Let's start out on the right foot...

One of the most frustrating things to deal with is a computer that's not behaving correctly.  Sure, sometimes it's operator error, but other times you can see what's wrong with your computer (ie. when I highlight things with my cursor, why does everything turn RED?), but you don't know how to fix it.

Of course, there are also times when you can't see what's wrong, you don't CARE what's wrong, and you just want it to work!

Fear not gentle readers, as one of the purposes of this blog is for me (a guy with over 20 years of experience using Macintoshes) to help you get things straightened out on your Mac.  Huzzah!

First things first: we need to establish what version of OS X you are using so that we are all on the same page.  If you don't know what version of OS X you are using, it's easy to find out by making a trip to the Apple Menu in the upper left-hand side of your screen.  Click on the Apple, and then select "About This Mac":

The following screen will open up:

Right below the bold letters for Mac OS X, you will find the Operating System version number.  As of this writing (September 16, 2011) the latest version of OS X is 10.7.1.  If you don't have this exact version, that's ok, but for the sake of staying consistent, you'll want to be sure that you're running some version of 10.7 (10.7.0, 10.7.1, etc.) also known as Lion.  If you are running a version previous to that, you will still find this website useful, but things might be in a different place and/or named something different.

If you are running any version of 10.6.6 or later (also known as Snow Leopard) you can buy the upgrade to Lion through the Mac App Store (located in your Applications folder) for $29.  If you are running  OS X 10.6.0 to 10.6.5, you'll need to update your software to 10.6.6 or later (click Software Update in your About This Mac window, as seen above) before you can download Lion.  The reason?  The App Store wasn't a part of OS X until the release of 10.6.6.

If you are running anything earlier than 10.6, you're going to need to either buy a copy of Lion on a USB flash drive from the Apple Retail Store, or upgrade to Snow Leopard, and THEN upgrade to Lion.

Please note: to run Lion, you will positively, absolutely need to be running OS X on an Intel processor; PowerPC processors were no longer supported after 10.5.x.  EVEN THEN, the earliest versions of Macintoshes with Intel processors are not supported.  To run Lion, you MUST HAVE:

     •  An Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7 or Xeon processor (NOT a Core Duo, or Core Solo... if there is no 2 between Core and Duo, you're not supported)
     •  2 Gigabytes of RAM

If you bought your Mac after 2006, there's a very good chance that your system is compatible.  If not, it might be time to upgrade anyway.

So, make sure you're running OS X Lion, and we'll move on.