Drag and Drop Problem

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adamsawords

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I have recently been very fortunate to receive my best mates old ibook as he has upgraded to the g4. The only problem is that the drag and drop function is not working. Can someone please help as i desperately want to be a mac user and finish with my old pc. many thanks
 
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Mod Note: Clarified title.
 
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when you say it doesn't work, can you clarify? also, what os are you running and what are your ibooks specs? does it not work in only certain apps?
 
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The Fly

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It sucks.

Macman said:
when you say it doesn't work, can you clarify? also, what os are you running and what are your ibooks specs? does it not work in only certain apps?

I need to bump this topic up, because I think there needs to be more discussion on possible solutions. This is a common problem with OS 10.2x, aka Panther. I myself run it on an iBook G3 900mHz with 12" display. I bought the computer in 2003, and the drag-and-drop problem began about a year after my purchase.

The problem is just as stated: drag/drop doesn't work. Icons in the Finder/Dock do not respond to drag attempts (it gets as far as selecting the item), and likewise any drag/drop attempt in any application fails. This is especially frustrating when trying to transfer songs on to my iPod -- it can't be done without drag/drop.

From what I've observed, the drag/drop problem seems to occur immediately upon relaunching Finder. This is annoying, as Finder relaunches anytime an external drive is plugged in. The only solution I've discovered to the drag/drop problem is restarting my computer. Once restarted, drag/drop works fine until I decide to use an external drive or for some other reason have to relaunch Finder (such as icons disappearing, another 10.2x problem for another topic).

It is highly annoying to have to restart my computer everytime I use an external drive, digital camera, etc. In the age of plug-and-play, one would assume that Apple had their act together when Jaguar launched. When I looked for a solution on the Apple Support website, they suggested a restart to solve this problem, which as I explained is a very temporary solution. In my opinion, this is equivalent to using a band-aid to cover a wound that needs stitches. Apple needs to offer a permanent solution that doesn't involve buying a newer version of Mac OS.

On a related note, in my search for solutions to the drag/drop problem, I found an application that supposedly fixes it, called Dragster. It was once available as freeware from If/Then Software (ifthensoft.com). Unfortunately, the app is no longer available as a stand-alone download, and more importantly, is no longer free. IfThenSoft has made it part of a software package, which is available via PayPal, for around $5 US. Unfortunately, I have no use for the other apps, and do not wish to shell out my hard-earned money on an app that (1) used to be free and (2) will have an unknown effect on my computer and may not even solve the problem.

So if anyone has any comments, additions and/or suggestions to this highly agitating, all-encompassing problem with OS 10.2, please feel free to leave some input, because those of us suffering with this issue could use all the help we can get.
 
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The Fly

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I'll also add that deleting preference files and caches does not remedy the problem.
 
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The Fly said:
I need to bump this topic up, because I think there needs to be more discussion on possible solutions. This is a common problem with OS 10.2x, aka Panther. I myself run it on an iBook G3 900mHz with 12" display. I bought the computer in 2003, and the drag-and-drop problem began about a year after my purchase.

When was the last time your repaired permissions?
Do you leave the iBook on 24x7, or do you let it sleep or turn it off?
If you let it sleep or turn it off, have you run a maintenance program like MacJanitor recently?

There is not a common problem with drag and drop that I have ever heard of, with 10.2 (which is actually Jaguar, not Panther which is 10.3).
 
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The Fly

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D3v1L80Y said:
When was the last time your repaired permissions?
Do you leave the iBook on 24x7, or do you let it sleep or turn it off?
If you let it sleep or turn it off, have you run a maintenance program like MacJanitor recently?

There is not a common problem with drag and drop that I have ever heard of, with 10.2 (which is actually Jaguar, not Panther which is 10.3).

My fault... I realized it was actually Jaguar after I posted. I don't remember ever repairing permissions -- I'll look into that. I almost always let my iBook sleep, and I rarely shut it down because I hate waiting for it to start up. The only time I leave it on is if I'm leaving it to download a large file or charging my iPod. I've never run MacJanitor, but I'll look into that too. Thanks for the suggestions!

As to the drag and drop problem being uncommon, I don't have any stats for you, but it was common enough that a third-party developer saw fit to put out an app to fix it. I think it's been swept under the rug because so many were quick to upgrade to Panther.
 
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The Fly

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Well, I ran Repair Permissions, and while I think it was a good idea to do this (since it had never occurred to me to run it before), it doesn't seem to have affected the drag and drop problem. At first I thought it had, because I was able to relaunch Finder a few times before drag and drop was disabled. So it looks like it's back to the drawing board.

Anyone have any other suggestions?
 
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Ok, I have to ask...why do you keep relaunching the Finder?
Finder is running by default, and you should not have to relaunch it so often, if at all.

Each time you do so, you could be corrupting permissions again, which will cause the need for you to repair them again.
 
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The Fly

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D3v1L80Y said:
Ok, I have to ask...why do you keep relaunching the Finder?
Finder is running by default, and you should not have to relaunch it so often, if at all.

Each time you do so, you could be corrupting permissions again, which will cause the need for you to repair them again.
You might be right, but I normally don't relaunch Finder consciously, unless it is to restore disappearing icons (another 10.2 problem) -- but sometimes when I plug in an external drive or digital camera, or put a CD/DVD in the drive, it seems to relaunch Finder when it recognizes a new disk. I say this because my desktop icons will disappear for about a second and reappear along with the disk /CD/DVD icon. It is sometime at or around this point (either relaunching the Finder or plugging in an external drive/inserting CD/DVD) that the drag and drop function ceases to work.

I would try running the restore CDs, but I'd need to backup all my files first, which at the time being I am unable to do (no external hard drive).

Thanks for all your help, and I'm still open to suggestions.
 
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The Fly

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Just thought I'd add that the drag and drop malfunction also occurs after opening a disk image.

I wonder if I could talk someone at Apple into letting me upgrade for free or cheap; that seems to be the only real solution...
 
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Are you running 10.2.8?

If not get it via the Software update function in the apple menu.
 
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The Fly

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Thanks, Aptmunich -- I checked, and I am running 10.2.8. I think my only hope is to upgrade to 10.3. Unfortunately I can't even afford gasoline these days.
 
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drag and drop not working. How do I fix this?

Hi there,

I can no longer Highlight and Drag things on my mac. Can someone please help me?

this is the first time Ive used a forum so I hope I am writing in the correct place.

Cheers
 

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