Category: Modern problems

But I’ve got backups.

Yeah, There’s a new OS X afoot and as I type this it’s downloading to my computer.

Many claims have been made about this iteration of the OS, I’m hoping just a few of them are true.

One of the claims is that the your computer will seem faster. Well I suppose that it actually could be faster because the OS isn’t as computationally intensive. This update is a mostly “Under the hood” kind of update. I’m looking forward to the new Metal features. Metal is supposed to put more of the rendering into the GPU and free up the CPU for other tasks. Fine by me!

If I can get another couple of years out of my computer I’m a totally happy camper.

I’ve backed up all my data, Freed up a memory stick, and done all the checking I can, to make sure this is a smooth upgrade. 

Fingers crossed and all that! 

On the other hand… If this all goes to hell in a hand basket I’ve got a fall back plan. Reload and restore. No, it’s not likely to be R&R but I’m up to the challenge.

This is going to take a while, the update is 6.08GB And I’m seriously damaging the monthly data allotment. On the other hand I’m downloading the update and sticking it on a thumb drive for later use by the other member of the house, and perhaps one or two clients that are afraid to click on “Upgrade”.

Keep your fingers crossed for me.

I got lucky, my computer cleared the bad battery message.

So I don’t need a new computer and I can put off spending the cash on a new battery.  As I was investigating the issue I confirmed that I was correct in my assessment that If I was going to be in the machine it made sense to replace the drive and the battery at the same time.

The battery is getting tired, but it’s not damaged. 

Maybe if I wait a little longer, the prices will continue to fall. 

Yeah, I’ve been looking at a drive upgrade for a while. The model I’ve had my eye on has fallen in price by about 100.00 over the past few months. Next year perhaps I’ll be able to do the drive and battery upgrade for 400.00 or less.

Ok Ok I’m cheap.

If there are any of you who are having similar issues, you might try just cycling the hell out of your system.

Make sure that you’ve got the latest OS updates. Sometimes Apple releases SMC updates that optimize both your power utilization and battery maintenance.

Once you’re sure of that, just run the hell out of your computer. Kill the battery, recharge it, kill it, recharge it and see what happens.

I was experimenting with run times on my machine to see just how long the battery would last. I’ve got a couple of client meetings coming up and wanted to pick locations where I could plug the machine in if I needed to. Then I figured if the machine lasted a couple of hours I’d be good.

While I was trying to figure out the battery life, suddenly, the “Service Battery” message disappeared and I got nearly normal run time, just over 5 hours. Brand new, this machine ran 7 hours on battery.

I’m glad I didn’t place that upgrade order!

I’m wondering if this is a case of “Use it or lose it” When I’m around home I tend to keep the machine plugged in to the adapter while I’m using it. Maybe I should be running unconnected more often.

In anycase, It’s a GOOD DAY!

I hope you have similar luck in your world.

Saw this message this morning on my beloved Macbook Air. I’m hoping it’s a lie and that cycling the battery completely will make it go away.

This usually means the battery is getting to the end of it’s useful life and is due for replacement. Sometimes it means you’ve got a glitch in the power management system that can be corrected. 

Fingers crossed that it’s correctable.

If it’s not, well it looks like batteries are about 100.00 so it won’t be too expensive to repair.  This got me thinking though, “How old is this computer?” I pulled up the receipt and DANG! this little puppy was purchased 6/2012. Not too shabby if the battery is just now saying it’s getting tired. 

So now comes the question. Do I replace the battery or the computer? A quick search tells me that another Macbook Air similarly equipped would cost $1749.00. The specs on the newest machines aren’t substantially different from what I’ve got. The new machine would give me Thunderbolt 2, 802.11ac, and a longer battery life, 12 hours instead of 7.

On the other hand for about $600.00 I could put a lower power, faster, bigger(1TB) SSD (Solid State Drive) in this machine and replace its battery with a larger capacity version and probably achieve some system wide improvements that would be on par with the brand new machine. This would extend the life of my current computer easily another three years.

It would be nice to have Thunderbolt 2 and it would be nice to have faster wifi. But those items don’t justify the additional cost. The display on the new Macbook Air isn’t substantially different and in all other respects the new machine would be a duplication of the old.

So if I’m going to have to replace the battery in this machine, the question is do I spring for the new hard drive at the same time? Since I’m going to have the machine open in the first place maybe it makes more sense to do all the surgery at once.

We also have a new operating system release coming up. Humm…

In for a penny, in for a pound.  or more modern… Go big or Go home.

I’ll wait for the results of the battery drain and recharge and then decide but I think I’m going to have some interesting computer stuff going on in the near future.

Pray to the computer gods for me.