Messages In This Digest (11 Messages)
- 1a.
- Re: SSD warning signs of failure From: N.A. Nada
- 1b.
- Re: SSD warning signs of failure From: Randy B. Singer
- 2a.
- Re: Hate Meeces to Pieces! From: N.A. Nada
- 2b.
- Re: Hate Meeces to Pieces! From: Ian Gillis
- 3a.
- Re: IMac sudden switch off From: R
- 3b.
- Re: IMac sudden switch off From: Barry Austern
- 3c.
- Re: IMac sudden switch off From: Les Streater
- 4a.
- Re: iPhone Use While Out of the U.S. From: Michael P. Stupinski
- 5a.
- Re: contacts : address book sync question From: Nick Andriash
- 6a.
- Re: Used iMac From: Larson
- 6b.
- Re: Used iMac From: Larson
Messages
- 1a.
-
Re: SSD warning signs of failure
Posted by: "N.A. Nada" whodo678@comcast.net
Fri Dec 30, 2011 11:08 am (PST)
On Dec 30, 2011, at 2:47 AM, Ken wrote:
> Back in the day when there were mechanical, spinning drives, there would frequently be new and odd noises in a hard drive indicating imminent failure.
> Now that we all have solid state drives, are there any warning signs indicating a drive is about to fail? Or, is it just an on-and-off, good-or-bad proposition.
As I understand it, with the mechanical HD, the warning was because of too many damaged sectors or other mechanical factors. With SSD, it is either function or failed. So it is good for OS or scratch area (yes, this is out of my area of knowledge), but not critical data storage. It is good for fast access.
OBrien, most of us do own one, if we think about it. I was about to say I don't, but I own a Phone. Most current iPods and all iPads have SSD storage. I'm sure other brands have them too.
Brent
- 1b.
-
Re: SSD warning signs of failure
Posted by: "Randy B. Singer" randy@macattorney.com randybrucesinger
Fri Dec 30, 2011 5:13 pm (PST)
On Dec 30, 2011, at 2:47 AM, Ken wrote:
> Back in the day when there were mechanical, spinning drives, there
> would frequently be new and odd noises in a hard drive indicating
> imminent failure.
> Now that we all have solid state drives, are there any warning
> signs indicating a drive is about to fail? Or, is it just an on-and-
> off, good-or-bad proposition.
SSD's tend to be far less prone to failure due to jarring and impact
as traditional hard drives are. (So they are a good choice in
laptops.) So far, they tend to be overall more reliable also. SSD's
also tend to give much better performance, making a Mac seem quite a
bit faster, and startup is faster too.
But SSD's are prone to wear-out in time, and, especially when used in
a Mac, can suffer from poor handling of bad blocks.
SSD's degrade mostly due to write amplification:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Write_amplificat ion
However, you might want to read
this blog entry:
http://www.codinghorror.com/ blog/2011/ 05/the-hot- crazy-solid- state-
drive-scale.html
Apparently, SSD drives are prone to failure.
http://www.tomshardware.com/ reviews/ssd- reliability- failure-rate,
2923.html
Final words: "So long as you protect your data through regular
backups, which is imperative regardless of your preferred storage
technology, then we don't see any reason to shy away from SSDs. To
the contrary, we're running them in all of our test beds and most of
our personal workstations. Rather, our purpose here is to call into
question the idea that SSDs are definitely more reliable than hard
drives, based on today's limited backup for such a claim."
_____________________ _________ _________ ____
Randy B. Singer
Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions)
Macintosh OS X Routine Maintenance
http://www.macattorney.com/ts. html
_____________________ _________ _________ ____
- 2a.
-
Re: Hate Meeces to Pieces!
Posted by: "N.A. Nada" whodo678@comcast.net
Fri Dec 30, 2011 11:19 am (PST)
On Dec 30, 2011, at 6:43 AM, Josephine Bacon wrote:
> You don't have to do that with an optical mouse but with a mouse with
> a ball in it, the best cleaner is acetone as it removes invisible
> gunge from the mouse.
> Josephine Bacon
How can you recommend using acetone, without giving some cautions.
Acetone while used casually by most is a solvent that will melt some plastics. It has a low health hazard, but is highly flammable.
Go with one of the other less hazardous cleaning solutions.
- 2b.
-
Re: Hate Meeces to Pieces!
Posted by: "Ian Gillis" tessel.bas@gmail.com ianjgillis
Fri Dec 30, 2011 1:15 pm (PST)
On 30 December 2011 16:02, James C. Hamm <machamm@gmail.com > wrote:
> If all these tips fail, here is a video on how to take the mouse apart, clean it, and out it back together....JC
>
> http://www.veoh.com/watch/ v378809PrA5a3pg? h1=How+to+ clean+an+ Apple+Mighty+ Mouse+-+Take- apart+guide
James,
Thank you - just what I wanted!
I've found in the past with other mice that fine cat hair wraps around
the spindles and it is virtually impossible to remove without an
element of dismantling.
A mechanism that is easily contaminated, a connecting wire that is
stiff and impedes free movement - perhaps not one of Apple's
best-designed products?
And Josephine - I'm familiar with, and wary of, acetone. When
cellulose paints using acetone as a solvent were first invented my dad
"acquired" some from work so I could spray my first car. In those days
it was enormously expensive, so I wasn't allowed to waste it for
cleaning my fingers - I had to go to school with technicolour hands!
But it sounds risky with the plastic bits on the mouse?
regards,
Ian
- 3a.
-
Re: IMac sudden switch off
Posted by: "R" majorjake@gmail.com norjgcharternet
Fri Dec 30, 2011 11:51 am (PST)
Did you install 3rd party RAM?
I have a late 2009 27" iMac in which I installed 16GB of OWC RAM. The iMac periodically shut off, as you described below. I ran a RAM test that showed no problem. I removed and reinstalled the RAM but continued to have problems. I removed the OWC RAM and reinstalled the original Apple RAM. I have no problems in the 2 months since.
I just sent the OWC RAM back for replacement.
--- In macsupportcentral@yahoogroups. , Les Streater <lesstreater@com ...> wrote:
>
>
> I have a 27inch iMac, mid-2010 model. Running OSX 10.6.8, 12GB RAM
>
> It is connected to a large capacity UPS power supply.
>
> Occasionally the entire machine just switches off. Immediate. Instant. No kernel panic, no overheating. Just off.
>
> It is not the UPS as the RAID array also connected stays on.
>
> I have AppleCare so I guess the next thing is to take it in, but handling a 27inch brute is not easy!
>
> I have looked at the Crash log but it is just streams of numbers, nothing seems to be obviously wrong.
>
> I have only recently run Onxyx and also updated permissions so it shouldn't be anything like that, and all software is to the latest level.
>
> Before I make a 150 mile round trip, anyone have any ideas?
>
>
> Les Streater
> www.lesstreater.com
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
- 3b.
-
Re: IMac sudden switch off
Posted by: "Barry Austern" barryaus@fuse.net barryaus
Fri Dec 30, 2011 2:13 pm (PST)
At 5:11 PM +0000 12/30/11, Les Streater wrote:
>
>
>
>I have a 27inch iMac, mid-2010 model. Running OSX 10.6.8, 12GB RAM
>
>It is connected to a large capacity UPS power supply.
>
>Occasionally the entire machine just switches off. Immediate.
>Instant. No kernel panic, no overheating. Just off.
I would think a bad power supply.
>It is not the UPS as the RAID array also connected stays on.
>
>I have AppleCare so I guess the next thing is to take it in, but
>handling a 27inch brute is not easy!
If you have AppleCare then call them, and not the local Apple Store
before doing anything else. With such a big machine there is a
possibility that they will do one of two things, either send a
technician to your house or else send you a postpaid shipping carton
so you can send it back to them.
>
>Before I make a 150 mile round trip, anyone have any ideas?
My Apple Store is a very long walk from here (at least at my age; 30
years ago it would be easier) but not while lugging a 27-incher, but
even in my case I'd contact Apple before going to the store.
--
Barry Austern
barryaus@fuse.net
- 3c.
-
Re: IMac sudden switch off
Posted by: "Les Streater" lesstreater@marpubs.demon.co.uk linernutuk
Fri Dec 30, 2011 3:27 pm (PST)
RAM is an interesting idea - I have 8GB of Kingston memory in, which is usually totally reliable. Would dodgy ram cause a sudden shutdown or more likely cause a kernel panic?
Power supply is a good possibility.
I used the Apple Express Lane support a little while ago, had a very helpful Indian engineer on the phone who clearly and simply talked me through clearing out some specific caches and plists in safe boot, then trashing the power management plist.
He's given me a case number should it happen again.
At the moment it's back up and working, although in the process I seem to have lost one of my externals. I'll work on that tomorrow with TechTool and Disk Warrior.
Once the bank holiday is over my instinct is to manhandle it to my Genius Bar and have them run diagnostics on the power supply, just for safety! The risk is always that moving any computer that kind of distance can upset something else!
Thanks for the ideas guys.
On 30 Dec 2011, at 19:51, R wrote:
Did you install 3rd party RAM?
I have a late 2009 27" iMac in which I installed 16GB of OWC RAM. The iMac periodically shut off, as you described below. I ran a RAM test that showed no problem. I removed and reinstalled the RAM but continued to have problems. I removed the OWC RAM and reinstalled the original Apple RAM. I have no problems in the 2 months since.
I just sent the OWC RAM back for replacement.
Les Streater
www.lesstreater.com
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
- 4a.
-
Re: iPhone Use While Out of the U.S.
Posted by: "Michael P. Stupinski" mpstupinski@snet.net mstupinski
Fri Dec 30, 2011 8:55 pm (PST)
Katrin,
I was already on my way to Frankfurt when you sent your email and I
just returned. I set the iPhone up just as was recommended to me here
but, as it turned out, I never needed to use it while there. The
situations I thought might require it never happened. I did learn a
lot on the list here that will be useful on future trips, however.
Thanks for your reply,
..................... ......... ......... .......Mike
On Dec 26, 2011, at 5:10 PM, Katrin wrote:
> Mike,
>
> I'm from Germany and live very close to the Netherlands. When I go
> there, I turn off the roaming option. I then still can use Wifi.
> Usually every Hotel, McDonalds, a lot of bars and cafes etc. offer
> Wifi for little money. At least in Germany you don't find hotspots
> that are totally free.
> When will you come to Europe? I need to see a genius at the Apple
> Store next week anyway. I could try to find out more.
>
> Katrin
>
> --- In macsupportcentral@yahoogroups. , mpstupinski@com ... wrote:
>>
>> I'm confused by what I should and should not do with my iPhone 4s
>> settings when I go to Europe. I'm on the Verizon network, but
>> don't plan to get their SD card for this trip, at least, since I
>> don't anticipate making any calls while there.
>>
>> I've heard horror tales regarding exorbitant fees that could occur
>> while there and want to avoid that problem. For example, if I
>> leave Airplane Mode set to 'Off' would I be able to use iMessage
>> via WiFi a hot spot without incurring charges?
>>
>> Advice would be greatly appreciated.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> ...............Mike
>>
>> And Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to all!
>>
>
>
>
>
> --------------------- --------- ------
>
> Group FAQ:
> <http://www.macsupportcentral. >com/policies/
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
- 5a.
-
Re: contacts : address book sync question
Posted by: "Nick Andriash" medic65@telus.net andriash2005
Sat Dec 31, 2011 12:04 am (PST)
On 2011-12-30, at 8:10 AM, Roger Harris wrote:
> The experience that you describe below is precisely what I fear. Now, it wouldn't be the end of the world - I could redo all my work, but then I would lose all my phone numbers so that info would have to be manually added.
What I did Roger was send myself vCards of all my contacts, to my Mac. Once I had my Mac Address Book the way I wanted it, I exported an AB Archive and saved it to disk as well as to Drop Box, so that I would never run into the same problem again.
--
Nick Andriash
andriash@telus.net
17" MacBook Pro, 2.3GHz Intel Core i7, Memory 8 GB, OS X 10.7.2
iPad2 WiFi & 3G, 64GB
iPhone4S 32GB
- 6a.
-
Re: Used iMac
Posted by: "Larson" pix@maksimo.de yovard@ymail.com
Sat Dec 31, 2011 12:39 am (PST)
On 28.12.2011, at 18:15, OBrien wrote:
> On Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:54:41 +0100, Larson wrote:
>> Then you will not recognize the OS anymore, OS X is a completely
>> new, very complex operating system and you have to learn most
>> things again from scratch.
>
> Well...OSX +is+ very (but not completely) different from Sys9, but I wouldn't say that it's all that difficult to learn to use.
I wouldn't say either that it is difficult to use although many software developers gave up and never managed a successful switch to OS X which may speak volumes (Examples: Now Up-to-Date, Now Contact; they actually tried to make a OS X version which I tested (v. 5.3.2); after the installation Spotlight did not work anymore, there was no Unicode support, the Uninstaller was lousy and left a number of files behind in different places. MacSOUP used to be OK under OS 9 but is now dead (has no Unicode support). I guess Now Up-to-Date and Now Contact just came to my mind now because they were good, that's how actually Address Book and iCal should have been, not kids' stuff, like they are now.)
> Much of it is quite like Sys9, such as directories, folders, keyboard commands, etc.
In in OS 7-9 there was no argy-bargy over wrong permissions, there was only one user account, no kernel panic (which I have had several times in OS X), one could also install individual OS files and folders (in Mac OS X you cannot install individual system files or folders, you need to reinstall the whole Mac OS X (if you don't have 'Pacifist'). Can't remember that there were any hidden files in OS 7-9 called live.db and dead.db, files I'm now seeing every time I make my daily backups (with ChronoSync). You can now start in different modes: normal, debug, Single User, Verbose or Safe mode. Can't remember being able to do that in OS 7-9. :-)
UNIX was not part of OS 7-9. There was no Spotlight, no Time Machine, no Sidebars, no customizable Toolbars, no multiple Libraries which now all carry the same stupid name "Library" and thus just confuse the switcher, and I could probably go on like this forever.
Troubleshooting is more complicated now. It usually took me 10 to 15 minutes to fix problems in OS 7-9, one usually did not have to do more than search for conflicting extensions and rebuild the desktop file every now and then. Now, in Tiger, Leopard and Snow Leopard I have had problems that nobody seems to be able to fix at all.
Examples:
� Wrong permissions that Disk Utility can't fix permanently (I'm not talking about the infamous error messages that Apple hasn't fixed yet and says you can just "ignore")
� Vulnerable .DS_Store file in the Desktop folder that gets corrupt in irregular, unpredictable intervals (since so many people are having this problem all over the world I guess it must be some kind of a bug in the Finder)
> It's very intuitive, just like Macs have always been.
In the early days Macs were easy to use, now this slogan is in my opinion just a typical salesman�s baloney to dupe potential customers into buying a Mac. If it were still true we would not witness all the desperate calls for help here on the list regarding solving problems of the most elementary nature. That shows better than anything else how "intuitive" the Mac is today.
Anna
- 6b.
-
Re: Used iMac
Posted by: "Larson" pix@maksimo.de yovard@ymail.com
Sat Dec 31, 2011 1:13 am (PST)
On 28.12.2011, at 18:26, Elaine Pollard wrote:
>>
>> What problems have you had?
>>
>> Anna
> Well, there are so many viruses, etc that none of my laptops are working. I
> cannot open any web browsers and there's all types of spyware.
Did you install any anti-virus software?
Anna
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