Airport Extreme Freezes and Connection Slowness

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:

Next, I changed similar settings in System Preferences->Network ("Automatic" to "Manually"):

Speeds via speedtest.net showed a dramatic improvement for download:

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:
. . . Configure: Change from Automatically to MANUALLY.
. . . MTU: Change from Standard to CUSTOM. Put 1452 then click OK. Then Apply at the bottom.

[From Apple - Support - Discussions - A fix for random, slow, intermittent ...]

1Password Slow Safari Starts and Command Key Sluggishness

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)]

Use Only One Partition for AirPort Extreme (802.11n) Disks

Turns out that using more than one volume per disk connected to an Airport Extreme isn't a good idea. May explain some of my issues.

The AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule work with most disks that are not software RAID volumes (no more than one volume per physical disk).

[From AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule: USB storage device supported formats and protocols]

Ecto Finally Updated to 3.0.2

Seems like every time I buy software, I get screwed. The developer stops developing the software, or the developer gets bought out by a bigger company (who ignores the software), or both. At any rate, I had nearly given up on Ecto...my favorite blogging software (which was chock full of bugs). Still not much better than Ecto out there, so I'm glad they've finally paid it some attention.

ecto 3.0.2 was released today via the built in software updater. The ecto 3.0.2 release includes the following fixes:

updated Amazon plugin
updated Flickr plugin
include Atom03 plugin by default (mostly for older Japanese blog systems)
fixed a URL redirect handling bug
minor documentation updates (link to correct location for support forum, etc.)
the ecto updater now uses a different XML feed to update the software based on the operating system version, separating Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) from later versions, (Leopard and higher)

[From illumineX: ecto 3.0.2 released]

mDNSResponder Constantly Doing "Something"

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.

1. Make a back up copy of the mDNSResponder.plist file as a precaution.
2. Open the mDNSResponder.plist file in Terminal using your preferred text editor. Here is a sample command:
   

   sudo nano "/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.mDNSResponder.plist" 
   

3. Add "<string>-NoMulticastAdvertisements</string>" to the array in the "ProgramArguments" section.
   
   In other words:
   

     <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>
   

4. Save the file.
   
   Important: If you edited the file using emacs, you must remove the emacs backup file (the file with a tilde at the end of the name, "/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.mDNSResponder.plist~") or your Mac will not start up.
   
5. Restart your Mac.

****

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]

Adobe Blocking HTML5 To Save Flash

What do you do when you're a major software company with a huge investment in a buggy, cumbersome technology (that's expensive for users to implement and maintain) that's being directly threatened by a better, lighter-weight technology that's open-source (and thus free)? You act like Microsoft, of course.

Long live HTML5 and down with Flash!!! I truly believe the iPhone and iPad will drive the eventual adoption of HTML5 that will supplant Flash. The sooner it happens the better for us all.

Larry Masinter, Adobe, quoted in the minutes of yesterday's weekly phone status report for the HTML working group: do I need to repeat objections?

Net result: the latest publication of HTML5 is now blocked by Adobe, via an objection that has still not been made public (despite yesterday's promise to make it so).

[From Hixie's Natural Log: Consistency]

Photo Editing Noobs: Use Layers

And you don't need Photoshop to use Layers. Just download the free, open-source GIMP editor and enjoy! GIMP can do most everything that Photoshop can and it doesn't cost you a dime.

Do you edit your digital photos using layers? If not, you're missing out on the single most powerful tool in your photo editing repertoire. Layers may seem baffling at first, but they're not hard to use—and they permit all sorts of powerful digital editing tricks.

You can use layers to combine photos, create double exposures, achieve special effects like selective color in a partly black-and-white image, and even correct a shot's exposure or color balance.

[From Basic photo editing tricks with layers | Digital Photo | Digital Photo | Macworld]

1Password KeyChain Syncing Issue With Dropbox

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]

Make Web Clips in Safari for Dashboard

Here's a neat little trick that I haven't used much!

Leopard makes it easy to create a Dashboard widget from a segment of a web page. For example, you can capture a “new releases” list from a media website, or the “latest posts” field from an Internet discussion group. These Web Clips appear, automatically updated, whenever you open Dashboard.

[From Apple - Pro - Tips - Creating Web Clip Widgets]

Avoid Special Keys in Screen Sharing

Open Terminal and type:

defaults write com.apple.ScreenSharing DoNotSendSystemKeys -bool YES

To restore the old behavior, change the last word to "NO." You can also use a plist editor if you're scared of the Terminal.

If you prefer the 10.5 behavior, wherein special keys are never sent to the remote Mac, there is a solution. It requires Terminal (in Applications -> Utilities), but only for one command. Launch Terminal, then copy and paste the following line (while Screen Sharing is not active):

[From Don't send special keys in 10.6's Screen Sharing | Mac OS X | Mac OS X Hints | Macworld]

New Airport Extreme Crashes Wireless Tiger Clients

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:

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 ...]

One user managed to get Apple to send him a Leopard install to address the issue:

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 ...]

Extend New Airport Extreme With Old Airport Express

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 ...]

Apple Aluminum Keyboard Low Power Warning

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]

iPhoto '09 Flickr Uploader Weirdness

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]

Using Preview to Merge and Save PDF Documents

Neat trick for Preview! Changed a bit since Leopard.

For Snow Leopard 10.6.0, Apple changed the way this feature works in Preview Version 5.0 (501) and made it more cumbersome. Here’s how it’s done in Snow Leopard:

Open a PDF.

Expose the Sidebar.

Drag the PDFs you want to include in the Sidebar area.

Note B: The PDFs all retain their name in the Sidebar (contrast with Note A).

Select all but one of the PDFs in the Sidebar.

Drag and drop the selection into the unselected PDF recipient.

Note C: You only get one chance at this or you’ll need to start over. You can only drop one set of PDFs onto the recipient.

Note D: After doing so, the recipient icon changes to include a Binding Comb on the left edge. Moving the arrow cursor over the combined PDF exposes a circle-left-turn arrow on the right edge.

Save or Save As the PDF. Voilà – one PDF.

[From Snow Leopard Changes Preview’s “Combine PDF” Behavior « blog.gerrior.com]

Guide to Cleaning Your Mac

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 ]

iTunes Refuses to Store Your Password?

Does your iTunes program keep 'forgetting' your password. If so, this fix may work for you. Basically, go into your iTunes account via the program (yes, you'll have to put in your password) and click "Reset Warnings" down at the bottom. You can also try Deauthorizing and then Reauthorizing your computer via iTunes, but this didn't work for me.

What seems to have worked for me (in addition to resetting warnings) is to delete the SC Info folder as detailed below.

After iTunes 9.0.1 was released, a number of users were annoyed that the check mark button for saving their password no longer worked. As a result, each purchase or app-upgrade triggers iTunes to prompt for a password.

[From Fix for iTunes 9.0.1 refusing to save your store password | iPhone Atlas - CNET Reviews]

Quit iTunes and any other open applications until only Finder is open.

Choose Go > Go to Folder.

Type /Users/Shared/SC Info and click Go.

If Finder is not already set to column view, set it by choosing View > as Columns.

Select the SC Info folder and move it to the Trash by choosing File > Move to Trash.

Restart the computer and open iTunes.

Authorize your computer to play your purchases. Note: If you have multiple accounts you will need to authorize your computer for each account. For more information on how to authorize your computer, see this article.

[From iTunes repeatedly prompts to authorize computer to play iTunes Store purchases]

Careful Musicians: Apple Denying Service for Tobacco Smoke

Apple touts Logic's Mainstage 2 and its portable Macs as a performer's must-haves. Problem is that performers mostly work in clubs, and many clubs throughout the world still allow smoking. So, how can a company legally deny warranty service to musicians using its product as the company intended, simply because a venue employer's customers smoke? This sounds like a class action in the making. How can Apple tell the difference between environmental tobacco smoke and tobacco smoke from the Mac's owner? Will they really claim that musicians should only work in clubs that don't allow smoking?

According to the Consumerist, Apple has denied computer repair to at least two known Mac users after they took in their computers for repair. The reason? They're smokers and according to the Apple repair technicians, the problems may have been a result of second-hand smoke.

[From Apple Denying Support to Smokers | Mac|Life]

Microsoft: Windows 7 design inspired by Mac OS X

Finally, an admission. Although, Vista itself was inspired by OS X! They're not admitting that here. Any idiot could figure that out. However, Vista sucked. I hear Windows 7 is a better ripoff of OS X...LOL! The really funny line is when they claim that their copy of OS X is more STABLE than OS X. I'll believe that when I see it.

When it looked to redesign its dominant operating system after the struggles of Windows Vista, Microsoft reportedly turned to Apple's Mac OS X for the "look and feel" of Windows 7.

Simon Aldous, partner group manager with Microsoft, told PCR that the graphical style of Windows 7 -- which he calls "Vista on steroids" -- was inspired by the look of Apple's Mac OS X. The new Windows operating system launched in October.

"One of the things that people say an awful lot about the Apple Mac is that the OS is fantastic, that it's very graphical and easy to use," Aldous said. "What we’ve tried to do with Windows 7 -- whether it's traditional format or in a touch format -- is create a Mac look and feel in terms of graphics. We've significantly improved the graphical user interface, but it's built on that very stable core Vista technology, which is far more stable than the current Mac platform, for instance."

[From AppleInsider | Microsoft official admits Windows 7 design inspired by Mac OS X]

Tweetie Avatar Cache Faux Pas

Tweetie is probably the best Twitter client out there, but it has an annoying bug. Yes, the dev says it's Twitter's fault, but it's frustrating to the average user and no other Twitter client has this problem. Even deleting my entire avatar cache did nothing to bring on my new avatar. Yes, I uploaded a 640x480 profile pic (people should be able to see a larger version when they click on your avatar).

I just tried uploading a smaller avatar to test (<200 x 200 px), however, and it did nothing. Deleting the cache again did nothing. Come on dev...fix this BS. I shouldn't have to reinstall the app to get my avatar back. You're charging for this app, so please do your work.

Twitter has been having issues with profile images recently. It turns
out, if you've updated your profile image in the last week (and it was
a big image) it wouldn't be scaled down properly.

[From Twitter Profile Images - atebits - random stuff ]