System Profiler

As you learn in the next lesson, the first step in the troubleshooting flowchart is to gather information, and one of the best tools at your disposal is System Profiler, included with Mac OS X 10.3 and higher. A similar program, called Apple System Profiler, is included with Mac OS 8.6 through Mac OS X 10.2. Both programs gather detailed information about system software versions; types and number of hard drives and other peripherals; and installed memory, extensions, and applications.

To launch System Profiler in Mac OS X, double-click its icon in the Utilities folder within the Applications folder. Alternatively, you can choose About This Mac from the Apple menu, then click More Info.

Along the left of the window, System Profiler has a Contents list that logically groups the information displayed. By default, Hardware is selected, and it provides an overview of the Macintosh model, central processing units (CPUs), and memory, among other things. The preceding figure shows System Profiler running on a 1.8 GHz iMac G5 with 2 GB of memory.

These details are very useful when you try to track down the source of a particular issue, and it's usually a good idea to save them for later reference (Choose Save As from the File menu). For a hard copy, choose Print from the File menu, provided the computer is connected to a functioning printer.

Devices and Volumes

For information on storage devices attached to the Mac, you must select the appropriate Hardware heading (ATA, SCSI, USB, or FireWire).

Selecting a particular bus shows all devices attached to that bus. This is helpful in determining whether a device is properly connected and recognized by the Mac, though it does not necessarily mean the device is functioning properly. In this case, we can see that the Mac recognizes two ATA devices, and the selected device is a CD-RW/DVD-RW (SuperDrive).

Applications and Extensions

The Software heading shows the currently running versions of Mac OS X and the kernel. Selecting either the Applications or Extensions heading shows the filenames, version numbers, and modification dates for different types of software located on the startup volume.

The information in these sections is useful for determining if a necessary piece of software has loaded properly, and if it's the correct version. However, unless you are particularly knowledgeable about the many different components that Mac OS X and its applications require, you probably won't be able to make much sense of this information without consulting other resources and reference materials such as those described in Lesson 1, “Reference Materials.”

Logs

To view the detailed steps that show what the Mac has been doing deep down in the operating system, select the Logs heading.

Mac OS X keeps track of its progress as it performs tasks. When everything is running smoothly, you should study log files to recognize normal system behavior. Then, when issues arise, your ability to identify differences in log entries between normal and abnormal behavior may provide helpful clues as to what's causing the issue. This information is also accessible through Apple's Console utility (discussed later in this lesson).

System Profiler Exercise

For this exercise, you need a Mac with both Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X installed.

Complete the following steps:

1.	Start up the system in Mac OS 9.
2.	Choose Apple System Profiler from the Apple menu.
3.	Using the System Profile tab, find and note all information that is supplied about the memory, hardware, and network.
4.	Using the Startup Disk control panel, restart your system in Mac OS X.
5.	Double-click System Profiler in the Utilities folder.
6.	Repeat your noting of memory, hardware, and network information.
7.	Compare the information found under Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X.