This fixed my issue with the YouTube5 Safari extension! Thanks!
If you’re having trouble with youtube playing with the youtube html5 player please try going to http://www.youtube.com/html5 and opting out of the youtube html5 test.
[From Vertical Forest :: YouTube5]
You may run into this issue after upgrading to Lion or after doing some system maintenance that deletes the Help system files (same thing with Spotlight which is managed by mdworker). If that happens, just let it run until it's finished.
HIUTIL and MDWORKER CPU. Immediately after installing Lion, and over a period of a few hours, the hdutil and mdworker processes will be using up 90% to 100% of your CPU making the computer very slow. These tasks are used to update the Spotlight index and help file index. So, it’s best to wait until these programs have completed their tasks before continuing to work on the computer.
If you're like me (forced to use Wind-bloze at work while using all Macs at home), you may need this to transfer files back and forth using NTFS (not this f*cking sh*t) drives. Modern Macs can read pure NTFS volumes but can't write to them.
Recently Amit Singh, a Google employee, releases a implementation called MacFUSE which makes it possible to use any FUSE (File-system in USErspace) file systems in Mac. And the most useful FUSE is the NTFS-3G Read/Write Driver, which ables system to load NTFS with read and write capability. This is truly the greatest news for dual booting Mac OS X and Windows XP or Vista.
[From How-to: Read and Write NTFS Windows Partition on Mac OS X]
Here's my comment on the story about Apple censoring its Discussion Boards over Consumer Reports refusal to recommend the new iPhone 4 based on reception issues. Part of the reason for this blog is document my own troubleshooting efforts and problems I've had with Apple hardware and software.
Apple discussion boards have done this for years. They have devoted stormtroopers on there who will edit or delete your posts in a flat second, if they deem the posts unflattering to their products.
What’s unfortunate is that I’ve had several negative things to write in those forums, usually about hardware. My Powerbook’s lower memory slot went out and I never got it fixed because mine wasn’t in the “range of serials” that Apple deemed to be the problem; no one told my Powerbook that. My current Airport Extreme has to be reset usually once each day…again, Apple’s response to me is to make an appointment and bring it in to the Genius Bar (not sure how they are going to replicate my issue there, since it’s random). If you Google it, however, you’ll see that it’s a common problem, and people get inconsistent help (some get products replaced straightaway while others don’t).
Same sort of censoring happened when Apple decided to remove pdf manuals and hardcopy manuals from Logic Studio and replace them with the cumbersome Apple Help system. Apple finally relented and quietly brought back the pdf files after all the complaints. But they never acknowledged the complaints.
I think Apple would do well to have a revamped hardware testing division: A group of folks to test a product for six months thoroughly, before Apple releases it. They’ve always relied on users and developers to QC their software just before and right after release, but it’s a mistake to use that model on hardware. There are certain things in hardware that simply can’t be fixed after the genie is out of the bottle. I’m afraid what happens is that users end up being guinea pigs for the hardware a lot of the time; Apple simply (quietly) fixes the issues discovered in the next iteration, but the original buyers are left out in the cold.
[From Apple Censoring Discussion Forums Ref. Consumer Reports | Cult of Mac]
Not even a year ago, we replaced our old Netgear Ethernet Router and old Airport Express with a nice, shiny, new Apple Airport Extreme. Lot's o' promise. The main problem (apart from other minor hiccups you'll find on here) has been that we typically have had to soft reset the unit daily, because the connection would become completely unresponsive--including Ethernet and wireless connections. So, it was either the cable modem (which worked fine with our old router) or the Airport Extreme, which judging from a Google search is giving more users than just me fits. So, I've played with all sorts of settings, including turning off IPv6 in the unit and on all the computers in the house; that didn't seem to fix anything.
However, I may have just made some changes that greatly improved my download speed while also eliminating the need to reset the AEBS each day! We'll see if my "fix" holds up. But the speed improvement is a plus.
First, I changed from "Automatic" to 100 Mbps/Full Duplex in the Airport Utility and restarted the AEBS:
Then, I finally found the culprit: The automatic MTU!!
I couldn't believe it. Such a stupid, basic cause of such a big problem. This is most certainly a BUG.To fix the MTU:
1. Apple Menu > System Preferences... then Network.
2. On the left, choose Ethernet , then Advanced... on the bottom.
3. Choose Ethernet tab:
[From Apple - Support - Discussions - A fix for random, slow, intermittent ...]
. . . Configure: Change from Automatically to MANUALLY.
. . . MTU: Change from Standard to CUSTOM. Put 1452 then click OK. Then Apply at the bottom.
I've had these issues for sometime now. Turns out that I may have discovered something crucial about the problems. Rebuilding the datafile, clearing the cache, and removing all InputManagers did not fix the issues, which were reproducible on two Macs. Removing the Internet plugins also did not resolve the issues.
If Safari is starting slow for you under Snow Leopard and you use 1Password 3, make certain that you remove the old InputManager called something like "1Passwd." I was able to start Safari far faster than before. Until Agile fixes the command key sluggishness issue, make sure you lock your keychain after you're done using it. It's a pain in the ass, but your browsing snappiness will return if you like to use key commands like me.
::UPDATE::
Another discovery (apart from the one listed below) can be read here. Turns out that it's the "key icon" in the Safari menubar that's somehow contributing to the command key slowness in Safari. If I disable that in 1Password's preferences, the sluggishness disappears, even with the keychain unlocked. No clue, but that's somehow the culprit. Maybe it will help others. Please let me know here if you're able to reproduce this problem.
First, I can verify that removing the old InputManager left over from the 1PW 2.x days definitely made Safari (ver. 5) start up faster (2 - 3 icon bounces in the Dock instead of about 10). Start up is almost instantaneous now, thank goodness.
Second, this command-key sluggishness (and even clicking the 1P or key icons) I've been going through has persisted (any Command key combination is slow on Safari 4 and 5). This means sluggish behavior for key combinations like Cmd-T to make a new tab, Cmd-W to close a tab, or even Cmd-Q to quit Safari. Very LONG pauses before the desired result follows the keystroke combination.
However, I made a discovery today that I wanted to pass along to you all at Agile, which may or may not help troubleshoot this issue. It's reproducible on my Mac Pro and my MacBook. The sluggishness ONLY occurs while 1PW is unlocked. As soon as I LOCK 1PW again, the snappiness of my command keys in Safari 5 returns!!! Unlock the keychain, back to sluggishness. Completely reproducible on both my machines.
I have rebuilt the data file and cleared caches several times. The only other InputManagers I still have running are DeliciousSafari and the latest beta of Glims (if that's even still an InputManager).
Any advice you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
[From Slow Safari startup with 1Password enabled (when the Cache is out of date)]
I noticed my mDNSResponder connecting constantly to opendns (didn't always happen but when it did it was constant). Found the links below. It basically requires a bit of under-the-hood tweaking.
sudo nano "/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.mDNSResponder.plist"
<key>ProgramArguments</key>
<array>
<string>/usr/sbin/mDNSResponder</string>
<string>-launchd</string>
</array>
becomes...<key>ProgramArguments</key>
<array>
<string>/usr/sbin/mDNSResponder</string>
<string>-launchd</string> <string>-NoMulticastAdvertisements</string> </array>
****
UPDATE 12 June 2010: The problem, as it turns out, was listing my OpenDNS servers in both my Airport Extreme (for the entire home network) and my Mac Pro. As soon as I deleted the OpenDNS servers from Network Preferences on my Mac Pro, everything returned to normal...no more constant outgoing connections. The above method worked too, but it was at the cost of losing Bonjour connectivity on my home network (not acceptable).
[From Snow Leopard disabling mDNSResponder/Bonjour drops internet - Mac Forums]
Mac OS X v10.6 uses the mDNSResponder process for unicast DNS (Domain Name System) functions, as well as Bonjour functions. Disabling the mDNSResponder process will also disable unicast DNS resolution, and without unicast DNS resolution, Mac OS X v10.6 cannot resolve hostnames such as www.apple.com.
In some network environments, administrators may prefer that Mac OS X v10.6 not transmit Bonjour service advertisements. You can use this advanced article if you are a network administrator who needs to disable Bonjour advertising service without disabling Bonjour queries and DNS.
[From Mac OS X v10.6: Disabling mDNSResponder will disable DNS]
Here was my solution when I discovered resent changes to my keychain weren't being updated:
I was having difficulty with my agilekeychain not syncing the latest data changes. It's not a problem with Dropbox. Open 1Password>Preferences>Advanced and then Clear Cache. Uncheck using cache to prevent this from happening again (or simply remember to clear the cache).
[From 1password AgileKeyChain is not syncing « Dropbox Forums]
I've spent most of Christmas Day trying to figure a way out of this mess. I even downgraded my old Powerbook G4 to Panther, only to discover that it--initially--had no support for WPA security (doing the normal upgrades to it now via Ethernet). Not sure why it seems that every time I buy a new piece of Apple gear, it doesn't cooperate very well with older Apple gear. I understand that time moves on (and Apple wants us to as well), but one expects things like basic wireless in a working Mac to continue working with newer Apple wireless routers. But no.
I initially thought the problem might be my new WDS setup, but that's not the case. The kernel panics persisted, whether I disengaged WDS or not.
The Airport Extreme Base Station in its current firmware incarnation (7.5) causes kernel panics on ALL wireless clients running Tiger 10.4.11. This is confirmed by multiple users on the Apple Support Boards:
One user managed to get Apple to send him a Leopard install to address the issue:My Apple Tech confirmed (early November) that there is a known problem with the new Airport Extreme Dual Band Base Station causing kernel panics on computers running Tiger (only when connecting wirelessly via an Airport card -- not when connected via Ethernet cable). Apple Engineering has been notified and has not -- as yet -- released a software update to Tiger. Based on some customers' reports, we tried disabling the Guest Network on the base station, but that didn't work for me. Has anyone figured out a work-around besides 1) the ethernet cable and 2) upgrading to Leopard?
[From Apple - Support - Discussions - Kernel Panic when Running Tiger ...]
Here's my experience. Ran two iMacs with Tiger 10.4.11 and a new iMac Intel Core Duo with an Airport 801.g Extreme. Alls well. I upgraded to an Airport 801.n and all **** broke loose with Unresolved Kernel Traps (UKT) on both Tiger machines. I managed to obtain Leopard from Apple and will upgrade each Tiger machine a couple of days apart to be sure I don't have any more UKTs. Then I will reinstall the Airport 801.n and see what happens. If I can believe what Apple Support has told me my problems should be solved. I should know by end of this coming weekend.
[From Apple - Support - Discussions - Kernel Panic when Running Tiger ...]
So I put in a service call to Apple and spoke with a rep today; the rep didn't offer a Leopard install like they did for the other user, and they didn't even admit that there was a known problem:
No dice. Just got off the phone with Apple and their solution for me was to go into the Apple Store. He said it was a computer issue...not the AEBS. I even brought up this thread (i.e., Tiger incompatible with new AEBS) and that other users said that Apple had acknowledged this problem. He said he had not heard that and that it was my computer?
Keep in mind that I told him that both my G4 machines are running Tiger (Powerbook and Mac Mini) and both are kernel panicking with the new AEBS.
So, I obviously didn't get the good support that you received...
[From Apple - Support - Discussions - Kernel Panic when Running Tiger ...]
I've basically tried everything (including doing Leopard installs using Target Disk mode), and nothing is really working (the G4 versus Intel architecture creates problems--i.e., the GUID versus APM). I either must get a Leopard Retail disc from Apple or wait for them to officially acknowledge the problem and issue a firmware update. Arggggghhh! My Powerbook is now running 10.3.9 (Panther) after the updates and is doing fine on the new AEBS, so this PROVES it's Tiger that is not compatible with the new Airport Extreme Base Station (802.11n). The Mac Mini is dead in the water at the moment in terms of wireless connectivity (I have the Airport turned off...and no more panics). I have ordered some cheap Cat-5 cable, which should be here soon and keep the Mini running until the firmware update shows up. Apple, your users really shouldn't have to go through such nonsense.
FOLLOW-UP on 26 DEC 2009:
As a follow-up, my issues were solved by installing Leopard on my G4 machines, which was not easy. See my post below on the Apple Discussions thread:I can confirm now--as have others here--that it is definitely the Airport Extreme Base Station (802.11n) that is causing the kernel panic problem with Tiger. It will also not cooperate with Panther 10.3.9, IF you install the AirPort Extreme Driver Update 2005-001 update:
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL426
I downgraded my Powerbook G4 Aluminum 15" to Panther and had it working well at 10.3.9 until I installed the above driver update, so this driver (or some code within it) is the culprit; obviously, it hung around in Tiger but changed in Leopard and Snow Leopard (hint, hint, Apple).
I have now managed to update my old G4s (through much effort) to Leopard and both are cooperating nicely now with the Airport Extreme Base Station. I suspect Apple will update the driver eventually, but if you're having issues...go back to Panther (w/o the aforementioned driver update) or upgrade to Leopard if your system will install/run it.
FWIW, I installed Leopard on my old G4 Mac Mini (with 512 MB RAM) using Target Disc mode from the Powerbook running the install DVD. Leopard would not install any other way on that machine. Good luck all!
[From Apple - Support - Discussions - Re: Kernel Panic when Running Tiger ...]
So maybe you're like me and bought a new Airport Extreme Base Station (802.11n) and want to extend your wireless network through an older Airport Express (802.11 b/g). After Googling this, I discovered I wasn't the only frustrated user. Apple wants you to buy a newer Airport Express with 802.11n to make extending your network easier. However, you can still use the older Airport Express with a little work and a hidden trick.
For some reason, this took me SEVERAL hours to figure out. It didn't JUST WORK. LOL! Fortunately, I learned that using the Option key while selecting the Wireless Mode popup menu in the Airport Utility (Version 5.5 (550.29)) returns to the user the ability to set up a WDS (wireless distribution system).
A nice user named Bob on the Apple Discussion forums confirmed the Option trick I had learned elsewhere. However, I still had trouble getting the WDS to work properly. Here's what I tried that seems to do the trick:
Thanks Bob. Yes, I found that trick elsewhere. Still had trouble, even though I went through all the proper motions (i.e., making the AEBS(n) the WDS base station and the APX the WDS remote...including entering the correct MAC addresses for each).
However, I think I've discovered the fix that allowed my old APX [Airport Express] to work with the new AEBS [Airport Extreme Base Station] in a WDS network: I set the radio mode on the APX to 802.11g ONLY! The radio mode on the base station was kept at AUTOMATIC. And I used Channel 1 for the 2.4 GHz frequency on both and left the 5 GHz frequency channel selection at AUTOMATIC on the base station. WDS wasn't working until I made those changes (don't know if one or more of those steps is important...but it's working now).
[From Apple - Support - Discussions - WDS set up problem ...]
If your Aluminum Apple keyboard suddenly tells you it can't power a USB device anymore (that it once did power without issues -- WTF Apple?!?), try unplugging the keyboard for 30 seconds and then replugging it. My SD card reader works again after doing that, though the LED no longer lights up. My Logitech camera (that once worked plugged into the keyboard) seems to not work anymore. I wonder if this was a change from Leopard to Snow Leopard?
Apple makes great stuff, but they'll just randomly change things sometimes, seemingly unconcerned with the problems those changes will cause to their uses. Rakin' frakin'...
Just had this problem on my late '07 Alu iMac. never had any bother before, it was always possible to have the wired MM and 5th Gen iPod attached. Today got a low power warning on just the iPod! (wireless MM now)
I unplugged it and reconnected after 20s - was all fine again. How odd.
interested on the power discussions here, the system profiler says the ipod is drawing 500mA thru the keyboard, and the keyboard itself only needs 20mA
[From New Apple keyboard, doesn't sync or charge ipod nano - Page 5 - Mac Forums]
If you run into weirdness with the Facebook or Flickr Uploaders in iPhoto '09, try this. Keep in mind that if you share your Snow Leopard account and someone else is signed into their Facebook, Flickr, or Yahoo! accounts under your SL account, you'll have problems. Try logging them out and yourself in before deleting these keychains.
I found this post last week when I had the same exact problem. Today, I finally just did a Google search and found a post in the Apple discussion threads (http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=9936676#9936676). It says all you have to do is go into the Keychain Access application on your Mac and delete the iPhoto key from your computer.
Just search for "iPhoto" in Keychain Access, and if you have more than one key for iPhoto permissions (I have Facebook and flickr), just double click them until you find the one that contains "flickr" in the "Account" text box and delete it. I just did this, and after I restarted iPhoto, when I clicked the flickr button in the lower right, it asked me if I wanted to setup iPhoto to publish to flickr. AWESOME.
[From Flickr: The Help Forum: iPhoto '09 flickr uploader Permissions]
Here's what you do when the little air can isn't enough...
But sometimes a bit of compressed air isn’t enough. So, here is our guide to cleaning everything from mice to laptops.
[From Complete Guide to Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Mac ]
I was having this issue while deployed and it was driving me nuts. Basically, Safe Sleep is a pain in the butt and causes this problem in the newer Macs. Also, there's more on Apple's Discussion Forums. A widget is available (called Deep Sleep) that will allow one to avoid using the Terminal. Also, more info about disabling Safe Sleep here on macosxhints.com; Apple really needs to rethink this one.
So, To Disable Safe Sleep:
Type these two commands in the Terminal, and hit return:
sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 0
sudo nvram "use-nvramrc?"=false
Presto, instant fast sleep, and no more crashing!!
Now if you want to reclaim some hard drive space, an amount of space equal to the amount of RAM your computer has, do the following:
In the Finder, choose Go To Folder... from the Go menu
Type "/var/vm" into the prompt and hit return
Don't touch the swapfiles, they are important. But if there is a file in that folder called 'sleepimage', just drag it to the trash and you're good to go.
[From MacFixer - Does Your MacBook Freeze When You Close It's Lid?]
The bottom contains the original post that I THOUGHT had fixed the problem; turns out that it didn't fix a thing. However, my frustration was apparently the frustration of many others, and the solution was forthcoming.
It turns out the culprit is jacked up ID3 tags. The solution is right in iTunes. Right-click on the offending files and select "Convert ID3 tags..." In the dialog, select the latest version of tags and then resync. Problem solved!
I updated the ID3 tags of my continuously re-synced 24 songs to the latest version 2.4 (you can do this in iTunes by right-clicking on the songs). It worked in 23 cases (1 song could not be updated as it is in .aac format because I had bought it in iTunes).
I must admit I didn't figure this out myself, this guy actually did it: http://www.kgarner.com/blog/archives/2009/07/15/itunes-keeps-syncing-the-same-44-songs-over-and-over-solved/
[From Apple - Support - Discussions - iTunes keeps syncing the same 4 songs ...]
::ORIGNAL POST:: (ignore this...it doesn't work)
This hasn't worked for everyone with this problem, but it did the trick for me. Once I reset Sync History, I stopped updating the same 20 songs from iTunes with each sync, which had been adding to the sync time and had ticked me off. All better now!
Thanks to Lynn at Apple Support
Basicall I had to reset the sync history. To do this:
Open iSync in applications
Menu item iSync / Preferences
Select Reset Sync HistoryThe next time I sync'd my iphone it worked flawlessly (and didn't reload all my content, which I thought it might do).
[From why is my iphone "updating files"? - Mac Forums]
Apple Mighty Mouse Won’t Scroll Down at Josh Bancroft’s TinyScreenfuls.com:
Well, it turns out, when the Mighty Mouse scroll wheel gets dirty, it stops being able to scroll down. Apparently, it’s a common problem, as a quick Google search turned up tons of pages, like this one at MacOSXHints.com.
The fix? Blow compressed air around the scroll ball, or just push on it really hard and roll it around (that worked for me). If you’re lucky (I was), it will start working again. If it keeps doing it, though, I’m going to have Apple replace it.
BradBergeron.com » HOWTO: Install and Boot OS X On a Flash Drive:
You will need a 1GB or larger flash drive. It is impossible to install OS X on anything smaller. After testing this procedure multiple times, the largest free space I had after booting up was 11.6MB.
You will also need the original Mac OS X Install Disc(s) that came with your computer.
Microsoft continues to have issues with its Office 2008 updates. Don't use Monolingual until they can sort this out!
Office 2008 12.1.2 (#2): More fixes for problems installing; Word bugs - MacFixIt:
Users continue to report issues with installing Office 2008 12.1.2. MacFixIt reader David Badovinac has discovered a somewhat kludgy fix, as follows:
Download the standalone Office 2008 12.1.2 updater
Mount the disk image then control-click the updater file and select "Show Package Contents"
Navigate to Contents -> Resources
Open the script "package_updatable" with TextEdit or another plain text editor.
Remove these lines:
Save the file then close it and reattempt the update.
- if not found_valid_version:
- sys.exit(48)
This Leopard bug has bitten me. It kept my first few updates in the Downloads folder, but that has all stopped now. Anyone?
Official Leopard 10.5 Bugs thread - Page 5 - MacNN Forums:
Software update isn't keeping packages if I choose "Install and keep package"... Unless they are very, very hidden. I checked /Library/Packages, /Library/Updates, ~/Downloads, ~/Library.. Can't find em anywhere.
I've read it works if you choose "Download only", they end up in your download folder.
Maybe it's fixed in 10.5.1, but that was the update I was trying to install and keep.
A friend of mine, Paul Garay (composer and podcast producer, and founder of the Inside Home Recording podcast), produces training videos for Macs and related software, specifically the software that comes with every shiny new Mac...all those wonderful Apple goodies that make your new Mac a super-machine. Check it out and learn how to get some serious mileage out of your machine!