. Check the electrical outlet to see if it is working.
- Press and hold the power button for ten seconds. Release it, and then try starting your system normally.
- You might be encountering issues with the accessories attached to your system. Try unplugging them and starting your Mac.
- If all else fails, reset the SMC.
Fixing a Frozen Mac
If your Mac has frozen in the middle of a task or an application has become unresponsive, you must Force Quit the problematic apps. In the Dock, right-click on the app icon and select Force Quit. Alternatively, you can press Command + Alt + Escape to bring up the Force Quit menu.
Before force quitting processes or apps, you must remember to back up your critical data. Force quitting or force rebooting may lead to data loss.
Fixing Slow Running Mac
Is your system running slowly? If so, do not download any program claiming to speed up your Mac. Instead, it would be best to find the reason for the slowdown.
Go to the Activity Monitor and look at the five tabs: Disk, Energy, CPU, Network, and Memory. For example, click on Memory to determine if something is consuming the memory or power. In the resulting window, you will see a list of processes running on your system and a graph of memory usage. Everything is good with your system if you see green. But your system is having trouble managing memory if it is amber or red. This might be the reason your system is running slowly.
Then, you must identify the memory-hogging applications and quit those programs.
Then, check if your system has enough RAM. If not, you may need to upgrade your RAM, so your system functions smoothly.
Fixing The Blue Screen at Startup
Do you see a blue screen? Does the spinning beach ball accompany the blue screen? This indicates a problem with your software or a problematic startup item.
You must start your system in Safe Mode and let your system repair the problem. Then, restart your system normally, and if the problem is with one of the login items, you must delete the login items one by one. After that, you must restart your computer each time to find out if the problem is fixed.
For deleting startup or login items, go to the Apple menu > System Settings > General > Login Items. Then, choose the login items you wish to delete and click the Remove button.
If you want to add them back again, click the plus icon.
The Bottom Line
These are some common problems and their solutions. So the next time you work on your Mac, you don’t have to worry about running to the nearest service center.
