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CFM-68K OSL 1.2 crashing bug: the fix is in for Mac OS 8

Awhile back, we posted an item about PointCast's discovery of a bug in the latest version (1.2) of ObjectSupportLib (a component of CFM-68K 4.0). We have now received some follow-up info on this subject from Tony Gentile (of PointCast):

"The bug causes system crashes to occur if CFM applications are quit in a different order than they were launched. Apple fixed the OSL 1.2 bug in Mac OS 8.0b5; we have confirmed the fix in our QA Lab. We have asked Apple to release a fix for pre-Tempo systems; they are currently investigating this, … Read more

Alert! Using HDT 2.0.6 to reformat (with multiple volumes) certain internal IDE drives may prevent further access to the driv

Rolf von Andrian reformatted the internal IDE drives of several Power Mac 4400 and Motorola 3000/180 machines - using FWB's Hard Disk Toolkit 2.0.6. Both models use Seagate ST31267A drives. He selected to make two partitions on each drive. After doing so, he tried to install system software on the drives from an external SCSI drive. However, the machines froze midway in each case. After this, he was unable to successfully start up the machines - even when using a bootable CD-ROM or floppy disk. The only way he could get the machines to boot was … Read more

Odds & Ends

a. Gear Box 1.0 Rockstar's Internet utility, Gear Box, is now out.

b. Adobe on troubleshooting Adobe has a page with some basic troubleshooting advice for dealing with system errors. (Thanks, Paul Amundson.)

c. AppleVision possible fix Michael Zwick reports that an Apple Support statement on Apple's Discussion Boards, recommends plugging the AppleVision monitor directly into a wall outlet - rather than to a multi-plug power strip - as a potential solution for the problem of the monitor not turning on after a restart. However, this is not likely to be the solution for all instances of … Read more

Illustrator 7 printing problems: a follow-up

Regarding the printing problems with Illustrator 7 ( mentioned last time), a reader sent in a statement from Adobe on the subject.

Also, two more readers weighed in with their comments:

a. Jeff Montgomery noted that the Release Notes for Illustrator 7 "indicate that separations, at least, are not possible with a Level 1 interpreter."

b. Contrary to another reader's suggestion, James Magee claimed to have the printing problem even on Level 2 Postscript devices.

Problem copying/saving text on a web page?

Having trouble successfully saving or copying a page in your web browser to a text file? Check this tidbit out (as noted on the Mac-Wizards mailing list):

An align="left" tag in the first table tag can prevent the copy text from working. Remove the tag and it should work fine. However, the problem seems to occur only with Netscape, not with Explorer.

Deleting Multi-resolutions preferences: a follow-up

Several readers pointed out that you can delete the preferences file for Multi-resolutions (or any other Control Strip module) without having to delete the entire Control Strip preferences file ( as suggested last time).

The trick is to use ResEdit. Open the Control Strip Preferences file. Then open the "pref" resource. Here you will see a list of the preferences for each module that has any preferences. You can then cut the preferences just for the module you wish.

Also, Cristian Viola notes that if your screen goes black after selecting a resolution - so you cannot see the … Read more

Extension conflicts on my PowerBook 3400

While dealing with the desktop rebuild problems on my 3400 (running Mac OS 7.6.1), as just noted, I first became aware of several other conflicts (which probably predated the desktop problems). It took a long afternoon of using Conflict Catcher to work all of it out. The causes of some of them were a bit strange and unexpected. For example:

1. Power key and CyberFinder When holding down the Power key, the message that should appear (asking whether you want to shut down) no longer appeared. Disabling CyberFinder brought this feature back.

2. CD-ROM and Profiler Apple System … Read more

TechTool and TechTool Pro: Rebuilding the desktop

Several readers (including Jean-Luc Warin, Ed O'Briant and David Perry) report system freezes/crashes occurring immediately after trying to rebuild the desktop with the latest versions of TechTool or TechTool Pro. I can personally confirm that a system freeze happened to me during my otherwise ill-fated attempt (as reported in the previous item) to rebuild the desktop with TechTool 1.1.4. Upon restarting, I further noted that my System and Finder icons were now gone. After trying several fixes - including a clean install of the system software and a further rebuild of the desktop with TechTool Pro (… Read more

TechTool and TechTool Pro: -192 errors and pirated serial numbers

Paul Constatine (and several other readers) report that when they first ran the new TechTool Pro 1.0.4, it immediately quit on launch. Further attempts to launch the program result in either nothing happening or the appearance of a message indicating a Type -192 error.

My contact at MicroMat provided an explanation for this: TechTool Pro apparently includes a database of pirated serial numbers and serial numbers from returned copies of the program. With each new update to TechTool Pro, this database is updated as well. When you launch TTP, if it detects one of these serial numbers, it … Read more

a. Virtual PC news

MacCentral had a talk with the developers of Virtual PC, Connectix' eagerly anticipated PC emulator. The Connectix press release says it will ship next week. Mention MacFixIt and Bottom Line will sell you Virtual PC for $137 (rather than its normal selling price of $145).

b. Another MacFixIt award MacFixit received second place in the "Virtual Communities Network" (VCN) MacOS Six Month Award. The award is based on readers' votes.

c. MacWizards summaries Check out the updated and expanded Wizard's Archives web page that lists summaries of questions asked and answered on the MacWizards mailing list.

d. … Read more