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Drive Setup 1.3.1 and blinking question mark issues: a follow-up

Does the newly released Drive Setup 1.3.1 solve all blinking question mark problems that users have been having? No, as Apple admits. That's mainly because there are causes of this problem that are unrelated to what Drive Setup fixes.

For example, as mentioned in Apple's latest revision to the TIL article on the IDE-related blinking question mark problem: "If you have a Power Macintosh 5260/120 or Performa 6360, please read Tech Info Library (TIL) article Performa 6360: Flashing ? after Mac OS 8 Install. These products only exhibit this condition when either initially starting up … Read more

Connectix replies on the Virtual PC 1.0.1 Update problem

Jorg Brown of Connectix has emailed me with the solution to the Virtual PC 1.0.1 Update problem I had previously reported. At least in my case, it does seem to be specific to using a PowerBook 3400. I have not tried the fix yet, but I believe it is likely to work.

Jorg claims the main culprit is Open Transport. In particular, it appears to be the "unsupported" PB 3400 Modem Driver Update (previously described here at MacFixIt) and especially the "PowerBook 3400 Ethernet" extension. "This extension is not compatible with Virtual PC'… Read more

Odds & Ends

New Epson printer drivers Epson has released new drivers for the EPSON Stylus COLOR 600 and 800 (disk version 3.2AE). For the 600, it contains core driver version 3.10A. For the 800, it contains core driver version is 3.14A. You can download them from Epson's web site. (Thanks, Version Tracker.)

Update: A reader notes on MacCentral today: "You should be aware that on certain US systems the Stylus 600 driver update will cause the page size default to revert to A4, and it has to be manually changed for each application that you print from. … Read more

More info on how to replace internal batteries

Regarding the continuing issue of where to get instructions on how to change the internal battery of your Mac:

J.B. Cole has posted a web page with instructions on how to change the internal battery on a PowerBook 500 series Mac.

There is a company called Resource 800 that maintains a supply of Mac internal batteries, available by mail order. (Thanks, Geoffrey Buckley.)

Exposure Pro conflict with DoubleScroll and DigiINIT

According to a reader report, the Beale Group has confirmed that Exposure Pro 2 has a conflict with two extensions, DoubleScroll and DigiINIT. The conflict with the DigiINIT extension (used to support audio cards from DigiDesign) will cause the Mac to freeze. The Beale Group claimed that a fix was imminent.

Canvas Update 5.0.3 is out; and a problem with Update 3.5.5

Deneba has recently released a bug-fix Mac OS 8 compatible Canvas v. 5.0.3 Updater.

Update: Mea culpa. The following report is about the older Canvas 3.5.5 Updater, not the new Canvas 5.0.3 Updater (as was originally reported). Sorry for the confusion:

Reader Davide Guarisco writes: "I have had problems installing the 3.5.5 update. The Installer claims that the existing version of Canvas is "invalid" for upgrade. A Deneba employee confirmed that the upgrade only works for certain users. He told me to call Deneba and purchase a floppy disk … Read more

Quake and RAVE: not a good mix?

Reader Nick notes that "the game Quake, which is supposed to be totally 3D and RAVE supported, does not work on the 6500 series. This series has the ATI 3D card built in and falls under Quake's specs, but all it does do is lead to extreme jumpiness when playing the RAVE version." He contacted the game's developers about this and was told that ATI will come out with an update that fixes this, although no time frame was mentioned. Note: Jonathan Sugai noted the same symptom on his PowerCenter Pro 210 with a RAGE II … Read more

Mac OS 8, QuickTime and Type 12 errors: are they related?

Bruce Alter reports that after installing Mac OS 8 he began to get Type 12 errors when opening certain files in avariety of programs (including ClarisWorks 4.0, MoviePlayer, and SimpleText). It seemed particularly linked to QuickTime movies. Indeed, he noted that the QuickTime VR extension would be X'd out at startup. Reinstalling the system software did not remedy this.

Bruce also forwarded me two postings to the comp.sys.mac.system newsgroup that described similar problems. For example, a posting from Tom Jenkins stated: "I couldn't get any QuickTime applications to run. I restarted and noticed … Read more

Complete Conflict Compendium renovations

While we certainly report bugs and conflicts here at MacFixIt, another site that takes a different approach to this subject (maintaining a reader contribution database of reports) is the Complete Conflict Compendium. It has long been a popular site and is one of the sites listed on the MacFixIt Links page. However, we have just received news that the site will be undergoing some major changes, including moving to a new address and getting a new name. Here's a quote from the webmaster, Trevor Inkpen:

"The Complete Conflict Compendium Mac software conflict database has been retired and Quill … Read more

Icon file bug mystery: clues to the solution?

I continue to receive many emails on the subject of the icon file bug mystery, but still do not have a definitive solution. Here's a sampling of what readers are saying:

a. Many readers confirmed that the appearance of these icons are somehow linked to having file sharing on, although a few said they have these icons without having used file sharing.

b. It also seems that this problem is more common in Mac OS 8 than in previous OS's. For example, Jim Morrison writes: "I have been noticing the phenomenal growth in numbers of invisible icon … Read more