If anyone that reported a problem in 10.3.3 with an Acard based card finds removing 3rd party SCSI extension(s) helped, let me know. (Ditto if it helps with any SCSI problems.) Note: One of the ACARD owners with 10.3.3 problems (no drives mounting) said he had installed Avid Xpress Pro 4.1.1 and removing both the Avid_SCSI_RBC.kext and Avid_SCSI.kext files solved the drives mounting problem.
(added 3/18/2004)
"
Thank you for solving my Acard 6880M card problem with 10.3.3 on a
Quicksilver 2002. Like (some) other readers, my RAID drive failed to
appear after the 10.3.3 update.
I was waiting for the Applecare service person to take my call when I
read your tip. (see post below) I deleted the 2 AVID_SCSI extensions (I had installed
Avid Express DV over a year ago) and rebooted and the drives returned
to the desktop.
Thanks again.
Joe G.
Visual Arts Program
MIT"
(added 3/18/2004)
"
i have major issue or problem.. now i cant get my raid to mount.
anubis doesn't see it , and disk utility doesn't see it.. tried sudo
touch /System/Library/Extensions -f.. and it doesn't help .. im soo mad
i updated so soon.. if i can't find a downgrader im having to go
back to 10.2 untill this is solved. Just using ata raid card , and
its not showing up .
(I asked for more details (like IDE card model) and if he had
tried the tip posted in the main news page at the time he sent this)
i had one from siig. High-speed dual channel Ultra ATA
133/100 RAID (RAID 0) controller for Mac. (Actually
an Acard 6880M card-Mike) and its got all the latest updates and firmware.
i have dual 500 g4 with 1.75gigs ram
well i be damn. that avid trick worked.. yippie.... i forgot it
was installed, thats just strange if you ask me.. but now you the man..
thnkx for the tip.
-Admin
"
(added 3/17/2004)
"
10.3.3 update report - 6880M problem confirmed
Have dual RAID type 1 (running mirror mode, not stripe/RAID 0) array running most recent firmware on 6880M. Went
ahead and updated to 10.3.3 when machine attempted reboot got a bad
boot block error. Reinstalling older version of 10.3 and emailing acard
tech support. Definitely a problem with my machine.
Charlie
(he later wrote)
I'm back up now from the install disks
re-upgrading to 10.3.2 now, knew I should have tried it on another
partition first, but recovering nicely. Hopefully acard will come up
with a solution in the not too distant future.
"
(added 3/16/2004)
"
"I have an Acard 6880M PCI/ATA card configured for a RAID 0 array (the Mac is
a Digital Audio with GigaDesigns 1.33 GHz CPU and 1 GB RAM) and it is
working OK after the upgrade to 10.3.3. I did, however, repair permissions
and run DW immediately prior to the update.
Richard
(Although I'd normally guess the 10.3.3 problems were driver related,
due to mixed reports I asked what firmware version the card had)
What firmware am I using? Thanks for asking.
As Apple System Profiler does not show the firmware of this card in either
OS 9 or OS X I went through the process of running the installer which is
the only thing that I am aware of which displays the firmware on the card,
just before presenting the opportunity to install the firmware version on
the installer. You are supposed to disconnect the drives and set the dip
switches for the "just a bunch of drives" mode instead of the RAID 0 mode
and then run the installer (from OS 9). (see the readme file included
with the acard firmware update)
I already had the installer in the downloads file I keep and I have a
specific recollection of running the v2.44 installer to find out what
firmware I had installed, and then installing it, when I first installed
Panther. To my surprise the installer said that v2.43 was installed! How can that
be? I do not know. At the very least, it would appear that there is some
question as to whether I had the v2.44 firmware installed. I can only
conclude that, if I did install it, it was not present when I just now ran
the installer. In any event, I ran the installer and then ran it again to
the point of it showing that firmware v2.44 was installed.
Upon rebooting things went noticeably more quickly than before. "It only so
happens" that I had timed the startup time of both the RAID drive and a
utility drive before and after upgrading to 10.3.3. Actually, the utility
drive was my lab rat as there is not much on it and if there were any big
problems with 10.3.3 I would just erase it and have the RAID drive "safe".
I first installed 10.3.3 on the utility drive last night and, "as
advertised" it booted quicker. There was not really much difference in the
boot time of my primary (RAID) drive when I did it today. After running the
firmware update the boot time of the RAID drive was in the same speed range
as the other drive even though I have a bunch of things on the desktop in it
which take some time to load. I rebooted several times just to be certain
that it was not a one time fluke or my imagination before commenting about
it to you.
So the answer to your question "what firmware am I using?" is that I am
*now* using v2.44 even though it appears I was using v2.43 at the time of
the 10.3.3 update.
I suppose that I need to look into one of the utilities which say they
provide more information than Apple System Profiler to find out if they can
"see" the firmware version on the Acard controller.
Best, Richard
"
I've received another report from a 6880M owner noting no problems in 10.3.3 also (never updated the card he said). So far the AVID SCSI extensions are a common cause of these problems.
Here's the first 6880M report noting a problem in 10.3.3:
(Update - see below for his reply to the tip regarding removing Avid SCSI extensions that
solved the problem)
(added 3/16/2004)
"
I'm experiencing the exact same problem. Mine's a Sonnet Tempo Raid 133
(Acard 6880M) in a Dual 1GHz Quicksilver. The drives show up perfectly
fine when booted from a 10.3.1 partition. I guess it's just an issue of
drivers being broken.
Monte M.
(he later wrote)
Just to follow up on this. I tried a few times to upgrade the firmware
with the OSX util. Unfortunately, it doesn't report firmware versions
(the 9.x version does) and ASP misreports this. So, I installed 9.2.2,
ran the flasher, and lo-and-behold, it's 2.44. Still no drives."
On Mar. 17th, I wrote him to ask if he had any AVID software installed
and if so to remove the AVID SCSI extensions (kext files) noted in the
reader tip.
"I have Avid Xpress Pro 4.1.1 and sure enough removing both Avid_SCSI_RBC.kext and Avid_SCSI.kext returned the drives to my desktop.
Thanks very much for the tip, Mike.
Regards, Monte"
Not everyone that had the problem said they had installed Avid software but I asked them to check for other 3rd party SCSI device drivers that may also be a factor in their problems.
I had previously asked what firmware version was in the card (i.e. did he update the card to v2.44 firmware available at acard.com) - he previously sent a screenshot from Apple System Profiler (selecting the root scsi bus shows the Acard 6880M as "revision 1.00".) There was an update for this card noted in the news page here in the last month or so - see
http://www.acard.com/eng/support/mac.html. v2.44 is the latest firmware shown there for the 6880M card model. See the readme first for important notes/info on updating.
(may not help but just a FYI.)
Flashed PC Geforce2MX PCI card Problem:
(added 3/16/2004)
"
10.3.3 killed my PCI-PC-GeForce 2MX..
I use a flashed PC-Geforce 2MX (PCI) card. Though I had some problems
before (9.1 eg), the card worked without problems with 9.2.x and 10.2.x
till 10.3.2
Symptom: grey/dark screen when starting the GUI and system stalls. Older
drivers (from 10.3.0) won't work (error after booting). Removing the
drivers works, but with 640x480 resolution only (on my 24".. :D)
Though this card is not an original Apple-card, it worked.. :(
Guess I have to get me an ATI now..
Hermann S.
"
Flashed PC Geforce2MX AGP card/Older AGP Tower Here's a report from an AGP model flashed PC Geforce2MX card that mentioned the 10.3.3 update helped:
(added 3/16/2004)
"
The 10.3.3 update fixed big issues I was having with my flashed PC
GeForce 2 MX. (AGP card) Before windows in OS X would not update when dragged, and
I was forced to go back to my old video card (Rage 128). Now Everything
works perfectly with the GF2MX, I wonder how I survived so long without
Quartz Extreme. I know two other people who had the same problems with
their flashed GF2MX's, 10.3.3 fixed those issues for them as well.
-Peter
(I asked what system he had since early G4/AGP towers had problems
even with some OEM/original Mac Geforce4MX/2MX cards. 10.3.2 fixed that
for many OEM card owners as noted in the FAQ and news pages here previously.-Mike)
Actually, 10.3.2 did not fix the problem for me, or the people I know
with the same problem. Sorry, I do have a Sawtooth (first model G4/AGP tower)
"
(added 3/16/2004)
"
Hi, Mike-
Tried to run the UT2004 demo in 10.3.3. No dice. Quits without any
warning at first splash screen. Reinstalled over previous game. No
dice. UT2003 runs fine.
G5 2gig, 9800 OEM, 4gig memory.
frank
"
I asked if he had previously applied the UT2004 Demo patch.
I tested the UT2004 demo (updated version) here and it runs fine
on literally the same system (Dual G5, OEM 9800 Pro, 10.3.3, 4GB RAM.)
(added 3/16/2004)
"
Hi Mike, Just to let you and your readers know that I've installed 10.3.3 on a
500 MHz Titanium PowerBook G4 with an Emagic EMI 2|6 USB audio output
device and everything (including DVD player, iTunes disc importing,
safari and keyboard volume buttons) is working just fine.
keep up the great work, Harry.
"
Mail Improvements:
(added 3/16/2004)
"
hi, great site!
the mac os x update fixed a really annoying bug i had in mail whenever
i had an incorrectly filtered email dropped into my junk mail box and i
hit the "this is not spam" button the program would crash.
Now, after the update, it doesn't!
Adam
"
Lacie 160GB Firewire Drive + iPod DaisyChain Problem Fixed:
(added 3/16/2004)
"
Upgrading to 10.3 introduced a painful problem for me. I run an iBook
600mhz, and due to my burgeoning music collection, I purchased a Lacie
160gb firewire drive (Porsche design model). Since the iBook only has
one firewire port, I was forced to connect my iPod via the second
connector on the Lacie drive in order to update it. In 10.2 this worked
pretty well, but upgrading to 10.3 made it a painful process. I
continually had difficulty getting the iPod to mount, and trying to
manually do it through the disk utility often resulted in an unending
beachball (that disappeared immediately after disconnecting the iPod
from the Lacie drive). It was completely hit-or-miss.I'd have to try
various combinations of plugging in the iPod and Lacie drive before
getting both to mount.
Anyway, the 10.3.3 update appears to have essentially resolved the
issue. The Lacie drive and iPod mount almost immediately, and updating
the iPod through iTunes is not a problem. The only drawback I noticed
is that the iPod will at times unmount itself with any command. Still
not perfect, but much better than 10.3.2.
Cheers and keep up the good work.
Michael W.
P.S.-I forgot to mention that the problem I described is mentioned by a
few others in the Apple support forums who keep their music collection
on an external firewire drive and connect their iPods to that drive-so
I'm not the only one who experienced this problem.
I asked if this was a FW400 or FW800 drive (lacie had an update
for FW800 drives to fix the common issue seen by many FW800 drives
with the first 10.3 release. Some FW400 drive owners also reported
problems with 10.3 previously, although they were more rare than
the FW800 problems)
It's a FW400 drive, and I ran the Lacie firmware update which reported
that my firmware was up-to-date and required no changes.
As an aide, 10.3 killed the first Lacie drive I bought. I tried
everything in the book to bring it back (Diskwarrior, Norton, Techtool),
even attempting to zero the data (which started but then crashed Disk
Utility), but it apparently sustained a "low level formatting error" and
could not be brought back to life. Thankfully, the place I bought it at
accepted the return and gave me a new one no questions asked. The
second drive has worked perfectly, except for the iPod problem I
mentioned."
BTW - there is a previous report here on a Problem with Lacie Large (400/500GB) Firewire Drives in 10.3.3 by one owner, another 500GB user said he's fine. (The one reader with the problem later said running the 10.3.3 "COMBO" updater fixed it.)
TurtleBeach USB MIDI adapter no longer recognized
(added 3/16/2004)
"
I had been using a TurtleBeach USB MIDI adapter (came with a Voyetra
USB MIDI PC Kit) that was recognized and working just fine.
Since the upgrade - the system doesn't recognize the interface at all.
Brian d.
"
I asked if he had tried the usual tips (disconnecting/reconnecting the device,
checking settings in Apple USB/Midi utility, etc.)
Internet Explorer Cookies: (I use Safari now in OS X so can't verify this issue personally.)
(added 3/16/2004)
"
Hi Mike, installed the update on both machines: G4 MDD 1.25DP and Pbook G4
633Mhz. I've not seen problems except this one on Internet Explorer on
both computers: I can't delete cookies that were already there before
the update that means that apparently they are deleted but when I
choose preferences/cookies again and activate the option "ask for each
site" it shows the cookies previously deleted. Instead booting with the
other hd in 10.2.8, same IE version, no problem at all. Tried repairing
permission, but no success
That's all by now,
Piero
"
(added 3/16/2004)
"
The Sony UW-D14A 4x DVD+/-R drive (external case) is not supported in
10.3.3 but still works great with Patchburn II profile. My goodness,
Apple System Profiler opens so fast now!
Thomas
"
For anyone that missed it in the past (FAQ, drive db, news page links, etc.) - there's a page here with download link and Reader reports on Patchburn II for Panther.
iSub Comments:
(added 3/16/2004)
"
Aloha Mike, Looks like Apple fixed some long standing problems that existed even in
10.2. My iSub would never work on my MDD 867 after sleep. I would have to
unplug and plug in the USB cord for the iSub to work again. With 10.3.3
iSub works fine after sleep. No issues. Finally! Also another big fix is
when you press the mute button on the keyboard, it also mutes the iSub. In
the past the iSub would stay on while the other speakers muted. One problem
still exist, when you plug in headphones on the front of the machine, the
iSub stays on. By the way this is the stand alone iSub.
Rick"
Another earlier iSub report:
(added 3/16/2004)
"
It fixes problems with the iSub under Panther on my G4 Cube. Before the
iSub would appear under System Info but not under Sound Pref , unless I
installed and chose a Giffin iMic as the ouput device. Now my normal
default USB "Speakers" output includes the iSub volume slider and mute
checkbox when chosen.
Peter R.
(I asked if the keyboard volume keys control the iSub ok as two readers (below) with USB speakers (not an iSub and not Cube owners) said the keys do not work with their usb speakers. Granted the Cube's standard speakers are USB though.)
My keyboard speaker keys, volume up, volume down and muting on/off
work fine with the combined speakers and iSub audio output.
"
There was some other iSub problem tip in the past here but I can't remember it now.
New UPS Control Panel
(added 3/16/2004)
"
Mike, One of the neat additions to 10.3.3 is control for UPS devices under the
Energy saver preference pane. (mentioned in apple's kbase doc on 10.3.3 improvements)
If you have a UPS connected, Energy Saver recognizes it and allows you to set parameters for it -- it also provides a battery meter. Seems to work well with my APS UPC -- better than their Power
Chute preference pane, which in my experience hasn't been quite right since
Panther.
Regards, Julian W.
"
Non-USB equipped UPS users may not benefit:
(added 3/16/2004)
"I installed 10.3.3 on a G4 and use a UPS w/ serial cable and keyspan
USB to serial converter. I do NOT see any UPS functionality in Energy
Saver. (10.3.3 adds a separate UPS control if one is detected)
Makes sense I guess, only USB UPS devices have any chance of
working.
I think this functionality is good, but PowerGuardian is a better
product.
Scott D."
iTunes Import Problems: (Note - I don't see any
problems importing songs from CDs here on two macs with 10.3.3. My prefs
are set to not play during importing and using MP3 format/192KB setting and my
library is located on the boot volume.)
(added 3/17/2004)
"
I tried importing songs to my itunes playlist. Itunes crashed everytime (in fact it hard crashed the computer) dual 800 G4 with lacie 160GB and 200GB firewire drives. Before importing I was playing my catalog and much of the music was skipping/cutting in and out. My music catalog reads and writes from the Lacie 160GB firewire drive.
Thanks, Anthony B."
I wonder if the location of the library is a factor. (no problems here on 2 macs
importing songs from CD - but library is on the boot OS X volume.) I'd write Lacie
tech support to see if they have any suggestions or updates.
(added 3/16/2004)
"
After updating to 10.3.3, my iTunes crashes constantly when trying to import
music from cd's. This has never happened before .... Strange.
sal
"
I wonder if his library is on the boot OS X volume. (No problems here importing tracks to itunes, with my library of songs on the boot volume.) If anyone else sees this problem in 10.3.3, let me know. Please note
the location of your itunes library also.
PB G4/12in Trackpad problem: (updated with reader suggestion and fix)
(added 3/16/2004)
"
bad news for me! Just updated to 10.3.3 on my 12" 1Ghz Alubook and the
trackpad isn't usable anymore. The pointer is completely erratic,
vanishes when I try to move it (just like it does in the DVD Player but
when you don't move it). (don't see this problem here with 10.3.3 on
a PB G4 17in)
Plugging a mouse in doesn't help, changing
the trackpad's settings neither. No problem with using the mouse
though, it really seems to affect only the trackpad. Tried trashing
preferences, didn't help either. Maybe it's a local compatibility
problem but I'm rather surprised that such a bug could go unchecked
through testing...
Johannes S.
(I sent him a copy of the reader suggestion (below) and he replied:)
Good guess it seems. Well, I tried starting up with disabled extensions
(shift key) and got rid of the problem. I do use Side Track, but a
friend who uses it too didn't have any problem with it when updating to
10.3.3. Strange. Anyway I removed it and everything has been working
fine since. Thanx a lot !
Best regards, Johannes
"
No trackpad problems here, but a reader sent some suggestions for Joannes:
"
I haven't had a chance to install 10.3.3 yet, but here's a wild guess: Does Johannes S. have Raging Menace's SideTrack installed? If it's installed, to find out if this is causing the problem, Johannes should start up with Shift key down and then determine if it's working.
Additionally, starting up in Verbose mode (holding down Command and V) and/or running dmesg in the Terminal yield useful results.
Chris G.
"
Pioneer DVR-107D reports: Since 10.3.3 has native burn support for the DVR-107D (aka A07) drive, remove any installed Lacie or Patchburn II profiles. (Since you have to manually install the lacie profile you know how to remove it.) To remove patchburn II's profile, use the "Expert" mode. The "Expert mode" toggle is in the upper right corner of the Patchburn II main window (toggle arrow - opens up a panel). Once the Expert Mode is opened - see the button at the bottom of the "Advanced Settings" section that says "remove all Patchburn driver".
(the profile is normally installed in the /Library/DiscRecording/DeviceProfiles folder if you want to manually remove it - but try Patchburn II's "expert" mode first)
(added 3/16/2004)
"
My Pioneer DVR-107D bought today in Akihabara, Tokyo, for 14,900 yen
($134) worked straight out of the bubble wrap with 10.3.3--recognized
as pure Apple drive.
Robert
"
(added 3/16/2004)
"
Hi Mike! I'm writing on a Digital Audio G4 733MHz with the stock superdrive replaced
by the Pioneer DVR-07D. "drutil list" in the terminal said the new drive had
"none" support. After applying the 10.3.3 update, it changed to "Apple
Shipping".
I can write CD-R and DVD-R medias with the Finder, iTunes, iDVD 4.0.1 and
iPhoto (iLife04) without problems and without the "hacked driver" I used for
about one week since I got the new drive. --> Clearly improved
user-experience with this update.
Networking hasn't changed much for me. I've got a 802.11b network with an
Airport Extreme Basestation (11g compatibility switched off since no Macs
here in house have Extreme support, and AEB-output power set to 10% of full
power as I don't need the extra range). It seems like the overall speed has
decreased a little, from about 0.5MByte/sec to 0.3-0.4MByte/sec in Finder
copying.
Also little has changes speedwise: Finder windows open/close, menus, etc. is
the same as before. I use "Onyx" to switch off several effects, like the
animation of the info-window and normal windows, and the "explosion" when
you double-click an app or a file.
Xbench 1.1.3 shows a record of about 92, decreased from 96. I'm not sure
where I lost these points. (there's always been some variation in run/run
with Xbench here) So far, it's a nice update for me because of the native support of the (Pioneer) DVR-107D.
Regards, Julian (Switzerland)
"
(added 3/16/2004)
"
As previously noted, I have a Pioneer 107D (flashed to firmware 1.10)
mechanism and had successfully patched it with PatchBurn II and was
able in 10.3.2 to burn from Finder, iTunes, iDVD and Toast 6.03 with no
issues.
Out of curiosity I left the PatchBurn II profile installed and ran the
updater to 10.3.3 and the System Profiler reported unsupported but was
able to burn from the Finder, iDVD, iTunes and Toast 6.03 with no
problems.
Used PatchBurn II in expert mode to remove the PatchBurn II profiles,
restarted, launched System profiler and drive shown as Apple
Supported/Shipped.
Was then able to burn with no problems from Finder, iTunes, iDVD and
Toast 6.03 with no problems.
Mark F.
"
"
Mike, I just wanted to let you know I just upgraded my dual 1 GHz MDD computer to 10.3.3.
Last week I had installed a Pioneer DVR-107D drive and used the Lacie plug-in to enable support (which worked good).
Before I upgraded my machine I removed the plug-in, updated, and now how full Apple native support.
Great site, and keep up the good work.
I've include a screen capture from Apple System Profiler.
Jeff
"
His screen capture of ASP shows the drive listed as "Apple Supported/Shipped".
"
Hi Mike, Just a quick note to confirm full Pioneer 107 support in 10.3.3. I bought this drive a week or so ago and have upgraded the firmware on a PC. Here's the output from ASP on an unpatched install of 10.3.3:
PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-107D:
Manufacturer: PIONEER
Model: PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-107D
Revision: 1.10
Drive Type: CD-RW/DVD-RW
Disc Burning: Apple Supported/Shipped
....
iTunes and Finder burning work fine. sorry, I don't have iMovie or iDVD installed to test.
Cheers, Ben
"
"
Just applied 10.3.3 and my DVR-107D (in an external Firewire enclosure) still shows up in System Profiler as "DRDeviceSupportLevelUnsupported"
(i.e., post-PatchBurn status). Maybe native support is enabled with an
unhacked system?
(he later wrote)
Update:
After deleting the PatchBurn file from
Library>DiscRecording>DeviceProfiles, my DVR-107D (external Firewire) now shows up in System Profiler as "Apple Supported/Shipped".
Kurt
"
If using the Lacie profile - remember to also remove any copies in the (username)/library/DiscRecording/DeviceProfiles folder also. (Their readme file mentioned installing in either the root library directory or the user/library locations.)
"
So far so good, all is working great. I like having a ups preference panel under the energy saver preference pane, it even recognizes my aps model ups system and gives me the status and settings of it.
As for my pioneer dvr-107d, the system profile shows the following:
ATA-3 Bus:
PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-107D:
Manufacturer: PIONEER
Model: PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-107D
Revision: 1.05
Drive Type: CD-RW/DVD-RW
Disc Burning: Apple Supported/Shipped
...
I have not had a chance to use it yet, but it looks like it is fully supported now. I'll let you know if there are any problems. I deleted the patchburn II driver before the update, and then installed 10.3.3
Jeff M.
"
"
Seems to start up more quickly, and now recognises the pioneer 107D as burning supported/shipped. the drive must be in the next G5s??
david J.
"
That's been my guess for some time now - waiting to see if that happens with the next rev G5s (with 90nm CPUs and perhaps a speed bump...)
"
Hi, I just got in today a DVR-107D I had ordered from OWC and installed it and updated to 10.3.3. ASP shows it as supported and I have not installed the LaCie profile or PatchBurn
Brad
"
This is the only DVR-107D owner report so far that noted 10.3.3 didn't show it supported (I asked to make sure he had removed any Lacie or patchburn II profiles)
"
I have a Pioneer DVR-107D and I can tell you that it is NOT supported in 10.3.3. System profiler shows it as "Not Supported" for Disc Recording. (every other 107D owner reported native 10.3.3 support as shown above)
Back to the hacked LaCie driver for me.
(he later wrote)
I've done a little more testing now, which gives even stranger results:
I can burn DVD+Rs and CD-Rs fine from the Finder, and from iPhoto.
iTunes will not recognize the burner though, nor will Disk Utility. I don't
have iDVD to test. (even some unsupported drives will get a burn prompt in the finder which is why I asked to check iTunes burning prefs selection, etc. No idea why his 107D isn't supported though - others noted it was in 10.3.3.-Mike)
I wonder if it has anything to do with the firmware version. I don't have a PC or external enclosure to flash with though.
- kalleboo
"
USB Soundblaster MP3+ Comments/Tests:
(added 3/16/2004)
"
For a good while now, I've been using a Sound Blaster MP3+ USB sound "card". ($39.xx)
It sounds better than the built-in sound out. However, it's unsupported and
has no drivers, using a rudimentary set of generic USB audio drivers within
OS X. That means that neither the digital or analog line in would work. Only
the audio headphone jack and analog line out worked.
Until now. After upgrading to 10.3.3, the sound Control panel now shows
this:
http://homepage.mac.com/drewstre/Soundctlpnl.jpg
First, in the list of devices, all three inputs available on the Sound
Blaster are now listed. Before, it was only listed as a single generic USB
device. (Above "Line In" is the built-in Microphone of my iMac.)
Also of note, on the "Output" tab, there is "USB Audio" which has always
been there, and is what I usually have it on to use the Sound Blaster. The
bootylicious difference is that the volume slider now works. Before 10.3.3,
the slider and the Mute button where grayed out when going out through USB.
The menubar slider works now also. Groovy.
The Apple "Audio MIDI Setup" app in the Utilities folder also now recognizes
and can manipulate the Sound Blaster.
I have tried before to run audio into the Sound Blaster's inputs just to see
what I'd get, and got nothing, nada. Now, when I have a sound source going
into the Sound Blaster's analog audio in, and it's selected in the Sound
Control Panel's Input tab, the meter accurately reflects the signal coming
in, and is affected by the input level slider. Sweet!
I have not tried any sound recording apps to actually hear the incoming
stream, but the levels are reflected in the Sound Control Panel level meter,
so the sound is definitely coming in.
(I haven't any digital audio gear, so I cannot test the digital in/outputs.
Soon, very soon. Especially now.)
Only gotcha, hopefully solvable through software: I can't hear the stream
coming in, i.e. it's not being mixed with the outgoing stream. (see
below for more on this)
What I want to do: The Sound Blaster is plugged into the USB on my G4 iMac.
I wanna be able to play iTunes on my B&W G3, and run it's headphone out into
the analog line-in on the Sound Blaster. Have that mix with the outgoing
stream from the iMac, so I can, say, play UT on the iMac and hear UT as well
as the iTunes music coming from my stereo, which is plugged into the analog
line-out on the Sound Blaster.
It seems doable, if only the Sound control panel had a "Play Through" widget
like it did in OS 9. The "thru" box in the Audio MIDI Setup program does
nothing.
Nonetheless, this is very promising. Thanks Apple! Love ya babe.
Drewstre
"
Another reader posted a suggestion for the input stream issue but
Drewstre said it did not help.
"
To solve your stream not being heard with the outgoing stream (the input
stream that is), have you tried checking the lefthand "thru" box? Enabling
that (remember, on the LEFT panel), you should then hear the input along
with any output. (using Apple Audio/Midi utility)
- Chibi D."
But Drewstre later posted he found a fix:
"
I got passthrough working. I grabbed Rogue Amoeba's free LineIn
http://www.rogueamoeba.com/freebies/ and like magic, once it's enabled and set to route the USB audio appropriately, I have music from the G3 playing through the Sound Blaster
through the iMac. Now that's cool.
At first I thought maybe the USB couldn't handle the simultaneous up/down
streams, or maybe the Sound Blaster itself couldn't mix line in->host->line
out with host->line out. But then I ran Sound Studio, and it was able to
pass the audio via software (the hardware passthrough button was grayed out,
hmmmmm) and it worked, so it was possible.
I remembered apps like Audio Hijack and Detour that deal with rerouting
audio streams, and hit their site. Booyah, their freebie LineIn, in combo
with 10.3.3, gets the job did. Incoming stream mixed with game audio, out
through USB to stereo.
Groovy.
The Sound Blaster MP3+ can be had for minor dunkets ($39.xx) these days, and
I believe its value to Mac owners has just increased.
Evaluation of the digital ports is next on the list.
Drewstre
"
Another SB MP3+ user wrote:
(added 3/16/2004)
"
Mike, the 10.3.3 update enabled much improved support of Creative Labs'
USB SoundBlaster MP3+ device.
It worked well enough before, but now it's output is controllable from
the Sound control panel and keyboard volume keys; the balance is also
adjustable. (Before, there was a "there are no controls for this
device" message) Also, now there are 3 separate input options for the
device: Microphone, External Line Connector & External SPDIF Interface.
I've been using it on my Dual 533 G4. It's about the same price as an
iMic, but has many more inputs & output options, especially now.
Joe
"
Divx User Notes/Tip:
(added 3/16/2004)
"
Mac OS X 10.3.3 update breaks DivX, VLC, MPlayerOSX. Divx encoded
videos play but audio doesn't. If you have DivX.com's codec installed
to play thru QuickTime, you hear nothing but distorded audio. VLC
presents you with an coreaudio error. And in MPlayer's case, it just
freezes.
(he later wrote)
Oh boy, that report I made is entirely false. The 10.3.3 update
reset my output audio to Digital Out that's why I experienced the problem.
Putting it back to "Internal Audio" solved my problem.
Sherwin
"
Improved Safari (1.2.1):
(added 3/16/2004)
"
Mike, Upgraded to 10.3.3 tonight with the hope that it will improve the
Windows networking and browsing and sometimes inability to see my USB
memory stick. Everything is working well so far, but I'll know more
tomorrow when I hook up to the networks at work.
In the meantime Safari has been improved allowing me to view a
couple more image web pages which used to come up blank. (1.2.1
was also to fix a security issue noted on the web recently that
was not fixed in a previous security update)
The big little item is that there is now an option in the System
Preferences Keyboard & Mouse panel to switch the function keys from
their defaults to actually being used as custom function keys without
requiring that 'Fn' be held down first. This was a long lost feature
from OS 9 whose lack made many programs more difficult to use. Hooray.
-- Harold
"
Problem with Lacie Large Firewire Drives? (these 400/500GB models
are two HDs in one case. However see the 2nd owner report noting no problems in 10.3.3. The reader with the problem later said running the 10.3.3 "COMBO" updater fixed it on two systems.)
(added 3/16/2004)
"
10.3.3 cannot see, detect, load, or identify large fire wire hard disk
volumes such as the LaCie 400 or 500 gig drives. Updating 3 of our G4 Dual
1.25 macs and non of them can find either our 400 gig or 500 gig LaCie
firewire drives. They can all find and load it when reverting back to
10.3.2.
Under 10.3.3 nothing can find them not even Disk Warrior 3.01 or disk
utility. All updated using software control panel
Art B.
"
Art later wrote:
"
I have been able to resolve (so far so good) the Lacie Big Disk issue with both the BigDisk 400 and the Big Disk 500 and the G4 Dual 1.25 tower and the dual G4 500 with the dual 1.2 gig upgrades.
On the Big disk 500 gig unit attached to a dual G4 1.25 Mirrored door unit the issue was resolved by installing the 10.3.3 combo updater. (running the combo update is an old tip in the past that helped with some odd problems) Both Big Disks now work on this computer now the way they should, even after doing a
permissions repair.
I ran the combo updater on this machine too but it did not work on this G4 however. To fix that one I took more hints from other people's problems on your site and did this 1) found and deleted 3 preference files for a Kensington mouse that I used to use on that machine 2) upgraded my current Logitech mouse software to version 1.21
Restarted and the Big Disk showed up instantly.
Go figure.
Art B.
Canpro Inc.
"
Strange (not sure why the Logitech prefs would have affected the drive mounting.)
Another lacie big drive owner reported no problems in 10.3.3.
(added 3/16/2004)
"
I have a 500 GB Big Disk FW800 and have so far experienced zero problems accessing this drive after upgrading to 10.3.3.
It's attached to the builtin FW400 port of a 2001 QuickSilver Dual 1 GHz G4...
Ken
(I asked if the previous Lacie FW800 firmware update for panther was applied)
The update was already applied to the drive when I got it brand new about a month ago; the updater informed me of such.
"
More G5 Owner Comments on Fan Control/Speeds:
(added 3/16/2004)
"
Mike, This is the OS update I've been waiting for! Remember my submission to
you a few months back concern the overheating of the G5 hard drives? (See
Systems page G5 section for article on
G5 HD cooling/sensor relocation.-Mike)
Well, with 10.3.3 we finally have evidence that Apple has recognized
they did in fact have a hard drive heat problem in the G5. If you
remember I moved my drive bay sensor from the roof of the case to the
rear of my G5 to better detect drive bay heat and thus force the drive
bay fan to spin faster and provide adequate cooling. Well, now it
appears that modification is no longer necessary, as Apple has provided
for much better cooling in that bay with 10.3.3.
At the time of my article, I predicted that Apple would probably
produce a software update to reset the threshold temperature for the
drive bay sensor in order to correct the overheating issue and avoid
huge numbers of premature hard drive failures. Well, I can't say how
many hard drive failed in the end, but they certainly took note of the
problem, because 10.3.3. adjusts the threshold temp substantially as I
predicted.
Here's the new data: with my sensor still in the new (hotter)
location, the fan now spins much faster and much louder. Originally,
the sensor in its original location would never reached the threshold
temp, so the fan never kicked in above a slow twirl. In the new
location, the fan works moderately to hold a target 104 degree temp.
Well, now the drive bay sensor has been reprogrammed for a much lower
threshold to compensate for the poor original placement of the sensor.
I've found that the new target threshold is about 87 degrees - 17
degrees lower than before! Clearly, Apple determined that the sensor
in it's old location couldn't detect enough heat to cool the drives
properly, so they lowered the threshold temp enough to force the drive
bay fan to spin faster.
Of course, this means that my fan is now spinning TOO fast since the
sensor is still in the new location. By leaving it in the new
location, I will simply get even better cooling (the drive are actually
cool to the touch), but the drive bay fan is actually very loud and
annoying, so I will likely return the sensor to the original location.
Hooray!
No doubt Apple probably saved a bunch of hard drives from premature
failure in the coming hotter summer months.
Steve
"
BTW - another reader sent a note Apple has released a G5 Fan Control Update for 10.2.7 and later (perhaps included in 10.3.3) at http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/fancontrolupdate.html
Another Report on Keyboard Audio Volume Keys Not Working (with USB Speakers)
(3 macs here with 10.3.3 work fine but I'm not using any USB speakers).
(added 3/16/2004)
"
Mike:
Just read your reports to see if anyone else is experiencing what I
am, and sue enough there was at least one report (below).
But basically after upgrading to 10.3.3 on my TiBook 667 I have lost
the ability to control the volume of USB speakers. With the speakers
plugged in I either have full volume or mute. None of the software or
keyboard volume controls have any affect other than the mute.
Worst part is that if not muted the volume is at the max (they volume sliders
graphics do not match the output as they seem to be functionless).
If I detach the USB speakers the internal speaker and volume controls work
as expected. I'm not using any special drivers or sound software of any
sort. I tried all the usual suspects such as the Audi/Midi Utility,
unplugging, etc but everything is set just fine and should work as it
did before the upgrade.
- Jeff
"
Another Volume keys/USB Speaker problem report:
"
Just updated my Quicksilver 2002 to 10.3.3, and instantly recognized
that the volume key on the keyboard seems to be not working (except for the mute button).
I wonder if others have the same problem.
Regards, Taro
(I replied I've not not seen this problem in 10.3.3 with a PB G4, Dual G5 or MDD G4. (all updated tonight). The G5 has two powered speakers connected to the headphone jack - others used the internal speaker(s) only so far.)
I must add that the issue appears using USB connected stereo speaker (mine is Kenwood's, using Burr-Brown PCM2702 )
The speaker installed in the mac is fine.
"
I suggested he check the Sound prefs output setting to see if the speakers are selected. (If there's any addon/3rd party audio drivers added there's always the chance they are not 10.3.3 compatible I guess.) Also sometimes unplugging/reconnecting a USB device can help. (The Apple Audio/Midi utility is another thing to check - see if the Audio for that USB port is set to 16bit vs. 8Bit.) None of these tips seemed to have helped.
(added 3/16/2004)
"
Hi mike, I just updated to 10.3.3 and now my iDisk access is very slow.
Most of the time the finder just hangs up when I try to access the
idisk and I have to force the computer to reboot (not even the
force-quit dialog box or keystroke combinations work). I dont know if
this is just my configuration or what, but I was able to access the
idisk flawlessly before the 10.3.3 update, and now I cannot.
-Christopher K.
PowerMac G3 B&W (G4 at 600MHz upgraded)
384MB RAM, 2x80GB Hard Drives, Radeon7000 PCI
"
iDisk has always been slow for me (maybe just heavy server loads
when I used it - which was -very- rarely. As a FYI - I'd want more than 384MB
of RAM with OS X though. (I like to have 512MB at least with OS X systems.)
DVD Player Problems: (I don't see the problem here
with an OEM/BTO 9800 Pro/G5 or PB G4/17in Radeon 9600 mobility, but do see blocky artifacts
in DVD movies with a retail 9800 Pro card in a MDD G4 system. Copying the DVD Player v3.2 from
a 10.2.8 volume solved it.
Update: on April 15th, 2004 ATI
released a "Hotfix" for the DVD player issues in 10.3.3 with 9700/9800 Pro cards. See
http://www.ati.com/support/infobase/4539.html))
This retail 9800 Pro owner said the DVD player 4.0 blocks/artifacts
are not seen in DVD player 3.2.
(added 3/17/2004)
"
QS upgraded Giga 1.33MHz/1.12RAM/2WD80GBHD/Retail ATI 9800 Pro/19inCRT
DVD Player 4.0 displays occasional video blocks. I downgraded to DVD
Player 3.2 (from OS X 10.2.8), no blocks yet.
Everything else appears good!
Bob
"
(added 3/17/2004)
"
Dear Mike,
The DVD also seems to be having a problem after the 10.3.3 update: the
picture shows frequent blocky images.
First time ever to see such a glitch with MAC OS X update.
Thx, Taro
"
I just tested a Dual G4 MDD system with retail 9800 pro and
10.3.3 (Using Raiders of the Lost Ark WS DVD) and see the
problem (blocks appear in playback frequently). My 9800 Pro retail card
has a ROM version of 113-A07525-114. I don't see the problem with an OEM/BTO 9800 Pro in a G5 system (or a PB G4 w/9600 mobility graphics chip).
(added 3/16/2004)
"
After installing 10.3.3 on my Pismo G3/500 my DVD Player does not work,
all I get is a green screen/window where the video should be, the audio
plays as normal.
Regards, John C.
UK"
Although some others reported DVD player problems (below), it seems ok
in a quick test with a DVD movie in my Dual G5/9800 Pro OEM card.
(added 3/16/2004)
"
Mike, I am using a PowerMac Dual 1 GHz system with a Radeon 9800 (retail)
card as well as a Revolution PCI card (with the latest drivers). I have
tried 2 different DVDs and blocking artifacts appear in each one when
played through DVD Player. I turned off Norton Autoprotect since it was
using quite a bit of CPU time. I also rebooted. So far nothing has
worked. Maybe the ATI folks have some ideas.
Thanks, Steve
"
Another 10.3.3 user also reported DVD Player issues:
(added 3/16/2004)
"
So 4.0 was released with 10.3.3 and ive just finished writing on an apple
forum about this issue. I'm having this problem and apparently so are a few
others. It is: DVDs are playing choppily or we are being told by the app
that the discs are damaged.
I have a led zepellin dvd (the second disc) with
In My Time of Dying on it. Yesterday, the track played fine, today at the
end of it, in the same place each time, it gets choppy and then reports the
disc must be damaged. This would make sense except for the fact that the
disc is less than a week old and when held under a light is clearly
prestine. Can people check out a dvd or something to see if they encounter
this problem?
-eli
"
(added 3/16/2004)
"
after updating the "DVD Player" does not work any more (no valid DVD drive found [-70012]).
I use a Cube with internal CD-RW and an external Sony DRU-500.
After the update the version number of DVD Player is still 4.0.
Before the update I was able to launch the DVD player without problems (and play DVDs from the external drive or such stored to my hard drive).
The Jaguar patch (for external drive support) does not work for Panther :(
YE
"
With an internal DVD compatible drive the player didn't need any patches in the
past but without one it did. (there was an older tip long ago about mounting a toast disc image
to enable external DVD player drive support, but I can't remember the details now.)
(added 3/16/2004)
"
Mike: I wanted to share some initial observations about 10.3.3 in the hopes it
might help others in making the decision as to whether or not they should
upgrade their Macs to the latest-n-greatest...
Earlier today, I installed 10.3.3. First, I installed it on my single 1.8GHz
G5 which I use at work. Installation went without a hitch. I haven't had
time to play with it (as the download came in just as I was about to leave
for the evening), but will continue to monitor it over the course of the
next few weeks. Incidentally, my previous record uptime (under 10.3.2) was
21 days without a reboot on that machine.
Installation also appeared to be smooth on my wife's Pismo 400 MHz G3
laptop. Having had a chance to play with it shortly after the update was
installed, I could feel that the machine had a bit more responsiveness to it
than with 10.3.2 (which wasn't too shabby either). Faster video redraws and
general window manipulation were definitely noticeable.
Where I did encounter problems with 10.3.3 was with my Dual 2GHz G5 (my
current workhorse). It took three installation attempts before the OS was
installed. (odd, the Dual G5 here updated without a hitch-Mike)
The first two resulted in a strange error that resulted from
improper permissions on a folder under /tmp/, which I thought was rather
odd. (Perhaps I should have run a disk utility program to fix permissions
before running the update?) A dialog box notified me of this error, and the
Software Update program cleanly quit without installing the update. This
happened twice.
The third (and final) attempt rewarded me with the thermometer reaching the
optimization phase, achieving 99% completeness and staying there for over 10
minutes without any further progress. I force-quit the software update,
rebooted the Mac, and came up in 10.3.3. I immediately ran Onyx to
re-prebind the OS and fix permissions, etc., then follwed that up with
rebooting the Mac.
Things are now running great on the Dual 2GHz G5 (1.5 GB of RAM), I'm happy
to report. The OS feels a lot more responsive overall. A few apps have
'unexpectedly quit', such as Kung Log, but it's still to early to tell what
effect the OS update will have on the rest of my applications. Fan noise
appears to have gone up slightly, too, under 10.3.3.
Keep up the terrific work!
Stay 'tooned,
-Krishna
Creator of "The PC Weenies" Cartoon
http://www.pcweenies.com
"
Lexar Cardreader Problem:
Update: One of the readers that reported a problem with his Lexar Jumpdrive CF reader after the 10.3.3 update sent a screen capture of chat comments with Lexar tech support about the problem. Basically Lexar said they discovered a problem with 10.3.3 and their Safe Guard software for the Jumpdrive Secure reader - an updated version solved the problem.
"
Hi Mike, I just noticed that Lexar has posted the updated OS X 10.3.3 driver for their JumpDrive that we have been discussing recently. It is on the page you referenced on your web site
(http://www.lexarmedia.com/drivers/index.html), but it's somewhat hard
to find. It is not listed under the "USB JumpDrive" heading where you might expect to find it. However, if you scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page, you'll see a heading for "Safeguard". The download is titled "Product:SafeGuard 1.0 Mac OS 10.3.3 Updater".
After opening this disk image file and beginning the installation process, you'll find that you have the "Lexar STUC driver 1.0.6", which I described in an earlier email. For anyone interested in the details, the file installed is a Lexar kernel extension (IOSCSILexarCommandsDevice.kext) file which gets installed inside of the System/Extensions folder.
Best Regards, Bob "
Previous problem reports follow:
(added 3/18/2004)
"
I read your report from 3/16/2004 (below) about Lexar readers not working
anymore. I have a Powerbook 800MHz with 10.3.3, and the only problem
with the update is that my 1Gb Lexar 40x card will no longer mount with
the bundled "Jump Shot" card reader.
I don't have another card reader
to test, but it does show up in the system profiler just as the other
contributer said. Once the card is inserted, the green light flashes
and the hard drive clicks but the card no longer mounts. On 10.3.2 and
earlier it would mount almost immediately.
I have no USB hub, and it was working just prior to update. As you might guess, this is a major
inconvenience...
Mike"
I'd write Lexar to see if they are aware of this problem or have any
suggestions. (I wonder if like the Acard IDE card problem - if there is some
other installed extension/driver that is causing this problem.)
(added 3/16/2004)
"
my lexar reader isn't mounting any more... sounds like a personal problem, I know... But seriously, I'm not seeing the 1gb card that the reader came with.
Curiously enough, the reader is seen in the profiler..
USB Bus:
Vendor Name: Apple Computer, Inc.
Product ID: 32773 ($8005)
Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec
Bus Power (mA): 500
Hub:
Product ID: 37144 ($9118)
Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec
Bus Power (mA): 500
Vendor ID: 1452
CF CARD:
Vendor Name: LEXAR MEDIA
Product ID: 129 ($81)
Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec
Serial Number: 1101312338919
Bus Power (mA): 500
USB Receiver:
Vendor Name: Logitech
Speed: Up to 1.5 Mb/sec
Product ID: 50443 ($c50b)
Bus Power (mA): 500
Studio Display:
Speed: Up to 1.5 Mb/sec
Product ID: 37400 ($9218)
Bus Power (mA): 500
Vendor ID: 1452
Go figger that one!
Rich
(I've seen some USB problems in the past fixed by just
disconnecting/reconnecting the device - but that
may not help in this case. Also asked if the reader was connected through a
HUB (if so try connecting it directly to the Mac.))
I tired it on my PBG4 too, no luck. I did unplug/replug it a couple
times. It's formatted fat16 I think from the camera.
"
(added 3/16/2004)
"
Just a word from the frontline ...
7600 with Sonnet G4 800, 16 MB ATI, RATOC USB/FW card and Acard ATA 66.
10.3.3 goes on just fine using the Remarkable Ryan's XPostFacto 3.0a.
First boot did not hit the desktop but clearing the PRAM and rebooting from
XPostFacto worked just fine. Nothing obvious broken.
The Ratoc card recognised and working, Toast and Dragon burn recognise a
Lite-On DVDRW LDW-451S in a LaCie case. Apple System Profiler sees it as a
LaCie CDRW.
Patchburn II breaks and on trying to re-install crashes out with a
NilObjectException error messages, so Disk Utility cannot burn. (this is the first
report I remember on 10.3.3 problems with Patchburn II - some readers used it to reinstall a profile under 10.3.3, but they were using more modern macs. Some users of earlier 10.3.x versions saw that error also - mentioned on the patchburn II reports page here.-Mike) However, it
does read CDs and DVDs (but not play them back ... DVD player doe snot see
a valid - External - drive).
Safari reads as 1.2.1 (v125.1), Mail as 1.3.4 (v614/613),
Disk Utility also balks at verifying disks,
InCrease still works for Stanford Edu's Folding CLI client - big shout for
Team MacOS X,
Network SF still shows ethernet cable as unplugged when it is plugged and
works. Appletalk Off and File Menu still saying Open despite what they say!
I think that my big disappointment is that the *visual* aspect of networking
is still unclear and unnecessarily confusing - especially to non-techies ...
Can they really not separate user's Homes with HD to use different icons,
colours or spacial references. How many times do I hear folk being confused
about all these places to chose ... Why!!! This is the least *Mac* bit of OS
X. Everyone says to me that Chooser was *much* better.
Speed Run down 3 points - down across the board except for RAM which was up
hugely to 689 from 639
10.3.3 10.3.2
Graphics - 16 20
Hard Drive - 163 206
Processor - 200 217
RAM - 689 639
Total 267 271
No real world tests.
Crazy I know ... but not bad for a 8 year old machine.
One day will buy a new Machine ... Maybe.
John A.
"
Acard 6280M PCI Card Reports: (Updated for more reports I asked
each of the readers for their card firmware versions in case that is a factor, although since it was working in 10.3.2 I'd suspect drivers usually - but like many OS X issues, this one isn't 100% common from all users. There's some other factor/difference in the various user configs/systems that is a cause. For those that send reports - also note if your drives are running OS X RAID mode or not.)
TIP for Acard IDE Card/10.3.3 Problems: For the few readers that had problems
with an Acard IDE card after the 10.3.3 update - did you install any AVID software
in the past? Or did you install any 3rd party SCSI device driver?
Here's a tip from an Acard owner that solved his problem with
the Acard drives mounting after the 10.3.3 update:
(added 3/17/2004)
"
I thought this would help... writing back about my ACARD (IDE Card - seen as SCSI) issues and maybe other SCSI card issues after upgrading to 10.3.3.
I have a ACARD 6880M card with stripe (RAID) 0 setup (two 80GB drives), after
upgrading to 10.3.3, it disappeared , same with all my SCSI drives
connected to ADAPTEC 29160 card. the drivers for those card are all
up-to-date. Tried different things (repair permissions.....) didn't
help.
Finally looking into the extensions folder, tried to find any sort of
conflict. Deleted two extensions (Avid_SCSI.kext and Avid_SCSI_RBC.kext) from
installing AVID DV EXPRESS (also installed by some other Avid software versions) and rebooted.
Everything is fine now. All my drives came back.
Note these files are also installed by other Avid software (not just the free version.) If anyone that reported a problem in 10.3.3 with an Acard based card finds this helps (removing a 3rd party SCSI driver), let me know. (Ditto if it helps with any SCSI problems.)
Update - one of the Acard owners that reported problems after the 10.3.3 update (no drives mounted) replied to this tip that he had installed AVID software and removing its SCSI drivers solved the problem:
"I have Avid Xpress Pro 4.1.1 and sure enough removing both Avid_SCSI_RBC.kext and Avid_SCSI.kext returned the (Acard IDE card connected) drives to my desktop.
Thanks very much for the tip, Mike.
Regards, Monte"
Not everyone that had the problem said they had installed Avid software but I asked them to check for other 3rd party SCSI device drivers that may also be a factor in their problems.
(added 3/17/2004)
"
Mike,
I have 3 Beige machines with G4 upgrades, each running 10.3.3, by the grace of XPostFacto (v3). Each machine has an ACARD based adapter, one a retail 6280M SIIG (ATP865-7 chip, firmware 2.15), and two hacked ACARD 6880 PC cards (ATP865-3 chips, one with firmware 2.15, the other with firmware 2.44). Two machines have both channels connected to drives with multiple partitions and versions of MacOS, the third machine has one drive connected with multiple partitions. Each has a combo USB/Firewire and R7000 based video card.
Prior to 10.3.3 and XPostFacto 3.0a14 there existed a SCSI mounting bug that would cause random partition mounting failure, or a no boot condition. Starting in Verbose mode would make startup more reliable, but not foolproof. Adding Apple Developer USB drivers coupled with Verbose booting made startup reliable.
Prior to XPostFacto 3.0a14 I was able to try a beta version of 10.3.3 (7F32) on an external firewire drive. Booting became 100% reliable with the new code, apparently fixing the SCSI mounting bug.
Using 10.3.2 with XPostFacto 3.0a14 also fixed the SCSI mounting bug (no more Verbose booting).
Now with 10.3.3, all the household Frankenmacs boot reliably.
The only remaining anomaly with the ACARDs is that each non-boot partition shows up as ejectable in the Finder Toolbar (Sidebar). You can toggle the hard drives in and out of view by selecting / deselecting "Hard Disks" in the Finder Preferences Sidebar dialog, which is as expected. However, the hard drives will appear on the desktop independent of the Finder Preferences General dialog "Hard Disk" selection, but will toggle in and out of view when changing the "CDs, DVDs, and iPods" selection. This feature is Panther specific. I just leave the drives in view on the desktop all the time. Hopefully our "missing" drive problems can be explained by something as simple as this.
Hope this wasn't too boring. Thanks for all your help.
Bob S.
"
(added 3/17/2004)
"
I own a B&W G3 with powerlogix G4 600 (overclocked) and SIIg Ultra ATA 100 (Acard 6280M).
I have installed 10.3.3 and now the computer doesn't boot anymore (it asks me to reboot just after the apple logo appears). Obviously my boot disk is attacched to the PCI ATA card.
I have then tried to put this HD in the internal ATA, but it still doesn't work. Data is not lost, because booting from an old HD (with 10.3 installed) everything is OK and I see all the HDs.
Efrem"
(added 3/17/2004)
"
I have a 1.25Ghz MDD Mac with 1.25 Gig and an ACARD 6280M IDE card with
two drives on it, no RAID.
I had no problems at all with the 10.3.3 install.
I DID repair permissions prior to the install as a precaution.
Thank you Apple
Michael W."
(added 3/17/2004)
"
Regarding the ATA IDE Acard 6280M , i wantto share my exp/problems with
10.3.3. I installed 10.3.3 yesterday morning.
I have an Acard 6280M with 4 disk hooked. 2x120GB as master and two 40GB as slave.
My main boot sytem disk is on the first 120GB Master. I have a 9.2.2 sys
on the slave of the other channel.
I experienced the failure twice, first yesterday, and today morning.
My config:
G3 Beige rev1, Sonnet G4-1Ghz, 768Mo, Acard 6280M
HD120/HD40/HD120/HD40, PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-106D, CD-RW YAMAHA CRW-F1E,
Panther 10.3.3 et Classic 9.2.2, OrangeMicro USB (DeskJet 940C, ScanJet
5300C, Palm)+ FireWire iSight et HD40, RadŽon 7000 Mac Edition, ADSL
partage Eci B-Focus Ethernet, Switch Trendnet TW100-S4W1CA, Ibook Bleu
+ PS2, Boitier et Alim MoyenTour ATX.
While surfing, I had a finder freeze, no way to go to the force quit
option. I had to restart (Apple-Control-Start) . OpenFirmware boot
option from XpostFacto is inoperant and the system end up booting under
OS9.2.2
Both channel one disk are offline for the OS9 finder and other disk
utilities.
Same thing today.
In order to regain authority on my Acard, I had to shut down and
perform a cold start.
I performed a check and the disk affected seems to be OK (structure and
permissions).
The (6280M card) firmware is the latest 2.14
The disk where formated via Apple disk util when hooked to the Acard.
I reinstalled the Acard 1.5.2 driver update after the second crash. All
seems OK for the moment but I'm waiting.
Marc
"
Although one reader (previously) said reinstalling the Acard 1.5.2 driver
in 10.3.3 didn't help - if anyone else with an Acard problem in 10.3.3 tries
that and it does help - let me know.
(added 3/17/2004)
"
Mike; No problems with my SIIG ATA PCI card.
I have a SIIG Ultra ATA 133/100 Model CN2490 (not the RAID card)
Firmware 2.14. (this is a rebranded Acard 6280M card)
It has only one drive attached, a Seagate 200GB that is
currently my OS 10.3.3 boot. Update was fine with no problems and I
can still boot with the drive. I also have a 40gb (Maxtor) and 80gb
(Maxtor) on the internal IDE bus and a Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-106D
(completely recognized by system and apps)
Name: ACARD,6280M
Type: scsi
Bus: PCI
Slot: SLOT-4
Vendor ID: 0x1191
Device ID: 0x0009
Subsystem Vendor ID: 0x1191
Subsystem ID: 0x0009
Revision ID: 0x0006
Quicksilver 2001 800MHz DP, 1.12 GB SDRAM, GeForce4 MX
Excellent site, I visit everyday.
Kent"
(added 3/16/2004)
"
the Acard issue is not as simple as it sounds.
I fear I lost data on my SIIG (acard chipset) ATA 133 card.
I had two drives on one bus, and two more drives on the other bus of
the card (I THINK they were on the card at that point, but they may
have been on the system bus -- I've been up all night working on it and
I can't remember) but I've since moved my working bus of two drives to
the IDE card, and the non-working 2 drives to the system bus. I've
tried just about every possible combination. I've even plugged the now
non-working drives into an oxford chipset and it's still not
recognized. OS 9 does not recognize them.
When I have both problem drives plugged in to the same bus, the OS asks
me what to do with this no filesystems disk. Once it told me the
capacity was >600GB, the other it recognized one of the drives, and
told me it fixed it. it lied.
I really need that data from at least one of the drives!!
---Alex
(He later wrote in reply to my original comments below this post.)
In answer to the question on your page of reports, I formatted all 4
disks with the OS X drive utility.
Each disk has now been at one time or another the master or slave of
it's bus, the busses have been swapped with both channels on the card,
the onboard ATA and a firewire drive.
Now I'm just praying for a utility that will be able to repair the
directory that diskwarrior will not.
"
BTW - If those 2 drives were originally formatted on the onboard IDE bus with OS 9's
drive setup - they will not mount if moved to the acard IDE card. (if formatted
in OS X's disk utility they usually will.) I asked Alex if he had ever updated the
firmware of the card (since 2 reports of all ok and 2 not - I just wonder if the
firmware in the card could be a factor - but maybe not.)
The first problem report on this card follows (below are 2 OK reports however)
(added 3/16/2004)
"
Mike, I'm using an ACard 6280M PCI UltraATA card on a Blue & White PowerMac G3 (PowerLogix 900MHz G3). The startup drive is attached to the PCI card and a second hard drive is attached to the internal ATA bus. Both drives are recognized without problem - no different than with OS X 10.3.2.
I know one of your readers (Jason) reported (earlier report below) that his ACard-connected drives are not mounting, but I do not see the issue here.
Cadaver
"
NOTE: Jason later wrote that the tip on removing Avid SCSI extensions (from a previous Avid software install) solved the problem. (see his updated report below)
Another 6280M owner noted no problems running 10.3.3 server:
(added 3/16/2004)
"
I have an Acard 6280M in a Blue & White with a Sonnet G4/500 upgrade in it.
I have upgraded to 10.3.3 Server with no problems. It is the only hard drive
installed and it works fine after the update.
Douglas T.
Here is a copy from the ASP report:
ACARD,6280M:
Name: ACARD,6280M
Type: scsi
Bus: PCI
Slot: J11
Vendor ID: 0x1191
Device ID: 0x0009
Subsystem Vendor ID: 0x1191
Subsystem ID: 0x0009
Revision ID: 0x0006
(I asked Douglas if he had ever updated the firmware in the card.)
I received the Acard about 6 months ago, installed it and have not touched
it since. I popped open the case and the Bio's information is on the card
It is Version 2.14. Anything else please let me know!
"
The first reader report on the 6280M card (and only one so far) that noted a problem:
(added 3/16/2004)
"
10.3.2 has been working fine on my Dual 1 GHz QS G4 with 768 MB RAM. I also
have 3 internal HD's hooked up to an ACARD brand 6280 PCI ATA/133 card.
After installing 10.3.3, the drives no longer show up on my desktop, and are
not listed in Disk Utility either. System Profiler recognizes the PCI card,
and the drives are listed as being on the SCSI bus (which is normal, the
ACARD mimics SCSI even though the drives are ATA), but there doesn't seem to
be any way to mount the drives. Even after repairing permissions and
reinstalling the ACARD 1.5.2 drivers, still nothing...
I'm just about 100% sure the data is all still good, it just seems that 10.3.3 breaks the ACARD
drivers. If it means anything, the partitions that were attached to the
ACARD were always shown as removable volumes (with an eject icon next to
them) in the Panther sidebar on 10.3.0-10.3.2. Anyone else having problems?
Jason
(Update: Jason replied the tip posted in the 3/17/2004 news page (removing
the 2 Avid SCSI extensions) solved his problem)
(added 3/18/2004)
"Mike, That did it! I never did install Avid Free DV because of other documented
problems, but I did have Avid Express DV 3.5 installed on my system. Never
used it though, in favor of FCP, and now it goes in the trash.
For other
readers with similar problems, here's the deal: (a repeat of the
same info/tip post)
there are 2 files installed
in /Macintosh HD (or other renamed boot disk)/System/Library/Extensions/
called Avid_SCSI_RBC.kext & Avid_SCSI.kext. Pulling these two files out of
the Extensions folder solves the issue.
Unless running as root, the user will need to authenticate to move these files. I guess the ball is now in Avid's court to fix the problem, not Acard's. I'll forward them the same
info. Thanks for all your help!
Jason
"
(reports added 3/15/2004 follow)
"
Just wanna let you know that OS X 10.3.3 still doesn't support the NEC
ND-2500A 8x dual-format DVD writer. (I saw the same thing here - so I reinstalled the Lacie profile again.)
DVD Player under OS X 10.3.3 can now play DVD movies burnt unto DVD+R media
though. Very nice since all of my DVD movie backups are on DVD+Rs. :-)
~Henjie
"
After the court ruling, I picked up a copy of the original DVDXcopy for $19.95 at a local Best Buy and a DVD+R backup of one of my DVDs from it now plays in 10.3.3, where it would not in 10.3.2. (never made it to the into "backup" screen under 10.3.2).
Safari 1.2.1 Tabs Problem: (not sure this is common though)
"
I want to thank you for taking reports in regards to the 10.3.3
update. I have contacted you in the past after system updates and your help has always been greatly appreciated.
I applied the update a couple of hours ago and I have not been able to test all features as of yet. I am experiencing a major problem with Safari after this update. Safari seemed to be working properly at first, but the application is now having a major malfunction.
I generally browse with several windows opened with tabs created in a folder of bookmarks. The web pages open as normal and seemed to be fine. I had four or five windows open with their respective tabs all opened. This is normal for the way I use Safari.
I was working in a window, and was refreshing one of the tabs in the
middle of the list. Suddenly this window lost all of it's open tabs,
except for the first tab opened in this window. Safari did not act as
if it was closing each tab, one-by-one, suddenly the window just had
one open page. At first I thought I had just opened a new window by
mistake. I closed this window, and I soon found out that this was the
original window, but had lost all of the open tabs.
By now I could see the other open windows, (which had all had many open tabs also). All of these windows had also lost all of their previously open tabs except for the first tab opened in each window.
I do not know what is causing this, and would really appreciate any
information or ideas you have for fixing this problem.
I look forward to hearing from you. I hope this information is helpful
to you.
Thank you very much!
Michael N.
"
I don't use Safari that way but so far have seen no problems with 10.3.3/Safari 1.2.1. If any other reader has seen problems like this or has a suggestion, let me know.
G5 AppleOnBoardAudio.kext problem fixed (never saw this problem where with my Dual G5 though)
(added 3/17/2004)
"
10.3.3 Actually works on my G5 which was one that
suffered from 10.3.2 AppleOnBoardAudio.kext problem.
The system fans on the G5 are spinning a little faster
in idle mode, however dont seem to spin up as much
under heavy load. Before it sounded like a jet under
100% CPU (Dual 2ghz).
G4 Cube 10.3.3 fixed a problem where my GeForce3 would
blink a LOT during boot when QE was enabled (Blue
screen before boot window, where it usually flashes
once)
Stacy P.
"
(added 3/15/2004)
"
Hi, Mike. At least one thing was fixed in this Panther update. On my
2x2 G5 there's no longer the need to replace the
AppleOnboardAudio.kext file with the pre-10.3.2 version. No more
freezes. This fix is not documented by Apple, I don't think. I don't
see it mentioned anywhere. (I never had this problem personally on a Dual G5 here, but not using any addon audio devices other than some powered speakers using the headphone jack.)
One thing that they did mention is the improved fan performance in
the G5. I was beginning to think that I would have to take mine in
because the fan(s) seem to be getting louder and developing strange
noises. Now, after the update, those sounds are gone... just the
normal purr audible when you come up really close.
Tony A.
TLC Graphics
"
"
Just a sad FYI to pass on to you...
After installing 10.3.3 and removing the custom Patchburn driver, my Plextor PX708A drive is still "Not Supported." (sigh) It's really too bad Apple doesn't add support for the current crop of high speed burners... it's not like there are a ton of them. :-)
PLEXTOR DVDR PX-708A:
Manufacturer: PLEXTOR
Model: PLEXTOR DVDR PX-708A
Revision: 1.06
Drive Type: CD-RW/DVD-RW
Disc Burning: Not Supported
....
Scott
"
I was hoping for native burn support for the NEC ND-2500A also but tests here (after removing the Lacie profile) show 10.3.3 still has no native burn support.
First G5 Owner Comments on Fans (see above for other G5 owner reports noting improved
fan support/HD cooling)
"
Machine: Dual 2.0 GHz G5, 2.5 Gig RAM ATI Radeon 9600 Pro
Notes:
I have moved the heat sensor by the hard drives as described on your site (article from last fall on the Systems page, G5 section), in order to allow the sensor to properly read the temperature. Other than that, the machine is unmodified. The machine has successfully been running cooler since I moved the sensor.
Just installed 10.3.3, after opening Photoshop and doing a small amount of image processing, the fans have kicked on and are spinning LOUDLY. The machine now sounds like my old Dual 867 G4.
I've shut down all programs, the fans have not returned to their normal, quiet running state. I've also shut the computer down and used ThermographX to monitor the temperatures of the various sensors. The fans seem to slowly ramp up to full throttle as the U3 Heatsink reaches 138 degrees - after that temperature they stay on permanently. It hasn't dropped below that temperature yet, so I'm not sure if the fans will quiet down when it does. I doubt it will run below that temperature anyway.
Joe R
"
I've not noticed any worse fan behavior with the Dual G5 and 10.3.3 here (so far). I asked Joe if he had disabled NAP mode using CHUD tools (which makes the fans into high gear sooner than if NAP mode is enabled in my experience, but frequently used in the past to silence the G5's PS "squealing/chirping" noises.) He later wrote he wasn't disabling NAP mode (had never read the page on CHUD Tools/Nap mode fix for G5 PS Squealing/Chirping here.)
"
Everything seems fixed with 10.3.3. I had one of the evil 10.3.2/Dual
2.0ghz G5's that had a spinning beach ball of death when i opened system preferences.
Crossing my fingers...
Greg
"
USB Printing to Xerox 3550B Fixed:
"
The update fixed a problem I had with USB printing and a Xerox 3550B printer. It would hang when you send multiple jobs to the printer. It now works correctly. I have sent multiple jobs and it has printed everything perfectly.
Also, it seems to print much faster when
printing with Postscript 3.
Russ
"
"
hi there, running 10.3.3 on a G4 533 DP, Radeon 32mb, Firmtek S-ATA controller, Digidesign AudioMedia3 pci card, 768mb RAM. Everything still works.
My main app ProTools LE 6.2.3, still works. other apps tested:
Virtual PC 6.1 (win98), RealBasic, Toast 5.2... no problems.
david
"
"
seems to run very smoothly on an upgraded (500 MHz G4 w/Radeon 7000) Beige G3 (courtesy of XPostFacto)
Dick
"
On two 10.3.3 updated systems I'm initially seeing what appears to be a repeat of the slow startup issue seen with 10.3.2 (where it almost stalls at the 'starting login window' status message - FAQ here has past tip to fix that which I have not tried yet with 10.3.2.) I'll reboot a few more times to see if it's a cache issue.
BTW: The ATI extensions and Nvidia HALs all showed v1.3.8 and 3/7/04 dates per ASP
If any other readers have seen fixes (or problems) with 10.3.3, let me know the details. Thanks.
