Load new Air with Mavericks

[Dysfunction]

The Wacom issue sounds like it would have been fixed using their uninstaller and then reinstalling after a reboot. This resolved the Wacom driver issues on my 2011 mbp after a Yosemite upgrade. That said, there are plenty of things I'm less-than-thrilled about Yosemite... But we'll see.

 

[chas_m]

Bit sad really. But I have to agree. Just had a client with an external Super? Drive. Had a DVD stuck in it. No apparent way to disassemble, no screws, no nothing. And no little hole to insert a paper clip for manual eject. Restart holding down trackpad method did not work. What are things coming to?

I have solved this problem innumerable times by simply positioning the mac in question in such a way that the optical drive is pointing downwards towards the ground (obviously you will need to keep a tight grip on it) and doing the "restart holding down the trackpad/mouse button" method. Works every time.

 

[Rod]

I have solved this problem innumerable times by simply positioning the mac in question in such a way that the optical drive is pointing downwards towards the ground (obviously you will need to keep a tight grip on it) and doing the "restart holding down the trackpad/mouse button" method. Works every time.

Chas this is, as stated, it is an External Super Drive and beleive me I held it every which way while doing as you suggest.
The whole unit appears unserviceable. Do we just throw them away or take them back to the shop? Pity in this case the user is in Indonesia and bought the item in Australia.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Bit sad really. But I have to agree. Just had a client with an external Super? Drive. Had a DVD stuck in it. No apparent way to disassemble, no screws, no nothing. And no little hole to insert a paper clip for manual eject. Restart holding down trackpad method did not work. What are things coming to?

Wow, not even a paper-clip hole?

I dug up this thread on iFixIt. Probably a bit late for you to help your client, but someone had the same problem and a solution was provided that involved using Disk Utility.
https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/102490/How+do+I+eject+a+disk

EDIT: and here's how to open it:
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Apple+USB+SuperDrive+Optical+Drive+Replacement/6197

 

[cptkrf]

The Wacom issue sounds like it would have been fixed using their uninstaller and then reinstalling after a reboot. This resolved the Wacom driver issues on my 2011 mbp after a Yosemite upgrade. That said, there are plenty of things I'm less-than-thrilled about Yosemite... But we'll see.

yep. But I needed a new desktop after my perfectly good i7 iMac got hit by lightning.

Yoseemight works ok for me, but as I said elsewhere, the flat iOS - look gives me the impression that the programmers just graduated from school. Really amateurish.

 

[pm-r]

Chas this is, as stated, it is an External Super Drive and beleive me I held it every which way while doing as you suggest.
The whole unit appears unserviceable. Do we just throw them away or take them back to the shop? Pity in this case the user is in Indonesia and bought the item in Australia.

I'm a bit late here, but I've usually been successful removing an obstinate suck optical disk using sticky tape with the sticky surface facing out or double-sided sticky tape wrapped around thin semi-rigid plastic strips or credit cards and maybe the occasional additional use of thin tweezers.

Never failed plus holding the slot downwards as mentioned also helps.

 

[pm-r]

yep. But I needed a new desktop after my perfectly good i7 iMac got hit by lightning.

Yoseemight works ok for me, but as I said elsewhere, the flat iOS - look gives me the impression that the programmers just graduated from school. Really amateurish.

Maybe because their head OS X designer never did graduate from or even attend any proper software-design school.

 

[pigoo3]

Just had a client with an external Super? Drive. Had a DVD stuck in it. No apparent way to disassemble, no screws, no nothing. And no little hole to insert a paper clip for manual eject.

The whole unit appears unserviceable. Do we just throw them away or take them back to the shop?

My suggestion (if all other extraction methods have failed)...would have been to disassemble it to get the disk out. But if there's no obvious external hardware...or mechanically locked together plastic housing pieces to disassemble...it's a tough one. Other than physical destruction (cutting, prying, etc.) of the housing to get access to the innards.

Have you checked under the labels, under the feet, etc? Sometimes manufacturers hide screws underneath product labels & under the feet of the device.

- Nick

 

[Rod]

I'm a bit late here, but I've usually been successful removing an obstinate suck optical disk using sticky tape with the sticky surface facing out or double-sided sticky tape wrapped around thin semi-rigid plastic strips or credit cards and maybe the occasional additional use of thin tweezers.

Never failed plus holding the slot downwards as mentioned also helps.

PM-R that is a fantastic idea and certainly worth a try. I do hope I see the same girl again so I can give it a go even though the slot seems impossibly thin (even thinner than on my MBP) I think a credit card would work.
Lifeisabeach, I will check your link for the more "drastic" approach, iFixit is a great site.
And Nick, unfortunately no. In fact there are no labels or feet to look under. I'm amazed and disappointed really the whole thing looks cheap and nasty. Best thing about it was the box it came in.
One last thing, when I plugged it into my MBP I was surprised to see a dialogue box stating this device is not supported on your computer. WHAT! There goes my assumption that if my onboard SD ever died I could just get an external. Apparently not.

 

[pigoo3]

One last thing, when I plugged it into my MBP I was surprised to see a dialogue box stating this device is not supported on your computer. WHAT! There goes my assumption that if my onboard SD ever died I could just get an external. Apparently not.

That is surprising. Usually just about any USB device will work (at least in terms of external optical drives).

I'm assuming that the client you are working with had this drive connected to a Mac...is this right? If so...I wonder if they got the same message but ignored it...then stuck a disk in it...and that's why it got stuck.

I wonder if getting the disk out would be as simple as connecting the drive to a Windows computer (see if it is recognized)...and eject the disk that way.

- Nick

 

[Rod]

Good thinking nick, but no the minute she plugs it into her new MBP the **** DVD starts playing. So it's working fine on hers. With mine the disk doesn't mount at all. Not even visible in Disk Utility. Seems the new Super drive is completely incompatible with a device that has an inboard Super drive.
I'm flabbergasted, just as well I have a Sony that does work. I suggest anyone one who assumed they could by an external USB Superdrive as a compliment/replacement get an old model before they all become incompatible. What the **** is Apple doing?
I really don't like the direction Apple are going with this. Could it be a feature of Yosemite? I might just start a new thread on this topic just in case I'm wrong but it certainly warrants a little investigation. By the way the Super Drive powers up ok when plugged into my MBP so no issue there, I can feel and hear it spinning.

 

[pigoo3]

Good thinking nick, but no the minute she plugs it into her new MBP the **** DVD starts playing. So it's working fine on hers. With mine the disk doesn't mount at all. Not even visible in Disk Utility. Seems the new Super drive is completely incompatible with a device that has an inboard Super drive.
I'm flabbergasted, just as well I have a Sony that does work. I suggest anyone one who assumed they could by an external USB Superdrive as a compliment/replacement get an old model before they all become incompatible. What the **** is Apple doing?

This is weird (drive will work on her Mac but not yours). But there is possibily an explanation (depending on your and her exact model Mac's).

I'm sure you're familiar with the Apple external superdrive that many folks purchase who have purchased a newer Apple computer (that does not have a built in optical drive)...and they need an optical drive. This one:

Apple USB SuperDrive - Apple Store (U.S.)

This external superdrive is only compatible with certain model Apple computers (probably only the newer models without built-in optical drives)...probably a firmware thing. So maybe this external superdrive is similar to the Apple external superdrive...and is compatible with her computer...but not your's (depending on the computer models we are talking about).

This may not explain why the drive won't eject the disk on her computer...but maybe it explains why the drive is not compatible with your computer.

BTW...has your client tried using the optical drive eject button on her keyboard?

- Nick

 

[brucet9]

Ah, my bad. I thought you already had it and tried to install but it didn't work.



Honestly, that's the best way to go to be sure and save a lot of potential trouble. Upgrading OS X over an existing install is generally not problematic, but that's not always true and I think most of us have learned that the hard way.



I think it's unlikely to work, but have at it. If it does work, then yay.



So their drivers for 10.10.x don't fix that? Well if you aren't looking for a solution, then that's cool, but I'd wager that the problem can be solved. Heck, I got my neighbor's all-in-one working after the manufacturer failed to provide driver updates for Yosemite. It was a simple Terminal command that "softened" the sandboxing restrictions on an existing driver. Or something to that effect. He was dumbstruck when I found and applied the fix in minutes.

Can you expand on that last? I got my wife a new Macbook Air running Yosemite and found that it cannot "see" her Epson xp610 all-in-one on the network, so I cannot add it as a printer. 2hr with Apple Care and 3 hours in two calls to Epson plus a visit from a software engineer friend failed to solve the problem. We couldn't even ping the printer directly to its IP address; it just times out.
His Yosemite Macbook Air also can't see the printer, but my daughter's MacBook Pro running Mavericks had no problem adding and printing to the Epson. The Air has no problem seeing my Canon printer connected to a Mac Mini on the same network and it can access files on the Mini.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Can you expand on that last? I got my wife a new Macbook Air running Yosemite and found that it cannot "see" her Epson xp610 all-in-one on the network, so I cannot add it as a printer. 2hr with Apple Care and 3 hours in two calls to Epson plus a visit from a software engineer friend failed to solve the problem. We couldn't even ping the printer directly to its IP address; it just times out.
His Yosemite Macbook Air also can't see the printer, but my daughter's MacBook Pro running Mavericks had no problem adding and printing to the Epson. The Air has no problem seeing my Canon printer connected to a Mac Mini on the same network and it can access files on the Mini.

Epson has updated drivers for Yosemite that are compatible with your printer, so I'm not sure that the fix I made for my neighbor (he had a Kodak, I think) would work. I'll have to ask him what it was again and look up that fix, but I'd still have to figure out how to adapt it to your model, if I can.

At the risk of repeating steps you've already tried with them.... have you downloaded and installed the latest drivers? Found here:

Epson America, Inc. - Support: OS X Yosemite Support

Does that printer work if plugged in directly by USB?

Is the firewall on that MacBook Air turned on?

 

[brucet9]

Epson has updated drivers for Yosemite that are compatible with your printer, so I'm not sure that the fix I made for my neighbor (he had a Kodak, I think) would work. I'll have to ask him what it was again and look up that fix, but I'd still have to figure out how to adapt it to your model, if I can.

At the risk of repeating steps you've already tried with them.... have you downloaded and installed the latest drivers? Found here:

Epson America, Inc. - Support: OS X Yosemite Support

Does that printer work if plugged in directly by USB?

Is the firewall on that MacBook Air turned on?

Drivers were downloaded, but are useless if the Air cannot even see the printer.
Yes it works from USB
Neither of the Airs had firewall turned on.
Even the successor model Epson 620 that is sold at the Apple Store (and so presumably should work with current Apple computers) did not work.

 

[pigoo3]

Yes it works from USB

If the printer works from USB...and not from your home/office network (I'm assuming wireless network)...then this would certainly seem like a network settings issue.

Even the successor model Epson 620 that is sold at the Apple Store (and so presumably should work with current Apple computers) did not work.

Did you actually purchase and setup this printer as well? if so...at least the two Epson printers are being consistent...in that both are not working. I would bet that if you found the solution for one of them...that the solution would work for the other as well. I'm willing to bet that it's a network settings issue.

It is pretty surprising that if this printer is sold at the Apple Store...that the Apple employees wouldn't be able to get it working for you. I would think that Apple would throughly test (or make Epson throughly test)...the setup & compatibility of the printers with at least relatively current Apple computers.

Sometimes setting up printers can be a pain in the butt. I had a big problem (and got a big headache) trying to setup a wireless Samsung printer a while back (which of course was supposed to be compatible with Apple products). I ended up returning it...and getting a Brother printer. Setup was easy...and I had it working in no time!

- Nick

 

[pm-r]

Drivers were downloaded, but are useless if the Air cannot even see the printer.
Yes it works from USB
Neither of the Airs had firewall turned on.
Even the successor model Epson 620 that is sold at the Apple Store (and so presumably should work with current Apple computers) did not work.

As the Epson site doesn't seem to be helping your setup with those printers, you might want to checkout the Apple article they suggest you refer to, if you haven't done so already:
About AirPrint - Apple Support

FWIW: Somewhat related I just recently purchased a newly released (Aug-Sept '14) Canon MG5620 that Apple doesn't even list yet. The included CD which I seldom use anyway was for Windows only. But I had a bit of trouble getting a wireless connection — and the new Canon was on the kitchen counter at the time, so I Googled the problem and ended up with a Canon web based article I hadn't seen at Canon's site, and I just followed the directions using Safari and the site.

I was amazed that the new printer then just worked from all our Macs and iPad 2&3 models and it was never even connected via USB and still isn't. Maybe it was due to us having an existing Apple Express but it was sure a better and nice setup that their so called manual provided.

So just maybe, Epson just may have such a web/browser based setup page you could use. Maybe…

Oh yes, shortly after, the Macs got a notice that new Canon software was available to download and yet they only had wireless connection to the Canon printer. Quite slick considering I hadn't even installed anything previously so I still wonder how they all worked so well. But no doubt due to the browser/web based installer and our wireless network.

Anyway, good luck.

 

[pigoo3]

FWIW: Somewhat related I just recently purchased a newly released (Aug-Sept '14) Canon MG5620 that Apple doesn't even list yet. The included CD which I seldom use anyway was for Windows only. But I had a bit of trouble getting a wireless connection — and the new Canon was on the kitchen counter at the time, so I Googled the problem and ended up with a Canon web based article I hadn't seen at Canon's site, and I just followed the directions using Safari and the site.

Congrats!!!

Being in the minority...we "Mac-Users" (pretty much since the beginning) have had to be a creative self-helping sort of bunch. Even after all this time...some non-Apple products (like the printers being mentioned in this thread) still don't have the "plug & play" ease that they should.

I still find it curious/funny/weird/irritating how these printers (after all these years) still come with these included Windows only setup CD's/DVD's...and the setup instructions are mostly geared to the Windows user as well.

If these products truly were "plug & play" with Apple products...then I don't need no "friggin" CD/DVD's or setup manuals! Of course at this point (with Apple removing the optical drive from just about all Mac models)...we couldn't even use that darn CD/DVD if we wanted to (or could)!

- Nick

 

[chscag]

Wireless printer setup in OS X is a lot harder than it should be. Why is it almost any wireless capable printer can be setup to work with Windows? I have struggled with every wireless printer that I have owned getting it to work. And yes, that included one purchased from an Apple Store.

 

[Slydude]

I am amazed at the number of times a wireless printer needs to be connected to the Mac via USB to install the regular driver before wireless setup can be completed. That kinda defeats the whole idea of wireless. Unbox the printer, lug it close enough to connect to the Mac via USB, then complete the wireless installation and lug the printer where you actually want it.