Those of us who own and use Apple products on a daily basis are no strangers to the emotional attachment they tend to engender, from the Shuffle to the Mac Pro. Some would say we’ve even brought this perception to a near-mythical level of super-operability.
Make no mistake. The Mac operating systems are stable, powerful, and innovative. We enjoy zero viruses, comparatively trouble-free platforms, and spend a fraction of the average time per year troubleshooting issues. Graphics are breathtaking, getting work done fast and well is a cinch, and both creativity and gaming experiences are phenomenal.
Long-time Mac users are often heard saying their Macs simply don’t break down, that they are, in a sense, infallible. So, when they do have a hardware failure, the owner is both surprised and unprepared.
Today, we’re going to break down some of these hardware legends to encourage all Mac users to think about backing up their system, purchasing AppleCare (similar to a car’s warranty), and to understand the fallibility of their machine, thereby lowering the surprise and stress factors when something does happen (notice we said “when,” not “if”).
HARDWARE: PARTS IS PARTS
Apple products are beautiful, there’s no doubt about it. Anodized aluminum, glass, and a sleek, minimalist profile are the benchmarks of Apple products. Pushing the front edge of technology, Apple is the leader in innovation, design, and platform stability and growth. Now that we’ve said what you already know, let’s get under the hood and debunk the hardware myth as it pertains to the inner workings of your Mac.
The most common computer hardware failures are hard drives and main logic boards, respectively. The hardware failure rate is 2%, but when you factor in how many more Macs are in circulation today, the incident rate increases exponentially. Ten years ago, your chances of experiencing a hardware failure were much lower than they are today.
Apple does not make hardware components such as hard drives, logic boards, and memory chips. Your original hard drive may have an Apple sticker on it, but it is manufactured by the same companies that make hard drives for PCs––Western Digital, Seagate, Hitachi, Toshiba, and Samsung.
PARTS FAIL. Moving parts, electrically or magnetically driven parts, interacting parts, they’re all subject to failure. Hard drives are constantly spinning, writing, reading, and performing a host of other functions that, over time, cause wear. You can keep your Mac in an ideal environment and treat it like royalty, but the fact of the matter is that, even if factors like design, ventilation, temperature might matter, the general consensus is that it’s not going to be the determining factor as to whether or not your hard drive (or other hardware) fails. Just a note for those who might be wondering: yes, physical impact, liquid, and use outside in a dust storm are high on the list of hardware failure causes. Yessir.
So, the bottom line is that, no matter what you do or don’t do to your computer, there exists a possibility of hardware failure. Most of these failures you can’t do anything about, but you can prevent data loss. So, let’s take a look at some things you can do to minimize loss when a hardware failure occurs.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Back up your data. Time Machine makes this incredibly easy.
Buy an external hard drive, plug it in, and let Time Machine back up your entire system. If you’re running an operating system that doesn’t support Time Machine (anything older than 10.5.8),
SuperDuper! and Carbon Copy Cloner, for example, are easy-to-use applications, and they get the job done.
Buy AppleCare. Apple’s warranty covers the first year of your computer’s life. AppleCare covers the second and third years of your computer’s life, including hardware, software, and peripherals, and it can mean the difference between getting your computer fixed or being without a computer altogether. A typical hard drive replacement after the first year without AppleCare will run you around $235. If your main logic board fails after the first year of your computer’s life without AppleCare, it can run you up to $800. With AppleCare, you’re covered 100% for these common failures. We’ll leave you to do the math on that one.
ENVIRONMENT: DON’T TAKE IT TO THE EXTREME
Environment can have an impact on your computer’s health. Does it have proper ventilation? Is it being kept reasonably free from dust? Is it in a smoke-free environment? Is it being protected from extremes in temperature and humidity? Does it have enough hard drive space free (bare minimum: 10%; better: 20%) for it to function adequately? These all factor into the life and health of your computer.
Improper ventilation can cause overheating, and temperature extremes are not friends to hardware. Make sure your computer has good clearance on all sides, and that there are no obstructions.
DUST
Dust is no friend to your computer, either. Run a dry, soft microfiber cloth over the top, back, sides, glass screen, and bottom of your computer once a week, minimizing the opportunity for dust to enter the system.
SMOKE
Build-up from smoke and other pollutants leaves residue on and inside your computer. This can literally “gum up” the works and compromise health and performance. If you smoke near your computer, provide increased ventilation and wipe down your computer more frequently. This will help minimize damage. Kitchen computers also come into contact with residue-producing smoke, and the same precautions should be followed.
TEMPERATURE
Keep your computer as far away from temperature extremes as possible. This is a particular challenge for people in the desert with swamp cooler operation, because there are both temperature and humidity extremes to content with. Placing a fan next to your computer blowing across the back can help. Placing your computer away from heat and cooling sources, or doors that frequently open, will also minimize exposure to temperature fluctuations.
HARD DRIVE SPACE
This is a user-controlled issue, and one of the most common dilemmas users face. A hard drive that’s too full compromises functionality, speed, and hard drive health.
Hard drives can be overtaxed and become unstable. One of the ways you can end up doing this is by demanding too much from an over-full drive. Why? Let’s use a filing cabinet as our metaphor.
In a filing cabinet, we place hanging file folders that contain files that in turn contain data. Under a normal operating environment, the folders are well labeled, they hang freely, and it is easy to access the files and papers within. It’s easy to retrieve a piece of paper without damaging anything, because we have enough room in which to move. When we overfill those folders or files, they can start to degrade. When we overstuff the file drawer and its folders, it becomes more difficult to retrieve files and papers, and we can even ruin the folders, labels, files, and papers as they tear and crumple from the inadequate space.
The same concept applies to a hard drive left with too little room to compile, organize, and find data necessary to the proper functioning of your computer. The operating system, working in less-than-ideal circumstances, may be forced to overwrite segments, or it may lose files, or data may become corrupted. You may notice something’s missing, or a program isn’t functioning the way you’re used to, or your computer has slowed down significantly.
You can find out how much hard drive space you’re using by either right-clicking on your hard drive icon (on your desktop or in the Finder window’s sidebar), or by holding down the control key and clicking on your hard drive icon, and selecting: “Get Info” from the pull-down menu. The screen that opens will show you hard drive capacity, how much you’ve used, and how much you have available. The number available should be, at the very minimum, 10% of capacity. (Example: a 499.95 GB capacity should show a minimum of 49 GB available.)
Another way to access your available hard drive space information is to go to the apple icon in the upper left-hand corner of your Mac’s screen, click on it, and select “About This Mac.” Once in that window, click on “More Info…” In the left-hand column under Hardware, navigate down to “Serial-ATA” and click on that to reveal your hard drive specifications, including its capacity and available space.
SOLUTIONS:
Remove files from your hard drive. That Get Info command can be used on any folder on your computer. If there are things you don’t need (usually from Documents, Pictures, Movies, Desktop), move them to an external hard drive and delete them from your computer. Emptying the trash for many can be a revelation in recovered hard drive space. With our house trash, we 
know when we need to empty it. With the computer trash, the can never overflows or gets stinky. Emptying your trash can free up gigabytes of space.
Too much stuff on your desktop makes it harder for your computer to function. If files are overlapping each other from not enough desktop space, you could lose some of that data. Try to keep as little on your desktop as possible. Make folders (right click or control click on the desktop and select “New Folder”) and organize your files that way if you need to.
A NOTE OF CAUTION: If you decide to remove files to make room, please be absolutely sure you’re not removing anything that’s vital to the functioning of your computer and its applications. When in doubt, don’t throw it out.
Install a larger hard drive. For many, this is the best solution. Demands on storage space have increased over the past few years, and they’ll continue to increase as applications and operating systems become more complex and demanding. This is an inevitability of technology.
As you continue to love your Apple products, don’t forget to protect them, your valuable files, and be prepared. Now, go play World of Goo or Pulse or something. You’ve earned it.
Any questions? Just ask.
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