Mac OS X 10.4.7 (#5): Retrospect unable to recognize some drives; SoundSticks unrecognized; Palm synchronization issues; more

CNET staff

Sept. 2, 2009 7:25 a.m. PT

5 min read

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Trackpad difficulties -- input not recognized A number of users are reporting problems with trackpad operation following the update to Mac OS X 10.4.7. In particular, some users experience a complete loss of input capabilities, or stuttering movements if any input is recognized.

One reader writes:

"Since I updated to 10.4.7, immediately after restarting the trackpad of my PowerBook G4 1GHz (2003) was not functioning anymore. I have heard from another person having the same problem. Hopefully I have a mouse handy, but on the road it's not easy to work with a mouse."

Oddly, it appears that power issues are at play for some users experiencing this problem. Some users report that the trackpad is functional when operating solely from battery power, but non-functional when AC power is connected.

The tool USB Prober (part of Apple's USB debugging kit for developers) has been successful in reviving keyboard/trackpad responsiveness in some cases. Unfortunately, launching the application requires connection of an external keyboard (via USB).

Internet access problems caused by DNS errors A MacFixIt reader reports issues with DNS lookup after updating to Mac OS X 10.4.7, a problem that was easily resolved by re-applying Network settings.

"After updating to 10.4.7 on both a PPC macintosh and an Intel mac i immediately began noticing excessive problems with DNS lookup. unable to resolve host names etc...I use optional custom dns settings in network settings do to a bug in my d-link 604T that prevents it from being able to function properly with AIM Triton. In any case, after updating to Mac OS X 10.4.7 i found to fix these problems i had to go into network options, make a change (any change so it'd let me reapply settings) and apply settings again so OS X would start to use these DNS entries again."

Retrospect unable to recognize some drives MacFixIt reader Paul Andersen reports an issue where Mac OS X 10.4.7 causes Retrospect to no longer recognize DVDs inserted in a Sony DRU-710A drive attached via FireWire.

Paul writes:

"I installed Mac OS X 10.4.6 on a separate hard drive, then installed the latest version of Retrospect. Retrospect recognized the discs in the DVD drive and worked as before. I then re-installed Retrospect on the 10.4.7 system, in case the update had just done something to one of the Retrospect files. Retrospect was unable to recognize the disc, so it is something in the 10.4.7 update that is causing the problem.

"I will report the problem to Apple and to EMC Insignia and see what happens. In the meantime, I'll have to decide whether to back my main system back to 10.4.6 or re-boot to backup every night."

SoundSticks unrecognized MacFixIt reader Darryl Adams reports that his Harmon Kardon SoundSticks are not recognized after the update to Mac OS X 10.4.7.

Darryl writes:

"I use Harman Kardon Soundsticks II with my computer and they are connected via USB. Whether it is coincidence or an effect of upgrading to 10.4.7, whenever the computer awakes from sleep, the Soundsticks are not recognized. I then unplug the power and repower them, and they are recognized and work fine. This is repeatable ever since upgrading to 10.4.7 and never occurred before."

SoundSticks are semi-notorious for connectivity issues under Mac OS X, but in some cases they can be revived by disconnecting the speakers for the Mac and from power, then restarting the Mac and reconnecting the SoundSticks.

Palm synchronization issues Some users are reporting issues where the various conduits, or the entire Palm synchronization fails after updating to Mac OS X 10.4.7.

MacFixIt reader Tony Correa writes:

'Since updating to 10.4.7 the Entourage conduit fails to synch."

In some cases, this issue can be resolved by re-installing the Palm synchronization software, or using an alternative synchronization tool like Missing Sync for Palm OS 5.1.

Dozens of SMB processes spawned -- fix MacFixIt reader Luca Bonatti reports an issue where dozens of inexplicable SMB-based (file sharing) processes are running. Here's a snapshot of his process list:

2936 smbd root 0.00 296.00 KB 29.78 MB
2939 smbd root 0.00 296.00 KB 29.78 MB
2942 smbd root 0.00 296.00 KB 29.78 MB
2945 smbd root 0.00 296.00 KB 29.78 MB
2948 smbd root 0.00 296.00 KB 29.78 MB
2951 smbd root 0.00 304.00 KB 29.78 MB
2960 smbd root 0.00 296.00 KB 29.78 MB
2963 smbd root 0.00 304.00 KB 29.78 MB
2966 smbd root 0.00 296.00 KB 29.78 MB

Luca writes:

"The only Windows service I have is that I use Windows printing. However, these processes are opened even when I am on a network from which Windows printing is not accessible. The processes (owned by root) seem to do no harm, but they were not there before 10.4.7 and it's not good to have all these processes opened for no reason. Has anybody seen this. I enclose an example file of all processes opened during a 2 hour session."

Fix According to a post on the Mac OS X Server mailing list, this issue can sometimes be resolved by editing a specific configuration file with the freeware utility Lingon.

Use the following process, adapted from the information supplied on the mailing list:

Download Lingon and launch it.

Click on the "System Daemons" tab.

Look for the item labeled "org.samba.smbd" and double-click it.

On the next screen, click the " " button the "ProgramArgments" field.

Enter "-F" (without quotes).

Click the "Save & Load" button

Restart

This should stop the SMB processes from running in replication and hogging system resources, but will also deny you access to some SMB services.