Mac OS X 10.4.5 (#12): Front Row: Movie Trailer Server not responding; Problems importing tracks in iTunes; more

CNET staff

Sept. 2, 2009 11:18 p.m. PT

5 min read

Front Row: Movie Trailer Server not responding We've received several reports from readers who have problems accessing QuickTime movie trailers through Front Row on a variety of Macs.

For many users, the message "The movie trailers server is not responding..." appears when attempting to access movie trailers in the "Video" pane of Front Row.

There are a few potential fixes for this issue:

Pause before opening Some users have reported that activating Front Row, selecting the Videos section, then pausing for about ten seconds before attempting to access movie trailers allows access.
Turn on Firewall Some users have reported that turning on the Mac OS X Firewall (in the Sharing pane of System Preferences), then -- in the right side of the Firewall pane -- selecting "New" and choosing "QuickTime" resolves the issue.

Problems importing tracks in iTunes Some users have reported problems importing tracks into iTunes from some optical media drive models after the update to Mac OS X 10.4.5.

One reader writes:

"After upgrading to Mac OS X 10.4.5 I am unable to import tracks from my local cd/ dvd/drive (Phillips DVR-108) into iTunes. I have tried reinstalling using the combo installer, reinstalling Patchburn, rebuilding the desktop, rebuilding permissions, upgrading iTunes to the latest version -- nothing seems to work. I can play tracks from any cd in the drive, but when I try to import, I get a prompt 'Error occurred.. the required file cannot be found'."

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

(Intel-specific) More on video distortion Users continue to report various instances of video distortion on Intel-based Macs running Mac OS X 10.4.5.

MacFixIt reader Blair writes:

"Experiencing strange bluish or reddish discoloration of apps running under Rosetta, and the occasional downloaded Automator action. This is on an iMac 2GHz Core Duo w/ the 256MB x1600 chipset."

Continuing reports of Finder slowness Users also continue to report slow operation of the Finder under Mac OS X 10.4.5, and issue we've discussed several times with accompanying fixes.

MacFixIt reader Stephen Gageby reports that use of the AppleJack maintenance utility -- which allows clearing of system caches and other maintenance operations while booted in single-user mode -- resolved the slowness.

Stephen writes:

"After installing Mac OS X 10.4.5, my finder suddenly developed a slowness that I could not identify. I finally ran AppleJack to repair my hard drive. The first run indicated that repairs were necessary and then made. After the second run, AppleJack reported that the disc was fine. I rebooted and the finder was back to normal."

Printer issues -- try disconnecting from network We continue to cover a bevy of printer issues under Mac OS X 10.4.5.

One reader reports that a LAN-connected printer, seemingly broken by Mac OS X 10.4.5, was restored to normal operation by simply disconnecting the device from the network then re-connecting it.

The reader writes:

"Shortly after installing OS 10.4.5, my Brother HL-1870N printer first started printing trash on sheets and then I lost all connectivity to the printer. Being on a LAN, I disconnected and reconnected my 10Base-T box and the printed returned to normal."

(Intel-specific) Incorrect file copy status MacFixIt reader Jeffrey Ellis reports a troubling issue with an iMac Core Duo where file transfers that appear to be completed actually result in only a portion of the specified files being copied.

Jeffrey writes:

"I then started to transfer files from an ext. Firewire drive attached to my previous machine, a 1GHz eMac, running 10.4.4, by accessing the drive over the Network. I selected all the directories on the drive and dragged them into a new folder on the iMac called 'Firewire Backup.' I watched as it reported the files being copied over. The drive in question contained about 153 GB of data. When it was through, which took several hours, the copy dialog reported 153.xx GB of 153.xx GB and disappeared, indicating the copy procedure had completed successfully, and no errors were reported.

"I was then about to erase the source drive to do additional backups. I usually check to see that all files and folders have indeed been copied before erasing any drive. When I compared the copy with the original, one of the directories showed 2 items less on the copy than on the original. Having seen no errors reported, I became concerned and started to compare the original and the copy folder by folder.

"What I found was that not only had two items not been copied into the folder I had checked, but several other items in subdirectories had also not been copied.

"After a time of comparing the directories, I realized that there were simply too many subdirectories to check each one, and some were application files, which couldn?t be checked without opening their packages individually. So at that point, I gave up, and transferred the data directly on the eMac from the original drive to another Firewire drive.

"I'll be calling Apple in the morning to see what they have to say, but at this point, if the 10.4.5 Intel Finder can't be trusted to properly report whether files are being copied or not over the Network."

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