Mac OS X 10.4.2 (#4): More AirPort connectivity fixes; Menu items disappear -- may not be Spotlight-related in some cases; more
Mac OS X 10.4.2 (#4): More AirPort connectivity fixes; Menu items disappear -- may not be Spotlight-related in some cases; more
More AirPort connectivity fixes Since the release of Mac OS X 10.4.2 we've been covering a number of AirPort/wireless related issues, including inability to recognize installed AirPort cards and problems access AirPort Base Stations or other wireless routers.
In addition to workarounds posted yesterday for problems with AirPort card recognition, we've now identified some potential solutions for re-establishing Base Station connections.
"Change Settings" on Base Station For some users, simply using the AirPort Setup Assistant (located in Applications/Utilities) to "Change Settings," then re-entering configuration information restores connectivity.
One reader writes:
"I had the same problem and fixed it fairly easily by running the Airport Setup Assistant and choosing 'Change settings on an existing Airport Base Station' and re-entering the previous (same) info as before."
Turn Base Station off, then on In some cases, turning an AirPort Base Station (or AirPort Express unit) off, then back on -- usually by unplugging then re-connecting to power -- re-establishes proper operation.
MacFixIt reader Scott Daniels writes:
"After installing the Mac OSX 10.4.2, I also got the error connecting to airport network message - from all three machines on the network. Fortunately, the solution was quite simple: I unplugged the two Airport Express base stations that comprise my wireless network (home), and plugged them back in again after a few seconds. Problem solved."
You may also want to try turning your internal AirPort card off then back on if you are having access issues. This can be accomplished through the AirPort menu item, or using Internet Connect (located in the Applications folder)
One reader writes:
"I have a 1Gz G4 Powerbook and following the update and restart, Airport stopped working so I turned off the Airport and turned it on again. I received a message which asked if I wished to update passwords in my keychain, when clicked 'OK' my Airport returned.. Hope this is useful."
Menu items disappearing -- may not be related to Spotlight disabling in some cases Yesterday we reported that a problem with menu bar items disappearing after updating to Mac OS X 10.4.2 was related -- in most cases -- to manual user disabling of Spotlight in a previous iteration of Mac OS X 10.4.x.
It now appears that there may be other causes for this problem as well.
MacFixIt reader Tim Mansour writes:
"Just wanted to let you know that the problem with menu items disappearing from RH end of the menu bar is not related to removal of Spotlight as you've suggested. I know, because I've been experiencing that menu bar problem prior to 10.4.2, and I've never done anything at all with trying to reconfigure Spotlight. At first I thought it might be related to PTH Pasteboard, but with that disabled I'm still experiencing the problem--with virtually every restart. The only way to fix it is to restart again."
Another reader adds:
"I know you said menu items disappearing is a result of messing with the Spotlight menu, but not in my case. I have never messed with my menu items, but ever since updating to Tiger I have had the exact same missing icons problem recently discussed, including spinning ball when hovering over that area, whenever I wake up my G4 20" iMac from sleep only when I am using my (unsupported) Microsoft Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. If I switch to a wired Apple keyboard and mouse it does not happen (don't have Bluetooth versions of those to test, sorry). The Microsoft Bluetooth keyboard and mouse worked fine under 10.3.9 for sleeping/waking, and all settings are the same. I have even deleted the pairs and re-paired, as well as NVRAM reset just for coincidental voodoo."
Sleep issues A handful of readers are reporting sleep issues after updating to Mac OS X 10.4.2.
Art Bishop writes:
"Never had problems with the Sleep function previously with iMac G4 and Panther, or with G5 and Tiger in OS 10.4.1. Now, after installing the Combo 10.4.2 update over OS 10.4.1 with Permissions Repair done before and after and all peripherals unhitched, whenever the iMac G5 is manually put to sleep, it wakes up spontaneously a few minutes later."
Similar issue? Please let us know.
Resolution/brightness issues for PowerBooks -- still not fixed, new occurrences A problem where PowerBook users (particularly users of Titanium PowerBook G4s) are unable to change screen brightness or resolution settings persists in Mac OS X 10.4.2, and may be seeing further emergence on systems previously unaffected.
Randy DeShane writes:
"I have a TI PowerBook G4, 800 MHZ. I have lost brightness control and my monitor is stuck on 1280 X 854 and gives no adjustments. I have tried all of the traditional fixes pram etc., but none of them have worked. I am seeing others with the tibook are having the same issue. This all happened after updating to Mac OS X 10.4.2."
Repair permissions after performing some workarounds Remember that you may need to repair disk permissions using Apple's Disk Utility (located in Applications/Utilities) after performing some of the workarounds published here in the past few days.
This includes workarounds that involve reversion to previous iterations of system components and re-application of the Mac OS X 10.4.2 combination update.r
Third-party applications
Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.Possible fix for Macromedia registration issue Yesterday we reported an issue where some Macromedia applications persistently ask for registration after updating to Mac OS X 10.4.2.
One MacFixIt reader has now identified a potential solution -- opening the problematic application(s) as an administrator then checking the "Never Register" option.
The reader writes:
"Regarding the persistently recurring registration prompt, I found the following solution: open Dreamweaver and or Flash as admin, click never register, close the app then reopen as admin again. Do this before before logging into another account. Macromedia currently has no solution for the temp files appearing in the trash and suggested emptying the trash as these files accumulate. Emptying the trash in all accounts then applying Deep Freeze has alleviated the problem in our lab."
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