Mac OS X 10.3.6 (#3): More on FireWire issues; Problems with networked Windows printers, workaround; more

More on FireWire issues Yesterday we provided extensive coverage of an issue where users experience a loss of FireWire drive functionality after updating to Mac OS X 10.3.6.

To recap, the most viable workarounds, at this point, for the issue (which does not affect all users), are:

If your drive enclosure also offers USB 1.1 or USB 2.0 connectivity, attempt the connection via the alternate port. A number of users report that while drives cannot mount or boot properly when connected via FireWire, they can do so without issue when connected via USB.

Perform a reversion to Mac OS X 10.3.5. Use your original Mac OS X 10.3.x disc to perform an Archive and Install process, then re-apply the Mac OS X 10.3.5 combo updater.

That said, we're now receiving some additional information about the issue from drive manufacturers.

Some drive manufacturers are stating that this problem did not exist with beta builds of Mac OS X 10.3.6 and only surfaced after the final release of the update. Most say they are "working with Apple" on a solution, and recommend the aforementioned workarounds as temporary solutions.

Problems with networked Windows printers, workaround MacFixIt reader Michael Durbin is among the many users reporting problems recognizing networked Windows printers (printers on the network attached to Windows systems) after the Mac OS X 10.3.6 update:

"We have encountered with the install of 10.3.6 that windows printing doesn't work. We have at our school a Windows 2003 server with 30 or so shared printers. In 10.3.5 we could select windows printing / Network Neighborhood / select our server and all printers would show up. Now we can go through all of the steps but no printers appear."

Apple Discussions poster Tom Whitmore has found a workaround that involves adding the problematic printer with a SAMBA address:

"I've found a temporary work-around to the problem of not being able to detect a shared Windows printer.

"In Printer Setup Utility, Option-Click the 'Add' button - this will give you an extra printer option - 'Advanced'.

"Set Device to Windows Printer via SAMBA, Printer Model to the correct driver, and Device URI to the complete smb:// address of your printer, i.e.:

• smb://user:password@WORKGROUP/HOST/PRINTER

Diablo 2 performance extremely slow, workaround Several users report that the game Diablo 2 operates extremely slowly after applying the Mac OS X 10.3.6 update.

Matthew Hoekstra writes:

"For the most part installation went smooth. The only thing i had a problem with was system slowdown. Playing Diablo 2 on line the game slowed down and hard to control character. I downgraded back to Mac OS X 10.3.5 and game works like a charm."

Short of reverting to Mac OS X 10.3.5, some users have found that switching to "software rendering" rather than "OpenGL rendering" provides a substantial speed boost for Diablo 2 under Mac OS X 10.3.6. You can access this preference by holding down the option key while Diablo 2 is starting up.

File name truncation when saving to servers, locally A few readers are reporting an issue where file names are now (after the Mac OS X 10.3.6 update) truncated when saved -- locally in some cases, remotely in others.

MacFixIt reader Clint Davis writes:

"After updating my workstations to Mac OS X 10.3.6, I'm experiencing file sharing issues when they connect to one another via the Finder. Files with a name greater than 31 characters saved to a remote volume from Photoshop 7 display the hex code at the end of the filename like OS 9 does with long file names. If I click the file on the remote volume, the file name changes back to it's long name. It seems to go back and forth between the long and truncated names with no rhyme or reason.

"RealtreeHardwoodsGreenHDArchery1.jpg becomes RealtreeHardwoodsGree#61597.jpg when I click the file name on the remote volume."

If you are experiencing a similar issue, please drop us a line at late-breakers@macfixit.com.

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