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Macintosh OS/Questions Answered by Expert Doug Lawhead
| Subject | Date Asked |
| turn off ? | 3/7/2011 |
| Q: Doug : Should we turn off the mac when we aren't using it ? Even in sleep mode, the computer is ... A: Shut it down if you do not plan to use it for a couple of hours. 1. The operating system has a ... | |
| airport in my powerbook stopped working | 1/3/2008 |
| Q: I have an older PowerBook G4 15", OS 10.4.11, 1.25 GHz, with built in airport that says ... A: Sounds like the airport cart may be bad or loose. You might try taking the airport card out of its ... | |
| Is Security Software necessary for Macs OS X | 11/9/2007 |
| Q: My friend who has OS X Tiger 10.4 says Macs don't need any Security software such as Anti-virus, ... A: There are no known viruses for the current Apple operating system, however you can get a macro virus ... | |
| Photoshop and two scanners quit before opening | 11/6/2007 |
| Q: I have a Mac G4 tower running OSX 10.2.8. I am using Photoshop CS and have a Canon LiDE 600F ... A: First, make sure all the software is updated and current. If that fails, throw away the preferences ... | |
| System Preferences- Network | 11/6/2007 |
| Q: My Network preference in Sys. Pref. is saying Can not load Network. I tried to clean it up by ... A: First, I would trash the file named com.apple.NetworkUtility.plist in your home>Library>Preferences ... | |
| Backing Up iPhoto onto an external drive | 10/28/2007 |
| Q: Good Morning, I have just purchased Leopard for my iMac (already successfully installed on my ... A: It could be that the iPhoto library is so large that the buffer on the hard drive is filling up. ... | |
| Lost administrator Privileges | 10/28/2007 |
| Q: I just installed leopard, and somehow, when i installed it, i lost admin privileges, and i was the ... A: by default, you should be the admin on the account. If you never set a password just leave the ... | |
| Imac | 10/23/2007 |
| Q: I don't know what is wrong with my computer. The last thing I did was log off. I did not shut down ... A: press the power button until the computer shuts down, then reboot. If it does not start, put in your ... | |
| MAC PRO Hard drive and PSCS3 Scratch Disk Question | 10/17/2007 |
| Q: I have the MAC PRO. It came with 1 GB of RAM and 1 internal hard drive. I started with CS2 and ... A: Based on this info.... they are probably not formated correctly. If they are on the desktop you ... | |
| MAC PRO Hard drive and PSCS3 Scratch Disk Question | 10/17/2007 |
| Q: I have the MAC PRO. It came with 1 GB of RAM and 1 internal hard drive. I started with CS2 and ... A: Are the firewire drives showing up on the desktop? They should also be appearing in the Performance ... | |
| Keynote and Mail | 10/7/2007 |
| Q: 1- is Keynote compatible with PowerPoint? I have lots of PowerPoint presentations on both my Mac ... A: Keynote will open Powerpoint presentations, and it will export a Keynote presentation as a ... | |
| Mail Crashing | 10/5/2007 |
| Q: I have been having a problem with the application Mail crashing. I have searched the Apple ... A: Might be worth a try. The Address book files at in your user folder>Library>Application ... | |
| unlocking drive | 9/13/2007 |
| Q: I need your help with the following problem: I wish to run photoshop CS off of an external hard ... A: No, it will not conflict if you use an operating system on an external drive....BUT... A PowerPC Mac ... | |
| unlocking drive | 9/6/2007 |
| Q: I need your help with the following problem: I wish to run photoshop CS off of an external hard ... A: Click once on the drive icon on the desktop. Then press the apple and i keys together. This will ... | |
| Connecting an old Personal LaserWriter to G5Mac | 8/23/2007 |
| Q: I have been trying to connect my old Laserwriter 4/600S to my G5 Mac running OSX.4.10. I am using ... A: Sorry, I am out of ideas on this one. It could be the printer or the adapter card. Personally, I ... | |
| blinking cursor | 8/20/2007 |
| Q: 3.9. My cursor blinks too fast - how can I slow it down? Mike B. A: Are you talking about the arrow mouse pointer? It should not be blinking at all. Try booting whiloe ... | |
| Upgrading to Mac | 8/11/2007 |
| Q: I am thinking of upgrading to a Mac OS X now that Leopard is coming out with the new features to use ... A: OSX runs only on a Mac so you can't install it on the PC. At work I am running a 24 inch iMac with ... | |
| partitioning harddrives and protools... | 8/9/2007 |
| Q: I've only just bought my first iMac and the recording software pro-tools (Mbox 2), and want to get ... A: Partitioning a hard drive in essence results in one hard drive acting like two. In some applications ... | |
| hidden files | 7/12/2007 |
| Q: I took it to apple genius bar and they did a hardware test which was ok and then told me to do a ... A: That is too wierd.... never ran into anything that extreme. The only thing I can suggest is that ... | |
| Hardrive on other computer automatically connects to mine on bootup | 5/29/2007 |
| Q: I have a network running Macs. Problem is that a harddrive on a different computer automatically ... A: For your problem, look at the login items in you user preferences and see if there is something ... | |
| mac entourage email will not send | 5/27/2007 |
| Q: 1.25 GZ Power PC 15"powerbook about 3 years old. I have OS 10.4.9 and use entourage email 10.1.4. ... A: You could try setting up Apple Mail and see if it works. That will tell you that microsucks product ... | |
| os x issue | 5/2/2007 |
| Q: I am a new MAC user with a new Mac Pro. Yesterday (Tuesday - May 1), the maching was constantly ... A: I have no idea what you are talking about. I have never seen updating appear in the corner of the ... | |
| super drive | 4/30/2007 |
| Q: ran a simple dvd lens cleaner on my emac, half way through the disk, it stopped now my mac wont ... A: You could open the system profiler application and see if it "sees" the drive. This would tell you ... | |
| Adobe Acrobat 6 pro | 4/16/2007 |
| Q: suddenly i am unable to make pdfs from Word documents on either of my macs. I have a G4 with OSX ... A: It could be Word that is messing up. Try it with a different application and see what happens. If it ... | |
| MAC | 4/6/2007 |
| Q: I am having a real problem with a MAC os When I attempted to open the appleworks it is locked how I ... A: How the Appleworks application became locked I do not know, but to unlock it all you have to do is ... | |
| apple menu will not open???? | 3/10/2007 |
| Q: About two weeks ago, the apple icon in 10.4.6 stopped opening. I "click" it and no drop down ... A: I would start by opening system preferences and look at the settings for your account to make sure ... | |
| Freeze | 2/28/2007 |
| Q: I have a G4 running 10.4.8. I upgraded to a "Dual Processor (1.8 Ghz), a superdrive and a larger ... A: Adding memory should not cause this problem unless it is the wrong memory for your computer. You ... | |
| Printer problem | 2/23/2007 |
| Q: 3.9 and I'm trying to get a HP Deskjet 3500 to work. I installed the software from the disk. Do I ... A: You probably do not need a driver, and you do not add printers in System Preferences. Launch the ... | |
| 2 minitors possible? | 2/17/2007 |
| Q: 3.9). It has dual monitor capability. There's a slot next to where the existing monitor plugs in ... A: Do not use a splitter. You can probably use both ports. See these Apple Support articles to ... | |
| Word and email bcc | 2/15/2007 |
| Q: Doug - I have 2 questions: 1. When I paste text into a new blank page in Word (v.X) the text ... A: To # 1... Check to make sure all the updates are installed for Word. Other than that I have no ... | |
| OSX email | 1/25/2007 |
| Q: (I had a G3 before), with a 10.3.9 OS and am trying to get my email squared away. I tried the Mac ... A: Entourage is a little like Outlook as far as I know... I have not used outlook since 1994 when I ... | |
| scsi/scanner on G4 | 1/21/2007 |
| Q: ..... I had the battery die on my dual G4 800 MHz running OS 10.2.8. Have a UMAX scanner that always ... A: Since you pressed the CUDA button, you may have to reset your clock. The other stuff should take ... | |
| Toast Titanium | 1/16/2007 |
| Q: I have a G4 running 10.4.8. Whenever I use "Toast Titanium" (7.1.2) my computer freezes. I went to ... A: You deleted files from the "preference panes?" I hope you mean you deleted files from the ... | |
| transferring files from G4 to new MacBook | 1/16/2007 |
| Q: I'll look into Suitcase. Still have the problem of transferring the fonts to the ibook. The ... A: You got a bad applecare rep. Connecting wirelessly or with ethernet is the bad way to do it. Get a ... | |
| transferring files from G4 to new MacBook | 1/16/2007 |
| Q: I have the complete Adobe font library on my old G4. The type management program I used, ATM ... A: How are you connecting the two Macs together to transfer the files? After I know that I can tell you ... | |
| original file replaced by alias | 1/7/2007 |
| Q: Recently I tried to backup a file on DVD. I dragged the file onto the DVD from my desktop but the ... A: It is gone... you deleted it by saying yes to replacing the file when you dragged the alias file ... | |
| emtying trash | 12/31/2006 |
| Q: We have an intel Imac with OS 10.4.8. with 1 GB of ram. We downloaded Windows Media Player which ... A: Microsucks has discontinued development of Windows Media Player for mac so there will never be an ... | |
| lost saved work | 12/12/2006 |
| Q: I am using a Mac Powerbook G4 12" with OS X version 10.3.9 and 640MB DDR SDRAM. My problem has ... A: Sorry.... I did not get a message that this question was waiting for me until today. (This is why ... | |
| Firewire [or ethernet] File Transfer from 1 Mac to another | 12/11/2006 |
| Q: If I want to transfer a Software Application [in the manner you described], is this accomplished ... A: This may or may not work. You can try it and see if the application will work. You may need to look ... | |
| ibook clamshell g3 | 10/20/2006 |
| Q: last night when i tried to boot up my computer, all i got was a blank white screen with a tiny ... A: That icon means the computer can not find an operating system. Several things could cause this but ... | |
| password?! | 10/11/2006 |
| Q: What would you do to fix a labtop if you forgot the password and you cant get in. Do u get an ... A: Yes, boot to the System CD by starting while pressing the C key. After the computer boots it will be ... | |
| OS 10 Address Book | 9/28/2006 |
| Q: I recently had to replace my hard drive. I'd backed up most critical files, but can't seem to ... A: The stuff you need should be in the old users folder, your home folder, Application Support, Address ... | |
| Connecting New laptop to Computer at work | 9/8/2006 |
| Q: Good Morning I have a Dual processor Mac G4 in the office. I just bought a G4 laptop. Is it possible ... A: There are some variables that I need to know that affect if and how this can be done. The main one ... | |
| Apple Mac Book Pro Username & Password dont work | 8/29/2006 |
| Q: It's the first time I'm using Mac, how do I formatt and install? And do I have to pay for Parallels? ... A: To reinstall the operating system and the software that came on the Mac, you put the CD (actually it ... | |
| Apple Mac Book Pro Username & Password dont work | 8/29/2006 |
| Q: I'm using a 8 hours old Mac Book Pro, which runs on Mac OS X, I have 512 RAM. I was installing Boot ... A: I have no idea what Boot Camp did to you, but it sounds like it caused some nasty stuff. (Use ... | |
| What's wrong with my iBook? | 8/3/2006 |
| Q: For some reason, I can't move the folders or docs on my desktop for my iBook G3, using OSX. It's ... A: Try restarting while pressing the Apple, Option, P, and R keys. Keep them pressed until you have ... | |
| Mac startup problem | 7/29/2006 |
| Q: The card is and AirMax Extreme. It doesn't boot up if I take it out and I have tried to install the ... A: Well... only thing I can suggest is try booting to the system cd and reinstall the operating system ... | |
| My imac | 7/20/2006 |
| Q: Followup To Question - My imac always says "not enough memory" I cannot open more than 1 page at a ... A: Did you restart while pressing the keys as I described earlier? What applications (programs) does ... | |
| My imac | 7/18/2006 |
| Q: My imac always says "not enough memory" I cannot open more than 1 page at a time. Never really been ... A: OK.... first of all, OS 9.0.3 is prone to that problem. You might try restarting the computer while ... | |
| iBook G4 | 6/23/2006 |
| Q: I have a ibook g4 got it from a friend dont know how much ram or anything about it. All I know is ... A: Well.... if it does not have an operating system installed like your friend says, then it will not ... | |
| search tools ofr OS X - FAST FIND & Sherlock ' | 6/19/2006 |
| Q: Although I have spotlight I do miss my previus search tools from my old G4 (OS9), namely: FAST FIND ... A: I know nothing about Fast Find if that is your question (there is no question here).... never used ... | |
| delete OS9 | 6/5/2006 |
| Q: yahoo dsl. I've run BW tests which show 1Mbit/S download speedDoug Sorry. You solved 1 problem, but ... A: I have no idea how yahoo DSL provides their service or what kind of download speed they claim to ... | |
| delete OS9 | 6/4/2006 |
| Q: Doug It worked. I also deleted OS9applications which was a mistake. Had to fetch Safari, Norton ... A: If you tossed OS 9, then you DO NOT NEED the OS 9 versions of those applications. They will not run ... | |
| partitioned drive with OS9 Classic+OS10.3.9 | 6/4/2006 |
| Q: Don't know how to identify the OS9 system folder.Must I start OS9 to delete it? RobertDoug I ... A: You can not delete the OS 9 system folder if you are booted into OS9. The OS 9 System Folder should ... | |
| partitioned drive with OS9 Classic+OS10.3.9 | 6/3/2006 |
| Q: Doug I asked a previous question about deleting OS9 from my partioned HD while retaining OS10.3.9. ... A: Are there two hard drive icons on the desktop when nothing is plugged into the Mac? If so the drive ... | |
| I have an old model Lombard... | 5/26/2006 |
| Q: I have an old model Lombard in which the former owner partitioned the HD and upgraded to OS 10 ... A: I'be never tried to run OSX on a machine as old as a Lombard. RAM and processor power could get to ... | |
| ibook drive problems | 5/23/2006 |
| Q: Ibook G4 OSX Tiger I am a geek when it comes to PCs but I don't know much about Macs. Recently my ... A: Sorry.... missed seeing this in my email and thus the long delay in answering. Yes, sounds like the ... | |
| trapped in OS 9 and can't get out | 5/23/2006 |
| Q: Recently I purchased Mac OS X Tiger and successfully installed it into my iMac (384MB). Before OS ... A: You cannot boot into os 9.2 when Tiger is installed. It only allows OS 9 applications to run in the ... | |
| Installation problems with iLife '06 on my eMac | 4/10/2006 |
| Q: .. thanks for volunteering to help me with my problem. Wow, would a young friend of mine like to ... A: iLife is on a DVD, so it sounds to me like the eMac you are having trouble with does not have a DVD ... | |
| Upgrading Power PC | 4/5/2006 |
| Q: I feel as thought I have painted myself into a corner. 1) 3 years ago I purchased a G4 PowerPC for ... A: If both computers are on a network you can turn on file sharing on the Sharing pane of the System ... | |
| Can't run program CDs or open Stuffit | 3/29/2006 |
| Q: I'm running OSXv10.2 on an EMac G4. I haven't used this computer for a year (been on a laptop PC) ... A: You probably do not need to use the software on the D-Link CD. Which Router do you have? Is the ... | |
| compatable | 3/9/2006 |
| Q: I have an older imac G3,running os9.2, stuffed to the gills with years of info and pictures, and can ... A: OK... this is easy. Get a firewire cable that had the "house shaped" plugs on each end. Press the T ... | |
| add-on dual layer dvd burner help! | 2/27/2006 |
| Q: I am running an emac, 1.25 with an upgraded 768 RAM. I recently purchased a: ... A: I have no idea on how to make this work. Sounds like the sell option and buy one that is plug and ... | |
| E-mail virus? | 2/21/2006 |
| Q: I have an iMac OS 9.2 and I use Outlook Express to receive my e-mail. Unfortunately just yesterday ... A: Click on another email message you can delete. Then press the shift key and click on the "bad" one. ... | |
| help | 2/16/2006 |
| Q: Mac OS X 10.4.5 2.1 GHz I went out of town and someone downloaded "cocktail" on this and now it's ... A: Well...I can't help with the restore disks... You could always see if you can find a Tiger DVD (or ... | |
| Mac OS 9.1 to OSX | 2/8/2006 |
| Q: Doug Actually two questions: 1 - Seems I have no choice but to convert from 9.1 to X. Hate to ... A: At the risk of sounding rude... OS 9 is dead. Has been for a long time. It is time to move on to OSX ... | |
| putting mac info on a disk for a mac ibook os | 12/26/2005 |
| Q: i got my daughter a mac ibbok,30gig hd,256 ram,running os 10.3,I use a ibm with windows and she ... A: Well, you must be doing something in the way you burn the CD that it is a read only for windows ... | |
| Change from OS 9.2 to OS X ? | 12/9/2005 |
| Q: 2 and OS X installed on my G3. The OS 9.2 is running now - how do I change it so OS X is the main ... A: Open your OS 9 control panels and select the startup disk control panel. Select the OSX volume trhat ... | |
| I am using an iMac slot loading... | 12/5/2005 |
| Q: I am using an iMac slot loading computer with 256 mg ram running OS 10.2.8(Panther). I need to ... A: 10.3.x is Jaguar...it is an upgrade you have to buy....but is no longer available. So if you want to ... | |
| G3 dvd | 12/2/2005 |
| Q: I have a G3 B&W, it came with a cd rom and floppy disk, I need a DVD player,do i need any kind of ... A: Since you have a B&W tower that should have USB 1 and Firewire ports, I would go with an external ... | |
| external hard drive transfer | 11/28/2005 |
| Q: com! I have an apple ibook G4 and have discovered upon bringing it in to the store that it has ... A: I would recommend re-installing Photoshop and other applications simply because if you are going to ... | |
| camcorder | 11/12/2005 |
| Q: I have 10.4.3 tiger installed,and cannot use canon zr 40 camera.Is there software that I can get? ... A: I have no idea if you can use that camera. Check the cannon website to see if there is a special ... | |
| blue screen | 9/13/2005 |
| Q: When I start up my G4 system all I get is a blue screen....Any answers I run OS9 and OS10.2.1 A: If could be a hardware issue, but it is likely an operating system problem. Put a system CD ... | |
| update | 9/3/2005 |
| Q: I have a G4 running 10.3.9. I have two questions: 1. I just used "Software Update", it ran ... A: The 10.3.9 update is probably causing the trouble. Reinstall the OS from your CD set, then go to ... | |
| Mac OS Question | 8/17/2005 |
| Q: I have OSX installed on my mac (Jaguar). You can choose to boot your computer either in the old ... A: Press the Option key while booting. You should get a screen that will have icons for both operating ... | |
| Norton | 8/12/2005 |
| Q: I have a G4 450 dual Mac with OSX Tiger and 1 Gig. I was told that I cannot use my Norton Utilities ... A: Look in your System Preferences. If you installed Norton there may be some preferences panes. Click ... | |
| upgrading hardware | 8/3/2005 |
| Q: I use a mac mini. I am moving up from a G3 BW both using OSX 10.4 I don't want to get involved with ... A: Get an ethernet cable, (you may need to have what is called a cross-over cable) and turn connect the ... | |
| ethernet wireless connection | 7/29/2005 |
| Q: sorry about my first attempt . i'm no technician. my previous isp, sprint braodband direct, a fixed ... A: You should be able to use any ethernet router (you can get one at Staples or a Best Buy or a store ... | |
| Tiger | 7/18/2005 |
| Q: Doug I have recently purchased an Imac running Tiger. When I open the hard disc two folders ... A: It sounds like you bought a used iMac and the previous owner left some things behind. Is that ... | |
| Accidental Formatting of an External Hard drive | 6/28/2005 |
| Q: Ibook G4, OS 10.3.5- Ext. HD Seagate 120 GB USB. First, I must say that I am an idiot. Here's what ... A: Yes, initialize means format. the data is gone.You might be able to recover it with a utility like ... | |
| input | 6/19/2005 |
| Q: I have a Mac cube running OSX version 10.1.2. I have recently bought a Griffin imic with a view to ... A: Always check manufacturer's web sites...they usually have the answer. In 10.1 you go to the speech ... | |
| Netscape screen froze - cannot remove it | 6/1/2005 |
| Q: Today I was attempting to download a free file (edit text something or other) low and behold, the ... A: Are you sure you are shutting down the computer and just not turning off the monitor? Netscape ... | |
| Hard Drives | 5/17/2005 |
| Q: I have two hard drives in my G4. Are both hard drives spinning all the time? Sincerely, Angel A: Probably not. It depends on how the energy saver prefs are set. If they are set to sleep when ... | |
| Entourage full/Start up disc full | 5/17/2005 |
| Q: I have a iBook with OSX and 386 RAM and out of the blue the other day My "start up disc is full" ... A: The emaiul may still have the attachments saved in the computer. Throwing away a message does not ... | |
| switching from windows os to macintosh os | 5/12/2005 |
| Q: I'm not quite sure if you can help me or not, but I thought I would atleast try. I'm currently ... A: Can you define what you mean by "estimated feesability of switching?" I'm not clear on what you are ... | |
| Entourage full/Start up disc full | 5/5/2005 |
| Q: I have a iBook with OSX and 386 RAM and out of the blue the other day My "start up disc is full" ... A: Download MacJanitor, a freeware at http://personalpages.tds.net/~brian_hill/macjanitor.html You can ... | |
| no HDD free space for macOSx re-installation?! | 4/29/2005 |
| Q: I have a problem! Updated to 10.3.9 last night and ever since my ibook stalls on startup! (infinite ... A: Put in the original CDs that came with the Mac and boot while pressing the C key to boot it to the ... | |
| software | 4/23/2005 |
| Q: I'm sure I already know the answer to this question, but I'll ask anyway just to be sure. I ordered ... A: I tried to fing this seller in Pricegrabber and at yahoo and had no luck. I guess you could contact ... | |
| upgrading to osx on G3 400 Blue and white | 3/27/2005 |
| Q: I have just bought an 80Gb IDE hard disk which I will be installing in my G3 blue tower 400 Mhz ... A: Do you want to also keep the drive that is in the G3 and use it for a second drive? If so, does your ... | |
| upgrading | 3/21/2005 |
| Q: It is the Upgrade disk 1 disk 2 and disk 3 so i think that is the complete versionWhen I attempt to ... A: Sounds like you have the complete version and not an upgrade. First, click one time on your hard ... | |
| upgrade to mac os x | 3/16/2005 |
| Q: I want to upgrade my imac from mac os 9.2.2 to mac osx but mac user friends tell me osx doesnt work ... A: In your particular situation, your iMac might be taxed with the load. I have run X on G3 processors ... | |
| Slow OS9.1 startup after memory install | 3/11/2005 |
| Q: I just helped install 512Mb into a 8600 Powermac with a 604e processor running OS9.1. My friend's ... A: I would start by zapping the PRAM. Reboot while pressing the Apple, Option, P and R keys. Keep them ... | |
| I have no clue what to do now. | 2/24/2005 |
| Q: I think I am running Mac OS X Version 10.3.8, or is that not what you mean. When I click on the ... A: The DNS box tht you found in Network Preferences is what I am talking about. It probably needs to be ... | |
| I have no clue what to do now. | 2/24/2005 |
| Q: I just got this computer and I am running Mac OS X Version 10.3.8. I don't know much about ... A: Which Mac do you have? Is it brand new? Do you have the System CD? Throw Netscape in the trash and ... | |
| configure mac osX tcp/ip | 2/22/2005 |
| Q: I am an A+ certified PC tech. I work for a company who provides wireless point to multi-point ... A: Very simple. Launch the System preferences application. It is in the Applications Folder, or may be ... | |
| Trash problem | 2/20/2005 |
| Q: I followed your suggestion to use Terminal with the same result .The computer froze at the end. Any ... A: Do you have OS 9 installed on the computer? If so, open system preferences, click on the startup ... | |
| Trash problem | 2/19/2005 |
| Q: Quicken 2005 copy 1 Quicken 2005 copy 3 Quicken 2005.crash.log Quicken 2005 copy Quicken 2005 copy 2 ... A: OK....launch the application Terminal. It is in the Applications > Utilities folder. After Terminal ... | |
| Trash problem | 2/19/2005 |
| Q: Quicken 2005 copy 1 Quicken 2005 copy 3 Quicken 2005.crash.log Quicken 2005 copy Quicken 2005 copy 2 ... A: It looks like you are trying to delete Quicken.... Try making a folder on the desktop and moving ... | |
| upgraded memory | 2/15/2005 |
| Q: We recently purchased a 12in ibook 1.2 GH that came with the standard 256 ram. We figured we would ... A: Sounds like you may have a bad or incorrect RAM chip, or the chip may not be seated in the slot. I ... | |
| reinstall OS x | 2/8/2005 |
| Q: I wrote to you the other day, It's included below, I think I'll have to do a reinstall of OS X, will ... A: Put in the CD that came with the computer and click the install button. The computer will reboot to ... | |
| OS X isn't working | 2/5/2005 |
| Q: My wife has an emac 1.25ghz G4 with 512 mb RAM running OS X version 10.3.7. A few weeks ago she ... A: OK...you have done some pretty good trouble shooting. From what you are telling me you may have a ... | |
| Uploading pictures | 1/31/2005 |
| Q: Guess I'm not sure what you're asking. These are both motorcycle sites where members can post there ... A: Try it with a different web browser. It may be something with Safari. I have found a lot of issues ... | |
| Start up | 1/29/2005 |
| Q: Hey Doug, how are you? I need some help here. I recently got an iMac and wasn't home when it got ... A: I think the only way you can do that is to format the drive and start over, which is really easy to ... | |
| How to open G4 PowerBook 17" case | 1/26/2005 |
| Q: I tried to open my G7 PowerBook 17" in order to upgrade a new 80 GB hard drive. After I took all ... A: Sorry, but this is one where I do not venture because I would be advising you on how to do something ... | |
| Color Labels | 1/8/2005 |
| Q: Doug, After receiving your convoluted work around, you sent me a curt, (two actually) 'I have ... A: First of all, I am sorry if you thought the duplicate question response was "curt." but apparently ... | |
| Color Labels | 1/7/2005 |
| Q: It is only active if I highlight the 'public' folder in the home window. I'm the only person who ... A: Try rebooting while pressing the Apple + Option + P + R keys. Keep them pressed until you have heard ... | |
| Color Labels | 1/7/2005 |
| Q: I am running OSX 10.3.7 on a 1.2 Ghz G-4 i-book. When I try to color code files or folders in the ... A: It would appear that you are not set up as the administrator of the computer. Does the Lable feature ... | |
| Disk Image and New Hard Drive Install | 12/24/2004 |
| Q: I have two drives in my 400 MHz Power PC, 256 MB SDRAM running 10.3.7. I have the original 10 GB ... A: First, install an operating system on the 130 gig drive that is already in you computer. Since you ... | |
| SuperDrive Problem | 12/22/2004 |
| Q: Operating system is OSXI am having a strange problem with my SuperDrive in my 933 G4. If I try to ... A: Sorry for being so long on this. Open System Preferences and click the CD icon. Make sure the ... | |
| Plug-ins | 12/17/2004 |
| Q: I'm new to Mac and OS and can't seem to solve this problem. My Mac G4 is running on OS 9.2.2. My ... A: Get the latest version of QuickTime for your operating system at Apple.com. You probably also could ... | |
| start up | 12/15/2004 |
| Q: When I try to start up the computer, all I get a blinking file folder with a Mac icon alternating ... A: Sorry for being so long in answering this, but it did not come through until tonight. The icon you ... | |
| imac probs | 12/7/2004 |
| Q: This is a continuation of a prob that I had written to you about before. A Strawberry/333 with ... A: It sounds like you managed to do something while it was in the G4 that corrupted the hard drive. I ... | |
| my son's mac laptop (panther) will not boot up. | 12/6/2004 |
| Q: see above. he can't get online because the computer won't boot up. is there a tech support phone ... A: How long has he had it? And if it is over a year old did he also buy the three-year AppleCar ... | |
| hardware or software | 11/29/2004 |
| Q: g4 system, os9.0 / system was not displaying webpages properly, graqphics started to ovelap text, ... A: Sounds like the OS is outdated. If you are running OS 9.0.x there may be some issues with current ... | |
| strange desktop document | 11/26/2004 |
| Q: I use an iMac OS10.2. There's an annoying document icon that somehow got on my desktop and I can't ... A: Under Macintosh OSX .DS_Store holds the information that determines the way a floder will ... | |
| my scratch disk... continued... | 11/21/2004 |
| Q: This might turn out to be one of the emails that make you think twice about volunteering. ;) I'm ... A: It is an iMac...great...that makes things easier! If I were you I would buy an external USB (or ... | |
| Inability to download latest Update to Mac OSX | 11/20/2004 |
| Q: Have downloaded the update manually. I don't see an install file (setup?) in the download. How do I ... A: The file you downloaded should have been on this page. ... | |
| Inability to download latest Update to Mac OSX | 11/20/2004 |
| Q: I have been happily downloading the latest updates for Mac OSX but now my computer is unable to ... A: I am not aware of any problems with Apple's site. If you are using the OSx software update feature ... | |
| PowerPoint etc | 11/17/2004 |
| Q: it's Bob here again. I recently asked you a question about jpeg photos in email and you put me on ... A: You should be able to save any file to a specific location on the Mac, and then attach it to an ... | |
| after a crash | 10/12/2004 |
| Q: I am using a two year old IMac G4. Running PhotoShop, QUark, Illustrator, etc. I run in OS9. My ... A: Something happened to corrupt the system folder...which is really no big deal and is easy to fix. ... | |
| CD/DVD Drive nor responding | 10/5/2004 |
| Q: I have a powerG4 867 dual processor. I installed virtual pc and Windows XP. Panther. After the XP ... A: There is no easy way to undo the partioning of the hard drive. It has to be done by reformating the ... | |
| Backing Up | 10/3/2004 |
| Q: I have an Apple Powerbook with OSX Panther & combo drive. I am confused about the concept of ... A: I would get an external hard drive, preferably a firewire drive and not a USB, and bakc up data to ... | |
| updating scanner for OSX | 9/29/2004 |
| Q: Here's my problem: I've got a G4 running systems OS 9/10. I used to use an older MAC with which my ... A: A checked the list of supported scanners for Vuescan software at www.hamrick.com and for Silverfast ... | |
| Office 2004 and simpified account | 9/27/2004 |
| Q: Office 2004 and simpified account In the admin account I've created a simplified acount. In the ... A: I have only used the limitations tab once when setting up an account and found it too troublesome to ... | |
| OS X on a PowerPC G3 Blue and White | 9/26/2004 |
| Q: Greetings, I recently purchased a G3 PowerPC, one of the Blue and White towers that came out in ... A: I am confused....do your other OSX installs have these problems, too? I would format the disk as ... | |
| Upgrading rom Mac OS9.0.4 to Mac OS X | 9/16/2004 |
| Q: I would like to know if I'm able to up grade my Powerbook Mac G-3 (Wallstreet). It has a 2GB Hard ... A: I hate to tell you this, but your friend is correct. Only the "Bronze Keyboard" Powerbook G3 is ... | |
| Yahoo Messenger and Mac OS 9.2 | 9/15/2004 |
| Q: We are trying to set up yahoo messenger on our iMacs with the end goal being using a webcam for ... A: Go to both computers, quit Yahoo Messenger and navigate to Users/(the user's ... | |
| Mac OS X speed | 9/10/2004 |
| Q: I am running OS X 10.2.8 on a G4 AGP Graphics, 400 MHz, 100MHz bus. I have a 10GB drive running my ... A: If your applications are not on the same drive partition as the OS things will be slowed. ... | |
| where's the destination disk | 9/10/2004 |
| Q: i have a problem installing my OS, because when i moved, I pulled out all the cards inside the Mac ... A: Make sure the ribbon cable that connects the hard drive to the motherboard is plugged in and secure. ... | |
| New Computer | 8/27/2004 |
| Q: I have orderd the new G5 2.5 ghz which should arrive in two weeks. RolandHi Doug Please forgive me ... A: The best thing...actually the only thing, that you can do is install your software on the new Mac. ... | |
| playing DVDs | 8/22/2004 |
| Q: Hope you can help me with aI use a MAC G4 running system 10.2 with classic environment. Recently I ... A: It sounds like you do not have the OSX DVD player software installed. Try reinstalling it. If you ... | |
| USB drives not showing on desktop or disk utility | 8/12/2004 |
| Q: --Yes it did occur prior to 10.3.5 . It looks like the bootup is too fast to keep up with sorting ... A: Actually, It sounds to me like the card is not keeping up with Panther. It is bloody quick. :-) I ... | |
| loss of hard drive capacity | 8/11/2004 |
| Q: running osx 10.3.4 on an older iMac not much third party software installed myAlthough it doesn't ... A: journaling is probably enabled. This is a feature that takes up drive space to create files that the ... | |
| Changing Hard Drives | 8/8/2004 |
| Q: I purchased an 80 Gbyte hard drive for my G4 (400 MHz) and it is much faster than the original 20 ... A: OK....this is going to be pretty easy. Copy anything you want to save that is on the 80 gig to the ... | |
| icq 3.4 quit | 8/7/2004 |
| Q: iMac running OS 9. Ram 128 M I had to reinstall my hard drive from disk recently. I did not do a ... A: That usually means there is not enough RAM allotted for the application. Navigate to the ICQ ... | |
| imac OS 9.0 | 8/4/2004 |
| Q: I have a five year old imac with Operating system 9.0. When I turn it on, it acts like its booting ... A: Try starting while pressing the Apple + Option + P + R keys. Keep them pressed until there have been ... | |
| updates | 8/1/2004 |
| Q: i wiped my system clean, now when i update from 10.2.4, 10.2.8 will not load. i get about 30% ... A: Try this. Open Software update and instead of clicking the install button, go to Software Update's ... | |
| sound problems | 7/27/2004 |
| Q: Answer - Which Mac do you have? Which operating system does it use? How big is the hard drive and ... A: Make sure OS 9.2 is updated to 9.2.2. You can launch the software update from the control panels ... | |
| sound problems | 7/27/2004 |
| Q: My sound dies usually in the middle of a game, or music. I ave no idea wy and it has just started ... A: Which Mac do you have? Which operating system does it use? How big is the hard drive and how much ... | |
| Apple fixed my Tibook screen. Now it won't run OS9! | 7/22/2004 |
| Q: Well this is fantastic. You'll love this one! I have a G4 Titanium powerbook 1GHz with 512Mb RAM, ... A: Sorry to take so long getting back to you but I have been out of town on vacation. I have no idea ... | |
| g5 not starting | 7/17/2004 |
| Q: I have a G5 which operates on MacOSX which i bought back in november, and as of yesterday it was ... A: Something has corrupted the operating system, The ? icon means the computer cannot find a valid ... | |
| Email pictures | 7/15/2004 |
| Q: I am using an eMac with OS 10.2.8 with 256 mgs of RAM. Ever since using OS X I find that photos, ... A: First, run software update. It is located in the System Preferences Application. This should update ... | |
| Imac shuts itself down | 7/14/2004 |
| Q: I have a red imac with slotload CD. It will boot all the way up, but then about 20 seconds after ... A: First, let's try this. Reboot while pressing the Command (apple), Option, P and R keys. Keep them ... | |
| how to install messenger | 7/10/2004 |
| Q: Using an iMac with version 10.2.8. Whenever I try to open Messenger400.dmg, which I downloaded ... A: Boot to the system OSX CD and reinstall the OS. It will probably tell you you can not install X ... | |
| how to install messenger | 7/8/2004 |
| Q: Using an iMac with version 10.2.8. Whenever I try to open Messenger400.dmg, which I downloaded ... A: Apple software restore should not be launching if you are attempting to expand and messenger file. ... | |
| Mac OS X Server - Sharing folder very slow | 7/7/2004 |
| Q: I have a Mac OS X Server 10.2.8 with 7 workstations with Mac OS X version 10.2.8 Jaguar and 4 ... A: Does this folder contain a large amount of data. that might slow it down, but I suspect there is ... | |
| IMac freezes | 6/29/2004 |
| Q: I run an iMac 8.6 I recently installed Office :mac 2000 Academic When I use excel or word .when I ... A: You may have increased the RAM allotment too much. Cut it back and try. Also, reboot while pressing ... | |
| Mac harddrive | 6/25/2004 |
| Q: I have a second 80 gig hard drive that I would like to install into my mac. It came out of a ... A: I am assuming that this drive has an ATA (IDE) connector and plugs into the same cable that your ... | |
| Mac OS... | 6/16/2004 |
| Q: I need to upgrade to Mac OS X for my iMac. I purchased Mac OS X 10.1. My iMac is currently upgraded ... A: This has nothing to do with which version of OS 9 you have (although Classic works best if you have ... | |
| switching from mac os 8.6 to mac os x | 6/11/2004 |
| Q: My Powerbook G3 does have a DVD player that works just fine in OS 8.6 but for some reason the DVD ... A: You may have to run the DVD player in 9. I have never run into this issue, but then I have never ... | |
| switching from mac os 8.6 to mac os x | 6/10/2004 |
| Q: I recently installed mac OS X on my PowerBook G3 which originally had mac OS 8.6. I chose to ... A: 8.6 does not have the ability to recognize OS X as an operating system. In order to use any old ... | |
| shutting down on its own | 5/24/2004 |
| Q: I have a mac G4 and I use osx 10.2. I was just searching the internet when my computer shut down on ... A: Never heard that one before... You might try rebooting while pressing the Apple, Option, P and R ... | |
| ichat | 5/13/2004 |
| Q: mac os x 10.3.3- I have been having problems with my ichat 2.1. when I double click on a buddy to ... A: I am not a chat user, but try this. Go to your user's home folder > Library > Preferences and throw ... | |
| DVD ROM won't read after G3 BW Upgrades | 5/6/2004 |
| Q: Goal: Increase internal storage space of current 6 GB hard drive in order to accommodate system ... A: Well, I hate to let you down, but I have no experience with upgrade cards like you have. I would try ... | |
| Address labels | 4/26/2004 |
| Q: I have an iMac with OS 10.2.I have no problem with using Appleworks database,etc., in making address ... A: Select the text, the Apple Key and C key copy it, then click on the next blank label, and the Apple ... | |
| Beige G3 | 4/20/2004 |
| Q: I put a DVD-ROM unit from a B&W G3 into my Beige G3DT running 9.2.2. I cannot get the software to ... A: Sounds like you took something new and put it in something old. You probably need to see if there is ... | |
| Classic can't start... | 4/20/2004 |
| Q: Greetings doug, Well my question pretains to Classic. I had to wipe my Imac's harddrive and when I ... A: You have to put a 9.1 or 9.2 CD in the Mac and boot to it by pressing the C key while starting. ... | |
| Mac Mail | 4/19/2004 |
| Q: My computer is a MAC G4-466, System is Panther OS10.3.3, I use Safari with Mail. I have been ... A: I would try backing up my mail (make a copy of the mail folder. Go to your home folder > Library and ... | |
| iBook will not boot completely | 4/16/2004 |
| Q: I have an older iBook (about 2-3 years old). I just tried re-installing OS X, but I choose to ... A: You should be able to put the CD in and restart while pressing the C key. It should launch to the ... | |
| my mac is freezing up | 4/7/2004 |
| Q: maybe you can help me i have a older imac and its running os 9 it was working fine for some time ... A: Press the shift key while booting until you are asked if you want to start with extensions off. Say ... | |
| 3/30/2004 | |
| Q: I am seeking a way to use my existing email in my G4 with OSX 10.3 so that when a Windows machine ... A: That is controlled by the receiver, not the sender. You might try sending people an email to tell ... | |
| Hi: This is pretty simple... | 3/23/2004 |
| Q: This is pretty simple i think. I have an iMAC OS 9.0 I bought a CD read/write for Mac to back up ... A: I think you have to buy 9.1 before you can do the free 9.2 update. Check eBay. For help there is an ... | |
| OS 9.x - to - 10.x upgrade ... HELP? | 3/19/2004 |
| Q: PowerBook :: Mac OS 9.2.2 -> 10.3 upgrade... HELP? Planning to do Mac OS 9.2.2 to 10.3.3 upgrade ... A: You can not boot from a USB drive...you can only boot from external firewire drives, but it sounds ... | |
| pdf file conversion | 3/17/2004 |
| Q: i have a pdf doc that i am trying to convert to word. looking for a one time only use program.... ... A: Open the document with Acrobat or Adobe Reader (the newest name for Acrobat Reader). Click on the ... | |
| airport | 3/5/2004 |
| Q: I have bought (new) a Titanium Laptop G4 1GHz 15" laptop. Airport appears in the top of the Apple ... A: If you bought the SuperDrive model it probably has the airport card installed. To find out launch ... | |
| norton utilities | 2/28/2004 |
| Q: I have run Norton Utilities to check the disc and it has come up with some errors it cannot fix. If ... A: Norton should give you some recommendations on what to do when it finds the errors it can not fix. ... | |
| Can I play DVDs on Powerbook without decoder? | 2/26/2004 |
| Q: I recently bought a Powerbook G3 Wallstreet on Ebay. It said it played DVDs, but when it arrived, no ... A: It sounds to me like there is a CD-ROM in the machine and not a DVD player. Launch the Apple System ... | |
| Ibook starting up untractable problem | 2/23/2004 |
| Q: I have an iBook (2003) that does not start up: it shows a folder icon with a flashing question mark ... A: The question mark icon means the Mac can not find a valid System Folder to boot from. Something has ... | |
| Beige G3 upgrade info | 2/20/2004 |
| Q: I have just been given a Beige G3 (233mz) with 288mb RAM. Since it was used for research, the hard ... A: Since you plan to use this primarily for the kids homework and internet I don't know if I would run ... | |
| clean install | 2/17/2004 |
| Q: I reinstalled 9.1 so i would have two system files.So i trash that and any thing else?I did a clean ... A: Sorry, but you have me confused. If you have two OS 9 System Folders on the same hard drive ... | |
| Will not wake up | 2/16/2004 |
| Q: I am having a real problem getting my Mac to wake up. I have a G4 10.2.8 with 640 MB. It is always ... A: Start with zapping the PRAM. Reboot while pressing the command (Apple), Option, R and P keys. Keep ... | |
| OS UPGRADE CAN'T RECOGNIZE INTERNAL HARD DRIVE | 2/14/2004 |
| Q: I've upgraded my G3 Tower (266Hz) from OS 8.6 to 9.2.1. Unfortunately, my new Apple Profiler doesn't ... A: Did you add any other SCSI devices that might have the same SCSI ID number as the hard drive? I ... | |
| Date and time reset | 2/10/2004 |
| Q: dual 867 g4 w/ 128 meg ram os10.2 when we shut down the system and olny then will the date and ... A: You might have a bad battery. Also, make sure it is in the right way. Try rebooting while pressing ... | |
| Disk | 2/8/2004 |
| Q: Doug, Thanks for the prompt reply! 500MB is not enough, eh? Well, I'll order Norton today. The ... A: Norton should not pose any risk to your files...but nothing is perfect. I have never had a problem ... | |
Macintosh OS
Answers by Expert:
Doug Lawhead
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I can answer most questions about troubleshooting the Macintosh OS. I can also help with questions about making hardware upgrades to Macintosh desktop computers (not including iMacs). Please, no questions about OS 9 or OS 9 products. OS 9 is dead. If you are using Parallels or BootCamp and have questions about Windows issues direct those questions to volunteers with Windows or Parallels experience. I am also very good at using Adobe Photoshop and know the application very well. Additionally, I am award winning photojournalist.
Experience
I am a Macintosh support specialist at Eastern Illinois University. I also teach photography classes at the university and I have worked extensively with every version of Photoshop. Prior to working at the university I have 25 years of experience as a photojournalist.
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