Tips and Techniques

Solving computer problems takes a little patience, the right tools and our phone number. We highly recommend having utilities like DiskWarrior on hand at all times. Our phone number is at the top of the screen. You'll have to work on the patience part yourself!

Essential OS X Utilities
Updating QuarkXPress 5 to 5.01
Updating software the RIGHT way
Converting to Suitcase 10.2 from Adobe Type Manager Deluxe
The Autostart Virus
Finder Problems-Error 41
Energy Saver Control Panel settings
Mac OS 9 and Fonts
Errors while using Microsoft Office 98
Disabling <command+tab> for QuarkXPress
VXA Backup Drive Issues
System Wrapper Error

The Autostart (Hong Kong or DeskTop Printer) Virus:

This nasty virus is causing trouble for many users. Random crashing, system and file corruption, etc. is what you can expect if you get infected. Make SURE your QuickTime™ Settings Control Panel doesn't have either of the AutoPlay features checked, as that is one way the virus replicates.

CHECK ALL REMOVABLES AT TIME OF INSERTION! A local printer has reported nearly 50% of the incoming removables (Zip, Jaz, SyQuest, etc.) are infected. Be a good neighbor and de-worm the disk and include WormScanner on the disk with instructions to do the same on the other end.

Click on the following to download a good utility for removing the virus.

OS 9 Finder Problems-Error 41:

It seems that no matter how well you treat your Mac, occasionally it has problems. One of the most common problems faced by users is a corruption of the Finder or Finder Preferences. This may be caused by many things, including (but not limited to):

Fonts are still the biggest culprit, and they identify themselves by not printing correctly (jaggies), giving Postscript errors, or causing System problems right after you load them. It's not easy finding bad fonts, and we can help you if needed.

Rebuild the Desktop using a utility like TechTool 1.2.1 (610K). This tool, unlike Apple's Desktop Rebuild function (holding down the command and option keys during restart) will actually delete the two invisible files that make up the "Desktop" file. The Desktop file keeps track of what icons each file uses, as well as keeping track of which data belongs to which applications.

Doing these things on a regular basis will solve the majority of problems Mac users encounter.

If your system won't start up, even with the shift key down, CALL US! We'll be glad to help you.

Energy Saver Control Panel Settings:

One thing to make sure of on your Mac is that the Energy Saver Control Panel is set correctly. To do this, follow these steps:

These settings should give you the fastest recover time after sleep, better hard drive efficiency and speed and a "screen saver" that darkens your display.

Mac OS 9 and Fonts:

There is a documented bug with Mac OS 9, Adobe Type Manager and QuarkXPress. If you have a large number of fonts in the "Known Fonts" list in ATM, Quark my have severe waits or lag times between commands. A fix is being generated, but no ETA is available.

The good people at Quark have issued an update (v4.11) that fixes part of the problem, and it highly recommended. Get the update from the Quark site or from www.versiontracker.com.

Errors while using Microsoft Office 98:

If you experience crashing while using Word, Excel or PowerPoint, try the following:

Also, make sure to update MS Office to the latest levels with the appropriate updater. They can be found at the Microsoft site or at www.versiontracker.com.

Disabling <command+tab> for QuarkXPress:

In Mac OS versions 8.6 and higher, there is an "App Switcher" keyboard shortcut <command+tab> that switches from one open application to the next. However handy this is, it gets in the way of QuarkXPress keyboard shortcuts and may be something of an irritation.

VXA Backup Drive Issues:

When connecting an Ecrix VXA tape drive in a SCSI chain, make sure to change SCSI types only once. In other words only go from DB25 to HD50 or HD50 to DB25 once in the chain, never HD50 to DB25 back to HD50.

Termination is very important to these drives. Always terminate the drive (if it is the last in the chain) or terminate the last device on the chain.

To test the functionality of the drive itself, you should perform the drive test. Disconnect the drive from the SCSI chain but leave it connected to power. Eject the tape if there is one in the drive. While holding in the eject button push the a new or erasable tape into the drive. It will provide considerable resistance, but that's normal. Push it all the way until the drive takes the tape. The VXA drive will begin a self diagnostic using the tape as a read/write media and report back three solid green LEDs if the test passed or three solid orange LEDs if the test fails. If it fails, call VXA immediately for a replacement at 877-VXA-TAPE (877-892-8273).

Ecrix informed us that they suspect a bad tape lot (which is printed on the front edge of the tape where the label would go) #02204MAA1. They said not all tapes from that lot are bad, but they can't identify which ones are and are willing to replace any tapes from that lot. If you have experiencing problems with their tapes and they have the matching lot number then you should replace those tapes. This problem can be reported as a hardware failure in the Retrospect Log.

Also, make sure you're running the latest VXA-1 firmware. Use the VXA tool and instructions, available at www.ecrix.com.

System Wrapper Error:

There is an issue with some versions of Apple's disk driver software that leaves a "HFS Wrapper Error" on your drive. This error can cause a number of problems, including drive mounting errors. The problem is easy to fix, just run Apple Disk First Aid 8.6.1 or newer. Features new in this new version are:

Disk First Aid repairs certain types of master directory block damage on Mac OS Extended format volumes. The previous version of Disk First Aid identifies the issue but doesn't repair the damage. Disk First Aid 8.6.1 or newer also improves the compatibility of Mac OS Extended format hard disks with Mac OS X. This version of Disk First Aid can repair more kinds of problems on a startup hard disk. However, Apple recommends that you start your computer from a different disk (such as a CD or floppy disk) before repairing the startup disk.

Another easy way to check for and fix this problem is to use the utility called DiskWarrior. It also rebuilds your disk directory and solves a lot of problems on "unstable" Macs.

Updating Software the RIGHT Way:

Many times the act of updating your OS, applications, workflow enhancements or utilities can actually cause more problems than they fix! If your hard drive isn't in perfect health before you start installing new software, you are begging for trouble.

As always, let's start from the top. Here's an outline of what's required:

1. Repair Files & Directories. This is the most crucial step as it's the foundation for everything else we are going to do. First, run DiskWarrior after restarting from it's CD and repair any directory problems it may find. Next, run Norton's Disk Doctor and repair any file problems it encounters. Note that DiskWarrior and Disk Doctor do different things to ensure your hard drive health, and should be run in order. After that, it would be a good idea to rebuild the Desktop files using a free utility like TechTool 1.2.1 (610K). At this point your drive should be ready to have new software installed without causing any problems.

2. Update Mac OS. Have you ever used Apple's Software Update Control Panel? With the growing complexity of Mac OS, Apple now distributes updates to it's OS via the internet using Software Update. If you have a slow (56k Modem Dialup) you may be in for some long (many hour) downloads to get the software. Contact us if you need assistance here, as we can put the updates on CD for you if required, or do the updates at our office.

3. Update Applications. Software companies update their premier packages often and even if you are a registered user you may not get notified. Your best bet is to look on www.versiontracker.com to see what's been posted. Every software company uses VersionTracker to distribute their updates, so everything you need will be here.

4. Update Workflow Tools. As above, check VersionTracker for your font utilities, RIP and printer drivers, database and other software updates. Having the latest OS and applications installed guarantees that these installations are done at the proper version level. Symantec utilities use a program called "Live Update" to keep their software at current levels. You may have to run this application manually, so look for it on your hard drive if you have any of the Norton's products.

That's it - for the most part. All of the steps outlined above have many little "sub steps" required to do the job effectively and efficiently. If you have questions, call us and we'll help. If you would like our trained server staff to do the updates for you, or train you at your site, just let us know.

Converting to Suitcase 11 from ATM:

With the advent of Mac OS X, Adobe announced it would not be supporting Adobe Type Manager Deluxe in the future. Version 4.6.1 is the last, and though it works fine under OS 9.2.2, the day is coming when switching to OS X will leave you without convenient font management. We suggest moving to Suitcase 11.0.4 NOW to avoid the inevitable problems encountered with changing a major tool in your workflow. Suitcase works great under both OS 9 and X and uses a similar interface for managing your fonts.

To convert to Suitcase, first remove ATM Deluxe by removing the Control Panel, Extension, Preferences and the alias in the Apple Menu items folder. Restart, then install Suitcase. You will also need to install Adobe Type Manager Lite v4.6.2 (3.3MB) to have font smoothing both on the screen and on non-Postscript printers. There is still a problem with the included MenuFonts utility on some systems, so it should be disabled if you encounter any issues, but this will not effect the Suitcase font management capability. You can also try adding a space " " in front of the "~MenuFonts" Control Panel and see if that works.

There are upgrades available for previous versions of Suitcase as well as a "cross-grade" from ATM Deluxe at a reduced cost. Contact us for more details.

Updating QuarkXPress 5 to 5.01:

The QuarkXPress 5.01 update fixes a few small bugs and adds greatly to its performance. Click here to download it, but its over 16MB so have a fast connection!

The problem is the update takes FOREVER to do the update. The Quark updater searches your hard drive directory alphabetically for the Quark folder EVERY TIME it tries to write a file, which can take forever! If you rename the Quark folder to be at the top of the directory, the updater will fail, so here's how to set up your Mac do it quickly and efficiently:

2. Move the QuarkXPress folder into the "aa" folder at the top of your directory.

3. Run the 5.01 updater, either from CD or your hard drive. It'll happen in seconds compared to 45+ minutes!

Essential OS X Utilities:

Mac OS X is the new standard for productivity in your workflow, but there are a few things Apple left out, or special things you need to do to optimize your system. Click on the link to download the software to your computer, then follow the instructions.

1) Print Window: Free! This super handy utility allows you to print windows again like you could in OS 9, only better! Must have for anyone sending files to others on CD, DVD or removable media.

2) DeLocalizer: Free! Removes all the non-English language support from your computer, freeing up over 800MB of space.

3) DeepSix: Free! Removes "AdobeFNT" files and font cache files that can cause some applications to quit unexpectedly.

4) MarkzTools 5.5 $199. Open Quark v5 and v6 documents with v4.11! Allows recovery of damaged Quark file data, helps protect the integrity of Quark documents and converts version types. A must have for any Quark user.

Of course ALL of you have your copy of DiskWarrior 3, and you run it on a monthly basis to repair potentially disastrous hard drive directory errors, so we don't need to remind you to buy your copy today, do we?

If you have any questions about these or any other service issue,
please feel free to contact one of our service technicians.