I have always used Mac computers since day one. Love these machines, have gone through so many models I can’t remember them all. And I have never had a problem….ever. But that changed this week, and I think I would call this one user error. But for all the Mac users out there, I wanted to share this tip so you don’t have the same problems I did.
I had just returned from photographing bears in Alaska, and the first thing I did when I got home was download my cards onto my iMac hard drive to start editing. But even with a 1 TB hard drive, I filled up all the available space. No problem, I would just start editing and deleting photos the next morning and free up loads of space. But that night my computer did an automatic Apple update (basically new security features), and this update required more space than I had left on my hard drive. Guess what happened…my computer guys called it an ‘endless reboot cycle’. I couldn’t get my computer to reboot and open because it couldn’t finish the update. I tried everything in the book at home including cancelling the update, soft and hard reboots, diagnostic checks, disk first aid. My computer seemed to be working, I just couldn’t get it to start up. So off to the computer repair store it went.
Here is the good news. They were able to get into my hard drive and delete some bear image folders, which allowed enough space for the update to occur. Thankfully I had my important files backed up on iCloud. But it didn’t matter, since I still had access to my files after the fix. So the lesson learned is this: it is not a good idea to fully max out your hard drive on your computer, and be especially careful you have enough space when doing updates, new operating systems, adding programs. You don’t want to experience the ‘endless reboot cycle’. Thankfully my computer is working just fine after this hiccup. Have a great holiday weekend!