Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with osx and USB

Trouble with Logitech USB 350 headset under OSX 10.5.7

oxidizer — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:27:41 -0800

I've just upgraded a G5 tower from 10.2.x to 10.5.7. The upgrade went off without a hitch... but... i do have a problem using my Logitech USB 350 headset with the system now. When making a call with Skype, for example, the headset will typically work for a while (several minutes) before suddenly throwing out massive amounts of horrible noise via the mike channel. When this happens, I can hear the other side of the conversation just fine, they however can't hear anything except an aneurysm-inducing noise. If I hang-up and restart the connection, the game repeats. Sometime the noise sets in sooner, sometimes later - however, it always sets in. Facts: 1.) This headset worked without a hitch before the upgrade (from 10.2.x). 2.) Audio settings on a system level and within Skype are correct. Does anyone have any clue as to what is going on and what might remedy the situation?

insufficient permissions error with OS X

spyke23 — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:52:49 -0800

Insufficient permissions error preventing copying files to NAS USB dongle based server from OS X machine I have a clone of an Addonics NAS USB Dongle, and having set it up, I am trying to copy across 1gb or less files from a Mac Mini running OS X 10.5.6 to it, it is 500gb, and the server formats it FAT32 as a matter of course, as this is how it works. However some files will copy, but most will copy then stop, generating an error, stating I have insufficient privileges to copy the file. Can anyone help me sort this issue?

Installing Windows 7 on a MBP with a non-working DVD drive

N2O1138 — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 23:22:32 -0800

How can I install Windows 7 (via Boot Camp or rEFIt) from an ISO? I think the Superdrive on my Macbook Pro (10.5.6) is on its last legs, because it ejects almost anything I put in it. (Meaning blank DVDs, and the DVD I burned of the ISO on my Windows XP desktop with ImgBurn). It's not extremely old (I got it refurbished on Christmas 2007), but still old enough to be out of warranty (at least I would think so). What I have available: 1tb My Book Firewire External Hard Drive 4gb 1st gen iPod Nano, that isn't even formatted as an iPod right now, so it's basically just a 4gb USB flash drive. I know I can boot from it if it's set up right, because I've been using it with this What I've tried so far:
I can't restore the iPod to the ISO in Disk Utility, so I tried to convert the ISO to a DMG (in Disk Utility and using a program called Converso), getting errors both times.

I tried mounting the ISO, erasing everything on the iPod, and copying everything straight out of the ISO to the iPod, but it doesn't appear as anything bootable.

Please help if you can

What's wrong with this stupid USB hub?

nitsuj — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 07:11:30 -0800

Can you recommend a USB hub that will work flawlessly with my Macbook Pro (or tell my why this one isn't working properly)? I currently own this Belkin USB 2.0 7-Port Mobile Hub, and it's easily the worst piece of technology I've ever owned. The power cord is embarrassingly short, and my devices *constantly* become disconnected several times throughout the day.

The fail point seems to be the USB plug; it doesn't snugly fit into the USB port on my MBP. Any time the cord is barely jiggled, it disconnects and I lose all of my devices along with the damage warning for unplugging a hard drive with out first ejecting.

But it's also worth noting that, even when I'm 100% sure I never touch the hub or any cords associated with it, the device disconnects. I can be in the other room, and I hear the beep from my iPhone that signals a sync, meaning it came unplugged.

Could this be any other issue beyond just a shitty USB hub? Could it be, like, a power problem? The hub is plugged into a UPS, and my lights don't flicker or anything. Could I be plugging too many devices into it? It's has 7 ports, so I'd assume it has the ability to handle 7 devices. I'm not daisy chaining it or anything.

So, can you either A) suggest a new USB hub that can go more than a few hours without disconnecting, and is proven to plug into my MBP without problem? Or B) explain to me what other factors in my setup could be causing the hub to randomly disconnect every few hours?

Here's what's plugged into the hub for reference:

-iPhone
-Canon printer/scanner
-WD Passport HD
-Logitech headset
-Occasionally a Canon HF100 (it always seems to disconnect when I'm transferring video from this thing. Argh.)

Disabling USB port on a Mac

hellogoodbye — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 17:21:05 -0800

How can I eject a USB device on OSX (10.5.6) if it doesn't show up on Finder? I think this may be the solution to my larger VirtualBox USB problem. I'm very new to Macs. I'm on a new MacBook Pro, trying to use a CAC reader on Windows XP through Virtual Box. I have the USB ports enabled, but I get this error message:
USB device 'SCM Microsystems Inc. SCR3310 USB Smart Card Reader' with UUID ****** is in use by someone else.
when I try to attach that reader to the XP virtual machine.

I've looked to no avail on the Virtual Box forums, as well as Google.
It's a very specific question, but I have a feeling that disabling the reader/USB port on my Mac (as long as I could reenable it) could solve the Virtual Box problem. I'm pretty sure the Mac is recognizing the reader, but when I look in Finder, the Smart Card Reader does not appear for me to eject.

How many hard drives does it take, before WinXP can see them?

jadepearl — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 08:42:29 -0800

External hard showing "weird". Better known as, sharing an external/portable hard drive between osx and winxp. I have tried out no less than 3 of these Lacie external hard drives.

They are formatted FAT32 and register perfect on my macs at home. However on 2 WinXP machines they register as a regular drive, are listed as "full" and nothing can be loaded or read from them. This all started because they initially could not be found on the winxp though device manager "saw" them just fine and disk managment found it "healthy". I got it enabled and allocated a drive. Now it does not show in disk management. This is what I have done so far:

1) Reformatted one on a mac for pc -- still not "mounted" though seen by device manager. Forced allocation using disk management. Unable to format on the PC to NTFS after it mounted. Unable to read or write because "full" or not recognized;

2) Plugged in a "virgin" FAT32 drive after forced allocation and it can be seen but now only registering as a drive with no further info and again, "full" cannot read nor write nor found by disk management;

3) MacDrive 7 unable to find or read the drives initially until I forced allocation and again, no read nor write nor formatting. App keeps asking where the mac drive is;

WinXP service pack 2 on my machine; hard drives connected via USB 2.0; Novell Zenworks and network drives are a part of my environment.

The drives are new and Lacie is generally a reputable firm. FAT32 should be able to be read by a WinXP machine. This is a consistent problem after trying 3 drives. Any advice would be nice.

Save my data before the disk asplode

djgh — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:21:04 -0800

My external hard-drive's on the fritz. What can I do to make sure I get all my data off it before it goes? I've got a 250GB hard drive which I put in an enclosure (cheap CompUSA one). It's got a red light and a green light. Recently, the red light will come on after a little bit and stay on (so not the blinking "transferring data" signal).

After the light comes on, the USB connection freaks out - if it's connected, it freezes, if it's not connected and I plug it in, it refuses to connect. (Disk Utility will show the drive, but not the partition. The partition refuses to mount, and the icon doesn't show up on the desktop).

What steps should I take to make sure I don't lose everything (it's my main music'n'movies drive...)?

I'm assuming that at some point it will be beneficial to pop the drive out and test in another enclosure, but assuming that doesn't work (worst case scenario and all), what should I do? i.e., the disk itself is suffering issues (plus, it's probably very good to have a backup anyway...).

I'm on OSX Tiger, if it helps, and have access to another 40GB or so (another external drive). The drive is currently sat disconnected on my shelf, not even powered.

How to get my mouse to wake up faster?

Magnakai — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 19:49:51 -0800

Macfilter: Why does my wired USB mouse take a second to start responding on my Macbook? I'm familiar with the lag one receives when you start using a wireless mouse. My question is, why am I receiving the same thing with wired mice on my Core 2 Duo Macbook?

I'm running OSX 10.4.11, and have both a Logitech Wheel Mouse and my trusty old Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer. When I haven't touched my mouse in a short time, there's a noticeable delay of maybe a second or two before it start responding. After that, it's absolutely fine until you leave it alone for a short period of time. This never, ever, ever happens with the inbuilt trackpad, yet it doesn't matter which of my two (admittedly fairly old but eminently serviceable) mice are plugged in.

It's a real pain for me because I'll be typing for a short period of time, then need to click on something that I either don't know the keyboard shortcut for or for which there isn't one, and then go back to typing. This happens very frequently and it's currently driving me insane, and worse, to use the trackpad. The trackpad inherently annoys me, but that's another story. Help me, hive mind!

Can I run a portable windows app on a G4 Mac?

penciltopper — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 10:53:16 -0800

Is there a way for me to run a USB-based portable Windows app on a G4 Mac? A friend recently introduced me to portable applications that run off a USB stick without having to be installed on, or leave files behind on, the actual PC.

I have found a few that have been handy to use at work, with no install rights on the XP box there. But I have a Mac at home, and I'd like to run at least one of the applications on it. It's a G4, not an Intel, so I can't do the Parallels or Boot Camp dance.

It's just one teensy little no-install, no-.ini, no registry, etc. executable. Is there a way I can run it on a Mac without buying a new Mac or spending 20 hours setting up some complicated virtualized windows system? Can I run it? Pleez? (makes sad puppy eyes)

My friend doesn't know Macs, but he mentioned something for linux called WINE that will run windows apps. Is there a WINE for OSX? That will work on a non-Intel Mac?

Lookin' for a new external that will satisfy

dino terror — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 14:22:35 -0800

Leopard / Time Machine / External Drive Filter: Looking for a new 2.5" external. How big should it be if my internal is 120 gigs? Firewire or USB? My initial thinking is that USB is more common, I can plug it into PC's if I care to make an NTFS partition, and I've seen drives that allow you to daisy chain other USB things through the drive. But being relatively new to Macs, are there things Macs can do with Firewire(400?) that they can't do with USB?

help with a couple question on mac/osx: kerning on the mac & USB probe

specialk420 — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 22:28:00 -0800

A couple questions about Mac and OSX: 1) does anyone know of an alternative to USB Prober alegedly included with the Apple SDK - to help the OS see some USB devices (see inside)? 2) why is the kerning/tracking on much of the default system software - often sketchy? I ended making a move on a macbook pro in response to this thread as current sad state of offerings in widescreen pc laptops (crappy bios, horrible form factors, even worse tech support)

Overall I am very happy with the move which I'll blog about in detail soon - but... my macbook won't see my USB mp3 player (essentially a USB drive), and I must say I am disappointed with frequently poor display of type onscreen (in firefox, entourage, photoshop, and other apps)... curious if the smart minds here have recommendations on either of the above?

Getting used to the oddly placed command key again is adventure as well... oh and - is it just me? or is firefox substantially slower on OSX than XP?

overall I am very impressed and quite sure I won't notice the couple warts soon.

USB-Based Webcams for OSX Sought

terrapin — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 17:13:45 -0800

Recommend a USB webcam that you have actually used in Mac OS X, please. Last year my wonderful wife bought me a USB webcam that was supposed to work with OS X according to this macam listing. It didn't, and I had to jump through hoops to return it. I hate hoops, and returns.

Now I am in the market for another USB webcam and I am hoping someone can recommend one that 1) definitely works with OS X and has pretty darned good image quality and 2) doesn't require USB 2 connection (works with 1.1)

I am looking to spend around $100, but will pay more IF the camera has a great image and/or additional features such as being able to be controlled via the web.

For those who may want/need even more information. I am looking for a USB camera because a power surge knocked out my Firewire ports on my eMac therefore making it impossible to use my existing iSight; and replacing the logic board will cost more than I am willing to spend simply to get my Firewire ports back. Nothing else seems to have been effected by the surge (and yes, I am now using a UPS system).

Thanks for hearing me out :)

iPhone w/External USB Drive?

jstrater — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 08:18:08 -0800

iPhone has OSX and USB. Can I hook it up to an external USB hard disk? I don't even have a personal computer anymore, just a company-issued one. I don't need a computer for much outside of work, so I'm thinking the iPhone might just be serviceable ...if it can connect to an external USB hard disk by itself and run iTunes as a standalone device. The idea would be that when connected to the external drive I could move tunes to the flash drive inside the iPhone.

I'm doubting this is possible, but I thought I'd ask.

Flash drive won't reclaim free space from deleted files.

tylermoody — Wed, 09 May 2007 17:21:07 -0800

My usb thumb drives won't reclaim space from deleted files (in OS X) I have a first gen iPod Shuffle and a 1g usb flash drive that won't "get back" free space when I delete files. The iPod works fine when I'm just using it for music, but gets this problem when I use it to store files. Reformatting them gives me the space back, and I can fill them up fine, but the free space never comes back. The iPod has been acting like this for months; the flash drive just started doing this 2 or 3 days ago. I'm running 10.4.9.

How to move iTunes and iPhoto libraries to a network drive?

drgonzo2k2 — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 17:53:11 -0800

What is the easiest way to move my iTunes and iPhoto libraries from an external USB drive to a network drive? Currently I have both my iTunes and iPhoto libraries stored on an external HD that is connected by USB to my Mac Mini. My wife and I share the same libraries. To achieve that, I've done the following:

1. All files are stored in a "music" and "photos" folder on the external drive.

2. I created aliases of those folders and renamed them "iTunes" and "iPhoto Library"

3. I then replaced those folders with the aliases in my wife's and my user directories.

This means that the media and the library files are all on the external drive, and we didn't have to work any voodoo to get iTunes and iPhoto to recognize the libraries.

Now that this HD is full, and we're only going to acquire more content, and possibly more computers, I decided to build a home server and keep all the files there. I've bought an old G4 dual processor for this purpose, and I have outfitted it with 1TB of RAID-5 storage. Now what would be the easiest way to transfer my libraries to the RAID and not lose anything? Here's what I was thinking:

1. Since everything is on a USB drive, just hook it up to the G4 and use RsyncX to copy the movies and photos folders to the RAID.

2. Map the network drive, and set it as a login item on both accounts.

3. Again, create the aliases and place them in our user folders as above.

My main concern is that the files will by physically located on a different drive, so will that end up messing up my library files? I mean, will it know where the files are? If not, can someone walk me through an easy process of achieving this?

Thumbthing's wrong with my iMac's USB ports

baltimore — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 13:28:34 -0800

OSXFilter: Because AskMeFi is where all the coolest Mac nerds hang... On my iMac 24", USB thumb drives and memory cards are failing when copying files. The specific symptom is that the file transfer will hang, and the only way to recover is to manually remove the device from the port. This happens regardless of whether the device is plugged into the back of the iMac, or into a powered hub.

And, to make the issue extra-difficult to diagnose, it doesn't happen all the time.

Behavior replicates across two different user accounts on the machine, so it's not specific to one login.

Is there some kind of diagnostic tool to run or a driver I can replace? Apple's hardware disagnostic disc comes up problem-free.

And, yes, I've tested the USB devices on other Macs and they work fine.

Thanks in advance, hive mind.

In OS X, USB Drive also mounting non-existent CD-R

gwint — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 12:16:18 -0800

In OS X, when I mount this new USB drive, a dialog appears with "You inserted a blank CD...." How do I get this to stop showing up? Also, what Volume Format should I use to allow the USB drive to be mounted on both OS X and Windows? The full text of the dialog that appears is "You inserted a blank CD. Chose an action from the pop-up menu or click Ignore." If I click OK or Ignore, the USB drive is mounted (Called "483.8 MB Relay UFD Media" in Disk Utility) AND a CD-R image is also mounted (Called "Relay UFD Media".) I've already reformated the USB drive as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)"

Macbook as an external hard drive

JPowers — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 14:44:52 -0800

How can I use my Macbook as an external hard drive? If I want to connect my Macbook to another computer (via firewire or USB, not via a network connection), I've heard that I can connect the two computers, boot up the Macbook, press a few buttons, and then my Macbook will show up on the other computer as an external drive. Is this true? If so, how?

Also, is it possible to do this using my Macbook and a Windows machine?

portable IMAP client for OS X?

KirkJobSluder — Thu, 13 Oct 2005 13:11:57 -0800

Is there a portable IMAP client that stores settings on a USB drive for OSX? For a variety of reasons, my life is now shuffling from computer to computer via a 20 gig USB hard drive. The webmail for my ISP has some serious problems, making IMAP the preferred connection method. On the windows side I've found a portable thunderbird tweak that stores all of the settings in a local drive. However, I've not found an equivalent tweak for OSX. I suppose in a pinch I can just forward everything to my gmail, but I would prefer to have the ability to manage messages on my IMAP inboxes.

So far, my efforts to use the thunderbird profile manager have not been productive.

Option 1: Is there an IMAP client for Macintosh that will load settings from a place other than ~/Library ?

Option 2: Is there a safe way to pack up my settings and take them with me from system to system?

Can anyone recommend a TV tuner for a Mac?

rorycberger — Mon, 14 Jun 2004 18:18:21 -0800

Can anyone recommend a TV tuner for a Mac? I have an iBook, so it has to be either a firewire or USB model (not a PC card), and i'm hoping to spend under a hundred bucks. I have no real interest in any TVR functions, as my hard drive is maxed out already and I have a TiVo at home. I'm at Dartmouth for a month - which is in the middle of nowhere - so it must be available online to be shipped immediately, preferably with expedited shipping.