Leopards and Tigers and Bears, Oh My
October 31, 2007 5:21 AM Subscribe
Mac Leopard upgrade trouble: So I took your advice and got an IMac and I'm happy as a pig in shit. I even got a Leopard upgrade disc for $10 for buying at the wrong/right time. I put the disc in, click what I have to do, it closes and restarts and then...
I get the installation screen that tells me to put batteries in my wireless mouse (they're fine) which now no longer works or the keyboard. Nothing happens. The picture of the mouse stays on screen for the next half hour. I phone Apple Support, after an hour waiting and on hold I'm told by the baffled support guy that the senior support guy can't be reached. He'll ring me back. He doesn't. I turn off computor, turn it on, hold down the eject button on the keyboard, and my breath, thank god, the disc comes out. I don't have another hour to spend with Apple Support and don't want to risk messing up my perfectly good brand new Tiger machine. Got work to do. Shall I give up on Leopard? Or is this upgrade scenario familiar to someone who knows what I should do about it?
I get the installation screen that tells me to put batteries in my wireless mouse (they're fine) which now no longer works or the keyboard. Nothing happens. The picture of the mouse stays on screen for the next half hour. I phone Apple Support, after an hour waiting and on hold I'm told by the baffled support guy that the senior support guy can't be reached. He'll ring me back. He doesn't. I turn off computor, turn it on, hold down the eject button on the keyboard, and my breath, thank god, the disc comes out. I don't have another hour to spend with Apple Support and don't want to risk messing up my perfectly good brand new Tiger machine. Got work to do. Shall I give up on Leopard? Or is this upgrade scenario familiar to someone who knows what I should do about it?
This Apple support discussion thread may be helpful. One person solved the problem by “pressing some random keys” on his keyboard. P.S. Leopard is worth the toil to get it working.
posted by tepidmonkey at 5:52 AM on October 31, 2007
posted by tepidmonkey at 5:52 AM on October 31, 2007
Best answer: Mac users on several forums have observed a number of issues concerning Leopard, which can be attributed to, ah, opening-night jitters. Test builds which were seeded out to developers were intended to resolve conflicts between programs and hardware accessories, but even under the best of conditions, a few glitches can escape unnoticed.
I would consider the option of using an inexpensive wired mouse until Apple releases an update, which is likely to be distributed within the next few days. Though it may seem redundant to have an extra controller about, it can be useful for simple diagnostic purposes, particularly if some installed 3rd party software or Apple update causes things to go awry again at some later point. OS X has generic drivers for USB mice; though you'll have to wait until your wireless model is recognized/resolved, any corded USB model should suffice. Your only concerns would be economy and the actual comfort of the controller. Hope this helps.
posted by Smart Dalek at 5:54 AM on October 31, 2007
I would consider the option of using an inexpensive wired mouse until Apple releases an update, which is likely to be distributed within the next few days. Though it may seem redundant to have an extra controller about, it can be useful for simple diagnostic purposes, particularly if some installed 3rd party software or Apple update causes things to go awry again at some later point. OS X has generic drivers for USB mice; though you'll have to wait until your wireless model is recognized/resolved, any corded USB model should suffice. Your only concerns would be economy and the actual comfort of the controller. Hope this helps.
posted by Smart Dalek at 5:54 AM on October 31, 2007
I had this. I've got a Macbook, so I just hit a few keys on the real keyboard to get the install going, and then in the middle of it the mouse and keyboard just started working. They now work fine.
posted by bonaldi at 6:21 AM on October 31, 2007
posted by bonaldi at 6:21 AM on October 31, 2007
Best answer: In non-technical terms, here's what probably happened. The program that installs Leopard (that comes on the DVD you ejected) is what you could call a bootstrap. It has to control your computer just like a real operating system (Tiger/Leopard/Windows), but it also can't be very large or powerful, since it uses temporary resources on your computer to do the installation.
Since it is neither large nor powerful, features that you may expect (nifty wireless keyboard and mouse that just work when plugged in), suddenly don't when you're trying to use this limited installer. I'm disappointed by the level of customer support that you've received so far from Apple, but I agree that the solution they are likely to offer you is to plug in the mouse and keyboard that came with your computer and try running the installer again.
If you do not have your original equipment, any corded USB mouse and keyboard should work using their basic features to get the installation done. Once Leopard is installed, it's likely that all of your peripherals will work correctly.
posted by onalark at 6:28 AM on October 31, 2007
Since it is neither large nor powerful, features that you may expect (nifty wireless keyboard and mouse that just work when plugged in), suddenly don't when you're trying to use this limited installer. I'm disappointed by the level of customer support that you've received so far from Apple, but I agree that the solution they are likely to offer you is to plug in the mouse and keyboard that came with your computer and try running the installer again.
If you do not have your original equipment, any corded USB mouse and keyboard should work using their basic features to get the installation done. Once Leopard is installed, it's likely that all of your peripherals will work correctly.
posted by onalark at 6:28 AM on October 31, 2007
For what it's worth, my random (Logitech?) usb wireless mouse and my Apple Wireless keyboard both Just Worked during the Leopard install on a mini. Unfortunately, I don't have any advice for you -- getting a cheap wired mouse would be a good first step. I just wanted to say that my guess would be it's some sort of pairing issue (are the mouse and keyboard bluetooth?) rather than a lack of support by the install.
posted by wyzewoman at 6:38 AM on October 31, 2007
posted by wyzewoman at 6:38 AM on October 31, 2007
Same thing happened to me. Take the bottom cover off the mouse, slip out the batteries and then put them back in. With the battery cover in place close the little white slider that goes over the sensor, wait five seconds and slide it back down. The red sensor light will blink. Now, restart the computer. If you have the same experience as me all will be well and the mouse and keyboard will work again.
posted by bkeene12 at 7:31 AM on October 31, 2007
posted by bkeene12 at 7:31 AM on October 31, 2007
Same experience here. I think this issue is limited to when you're booted from the Leopard installer disc only - once you've got it installed, you shouldn't have any problems.
On Saturday, when I first booted my Mac Mini with Bluetooth mouse from the Leopard install disc, I got the "replace batteries" screen on a fresh set of AAs. I reseated the batteries and everything worked fine.
However, yesterday I booted the same machine from the Leopard install disc so that I could do a Disc Copy backup of my boot HD and no amount of finagling with the batteries could get the mouse recognized. I had to plug in a wired mouse to complete the task.
posted by porn in the woods at 8:17 AM on October 31, 2007
On Saturday, when I first booted my Mac Mini with Bluetooth mouse from the Leopard install disc, I got the "replace batteries" screen on a fresh set of AAs. I reseated the batteries and everything worked fine.
However, yesterday I booted the same machine from the Leopard install disc so that I could do a Disc Copy backup of my boot HD and no amount of finagling with the batteries could get the mouse recognized. I had to plug in a wired mouse to complete the task.
posted by porn in the woods at 8:17 AM on October 31, 2007
There is a known issue with Logitech wireless mice in Leopard because of a piece of third-party software that Logitech uses in its drivers. It's discussed here. Might that be it? If so there are some solutions in that article.
posted by The Bellman at 8:23 AM on October 31, 2007
posted by The Bellman at 8:23 AM on October 31, 2007
Turn your mouse on and off. That's what I had to do.
posted by chunking express at 8:55 AM on October 31, 2007
posted by chunking express at 8:55 AM on October 31, 2007
And my bluetooth mouse works fine, no weird complaints, post-install.
posted by chunking express at 8:56 AM on October 31, 2007
posted by chunking express at 8:56 AM on October 31, 2007
What pretty much everyone else has said. I had the same problem, and turning the mouse on and off (by closing the sensor cover on its underside) did the trick. You may need to do this a few times, and give it up to a minute or so. It was definitely counterintuitive -- the on-screen messaging was misleading -- but by continually moving the mouse I could tell when it had been discovered, and could then click the Continue (or whatever) button.
As others have indicated, once you get Leopard installed, this is no longer an issue.
posted by mumkin at 11:41 AM on October 31, 2007
As others have indicated, once you get Leopard installed, this is no longer an issue.
posted by mumkin at 11:41 AM on October 31, 2007
Response by poster: Thank you, all. Got a wired mouse and Leopard is now installed. Though what for, I don't know...
posted by jennydiski at 10:20 AM on November 1, 2007
posted by jennydiski at 10:20 AM on November 1, 2007
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by hariya at 5:46 AM on October 31, 2007