tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80257504570188497142024-02-08T10:56:18.841+00:00MacDoc: Apple Mac SupportMacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025750457018849714.post-34102409368137329182016-06-06T19:42:00.001+01:002016-06-06T19:42:44.216+01:00Mavericks Screensaver fix<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recently updated a 2008 MacBook Pro from Snow Leopard to Mavericks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So far everything's seems to work well without any performance lag. However I noticed the screen saver didn't work as expected. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Under Snow Leopard I set the Screensaver to play photos from a selected folder in iPhoto and this led to a nice slide show when the Mac was idle.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This setting didn't carry over to Mavericks, in fact no iPhoto folders were seen in the Source drop-down menu! Checking the forums, there were recommendations from upgrading to iLife'11 to running a Terminal command.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However not wishing to spend more money on this upgrade, I experimented with linking Screensaver with an alias of an iPhoto folder. It wasn't elegant but it worked!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's how: </span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Goto Home > Pictures</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">iPhoto Library</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ctrl-click > Show package contents </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Choose a folder within Modified > File > Make alias </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Drag alias to Pictures Folder</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">System Folder > Screensaver > Select type of slide show > Source</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Choose Folder... > navigate to Pictures Folder and select the alias.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thumbnail of the slideshow will be displayed and closing the System Folder will activate the slideshow when the Mac is idle.</span></li>
</ul>
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<br />MacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025750457018849714.post-59956688388110633952012-10-08T20:22:00.000+01:002012-10-08T20:22:02.009+01:00<h3>
Hard Disk Death: Thought it would never happen to me!</h3>
After many years of sorting out clients' hard disk crashes and corruptions, the inevitable happened to me.<br />
<br />
The internal drive in my faithful MacBook Pro 2007 (MBP) died without warning. The usual <b>Apple Disk Utility</b> - Disk Repair failed and recommended re-formatting, similarly <a href="http://www.alsoft.com/diskwarrior/" target="_blank"><b>DiskWarrior</b> </a>recomended a backup of important files and then reformat. Running Drive Genius, found many bad blocks.<br />
<br />
Time for Hard Drive retirement, methinks.<br />
<br />
Fortunately I had run my monthly cloning session using <a href="http://www.bombich.com/" target="_blank"><b>Carbon Copy Cloner</b></a> just a few days earlier. So being unable to boot-up on the internal drive, I had to use the clone instead. Work in progress is usually backed up from the internal drive to the server, daily.<br />
<br />
So work continued using the cloned drive and an order placed on Amazon for the new <a href="http://www.seagate.com/internal-hard-drives/laptop-hard-drives/momentus-xt-hybrid/" target="_blank">Seagate Momentus Hybrid Drive</a> (Part Solid State and part spinning disk).<br />
<br />
Hybrid Drive arrived a few days later and following <a href="http://www.ifixit.com/Device/Mac" target="_blank"><b>iFixit.com</b></a> drive replacement guide, it replaced the old dead drive.<br />
<br />
Still working off the Cloned Drive Backup, I formatted the new Hybrid, and cloned back the whole system to the new drive. Unplugged the Clone Drive and re-started the MBP using the Hybrid and hurray everything was back to normal... but not quite.<br />
<br />
I still had to transfer my Boot Camp partition and the Windows operating system. This one was tricky as Carbon Copy Cloner doesn't touch the Boot Camp partition. Here I had to use <a href="http://twocanoes.com/winclone/" target="_blank"><b>Winclone</b></a> as a backup.<br />
<br />
So from the re-constituted Utilities folder, I set up a new Boot camp partition and stopped when it asked to install the Windows operating system.<br />
<br />
Fired up Winclone, searched for the Boot Camp clone and reinstalled the contents to the new Boot Camp partition.<br />
<br />
Booted up into Boot Camp and good news, "The Dark Side" worked in all it's Windows glory!<br />
<br />
However only one drawback emerged. <a href="http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/overview.html" target="_blank">VMware Fusion</a>, the Windows-on-the-Mac emulator didn't work. I couldn't find the new Boot Camp Partition. Googling for answers came up with complex solutions so I tried the last resort - un-install then re-install VMware Fusion.<br />
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Hurray, this worked! In the process of re-installing, VMware Fusion found the location of the new Boot camp. Testing the app led to success.<br />
<br />
All in all, the whole excercise was a success and the Hybrid Drive flie. Only a day was lost in getting back to normal.<br />
<br />
Moral of the story? Clone, Clone, Clone, Backup, Backup, Backup! It makes a cheaper recovery in the long run both in time and money. External Drives are cheap and so are the Apps mentioned above.<br />
<br />
Sadly when everything gets old they die and Hard Disks are no exception. IT WILL HAPPEN TO YOU!MacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025750457018849714.post-70087675687491484132009-09-09T10:30:00.003+01:002010-02-06T18:31:01.186+00:00Adapters<span style="font-style: italic;">Dear Macdoc,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Alongside my re-built Apple G4, and Apple laptop, I have an old AppleMac 4400 in very good working order. I want to keep it running so I can use all my old programmes, early photoshop so on and so forth. And I'm sure I can find spares on Ebay</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">However, I would like to connect it to a reasonable modern printer, the problem is that the 4400 is SCSI. Is it possible to find an adapter to fit SCSI, with a usb printer.?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Many thanks</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Tony Shelley</span><br /><br /><br />Hi Tony<br /><br />To be honest you'll be flogging a dead horse. For a start SCSI is not a printer output. Its mainly used for connecting hard drives and scanners. It's the serial printer port that is used. There is no adapter to convert this port to USB.<br /><br />Modern USB printers will be more compatible with the modern Macs. You might get away with using an Apple generic printer driver, or an open source CUPS driver (search Google) or at best making a PDF using Adobe Distiller then printing this.<br /><br />Colour printing is possible over an Ethernet network to a Colour Laser Printer using the Postscript Laser writer driver in System 9, but these printers are more expensive than Inkjet ones.<br /><br />The cheapest solution for you to find a non USB printer. Sadly we recently chucked a perfectly good Epson Stylus Pro XL Plus A3 printer as we couldn't find a good home for it... non even the charity shops wanted to sell it!<br /><br />Should have put it on Ebay...MacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025750457018849714.post-54696780566766065012009-08-31T20:44:00.002+01:002010-02-06T18:25:54.051+00:00URL disappeared<span style="font-style: italic;">Hello</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Could you help me? I somehow dragged the address field or URL space in safari off. Is it possible to regain this so that I can cut and paste urls?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Thanks</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Frances</span><br /><br /><br />Hi Frances<br /><br />Try this:<br /><br /> 1. Safari > Menu bar > View > Customize toolbar<br /> 2. Drag the URL field or default set back onto the toolbar<br /><br />Regards<br />MacDocMacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025750457018849714.post-74082996207903614652009-07-11T12:03:00.002+01:002010-02-06T18:22:16.576+00:00MS Outlook says "Disk Full"<span style="font-style: italic;">Hi</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I tried clearing quite a lot of emails yesterday, but after downloading about 5 new emails from MS Exchange it came up with same rejection - disc full.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I am wondering if there is any way that I could export the majority of emails into an archive file, which could be reactivated purely for search purposes in the future - it us just because there is such a lot of data which retains use for me as reference.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Actual hard disc space from the 'file - get info' looks as though I have masses of reserve space on the hard disc:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">CAPACITY: 38.15 GB</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">AVAILABLE: 28.23 GB</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">USED: 9.92 GB</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Is there any way of tweaking the database to increase the capacity?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">All suggestions welcome.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Rod</span><br /><br /><br />Hi Rod<br /><br />From memory, Outlook has it's own database-fix tool.<br /><br />Try starting Outlook with the option key down. This should give you a dialogue box asking if you want to COMPACT the database. Click on YES.<br /><br />See if that has improved the situation, else start Outlook again with the option key down. Say no to compacting the database but YES to COMPLEX REBUILD.<br /><br />Hope that helps<br />MacDocMacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025750457018849714.post-39290634422366635012009-06-29T12:35:00.001+01:002010-02-06T01:54:47.018+00:00Epson Stylus photo EX printer<span style="font-style: italic;">hello</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I wonder if there is a print driver for the Epson Stylus photoEX for my mac OS X</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I also need to find a printer cable that will convert into a USB</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The apple cable recommended is a Peripheral-8 cable part no M0197 . but this was back in 1998?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">thank-you in anticipation</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Adrian Thomas</span><br /><br /><br />Hi Adrian<br /><br />Firstly I must warn you may be throwing away good money if you try to get your Epson Stylus Photo Ex printer to work. We had an Epson Stylus Pro XL Plus and didn't have a great rate of success as our Macs got upgraded. Support for old equipment gets less and less. It may be cheaper to upgrade the printer and assign the old one to the recycle heap.<br /><br />However you can check out these websites:<br /><br /><ul><li>Printer Drivers - <a href="http://www.versiontracker.com/php/qs.php?mode=basic&action=search&str=printer&srchArea=macos%7Cclassic%7Cdrivers">http://www.versiontracker.com/php/qs.php?mode=basic&action=search&str=printer&srchArea=macos%7Cclassic%7Cdrivers</a></li><li>Mac Serial to USB - <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Keyspan-Usb-Twin-Serial-Adapter/dp/B000FX61MS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1246226552&sr=1-2">http://www.amazon.co.uk/Keyspan-Usb-Twin-Serial-Adapter/dp/B000FX61MS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1246226552&sr=1-2</a></li></ul><br />Good luck...MacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025750457018849714.post-8224634024472795372009-05-05T10:02:00.000+01:002010-02-06T01:49:15.596+00:00Hard Drive Problems<span style="font-style: italic;">Hi,</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Wondered if you could help with an in sight... I've got the first generation 13" White Macbook's but the hard drive keeps going on it, i have to replace it i'd say once every 3months... What would be the underlying issue too cause this so frequently?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Many Thanks</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Zach</span><br /><br /><br />Hi Zacharia<br /><br />One HD dying is acceptable, but three?<br /><br />I presume you've exhausted all the disk tests and recovery routines as outlined by the Apple website support pages; as well as third party software tools like Drive Genius?<br /><br />I reckon the logic board connection to the drive is shorting the drive controller. If you are on Applecare, insist on a logic board replacement. Else it's a DIY repair, try <a href="http://www.bookyard.com">www.bookyard.com</a> for spares.<br /><br />Regards<br />MacDocMacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025750457018849714.post-86851658736380763532009-02-11T10:57:00.001+00:002010-02-06T01:44:41.766+00:00Displays<span style="font-style: italic;">Hi</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I have just been given an apple mac 'Studio Display'. Will I be able to connect it to my PC or won't it be compatible?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Thanks,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Vanessa</span><br /><br /><br />Hi Vanessa<br /><br />You don't say which Studio Display. I think if it's the flat panel one, its got an ADC connector. If your PC's Graphic card has a similar looking connector it'll probably be DVI. So you'll need a ADC to DVI adapter, like this:<br /><br /><a href="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/APPLE-DVI-TO-ADC-DISPLAY-ADAPTER-A1006_W0QQitemZ270341321211QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_Apple_Mac_Accessories?hash=item270341321211&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1683|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318">http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/APPLE-DVI-TO-ADC-DISPLAY-ADAPTER-A1006_W0QQitemZ270341321211QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_Apple_Mac_Accessories?hash=item270341321211&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1683|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318</a><br /><br />Note you may have problems controlling the parameters of the display as there are no controls on it. However your Graphic Card software may be able to do this.<br /><br />Hope that helps.MacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025750457018849714.post-82917435935199973742009-02-09T10:56:00.001+00:002010-02-06T01:39:49.255+00:00Is this Mac Virus?<span style="font-style: italic;">Hello,</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Are you able to help?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">We have recently set up with broadband. We have a mac oxs laptop and seem to have acquired a virus. Everytime we go to write an email an 'alert' box appears saying something like 'we could not complete the spellcheck'. Once you've okayed it it disappears and then re-appears 2 seconds later. Any suggestions I have no idea what to do. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">When setting up the braodband and wireless router i was instructed to turnoff the norton antivirus and inadvertantly forgot to turn it on so presume that's how the virus got in (obviously i switched it back on as soon as i realised</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Many thanks</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Karen</span><br /><br /><br />Hi Karen<br /><br />It's not a virus, it just a corrupt link between the application and the spell checker.<br /><br />Sadly the Spell checker is part of the core system of the computer and one way is to back up all your important files and then use your original system CD's to do an "Archive and Install". You can refer to the Apple Website for further details.<br /><br />However before performing such a major operation, try this.<br /><br />Reset the the "PRAM" (Parameter RAM)<br /><ol><li>Restart the computer and immediately hold down 4 keys: the "Option/Alt", "Apple/command", "P" and "R" keys.</li><li>Hold them down until you hear the start up tones three times</li><li>Release the keys to allow the computer to complete the Boot sequence</li><li>When the Desktop appears, try Apple Mail</li></ol>Hope that helpsMacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025750457018849714.post-73825001056740462982009-01-03T12:51:00.000+00:002010-02-06T01:29:38.272+00:00iBook G4<span style="font-style: italic;">Hi, I was wondering if you would be able to tell me how to disable "spaces" without going into "system preferences" because it will let me open "system preferences" but I cannot see it.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">If I click on the "spaces" application it will show me the "system preferences" window but if i click on it, it just disappears.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Regards</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Andrew</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">p.s</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">It's a laptop, ibook G4 but has been upgraded by "apple at work" and is now running 10.5.6 and the processor is 1.33ghz and the memory is 1.5gb.</span><br /><br /><br />Hi Andrew<br /><br />Looks like your Spaces.app is corrupt so you will have to re-install it using a great piece of shareware called Pacifist from:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.charlessoft.com/">http://www.charlessoft.com/</a><br /><br />You'll also need your Leopard installation DVD.<br /><br />Follow the prompts from Pacifist, search for Spaces and let Pacifist install it.<br /><br />You can then run Spaces and disable it.MacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025750457018849714.post-35374525571721958622008-12-16T18:39:00.006+00:002009-07-12T02:20:22.937+01:00Powerbook G4 display screen problems<span style="font-style:italic;">I apologise for any typos - i cannot really see the screen very weel - I have had my powerbook g4 since about 2002, and a few hours ago as I was plugging in some external speakers to listen to music on my stereo, the display scrren went wonky - there a re svertical stripes accross the screen, and it is pixelated to such an extent that I cannot see much.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Is this just a sympton of old age, is the computer a goner, or is there some way I can fix it?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Help!</span><br /><br />I'm afraid it could be something major due to age. However try the following:<br /><br /> 1. Check the Brightness control<br /> 2. Press around the frame of the display to see if normal brightness returns<br /> 3. Change the angle of the display by tilting it backwards and forwards<br /> 4. Reset PRAM: <a href="http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379?viewlocale=en_US">http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379?viewlocale=en_US</a><br /> 5. Reset the PMU: <a href="http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1431?viewlocale=en_US">http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1431?viewlocale=en_US</a><br /><br />If none of the above works, than I'm afraid the inverter is malfunctioning. This controls the power to the display.<br /><br />This can be repaired/replaced by your nearest Apple Dealer or a company called Bookyard<br /><a href="http://www.thebookyard.com/mac_repairs.php?manufacturers_id=32">http://www.thebookyard.com/mac_repairs.php?manufacturers_id=32</a><br /><br />Alternatively you can buy the recently discontinued MacBook Pro:<br /><a href="http://www.cancomuk.com/Home/Clearance/Previous-Models?ref=71cac2e6829c657b">http://www.cancomuk.com/Home/Clearance/Previous-Models?ref=71cac2e6829c657b</a><br /><br />Regards, MacDocMacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025750457018849714.post-85363704933449441522008-10-20T11:44:00.004+01:002010-02-05T12:05:48.411+00:00System Preferences<span style="font-style: italic;">My iBook (running 10.4.11) is not picking up the wi-fi after it is starting up or waking from sleep. I have to select the network manually in the Airport menu. When I try to go to Network in System Preferences to try to resolve this I automatically get the box which says "Your network settings have been changed by another application." Every time I click OK on this box to close it, it reopens preventing me from doing anything else. I have to Force Quit System Preferences in order to move on.</span><br style="font-style: italic;"><br style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Any ideas?</span><br style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Ray</span><br /><br /><br />Hi Ray<br /><br />This too happen to me on my old G4 Desktop running Tiger. This has affected many running this "old" system. Sadly it looks like Apple is not in a rush to fix it as they're concentrating on Leopard.<br /><br />The problem started with a recent series of Security Fixes. The installer corrupted the Network prefs. One can of course change everything using Terminal, but the simplest work around is as follows:<br /><ol><li>System Pref > Security</li><li>"Check" Require password to unlock each secure system preference</li><li>Goto Network (this should prevent the "network setting have changed..." loop)</li><li>Change your Airport settings (you may have to unlock the padlock before making the change)</li><li>Lock the changes</li></ol>I'm puzzled why you have to change the Airport settings after sleep. Presumably your Airport is set to Automatic and DHCP?<br /><br /><br /><hr align="center" width="50%" size="1" noshade="noshade" /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Thanks Galen,</span><br style="font-style: italic;"><br style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">That has fixed the Network problem, but despite being on Automatic and DCHP I still have to choose the wireless network manually.</span><br style="font-style: italic;"><br style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Ray</span><br /><br /><br />Hi Ray<br /><br />Re: Losing connection after sleep, have you tried the following?<br /><ul><li>System preferences > Network > Show > "Name of airport connection, Automatic?"</li><li>Click on Airport Tab > Options > un-check "disconnect from wireless networks when I log out"</li><li>Close Sys Prefs</li></ul>Alternatively you could try deleting you current network settings and setting it from scratch again.<br /><ul><li>System Prefs > Network > Location (Go through the all the locations and write down all the settings)</li><li>Location > Edit location > delete the lot</li><li>Location > New location > re-establish all the locations you've deleted</li></ul>It is normal for the computer to disconnect from Airport when asleep to preserve energy, maybe something in the settings is making it forget.MacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025750457018849714.post-34181371077361655612008-07-08T14:09:00.000+01:002010-02-06T01:32:02.848+00:00Boot Camp<span style="font-style: italic;">Hi</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I have recently bought the 20" i-mac 2.4 machine upgraded with 3gb memory.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> I am keen to install Windows and have down loaded the Boot Camp</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">installation and Users Guide - I have all I need to install Windows -</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">except - my Mac shipped with a wireless keyboard and mouse - do I</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">absolutely need the USB versions referred to?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Thanks</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Bob</span><br /><br /><br />Greetings<br /><br />Sadly you do need a USB connection initially to set up the wireless keyboard and mouse. Once you've inserted the Leopard Disk to load the wireless drivers, you can then dispense with the USB peripherals.<br /><br />Any way you can borrow these USB items, you can even use a PC USB keyboard and mouse!<br /><br />If you've bought your iMac from the Apple Store their Guru/Expert bar can help, if you ask nicely...MacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025750457018849714.post-27519622381620678022008-06-12T10:32:00.001+01:002010-02-05T11:55:24.975+00:00iCal<span style="font-style: italic;">Hi,</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I am trying to set up repeat appointments in iCal running on leopard.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The online help facility says </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Choose how often you want the event to occur from the “repeat” pop-up menu"</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">But I can't find this pop up menu. How do you access it?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Thanks</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Tom</span><br /><br /><br />Hi Tom<br /><br />Try one of the following:<br /><ul><li>Right-click on the event and select 'Get Info" then 'Edit'</li><li>Select event in iCal then from the menu bar Edit > 'Edit event'</li><li>Double-click on the event and 'edit'</li></ul>MacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025750457018849714.post-37571727032069202762008-05-15T17:52:00.000+01:002010-02-05T11:52:14.188+00:00Keychain password problem<span style="font-style: italic;">Hi,</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The prompt to type in the keychain password comes up all the time. It wont recognize my password.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Please advise,</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Ian Henderson</span><br /><br />Hi<br /><br />You don't say which version of Mac OS you're using, so I'll assume you're using the the latest Leopard (Mac OS 10.5.x)<br /><br />Go to your home folders library look for Keychains. Open Keychains and inside there should be a file login.keychain for now put this file on your desktop (this is your old keychain).<br /><br />Reset your keychain following on the apple support page instructions below:<br /><br /><a href="http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305145">http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305145</a><br /><br /><ol><li>After you have reset your Keychain, open the Keychain Access application.</li><li>Open the old login.keychain you placed on your desktop.</li><li>Drag and drop the keychain items from the old keychain to the new keychain entering your password when prompted</li><li>When you are done and every thing is working you can trash the old login.keychain</li></ol><br />If you're not using Leopard, then by following Apple's instructions you may lose some if not all your existing keychain items. There is no way around this, I'm afraid.MacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025750457018849714.post-32196018404998973522008-04-24T12:35:00.001+01:002010-02-05T11:47:25.772+00:00I cannot log on<span style="font-style: italic;">Hey,</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I was using my macbook the other day and everything was going fine.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I switched it off and around an hour or so later i went to log back on but when i attempted to log on i was given the message - you are unable to log in to the user account "useraccount" at this time.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">After three attempts in then gave me a password hint, i didnt need one, but still no success.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">It then asked me for the adminstrator password with a hint, this was also not accepted.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Any ideas/suggestions??</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Yours hopefully, Alan</span><br /><br />Hi<br /><br />You need to reset the password for your Mac, follow this solution from Apple:<br /><br /><a href="http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1274">http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1274</a>MacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025750457018849714.post-55559229803146432022008-04-10T06:36:00.002+01:002010-02-05T11:42:58.149+00:00Slow Mac<span style="font-style: italic;">Hi</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-style: italic;">My Mac PowerMacG4 running OSX, has started to post a funny note [1] always</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">on start up and sometimes during open up [2] for instance of Acrobat.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">It is also running painfully slowly to the extent that I have started to</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">file/dump things etc. 74 GB of which 46 free.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The notes vary slightly</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">1 Start up note: in box panel</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">System/Library/Extensions/SymOSXKernalUtilities.kext was installed</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">improperly and cannot be used. Please re-install it or contact your service</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">provider</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Or 2</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">System/Library/Extensions/symfs.kext was installed etc....ditto</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Any ideas?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Thanks</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Pip</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">[In the last 2 days for no reason I can fathom my Entourage appearance looks</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">different - sort of basic]</span><br /><br />Hi Philippa<br /><br />Are you running Norton Antivirus?<br /><br />The error message you see used to be the result of a conflict between Norton and versions of Adobe Acrobat/Distiller.<br /><br />You can either disable Norton's filesaver and Norton Auto-protect features.<br /><br />Or un-install Norton altogether:<br /><br /><a href="http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/num.nsf/docid/2001101516293911">http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/num.nsf/docid/2001101516293911</a><br /><br />Then download a perfectly adequate donation-ware antivirus software ClamXav.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.clamxav.com/">http://www.clamxav.com/</a><br /><br />If your mac is running slowly, I think it's time to add more RAM memory from say:<br /><br /><a href="www.crucial.com/uk">www.crucial.com/uk</a><br /><br />Also buy an external hard drive to store your work. It's good to leave adequate space like 5GB on your main hard drive (Macintosh HD) for virtual memory.<br /><br />Can't fathom why Entourage is misbehaving, usually the following routine may cure some of its ills:<br /><br />Rebuild Disk Permissions:<br /><br /> * Utilities folder<br /> * Disk Utility<br /> * Select Philippa's computer or Macintosh HD<br /> * Right-hand window: press the button labelled "Repair Disk Permissions"<br /><br />Hope that helps...MacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025750457018849714.post-6594487611004932962008-03-19T10:58:00.010+00:002010-02-05T11:33:40.110+00:00Help OSX install!<span style="font-style: italic;">Hi</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I have an Imac G3 which had OS X 10.3.9 with Classic installed by a local MAC Supplier in Edinburgh. On my start up menu I was able to open OS 9.2 as a choice. This I did but I now find that I can't get the apparently available OS X to start up successfully. It keeps displaying a black screen with the following text;</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">/etc/master.password: Not a directory</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">/etc/master.password: Not a directory</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">-sh:/etc/profile: Not a directory</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">-sh-2.05b ( and a hash sign)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I have tried all the help instructions to reboot etc. but I keep getting this display. Any thoughts?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Ken</span><br /><br />Hi Ken<br /><br />It looks like you may have inadvertently deleted one of the MacOSX folders that is on the same directory level as the MacOS9 System folder.<br /><br />Normally when in MacOSX, these folders are invisible, but in OS9, all is revealed. They have cryptic names and can easily be mistaken for a folder to trash.<br /><br />As you haven't been using Mac OSX, you won't have that much to lose as far as setting are concerned. So the best solution is to dig out the system disks that came with your computer and do a re-install choosing the option 'Archive and install'.<br /><br />There should be instructions on this in the manual that came with the computer. Briefly it'll follow the following procedure:<br /><ol><li>Insert the Mac OS X Install Disc and double-click the Install Mac OS X icon.</li><li>Follow the onscreen instructions. In the panel where you select the destination disk, select your current Mac OS X disk (in most cases, it will be the only one available).</li><li>Click Options. If you want to save your existing files, users, and network settings, select "Archive and Install," then select "Preserve Users and Network Settings." If you want to erase everything on your computer and reinstall Mac OS X, select "Erase and Install." You can't recover erased data.</li><li>Click Continue.</li><li>Click Customize to select which parts of Mac OS X you'd like to install, or click Install to perform a basic installation (recommended).</li></ol><br /><hr align="center" width="50%" size="1" noshade="noshade" /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Many thanks Galen,</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Unfortunately, the computer had the OS X system installed by our local suppliers as a result of a disk drive failure and they did not provide me with a disk for some reason. I do have a newer version of OS X which I bought for another computer. If I tried to Archive and install this newer version will it do the job? Otherwise, I have to take the computer all the way into Edinburgh and they sometimes take weeks to return it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Regards.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Ken</span><br /><br />Hi Ken<br /><br />Yes, you can use the newer version, as long as it is the standalone boxed version. Else it may be too machine specific, if it's one that came with the computer.<br /><br />Also be prepared for a performance slowdown as a newer operating system will require more RAM and hard disk space to operate. In other words to up grade an operating system may mean upgrading the hardware too.<br /><br />BTW, Mac OSX 10.5 or Leopard will really struggle in a G3. If this is your newer version, I wouldn't recommend it. Better get version 10.4 or Tiger from Ebay.<br /><br />Good luck<br /><hr align="center" width="50%" size="1" noshade="noshade" /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Hi Galen</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Thanks for your valued support. I do have a stand alone MAC OS X 10.4.11.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The only final question is should I start up OS 9.2 before I insert the OS X disk. I have tried to install from this black screen but it seems to eject the disk. Is there a prompt I should use on this screen?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I have donated £10.00. Is this OK or is the average higher?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Regards</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Ken</span><br /><br />Hi Ken<br /><br />Thanks for your donation. Anything is gratefully received. It's a donation so it's up to the person to judge how valuable the support is. Some have been incredibly generous, especially a person from Aberfoyle. He said if it wasn't for our site, he felt cut-off from Apple mainstream support.<br /><br />Anyway to install 10.4.11, assuming your G3 can read DVDs, you'd better boot up in OS9 so that you can get the DVD in. You can then open the DVD and click on the "Install" icon. Thereafter it'll boot-up the computer and give you prompts to follow. There should be a manual that came with the DVD, which you can follow as well.<br /><br />As in my previous email:<br /><br /> * Click Options. If you want to save your existing files, users, and network settings, select "Archive and Install," then select "Preserve Users and Network Settings."<br /><br />If your G3 can't read DVDs, as in the days when G3s were in their prime, DVD drives were an expensive option; you may have to turn to eBay to get 10.3 CDs. See this link:<br /><br />http://search.ebay.co.uk/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=Apple+OSX+10.3+panther<br /><br />Regards<br />Galen<br /><hr align="center" width="50%" size="1" noshade="noshade" /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Many thanks Galen,</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I totally agree with the person from Aberfoyle. You have just pointed out why I can't use the installation disk. My G3 is one of the early ones.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I will donate a further £10 tomorrow.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Regards</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Ken</span><br /><br />Hi Ken<br /><br />Thanks for the additional £10 donation.<br /><br />I forgot to add in my last email, if you're going to bid in Ebay for the Panther disks, to guarantee a win use this sniping software. It's won us many Apple spare parts amongst other things!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.jbidwatcher.com/">http://www.jbidwatcher.com/</a>MacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025750457018849714.post-69876642679402918262008-03-08T11:53:00.004+00:002010-02-05T10:45:15.889+00:00Crashing iPhoto<span style="font-style: italic;">Hello, I wonder if you can help me...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I recently got a lacie plug in hard-drive as my computer's incredibly </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">slow and I've been moving some stuff onto there. I copied music from </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">itunes, and some photos over onto it and then decided that it would be </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">easier to copy the whole application over. So I dragged itunes, </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">macmail and iphoto from applications onto the desktop and then copied </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">them onto the harddrive. Anyway, everything's still working with my </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">email and itunes, but now when I try and open iphoto, it opens but then </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">quits almost immediately, and I need to use this a lot for work, and </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">also I'd like to get the photos back. I've run the repair things and </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">this hasn't helped</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Is there anything I can do? Look forward to hearing from you.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Vicky</span><br /><br />Hi Vicki<br /><br />It's not really a good idea to copy the apps to an external drive as links can be broken with their associated databases, as you've found out with iPhoto.<br /><br />There no problem with moving your music and photos to the external drive, but Apple advises you still run the apps from the root/main drive.<br /><br />You mention Mail and iTunes are working well, but I think they'll still linked to the database on the root drive. So there's really no saving in space there.<br /><br />If you've already copied your music and photos to the external drive, re-link to them as follows:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">iPhoto:</span><br /><ol><li>Quit iPhoto.</li><li>Hold down the Option key while opening iPhoto.</li><li>Click Find Library.</li><li>Assuming you have copied a folder from your User folder called iPhoto Library to the external drive. Choose this library on the external drive</li><li>Click Open.</li><li>The library appears in the iPhoto viewing area. Any photos you import will be added to this library.</li></ol><span style="font-weight: bold;">iTunes:</span><br />Again assuming you have moved all your music to the external drive.<br /><ol><li>In iTunes, choose iTunes > Preferences.</li><li>Click Advanced and then click General.</li><li>Click Change and select the new location for your files, ie on the external drive.</li><li>From now on, new songs and other items you import will be stored in the new location. Songs you've already imported stay in their current location.</li></ol>Once everything is working from the external drive you can safely delete the photos and music from your root drive, and regain some space. The Mac needs as least 10gb of space to use as virtual memory.<br /><br />To speed up your Mac, do consider increase your RAM memory to as much as you can afford. Usually 2gb is sufficient.MacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025750457018849714.post-28876888415869294442008-01-02T19:05:00.005+00:002010-02-05T10:56:47.501+00:00MBP won't start after Apple updates!<span style="font-style: italic;">I shut down my Macbook pro OS X , version 10.4.8 having been asked to shut down after downloading upgrades and it simply won’t start again. </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Please help</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">David Wixon</span><br /><br />Hi David<br /><ul><li> Can you boot up using your original install DVD?</li><li> Can you boot up in SAFE mode? Holding down the shift key soon after you hear the chime, and keeping held down until the login screen.</li><li> Do you see the grey Apple logo?</li><li> Try booting up holding down Apple +"S" key together before you hear the chime. After you see a screenfull of code against a black background, key in the command fsck -f. Leave the computer to carry out it's self maintenance. On completion, key in reboot.</li><li> If all else fails, I'm afraid there's a corrupt driver. You'll then have to do an "Archive and Install" using your Install DVD. Better to do a complete erase and install, but this assumes you have a good backup.</li></ul>Regards<br />MacDocMacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025750457018849714.post-81680516594209914192007-12-13T16:42:00.003+00:002010-02-05T10:56:20.591+00:00Airport problem<span style="font-style: italic;">Hi,</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">My name is Jessica, I was wondering if you could give me a call or help regarding a problem with my colleagues new Mac she has just bought.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Myself and the other girl who works with me have both got apples as well and are connected to the internet via an airport but Josie (the girl with the new Mac) hers keeps coming offline, I cant seem to find the problem, any ideas?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Many thanks for your help</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Kind regards</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Jessica</span><br /><br />Hi Jessica<br /><br />Is Josie working in same room as yourself or in another room? Is she sitting next to anything that may cause interference eg, microwave oven, TV, radio? What is the signal strength from the airport indicator in the menu bar? How many bars are black?<br /><br />Settings you can try are: switching on "Use interference robustness" or change the channel that Airport broadcasts. These options are discussed in the Airport base station setup guide.<br /><br />With regards to Mac MOT, I'm afraid geographic distance prohibits this. We're based in Scotland. May I suggest looking at the classified ads at the back of MacWorld or Mac User for London based Mac Help.<br /><br />Regards<br />MacDocMacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025750457018849714.post-86489331278588045672007-12-04T12:47:00.007+00:002010-02-05T10:55:43.965+00:00Apple Mac ON but nothing on screen<span style="font-style: italic;">Hi there</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I have one of the original apple mac - bought in 1999, think it is the G3. It has harldy been used. Have just reconnected it and it makes three beeps when I turn it on - it didn't do this before, and the screen will not come on even though the power is on. Do you have any suggestions as to what might be wrong with it? Thanks for any help you can give me.<br /><br />Cheers<br />Katie Hayes</span><br /><br />Hi Katie<br /><br />There could be a number of reasons why you're not getting normal service from your Mac, but you could try a few simple checks:<br /><br /> There could be a number of reasons why you're not getting normal service from your Mac, but you could try a few simple checks:<br /><ol><li>To state the obvious, check the appropriate cables are in the right sockets and a tight fit. Then test.</li><li>Assuming you have the Blue & White G3; if the green power light is on and you can hear the fan humming, the video card may be loose.<br /><ol><li>Power down the Mac</li><li>Open it up</li><li>Using the video cable as a reference, trace it to the video card</li><li>Gentle remove the video card and using a soft eraser, very gently "erase" the gold contacts. This should remove any oxidation deposited during the time you didn't use the computer.</li><li>Replace the video card, connect up and try starting up again.</li></ol></li><li>If you still, have no video, and you'd had left the computer unconnected to the mains supply for a length of time, a small battery that powers the internal clock and CMOS settings may have run flat.<br /><ol><li>Open the Mac up again</li><li>On the Logic board you'll see a battery about an inch long</li><li>Very gently remove it</li><li>Goto your nearest Electronic store, eg Maplins and get a replacement for the battery, about £4.</li><li>Very gently re-insert the new battery, connect up and see if there are signs of life.</li></ol></li><li>If still no signs of life, then I'm afraid it's the electronic mountains in China for the machine, as, really it'll be rather uneconomical to repair.</li></ol>Regards<br />MacDocMacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025750457018849714.post-37783918618112423802007-12-03T10:48:00.002+00:002010-02-05T00:24:02.792+00:00Seeing Black & White!<span style="font-style: italic;">My mac's display is presented in a negative format. All my screens look like a photo negatve. How do I change back the settings ?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">JO JO<br /><br /></span>Hi JoJo<br /><br />Quick way...<br /><br />Hold down the very bottom left hand three keys on the keyboard at the same time then tap 8<br /><br />Ctrl + Alt + then tap 8<br /><br />Or, slightly longer method...<br /><br />Blue Apple > System Preferences > Universal Access > Seeing > Black on White.<br /><br />"Quick way" method toggles the effect.<br /><br />Hope that helps.<br />MacDocMacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8025750457018849714.post-16498064010016844622007-11-20T14:52:00.004+00:002010-02-05T10:54:38.440+00:00Removing Quicktime 7.3 & reinstalling 7.2<span style="font-style: italic;">Dear Sirs<br />Is there a helpline to enable me to do the above subject<br />Alistair Gordon<br /><br /></span><span>Hi Alistair<br /><br />Sadly there is no easy solution as QT weaves itself in the very fabric of the operating system. The recommended solution is to "Archive and Install" using your original installation disks and then not upgrade to QT7.3.<br /><br />An alternative is to upgrade to the new Leopard operating system where hopefully everything will be integrated seamlessly. The downside to this is the new operating system may demand an upgrade to all the applications you use.<br /><br />Hope that helps.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span><span>MacDoc</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>MacDochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16745193277096437075noreply@blogger.com0