Card reader won't read - and in general a year later and NOT impressed with MAC

[expatgirl]

Hi I do appreciate the responses and I am going to go through them now. I am using a macbook aluminum body. I think leopard.


I would prefer to have a smooth working computer that does not freeze then complain in forums. Previous suggestions have taught me a lot.

Please don't get mad at me because I get frustrated and don't love mac as much as you.

I think I will start with the apple hardware test but not sure what disk they mean? I hope the mac os x install?

I threw out the old card reader. My error message was something about to much resources (?) I bought a new one APACER and it seems work.
Strange as the other one in the same usb port worked many times before.
I have attached a photo of my specs.

 

[toMACsh]

I think I will start with the apple hardware test but not sure what disk they mean? I hope the mac os x install?

Yep. I found this in Mac Help (accessed from Help Menu from the Finder):

Some Intel-based Macs ship with Apple Hardware Test and Mac OS X 10.4.x preinstalled on the hard drive. If an Erase and Install installation of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard is performed using a retail Leopard installation disc, Apple Hardware Test will be erased and not reinstalled on these Macs.

If you're in this situation and need to use Apple Hardware Test, simply start from the DVD that came with your computer (not the Leopard installation disc) while holding the "D" key. Apple Hardware Test will run from the DVD.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes so we can give you some more help, if you need it.

 

[bobtomay]

It might also be a good idea to post the size and how much free space you have left on your hard drive.

 

[MYmacROX]

I have a Canon EOS Digital Rebel SLR and when I plug it into the USB on my MBP, iPhoto opens. Sometimes it can take up to a full minute for the Canon to mount because of the large file sizes (RAW).
It's a stab in the dark, but it "might" account for why you say your camera isn't recognized. Maybe you just need to give it a little more time?? ...Or it could be a hardware issue.

 

[toMACsh]

...we don't know what OS is being run, what model Mac we're dealing with, or the end user behaviors that could be causing these issues.

It might also be a good idea to post the size and how much free space you have left on your hard drive.

Helping us helps you too.

 

[expatgirl]

Hi Thank you for all the replies and I have started at the top with the suggestions.

1. Card reader was bunk. new one works great can find my photos now.
2. Some of the recommended scans found no hardware problems
Apple Hardware Test - clear
System/Disk Utilities - SMART Utility clear
Onyx pending - will do soon
3. I have 101 gig available.
4. I have Mac the Missing Manuel and am going through it slowly...
5. My mac gets to 41 c, seems very hot to me.


but..
Disk Utility found all kinds oF errors

So clearly I am to blame as I have made a critical mistake.


Oneironaut-- I know you have been most helpful and and patient and I have downloaded so many programs. I have a program for resizing on my pc at work and I guess i just want the same thing for mac. however thanks for the tip about dragging from finder.

cwa107 - thank you for your practical answers and patience too.

Ok here is the truth: (my message from disk utility)



"Repairing permissions for “Macintosh HD”
Reading permissions database.
Reading the permissions database can take several minutes.

Stopped by user

Permissions repair complete

Verifying volume “Macintosh HD”

Performing live verification.
Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Invalid extent entry
Missing thread record (id = 1073766260)
Incorrect number of thread records
Checking multi-linked files.
Checking Catalog hierarchy.
Invalid directory item count
(It should be 0 instead of 1)
Invalid volume file count
(It should be 735548 instead of 735549)
Checking Extended Attributes file.
Checking volume bitmap.
Checking volume information.
The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.

Error: Filesystem verify or repair failed. "


Any advise? I Have no idea what this means.
Do I need to start from scratch?

Again thank you so much. I really want to love my Mac and I really really really don't want to support Microsoft and stick windows on here. Also I learn a lot with the replies.

Much appreciated

Will keep reading and following through with the other suggestions.

Expat Girl,
Thailand

 

[the8thark]

Your your Mac temperatures don't look all that bad. I regulary get 70 C when I play World of Warcraft (when I have time to play it haha). And my Mac is running fine. And yes Apple have a heat sensor in all Macs. So if it gets too hot it'll shut itself down to protect itself. Your 41C is nothing to worry about.

If you have a recent hard drive backup (time machine or CCC) then a full hard drive rease and restart is not such a bad opnion. It works. But for me it is a last resort. It'd try out Onyx first as you have been Then after that I'd boot off your OS X disk and give your hard drive a repair with disk utility. And fingers crossed it'll come back all repaired ok.

Also take a look here.
Mac OS X Keyboard Commands
There has a lot of shortcuts. And the ones that are of most interest concering this issue are the startup and log in commands. They are just there so if someone gives you advice to wipe your PRAM or to safe boot or something else, you will know how to.

Also reading this would be of much help to you.
Intel-based Macs: Using Apple Hardware Test
Basically that is the Apple Hardware test. A very good way to test if there is any major malfunctions with your hardware. Just boot up of your OS X disc and hold down the D key. And the hardware test should come up.
And if you are running Leopard from the discs that came with your Macintosh, read the Apple link to work out which disc has the hardware test on it.

And in your picture you linked to, your istat pro says you only have 68MB of RAM free. That is not much at all. And running low on free RAM like that can cause a few issues. it might be time to slowly save up for some more RAM.

 

[DarkestRitual]

You actually need to use the OS X system disc that came with your Mac, boot from it (insert it and restart holding C... this will take a while, keep holding it). Go to the "Utilities" menu that will come up after you select your language, and choose "Disk Utility."

Select your Mac's hard drive, and repair the volume. This will probably improve the performance of your Mac.

Also, you said your temps are hitting 41C? That is about the low end of what I would expect from my macbook 2GHz. You shouldn't be surprised to see up to 70-75º temperatures depending on what you're doing.

 

[expatgirl]

Thank you. I should have 2gb of ram why does it say 68mb?

I am a bit confused on how to fix all this. Isn't this part of some of the MAC ads about not having to do maintenance ? URG. Perhaps I did something and deleted something.

 

[the8thark]

2 GB is the total amount of RAM you have. And some of it is being used by applications, and only 68MB of that 2GB is free (or unused) at the time you took the screenshot. You're 2 GB is all there still. You do not have to worry about that.

All the 68MB means is maybe it's time to start to save up for a little more RAM .

 

[Oneironaut]

Expatgirl, again, a Mac won't magically do everything for you. You shouldn't need to do much maintenance but all computers require some. No matter how efficient a car might be, it will not maintain itself and you'll need to learn to discern what kind of problem its having in order to isolate and fix it.

If you have accidentally moved system files or anything like that, and you let it go for awhile and it gets worse, you'll have to take more drastic measures. What we're suggesting to you is not the first line of defense. There is obviously something going on that's beyond the norm.

It's easy:

1) insert your install disk
2) restart your computer
3) hold down the C key
4) choose your language
5) go to the Disk Utility menu at the top
6) select your Macintosh HD on the left
7) click Repair Disk on the right

These are pretty clear, simple instructions, maybe they just sound more complicated to you than they really are. Just go slowly through the steps and you'll be alright.

 

[expatgirl]

HI I did repair disk and the message was that "file system verify or repair
failed. Missing directory record

ID-=167376660


_____

Now my mac wont even boot up. it gets stuck on the gray screen with the logo & the loading circle. I have tried to do Conrol C &bCtrl D then reboot but nothing. completely useless.

I bought it from a general electronic store.so useless to tke it bck there. I am now on my cr*p Compaq whose A & W & Sdont work . using on screen Key board.


Hve a mac center here but a hassle to get to. my hrd drive was m_de in Thailand.

so could all this be cau_ed by some files I deleted or i_ it the HD?


MOre re_on to love my mac.

no i didnt bck up ome tuff.

 

[Mac SK]

The systems all messed up and your going to have to reinstall it. End of story.

 

[expatgirl]

is there any hope to retrieve the data?

Can you tell me if this is something I caused by deleting files?
Shutting down when it freezes?

Or perhaps a fault hard drive?

 

[toMACsh]

If by "shutting down when it freezes" you mean turning it off with the power button, that can cause damage. You sometimes have to do that, but if it happens more than once, you need to get the problem fixed before you damage it beyond repair.

Have we ever established how old this computer is? Is it possibly still covered?

 

[expatgirl]

The computer is 13.5 months old. So no warranty and no apple care.
I took it to the shop that sells and fixes macs and he said the data was all gone. and could charge me like $40 to see if the hard drive was bad or not and reinstall.

I opted to reinstall myself and then do the disk utility checks as I have become quite familiar with them.

I did that and the result came out clean! I will download Onyx and do it again before I put data on it.

The only time I deleted files was files that were in my personal folder.. pictures,music, etc.. like wierd files but never system files in another folder.


however reflecting back on the year of the mac that has frustrated me perhaps I know what happened...


When I got the mac I needed to install software to use my CDMA Dongle for internet connection. The software that came with it did not work on my mac and did include some terminal entries.


Some here offered to help me and I let him try to get the software to work and he was very much into my terminal! Who know what he did....

In the end I found software that worked on the Manufactures website (Franklin wireless..)

My Mac was often freezing and I was often forced to hold the power button down to restart.

So now I have a clean (?) start I will see if it functions better and of course back up.


However something strange has happened. All of my data is gone (or in some nook and cranny on my hard drive) but when I re-installed there was one left over thing in my trash? It was just the short cut to a cd I had burned and then deleted the file. Could it be that my other data is retrievable?

I did not do a totally clean install in which I have the computer delete everything.

Thanks for all the help as I have learned a lot and hope that this will be a fresh start to a better relationship with Mac.

 

[Oneironaut]

I take it you haven't been backing up with Time Machine. I suggest setting up an external drive to use with it right away, first thing. Then if this happens again you won't lose any files.

After you download Onyx, you can have it automatically run diagnostics so you don't have to bother with them yourself, but it's always good to open it up once a month or two and so some cleanup.

From now on, if you aren't sure if software is compatible with your Mac, don't install it. It should always say on the box or website it came from.

 

[expatgirl]

Thanks Oneironaut.

The software was for Mac but not compatible with my dongle or my mac. This being Thailand, things are a bit less reliable then in the states (for example like the local telecom's instructions for installation)
Thanks for the tip about Onyx.

I have a hard drive but it is formatted for PC so I was not able to use it.
Yes on Monday I will buy a hard drive and learn Time Machine.


is there any hope to get any data off my hard drive?

 

[Doug b]

Wow. That's quite the plight you've been through thus far. You should have seen the rants I started when I bought my first Mac, simply because I thought that it would not do things exactly as I had always had things done in Linux or Windows.

Your frustrations are being exasperated by the fact that it's tough to get proper Apple gear or care, near where you live, which has definitely got to be tough.

While it's possible that there could be a hardware problem (bunk HD), most of the other issues you've described are best solved by learning to use OS X and forgetting what you think you know about using a computer. It's a whole different ballgame now, and this will become apparent to you perhaps in another year's time. I don't mean to sound condescending, but you don't sound like a total tech nerd. Why I say this is because I am. And as in a hurry as I was to get things rolling with OS X, it wasn't an overnight revelation. It took time.

I got my first MacBook Pro back in the end of of 08' and my second MacBook Pro was bought at the end of 09'. I still learn new things about how to do things more efficiently every day, and I owe a lot of that to some people here, as well as one of my good friends, whom has been with Apple since day one, and never thought I'd ever buy an Mac.

I think that you need to change some of your computing habits, but this is a personal suggestion I suppose. If I were you, I'd start from scratch, first by trying to find all of that missing data if it's that important to you.

Then, I'd do a totally fresh install of OS X. If you don't have Snow Leopard, now is a great time to get and install it. It's stable as a rock. I'd go ahead and do the kind of install which zero's out all the current data. It will take a bit longer, but you'll have a nice fresh HD. If your HD is bunk, you can get a larger sized one for not a lot of money, online.

My next suggestion is to do what I do, and keep your important data such as music, photos and video all on a large external HD. Perhaps two externals, if the data is that important. External drives are so cheap today, and will save you from any future head aches.

Learn the small details about how OS X works. Finder can be a great tool if used properly. If you're somewhat serious *hobby or otherwise* about photography, I'd stay away from iPhoto, and look more towards something like Lightroom. I would have suggested Aperture, but after trying it again for the third time, after its latest update, it's still horribly buggy, and eats up resources to the point of where you can't work with it. Doesn't matter though, as I'd prefer LR over it anyway.

I keep everything on an external drive, and have those drives plugged into my Airport Extreme wifi router via a 4 port USB dongle. Works wonderfully. Never a glitch. This way, I keep my MacBook Pro's hard drives totally free to be as fast as they can be, with the added benefit of having the data I work with backed up on redundant HD's. I perform external HD sync's every few weeks or so. There's plenty of free software for that. And no, you don't really need Apple's Time Capsule to do this. Any decent external HD and sync app will handle the chores.

There is so much to learn about OS X, and I believe that you've not even scratched the surface with anything. Keyboard shortcuts, track pad finger gesture shortcuts, exposé, spaces etc.. they will make your life SO much easier once you take the time to learn how to use them. I'm telling you, start fresh, and download a few essential apps and you'll see.

Best part is, we will help you along. I'll personally help you as much as you need, as I think it's fun to learn new things about OS X. Every time I learn something new, it's like a breath of fresh air, and a great feeling. As was said, OS X is truly great, but it's not going to do everything for you without you telling it what to do. It's not a magical mind reading OS, yet.... I'm sure that will come sometime in the future.

First thing's first though. I really think that you need to bring your OS up to date. I personally recommend the fresh install as explained above, then installing Snow Leopard and getting up to 10.6.3. This way all of your hardware should totally be supported. After that, it's up to you to.

Doug

 

[cwa107]

My Mac was often freezing and I was often forced to hold the power button down to restart.

If this developed into a habit, chances are it exacerbated the issues each time you did it. Modern operating systems are not tolerant of abrupt shutdowns and they're almost never necessary. Just as you would press Ctrl-Alt-Del in Windows and bring up task manager when the system appeared the be hanging, OS X has a similar function called "Force Quit". Press Command+Option+Esc to bring up the Force Quit dialog and kill off any hung processes. That should get you back to a responsive Mac.

If you do have to forcibly power off your machine, you should definitely be running verify/repair permissions and disk once the machine comes back up.