Mac Pro (#10): More on forgotten audio output settings; Freezes during network transfers; more

CNET staff

Sept. 1, 2009 11:56 p.m. PT

3 min read

More on forgotten audio output settings Users continue to report an issue where the Mac Pro forgets to which device it should send audio output -- in other words, if the user specifies external speaker output, the system will still use the internal speaker after restarting.

MacFixIt reader Russell Low writes:

"I've got the same issue as reported on your site today regarding sound output and the Mac Pro not 'remembering' where it should send audio output. Like the reader who reported the problem, I've got a set of powered speakers connected to the sound output jack in the rear of my Mac Pro. Upon startup in the morning, however, the startup tone comes from the very tinny internal speaker. It then reverts to the powered speakers afterwards. Not a big problem by any means, but this was not an issue with my previous G4/400. It would be nice, however, if Apple fixes this in a future OS update."

Freezes during network transfers We've also begun receiving reports from readers indicating repeatable freezes during periods of heavy network activity.

MacFixIt reader Graham Jones writes:

"Symptoms:

When I initiate a file transfer from another Mac to my Mac Pro, it can freeze after as little as 150MB transferred.
After a minute of spinning beach ball, I get a 'Disconnect' box, asking me to disconnect all volumes from the remote Mac.
After this disconnect, the entire system is hung.

"The same transfer initiated from the remote Mac transfers with no problems!

"I'm quite baffled on this one. System: Standard Mac Pro w 2GB RAM, extra Pioneer DVR-109 and MaxLine 3 300GB internal drive, running OS 10.4.7 and all current updates. Networking: Cable modem connected to Netgear router and Netgear 5-port Gigabit switch. Manual TCP/IP settings, Ethernet set to configure automatically."

It appears that this issue may be related to a problem we noted yesterday where repeatable freezes occur when writing data to the Mac Pro's primary internal hard drive (the startup volume).

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

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