Mac OS X 10.4.1 (#9): Problems creating disk images from Mac OS X 10.3.x-burned media; Inability mount disk images; more

CNET staff

Sept. 2, 2009 11:32 a.m. PT

4 min read

Problems creating disk images from Mac OS X 10.3.x (Panther)- burned media MacFixIt reader Doug Eldred reports an issue where media (including CDs) burned by the version of the "DiscRecording" component included with Mac OS X 10.3.x (Panther) cannot be used as sources for disk images (.dmg) in Mac OS X 10.4.x (Tiger).

In Doug's case, the version of Disk Utility included with Mac OS X 10.4.x is unable to create disk images from CDs containing photos that were burned by a system running Mac OS X 10.3.x.

Doug writes:

"It being a rainy day, I decided to make .dmg backups of all of my CDs containing digital photos. I was consistently unable to do so with CDs apparently created in 2004 (probably relates to Panther, not literally the date). CDs apparently created in 2003 and before, or in 2005 with Tiger, are fine, but for the troublesome CDs it gets all the way to the end, then dies with a 'read/write error.' A pre-Tiger 2005 CD also failed, consistent with this being a Tiger/Panther 'point incompatibility.'"

"Now, my hard drive is okay, and I'm able to largely achieve the same result by dragging all of the stuff from the CD onto the desktop, ejecting the CD, creating a blank image file, and dragging the stuff into the mounted image, so it almost has to be a 'read' error. It seems that 'DiscRecording 2.1.6*' (various things after the '6') fails, while 2.0* (older) and 3.0* (Tiger) are fine."

Similar issue? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

Inability mount disk images A number of readers are reporting an inability to mount certain disk images (.dmg) under Mac OS X 10.4.x.

Users who experience this problem often receive the error message "No Mountable File Systems."

Generally, the diskimagemounter component is used to mount disk images that are double-clicked in the Finder. However, some users have had success mounting disk images directly from within Disk Utility (located in Applications/Utilities).

If you are having difficulty mounting some disk image (.dmg) files under Mac OS x 10.4.x, please let us know.

Safari 2.0: Downloads window re-sizing bug We've confirmed in-house an issue where Safari 2.0, included with Mac OS X 10.4.x, improperly displays estimated remaining download time for currently downloading files when the Downloads window is being re-sized.

As the user stretches the Downloads direction left and right, the estimated remaining download time incorrectly goes up or down, not reflecting the actual download speed.

MacFixIt reader Ubence Quevedo is one of the users to note this issue:

"I was downloading a file in Safari, and decided to resize the download window size. When I resized the window, the download speed and completion time changed. The download speed steadily decreased, and the completion time reflected this change [the completion time got longer]. However when I stopped resizing the window, the correct download speed and completion time were displayed again."

Problems launching Epson's Printer Utility A number of readers have reported an issue where they are unable to launch Epson's Printer Utility under Mac OS X 10.4.x.

MacFixIt reader Anne writes:

"I cannot access my Printer Utility in 10.4.1...Have an Epson Stylus Photo R800 and it crashes continually when I try to open it to ascertain the amount of ink available."

Some users have been able to solve this issue by deleting the Epson printer driver file associated with their printer model from the /Library/Printers/EPSON folder (for instance, the file that should be deleted for the Epson SPR800 is named SPR800.plugin, then re-installing the appropriate drivers as obtained from the Epson Web site.

Previous Mac OS X 10.4.1 coverage: