Mac OS X 10.3.5 (#12): Disk image mounting; printing; Palm Desktop; more

Disk image mounting issues We previously covered issues where users are not abile to mount disk images after updating to 10.3.5; some users experience errors such as "-536870208." One solution -- provided to a reader by Apple -- was described yesterday: to delete the following files and folders:

• /System/Library/Extensions.kextcache (file)
• /System/Library/Extensions.mkext (file)
• /System/Library/Caches/com.apple.kernelcaches (folder)

(Note that after deleting these files you need to reboot your Mac for the fix to take effect.)

Several readers have reported success using this procedure, so we continue to recommend it for those experiencing image (and other volume) mounting problems.

Printing Over the past week we've covered a number of reports of printing problems, as well as several suggested solutions and workarounds. One possible solution we haven't yet recommended is the excellent utility Printer Setup Repair, which can verify many system and printing settings as well as repair printing-related permissions and, if necessary, delete a number of printing-related files that can at times develop corruption and lead to printing problems.

Palm Desktop conflict: fix? We previously noted a conflict between 10.3.5 and Palm Desktop where neither the Palm Desktop application nor the HotSync application would function (the resulting error being "Palm Desktop Background End of File"). Several readers have reported that reinstalling Palm Desktop may fix this problem. Peter Fine writes:

"I got around this problem by removing two Palm apps that load in startup items for the user and then deleting old prefs but not the Palm Users' folder and then reinstalling Palm Desktop 4.2.1"

And reader Nick provides the following workaround:

"I found that I could get this to work by downloading the latest version from Palm and then installing it under a root login. It would not work any other way. Once installed it will work for other users."

Font problems We continue to receive reports of problems with font display after updating to 10.3.5. Unfortunately, CJ Weigand claims that a possible fix submitted yesterday by a different reader -- converting Type 1 fonts to TrueType fonts, as the latter didn't appear to be affected, according to the reader -- doesn't appear to fix the issue:

"This is not correct. All characters are not necessarily displayed. We produce TrueType bar code fonts, primarily for use with FileMaker Pro. After upgrading to the latest OS, certain characters in several fonts, most notably those used for UCC EAN Bookland Code 128 and UPC/EAN, no longer display correctly in FileMaker Pro 6 when run under OS X 10.3.5 (failures occur in both OS X and Classic mode). Only missing character boxes are shown in place of the actual characters. These same TrueType fonts, however, work well under all OS versions prior to 10.3.5. They also continue to work properly in FileMaker Pro 7 after the OS update! Whatever changes were made to the OS, then, seem to affect only certain programs such as FileMaker Pro 6 and not FileMaker Pro 7. Also, since FileMaker Inc. (a company, incidentally, that is owned by Apple) recently announced discontinuance of all availability and support for FileMaker Pro 6 starting in September, this may turn out to be one of those problems that will never be fixed."

iMac "blank" screen after update Reader "jfschweitzer" describes an issue with his iMac where the computer will not completely wake from sleep:

"After doing the software update from OS 10.3.4 to 10.3.5 my 20" flat panel display remains blank after the unit wakes up from sleep...you can hear the hard drive 'wake up' but the display is dark grey A system restart generates the expected chime but still no display. A call to Apple tech support went through the old 'zap the PRAM and reset the PMU.' I'm thinking that it's a hardware issue but it did happen shortly after I did the software update. The iMac is 9 months old and has survived several version updates."

Although he he has not confirmed whether or not the problem was caused by the 10.3.5 update or a coincidental hardware failure, he notes that Apple's Discussions forum "has several folks describing this situation with flat panel iMacs after 10.3.5 updates."

What are your experiences with the Mac OS X 10.3.5 Update? Drop us an email at Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

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