[muglo] Re: More questions and answers

Problem #1: You have WAAAAAY too little RAM. 256 MB is fine for an older OS 
but for OS X I would STRONGLY recommend that you run the max of 640 MB. An 
extra 512 MB for an 867 MHz should be ~ $110 CAD or less.

>>How do you mean "seized up". Did the computer stop working and the  mouse
>>stopped moving? Kernel panic? Did MS Word stop working? Did MS Word  
>>crash?
>>Also, have you upgraded MS Word to the latest version? 10.1.5 IIRC?
>
>By "seized up"  I mean the spinning beach ball kept on spinning forever  
>and wouldn't stop.  I don't know what kernel panic is - I did look at  the 
>CrashReporter and it mentioned the kernel but I don't know what  that 
>means. I have MS Office X for Macs, not MS Word.  I need to stick  with the 
>version I have so it is compatible with that used by the  university.  If I 
>get a higher version that will screw things up - you  can go from a lower 
>to a higher version but not vice versa.

You'll know what a kernel panic is when you see one ;). You'll get a window 
on your screen (in a variety of languages) telling you to press 
command-control-power to reset the computer. This is the only thing you can 
call a real "crash" since OS X is so stable compared to its 
less-than-adequate predecessor.

When you get a beach ball it means an application has crashed. Press 
command-option-escape to bring up a "kill" window. From here you can 
terminate the offending app (ensure you wait a while). Alternately, 
right-clicking (or click-hold) on the application's icon in the !@#$@$ dock 
will pop up a menu where the bottom item should read "Force-quit" if the 
application is hung.

Sometimes Finder will crash and require a force-quit as well. I've recent 
incarnations of the Finder (10.2.3 and up) to be quite a bit better than 
earlier OS X ones!

>>This sounds like a hardware problem (which is why I asked which  version 
>>of
>>the TiBook you have).
>
>I have a G4 PowerBook.  And if it was a hardware problem, it would have  
>stopped when my logicboard was replaced.  It didn't.

It could be a hardware problem but most likely you are running some very 
esoteric software.

>>What do you mean "not to shut it down from MSWord"? Also, what do you  
>>mean
>>with "weird stuff".
>
>When I shut it down I shut it down after working in some other program  
>than MS Word.  The weird stuff is what I described in #3 and what  happened 
>when I shut it down from MS Word.

So you get a spinning beach ball when you shut it down from Word. What 
application is open when you choose shut down will make NO difference to how 
your computer behaves.

>>Whatever password belongs to a particular account belongs to a  particular
>>account, regardless of whether it's admin or not. An admin user can  
>>unlock
>>any user's account (e.g. in the screen saver) PROVIDED they enter their
>>account name and password in the appropriate entry boxes.
>>
>>Yes, the password needed is the very same password as is used to login  to 
>>an
>>admin user's account. Of course, if your account is not an admin user  
>>then
>>the password will not work.
>
>My account is an admin user.  I still don't understand how Apple can  
>e-mail me software upgrades but does not recognize my e-mail address as  my 
>current ID.

Apple doesn't e-mail you software updates. Your OS X operating system checks 
a web server occasionally (default is once/week) for the presence of updates 
and automagically downloads them when they become available.

As for your computer "does not recognize my e-mail address as my current ID" 
  -- I think we've found the source of your issues.

(1) Have you paid for a .Mac account (~$100/year IIRC)? If not, then you can 
only use an @mac.com "e-mail" address (which isn't an e-mail address really) 
for iChat or for Apple's knowledge base logins, NOT for e-mail (but this 
isn't the source of your problems -- see point 2).

(2) Your e-mail address DOES NOT serve as your current account ID on YOUR 
computer. Your e-mail addy can be associated with your current ID/user 
account but itself has nothing to do with your account on your own computer 
(UNLESS you actually defined the account name as your e-mail address but I'd 
be surprised if OS X allows the @ symbol in user names or user names that 
are as long as an e-mail address).

You must use the user ID when you are asked for a password (in my case I 
don't have to type it in since "Eric Dunbar" (not my account but that's the 
"real" name for my account (a lot more esoteric so people can't guess it ;) 
appears in the "Name" field). For example, let's say you set your user ID to 
kjhazel. You'd type in kjhazel at the "Name" prompt and enter your password 
in the password section. You would *not* enter your e-mail address in the 
"Name" field.

>>To reset a password, start up your computer with you OS X install disk  
>>and
>>"reset" the password for the offending account!
>
>OK - but the install disk I have is for 10.2.3 - and I now have 10.2.8.

That's fine! You're resetting the password, not reinstalling the software.

>I shut it down when I am going to be away from home for a while - more  
>than a couple of days.  We get a lot of power outages in this neck of  the 
>woods (falling trees) with resulting power surges.

Might be worth getting your house's power supply outfitted with surge 
protection/clamping gear. It doesn't cost the end of the world to have an 
electrician install it ($500?) at the connection to the grid, and it can 
save you hundreds, if not thousands of $$$ on repair bills (and 
wear-and-tear on electronic equipment like stereos, TVs, fridges, etc) and 
even a bit on your home insurance). Alternately, you can get a UPS for your 
high-tech equipment (cheaper but only protects some equipment and not the 
hardware people forget about).

>Why would I want to optimize my disk for read-only files??? I find them  a 
>nuisance.  I always need to edit, revise, write-over, copy from my  files.  
>Almost 100 per cent of what I do is word-processing.

<chuckle> Read-only files are files that are only read by your computer, 
never written to. If they're fragmented they slow things down (and this is a 
concern since you have a paltry 256 MB of RAM... which I hope to hear that 
you've upgraded).

As an aside: I always find it funny that computer cos will scrimp on memory 
(and people fail to buy it) when it's the *cheapest* speed boost that you 
can give to a computer. Even on your 867 you'll find that 640 MB really 
boosts the speed.

>>One way around this is to delete the key chain preferences file and  start
>>over.
>
>I'm not sure what you're referring to here - is this what you do to get  
>rid of the password problem?

Yes, you'd have to find the keychain file in your account's Library:
~username/Library/Keychains

Where username is your ID's name.

>>  One thing you could do is
>>create a new account with admin priviledges! Set-up your e-mail and  stuff 
>>in
>>there and move your files from your old account into the new account.  
>>Then
>>use this new account as your primary account and delete the old one  once
>>you've verified that you've got everything you need from the old one.
>>
>>That's the beauty of OS X! Usually the OS is fine but something has  gone
>>awry in a particular account and only requires the creation of a new  
>>account
>>and not a complete re-install.
>>
>>Alternately, you could try to fix the account you have now but I'd  rather
>>take the lazy way out ;)
>
>I'd rather fix my current account, if that's possible.  I don't know  how 
>to set up  my e-mail and stuff in a new account, and I'm worried  I'd lose 
>stuff (I have some important bookmarks I need for the courses  I teach, 
>plus e-mails from students).
>>
>>Make sure Office is updated to the latest version (check
>><http://www.microsoft.com/mactopia>)! Earlier versions of Office had  
>>quite
>>irritating problems that may be exacerbated in later releases of OS X  
>>10.2!
>
>Can't do because of compatibility problems with the university I  explained 
>before.

Yes you can!!! Whoever told you that was blowing sunshine where the sun down 
don't shine.

(1) Microsoft Word/Excel are fully backwards and forwards compatible between 
versions 98, 2001 and X on Mac and 97 2000 and XP on Windows! You will find 
more issues between Mac and Windows versions than between different versions 
of Office (on either platform).

(2) You can AND MUST update Office version X to 10.1.5!!! (or whatever it 
is) If you do not you will be GUARANTEED continuing problems with Word and 
spinning beach balls. Updating Office will in no way, shape or form 
jeapordise compatibility (if anything, it will enhance it).

Go to: <http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.aspx#OfficeX> and download 
the various updates. You will have to install them chronologically (oldest 
first, through to 10.1.5). Once you do so you will see a MAJOR improvement 
in stability and compatibility.

>>Update to 10.3.2! You'll have to update to 10.3 sooner or later so you  
>>may
>>as well do it sooner than later (& it's definitely worth the update  since
>>things are faster and more refined). Since you're affiliated with a
>>university somehow or other you are eligible for the academic price  for 
>>OS X
>>($120)
>
>I guess that might be the best way to go; at least this way I'd have  the 
>disks so if I needed to do an install. But I'd rather solve the  password 
>problem and then get 10.3.2 as part of the software upgrades.
>
>Thanks very much for your help, Eric. I suspect the main problem is I  need 
>to upgrade the OS and figure out the password problem.

Glad to help, I suspect that running an un-updated version of Office for X 
is your primary problem. The password problem is a minor irritant that I 
hope you can fix by resetting the password.

Eric.

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