Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with laptop and osx

Powerbook: No Logo

DiscourseMarker — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 09:41:28 -0800

Powerbook G4 won't boot up. I hear the chime, get a gray screen, but NO apple logo or spinning wheel. This is a circa- late 2003 1.25GHz PB running OS 10.5. something. Yesterday, my husband was trying to open some Word 2008 docs he had saved on this laptop. Word would not open, it just kept bouncing in the dock, and we could not get it to force quit, so he did a forced shut down of the computer. Ever since then I cannot get the computer to boot past the gray screen.

I have tried resetting the PRAM, but it still sticks at the gray screen, same with resetting the PMU and trying a safe boot. It never progresses to the Apple Logo, just stays on the gray screen. When I pressed my ear to the keyboard I heard a few clicks from the HD after trying to start up, but now there's no sound.

Any suggestions?

Laptop connects to wireless network but not to internet

criticalbill — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 03:50:55 -0800

Laptop (running Vista) connects to home wireless network full strength but not to internet. The other laptop (OS X) connects to internet wirelessly no problem. The Vista laptop can connect the internet via ethernet cable. This seems to be a common problem but i cannot find an appropriate solution The Vista laptop is not new, but it is new to my house; it connected to a wireless network previously.

Things I have discovered while looking through replies to similar questions: The Vista laptop has been assigned the correct IP number (which has a different last digit to the OS X one). DHCP is enabled. Node type is Hybrid. The wireless adapter driver is working. When I try to ipconfig /release it tells me: The requested operation requires elevation.

Hackintosh + MSI Wind?

loquacious — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 14:20:36 -0800

Anyone have any recent experience with Hackintosh or OSx86 on the MSI Wind netbook? I'm preparing to try out OS X on an MSI Wind, which has recently released hardware drivers for OS X negating the wifi hardware swap required for it to work.

I'm looking for links, personal experience and information about pitfalls.

Okay, so plate spring on vocals only?

Cantdosleepy — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 01:22:48 -0800

Please help get my old iBook to be as fast as possible! Hey all,

I've had an iBook G4 14" 1.42GHz for a few years now (bought it about a month before they switched to Intel chips). I haven't treated it super-kindly (the day-to-day account is also the admin account, since I didn't realise you were meant to make yourself a limited user account; I've installed and uninstalled all sorts of software of varying quality; and I've made it a bittorrent packhorse for days at a time) and the battery was on the point of dying. I recently put a new battery in, and now that I'm not permanently tethered to the wall I'm enthused about fixing the machine up to get it as fast as possible.

I've been using the DAW Reaper for a few months now and like it a lot. Unfortunately my computer isn't fast enough to do any audio effects work - every channel has to be clean or the program judders and overloads.

My goal for this project is to be able to use Reaper and Reason ReWired together for recording sketches in my bedroom. Nothing too ambitious - I'm not talking about running bitcrunchers, choruses and delays on dozens of channels - I'd just like the ability to use panning, compression and reverb on four or five tracks to make things sit nicely together.

So how do I squeeze out the speed? Will reinstalling the OS help? I've already got the maximum amount of RAM that this computer will hold. What processes run in the background that I don't need? Does the Quicksilver launcher eat up a lot of memory (I currently use it)? Would installing Leopard be a bunch faster, or would that money be better spent elsewhere? Can I tell the computer to prioritise one program at the expense of others? Should I set up a separate user account for recording that has almost everything disabled that isn't needed for ReapsonWire?

Aside from music making I'll be using this machine to cruise the internet, watch '.avi' files and write bits and pieces - so nothing too demanding.

Any and all tips considered. Thanks!

What is the likelihood of recovering data that has been deleted inside an OSX account that also has been deleted?

skylar — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 01:53:11 -0800

I know there are dozens of data recovery question on here, but nothing that appears to address my specific question. I have an Apple Powerbook G4 laptop running 10.4.1. In preparing to sell the machine I transferred a bunch of files across to an external drive, then deleted them, emptied the trash and deleted the entire user account (while telling it not to store a disc image of that account.) Since then nothing has been written to or deleted from the disk. Now I find that not all of my files were successfully copied to the external drive so I've lost a lot of data. In particular I would like to save just one folder full of Excel spreadsheets - my past few months of accounting. What is the likelihood of being able to achieve this, either myself or using a data recovery company?

Should I trade my PC Laptop for a Macbook?

monkeyagent — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:32:21 -0800

I was talking with a friend who owns a Macbook. She was talking about how she doesn't really use it for much and is looking for something newer. I mentioned that I just got my laptop but that I didn't like Vista and have been interested in Macs. Long story short, we came to the conclusion that we might each like to trade out laptops. I'm wondering if this sounds like a fair trade: My computer:
Acer Aspire 5050
AMD Turion 64 Processor MK-38 (2.2GHz, 512KB L2)
14.1" LCD
80GB HDD
DVD Burner
1 GB DDR2 RAM
ATI Radeon Xpress 1100 Integrated graphics (variable GRAM depending on how much of it you assign from system general system RAM)
Has Vista Home Basic
It has internal wifi and is in more or less perfect condition.

Her computer:
Macbook
Intel Core Duo 1.8 Ghz processor [L2 Cache (per processor): 2MB]
LCD slightly smaller, though I don't mind that
34.22 GB HDD (? I couldn't figure out how to determine the full capacity - this amount reflects how much is "free")
DVD (i assume) burner? (not important, as I use my desktop for such tasks)
512 MB 667Mhz DDR2 SDRAM
OSX Version: 10.4.10
Also, while the case is scuffed up a bit on the outside, it seems to work fine and would clean up well. The speakers don't work, but the headphone jack work fine.

My only needs for my laptop are Internet accessibility, word processing, and basic multimedia playing functions. Everything else I do on my self-built PC. I know very little about Macs, but have been wanting to learn about them. Does this trade make sense? Are there any other things I should consider?

Laptops: Apple MacBook Pro versus Sony Vaio/Dell/Toshiba. Please help me choose.

davidinmanhattan — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 21:32:43 -0800

It's time for a new laptop. I have very strong thoughts on this subject, but I need your help, suggestions, and guidance. I am using a three-year-old Apple PowerBook G4. Previously, I had a Dell Inspiron (home) and an IBM ThinkPad (work.) Truth be told, I found the Windows machines' interface more precise (easier to highlight a portion of a web page or text,) and, well, I could run MS Outlook. (I love Outlook, and miss the drag & drop, email to appointment functions.)

I love the ease of use, everything just works Apple "lifestyle," but I also love formatting my harddrive, and even switching the Windows GUI to Litestep.

And, I have to admit, I am shallow enough to allow my self esteem to be improved when I am working on my shiny, elegant Mac in public. Also, I live in Manhattan, and have 2 Apple stores closeby (one is open 24 hours a day,) and "TekServe," a full-service repair shop that does a great job. Makes repairs and emergencies much easier and faster.

So, I can get the new MacBook Pro (with the Santa Rosa chip!) and run Windows and Outlook, or get a Sony Vaio, or Dell, etc., and run Windows and Outlook.

Do you have any suggestions? Is there a great Windows laptop you would recommend? For something this important (I am a writer, and could not function without a laptop) money is a non-issue.

Or, should I get the new Apple MacBook Pro? I love the idea of an imbedded webcam, and I plan on getting the new iPhone. There are some Mac-based OS X programs (BluePhone Elite, iSync, AcidSearch, iPhoto, LaunchBar, OmniOutliner, etc.) that I love and might miss.

Is the MacBook Pro faster than a similar Windows laptop? How fast, via Parallels, is Windows? I work extremely fast, am a whiz with shortcuts and key-combos. Even with a gig of RAM now, I find myself waiting for my laptop to catch up. Speed is of the utmost importance, and I would install as much RAM as possible.

Thanks for your help and advice!

Quick fix iMac as monitor for another Apple.

Bengston — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 13:16:32 -0800

Is there any way that I can easily use my iMac Desktop (Current Intel Model) monitor as a second or primary monitor for my Powerbook using either the wireless network or a monitor adapter? Would using some sort of remote desktop allow me to utilize all the extra monitor space? I just want to use some software that I have on my 12" Powerbook on my friends much larger monitor that is unfortunately also attached to his iMac. Thanks.

What is the physically smallest and cheapest laptop capable of running OS X?

tweebiscuit — Mon, 25 Dec 2006 15:59:21 -0800

What is the physically smallest laptop capable of running OS X? I'm only interested in word processing and light web browsing, so I have no prejudice against old models -- in fact, I'd prefer an older model if it's cheaper. A friend of mine has an extremely small Powerbook G4 -- the computer is more or less exactly the size of the screen, which is the smallest I've ever seen on a mac laptop, but I'm curious to know if I can go even smaller or cheaper. I would get a Macbook Pro, but they appear to be 15" at minimum, and I'm not interested in owning a second full-power computer in addition to my desktop -- I only want something very simple for writing, so I'd actually rather have a laptop with limited capabilities.

CD Burning Help

roofus — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 16:52:34 -0800

MacBook doesn't seem to want to burn any CD-Rs. I'm trying to back up my data for the first time, but as soon as burning starts I get an error message: "Burning the disc failed because an unexpected error occurred. (Error code 0x80020000)" It doesn't seem to be one particular disc, and I've never had a problem like this before on any other mac. Any advice?

To buy or not to buy - even what to buy!

dance — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 07:01:30 -0800

Should I stick with my last July G4 iBook, buy a MacBook or an iMac or wait for untold delights? I'm thinking that now my iBook is a year old it might be an idea to sell it and move on to pastures more powerful. I was thinking of a MacBook, or even ditching the portable form factor now my lifestyle has changed and going for an iMac. Does anyone have any thoughts or advice? And should I be doing this now - is there something in the pipeline I should be waiting for?

Help me upgrade my Macbook's hard drive

drkrdglo — Tue, 30 May 2006 20:14:20 -0800

I'm looking to buy a new Macbook as a secondary computer, however, I want it to be the sole host to my 60gb iPod. I currently have a Toshiba laptop, which has an 80BG hard drive. After two years of use, I've realized I need at least a 120 GB hard drive in any new laptop I get. I don't want to shell out the cash for Apple to throw an upgraded drive in ($250!!!!), but instead I want to buy a new hard drive off ebay or something and replace the 80GB one inside the fresh Macbook. Since I'm only accustomed to the Windows OS -- How do I go about doing this for an Apple computer? Also, does anyone know where I can get a good deal on a laptop drive? :) Other than cloning a drive on OS X, as I understand it I will need a 2.5" SATA drive for the Macbook. Are all laptop drives SATA?

Your help is greatly appreciated!

What is best upgrade for a powerbook G4?

fox_terrier_guy — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 15:08:10 -0800

I would like to upgrade my old 15" G4 powerbook laptop 400 Mhz. I would like to get more speed out of it. I have maxxed the ram out and installed a faster access HDD. What else can I do? Motherboard? Recommendations?

Linux for a web designer! Need advice of what versions to use.

spinko — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 08:05:28 -0800

Linux for a web designer! Need advice of what versions to use. I have just bought a brand new Dell laptop and I thought it would be good to learn other OS's like OsX (x86), Windows XP Media Centre and also Linux. Regarding Linux is where I stumble if you can help that would be great.

1) 12gb for Windows, 10gb for MacOSx and 5gb for Linux, 25gb for software, files to work. Do you think I need more for Linux or would 5gb be enough?

2) The files partition will have 25gb, What standard should I use (fat32, ntfs, etc) so that all of the 3 OS's would be able to see my music and work files.

3) What version Linux (e.g Red Hat, Lindows, etc) should I use. I have never used Linux before, however I was brought up on Dos. I would like a great platform which is easy to use, good looking UI like OSx, able to install Photoshop (through emulator), and be able to run a local host to test out php with apache. I have heard that you can run some windows applications on some versions of Linux.

4) Multiboot menu, what can I use for a multiboot startup? So I can choose which OS to load.

5) Is there any got to have applications that you recommend for both Linux or OsX?

My laptop specs are 1.86ghz centrino, 1gb ram, 60gb hdd and 128mb Radeon videocard. Basically Dell Inspiron 6000.

Thanks for your time

Pismo DVD Drive Dead?

AllesKlar — Wed, 08 Jun 2005 11:03:49 -0800

I recently acquired a G3/Pismo via ebay and decided to upgrade the hard drive. Upon doing so, my dvd/cd drive no longer functions; Help me sort through my options! I am a new mac "owner" but casual user; I am well versed in pc hardware and the like. The old hard drive didn't have any jumpers, so I assumed that master / slave is determined >somehow< by the machine / Os; The drive worked with both cd's and dvd's prior to the hd upgrade; The only drive that shows up in system profiler is the wd scorpio drive. "About this mac" 500 MHz PowerPC G3 512 Ram, Max OS 10.3.9; I'm curious if I some how damaged a ribbon, or something when replacing with the new hd; CD's and DVD's will spin up, but will not mount on the desktop; I've seen reports of the drives going bad, but it seems suspicious that the drive would quit working after installing the new hd. I've also seen vague accounts of soldering "things" to designate master / slave etc. Is there anything else I can do to trouble shoot or fix this problem? I've got external dvd drives, but that negates "portability." Also, suggestions / experiences with using a "cheap" alternative by replacing drive in caddy with pc / oem parts? Thanks in advance for you help and or suggestions!

OSX or Linux/BSD Laptop?

five fresh fish — Thu, 21 Apr 2005 09:10:28 -0800

My laptop is basically toast. I guess I need a new laptop. I was heading toward an iBook/Powerbook, but it suddenly occured to me that a Thinkpad with Linux or BSD might be good. Whatchall think?

Thinking of a new laptop. Should I switch to Mac/Apple?

coriolisdave — Sun, 21 Nov 2004 20:37:14 -0800

I'm thinking of getting myself a new laptop to play with. Do I want to switch? [~~Intel~~ More Inside] I don't _need_ a new laptop, but it would be useful to have for home use. I have a Toshiba for work, but if the argument is strong enough it could be replaced with a Mac. I'm a sysadmin for an almost pure Win2k/2k3 network, but most of that work is done remotely (i.e. RDP). I play with some webdesign (teaching myself PHP, etc) but am not a web- or code-monkey. I do travel somewhat, so this beastly heavy Toshy is a pain. I have a PC for (very light) gaming at home, but would like to be able to watch avi's etc on my television from the laptop. I detest IE with a passion unholy, and Opera is having my baby.
Price-wise, the AppleBooks are fairly equivalent to the IBM offerings which I've played with extensively. I like their X-series (particularly the X40) mainly for size/weight reasons (tiny, 1.6kg) and the excellent battery life (6hrs on main batt alone).
In realistic terms, how does a G4 1.33 stack up against the Intel boxen? What's the battery life like on an iBook? Is the PowerBook's battery better? How heavy is the iBook? What sort of gaming performance will they give me? Most importantly, Will the Apple do what I need it to do, and how long will it take me to be up-and-running?

Can I Really Deal with Losing a Right-Click if I Go to Macs?

jester69 — Fri, 26 Mar 2004 13:58:14 -0800

I am considering a foray back toward my roots in the Macintosh world. The aluminum powerbooks really are quite nice looking but have only one mouse button. I dont know if I can make such a big step backwards. I won't often use an external mouse with a laptop, so that isn't a great option. Any other right click addicts make the switch and thrive?