Thursday, January 06, 2011
Inkscape and Gimp quit working after updates
Although Mac's X11 is based on quartz x11 it does not use the latest version so after updating Mac, you must also update Quartz X11. The good news is that it looks like the latest versions of Inkscape and GIMP both no longer require Quartz X11.
Saturday, May 01, 2010
WinDVD issue
WinDVD 5.0 was giving us issues at work so I am making a note here as to how to fix it.
Problem: computer was outputting to the projector but the video was not showing up.
Solution: WinDVD only sends video to the Primary Display. On a laptop this is the LCD by default. Use the Fn+F8, on our IBM machines, and select the 3rd option the sends all images to the projector, turning off the LCD and forcing the Video to the Projector.
Found on Yahoo, Answers
Problem: computer was outputting to the projector but the video was not showing up.
Solution: WinDVD only sends video to the Primary Display. On a laptop this is the LCD by default. Use the Fn+F8, on our IBM machines, and select the 3rd option the sends all images to the projector, turning off the LCD and forcing the Video to the Projector.
Found on Yahoo, Answers
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
A new challenge
A friend had both hers and her husband's computers unable to boot at the same time. I took on the project and this is my notes should this crop up again in future with someone else.
The first was a Compac Presario 2500 that went to the screen to choose safe mode, normal, etc. All options would take you right back there. First I checked that the machine did indeed boot from a Ubuntu live disc and had success there. The next step was to back up all the files and get hold of the restore discs which thankfully were still available. Once the restore discs were loaded, I ran updates, added AVG Free antivirus and replaced all the data files. Job took only 2 hours from start to finish.
The second was an old Apple Pismo laptop (the black clamshell case from the early 2000's) from the PowerPC line. I was told it wasn't working but after leaving it plugged in for 30 minutes, it booted right up. In the mean time the friend had purchased a brand new MacBook, the task was to copy the files to an external drive for transfer to the new computer. The Pismo's issue was a dead PRAM battery. Should one need to be replaced, there is a link to that repair at Apple.
The friend was more than satisfied and they are back online with their computers.
I had been concerned that this would not go well but it worked out very nicely. She has a trustworthy new Mac, and can use the Pismo for her 2.5 year old to play games on. Her husband has his computer back in business.
The first was a Compac Presario 2500 that went to the screen to choose safe mode, normal, etc. All options would take you right back there. First I checked that the machine did indeed boot from a Ubuntu live disc and had success there. The next step was to back up all the files and get hold of the restore discs which thankfully were still available. Once the restore discs were loaded, I ran updates, added AVG Free antivirus and replaced all the data files. Job took only 2 hours from start to finish.
The second was an old Apple Pismo laptop (the black clamshell case from the early 2000's) from the PowerPC line. I was told it wasn't working but after leaving it plugged in for 30 minutes, it booted right up. In the mean time the friend had purchased a brand new MacBook, the task was to copy the files to an external drive for transfer to the new computer. The Pismo's issue was a dead PRAM battery. Should one need to be replaced, there is a link to that repair at Apple.
The friend was more than satisfied and they are back online with their computers.
I had been concerned that this would not go well but it worked out very nicely. She has a trustworthy new Mac, and can use the Pismo for her 2.5 year old to play games on. Her husband has his computer back in business.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
iBook upgrade
I still had 3 unused licenses of Leopard in my Family Pack (we had used 2, one for Kjersti and the other for me) and since the iBook had a bit better than the minimum requirements, I decided to try it. The main reason for this is that Firefox and some other software I wanted needed better than the Panther the iBook came with. So far so good, Firefox is up to date. I also upgraded to QuartzX11 and put on Inkscape and GIMP. I could not install iLife from the Panther disc with Leopard as the OS, it just couldn't even see the software. However, I was able to do it by taking the machine back to Panther intalling the bundled software and then upgrading to Leopard.
Jan had fun playing with Garageband and seems to prefer the ibook to the Compac which is running Ubuntu.
Jan had fun playing with Garageband and seems to prefer the ibook to the Compac which is running Ubuntu.
Friday, December 25, 2009
MacBook upgrade
A year ago I increased the memory in my old MacBook to 2 GB and I've been very happy but I am starting to run out of room so it's time to upgrade the drive. I'm going to a 320GB and I want to try using Virtual Box instead of partitioning to run Windows. I'm a bit concerned about activation but I do know the file I need so hopefully all will go well.
Compaq upgrade
Well, my husband finally got tired of Windows and was willing to try out Ubuntu, he's not 100% happy but he has adjusted pretty well. I considered a dual boot but he only has a 30 GB drive and I wasn't sure if I could fit on both and have room to run anything.
With nearly every computer job I've done with only online support, there is some bit of info that is missing. This one was no different. I had downloaded the latest build and all seemed to be going great until he tried watching YouTube. Didn't work. I searched online and found a ton of suggestions, again none worked. So I got the brilliant idea of checking for updates, after about 113 updates (to the latest build mind you) later YouTube plays perfectly. Now why couldn't anyone just say that online? Why all the rigamarol? It's a simple step and not even hard to do, just time consuming.
The machine still has issues like a bad battery but runs fine on the power cord. It also has the issues with the touch pad (okay the left click button) but the laptop is 7 years old and is on the 3rd owner.
Of course I am going to let him use the iBook too so he will have more computers than anyone else in the family, even if he is the least tech savvy.
With nearly every computer job I've done with only online support, there is some bit of info that is missing. This one was no different. I had downloaded the latest build and all seemed to be going great until he tried watching YouTube. Didn't work. I searched online and found a ton of suggestions, again none worked. So I got the brilliant idea of checking for updates, after about 113 updates (to the latest build mind you) later YouTube plays perfectly. Now why couldn't anyone just say that online? Why all the rigamarol? It's a simple step and not even hard to do, just time consuming.
The machine still has issues like a bad battery but runs fine on the power cord. It also has the issues with the touch pad (okay the left click button) but the laptop is 7 years old and is on the 3rd owner.
Of course I am going to let him use the iBook too so he will have more computers than anyone else in the family, even if he is the least tech savvy.
Another iBook repair
2 years ago I wrote about repairing a 2004 iBook with a bad hard drive. My lovely daughter wasn't quite as careful as she could be and in about a year she had the same problem. After a lot of questions it turned out the computer had been knocked off the bed to the floor while playing a movie, yeah just lovely.
At first I didn't want to do that job again and talked her into getting an Asus eeePC with a solid state drive that is the ultimate in impact resistance. Only problem is there is no optical drive but she is happy with it anyway and loves it's light weight and small size when going to school. The keyboard is fine for her tiny hands so the only complaint I was aware of wouldn't be a problem for her. She loves Ubuntu and has been happy for the last year. Though her husband is in need now too.
But that old iBook kept nagging at me and I finally broke down and invested in yet another drive. I am glad that I made notes before, as no place online tells you to reboot after initializing a new drive. Thankfully I had that tiny bit of info in my notes from the 2007 repair. Now I am awaiting a fresh install of Mac OS 10.3. I doubt it will run Leopard very well and Snow Leopard is out of the question.
At first I didn't want to do that job again and talked her into getting an Asus eeePC with a solid state drive that is the ultimate in impact resistance. Only problem is there is no optical drive but she is happy with it anyway and loves it's light weight and small size when going to school. The keyboard is fine for her tiny hands so the only complaint I was aware of wouldn't be a problem for her. She loves Ubuntu and has been happy for the last year. Though her husband is in need now too.
But that old iBook kept nagging at me and I finally broke down and invested in yet another drive. I am glad that I made notes before, as no place online tells you to reboot after initializing a new drive. Thankfully I had that tiny bit of info in my notes from the 2007 repair. Now I am awaiting a fresh install of Mac OS 10.3. I doubt it will run Leopard very well and Snow Leopard is out of the question.
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