ViaVoice, RAM

ViaVoice works well, but starts to labour when documents reach a page in length, and will then soon crash. Is my 64Mb of RAM insufficient?

Sean Kingsley

It’s likely that you’re hitting ViaVoice’s memory limits, so if you want to dictate documents longer than this, you would do best to add more memory to your Mac.

You may be able to stave off the problem by turning on virtual memory and speaking more slowly so ViaVoice can keep pace more easily with you. You can also free up more memory by turning off all non-essential extensions and control panels using Extensions Manager. Finally, you should, of course, be dictating directly into ViaVoice and preferably not linking it to an application such as Word 98, which will be competing with it for the available memory.

Startup problem, missing hard disk

My Power Mac 7100/80 has gone on the blink, showing a disk with a flashing question mark on it when I try to start it up, while making alarming clicking noises. Could this be the hard disk sticking?

Chris Walbank

If you start up or restart and are greeted by a folder with a flashing question mark on it, and the question mark doesn’t go away to allow the startup process to continue, this means your Mac can’t find a valid System Folder. Don’t turn off your Mac at the mains or thump it, but insert a bootable CD-ROM containing rescue tools such as Disk First Aid or Alsoft DiskWarrior. If your hard disk is getting a bit old and weary, you may find it will start up properly if you press the Reset button, or hold down the control, command and power keys (to force a restart).

Once your Mac has started up, look for the hard disk. If it can be found, use Disk First Aid to check it out, and consider updating its disk driver with Drive Setup or the disk formatting software you used to initialise it. Back everything up, then see whether your efforts have fixed it. If your problems persist, you should first consider performing a clean re-installation of the Mac OS, and then ­ more drastic but more likely to offer a permanent solution ­ initialising the hard disk and re-installing everything.

If you can’t find the hard disk at all, you’ll need to take your Mac to your local Apple dealer, as it’s likely that the hard disk has become defective and it may need to be replaced. Make sure you know where your latest backups are, as you would need to rely on them to restore all your work, applications and system.

Crash on startup, Finder quits

Ever since it was supplied, the Finder quits when starting up our Power Mac G4. This has persisted, even though we’ve upgraded it to Mac OS 9.0.4. Is this a common problem?

Sven

This isn’t only abnormal, but isn’t acceptable on any Mac. Back up your hard disk and perform a clean re-installation of Mac OS 9.0.4. You might like to use Clean-Install Assistant (freeware from www.marcmoini.com) to manage third-party extensions and control panels moving from the old to the new System Folder. Don’t replace all those third-party components until you’re confident that this has fixed your problem. If things haven’t improved, try initialising the hard disk using Drive Setup and then install a ‘normal’ copy of Mac OS 9.0.4. If you still suffer from a crashing Finder, then the problem is almost certainly down to hardware, and may well be incompatibly slow or faulty RAM. Take your G4 back to its supplier and ask them to check it out.

PIM, Claris Organizer

I ‘lost’ Claris Organizer during a clean system install on my beige Power Mac G3. Now I’ve discovered that it’s no longer available. Can you recommend another organiser application?

John Robinson

Claris Organizer was orphaned some years ago, and, in any case, has serious problems running under Mac OS 9. Your install glitch has probably done you a favour in finally pushing you to use a current personal information manager (PIM), of which there’s no shortage.

If you want to carry on with Claris Organizer, this has been resurrected by Palm (www.palm.com) in the form of the Palm Desktop. It syncs cleanly with Palm handheld devices, and also works as a complete standalone PIM application, just like Claris Organizer did in the past. Best of all, however, it’s free.

If you’d like to try others before making your choice, try performing a search at www.versiontracker.com, using ‘PIM’ as the keyword, and you should find a number of different shareware and commercial products. One particular favourite is Chronos LC’s Personal Organizer, formerly known as Consultant. This has all the key features of Claris Organizer, but, like the Palm Desktop, includes Palm synchronisation. It also boasts project tools including Gantt charts, and more.

iMac sleep problems

When I put my iMac to sleep using the Finder menu, about half the time I can’t wake it up again. The only way in which I can then recover it is to restart using the Reset switch at the side. Is this my iMac, Mac OS 9, or what?

Graeme Dawes

Problems with the ‘deep’ sleep produced by using the Sleep command in the Finder’s Special menu are quite common in iMacs, particularly Rev B models, which may have other problems with power management (there’s a known issue which can prevent them from shutting down at all).

Before concluding that it’s a hardware issue, try disabling all unnecessary extensions using Extensions Manager, and check whether sleeping works properly before you run any applications. If it does, suspect a software conflict which you can then go on to identify.

Your next step should be to perform a clean installation of Mac OS 9.0.4, and then to reset the Parameter RAM by holding down the option, command, p and r keys during startup. If the problem is unaffected by anything like that, you’ll need to take it back to an Apple dealer and get them to look at it.

USB card, USB power problems

The Keyspan card in my beige G3 provides two USB ports, into which I connected a Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer. I get an error message, saying that there isn’t enough power, so I connect the mouse to a powered hub, but still get the same message. Surely there’s enough power now, isn’t there?

William Morgan

Both your original USB card and a powered hub should be able to deliver ample power for a mouse such as this, so you can be confident that the error message is spurious. Its most probable cause is outdated software, so you need to check that all the necessary components are up to date.

First, make sure you’re running Mac OS 8.6 or 9.0.4, and visit Keyspan’s Web site to download the latest drivers for your card. Then go to Microsoft’s MacTopia site and get the current Intellimouse driver for the Mac. Once they’ve all been installed, you should find that the mouse works fine. If problems persist, turn off all unnecessary extensions and control panels to see whether a conflict may be the cause.

Linux and Mac OS X

I need to be able to install and run some software available only for Linux. Could I use the Mac OS X Beta instead? What’s the best way to handle this on a blue-and-white G3 which also needs to run the Mac OS?

Damian Florentine

Mac OS X Public Beta is quite a compatible implementation of Unix, and may be able to compile software provided as source code. But you would then need to obtain that source, and Mac OS X developer tools (by becoming an Apple developer), and may have to tweak the source code to get it to compile and work properly. That is often a non-trivial task even for experienced Unix programmers. You may find it more straightforward to install LinuxPPC (from www.linuxppc.com) on a partition on your hard disk.

The simplest way to create a dual-boot system is to devote three partitions (ideally on a separate hard disk) to Linux. Make the first a Mac OS HFS (not HFS+) partition of about 150Mb to 200Mb in size, and install a minimal System Folder on it, as well as the BootX control panel, and so on. The second partition should be your root for LinuxPPC, with 1Gb or more space available for the LinuxPPC installation itself. Then you’ll need a final partition of between 50Mb and 128Mb for Linux’s swap file.

When you want to run Linux, you then restart from the small Mac OS partition, and use the BootX control panel to run Linux. To go back into the Mac OS, restart from Linux, select Mac OS in BootX, and you can then use the Startup Disk control panel to return to your main Mac OS System Folder.

Mac LC battery

The battery has gone on my friend’s Mac LC. What type is it, and can you still get them?

Michael Hawkshaw

There are only two types of replaceable PRAM backup battery in common use in Macs. Most models use a half-AA size, 3.6 volt, lithium thionyl chloride battery, readily available from computer shops, and many other retailers.

A few old models, such as the IIfx, actually require two of these. The other battery encountered is mainly found in Performa models, and is a 4.5 volt alkaline type, commonly designated Rayovac 840. It’s less readily available from some sources, but all Mac dealers should keep them in stock. Your friend’s LC uses the first type, and should be easy to buy, cheap, and simple to fit.

Office 98, Office 2001

I’ve upgraded from Microsoft Office 98 to 2001, but am having all sorts of crashes and problems with 2001. I’ve heard I must remove 98, but still need to use it. Can I not keep it on a different volume?

Amy Brians

Although some have been able to keep both Office 98 and 2001 on the same volume, Microsoft doesn’t recommend this, and plenty of users have reported that it causes serious problems. If you really do need to have access to both on the same Mac, the safest answer is to install them not just on separate volumes, but also so that they use separate System Folders. This means you’ll need two volumes (partitions) with System Folders installed, although the secondary System can be a minimal install just sufficient to run Office 98.

Uninstall both versions of Office (Microsoft offers a de-installer for Office 98 on their MacTopia Web site at www.microsoft.com/mac). Start up from the secondary System Folder, and then re-install Office 98 on that volume, making sure you apply the latest patches as necessary. Then restart from your primary System, and install Office 2001 on that volume. You’ll then have to be careful not to run the wrong version of Office when you’re using the other System, in case it automatically installs its own extensions and causes problems again. Be aware of the problems being reported between Adobe Type Manager 4.6.1 (both regular and deluxe) and Office 2001 (and other software). You may need to downgrade ATM to version 4.6 to avoid trouble there.

Modem problems

Although not a big issue, I continue to have problems with dropped lines and slow connection speeds when using my ISP. They insist that PC and Linux users don’t have these problems, and blame my G3 and its internal modem. Are they right?

Tania Brown

You should install Apple’s latest internal modem updater (version 2.0), available from Apple’s software updates site. This brings the firmware in Apple internal modems up to the latest V90 and 56K specifications, and you should find it a real revelation in terms of improved connection speeds and stability.

Type 11 error

Why does my Mac sometimes crash with a type 11 error? What do these errors mean?

Zoe Wilson

The ‘type 11 error’ can, unfortunately, be a hard one to pin down, particularly without detailed information. It has been around for many years, but it has become a bit of a catch-all error code. Try disconnecting any peripherals such as SCSI and USB devices, and disable third-party extensions and control panels. If this helps, try replacing things a step at a time, restarting and checking as you go to track down the troublemaker.

It’s also possible, although less likely, that you could be suffering from a virus attack, as system errors can indicate a damaged system file. Use an up-to-date virus checker, such as Virex or Norton Anti Virus, to check your system and kill off any infections.

Macs use error codes rather than detailed messages because these events are usually the ‘last gasp’ of the Mac OS, and full diagnostic messages are often simply not possible at this point. This means they’re not particularly accurate clues as to what may have caused a crash, although they can help the more savvy user track down a fault. In any case, it’s important to evaluate any error messages in the context of what the Mac was doing at the time of the crash. MacUser published a reference of common error codes and their real-world meanings as part of the Ultimate Mac Survival Kit CD-ROM, included with MacUser, Vol 16 No 5. The reference material can also be found at www.vortex.uk.com/macuser.