Mac OS X 10.4.5 (#14): Problems mounting FireWire drives -- potential fixes; Issues adding keychains; more

CNET staff

Sept. 2, 2009 6:20 a.m. PT

5 min read

Problems mounting FireWire drives -- potential fixes Several users are reporting issues mounting FireWire hard drives after the update to Mac OS X 10.4.5. For some users, the issue stared with Mac OS X 10.4.4 and persisted with Mac OS X 10.4.5, and for others the issue is new with the latter.

Many users are reporting the issue with LaCie FireWire hard drives. We're not sure if this is a coincidence, or indicative of an actual issue with this drive brand.

We should note that various FireWire issues can be caused by outdated firmware. Run Software Update and make sure there are no firmware updates available for your Mac.

Also, as with previous instances of this issue, some users have reported success by performing a hardware reset that involves holding down the power key for 10 seconds or so while the system is off.

Another fix is to disconnect all FireWire devices from the Mac (and from their external power sources if necessary), shut down the Mac then wait for about 10 minutes. After this period, connect all FireWire devices, turn your Mac back on and check for persistence of the issue.

Fix for Preview.app issues We previously reported issues opening some PDF files in Apple's Preview.app after the installation of Mac OS X 10.4.5.

It now appears that, in some cases, these issues can be resolved by deleting a plug-In installed by the Adobe CS suite.

MacFixIt reader Richard Dutchik writes:

"The name of the file is 'AdobePDVViewer 7.0.5' and can be found in the Library folder. Once this file is removed, preview will work correctly."

Black boxes around items -- fix A handful of readers have reported that black boxes periodically appear around items in the Finder -- including icons and menu items -- after updating to Mac OS X 10.4.5.

In most cases (as previously noted), this issue is caused by the user inadvertently activating VoiceOver functionality (or the option inexplicably being turned on by the incremental Mac OS X update). You can toggle this capability by pressing the Command (?) and F5 keys simultaneously.

Issues adding keychains Several users have experienced issues adding keychains after the update to Mac OS X 10.4.5.

In some cases these issues can be corrected with the use of the Keychain Access application, located in Applications/Utilities. Under the "Keychain Access" menu select "Keychain First Aid" then verify and repair if necessary.

Problems with Palm synchronization -- fix Some users are reporting issues with Palm device synchronization (through the Palm HotSync function) after updating to Mac OS X 10.4.5.

Some readers have been able to resolve the issue by uninstalling their current Palm software, then re-installing the latest version from Palm's Web site.

This can be accomplished launching the Palm Desktop installer and choosing "Uninstall" instead of "Easy Install".

If you no longer have the original installer, you can download it here. After uninstalling the current Palm software, re-install it from the linked installer.

Alternatively, you can delete the following files (if they exist):

~/Documents/Palm/Users
~/Library/Preferences/com.palm.Desktop.plist
~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.palm.HS.T.S.xxxxxxxx.plist
~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.palm.HS.T.PC.xxxxxxxx.plist
~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.palm.HS.T.USB.xxxxxxxx.plist

then re-attempt installation with the aforementioned installer.

Increase in "NSUrlErrorDomain: -1005" errors in Safari Several users have noted an increase in random "NSUrlErrorDomain: -1005" errors in Safari after updating to Mac OS X 10.4.5.

This error indicates a problem with recognizing dynamically determined URLs, and is usually cured temporarily by a simple reload of the page.

Some users have had success resolving the issue by clearing Safari's cache (from the "Safari" application menu) or clearing the browser history (from the "History" menu).

Re-installing combo updater can resolve some keyboard/mouse issues The versatile workaround of re-installing the Mac OS X combo updater (PowerPC, Intel -- which we recommend in the "General Workarounds" section of our initial coverage for every incremental Mac OS X release -- works to resolve a number of odd keyboard and mouse issues occurring after the update, including inversion of mouse buttons.

Re-installing combo updater for iChat issues Several users have also reported that re-installing the Mac OS X combo updater (PowerPC, Intel) resolves some issues with iChat that occur after the update, particularly "iChatAgent" warnings.

Re-installing combo updater for missing menu items Re-installation of the Mac OS X combo updater (PowerPC, Intel) has also helped users resolve issues with menubar items disappearing.

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