Four Easy Mac Maintenance Council

It is known that Mac computers are almost always reliable and easy to maintain. However, this does not mean that you should not completely ignore the maintenance of the system. In this article, I would like to share a few simple tips to help the average makovodov maintain your Mac best.

Launch Disk Utility once every couple of months is a good idea for two reasons: the restoration of the rights of access and, more importantly, testing and hard drive recovery. Disk Utility is available in every Mac - the utility is located in the folder / Applications / Utilities. Both procedures that I mentioned above are located in the tab "First Aid." Let's look at each of them in detail.

a) Restoration of rights of access

Restore access rights - a good practice, but it is not a cure-all, as they like to say some professionals. However, each makovodov should from time to time to start this process, especially after the installation or removal of a large number of applications.

b) Disk recovery

In my opinion, this is the most important part of functional Disk Utility. Although you can always check the boot volume, it is best to restore the boot disk partition recovery (recovery partition) c using keyboard shortcuts Command + R and run Disk Utility there. It will take you if your hard disk is damaged or it contains partially damaged areas. Do not forget to run the Verify Disk not only on the disk (physical disk name), but also on the boot partition (in my case it is called a Mac). If any errors are found, they are highlighted in red. Fortunately, almost always cope with the Disk Utility to remove them.

2. Keep your software updated to Mac

Maintaining software on your Mac up to date is really vital. Periodically run Software Update from the  Apple menu, and check for updates for the specific applications of the Mac App Store. The update may contain fixes common errors, improving bezopansosti and feature enhancements. There is no reason why you should not from time to time to check for new versions of installed programs.

By default, Software Update checks for updates once a week, but the Mac App Store in OS X Lion user must manually check for updates. As you know, in the new system OS X Mountain Lion, Software Update completely "moved" in the Mac App Store, so now the process will be fully automated.

3. Keep your desktop clean

Believe it or not, a large number of files on the desktop can also slow down your Mac. Slowing down is not so noticeable on newer Mac, but it's still there, because each file and preview icons occupy his memory. The less RAM available, the stronger slows down the computer. The best solution for this situation - to create a habit to regularly clean your desktop and move the files to the appropriate folder. If this is too boring for you, you can simply move all the elements of the desktop to a folder, to deal with them later.

If you can not bring himself to do it yourself, you can use the appropriate applications for automatic cleaning of the desktop and move files in a specific folder at regular intervals time.

4. Make regular backups of personal data

Performing regular backups is necessary for the maintenance of the Mac. It is a good practice because you will be able to quickly restore it back in case of any problems. The easiest solution for backing up data on a Mac - embedded application Time Machine. You'll need an external hard drive, but after setting up Time Machine rest of the process is automatic backup will very easily and effortlessly.

If you have not set up Time Machine, you really should do it. Make some big and cheap external hard drive, and then set up Time Machine in System Preferences. You will be really happy when you need to restore old files and data.

Also it is better to follow the habit of doing manual backup before installing the updates. Occasionally though there are such cases, when something can go wrong.

The best option - to make prevention than cure of the disease in the aftermath. If you know of any useful service tips for the Mac, you might leave your opinion in the comments.

[via osxdaily]