Thunderbolt + DVI = Fail

Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas!

Has it really been a year since I've posted here? That seems to me a pretty good testament to the fact that Macs just don't cause me as much woe as Windows machines do. (I spent 2011 using primarily Macs). Hoorah for Apple!

I'm a full-on Kool-Aid drinking card-holding member of the Apple clan these days. I use iMacs and MacBook Pros both at home and at work, and recently (finally!) switched from Android to the iPhone. (Next up will be replacing my Android tablet with an iPad, but I have to hurry up and win the lottery first).

I still own two Windows based machines:

1. My "kitchen laptop", which was the cheapest laptop I could possibly find, used as an internet access device to look up recipes while I'm cooking. (It had to be cheap, because I'm clumsy in the kitchen and fully expect one day to drop a cup of flour or a bottle of oil on it).

2. My "gaming" PC, which is also a super-cheap rig (< $500) that I put together so I could play Ultima Online without having to boot out of OS X via Bootcamp on any of my Macs.

And yes, they did happen to give me some troubles in 2011 (namely with video irregularities on the PC that caused me to send my video card back to XFX, as the mainboard was reporting a video card failure via boot sequence beeps). The problem was resolved when I put a new video card in, so I figured the card was faulty. XFX tested the card and sent it back to me, unable to detect any problems. Now, the new video card is flickering out with the same symptoms that led to the initial "failure" of the first card, and all I can do is shrug and say, "I hate PC's!!!"

But those aren't the kinds of problems that warrant posting here, because I like to keep this blog for posting solutions that I come across (so that I can look them up for future reference as necessary, and maybe help somebody else out with the same problem in the process). Unfortunately for me, I still don't have a solution to the video problem.

But back to my glorious Macs!

Just because they're glorious doesn't mean they're entirely trouble-free (though they are indeed mostly trouble-free, at least in my experience!)

I had the joy of purchasing a new 27" iMac recently. My previous setup was a 20" iMac connected to a 22" ViewSonic secondary monitor via a Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter. It worked great.

The new iMacs, though, have the new "Thunderbolt" port instead of the old Mini DisplayPort, though they claim to be backward compatible.

I plugged my ViewSonic into the new 27" iMac with the same cable setup as I had working minutes earlier on the 20" iMac, and... nothing. iMac did not detect the second monitor, and the monitor did not detect a computer signal.

Long story short.... TONS of people are reporting similar troubles getting Thunderbolt ports (on both iMacs and on MacBook laptops) to recognize DVI monitors. Now - if you have a large screen (27"+) monitor, it could be an issue of needing the dual-link DVI adapter ($100) instead of the single-link DVI adapter ($30), due to resolution constraints on the single-link adapter. But that wasn't my problem.

The solution:

Well, it's not exactly a solution, particularly if your monitor doesn't support HDMI. But, the solution seems to be to use HDMI instead of DVI. Lots of people reported that working, and it worked for me.

Now, I've got the 27" iMac running a Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter, connected to a DVI to HDMI cable, and the HDMI cable going into the monitor.

It works.

Of course, this meant some monitor-juggling, because my ViewSonic doesn't have HDMI. But, the never-heard-of-them Hannspree monitor that I bought for my cheap Windows box has HDMI. So, I swapped monitors.

It's not ideal; the ViewSonic is a 24" monitor and the Hanspree is a 20" one (which looks awfully ridiculous next to the 27" iMac). But, it's better than nothing. Even though the 27" iMac gives me plenty of screen real estate to work with, I still like putting some things off to the side on another monitor (like social media and chat apps, etc).

So, there you have it. Thunderbolt to DVI is wonky. Use Thunderbolt to HDMI instead. This is on OS X Lion 10.7.2. Good luck!

Holiday problem solving

Had a couple of computer problems recently... and finally came up with solutions.

First, my 750GB Western Digital MyBook died. It kept unmounting itself randomly and wouldn't stay connected. Over the course of a day, the time it would stay connected became so short that it was completely dysfunctional. It was less than 2 years old (and it was a friggin $300+ hard drive when I bought it), so I was fuming mad. To top it off, it was my Time Machine backup drive - the one drive that contained backups of EVERYTHING I do.

Thankfully, it was still under warranty, so I sent it back to Western Digital via their online RMA process, and had a 1TB replacement in my hands about a week later.

While I was at it, I checked the status of my old dead portable USB hard drive, the Passport that died barely a year after I bought it. I figured it was out of warranty, but lo and behold, it was not - so I sent that back too and got a replacement.

So yesterday, I go to hook up the new WD MyBook and take the weight off my heart of having no backups, expecting a plug and play experience. No such thing. An hour later, the thing won't recognize via Firewire or USB on my iMac. Eventually I tried it on my PC (my cheap little gaming box), and it worked. WTH? That was the last thing I was expecting.

Who knows if this thing is a refurb or new, but anyway, it only works with USB (even though it supposedly supports Firewire), and would only work after I unplugged a bunch of the other USB devices that I had plugged into my system (even though it has its own independent power supply). Additionally, it won't work when plugged into my UPS or into a surge strip. It only works when plugged directly into the wall (found that little tidbit of advice on WD's support site). Well, I sure hope I don't get any power surges! Geez. Nice going, Western Digital.

But, at least it's backing up things now.

The other problem was on my PC with Windows 7 Professional. I've had the thing for a few months now, and it would not go to sleep!! If I put it to sleep, it would immediately wake back up. I leave my computers on all the time (and put them to sleep when I'm gone or sleeping myself). I figured, it just cannot be good for this thing to be completely on all the time - not to mention the excess power consumption. But I couldn't find a solution...

Until yesterday. I finally did some research, and there's a command you can run to see what device caused the last wake-up:

powercfg -lastwake

I discovered that it was my Logitech G11 keyboard waking the machine up. (Many people online reported their LAN cards waking up the machine).

I went into Control Panel and checked the properties of the keyboard and hit the Power Management tab, then unchecked the box that allows that device to wake up the machine.

That worked for a while, until about an hour later when the machine spontaneously woke up again. That time, it was the mouse. Doggone it. So I did the same thing - which means, now I can't wake up the machine by shaking the mouse or tapping the keyboard, but I did go into Power Options in Control Panel and set my power button to wake the machine up. So that's how I'll have to do it.

But I'm happy to report that the machine now sleeps through the night :)

190GB to go on my photo backup... I will be so relieved! I do have my original RAW photos backed up on a third external drive, but that drive doesn't get backed up. It's just an old drive I took out of my old PC that I use as a sort of backup of the backup. And, it doesn't have enough room to back up edited versions of all of my photos as well as the RAW's.

Well, it's time to go make some food for today's Christmas Eve gathering at mom's house.

Have a wonderful holiday, everybody!

Busted: Microsoft Copied Mac for Windows 7

I'm LMAO over an article that a friend just forwarded to me. It's the tale of a Microsoft employee that explains how Windows 7's interface design was modeled after Mac OS X... then Microsoft comes back with "OH NO HE DI'N'T! WE DID NOT COPY!"

We all know the truth.... one look Windows 7 says it all! (Now, I've had good experiences with Windows 7 thus far [running on my Mac's, of course, for the purpose of playing Ultima Online] - but come on, Microsoft... admit it. You've been copying interface design ideas your whole lives).

Here's the entire interview with Simon Aldous, Partner Group Manager for Microsoft:

http://www.pcr-online.biz/features/328/Microsofts-new-vision

And here's the quote of interest:

One of the things that people say an awful lot about the Apple Mac is that the OS is fantastic, that it’s very graphical and easy to use. What we’ve tried to do with Windows 7 – whether it’s traditional format or in a touch format – is create a Mac look and feel in terms of graphics. We’ve significantly improved the graphical user interface, but it’s built on that very stable core Vista technology, which is far more stable than the current Mac platform, for instance.

And here's Microsoft refuting the statements made by one of their own:

http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/32707/Microsoft-denies-Windows-7-was-inspired-by-Apple

In an interview with PCR at the Microsoft Partner Network event last month, Simon Aldous, Microsoft Partner Group Manager, made reference to creating a Mac look and feel in terms of graphics with Windows 7. Simon was incorrect in describing Windows 7 in this way and subsequent headlines claiming that the Mac OS inspired Windows 7 are totally inaccurate.

Bwahahahahahaaaaaa!!!! (that's me, laughing my ass off).

The Mac Giving Tree

Free Mac software from Mac Heist, all in the holiday spirit!

I grabbed 1Password - a password management tool. Not sure it'll replace my KeePass, but for free, it's worth a look! :)

Stop by the Mac Giving Tree and grab some free apps. Happy Holidays!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

All This Time! Possible Fix for iMac Graphics in Vista?

Wow - I can't believe the number of hours I've put into this, and I've just now stumbled upon what will probably be the solution.

Vista is very unstable when gaming under Boot Camp on my Leopard-based iMac. I've read many, many reports of similar experiences, and have tried many solutions, including using stock ATI video drivers, blah blah blah. None worked well, much less better than the ones in Boot Camp. I'd get blue screens indicating that my video driver was stuck in an infinite loop.

I've wracked my brain for months over this, literally. I only use Windows to play a game (Ultima Online), and to have that ONE experience ruined daily by frequent crashing is just infuriating.

Nobody could figure it out. Apple put out an update, and Windows said it applied the update, but it didn't help.

Last night, I noticed something. The version on my Boot Camp install was version 1.4... beta. Now, I *know* I've run an update since then! WTF??

I downloaded the latest Boot Camp Update last night, version 2.1. It wouldn't unpack, let alone install. Pulled my hair out for another hour or so looking for answers. No luck.

Today, it hit me. I needed to install version 2.0 before the 2.1 update would work. 2.0 is on my Leopard CD. While I could have sworn I'd already done that, maybe I didn't.

I just ran the Boot Camp installer from the CD (2.0). Sure enough, the 2.1 update went as planned.

I saw my video drivers get updated... twice.

I was 2 versions behind on my video drivers - which I suspected! I just couldn't nail down how to get the updates!

What a simple solution. What a numbskull I am.

I am so positive that this is going to solve my crashing problems that I'm going to proclaim victory over this problem right now!

HOORAH!!

Not Enough Disk Space to Install XP Service Pack 3 on a Mac

I've been trying to update my Windows XP installation to Service Pack 3 for 2 hours now. It keeps telling me that it needs 4MB more disk space. FOUR MEGS! I have 10 gigs free!

Here's the glitch: it's not about how much free space I have. It's about the fact that I'm running XP on a Mac with BootCamp - specifically, the MacBook Pro laptop. Apparently, this also happens on the Intel based iMac's.

The error message:

There is not enough disk space on C:\WINDOWS\$NtServicePackUninstall$ to install Service Pack 3 Setup requires an additional 4 megabytes of free space or if you also want to archive the files for uninstallation. Setup requires 4 additional megabytes of free space. Free additional space on your hard disk and then try again.

The solution lies in the fact that Intel Mac's use the EFI format, which Windows does not support. (Feel free to Google more about EFI - all I know is, the solution I found on WindowsReference.com solved the problem for me!)

The fix:

1. Click Start - Run - Type regedit and press enter.

2. Navigate to
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup]

3. In the right pane, right-click and choose New - String value

4. Name it BootDir and set its value to C:\

5. Exit regedit.

Re-try your SP3 installation, and all should be right with the world.

Burning iso's on a Mac

File under "tips for Windows switchers" -

How to burn a .iso disk image file to CD or DVD on a Mac:

1. Insert a blank disk.
2. Start Disk Utility.
3. Choose File - Open Disk Image and select the ISO to be burned. This will mount your disk image.
   
4. Highlight your ISO file in the list of volumes.
   
5. Click the Burn button.

The best part: No additional software needed. I love how Mac's just work, right out of the box.

Yummy Kool Aid

70%How Addicted to Apple Are You?

The Joy Was Short Lived

The joy was short lived. I'm still struggling with Vista crashes related to the ATI video drivers on this iMac. Sigh. I hate Windows.

Fixing yet another problem in Vista on the iMac

I know I said I wasn't wasting any more of my precious time fixing crap in Vista... but about once a day, Vista blue screens on me while playing my game, requiring a complete reboot. It's annoying.

Googling led me to the problem and the solution.

Note: This applies to the 2.4GHz 20" iMac with the 256MB video card, and Vista 32-bit.

Vista incorrectly detects the installed video card as the ATI Radeon Mobility HD 2600 XT. It should be the ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro.

Fixing the problem involves downloading the correct driver from ATI's web site and manually forcing Vista to use it (despite it's freak-out warnings that it can't verify it's the correct driver for your hardware). Relax, Vista. It's the correct driver.

Problem solved. No more crashes.

I found full instructions in an Apple support forum discussion on the topic. Be sure to get the latest ATI drivers. (The one I used wasn't the same as the one mentioned in that conversation - the current version as of this writing is 7.12. The process described, however, worked perfectly substituting the latest drivers).

Another reason why Vista sucks vs Leopard

I've come across another reason why I'm the happiest clam alive to be using Macs with Leopard instead of PC's with Vista (or any other Windows operating system).

A few weeks ago, I upgraded my 20" iMac to 4GB of RAM (see my "taste the kool-aid" joy).

My iMac dual-boots Vista so that I can play some games that are not compatible with OS X (the only thing left in my life that requires me to touch a Windows box).

Today, I just happened to notice when I booted into Windows to play my game that Vista is only seeing 3GB of my 4GB of RAM. Wha???? I know that OS X Leopard is seeing all of my RAM and splashing around blissfully in it. What's up with Vista?

Googling revealed much discussion - and confusion - on the topic. Like everything else, it seems that Microsoft's claims of Vista's RAM capabilities come with small print disclaimers attached.

Microsoft's official claim is that 32-bit versions of Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate support 4GB of RAM. I've got the 32-bit version of Vista Business. Why does my System panel say: Memory (RAM): 3054 MB

3054? What kind of number IS that, even? My Computer shows it abbreviated as 2.98 GB. I know there's some integrated video memory going on here, but come on! The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 XT video card in this iMac is 256MB. Where's the rest of my 4th gig of RAM?

Shared video RAM aside, where has the rest gone? I found a snippet on the topic at Vista Clues:

...a high performance x86-based computer may allocate 512 MB to more than 1 GB for the PCI memory address range before any RAM (physical user memory) addresses are allocated.

I found all sorts of things about a 3GB switch in Windows to allow applications to access more than the default 2GB of RAM, yada yada yada.

As I read through tweaking guides, I stopped and thought to myself, What am I doing? I don't want to have to fiddle with my machines to get them to work properly with the hardware installed in them! THAT'S WHY I SWITCHED TO MAC!!!

A big ol' Up Yours to Windows. I'm not going to try and figure out how to get you to see my full 4GB of RAM. I'm not wasting my time with you. You only exist in my life for entertainment purposes anyway, and I'll live with the 3GB of RAM that your dumb OS is able to see. My time is too valuable to spend trying to make you work the way you SHOULD work out of the box!

Giggity Goo!

Feel the power.... Taste the Kool Aid....

Leopard: My First 3 Sentences

Time Machine is friggin fantastic.

Spaces is the best thing since sliced bread.

I love the dorky reflective dock.

Faster Internet on Leopard?

Check out my internet speeds since switching to Leopard. Under Tiger (and Windows Vista), I was pulling about 15000 kbps down on a good day and pushing around 1000 kbps up. I haven't changed my internet provider (Comcast). Haven't changed any internet settings in the OS - all is set as the defaults that were installed. Tested at www.speakeasy.net/speedtest, Chicago server.

Problems Using PC-Formatted Drive with Leopard & Time Machine

Whew! I was pretty excited tonight when Leopard was in my mailbox. Finally! (It was supposed to be here yesterday, grumble grumble grumble). I'll save my Leopard thoughts for later - just wanted to document my first Leopard problem (which, SURPRISE, was indirectly caused by my old Windows PC).

I have a 750GB Western Digital MyBook. It's pretty sweet. I was using it as my backup drive for my Windows PC, and it was formatted FAT32. When I trashed my PC and got an iMac a couple weeks ago, I checked WD's web site and sure enough, they had a Mac version of their backup software. Sweet!

Then came Leopard and Time Machine... automatic backups that can be accessed in a completely granular fashion. Imagine! Buh-bye, WD Backup. Hello, Time Machine!

I plugged in my WD MyBook after installing Leopard, and like promised, Leopard asked if I wanted to use that drive to backup with Time Machine. Absolutely! Time Machine said it needed to be reformatted to the Mac format. Sure, no problem.

Except that the format failed.

Disk erase failed with the error: File system formatter failed.

Yikes!

I tried using Disk Utility to no avail. It would format fine as FAT32, but not as any Mac format.

Already-too-long-story-short:

Gizmodo saved me!

Thankfully, the fix is easy.

• Go to the Partition tab. Create two partitions. Under Options, select GUID Partition Table (what you would use to make a Mac OS boot disk) and click OK then Apply.

• Once your partitions are in place, do it again, reverting back to just one partition, but still keeping the GUID Partition Table option. Click OK and Apply again, and at this point you should be cool.

• To be safe, you can then go to Erase and set formatting for Mac OS Extended (Journaled), then format it once and for all. But when you get there, you will probably see that your volume is already formatted in the right way.

Gizmodo reports that some users were able to get this solution working only creating one partition, and that the key seems to be using the GUID Partition Table option.

Whatever the case, these steps worked for me, and Time Machine is now happily chugging way with its first full backup of my new iMac - now dressed in Leopard skin :)

Better to just lick the toilet again

Paul Phillips wins for the best verbalization of Windows users' justifications of using Vista instead of OS X:

I cannot believe people put up with this for the privilege of using vista. It's as if the bouncer at the worst club in town made you lick the inside of a toilet to get inside, and yet people continued to line up because it's such a big building, and they already know where the bar is located. Who wants to figure out a whole new club layout? Better to just lick the toilet again.

ROFLMAO!

In other news, I'm bummed that I preordered my $9.95 Leopard upgrade for my new iMac online, because it won't arrive till Tuesday. I'm fairly certain if I'd have just waited I could have gone and picked it up at the Apple Store this weekend. Now, I have to wait until Tuesday for it to arrive via USPS. I'm hoping I can get the upgrade quickly through work for my (work-owned) Macbook Pro.

I got to play with Leopard this past week at the Educause conference in Seattle. It's sexy. A friend of mine made an interesting observation last night as he was bitching about how he hated Vista on his new laptop and was tempted to go back to XP: "Vista is just a pretty new face with no new features. Half of my software doesn't work properly with it, so what's the point?" I compared his observations on Vista to the newly released Leopard, which not only looks fantastic, but is packed with lots of new functionality and features. Can't wait to get my hands on Spaces, and Time Machine looks excellent.

Seeing Leopard, I can't believe how far behind Microsoft is. Vista is, at best, comparable to OS X Tiger (if that). If only we could get a Mac into every person's hands without a) telling them it's a Mac and b) showing them the price tag. I think the world would fall in love. And hell, if you really need Windows, use Bootcamp. It worked wonderfully for me, even through beta.

I Switched

My PC died this weekend. I can't say for certain what exactly is shot, but the beast has managed to fry a brand new CPU and now a brand new (and rather expensive) video card.

It is now being dismembered. Remaining good parts (excluding the mainboard and power supply, one of which I'm sure is the culprit here) will be sold on eBay when I get back from Vegas and Seattle next week.

I am now the proud new owner of a 20" 2.4GHz iMac.

Go, me!

I'm 110% happy with my decision to switch. The process of migrating over from Vista to OS X has been painless thus far. This machine is gorgeous, fast, and silent. I bet it even consumes less power.

I heart Apple :)