Apple KB updates: MacBook hardware, Mail, MobileMe, OS X Sleep

Apple continually releases knowledgebase articles that cover information about program features, new products, software updates, as well as troubleshooting for specific problems with various products including Macs and iOS devices.

Recently Apple released a few troubleshooting-related articles that may be of use to MacBook, MobileMe Gallery, and OS X Mail users.

Mac OS X: Why your Mac might not sleep or stay in sleep mode

This is really the highlight of the recent troubleshooting articles from Apple. The article covers numerous aspects of the OS X "Sleep" feature, including various ways to put the computer to sleep and what kind of sleep options are available in the computer (hard-disk sleep, display sleep, full system sleep, etc).

Many times systems will not go to sleep because a process or setting is preventing it from happening. There are a variety of these processes, including Bluetooth, sharing services, spotlight, and active applications such as full-screen games and DVD movies.

The article is pretty extensive and is worth a read for those who regularly use sleep, especially scheduled sleep, and find the system will sometimes not go to sleep.

MobileMe: Troubleshooting the Gallery app on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch

Apple's MobileMe Gallery app allows you to interact with and manage your MobileMe photo gallery, but sometimes people have not been able to log in to the service or properly view all files on the service. This article is a look at a number of these problems and steps to take for fixing them.

Mac OS X v10.6 Mail: Troubleshooting sending and receiving e-mail

Mail is one of the most common applications to troubleshoot, partially because it has to interface with numerous online services but also because it is one of Apple's most popular applications. In most instances it works well, but sometimes people find they cannot send or receive mail, or specific features like the "new mail" sound do not work.

Usually problems in Mail can be easily resolved with a few troubleshooting steps, and Apple has made this easier by incorporating the Connection Doctor utility. This article covers how to use the connection doctor's results to diagnose and troubleshoot the inability to send or receive e-mail in Mail.

Apple also has a related article on bounced Mail messages not returning to the originator and thereby indicating that your e-mail address is valid. This is a relatively brief article that discusses junk-mail filtering and e-mail aliases as alternate ways to manage unsolicited e-mails in the event your ISP does not support the e-mail bouncing options in Mail.

Hardware: MacBook Air

The MacBook Air was built to be very light, and in doing so Apple had to remove the optical drive for the slimmer body and also adjust other components in the general MacBook design, such as the hinges for the display.

An external optical drive is available for the MacBook Air, which like any optical drive can sometimes not read media properly. Apple has an article outlining troubleshooting steps for the drive, some of which are interesting tips to keep in mind such as the drive not being usable as a boot device when connected to some external displays.

Display hinges are an important but often under-appreciated component to notebook systems, and in Apple's systems they contain precision clutch mechanisms that allow for easy opening and closing of the screen coupled with enough friction to hold the display open at almost any usable angle. Sometimes, however, the hinge mechanisms may not perform as expected and will need to be serviced. Apple outlines some problems with the hinges in a knowledgebase article that indicate servicing will be required. These problems are listed for the MacBook Air, but also apply to all MacBook systems.

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