MacMan to the Rescue
Well, it's been kinda quiet here at Huge this month, unless you wanna count the mandatory 8am bore 'em to death daily meetings, and the weekly 4 o'clock bore 'em to death meetings when all the techs are chomping at the bit to leave early. No real issues to talk about this month. It's still early to report on any problems with 7.5 Update 2.0, even though we have received Revision 2.0 just last week. Maybe next month...
On to the Questions!!!
Just read the newest issue of ATPM. Saw that you needed questions for your column (boy, are you gonna be sorry!). I have two.
1. My Apple Menu Options Control Panel is giving me a really hard time. I have reinstalled it three times, yet whenever I try to open it, my machine freezes up and I see that dreaded bomb! Any suggestions?
2. I want to buy a new Macintosh. I need something with a lot of HD space, a lot of RAM, a CD-ROM drive, a good-sized monitor and a decent-speed modem. I will be using it to a) surf the net, b) create web sites, c) do desktop publishing, and d) general stuff like writing letters, keeping track of my $$, etc. Any suggestions on what I should buy? Please include any additional equipment I should purchase for above tasks.
Thanks in advance for your assistance. I look forward to reading the next issue of ATPM.
Teresa Bettenhauser
teresahb@earthlink.net
Answer: You're welcome, Teresa. These are actually easy questions, and I like the fact that you thought I'd be able to help you. Your first question is the easiest. Here at Huge, I carry a floppy labeled 'All Purpose Utilities'. Among other things on it, is Apple Menu Options 1.0.2. Make sure that is the version you are installing. Also on this magic floppy, is a copy of both Hard Drive Setup utilities. You didn't mention whether or not you had a PowerMac, if you do, run Drive Setup 1.0.4 and update your hard disk driver. If you have a Quadra or less, run HD Setup 7.3.5 to update your driver. All of these utilities should be available at the Apple WebSite, or at an online service near you.
As for your second question, that's a little harder. From your specs, it looks like your doing heavy duty graphics work. Therefore, let me recommend the PowerMac 8500/132. It comes preloaded with 16 Mb of RAM, a 1 Gig HD, and a quad-speed CD-ROM drive. Memory prices are at a rock bottom right now, so I'd get an additional 32 Mb DIMM. If your budget cannot afford this, get a 7200/75. In either case, your monitor should be a Sony 17 inch. As for your modem choice, if your current modem is insufficient, I'd by the Supra Express 28.8 for around $150, at least out here. Now, if this doesn't get me a free modem from Supra having mentioned them twice, I don't know what will.
As for software, go with every Adobe product ever made. Well, you just need Illustrator and PageMill, but you get the drift. You might also wanna look into Acrobat. As for your money management issue, Quicken is by far and away ahead of everything else, as to make them not worth mentioning. Make sure you get the latest and greatest version, as they are now offering online banking. And our good buddy Bill, even though he doesn't know how to write software for the Mac, still puts out the best Word Processor, IMNERHO. Word 6.0.1 should be your drug of choice. [If you're not concerned with compatibility, Corel WordPerfect 3.5 offers most of the features of Word 6.0.1, with a better interface, and improved speed., IMHO. Ed.] I hope these suggestions help.
Do you know if it's possible to use a TV for a monitor with A Centris 660AV? I have VCR I could attach it to.
Bill Jagitsch
JAGIT@aol.com
Answer: This is an interesting question. My first quick response would be no. After thinking about it for awhile, I'd still have to say it can't be done. However, since you have an AV, what you might be able to do is hook your video-out to your VCR, and connect the TV to the VCR as normal. This might get you what you want. But if you want to hook straight to your TV, you'd need a hardware cable that will translate your output from the monitor hookup to RGB, and the TV would need to be able to take the RGB hookup from that same cable. Now that I've thoroughly confused you, there are hardware devices advertised in the back of the better Mac magazines, (MacUser, MacWorld, etc.) that may also solve your problem. [A good one to check out is the L-TV. Ed.] Good luck. This answer will self-destruct in 5 seconds...Hisss.....
For the past several months, every time I start up my computer I receive a message that reads "Desktop printers are disabled because the file Desktop PrintMonitor is not in the Extensions folder." I can't seem to find this file anywhere in my computer. Where can I find it? Also, whenever I try to print something on my StyleWriter II printer by accessing the "PrintMonitor," another message pops up on my screen that reads "The application 'unknown' has unexpectedly quit, because an error of type 1 occurred." I looked up using a program called "Easy Errors" that I downloaded from eWorld, and it said that an error of type 1 was some kind of "bus error". That didn't exactly help. Are these two problems connected? If so, what should I do? My computer is a Performa 6116 CD and is using System Software version 7.5.1. Please help! AKFlipse@aol.com
Answer: Ok, back to the grind. To answer your second question first, yes, the problems are related. Why, just today, I solved a similar problem on a Quadra 610. What you'll need to do is reload your system software. Easy Install should take care of you. This should load the Desktop Printing Software. If this doesn't solve your problem, get Desktop Printing Software version 1.0.3 from an online service near you, and install that. Also, after you load it, you'll want to disable PrintMonitor with your Extensions Manager, as you now have this nifty little thing called a Desktop PrintMonitor. What this software should do, if you've installed it properly, is put a printer icon on your desktop, after you select your printer in The Chooser. After printing from any App, clicking on this icon will give you info on your print's progress.
My wife and I have a PB 540 whose clock just won't stay set. We leave the batteries out of it, since mostly it sits on my wife's desk, plugged in. However, sometimes the plug gets knocked out or whatever, and then the correct time is lost.
It seems to me that there must be a small battery on the mother board that is pooped out and needs replacing, although I don't know why it isn't being recharged. I have tried zapping the PRAM with TechTool 1.0.9, and that didn't help.
Can you think of anything else I can try before taking the PB somewhere? Is getting into these things so difficult that I don't want to do it myself? (I've gotten into Performas, Centris' and SE/30s, but that's about it.)
I'd like to hear what you think.
Mike Cramer
cramer@nai.net
Answer: Well, I think, therefore I am. Seriously, you're right on the money when you say there is some sorta battery on the motherboard that needs replacing. If your PowerBook is still under warranty, just take it in to your friendly Mac Hardware Tech, and he'll do it for free. If not, than you're right, it's not that difficult to replace on your own. The problem is, I don't have the part number for the battery. I do know, however, that it is purchaseable at Radio Shack. If you get lucky, the guy behind the counter might know what you need. You could also call 1-800-SOS-APPL and get the part number from them. Good luck. This answer will also self destruct in 5 seconds...Hiss....
Hi! I just read your article in ATPM and recognized your e-mail address as a Hughes Aircraft address. I recognized it as such because I also work at a Hughes facility- specifically DirecTV in Castle Rock, CO. I don't really have a question about the Mac for your column just yet—I just wanted to let you know that there is at least one other person in the company using a Mac! Of course, I use it only at home. You see, my site is completely Mac free. In fact, I only know of one other person at my site that has a Mac at home. What a sad state of affairs! Oh well... <sigh> Keep up the good work at ATPM.
Dale Shera
DShera@aol.com or dshera@ccgate.hac.com
Answer: I just thought I'd put this one in to let all the readers out there know that there are other Mac owners that are also Huge afflicted that read ATPM. I guess this means I'm not alone. A tip o' the hat to Dale for being one of the ATPM faithful, and if he ever makes it out here, I'll buy him a drink. After he gets me an illegal satellite hookup.
More Begging and Pleading...
Well, that about does it for this month, thank you all for your questions, and allowing me to have a little fun at your expense. Next month, I promise to write some really scathing commentary. I just need a topic. Let my editors know. Also, I can always do another user question column, so feel free to write in with your questions to Mshields@ccgate.hac.com. I can answer them via e-mail right away, so don't be shy. I'll also put a few select ones in the next column. Good luck. This column will self destruct in 5 seconds....(My tribute to the Mission Impossible PowerBook ad, not the movie itself)
Oh, P.S. make sure to read my book reviews elsewhere this issue, and buy the books. That way, I can get more free stuff, a common theme here at ATPM.
| Mike Shields is the Opinionated Associate Editor of ATPM. You can send your questions about Macintosh software and hardware to MShields@ccgate.hac.com. |
Also in This Series
- MacMan to the Rescue · August 1997
- MacMan to the Rescue · July 1997
- MacMan to the Rescue · June 1997
- MacMan to the Rescue · May 1997
- MacMan to the Rescue · April 1997
- MacMan to the Rescue · March 1997
- Anniversaries · February 1997
- MacMan to the Rescue · January 1997
- MacMan to the Rescue · December 1996
- Complete Archive
Reader Comments (3)
Katherine
I gave up on it and bought a Compaq PC real cheap. A year and a half has passed and I decided to pull the old Mac out of storage. I started it up and, at first, it had the same blinking question mark problem. But then it starts up after a minute or so.
It lives, for now. What do I do to keep it going?
Scott in Noho
The solution is simple. Open up the case and determine exactly what type of hard drive it has (I've been searching Low End Mac to determine what drive it had, but have been unsuccessful) and purchase a new, matching drive--though I suspect you'll want to get a bigger one. They're pretty cheap these days. Since I'm not familiar with the internal configuration of the 6116, I can't say for sure if you can do this, but it's likely that you can connect both hard drives up to the computer. Then, if you turn it on and the old drive manages to boot up, you should be able to copy the contents to the new drive and you'll be sitting pretty. Worst case scenario--you'll just have to set up a new operating system on the new drive and hope that there's nothing on the old drive you need. After a year and a half, you're probably not gonna miss much!
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