Hard Restarts, Uninstalling Applications and Launching Programs on Schedule

Welcome to My First Mac's Q&A column. It is said that Macs are easier to use, but they are still complex in their own right. Here are a few questions we have received lately from readers like you. Sometimes we reformat the questions for clarity and presentation.

This week we have questions about what to do when your Mac is frozen, uninstalling programs you don't want and how to make a program launch on cue.

		Sometimes my Mac locks up and I can't get it to do anything, How do it restart when it won't respond?
		Review What to Do When Your Mac Crashes for all the different types of crashes. If your new Mac is not responsive at all, first try pressing the power button for 5-10 seconds. That will almost always turn of your Mac. If that doesn't work, you need to disconnect it from the power. Unplug it from the wall, and if you have a laptop, take out the battery. That's your last resort.
		How do I get rid of applications? I can't find the uninstaller.
		Macs don't come with an uninstaller because most of the time, you don't need one. The program file in your applications folder is actually a bunch of files masquerading as just one. When you drag it to the trash, all the program files go with it. I say most of the time because some applications will install support files in various parts of your Mac, usually the Library. Rather than tracking them down by hand, try out AppZapper. It's a program that will round up all the support files with the applications so you can delete them in one click. 5 zaps for free or $13 for all you can eat.
		How do I make a program start at a certain time of day?
		You might think to look in System Preferences, but the easy way to do it is with iCal. First create an event at the time you want it to start. Select repeating if you want it every day or week. Then under Alarm, choose Open File, then in the next line down select Other… and navigate to the program you want to start up. Once selected, that program will open now on the schedule you just created. Lastly, go to iCal Preferences and under Advanced, make sure Turn off alarms when when iCal is not open is not checked. That way your schedule will go on whether iCal is open or not. This part is easy, but if you need the program to close again at a specific time, it's more involved. See How Do I Make a Program Start-up At a Pre-Configured Time on My Mac? for the answer.

You can send in your questions via the Contact page or email us at editor[AT]myfirstmac[DOT]com. Because of the volume of email we receive, we can't reply to each and every question personally. We read each question that comes in and reply to the ones that fit the scope of this column. We also save some questions for future columns.

If you need your specific question answered right away, try asking it in the Comments section of a related article.

What is this?

Tell A Friend

Print Page