Data loss is one of those things you hope you never have to deal with. Macs are often perceived as well-built and extremely reliable. However the reality is that data loss can and does happen. It may be due to a failing hard drive, full hard drive or liquid spill. As we store more and more of valuable data on our computers, data recovery has become increasingly difficult with Apple’s introduction of flash storage hard drives to their laptop lineup. Let’s talk about the evolution of hard drives and why data recovery for Apple Mac laptops has become more challenging. As…

FirstTech was an important place to me. It was where I first explored Apple computers and began what is now a decade-long journey into Apple computer repair. FirstTech was not just the first Apple reseller in Minneapolis; it was the first Apple reseller anywhere, right here in Minnesota in 1977. In March 2014, FirstTech closed its door after nearly 37 years in business due to heightened competition. With retail, repair and managed service offerings alike, it had been a great alternative to larger box stores and even regular Apple retail stores. What I liked most about FirstTech was its unassuming, plain exterior…

The last time Apple refreshed its Mac Pro was nearly three years ago. Even back then, the components Apple used to build its halo Mac were not the latest and greatest. As longtime fans and pro users, you and I know this is the typical offering from Cupertino. For many years, this wasn’t a big deal because you could simply upgrade the internal components as faster hard drives, newer graphics cards and more powerful processors became available. That was the appeal of the Mac Pro for hardcore Mac users. That upgradability ended with the Mac Pro trashcan design. Almost every component…

“My MacBook is sluggish and unresponsive.” “My MacBook Pro is insanely slow!” “I can barely use my Mac laptop. It’s crawling and takes forever to get anything done.” I hear these comments from customers all the time. Many deal with a sluggish MacBook for months, even years. If your MacBook or Macbook Pro is more than three years old, the hard drive is most likely to blame for the slowness you’re experiencing. The good news is that the hard drive can be replaced. MacBooks produced prior to 2013 typically contain a traditional spinning hard drive. A traditional spinning hard drive…

There is a common flaw in the all-in-one iMac design. Due to internal space constraints, many iMacs develop an overheating graphics card issue that results in a black/blue/grey screen while the computer is powered on or a screen that shows vertical stripes or columns. Early symptoms are an iMac that fails to wake up from sleep or one that wakes up but only shows a black screen. In the iMac heat is transferred from the graphics card chipset via copper pipes. The copper pipes then transfer heat to the silver cooling fins and out the backside of the iMac through…