AboutGeorge Derringer Expertise I know a great deal about Macintosh computers running the older Mac OS 9, considerably less about machines running OS X
Experience I am the town crier in my home town, a newspaper editor by trade and a shortwave radio fan since, oh, about 1959.
Expert: George Derringer Date: 5/26/2008 Subject: iMac OS 9 & printers
Question I have an iMac blue (Dec 1999) G3 + added RAM. I recently retired an HP
printer that was getting erratic and moved my Brother 2040 over from my
Mac Mini. (It runs on 9 and OSX) I got it set up and running, but
intermittently, the iMac won't recognize that it is connected. Brother helpline
told me to plug it into the iMac, not the hub, which seemed to work at first,
but doesn't seem to be a permanent fix. Any suggestions? Would it help to
get rid of the other printer drivers that come up on the Chooser? How would I
do that? Appreciate any help. Thanks, MisterQ
Answer Hi, MisterQ
Well, the helpline advice was good -- balky USB devices work better when plugged directly into the Mac and some won't work at all otherwise.
No, eliminating the other printers (their extensions and "descriptions" live in the OS9 system folder) won't help. What happens is that when you make use of the Chooser to pick the printer you have, that choice is placed in the PRAM memory (Perimeter Random Access Memory, if that's any help!). What might be happening to you is likely one of two things:
(1) The PRAM gets confused. You can fix this by starting OS9 with the Command, Option, P and R keys all held down. Hold them down until you hear two or three chimes and then let go. The down side is that you now have to choose the printer again and a few other settings you might have changed (volume, mouse speed, etc.) are all returned to their default settings.
(2) The PRAM might be forgetful because your iMac's onboard battery is getting weak. Signs of this also include forgetting the date, probably the most obvious. There is a way around this problem: Never unplug the iMac and never have a power outage. (Humor intended.) Obviously, if the PRAM battery dies, it will be unable to remember the PRAM settings.
Finally, if you suspect the battery, I recommend taking the Mac to someone who knows what he or she is doing on an older iMac to change it. You can, however, get advice on it at both the official www.apple.com site and, I suspect, at http://lowendmac.com/trouble/battery.shtml. You probably need to follow some links from the latter site.
