Researching Problems

If you have completed the steps described so far and still can't determine the source of the problem, it is time to use additional resources to research the problem.

Check This Source:	For Information On:	Where
Read Me files	Last-minute compatibility and installation	Installation disks and installation directories
Mac Help	Basic features, functions, and use, as well as relevant Knowledge Base documents if you have a working network connection	Help > Mac Help in the Finder
User manuals	Product-specific troubleshooting and installation information	Product installation disks and installation folders
Network Utility	Computer's network interfaces, access to specific hosts or IP addresses (Ping), network performance statistics, IP addresses and host names, user information, and active TCP ports	/Applications/Utilities
Console	Messages about the system and log files	/Applications/Utilities
Apple Support web page	Top support questions, downloads, and updates (information is organized by product)	www.apple.com/support
Knowledge Bas	Technical articles, Read Me files, symptom/cure charts, specifications, late-breaking information, error codes	www.apple.com/support or AppleCare pane in Sherlock
Service Source	Hot issues, product specification database, Apple Software Updates, troubleshooting symptom/cure charts	Available from Apple to Apple authorized service providers and AppleCare Technician Training customers only
Email lists	Service that sends you information via email (messages sent to a mailing list are delivered to your email address so you can keep up with the discussion throughout the day)	http://lists.apple.com
Discussion lists	Message board where you post messages to forums, view messages by thread, and find solutions to issues that you are troubleshooting (can create bookmarks to postings that you want to return to later, customizing the Bookmarks page as your own personal support page)	http://discussions.info.apple.com

One of the first research resources you should use is the Mac OS X built-in Help feature. You may find that the operating system is functioning correctly and the user is not following the correct steps to enable a particular feature to work. An index for help topics is new to Help in Mac OS X 10.4.

The Knowledge Base (www.apple.com/support) gives you detailed examples of issues and their resolutions. The Knowledge Base makes use of an extensive set of keywords. These terms give you shortcuts to specific types of information. You can use keywords to assist you in making Knowledge Base searches. For example, using the keyword kmosx will list documents that cover Mac OS X issues.

MORE INFO

Refer to Knowledge Base document 75178, "Knowledge Base: How to use keywords."

In addition, the Knowledge Base provides search options to help you narrow down the search. For example, you can specify exact phrases to look for or limit the search to a certain product.

If you've isolated the problem to a startup issue, you can search the Knowledge Base for Mac OS X startup. The results include Knowledge Base document 106464, "Your Mac won't start up in Mac OS X."

Discussion forums are also available. Discussion forums give you the advantage of interacting with other users who are doing similar things with Mac OS X and, perhaps, running into similar issues.

NOTE

If the troubleshooting process has not resolved the issue, you might have to escalate. This might mean contacting a third party or Apple for help as appropriate. AppleCare, the service and support organization, provides a variety of online and phone-based support services as well as support plans for different consumer segments. The service and support options for AppleCare are described at www.apple.com/support.

Searching the Knowledge Base

The following steps take you to Apple's service and support web page.

1.	Open Safari (/Applications).
2.	Go to www.apple.com/support. You will see the main Apple Service & Support page. [View full size image] At the left, you will see guided search options for different Apple product families. At the right, you will see products and services and links to status pages. At the bottom left, you will see recent software updates. At the top right, you will see a search field with an advanced search link.
3.	Click the Advanced Search link. You may be prompted to sign in with your Apple ID. This is a single user name that you can use to connect to Apple services. You may have skipped this step when you installed Mac OS X following the instructions in this book, but you can create an Apple ID at any time.
4.	Log in with your Apple ID and you will see the Advanced Search page. [View full size image]
5.	In the search field next to "with all of the words," enter iPod update Mac OS X and press Return. You will see a list of documents with the search results.
6.	At the right, click the link for "Sort By Date." The most recent results display first. Experiment with another search value to get a feel for the search feature.

Searching Mac Help

You can use the Mac Help viewer in Mac OS X 10.4 to find documents stored in the local help database and in the Knowledge Base.

1.	In the Finder, choose Help > Mac Help (Command-?). You will see the Mac Help window, with hyperlinked topics at the right. [View full size image]
2.	In the search field at the top right, enter firmware and press Return. You will see both local help topics and Knowledge Base documents returned from your search. This is a very effective method for getting quick answers when you need to do research. [View full size image]

Problem ScenarioResearch

Sometimes there are known issues that are resistant to traditional troubleshooting. If you're unable to identify the cause of the problem through systematic fault isolation, take some time to use your resources to research the issue.

A customer calls to complain that her iMac displays a negative image. She says she hasn't changed any settings, and that everything seems to work fine, it's just that everything on the screen is negative.

After gathering information, verifying the problem (making sure she describes how the desktop appears), trying some quick fixes (restarting, etc.), you're unable to isolate the fault any further. You search the Knowledge Base with the words "negative image on screen."

The first document you find on this search is document 107329, "Mac OS X: Unexpectedly Displays Negative Image (White on Black, Reverse Type)." It indicates that if someone or something presses the Control-Option-Command-8 key combination, the computer may display a negative image, and that this is a feature of Universal Access preferences. Pressing the same key combination toggles the feature off, so you have the customer press these keys to solve the problem.