Odds and Ends: The importance of keeping a USB keyboard handy; FileMaker Mobile 7 and Palm synchronization

The importance of keeping a USB keyboard handy As specified in Apple Knowledge Base article #86651 "Although you can use a wireless keyboard to start up in Single-User mode or in Safe Boot mode, they will not work once the computer is started up in these modes. To continue in Single-User mode or in Safe Boot mode, use a wired keyboard and mouse."

As exemplified by MacFixIt reader Patrick, this fact underscores the importance of having a wired, USB keyboard available for troubleshooting procedures

"I purchased my new G5 with the wireless keyboard and mouse which I thought would be great. It is great to use. But if one starts up in "Single User" mode to troubleshoot drive problems and/or startup problems it is useless!

"The keyboard works at startup to select "Single User" mode but once there, the keyboard no longer works! The only option is a forced restart. Presumably into a CD Startup disk if one is having startup problems. Or of course one can use an old USB keyboard if they have one lying about. [...] This is a serious drawback and a major problem in certain situations if one doesn't happen to have a second (USB) keyboard.

As such, a number of users question why Apple made the Bluetooth keyboard a customer-specific option that can ship in lieu of the USB keyboard, rather than in addition.

FileMaker Mobile 7 and Palm synchronization MacFixIt reader Richard Bleicher reports that Filemaker Mobile 7 seems to consistently causes system crashes when the user is attempting to synchronize or download any database to a Palm device.

"I use Mac OS X 10.3.5 on a dual 1.25GHz MDD G4 desktop, Palm OS 5.2.1 on a Tungsten 2, and the latest Palm software version 4.2.1 [all well within the specs for FM Mobile 7]. Despite disconnecting all USB items, eliminating all but a few startup items, disabling all other conduits except for the Filemaker mobile 7 conduit and even ?diskwarrior-ing? my hard drive to ensure no corruption and reinstalling the program, every sync since the time of installation brings a fatal ?Gray screen of death? crash.

"This doesn?t just occur with old converted databases from Filemaker 6, but occurs with brand new databases created in Filemaker 7. [Not to mention the fact that I actually started over with FM7, deleting 6 and buying the full version of FM7]. I have never used the prior version, Filemaker Mobile 2.1, so I don?t know how it compares to that."

If you are experiencing a similar issue, please let us know.

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