Virus checker

What’s the best virus checker for the Mac which can keep pace with the latest infections?

M Webb

Anti-Virus for Macintosh (NAV) and Virex. Both benefit from monthly update files to keep abreast of all the latest nasties as they’re detected. Keeping up to date is probably more important than the choice of product, as the best virus checker can only be effective as the currency of its virus detection information.

Other fine products, such as Sophos Anti-Virus, are probably best suited to those with mixed Mac and PC networks. You’ll also come across a range of freeware and shareware products, including the venerable Disinfectant, once an outstanding freeware checker to be found on almost every Mac. Disinfectant is now unsupported, although still of use against classic Mac-only infections, but doesn’t come near the latest macro viruses, worms and so on.

G4 and ISDN

Are G4 models ISDN-compatible, or do you need to buy an expensive ISDN card on top of their price?

Sue Hunter

Apple’s G4 models are completely compatible with ISDN connections ­ huge numbers are used daily to move data at great speed over ISDN ­ but Apple doesn’t offer a standard bundle including an ISDN adaptor. There’s an optional internal 56Kbits/sec modem, but you’ll need to look for an internal or external ISDN adaptor. These needn’t be expensive ­ Hermstedt’s USB WebShuttle, for instance, is typically only £129 plus VAT.

However, if you want to be able to use four channels to give a maximum throughput of 256Kbits/sec, you’ll need to spend nearer £1000 for the likes of a Leonardo XL Pro PCI card. You should also consider whether you’ll need the additional software provided by WAM!NET Transmission Manager, or whether the software bundled with your ISDN adaptor will suffice.

Web Shuttle and Home Highway

I’m accessing BT Internet via a Hermstedt WebShuttle and BT Home Highway. When using a single line, I can regularly achieve a download speed of 64Kbits/sec, but can seldom get above 85Kbits/sec when I use two lines. Why can’t I reach 128Kbits/sec?

Anatole Beams

The WebShuttle connects via a USB port rather than the much higher bandwidth offered by more expensive PCI cards. Although the theoretical maximum throughput available by using two ISDN channels is 128Kbits/sec, with a WebShuttle there are plenty of potential bottlenecks which can prevent you from achieving that maximum rate.

First, the remote site to which you’re connected must be able to deliver the data at that rate. For testing purposes, try connecting to a very fast server in the UK at a quiet time, such as early on a Sunday morning. Next, the ISP to which you’re directly connected must have the bandwidth available ­ again, this is best tested off-peak. But even if you can achieve the bandwidth between the ISDN adaptor and the remote server, a USB adaptor is going to be limited by its USB connection and the USB driver. Try removing as many other USB devices as possible, and connecting the WebShuttle directly to a USB port on your Mac, rather than via a hub. The only way you’ll stand a better chance of reaching 128Kbits/sec and above is via a PCI card, or future FireWire adaptors.

Freeserve and AOL

I’m trying to access both Freeserve and AOL (the latter via AOL Link Plus 4.0) from my iMac. But I repeatedly suffer from connection problems, either failed verification in the case of Freeserve, or ‘The attempt to load site failed’ with AOL. How can I improve this?

Toby Clarke

Trying to access two different ISPs from a single machine isn’t too complicated if you can use configuration files in the Remote Access control panel. However, because AOL requires use of its own customised software, it often turns Internet access into a fraught process.

Your connection success rates would improve considerably if you were to settle on a single ISP and tweak those software settings until connections were reliable. With Freeserve, you can use any of the popular Internet software products in conjunction with the Remote Access control panel, although you may find it takes a while to get connected at busy times. AOL problems can only really be dealt with by AOL’s own helpline, which isn’t noted for its understanding of Macs.

Mac vs PC

Our department (which is part of a large organisation) is updating its Macs, but a consultant has put forward the argument that we should use PDF to transfer everything, and that switching to PCs would be faster, better, and cheaper. The Mac users here think this would cause a huge and unwelcome upheaval. Are we right?

Jim McGaff

Your own Mac users are the best judges of the upheaval such a change could cause. However, you’ll need to produce harder evidence if you’re to defend your position. Two good approaches, which have worked elsewhere, are to produce a full costing for the switch to PCs, including all the additional training and support required, and to install a PC pilot and assess it objectively. Time after time studies have shown that PCs, even running Windows 98, require users to have significantly more training to be able to use Windows and its applications productively. Just because you may be able to switch to PC versions of your current Mac applications doesn’t mean that training isn’t necessary.

It’s also common to try to underestimate the additional support costs incurred by PCs, as this can be very substantial indeed ­ particularly if you were to move to Windows 2000. Even if your consultant thinks they can overcome these obstacles, insist that a pilot machine is installed so you can test out their proposals in the real world. They could be in for a shock.

PowerBook hard disk

I need a larger hard disk for my PowerBook G3. Should I add another SCSI device, add a FireWire2Go card and use an external FireWire drive, or what?

Quintin Wright

Unless you particularly want an external hard disk, the neatest solution is to have your internal hard disk swapped for a larger one. Most Apple dealers should be able to quote for this service and perform it competently, including moving over your existing files. If you already have external SCSI devices attached to your PowerBook, it might be wise to avoid adding another one, so your interest in FireWire is worth pursuing. Although the theoretical speed of FireWire is comparable to the fastest SCSI variants, you may find that an external FireWire disk is slightly slower than one of the better SCSI products. But a FireWire disk will be hot-swappable and will have plenty of potential for the future.

Virtual PC

Can I install my own copy of Windows 95 onto Connectix Virtual PC?

James Westaway

Yes, Virtual PC emulates the PC hardware, including the processor, graphics card, and BIOS, which means you can run any Intel-compatible OS on it. However, remember to use a properly licenced version of Windows; you're not supposed to just take a copy supplied with another PC and install it on Virtual PC, as this is expressly forbidden in the Windows licence.

Date problem

My Power Mac 8600, running Mac OS 8.0, has recently been acting up. Each time I start it up I have to reset the time and date, and until I restart it all the icons have reverted to generic ones. Is this a hardware or software problem?

Simon Hughes

This is almost certainly because the battery, which keeps the clock ticking and provides power to the special Parameter RAM (PRAM, the memory which retains a few key settings, including the sound volume), needs replacing. Your Power Mac is now about the right age to be affected by this, as these batteries normally last about three to four years. You’ll need to ask your Mac dealer, photographic shop, or online supplier, for a half-AA size 3.6-volt lithium thionyl chloride battery. (Some other Macs, notably many Performa models, use a different type of replaceable battery, though.)

Shut down your Mac, turn off the mains, and disconnect the mains lead. Remove the side of your Mac’s case, and you’ll see the battery carrier on the motherboard: it’s about the only prominent component which could contain the battery, and has a black plastic cover. Ground yourself against the metal shielding inside the computer, pop off the cover carefully (it has clips at each end), and note the orientation of the old battery. Replace the battery, taking care to position it correctly, replace the plastic cover and then your Mac’s cover.

Once your Mac is started up again, reset the date, time, sound volume, system beep, and so on, and then restart. Everything should then be back to normal. If it’s not, shut it down and take it to your dealer, as there may be a hardware problem with the motherboard.

How to restart

What’s the correct way to restart an original iMac which has frozen so that the keyboard is unresponsive? Is it OK to pull out the mains lead to do this?

Paul Firth

Whatever you do, never shut off the mains power to a running Mac unless there’s absolutely no alternative. The Mac OS and applications operate with a lot of files open at any time, and just shutting off the power can corrupt those files and damage your hard disk. In a dire emergency (electrical disaster, fire, and so on) you can turn off the mains, but even then just pulling the mains lead out is a dangerous act. All Macs are either supplied with, or can be modified to offer, a reset button. On the original iMacs, you’ll need a fine object such as an opened-out paperclip to press the small reset switch by the USB and phone line ports. Older iMacs can also have ROM upgrades to reduce the chances of such a ‘hard’ restart being required: details are on Apple Web sites.

Floppy disks

Can I use my old Imation SuperDisk drive ­ bought with a Rev A iMac ­ to access floppy disks from my blue-and-white G3 running Mac OS 8.6?

Terry Moore

USB SuperDisk drives can be used with any USB-equipped Mac to provide access to 3.5in floppy disks, if you really have to use such low-capacity, error-prone and quirky storage media. If yours was bought with one of the early iMacs, it’s quite old, and will be in need of a firmware upgrade. Visit the SuperDisk Web site at www.superdisk.com, and download the ROM Update 1.0, and the disk driver version 3.3a (for Mac OS 8.6 and 9.x). Shut down your Mac and connect the SuperDisk drive to one of the Mac’s own USB ports. Once you’ve upgraded its firmware, you should be able to connect it to a hub, but the upgrade must be carried out with it hooked up directly.

Start everything up, and make sure you have the USB SuperDisk drivers supplied with Mac OS 8.6 (they’re version 1.31) enabled in Extensions Manager. Run the ROM Upgrade installer and follow its rather finicky directions to the letter: they require you to disconnect the USB connection and mains power at different times, before and after performing the upgrade itself.

When that’s complete, restart your Mac and run the driver version 3.3a installer. You may find the next restart results in a Mac OS ‘bomb’, but if you restart once more after that, your drive should work fine.

Note that installing the driver update before the firmware upgrade could result in an error message when you try to upgrade the firmware. However, reverting to the older driver installed by Mac OS 8.6 should fix that error.

Patience game

I’m ashamed to say that I’ve become addicted to the demo patience game that came with my Power Mac. What’s the best software to support my habit?

Doreen Mansell

There’s no shortage of wonderful patience games for the Mac, but arguably the most comprehensive and customisable is Mike’s Cards, which costs $25 shareware from www.mikesedore.com. This offers more than 100 different games of patience, as well as a few ordinary card games. The program has a delightful interface, and offers the ability to choose artistic card backs and faces, backgrounds, sound effects, and more. Mike also offers, for free download, a range of beautiful packs of cards for use with the game. Now you’ll never get any work done at all!