Sloooow MacBook

Hello fellow Mac users.
I am a newbie to Mac and have had my MacBook for about 6 months. It seems to be running VERY slow at present both in loading web pages, composing and sending Email (the text is freezing) and occasionally it takes ages to open a document. A Mac using friend tells me it could be a working memory issue. So far I have reset the cache in Safari, but it has made no difference to the speed of my MacBook. Does anyone have any ideas what could be going on before I call Apple support? Any assistance would be appreciated and I thank you in advance.
Ciao - Debpwine

Hi Sig,
When I say slow I mean that it is so slow that it occasionally times out. Most of the time I can click on a website, such as a newspaper site, go out, grab a drink and come back before it has finished loading. Accessing something like Google is pretty good, but anything beyond that takes up to a minute or more.
My Email is the most frustrating. The text freezing is the problem and the length of time it takes to send a simple message. Whilst typing the text can freeze several times during the space of a three to four line Email for around 20 seconds each time. It can also take between 1-3 minutes to send.
Same issue from time to time with pages or numbers. Just to open pages to start a fresh document can take a minute or more and the same for opening an existing document.
I will check my Internet speeds, but I am thinking that it would probably not have anything to do with the text freezing and the opening of applications.
I hope this is enough info for you. I will also look at updating to 10.6.3 too and see if it makes a difference.
Many thanks.

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Sloooow MacBook Air

My MacBook Air is slow. It is slow from start up. After entering the password at the login window it shows a beach ball. The screens do no open with a whoosh. They open staccato. First grey screen, then wait, then a window, then a wait, then sudden appearance of the desktop. I move the cursor to the bottom of the screen and I can count to 5 before the dock appears. Moving the cursor across the dock movements are jerky not smooth. Clicking on a window in the background does not immediately bring it to the front. There is a delay/wait for every click. I often can't tell whether the computer has registered my click until later. Scrolling is jerky and sometimes near impossible.
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Michael C stopped my MacBook booting into Darwin/BSD, but it is now sloooow

I am testing a MacBook 2.16 GHz for possible use at work. Upgraded to 3GB RAM and Hitachi 200GB HD. Performance was great after a week, but one day I got a dark screen at bootup with the Darwin/BSD-login-password message that a lot of people seem to get. I followed Michael Conniff's advice (http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4550428) and got the system to boot into the GUI properly. But ever since then performance has been very slow: e.g. selecting the Date and Time takes 5 seconds to launch and clicking on the AirPort icon takes the same amount of time to produce the drop-down menu. It's like the MacBook is running in slow-motion. The exception is the Dock: it pops up quickly and the Apps scroll by quickly. Launching the Apps is another matter, though.
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Super SLOOOOW file transfer from MacBook Pro Retina to Time Capsule over WiFi - why?

So I have been having a search around and it seems like the advice for folks complaining about ludicrously slow wifi transfers from their Mac to their Time Capsule is... to do it wired.
As you may know, the MacBook Pro Retina does not have a cable Ethernet port. So I have to buy a Thunderbolt-to-Ethernet adaptor (and a cable if I don't already have one) just to perform this basic task? Seems hard to believe.
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Thank you, LaPastenague - very complete answer!
How is the old NAS connected to the TC?
What actual speed are you getting?
It is important that when you select an option you stop other options from interferring.. ie.. turn off wireless when you do ethernet.
First, I had the NAS connected to the laptop (Dell XPS M1710, Win7 - (yeah, I know, but it does the job, still)) via USB, which generated about 900KB/S r/w speed,
then I tried connecting it via LAN to TC, but didn't succeed in getting TC recognize the drive,
lastly, I connected it via the USB port directly to the TC, and got ~900KB/S r/w speeds again.
In all scenarios, the laptop was connected via LAN as well (TC's WiFi was not disabled, though).
Then I read the above thread and tried finding DHCP settings. Found them in the "internet settings" in the airport utility, but not in the "dive settings", so I didn't know what to change there.
Strangely, the only thing that I changed was the TC-name, taking away a hyphen and a space (from "myname's TC" to "mynamesTC"), which resulted in faster r/w speeds, going from the 900KB/S to 1.5MB/S (still not what I expected).
Also that any copying of files will be a loop, old NAS--Computer.. Computer--TC
Got it. Tried to provide a faster connection by directly connecting old NAS to TC via USB, but makes sense.
Each connection is just as impportant as the other. Plus you can see the computer must handle every packet in a double hop tx, rx tx rx for each one. So using gigabit all the way is vital.
Will try again connecting old NAS to TC via GB-LAN, and have it recognize it, and provide and update here.
This is best done in full isolation from internet.. just setup so you can do the copy overnight.
I was planning on doing several actions of moving files in a session of re-organizing, and am not really keen on waiting 4-6hrs between each step. The old NAS shall host all videos later, as it is recognized by the PS3 when connected via USB, while the TC shall host all photos and music, which I am rather accessing from the laptop's itunes.
And also to realise lots of very small files can copy extremely slowly.. no matter how fast the connections are.. it is heaps of small files that cause copying to take forever because files are written to the disk and then file allocation tables are filled in for every one. It is why a backup is much faster as files are compressed into single large file. Or like TM using 8KB bands where the file ends are handled differently to normal disk.
That will have added to the slow-ness of the session last night, as I was copying 25GB of photos which took 6hrs (***). So that would have been faster if I compressed them to .zip before moving? (not because it reduces size, as it barely does, but becuase it puts many small files into one big one?)
Just moved a 164MB vid from laptop to old NAS (which is still connected to TCs USB port, while laptop to TC via WiFi): result: 1minute40secs @ 1.70MB/S.
Then moved same vis from laptop to TC: 1minute55secs @ 1.80MB/S (gaining write speed slower that old NAS, therefore taking longer despite higher final speed).
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Thank you again! MFP

Is it ok to charge iPhone from MacBook?

Is it ok to charge my iPhone from my MacBook regularly, or will this somehow effect the long term battery durability and duration?
Thanks.

Likely no ill effects but charging anything from a computer's USB port is a veeeeery sloooow operation. I reserve that option only for when nothing else is available AND I do not need my MacBook Pro running on battery for anything--two conditions that are seldom if ever met.

Using Live 5 with the new Macbook

Sorry, I didn't see a section for Ableton's Live software. But maybe you guys will have some insight.
I record music. Mainly guitar tracks with drum and base loops. Very simple stuff.
My old laptop was an older Powerbook G4 that my employer bought me for work purposes but I also use it to support my recording hobby. I used a program called Live 5 to put my music together. This worked well for me I never had any problems and the computer could handle quite a large CPU load.
My employer decided to upgrade my computer a few weeks ago. So now I have a MacBook 2.2 GHz Intel Core Duo with 2 gigs of ram (more than enough)
Everything about this computer appears to be superior to my older powerbook G4, except for one thing. The CPU's are through the roof when I'm trying to arrange and record music within Live 5. It is such a problem that I can't even turn on one single drum loop without the CPUs Blasting off to 50%. This causes a really nasty sound issue. It's like Snap, Crackle and Pop got into my computer!
Why am I having this problem? Is there an issue with the Macbook's hardware that I should know about? These are supposed to be the ultimate media creation devices, a simple drum loop should not be enough to fry the processor.
I am wondering if I need the latest version of Live. They have it up to Live 7 now. I'm thinking it may be an issue with the old software not meshing with the new processor. Unfortuneatly its a $150 upgrade for me and I need to know if it will solve the issue before I buy it. Or do I just have the wrong computer.

Sorry, I didn't see a section for Ableton's Live software
That's because this is an Apple forum, not an Ableton one.
You have a PPC version of Live. The first Universal Binary version of Live was 5.2 - this contains Intel code for your Macbook.
You are currently running the PPC version under emulation (ie sloooow).
You need to upgrade Live to *at least* 5.2 to use Live natively on an Intel Mac.

I am having macbook air recently my iphotos did not open and was showing report apple and reopen but i came to know that by pressing alt and iphotos i open an new photo library and stored the pics but now how can i get the pics which i had in the earlier

i am having macbook air recently my iphotos did not open and was showing report apple and reopen but i came to know that by pressing alt and iphotos i open an new photo library and stored the pics but now how can i get the pics which i had in the earlier photo please help me to recover my photos

Well I'll guess you're using iPhoto 11:
Option 1
Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Choose to Repair Database. If that doesn't help, then try again, this time using Rebuild Database.
If that fails:
Option 2
Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. (In early versions of Library Manager it's the File -> Rebuild command. In later versions it's under the Library menu.)
This will create an entirely new library. It will then copy (or try to) your photos and all the associated metadata and versions to this new Library, and arrange it as close as it can to what you had in the damaged Library. It does this based on information it finds in the iPhoto sharing mechanism - but that means that things not shared won't be there, so no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your events, albums and keywords, faces and places back.
Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one.
Regards
TD

Macbook + mini-DVI to video adapter problems!

Hi,
My roommate and I both have Macbooks - I got mine in June '06, it's one of the older black 80 gb models and hers is a white 120 gb that she got in August '07. We bought a mini-DVI to video adapter so we could watch DVDs and video files on our TV, but have been having some trouble with it lately. At first, it worked perfectly with her computer, but in the past few weeks has been malfunctioning - when she plugs it in, the default background shows up on the TV screen but nothing else, any windows she has open only show up on the TV if she drags them to the right on her screen until she can't see them on her computer anymore, so we're unable to watch anything fullscreen. Any tips on how to fix this?
Also, the adapter has never worked with my computer - any time I plug mine in, my computer display becomes enlarged and slightly distorted, and on the TV screen is distorted by horizontal lines that move up and down the screen. Any ideas here?
Thanks so much for the help!

Hi cbeth,
welcome to macbook forum.
For your friend macbook, try to press F7 back and forth to switch between mirror and expanded mode.
Try to update your macbook hardware firmware and software using software updater and repair permission after that...application/utilities/disk utility/repair permission.
Also reset your PRAM and PMU.
Open your friend system preference / display and try to compare and set yours similar to hers, including resolution, color depth, refresh rate.
Good Luck.

Using Mini DVI to VGA adapter on MacBook

I bought the adapter from Apple & hooked up my LCD monitor to the MacBook, but the video I get on the monitor is different that on my laptop. It has an old screen background & the dock but nothing on my desktop shows up. Also, when I'm plugged to the monitor, my dock disappears on the laptop screen. Is there some setting I need to change? It worked fine with my G4 PowerBook.
Thanks for any help....
MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.6)

i use the mini dvi-vga adapter in my classroom almost everyday. It sounds like your new monitor is running as a side by side monitor to your display instead of a "replacement" display.
To get your projector/monitor to basically show whatever is on your macbook screen once you've hooked up press F7....this should make your projector/monitory become your display with your dock & all of your desktop stuff. Your new monitor will completely mirror your display.
THis should do what you're looking for.

Mini DVI-to-Video Adapter troubles with MacBook

Hello,
I recently purchased a Mini DVI-to-Video Adapter (the one with Composite and S-Video output) to use with my MacBook to use my computer to watch movies on my TVs. The TVs are very late model, so they may not work, but when I plug the Adapter into my computer and then plug the Composite Video cord into my TV, the TV's picture is black and white and has four replications of the desktop. It is very fuzzy but the TV is clearly receiving some input from the desktop. Does anyone have any ideas of how to correct this, or is it just because the TVs are so old? Thanks for the help.
-Bill

Welcome to Apple Discussions, schumawm.
Most likely the wrong timing/resolution is being sent to the TV. If mirroring is turned on in Display preferences under the Arrangement tab, uncheck the mirror box to turn mirroring off. Then set the TV's resolution to 640 x 480 as a starting point. 640 x 480 may be all that an older TV is capable of.

Mini-dvi to video adapter changing display on macbook?

I recently purchased a mini-dvi to video adapter for my macbook to be able to view photos and video on my tv. I'm having trouble with the display on my computer when I use the adapter. As soon as I plug in the mini-dvi video adapter into the computer the display on my computer switches from 1280 X 800 to 640 X 480. Attached to the adapter I have an s-video cable to my tv. The display shows the same on the tv but in black and white.
Any ideas? Thanks!

Turn mirroring off. That way the two displays can run independently from one another. The mirroring check box is in Displays Preferences under the Arrangement tab.

My mac's software is only available under my profile on MacBook pro. How can other family members get to the optional SW logged in under their own profile

Is there a way to share purchased SW under mote than one profile on the MacBook pro?
Thanks

If the software is in the HD>Applications folder it's available to everyone. If for some reason you put software into User>Applications folder it will be available only to that user.

External Drive is no longer recognized by Macbook

I have this external drive....
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Passport-Essential-WDME2500TN/dp/B0012GK3M Q/ref=sr11?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1280159206&sr=1-1
It is about 60% full of music/pictures/documents that are NOT on my Macbook, therefore I use it regularly.
Every once in a while, I accidentally remove it without properly ejecting first. But I guess I did it one too many times because now the computer will not recognize it at all.
To insure that the drive wasn't corrupt, I plugged it into a PC. It worked fine. The files are all there and were completely accessible. But as soon as I plugged it back into the Mac, it won't show up.
When I try a Disk Utilities repair, I get the following message:::::
FIRST AID FAILED
Disk Utility stopped repairing “My Passport” because the following error was encountered:
The underlying task reported failure on exit
Verify and Repair disk “My Passport”
** /dev/disk1s1
** Phase 1 - Read FAT
** Phase 2 - Check Cluster Chains
** Phase 3 - Checking Directories
Unable to read directory (Input/output error)
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit
1 non HFS volume checked
1 volume could not be repaired because of an error
I have NO $$$, so telling me to purchase a $30-100 program will not help me AT ALL. I'm looking for solutions that will not effect my wallet, even if they take all day to complete.
What can I do????????

Ok. Just to set one part straight- I doubt the problem came from unplugging your drive without ejecting. This usually isn't a problem unless files are writing or in use when you do it, but ejecting is a safe way to avoid issues.
Try force-mounting the drive in terminal by using the following commands
*mkdir /Volumes/yourdrivename*
this command should give you the location of the drive on your computer. (It should be something like disk2 or disk1s3) Then type the location into:
*mount /dev/yourdrivelocation*
Whether or not this works, follow up this step by ejecting the drive and unplugging and plugging it back in. This worked for me when I was having this issue.
Also- are you able to backup and reformat the drive? This would be a good thing to try if other attempts have failed.

I was given the wrong macbook when I gave mine in for repair. I want to complain. Also, they wiped ALL my data off the hard drive. I want to complain to someone in authority. How?

I am extremely disappointed and angry with Apple service. I am a writer and booked three weeks in Spain so that I could finish my book. On the second day my laptop cut out on me asI was working on it, so I took it to Goldenmack in Cadiz. Not only was I given someone else's macbook when I went back to collect it, but then when I returned to the UK, the Apple shop in Brighton managed to delete ALL my data from the hard drive because I was unlucky enough to get a trainee on her first day. I have since learned she should not have deleted my data without even running a diagnostic. She told me she was going to 'restore' the drive. I took this to mean she was going to restore my work. But no! She erased the lot.
I complained and eventually was put in touch with a supervisor, who I was told had authority to resolve the issue. She said she would get the shop to phone me. That was ten days ago and I'm still waiting.
Ok so there's nothing I can do now to get back the three chapters of my book that I have lost and didn't back up, but the hard drive on this laptop is still faulty. I try to back up my work every time I use the machine but as soon as I attach an external drive, the whole thing shuts down. I can't use it any more as I can't risk losing any more work. This laptop is only just over a year old and this is just not acceptable, especially since I have really looked after it.
This is an appalling service I have encountered from Apple, and I am not going to ignore it. I have contacted the young chap whose laptop I was erroneously given, and the repair of which I paid for! (although I did eventually get a refund), to ask him if he had been given mine as well. He said he had been completely unaware that his laptop had been given to me and he is furious as he had loads of "sensitive material" on it." I have no idea in whose hands my laptop has been either, or indeed what damage it sustained while it was supposed to be in for repair.

Contact Apple Support:
http://www.apple.com/support/contact/
Apple - How to Contact Us:
http://www.apple.com/contact/
Be sure to refer to the repair ticket number.
Sounds like a terrible mixup.
Good luck & happy computing!

Adobe Photoshop CS2 in Macbook Pro

During installation of Adobe Photoshop CS2, the installer runs and freezes in the midst. There is no way of installing Adobe Photoshop CS2 with intel processor. Full reinstallation of Mac OSX doesn't help. Running disk utility doesn't help either. Problems occurred with or without installing of Apple Security Update 2006-003(intel). Any comments?

Edwin, thanks for the input, and I do apologize. You are right. I should be easier with which to live. There are two major problems out there right now. That is also part of the problem. We are not used to two problems in our domain.
I own 20 Mac's in my office, and I only did these updates on my MacBook Pro 17 inch and my G5 Dual 2.3 Ghz machine that has two 30-inch Cinema Displays. I had both problems on my MacBook Pro, and the G5 had the reboot glitch. I won't update the other machines untill these problems are resolved by the OEMs.
Of the two major hiccups out there, this link indicates Quicktime's update is the source of the inability to restart machines, fixed by deleting startup items, I believe. I had this reboot problem also.
http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/05/24/cs2quicktime/index.php
Accrobat's freezing the system, the question at hand, is a result of the Security Update, fixed by rolling back to a pre-Security Update state using Archive & Install re-installation of the OS. Archive & Install does not erase your files or network settings.
Apple has released two products that fouled these systems. Bad Quality Assurance I think. I am not sure if the Security Update problem is an Apple or an Adobe software problem, i.e., Adobe may have not followed some software guidance. I am certain both companies are aware of the problem, but I am uncertain of the fix for Acrobat. We probably do need to update for security, but I can't live without Acrobat. So I will wait it out without the Security Update.

Sloooow MacBook

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