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Power Mac 6500 and video out problem

An anonymous source who works with numerous different monitors (AppleVision 1710's, Multiple Scan 15AV's, avariety of 17" Viewsonic's) reports the following problem with every monitor he connected to a 6500: Especially at higher resolutions (1024 x 768 and above, although it's noticeable even at lower resolutions), a shimmying, wavy distortion pattern appears in the display, most noticeable along vertical edges like on menu rectangles. Apple Tech Support acknowledged the problem and implied that there will be a software fix.

c. And yet more problems

Steve Zaplachinski reports an even more serious problem getting his PowerBase 180 to startup after installing the L2 cache fix: the Mac would never get past the blinking question mark - but only on warm restarts. It is not an extension conflict ( see also a previous item).

And in still another startup delay problem, several readers have noted that installing the L2 Cache Reset extension, while it works in general, did not solve the long time it takes for their Mac to go through its startup routines. Assuming this is not due to a Disk Cache reset (mentioned here before), … Read more

More "slow-down" problems with Mac OS 7.6.1

Mac OS 7.6.1's L2 cache problem, largely resolved with the release of the L2 Cache Reset extension, seems to be only one of several slow-down related issues affecting the new Mac OS Update.

a. Virtual memory delays Over the past several days I have gotten several reports of significant performance slow-downs linked to virtual memory being active. While details are still a bit sketchy, it appears to affect only Apple's virtual memory, not RAM Doubler. For example:

Jim Morrison reports: "I found that I was getting periodic slowdowns, some lasting minutes, with audible hard disk … Read more

Miscellaneous issues with Mac peripherals

a. Farallon Two readers (Rolf Kocherhans and Bill Bauldry) had a similar problem getting their Farallon AirDock to work (especially with Mac OS 7.6.1?). They both use a Power Mac 8500 which, for some odd reason, appears to be the key factor. According to Bill, Farallon confirmed that "the AirDock works fine with OT on a 3400, 7600, or 9500, just not the 8500." (However, another report suggests that this problem may extend beyond the 8500.)

b. Kensington Paul Klenk claims that Kensington's Thinking Mouse Extension causes a freeze on launch with WordPefect. Michael Sebrey … Read more

Trouble accessing Apple's tech support web pages?

Several readers are reporting recent periodic difficulties in accessing Apple's Support Information web page and other technical support related web pages. This does not affect everyone. I have typically had no problems here, although just this morning I was unable to access the Support Information page (a "Network connection refused by the server" error appeared).

RAM Doubler 3.0 hoax?

I have not seen mention of this elsewhere, but the MacOS Rumors page (a new page unaffiliated with the previous Rumors page run by Ethan Allen) reports that a supposed Ram Doubler 3.0 beta has been sighted. However, it is a hoax and may even be a virus of some sort. Avoid it if you see it.

Performa 5260 floppy disk problem?

A reader who wishes to remain anonymous writes: If you have a Performa 5260 and you try to copy a file to a floppy disk that is "larger than half of the size of the floppy disk, you get floppy disk write errors. Apple is working to fix the problem."

54xx/64xx L2 Cache Reset extension causes crashes?

I hope this is not the start of a trend, but I already have two reports that the new 54xx/64xx L2 Cache Reset extension causes system crashes. One reader claimed it caused a crash at startup (confirmed by a Conflict Catcher conflict isolation). Another (Donato Zipeto) claimed that he got freezes whenever the contents of a Finder window needed to be updated.

I fully expect that most people are not having this problem (or I would have had many more reports like this by now), but this appears worth tracking.

An increase in -192 errors in Mac OS 7.6.1?

A -192 error is a "resource not found" error. Usually it is a sign of a corrupted program; reinstalling the affected software usually fixes the problem.

However, I have now gotten reports from several readers (Ryan Krueger, Owen Hartnett and Robert Denton) that claim a sudden increase in the -192 errors after updating to Mac OS 7.6.1, especially in the Finder. Apparently, the error box appears with an OK button; but clicking the OK button just leads to the re-appearance of the message. This happens most often for Owen when he tries to open the root … Read more