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Many readers report "Moof" in Open and Save dialog boxes. September 26, 2001 -- Responding to yesterday's report of a Prosoft NetWare Client for Mac user seeing the word Moof in an open dialog box, half a dozen readers report also seeing the strange problem. Several of these people sent in screen shots. All show the same thing--the word Moof in place of the Desktop and the mounted volume name:

Sara Porter reported the "problem" like this:

I noticed this a couple of months ago using MacOS 8.6/9.x with Prosoft's 5.12 client and thought it was our Admin's idea of a joke (he's a former Mac user)...apparently not. The first layer Moof (the hand holding an Apple) take user to the Desktop while the last layer Moof (globe) takes the user to Network browsing.

The names change if you actually browse to them- so hand-holding Apple Moof becomes Desktop and World Moof becomes Network.

It also occurs with applications besides AppleWorks. James Commons reports:

Although we have not had the same exact problem, we do see the "Moof" when saving or opening from a NetWare server with CodeWarrior 5.0. We use Mac OS versions 9.0 and 9.1 with iMacs, and G3's.

Apparently, the issue is not limited to the NetWare client, either. Michael Sayer said he sees this with DAVE accessing a Windows NT server.

Mac OS X 10.1 to be released today; Windows XP ships on new PCs. September 25, 2001 -- Apple is expected to announce the shipping of Mac OS X 10.1 (US $129, upgrade free plus shipping, or free at Apple retail stores) at this morning's keynote address at Seybold San Francisco. The new version offers several important cross-platform enhancements:

• An SMB client for accessing Windows file servers natively, without Services for Macintosh
• AFP over AppleTalk, allowing Mac OS X to access Windows NT SFM servers.
• The ability to mount FAT-formatted drives. (Unlike Mac OS 9, OS X doesn't have a utility to format FAT drives.)

Many software developers of network and other software are considering this the real "1.0" version of Mac OS X, as it contains significant API's and kernel modifications. Many Mac OS X-native applications (such as Microsoft Office X, Virtual PC, and DAVE), will require Mac OS X 10.1 or later.

Coincidentally (?), new PCs began shipping with Windows XP yesterday. The new Microsoft operating system won't be for sale by itself for another month.

VPN hardware gateway adds support for Win, Mac, Linux, and Unix. September 25, 2001 -- Yesterday, Nortel Networks announced that its Contivity VPN gateways will soon support all major platforms with release of client software. A press release promises to support virtual private network access for Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Solaris, IBM-AIX and HP-UX without requiring upgrades to the VPN gateway. The Contivity Mac and Windows clients are now available; the Unix clients well ship before the end of the year. We've added Contivity to our list of cross-platform VPN products on our Network Solutions page.

Novell releases X-platform server NLM. September 25, 2001 -- Last week, Novell released Native File Access Pack (US $299 per server, free upgrade for owners of NetWare maintenance or upgrade protection ), a server add-on that enables Windows, Mac OS, Linux, and UNIX clients to access file storage on Novell NetWare 5.1 servers without special client software. Native File Access Pack provides the the following:

• Apple File Protocol (AFP) over TCP/IP file service for Mac clients
• SMB/CIFS over TCP/IP file service for Windows clients
• Network File System (NFS) over TCP/IP for Linux and Unix

(Mac OS X 10.1 should be able to access using all three of these methods.)

All clients are managed through Managed through Novell eDirectory. Novell also said that Native File Access Pack will be included free with NetWare 6 when it ships next month. (Thanks to Patrick Fergus and Michael Szpisjak for alerting us to the release.)

NetWare/AppleWorks easter egg or glitch? September 25, 2001 -- Dan Pusateri found a strange artifact when accessing a NetWare volume from AppleWorks using the Prosoft NetWare Client 5.13:

When navigating in the NetWare volume and you're deep in a folder and look at the path in the pull down menu to get to the Desktop for instance - instead of seeing the word "Desktop" and the volume name I will see "Moof" in those spots.

"Moof" is the signature slogan of Clarus the dogcow, the Apple developer mascot who appears in the Print Setup dialog of Mac OS 9 and earlier.

If anyone else has seen this, please let us know.

More on Outlook 2001 crashing with Type 2 error. September 25, 2001 -- John Daly adds some more details to the problem of Type 2 errors with Outlook 2001:

About 20 percent of the people I upgrade to Outlook 2001 have this problem. Of those, half of them have had the problem go away for no reason. The Exchange admins and myself worked for a week on one, changing the profiles, changing what server the user was located on, resetting everything from scratch, all to no avail. Then one morning when we hadn't changed anything for a day or so, the user calls me and tells me it works fine now.

I will note one additional thing about my problem that isn't posted on your website: It doesn't crash unless you leave it sit idle for 45-60 seconds. As long as the users are active, Outlook 2001 works fine. If they pause in writing an email to answer the phone, in about 45-60 seconds, it will unexpectedly quit with a type 2 error.

CD-ROM problems with BlueLabel Power Emulator. September 25, 2001 -- Jerry Martin can't get Lismore's BlueLabel Power Emulator to recognize his CD-ROM drive:

I've just bought a copy of BLPE from the online store - it's available online again - didn't realize that the site had been down!

Well I've been having some problems. I have a PowerBook G3 and a PowerBook 1400CS. (I also have SoftMac 2000 running on a Dell Pentium II, but that's doesn't really count! ;-)

My problem: on both machines I can't get the CD-ROM drive to work. Whenever I enable it on any of the devices in the standard-dual IDE controller, the emulator quits with an 'error type 3' when trying to load the controller. I can create disk images and use PTS-DOS but if I can't use the CD-ROM how am I supposed to install Windows! The only way I can get the emulator to even boot is to disable the CD-ROM drive... =(

Does anyone have any ideas as to what might be wrong. I am running MacOS 8.1 on both machines and have BLPE 1.6SE. I have read somewhere that there is a components update 2, but the 'updates page' makes reference only to the version I have BLPE1.6SE which supposedly only contains components update 1. Does anybody have these updates or where can I get them?

Maybe I'm doing something simple wrong. I've tried using 'default settings' [cmd][D] but that doesn't help either.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

MacWindows Cross-platform Network Solutions page updated. September 24, 2001 -- We've updated the product listings the MacWindows Cross-platform Network Solutions page. We've updated the descriptive information and the links to manufacturer's product pages. We've also added links to the Amazon.com product pages so you can now compare prices and make purchases.

Fix for problem with Outlook 2001 not accepting meetings. September 24, 2001 -- Responding to our Sept 20 report for a problem with Outlook not accepting meetings, David Hanke found a solution:

The solution [is] to remove his delegate and then re-add her.

He found the answer at the Mac Manager list web site.

Solution for AIM through firewall: Use Port 80. September 24, 2001 -- Two readers sent in the same solution for our Sept. 6 problem report of the inability to use the America Online Instant Messenger through a corporate firewall. Rick Zeman stated it like this:

Christopher should type 80 (default is 5190) in the port field above the SOCKS and HTTPS choices.

Ron Bischof gave some more info:

You can accomplish the same result as the Windows version by setting the port number under the Connections section of preferences. A port scan will reveal any open ports, but frequently port 80 (HTTP) or port 23 (Telnet) will work.

Suggestion for problem of Win2K servers not visible in the Chooser. September 24, 2001 -- Nick Collingridge added a comment to our lengthy discussion of Windows 2000 Server disappearing from the Mac Chooser. There are number of problems that can cause this symptom. Collingridge found the same cause as another reader:

In response to the item regarding Win2K servers not being visible in the Chooser, I have seen this sort of problem when there's no AppleTalk Seed Router on the network, and there's only the default zone. This can easily be remedied by using the Win2K server as an AppleTalk Seed Router. It certainly fixed some problems for me.

If your using multiple AppleTalk routers on a network (in Windows 2000 servers or elsewhere), it is best to have one (and only one) designated as a seed router. We had another reader last year say that reconfiguring the seed router fixed the problem.

Possible cause DHCP problem; occurs with 9.1 as well as 9.2. September 24, 2001 -- Howard Modell sees the DHCP problem with Mac OS 9.1 as well as 9.2, and thinks the Windows DHCP server has a role:

This is a problem I and others with Macs see at work. Our company's network is Windows NT 4 based (though moving towards Win2K). Ever since upgrading to 9.1 (and it is not fixed with 9.2.1), DHCP seems to be "broken". All 9.x Macs demonstrate the problem.

Basically, if TCP is switched to DHCP, the Mac goes into a "freeze cycle", repeatedly reporting bogus ˆIP's (beginning 169.x) with the same IP given for both machineIP and gateway/router, and a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0. The Mac freezes for 30 seconds, provides a bad IP, allows a few seconds to do something, then cycles, fetching another bad IP.

I read on one of Apple's BB that the problem might be that NT's DHCP server is returning a badly formed packet (missing an endbyte) and the OT software is rejecting it and trying again. The same someone said that using BOOTP worked for him, and so it does .. in those cases where there is a BOOTP server available.

Excel file problem on NT SFM server with Mac client. September 24, 2001 --Jonas Holmström is having a problem opening Excel files on NT Server:

When I open an .xls who is copied to the Mac volume on the NT Server I get the message ".xls cannot be saved because the disk I locked" But I can open an Word file with no problem.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

Close Combat IV and V won't run on VPC 4. September 24, 2001 -- We've added SSI's Close Conbate IV and V to our Virtual PC Incompatibility list. A reader named Sterling described these problems with running

When I load Close Combat IV and V the CD icon DOES mount, allowing me to install the game in VPC. The CD is required to play. After installation, the CD will again mount in the VPC drive window. I get the game startup screen, but when I hit play, there is a long delay followed by a prompt that says "cannot located CD-ROM." I have a Mac Titanium/400 mhz/256 MB/OS 9.1/10 MB HD/ a functioning DVD drive, with VPC 4.0.2 loaded.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

Free standalone Windows disinfectant for Nimda virus. September 24, 2001 -- Sophos has posted a free standalone utility for Windows which detects and disinfects the W32.Nimda virus. The virus has been widely reported as infecting Windows servers.

Tutorial on cross-platform Javascripting for IE. September 24, 2001 -- Apple's Developer web site has published an article by author Danny Goodman about programming Javascript and Microsoft Internet Explorer. Of the article, Apple says:

Although the Windows and Macintosh editions of Explorer are siblings, a number of specific differences can surprise the unwary developer. See what Danny has to say about DOM implementations, event types, mouse tracking, and more.s

TunnelBuilder problem with Mac OS 9.2.1. September 20, 2001 -- Ed Dyer reports that the TunnelBuilder virtual private network (VPN) client doesn't work with Mac OS 9.2.1:

The dialup TunnelBuilder from Efficient (formerly NTS) doesn't seem to function even after a reinstall. It reports some error and when looking at the log there is some "LCP echo" which did not appear previously. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the new version of Open Transport, but haven't tried to install and older version yet.

Let us know of your experience with TunnelBuilder and 9.2. this problem.

StuffIt Deluxe 6.5 lets you create apps, better Palm support, Tar support. September 20, 2001 -- Yesterday, Aladdin Systems released StuffIt Deluxe 6.5, an major upgrade to the cross-platform compression utility for Mac OS 9 and OS X. Among the new features:

• StuffIt Express Personal Edition (also sold separately), which lets you create custom drag-and-drop applications for automating file compression and file transfer (including FTP and e-mail)
• Palm OS download delivers Palm files to a designated Palm folder for the next HotSync upload to PDA.
• Magic Menu support for Mac OS X (including getting info on multiple files or folders simultaneously)
• DropTar, a drag-and-drop compression utility for the Unix format
• One-click "Stuff and Mail" feature

(Pricing: US $79.95; upgrades US $19.95 until January 31, 2002; free upgrade if purchased StuffIt Deluxe 6.0 after August 19, 2001 with proof of purchase.)

Another way to refresh DHCP on Mac OS X. September 20, 2001 -- In response to yesterday's tip on using Unix commands in the Mac OS X Terminal application to get around the problem, Patrick Scott sent us another way to do it (warning to Mac users, Scott is speaking in Unix):

Another way to force a refresh of DHCP is to HUP lookupd. Couple of ways to do this - ps -aux | grep lookupd and sudo kill -1 [pid]. I su to root and execute:

ps -aux | grep lookupd | grep -v grep | awk '{print $2}' | xargs kill -1

I also run similar to refresh the Dock and Finder; for example, to relaunch the Dock if it gets stuck:

ps -aux | grep Dock.app | grep -v grep | awk '{print $2}' | xargs kill -1

AFP server disconnect issue sounds like DHCP problem with OS 9.2.1 September 20, 2001 -- Bryce Steiner is having this problem with Mac OS 9.2.1, which sounds like it could be related to the DHCP problem we've been reporting:

I just upgraded a Mac G3 to OS 9.2.1 from 9.1. I have a problem that I haven't had before. The Mac will disconnect from the Server and the shares will disappear with an AppleShare Server Message that says "the File Server's connection has unexpectedly closed down (date)" I thought at first my Windows 2000 server went down, but it didn't and the other Macs that I have kept the shares just fine. OS 9.2.1 is the only one with the problem.

PPP Callback from NT: works from VPC, but not Mac. September 20, 2001 --Matti Haveri asked if there was anyway to get Windows NT to call back a Mac to establish a PPP connection. He also told us what works, and what doesn't:

It seems that PPP callback from a NT server to the Mac isn't possible. I can establish a PPP connection via modem callback with Windows 95 client via Virtual PC. The server gives me an IP-number (DHCP) and access to the NT network. Connecting via Virtual PC was surprisingly snappy but for other reasons I need a "native" solution.

If on the Mac side I set the same username and password to the Mac PPP client (Mac OS 9.1's Remote Access), the server disconnects with authentication failure and doesn't even go to the callback phase. Same with the older FreePPP 2.6.2. (FreePPP's info window does mention LCP but you can't configure it). Mac OS 9 ARA server has callback but the client doesn't seem to support callback from a NT server.

The only Mac PPP client that may have this callback capability from a NT server is AccessPPP. AccessPPP seems to be a variant of the original old MacPPP and it also seems to be Japanese only. I couldn't find a site where it still could be downloaded.

Our IT staff wants to use callback for security reasons. Am I out of luck? MacWindows site didn't have an answer in October of 2000.

If you know how to accomplish this outside of Virtual PC, let us know.

Special discount for ExtremeZ-IP and Joint Color Central 4.0. September 20, 2001 -- Group Logic and ScenicSoft announced a 10 percent discount on Group Logic ExtremeZ-IP with every purchase of ScenicSoft Color Central version 4.0. ExtremeZ-IP is Windows 2000 and Windows NT file and print server software for Mac clients over TCP/IP. Color Central is an OPI and print management solution. Of the two products, the companies said "Used together, the products provide a comprehensive solution to speeding and streamlining digital workflows, eliminating long wait times for workstation users, and overcoming the performance limitations of mixed Macintosh and Windows environments." The discount pricing is available to new Color Central users and those upgrading, and requires purchase of ExtremeZ-IP before December 31, 2001.

More wireless problems with Xsense Aero. September 20, 2001 -- Bohdan Zachary is another reader having problems with the Xsense Aero wireless router on AirPort networks. He describes a number of problems and says "For what is purported to be Mac friendly...the Xsense Aero has cost me one day out of this weekend." We've posted his full report on our Cross-platform AirPort Special Report page.

FileMaker Pro 5.5 runs on Citrix MetaFrame 1.8, Win Terminal Services. September 20, 2001 -- FileMaker, Inc. announced that FileMaker Pro 5.5 (worldwide English only) now runs with Citrix MetaFrame 1.8 for Windows 2000 Server, an application sharing server, and with Microsoft Windows 2000 Terminal Services (a similar technology but without Macintosh clients). FileMaker, Inc., is also providing support and documentation for FileMaker Pro 5.5 over Citrix MetaFrame 1.8, as well as documentation on running FileMaker Pro 5.5 over Microsoft Windows 2000 Terminal Services.

Outlook 2001 for Mac won't accept meetings. September 20, 2001 -- Debby Garcez sees this problem with Outlook 2001 for Mac:

I have one user who's not able to Accept any meeting. He can Decline but the Accept button is grayed out.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

Workaround for ISA Proxy problem. September 20, 2001 -- Todd Mogilner sent a workaround for the problem with Macs and ISA Proxy.

I have two pieces of information regarding this:

1. The experience that I have had is the only time I get locked out by the ISA Proxy server is when I am connected to network drives on a Windows 2000 server.

2. Netscape 4.0.8 and Netscape 6.1 do not experience this problem.

That is at least a work around for some of our users.

Assessments of VPC on top-end Mac. September 20, 2001 -- Asa Weinstein commented on running Virtual PC on the Power Mac currently with the fastest available processor and Mac OS 9.2:

I am running VPC on an 867 MHz G4 with 640 MB RAM . 512 MB is assigned to VPC although I don't think that more than 384 MB makes much difference in performance. It runs Windows 98 2nd Ed extremely well. Most tasks about a PIII 266 speed. Video performance is poor though. Win 2000 is acceptable but significantly slower than Windows 98 2nd ed.

However, Gary Sammons can't get it to work.

I recently purchased a new G4 867 with Mac OS 9.2. I have been unable to run VPC 3 or VPC 4 reliability on this machine. I just sold by 533 G4 w/ system 9.1 and VPC 3 worked better that VPC 4 did. On that machine VPC 3 worked well... VPC 4 produced a few crashes.

On the new unit I get all kinds of crashes. VPC 3 just crashes. VPC 4 looks up the machine.

We at MacWindows have not had a problem with Virtual PC on Mac OS 9.2 (though we run it on a somewhat slower Power Mac...)

Microsoft will ship Office for Mac OS X in November. September 19, 2001 -- Today, Microsoft announced that Microsoft Office v.X for Mac will ship in November. This new version will require Mac OS X 10.1, which Apple says it will ship later this month. In addition to Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Entourage, Office v.X will include MSN Messenger 2.1. Microsoft told MacWindows that the file formats of Office v.X will remain the same as Office 2001 for Mac, so file compatibility with Windows versions remains the same.

(Pricing: US $499 full version, $299 upgrade, $399 standalone versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint. special upgrade for Office 2001, $149.)

Another fix for Win server problems with large number of files. September 19, 2001 -- Bryce Steiner attributes the problem with copying large numbers of files between Macs and Windows 2000 servers to a font problem:

I only see this problem of copying a large number of files to a Server when there is a file in use such as a font on a Mac being in Adobe Type Manager that is actually located on the Server (even if it is not in activated in ATM Deluxe) other than that it all works fine. Every weekend I back up about 26,000 files (30 GB) to another Win 2000 server using Explorer all started at the same time.

Many other readers have offered solutions and fixes, which you can read about on our Windows 2000 Server Special Report page.

Dealing with Windows 2000 Server/Chooser problem. September 19, 2001 -- Kevin Skinner reports how he deals with the problem with Windows servers disappearing from the Chooser.

I know I am speaking up a little late but I have the same problem on a new Win 2000 Server SP2 that we just set up. The server was not showing up in the Chooser for our Mac users but they could connect by using the IP address. It has (2) built in 10/100 NICs. Both of them had been setup and both had AppleTalk installed and checked as active. I found that the properties for AppleTalk are very slim. Just the Zone and a check box that lets that adapter accept incoming connections. I have one connection disabled (for various reasons) but the AppleTalk associated with the disabled one is the one that had incoming connections "Checked". As soon as I checked it on the other Windows informed me that I can only have incoming connections on one NIC so the other one is now unchecked for me. Now the users can see the server in the Chooser and all is well.

Solution for problem with attachments in Outlook 2001: fix file mappings. September 19, 2001 -- Two readers have written to say that the solution to a problem of encoding attachments in Office 2001 to Windows users is to make some changes in the File Mappings area in the Internet control panel. We've posted the fixes on our Outlook 2001 Special Report page.

Tip for handling Mac OS X DHCP problems. September 19, 2001 -- Timothy Dove has a suggestion for working with the DHCP problem with Mac OS X.

I have encountered what I can only assume is a DHCP issue. I use an ADSL connection, and from time to time, I can no longer surf. I have only experienced this with OS X though. The fastest fix I've found is to go into the Terminal, and type:

sudo ipconfig set en0 BOOTP <return>
sudo ipconfig set en0 DHCP <return>

In my experience, this allows you to execute the command without having to log in as root. It will ask you for your password (must be done by an admin user). After this, I always regain my connection.

Craig D Sutherland describes his experience with the problem:

I also have experienced the DHCP problems you and others described. These started at the time I installed 9.2.1.

Hardware: 733 MHz Tower 768M RAM 10.0.4, 3 partitions- 10.0.4 & 9.2.1, 9.2.1, data. Dual 800 1G MHz 10.0.4/9.2.1

Problem with DHCP in OS X in both machines. No problem with when booted from 9.2.1 or from other Macs on the LAN running 9.1

SWBell DSL line routed through IPNetRouter in a 7100 running 8.6.1. Dual Ethernet card setup. Original config was a static route DHCP setup- one I had been using for a year without a problem. IP Forwarding and DNS forwarding both are on in IPNetRouter.

Was able to ping, get e-mail, Timbuktu- but no DNS/Web access in OS X. Reconfigured IPNetrouter. Port 80 was not "working".

Checked the Routes in IPNetrouter- then established a new static route from the internal LAN side 192.168.x.x to the nameserver for SWBell.

Setup up the Domain Name Servers box in Network Prefs in OS X clients to include both the LAN server address and the SWBell nameserver address.

Seems to be stable now, but thought I was crazy for a while (still may be?).

More on cross-platform StarBand satellite access. September 19, 2001 -- Macworld's Christopher Breen has added a Part 2 to his article on using StarBand Satellite Internet connection with Macs and PCs. Then new addition discusses the newer model 360 modem. (You can read Part 1 here.)

(For more on StarBand, see the MacWindows reader reports on using satellite connections with cross-platform AirPort networks on our Cross-platform AirPort Special Report page.)

A Better Finder Rename 4.0 ships for OS X and OS 9. September 19, 2001 -- A Better Finder Rename 4.0 (US $14.95) is a new version for the file-renaming utility, now available for Mac OS X as well as Mac OS 9. A Better Finder Rename is a contextual menu plugin that lets you rename multiple files, as you might need to do when transferring files to Windows.

Long file names, Windows NT Workstations and AppleShare IP. September 19, 2001 -- Paw Meng Mortensen

AppleShare 6.xx is seen as a FAT format on the Win-clients. The shared name of the disk therefore is only working with a length of maximum 11 letters. One suggestion is to share the Mac and Win-share with the same name. If not the root structure on Mac´s and PC´s is not working well.

I got this information from Extensis-support on Portfolio server running on a MacServerIP in a shared MAC/PC environment. And their support was very fast.

Apple and Microsoft pitch in: Apple donates to $1 mil to families of fallen rescuers; Microsoft pledges $10 mil in tech donations, matching funds. September 18, 2001 -- Yesterday, Apple and Microsoft both said they were helping victims and families of last week's World Trade Center disaster. Steve Jobs, in a letter to Apple employees (reproduced at MacNN and confirmed by MacCentral) said that Apple is donating $1 million to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund for the purpose of supporting the families of the "firefighters, police and other emergency response personnel who lost their lives." Apple will also "donate an iBook to each of these families with children this holiday season.

Microsoft announced it was providing matching donations from its employees up to $12,000 per employee annually. Microsoft also said it providing a web-based family location system to help the "Red Cross's efforts to reunite survivors and their loved ones." Microsoft says these efforts are part of it's "pledge of US $10 million to support relief and recovery efforts."

To help: American Red Cross, the United Way September 11 Fund, the official New York City web site. (Also, buy DAVE on the web this week, all proceeds go to American Red Cross.)

Apple cancels AppleWorld Paris due to security concerns. September 18, 2001 -- Yesterday, Apple has canceled AppleWorld Paris show that was to have occurred September 26-30. The press release quotes Apple CEO Steve Jobs saying "We're canceling Apple Expo in the wake of last week's devastating and tragic events. We're sorry to disappoint our users and developers, but their safety is our primary concern."

Large file copy problems on NT, 2000 can be fixed with index rebuild, moving Mac volume. September 18, 2001 -- Vickie Slaydon as sent another fix for the problem with Macs doing large file copies on Windows servers.

It has happened to us before. A couple of things can cause this:

1) If you have created Mac volumes at the root folder; or

2) If you have greater than 65000 files and folders on the volume.

Your index for the server volume gets out of whack. You can move the volumes down one level of folders from the root. You also need to stop/start the File Services for Macintosh, but before doing so, you must rebuild the root drive share INTENTIONALLY damaging the index for it to rebuild with the DIR command found in KB article 147909.

We note that having the Mac volume at the root volume causes a number of problems that we have previously reported (such as here for instance).

Responses to Java Citrix client for OS X. September 18, 2001 -- Several readers responded to last Friday's report of a Java Citrix client for Mac OS X created by Josef Kolbitsch. Rich Shone had good luck with it, and sent us some suggestions:

Downloaded from the link on your site. I had previously used the Java client launched from the terminal and this is much nicer. Now all I need to remember is the command line to enter once the window is opened (e.g. -address yourcitrixbox.yourdomain.com -width=1024 -height=768) I get around this by keeping the information on a sticky and copy paste it to the applet window. From there it works great. It would be nice to be able to save multiple configs as in the Mac, Windows, or Linux Clients. I keep hoping that the whole metaFrame product could come to OS X Server and we could run OS X Desktops via a DOS client on an Intel Machine.

Nik Sands found the same problems in this client and in a client he built himself:

I've been attempting to use the Citrix Java package for Mac OS X you posted on Mac Windows. I actually created a similar package myself, from the Java source but had serious problems using it. It looks as though the same problems exist with the package I downloaded from the link on MacWindows.

There are 3 main problems I've been having:

1. Occasionally, the client actually connects successfully, but then the (windows) login screen is erratic and I cannot log in successfully. It does not appear to respond at first to anything I do, but then disappears, and bits of it reappear and disappear again and then nothing happens at all.

2. Usually, the client crashes ("unexpectedly quit" error) on connection to the server.

3. There appears to be some incompatibility with the client and the OSXvnc server when I have an X2vnc client connected to the Mac OS X vnc server. It's as though the vnc server is receiving spurious characters and I get a lot of beepings as this "typing" is not into any particular field or window that can accept it. Once I discovered this problems, my subsequent attempts to use the Citrix client have been without any X2vnc client connected. This is a pain, as it means I cannot share the same keyboard and mouse between the three machines (OS X, Solaris 8, Win NT 4) on my desk that I usually do, if I want to use Citrix on the Mac.

Darin Duphorne notes this minor point:

I have tried the Java Citrix client for OS X. Although I couldn't test it fully because my company's Citrix server is behind our firewall and there is no fw-1 client yet for OS X, I noticed that the alert windows were only a tad bigger than the OK button and were not resizable.

Another reader with Mac problems with ISA Proxy Server. September 18, 2001 -- Bernie Blanchette reports having the same problems with an ISA Proxy Server that we have listed on our Microsoft Proxy Special Report page:

I have the exact same issue and am unable to find a solution other than "a known concern."

We still know of no workaround, but if you do, please let us know.

Firmware update fixes AppleTalk on wireless D-Link access point. September 18, 2001 -- Responding to reports of problems with AppleTalk not working on wireless routers, Mun Chin says that a firmware upgrade got AppleTalk working on his D-Link access point:

I had the same problem with my D-Link 713-P router, and got no help from their technical support. I decided to look around and found a firmware update for it and applied it. After installing it and restarting the router, AppleTalk shows up from the wireless and hub sides of the router now. Possibly there are firmware updates now to these other routers.

Reminder: use file extensions when sending files to PC users. September 18, 2001 -- M. F. Kieran reminds us that Mac users should use the proper PC file name extensions to help PC users open your files:

Try adding .doc .xls or .ppt depending on the type of document to be sent to each Mac-created file. This seems to allow PC users to open the Mac attachments I have had this problem when sending files and this workaround seems to work.

We've said this before, but it's well worth repeating.

Yahoo's Emergency Relief page. September 14, 2001 -- Make a donation to the emergency relief efforts-- Yahoo's Emergency Relief page has a list of agencies and links for donations.

New York City web site has up-to-date info. September 14, 2001 -- The New York City official web site has up-to-date info on how you can help the victims of last Tuesday's disaster, and how people can get help.

DHCP errors update: OS X also has problems. September 14, 2001 -- We collected all of our reports on DHCP problems with Mac OS 9.2 and placed them together on our Mac OS 9 page. We also have a couple of new reader reports. Graeme Bennett, Editor of MacBuyersGuide.com, told us that at least one Apple technician has acknowledged a DHCP problem in OS X and provided a workaround

Apple has acknowledged a bug in 10.0.x where Mac OS X is not setting up the default route correctly to support certain DHCP configurations. A message from an Apple technician on the darwinos-users mailing list says the workaround is to manually change the route.

Jamie Anderson is seeing the problem we reported on September 12 about connecting to the @Home IPS, and provides a workaround:

I, too, have been experiencing a more frequent loss of connectivity to @Home recently. I have been blaming @Home and Code Red, though. I hadn't attributed the problems to 9.2. I don't go through the whole reboot procedure that your reader Peter Mitchell describes, however. I go to the TCP/IP control panel and in the options window available while in the advanced user setting I disable TCP/IP, close the control panel saving the changes, and then reopen the control panel and reactivate TCP/IP (and also uncheck the 'load only when needed' option). That usually refinds my @Home 24.x.x.x IP.

TIP: Solution to Outlook 2001 attachment problem. September 14, 2001 -- A pair of readers responded to yesterday's report by Michael Smith regarding attachments in Outlook 2001. Dr. Tom Hayes has a simple solution: add some domain information to the TCP/IP control panel:

I had the same/similar problem that reported the same error.

The problem turned out to be in the TCP/IP control panel. Basically the FULL server address/name was 'server.subgroup.domain.ie' rather than just 'server.domain.ie'

Within the Outlook setup I had used both the IP address and the full name and everything was configured properly, but return the quoted error whenever I actually went to use Outlook.

The solution was simple, I just had to add 'subgroup.domain.ie' to the 'search domains' in the TCP/IP control panel, in addition to 'domain.ie', and everything worked fine.

Luis Antezana has also seen this problem, and posted a long list of recommendations for using attachments in Outlook 2001, which you can read on our Outlook 2001 Special Report page.

TIP: syncing ipaq/PowerBook with VPC via infrared. September 14, 2001 -- Responding to our reader reports about synching a Pocket PC (Windows CE device) in Virtual PC, Aziz Larbaoui told us that he uses infrared for synching:

You need to initiate a partnership between the iPAQ and the PowerBook via the infrared port using Virtual PC 3 or 4. Then synchronize via Ethernet using a PCMCIA card loaded in the iPAQ. This has been working great without any problem.

Previous readers have suggested using a serial cradle and a USB-to-serial converter.

Reader problem with VPC 4 and Windows Me. September 14, 2001 -- Viswanath Tumu reports a problem getting Windows Me running in Virtual PC 4.0.2

I have been having problems running VPC 4.0.2 with Windows ME. I would like to report three problems... (1) After doing a clean install of Windows ME and before I have had installed any other programs at all, Windows ME keeps crashing if I install VPC Additions;
(2) if I do not install VPC additions, the number of crashes is reduced (the blue screen of death), but I keep getting two error messages while using Internet Explorer /Outlook Express: (a) Explorer has caused an error in KRNL386.exe and (b) Explorer has caused an error in GDI.exe

I may mention that VPC puts in some video drivers and this may be the cause for the GDI error message which refers to the Graphical Display Interface.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

Citrix client for Mac OS X. September 14, 2001 -- Josef Kolbitsch has created Citrix client for Mac OS X, and was wondering if MacWindows readers would be interested in trying it out:

I am working in Macintosh-support for Graz, University of Technology (Austria/Europe), and currently I am testing the Citrix Java-client. I found out that it was rather annoying for the users to start the Java-client from the command-line, so I created a Mac OS X package containing all files from an installed version of the ICA Java client. The package only contains a custom icon, a JavaApplicationStub, the Java-files and a description-file of the package. I put the OS X package together with the documentation into a udif-disk-image for the user's convenience.

Maybe there are some OS X users who want to try it out and let me know if there are any problems or there is something to do better! (josef.kolbitsch@tugraz.at)

Of course, if you do try out Kolbitsch's Citrix client, we'd like to hear your impressions as well. (Citrix makes application severs that run on Windows servers--see our Citrix special report for more information.)

Helping with the World Trade Center/Washington/Air Disasters

Give blood. The American Red Cross is advising North Americans who want to give blood to call 1-800 GIVE LIFE or contact your local hospital or health care system. The New York Times has a list of blood donation centers in and around New York City.
Donate money. The American Red Cross has a page for donations for the disaster, or you can call 1 800 HELP NOW. The Red Cross is providing food, shelter, and counseling for emergency workers (many whom are volunteers) and victims.
World Trade Center Survivor Database. A World Trade Center Survivor database has been set up to help people search for missing people. If you know of any survivors, you can add them to the list.

Buy a cross-platform product, help victims

Buy Thursby products now and fund the disaster relief effort. September 12, 2001 -- Thursby Systems has announced that from now until September 21, the company is donating all sales from its on-line store to the American Red Cross for the disaster relief effort in New York and Washington, DC. Thursby's pledge includes all of its cross-platform networking products, including DAVE, MacSOHO, and MacNFS, and is effective immediately and will continue through Friday September 21.

William Thursby, president of Thursby Software Systems said "I encourage other businesses to follow our example and help us make sure the families and victims of these terrible acts get the resources they need."

Aladdin will donate a buck for each web sale to disaster relief. September 13, 2001 -- Aladdin Systems yesterday announced it is donating $1 of each sale from its Website over the next 30 days to help aid victims and families of the tragic terrorist attack in New York city, Washington DC and Pittsburgh. The funds from Aladdinsys.com sales will be donated to the American Red Cross. Aladdin Systems makes cross-platform StuffIt line of compression products for Mac, Windows, and Linux, as well as other utilities.

PagePlanet will give half of plugin MGI sales to rescuer survivor fund. September 13, 2001 -- PagePlanet Software, Inc. will donate fifty percent of all gross sales of Modular Gateway Interface (MGI) to the fund being set up to assist the survivors of the fire and police forces who lost their lives in the World Trade Center tragedy. The funds will be placed in escrow until September 30, 2001, and will then be transferred to a fund being established by the New York Fire Department and New York Police Department to aid the spouses and children of the hundreds of rescuers who lost their lives. MGI is a plug-in for WebSTAR server for Macs and the IIS server on Windows NT that allows web developers to integrate over 100 functions from counters to shopping carts with HTML-style tags.

Other MacWindows News (Sept. 13)

Another attachment problem with Outlook 2001. September 13, 2001 -- Matthew Smith is having a another problem with Outlook 2001 and attachments that is different than the attachment problems listed on our Outlook Special Report page:

Since switching to Outlook 2001, we have the following problem. When sending emails with certain attachments (mostly jpeg files) to the Internet, the following error occurs and the message will not send:

Your message did not reach some or all of the intended recipients.
The following recipient(s) could not be reached:
Unable to deliver the message due to a communications failure
The MTS-ID of the original message is: c=US;a=;p=SCM;l=DILBERT-010830185035Z-2256

MSEXCH:IMS:SCM:SCM1:DILBERT 0x80070057 (00050311) Conversion to Internet format failed

I use a client other than Outlook 2001 for my local mail... it's Mac OS X's Mail.app. When I send the message from a user to myself from Outlook 2001 with certain attachments, it screws up the IMAP client. It doesn't show the email that has the attachments or any after it. If I log in via outlook 2001 and delete the offending email, suddenly all the emails show up again. This has got me baffled! The only workaround I've found so far is to put all of the files into an archive (.zip or .sit) and send that. It works, but I wish I could solve the problem as it is very troublesome for the user experiencing it.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

Reader can't get Outlook 2001 working. September 13, 2001 -- Leland Jory can't get Outlook 2001 up and running:

I've seen your postings about people getting Outlook 2001 working under Classic on X. I can't even get it working in OS 9.x! I keep getting that frickin' "Your Exchange Server is not responding" error. I used to be able to connect using 8.2.1 and the 2K1 Beta, but the full-blown version won't work. (And yes, I've created a Hosts file with the correct settings.)

When installing, I completely deleted everything remotely connected to the Outlook 2001 Beta (I may have even done a clean system install since then). Still no joy. Actually, it's not that big a deal for me because I can access my company email through a Citrix session (Java client), meaning I don't have to launch Classic any more.

Suggestions for problems with Mac OS 9.2 and DHCP. September 13, 2001 -- A number of readers wrote in again to report problems with DHCP in Mac OS 9.2, several with workarounds. Jack Jackson has a suggestion:

I would suggest to your readers having problems with networking in Mac OS 9.2.1 that they move their "Open Transport Preferences" and "TCP/IP Preferences" files from the Preferences folder to the trash then restart and reapply their network settings. Several people have noted that this procedure cured their strange network problems after updating to 9.2.

Bhavesh Patel of the Mac Driver Museum gave up and uses static addressing:

My iMac has the same DHCP problem after upgrading from 9.1 to 9.2.1. My DHCP server is an SMC Barricade cable/dsl router. DHCP works fine with my PC's running 2000, 98 and Macs running 8.6, 9.1.

With 9.2.1 my iMac will get an IP address but stops network traffic after about 10-15 minutes. If I go to the TCP/IP control panel and change my profile, which forces a DHCP request, the iMac obtains another address and functions again for a while.

I've since switched to static addressing and haven't had any further problems. Seems like something broke in Apple's DHCP client implementation.

Glenn Henshaw has a workaround:

I saw the 0.0.1.x address today. I did it to myself by asking for a DHCP address while TCP/IP was set up for PPP.

I use IPNetMonitor from Sustainable Softworks to renew the address. It's more reliable than playing with the TCP control panel.

Shawn Post also has a workaround:

I get strange IP addresses (like the 0.0.1.xxx) and for some reason the G3's and the G4 won't respond to the DHCP server (router/switch)

I had the above problem occasionally with 9.1. I haven't actually had this problem with 9.2 yet but with 9.1 if I take the TCP/IP control panel and change it to something other than DHCP save this setting and open the Chooser and try to connect to a TCP/IP only server. After this change TCP/IP back to DHCP and the problem goes away.

Occasionally this is repeated several times to get it to work.

Graeme Bennett (Editor of the Mac Buyers Guide):

We have also been experiencing this DHCP problem. Strangely, we noticed it Sept. 8 and only affects our Mac OS X installation. We're wondering if it could possibly be related to the Unix clock rollover.

We've been reading a growing number of reports of problems accessing DHCP information from within Mac OS X and the problem has suddenly begun affecting our (ADSL) Internet connection in Mac OS X. Mac OS 9.1 on the same machine works fine, and the settings are identical under OS X. For some reason, though, Mac OS X can't seem to negotiate DHCP settings successfully, and can't access external domain names. (Our internal intranet hosts still work.) iDisk volumes still mount, and we can still ping hosts, so we know that TCP/IP is still working. As noted in your report, our Windows machines on the same hub all work fine. It's all quite mysterious.

September 12, 2001 -- San Francisco was virtually shut down yesterday in reaction to the horrific loss of life in New York and Washington and on the four airliners. Local officials and office building owners took this action as a precaution, but towards midday, the stillness of the city seemed to be more of an expression of mourning than fear. We had to explain to our children why their schools were closed, why the adults were watching TV news so much, and why we were calling so many relatives and friends on the East Coast that we hadn't spoken to in weeks or months. We are shocked and saddened. Our deepest sympathies to the victims and their families, and to the hundreds of heroic rescue workers who gave their lives trying to save others.

Suggestion for Outlook 2001 errors with address book. September 12, 2001 -- We've had several readers response to our August 30 report on a new address book problem with Outlook 2001. Shane Palmer says he has read about the problem elsewhere:

I am having the same problem with Outlook 2001, and after browsing through the miscrosft.public.outlook.mac newsgroup I see that several other people are having this problem. I tried to troubleshoot by reinstalling the older Outlook 8.2.2 client on a "clean" Mac, which is a Mac that I erased the hard drive, installed OS 9.1 and Outlook 8.2.2 and absolutely nothing else. I found that I can no longer download the offline address book in Outlook 8.2.2 as well as Outlook 2001. I made sure I used a new account on the Exchange server that has never been "touched" by any PC version of Outlook or Outlook 2001 for the Mac. I have not had a chance to talk with the Exchange Server admins to see if there have been any settings changed on the servers. We are using Exchange Server 5.5 and I believe we have all of the latest service packs for Exchange and Windows.

Peter Rock has seen the problem with older versions of the Outlook Mac client:

Regarding your item "Outlook 2001 errors with address book" which referred to an error message when downloading the offline address book...This is not an Outlook 2001 specific problem. I had this error while using the "old" Outlook (8.2.2). It was related to a setting on the exchange server and was not a client issue. My system admin was able to clear up the problem by adjusting the Exchange Server parameters.

According to my system admin, the change is under "exchange server admin" (manages exchange server) "DS site configuration properties". Look for the tab "offline address book". The global address book needs to be selected (not recipients).

Suggestions for X-platform fax solution for Mac, Win, and Linux. September 12, 2001 -- Several readers responded our September 6 request for information about cross-platform fax servers for Macintosh, Windows, an Linux. Johan Gunverth has been testing Omtool's Fax SR:

We've tried this one for a month. It worked beautifully for all clients, especially Win/Outlook clients who could see their incoming faxes in Outlook. Mac clients run the stand-alone software and Linux clients run the Java-version within a browser. You need to get a digital faxboard from Digi Inc. to get all the features like incoming routing. We didn't buy it, because there wasn't any real need for an enterprise-wide fax server. Maybe in the future.

Two other readers like the look of the upcoming 4SightFax version 5.0. Morten Davidsen points out that there is no Linux Client. However, John Lockwood thinks there will be a Java client for Linux:

I believe 4SightFax version 5.0 (due out "real soon now") may be a suitable solution. I just had a quick look at their website (by the way the product is now owned by Soft Solutions). Unfortunately I could not find any information on 5.0 on their site.

However I seem to vaguely recall that the client will be written in Java (and therefore in theory would work on Linux as well as Mac and Windows). They certainly intend to officially support Mac & Windows (the 5.0 server will run on MacOS X Server).

I would like to see them include a FileMaker plugin for both Mac and Windows (currently there are no cross-platform fax solutions for FileMaker, typically FileMaker on Mac would support FaxSTF [or 4SightFax], and FileMaker on Windows would support WinFax).

Finally, a reader named Jon recommends Stalker Software's CommuniGate, which also comes with an e-mail server.

Mediafour seeks beta testers for new MacDrive with XP support. September 12, 2001 -- Mediafour is seeking beta testers to provide feedback for a new beta version of MacDrive, Windows software that enables PCs to mount most types of Mac disks. (The current version is MacDrive 2000.) The new beta version features Windows XP compatibility, an all-new interface, and improved power and speed. In addition to the beta software, testers will get a T-shirt at the end of the beta testing cycle.

HELIOS server betas for Mac OS X now available. September 12, 2001 -- HELIOS Software GmbH now has Mac OS X beta versions of its file and OPI server software, including EtherShare 2.6 (AFP server for Mac clients), PCShare 3.0 (SMB server for Windows clients, and EtherShare OPI 2.1. HELIOS expects to ship the OS X versions by mid October.

More on Mac OS 9.2 and DHCP. September 12, 2001 -- Several readers report having the DHCP problem with Mac OS 9.2 that we reported on September 6. Randal Bahner:

I've experienced a similar problem when I connected my new G4/867 to my small LAN.

I previously had two G3's and a Windows 98 machine receiving their IP addresses from a Linksys cable/dsl rounter in dynamic DHCP mode. Also connected we a couple of ethernet printers and a Linksys hub. The network ran flawlessly. 

I connected a new G4/867 w. 9.2 and I have problems. I get strange IP addresses (like the 0.0.1.xxx) and for some reason the G3's and the G4 won't respond to the DHCP server (rounter/switch) 

The router/switch is new and works fine. I suspected a hub on the network, so replaced it with a new switch and so far so good. But I found it strange that this problem seemed to crop up only after I connected the G4 to my original network. 

Shaun Wolfosn is also using Linksys router hardware:

Ever since installing 9.2 on my G4 Powerbook connected to a linksystems router w/ tcp/ip set to DHCP my computer freezes when waking from sleep. I have changed to a static IP address and it seems more stable. 

Can't connect to my AT&T toshiba cable modem without a router. Spent hours on the phone with AT&T and Apple and have had a few tech out at the house with no luck...

Peter Mitchell is using a cable modem:

I may have a similar problem. I connect to my ISP (@home.com) with my G4 Powerbook and encounter many more bad IP addresses since upgrading to Mac OS 9.2. 

Occasionally I get 0.0.0.xxx as an address. Other times an address starting with 146.x.x.x is assigned and this is also invalid even though I can ping it.  

My normal address should star with 24.64.x.x

The only way around this problem is to power down the computer and cable modem, disconnect the cable ground the cable then connect and power up all systems. It is a very frustrating procedure since it occurs about 30 percent of the time when I am connecting.

Ibrahim Dajani sees the problem at home but not at work:

I have not seen this problem at work. However, I have a home network with a Cube 450, an iMac 266, Beige G3, a Power Book G3/233 Wallstreet II and a home-made Athalon 700 PC all connected to the a 10 BaseT Hub networked it to the DHCP network of my cable modem provider. The Cube is running Mac OS 10.04 and 9.2.1 and DHCP does NOT work with it in either OS's. Luckily, the beige G3 with 9.2.1 and the iMac running 9.1 both pick up an IP address easily. The only way I can get the Cube to work with this set up is to MANUALLY enter all the relevant IP address info copied from the other two Macs. The Power Book G3 with 9.1 picks up an IP address through DHCP only half of the time. And it will work for a while then drop the IP address altogether. The manual method does NOT seem to work properly with it either. There was never an issue with the PC with Windows ME getting in on the network. p.s the " IP address (0.0.1.xxx or 0.0.0.xxx)" behavior I've seen happen over and over on both the Wallstreet and the Cube.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

More reports on using VPC to sync Windows CE PocketPC (Ipaq, etc) September 6, 2001 -- We have some more reader tips and comments about using Virtual PC to sync a with a Windows CE, Pocket PC device. The consensus among readers continues to be that the only way to do this is to use a USB-to-serial converter. VPC won't recognize the device with a straight USB connection. We've posted the new reports along with the others on our Virtual PC 4 special report page. Brian Doran confirmed that a USB connection doesn't work with the HP Jornada device.

Michael Nicholson sent us some details on how he syncs a Cassiopeia device using a Keyspan High Speed Serial adapter. You can go directly to Nicholson's report here.

We'd also like to remind readers that we have a tip on moving files to a Mac without Virtual PC, using a null-modem cable, on our Peer-to-Peer tips page.

NEW TIP: Using FTP in Win 2000 workstation to move files to Mac. September 6, 2001 -- Jeff Shaw describes in detail how he uses the FTP Sharing feature in Windows 2000 to move files between it and a Macintosh. We've posted Shaw's report on our Peer-to-Peer Tips page.

(We note that Mac OS X also has a built-in FTP server that can be used to share files with Windows and Linux users.)

Update to ACTION GoMac 2.1, Win interface features for Mac OS. September 6, 2001 -- Power On Software is now offering ACTION GoMac 2.1 (US $30), and upgrade to the utility that adds a customizable Start Menu and Task Bar to Mac OS. The new version adds a "quick launch" area where you can drag icons to for easy access. Version 2.1 also adds support for MS Office 2001, Apple DVD Player, and iMovie, as well as other new features.

Outlook VPN crash. September 6, 2001 -- Duane Hanson is another reader who can't connect to a virtual private network using Outlook 2001. "I have experienced the same exact problem and I have no idea what to do -- I think I've tried everything." If you've found a suggestion not listed on our Outlook 2001 special report page, please share it with us.

Problem with Mac OS 9.2 and DHCP. September 6, 2001 -- Daniel Nicole reports a problem with Mac OS 9.2 and NT-based DHCP:

I manage a LAN with about 40 PCs and 200 Mac. The machines receive IP addresses using the DHCP service on a NT 4 SP6 server. There are problems with the PCs and Macs running Mac OS 9.1,but all machines under MacOS 9.2 (Power Mac G4 733 MHz) make me crazy:

They are correctly receiving IP addresses from the DHCP servers (I can ping this machines with the correct IP addresses), but the machines are requesting and additional IP address (0.0.1.xxx or 0.0.0.xxx), out of the range of the DHCP. The consequence is hundreds of NACK's from the DHCP.

Apple Switzerland says that there is no know bug with Ethernet or Open Transport 2.77 in MacOS 9.2.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

Long file names, Windows NT Workstations and AppleShare IP. September 6, 2001 --Peter Forsyth is using Windows clients with an AppleShare IP server, but can't get around this file name issue:

Tough to know if this is the same problem already listed on your site, but it's similar. (Running ASIP 6.3.1 and Windows NT Workstation 6). The Windows clients see the shortened 8.3 file name of each server volume when they log in. This is especially annoying since the names of each of our 4 server volumes start with the same 8 letters!

If you know a way around this problem, please let us know.

Seeking X-platform fax for Mac, Win, Linux. September 6, 2001 -- Reader Jonathan Mergy is looking for a cross-platform fax server:

There is no real quality fax server and client system that Macs, Windows and Linux users can use on the network that I have been able to find anyway. MerlinSoft has a product called Communacado Enterprise fax that LOOKS wonderful, but after constant contact with them over the last few months and their inability to provide me anything of any kind in finished or beta, it seems they are just promoting vaporware.

Does anyone else out there know any good cross-platform fax system from both the server and user-end side? Sure, Hylafax is good on the server end (so I am told, we set it up and it was a pain) but the clients for Mac and Windows are marginal at best - especially with the common end-user.

If you know of one you can recommend, please let us know.

AIM instant messaging over firewalls. September 6, 2001 -- Christopher Plummer notes a problem with using Netscape/AOL Instant Messenger for Mac over firewalls:

My Windows friends can bypass our Draconian corporate firewall by selecting HTTP in the 'Protocol' section of the "Connection" setup dialog. In the Mac version there are the same SOCKS and HTTPS choices that appear in the Windows version, but HTTP is missing. And that seems to be the only one that works. Pretty frustrating. I sent a note to Netscape, but haven't heard anything from them yet.

Netscape/AOL Instant Messenger 3.0N comes with Communicator 4.78. Apparently the current version is Netscape Instant Messenger 4.3.1233.

If you can shed any light on the subject, please let us know.

Fourth World releases WebMerge 1.7. September 6, 2001 -- Fourth World has released WebMerge 1.7 (US $69.) , software for Mac OS and Windows that generates static Web pages from database files. The new version adds more control in the layout of index pages, fixes some bugs, and enhances AppleScript support.

TourBooker Pro, X-platform travel agent software. September 6, 2001 -- Silvamber Software is now offering TourBooker Pro, software for Windows and Macintosh for travel agents and tour operators.

Solutions for large file copy problem with Win servers. September 4, 2001 -- A couple of readers have offered fixes for the problem with large file copies on Windows Servers. (This is where you get message saying that the file already exists.) Vickie Slaydon passed along causes and a Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

It has happened to us before. A couple of things can cause this:

1) If you have created Mac volumes at the root folder; or

2) If you have greater than 65000 files and folders on the volume, your index for the server volume gets out of whack. You can move the volumes down one level of folders from the root. You also need to stop/start the File Services for Macintosh, but before doing so, you must rebuild the root drive share INTENTIONALLY damaging the index for it to rebuild with the DIR command found in KB article 147909.

Dwayne Wescombe sent us a fix that he says "has never failed:"

The Windows NT and 2000 resource kits come with a utility called ROBOCOPY. This utility is useful for many things, including copy only new files and copying only files that have changed since a given date and time. Using this utility has several advantages:

1) I have never had it fail with large file transfers between the Mac and NT/2000 environment (except where a workstation was turned off)
2) If it does happen to fail for some external reason (e.g. Workstation gets turned off) then it will continue again at the first opportunity (e.g. next time the workstation is turned back on). This requires the correct switch combination.
3) You can create a log file of all files copied/failed. Using scripts this file can then be manipulated to give you a useful report.
4) It is as fast, if not faster, than copy and xcopy.

I never originate a copy of a large numbers of files (either to or from a Macintosh) from the Macintosh. It invariably fails at some point.

We have a discussion of this issue on our Windows 2000 special report page, in case you haven't seen it before.

Apple ActiveX control for QuickTime fixes problem with IE for Windows. September 4, 2001 -- Apple has offered a solution to the problem with QuickTime and the Windows version of Internet Explorer 5.5 SP2 and 6.0 that MacWindows readers have been reporting this summer. Apple has posted an article at its developer site that tells web developers to use HTML code that "makes available the new ActiveX control for QuickTime."

Microsoft Internet Explorer for Windows, versions 5.5 SP2 and 6.0 (soon to be released) no longer support Netscape-style plug-ins, such as the plug-in installed as part of QuickTime 5.0.2 and earlier versions. Consequently, Windows customers using these versions of Explorer who visit your site may be unable to view QuickTime content in the browser. To mitigate this problem and to ensure a positive experience for your Web site visitors, you should add to your site the HTML code that makes available the new ActiveX control for QuickTime...

Users of IE for Windows can get the new QuickTime ActiveX control from Apple QuickTime site. IE for Windows users need the ActiveX control in addition to the QuickTime plugin. (Users of other browsers were not affected by the problem and don't need the ActiveX control.)

How to use Outlook:2001 in OS X for remote access. September 4, 2001 -- Adrian Black responded to our August 17 question of how to use Outlook 2001 in Mac OS X to remotely connect to his Exchange Server. Black provides details on how he does it, which you can read on our Outlook 2001 special report page.

Thursby offers MacSOHO X-platform file sharing for half price. September 4, 2001 -- Until the end of the year, Thursby Software is now offering MacSOHO for US $49, half of the usual $99 price. MacSOHO is easy-to-install and use Mac software that enables it to share files with Windows PCs. It also helps Mac-knowledgable people set up a PC for file sharing. MacSOHO is aimed at the home/home office market.

Dell Latitude with TrueMobile 1150 on AirPort network. September 4, 2001 -- Lance Lichtor sent in some suggestions for using a Dell notebook with TrueMobile wireless with an AirPort Base Station:

I thought I would share my final success in getting a Dell Latitude with TrueMobile 1150 (Windows 2000) to link up to the Internet using an Airport Base Station. Before I go on, the person at Dell with whom I spoke said that this could not be done. Nonetheless, I finally found the MacWindows Cross-platform AirPort special report page, and knew there was some hope.

Based on what was in this article, I disabled encryption on the Mac side (although I did set up a closed network). When I did this, on the PC side, I saw that there was a radio connection, but I could not get my browser to connect to the Internet. Finally, when I selected start->settings->network and dialup connections->local area connection-> and then double clicked on Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and selected "obtain an IP address automatically" and "obtain DNS server address automatically", voilà.

For previous suggestions about the Dell TrueMobile 1150 and AirPort, click here.

Even more on accessing iDisk from Windows. September 4, 2001 -- Roy Caratozzolo describes how to access iDisk volumes from Windows NT:

I saw your posts on accessing iDisk from Windows, and I remember seeing something like this on Win NT 4 called Web Folders. Web Folders allowed me to enter the URL of my iDisk "http://idisk.mac.com/{username}", then a login window came up, I entered my info, and then up pops my iDisk.

Thomas Koons adds some notes about iDisk and WebDAV:

I was able to access my iDisk from Win 2000 thanks to your site. Those instructions worked perfectly and even behind my companies firewall! I also found a Mac freeware program called Goliath that works very well.

It has a few visual bugs but access seems to work just fine. Also Adobe Golive 5.0 can access WeDAV servers and it got to my iDisk without issue. You just need to turn on basic authorization in the WebDAV window and you are set.

See also our previous report on iDisk and the WebDAV standard.

August 2001

Problem with large file copies on Windows Server confirmed; not limited to Mac clients. August 30, 2001 -- A number of readers have verified having the same problem we reported on August 17 with copying large amounts of files to Windows 2000 Server. Alan Daly also sees the problem with Windows NT Server:

I've experienced a similar problem: copying numerous (1,000+) files from a Windows NT 4 server to a Mac client (OS 9.1) and receiving a file already exists message. My solution was the same as Steven's: copying in smaller batches.

Ed Joras suggests some workarounds:

We've seen this as well, including when NT 4 is in the mix. We've writting an AppleScript as well as used File Sync on the Mac to get around this, but both slow the process down.

Timothy Cheng sees the problem with Windows clients as well:

I have seen this problem [with Windows clients] as well. In fact, when I copy too many files, Windows will stop midway. I have a two step solution, both involving the command prompt:

1) xcopy
2) ftp

I never use the Windows Explorer to copy 'large' or 'many' (over a few hundred megs) files. It's not reliable enough.

Todd Miller also found the problem on Windows clients, but using xcopy didn't get around it.

In speaking with our server admin, I discovered that this is a problem with Windows file copies too. This problem is repeatable using xcopy on a Windows box.

Mike Maday found the problem with Windows clients and a Novell Server:

I've had the exact same problem when copying large amounts of files from an FPNW volume to anywhere else using Win 9x clients and Client32 for Novell. Internal API problem on Win 2000 server?

We have additional new reader reports on our Windows 2000 special report page. If you've seen this problem, please let us know.  

Readers confirm endcoding problems with Outlook 2001 attachments. August 30, 2001 -- A number of readers confirmed to our August 17 report about a problem with encoding attachments in Outlook 2001. (Our original report said that "Choosing Mime (or any other encoding option) doesn't make any difference.") Shelley Le Roy writes:

I can confirm this similar problem at my work place. We receive e-mail from government customers who use Macintoshes nearly exclusively. We have NT 4.0 and the standard Outlook, almost all attachments have the extra file extension of *.doc.bin for Word files. The files can be retrieved by converting them using Stuffit Expander on the Windows machine.

I have a Macintosh at home and have tried the different file formats for attachments but have never figured out the pattern. The problem has to be somewhere on the NT servers at work.

If the senders using Macintoshes send a copy to my Mac home account, I have not problems with the attachment. I am using Eudora 4.2 and lately 5.1 at home.

Pat Kelly also has some speculations:

Can I guess that this affects emails sent to users outside the Exchange domain? I am currently involved with the implementation of the introduction of Exchange to a predominantly Mac site, am not a Windows guru but this issue cropped up already. My MS colleague who installed the Exchange server said that file encoding in Outlook is set at the server. He turned off the facility that allows users to send RTF files (about the only item of choice left to an Outllook user) and this issue was overcome. (I think - still testing - complicated by remote users who can still set how encoding is handled in their pop clients).

If you've seen this problem or have an opinion, please let us know.

Suggestions for Outlook 2001 remote access in OS X. August 30, 2001 -- A pair of readers responded to our August 17 question of how to get Outlook 2001 remote access working in Mac OS X. Peter Attanasio writes:

In response Diarmuid Mallons problem with connecting remotely to an Exchange sever. I know that you have to set up a host file just like under OS 9 and I saved mine in the OS 9 desktop folder on OS Xs desktop. Then While you are Running OS X open the OS 9 TCP/IP control panel and select the hosts button and select the file you saved. You have to remember to put a blank line at the end of the host file or Outlook will crash.

Paul Lira mentions that his company has a web interface set up with the Exchange server:

We access mail via the web browser and a password keychain. We simply type in http://mail."company name".com and we are prompted with a user name, password, and domain.

Outlook 2001 errors with address book. August 30, 2001 -- Thomas McPhee has an Outlook 2001 problem we haven't heard of before:

I am having a problem with downloading the offline address book. I get the error message: \

"An error occurred while opening the Microsoft Exchange offline address book files on the Microsoft Exchange Server. See your administrator."

This never happened with Outlook 8.2. Our office just switched to Exchange 2000 from Exchange 5.5. The problem occurred on both versions of the exchange server.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

Ethernet and other problems with Lismore BlueLabel Power Emulator. August 30, 2001 -- Christoph Gartmann sent us his experience with Lismore's PC emulator for Macintosh:

Just to let you know my experience since version 1.0 (up to v1.6): I cannot use it. First, I have a 7100 with a G3 upgrade card and a PCI Ethernet card (BNC). This Mac is not directly connected to an Apple keyboard but to a CPU-switcher. The following problems arose:

1.) One has to ensure that the system extension for the upgrade card is first, before BlueLabel.

2.) I cannot get the emulator to work via the CPU-switcher. BlueLabel complains because it cannot find a keyboard. The stupid program doesn't continue, it aborts. Only if I connect a real Apple keyboard I can get BlueLabel to work.

3.) I cannot get Ethernet to work. BlueLabel setup offers either Open Transport or "Ethernet at Slot 0". Both versions don't function.

My contact to Lismore was via e-mail. But I only got standard answers, not helpful at all. Virtual PC doesn't have any of the above problems.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know. (We've added Gartmann's report to our Lismore BLPE special report page.)

PocketMac will sync Mac-to-Pocket PC. August 27, 2001 -- Information Appliance Associates has announced that it is developing PocketMac, a Mac OS tool for Mac-to-Pocket PC syncing. PocketMac would be the first Mac syncing software for the Pocket PC handheld platform that runs Windows CE. Features will include the ability to synchronize files, to transfer files, to install and uninstall software to a Pocket PC from a Mac. The company also said that it hopes to support Outlook 2001 and Entourage with the new software. IAA has not announced a release date or pricing information, but is allowing you to preregister to get on a mailing list about the upcoming product.

(Thanks to Dave Perry, Benoit Octave, and Brian Doran.)

Synching iPaq and Virtual PC: don't use USB. August 27, 2001 -- We had several responses to our August 17 report of problems using Virtual PC to synch via USB with an iPaq, Compaq's version of the PocketPC platform. Patrick Scott says "I asked Connectix about this long ago - no way, no how, was the answer." However, V.J. Tedesco says it can be done, but not directly with USB:

I have an iPAQ3670 that I successfully synch with Virtual PC 4 on a G4 466/DA. You can't use USB; you must buy a serial cradle and connect it via a USB to serial adapter (such as Keyspan's). I'm not sure why USB doesn't work, but from my research on the web it seems to be a problem related to the USB implementation in VPC. I'd much prefer the speed of USB, so lets hope the next version of VPC fixes this glitch.

For another approach check out this thread on MacNN.

Alex Nguyen told us about this article, though it doesn't have a lot of detail. We have some more detailed reports on using VPC to sync with PocketPC devices on our Virtual PC 4 special report page.

Software can shut down Macs from Win or Linux server. August 27, 2001 -- The APC Tracker 1.0 from Equinux is software that enables APCUPSd servers running on Windows and Linux to power off a Mac clients. When there is a power failure, the UPS-connected server sends a signal to the Macs telling them to shut down. (Thanks to Dan Schwartz.)

Getting Office 2000 to run with OrangePC. August 27, 2001 -- Dave Green sent us the solution to his problem with running Office 2000 on the discontinued OrangePC coprocessor card:

Orange Micro recommended reinstalling Windows and then reinstalling Office 2000. We did that (and upgraded from Windows 95 to Windows NT while we were at it) and everything is working smoothly.

Previously, other readers had offered suggestions, which you can read here.

Updated to ODBC OverDriver for Mac OS. August 27, 2001 -- August Software has posed ODBC OverDRIVER 3.0.3 for Macintosh, a new version of the ODBC database connectivity driver fro Macs. According to the company, new version "enhances the ability of Microsoft Office, File Maker Pro and many other Mac applications" to access ODBC databases, including MS-Access, ORACLE, SYBASE and others.

More on logging onto iDisk from Windows. August 17, 2001 -- Several readers responded to yesterday's report of Apple's iDisk now supporting the WebDAV protocol, pointing out that Windows 2000 and ME already support WebDAV. Ron Alcasid describes the procedure of accessing iDisk:

You can access WebDAV servers, including iDisk, with Win ME and 2000 without third party software.

1. Go into my Network Places and double click Add Network Place.
2. Enter the URL for your iDisk for the location, example http://idisk.mac.com/username.
3. When prompted, enter your username and password.
4. Your iDisk should appear as a "Web Folder" within My Network Places.

David Bills describes it this way:

I wanted to point out that webDAV is built into windows 2000. Just go to My Network Places and add a new place. Put in http://idisk.mac.com/[username] and log in. That will do it!

Larry Rosenstein uses Virtual PC running Windows 98 to mount an iDisk:

I'm using Win 98 in Virtual PC, and I was able to access my iDisk directly from Internet Explorer. Select the Open... command, and enter http://idisk.mac.com/username and click the Open as Web Folder checkbox. Enter your name and password in the authentication dialog and it should work.

Problems with AppleTalk and wireless not limited to Lucent Orinoco access point. August 17, 2001 -- A reader named Mark responded to yesterday's report of no AppleTalk on a Lucent Orinoco AP-1000 wireless access point. Mark is having the same problem, but with a different access point:

I have the same problem with a Xsense Aero router. None of the wireless machines on the network show up in the AppleTalk network. They are accessible however if File Sharing over TCP/IP is enabled and by typing in their IP address in the Chooser. I have one hardwired and two wireless networked computers. The wired computer is a PM8500 and the others are a 20th Anniversary Mac connected with an Orinoco wireless Ethernet converter and a G4 PowerBook with an Airport card. All can access the Internet via the router but do not show up in the Chooser. If I hardwire more than one of these computers to the the router the wired computers can see each other in the Chooser. All computers are running OS 9.1. I have found no other information on the web regarding this issue. Xsense Tech Support stated that their routers support AppleTalk over a wireless connection and the computers should be accessible via AppleTalk with no special settings.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

Using the Linksys and an Airport Base Station together. August 17, 2001 -- B. Etemad sent us a report on using the Linksys BEFW11S4 (Cable/DSL Router with 4-port switch) and an Airport Base Station together. We've posted it on our Cross-platform AirPort special report page.

Issue with large file copies on Windows 2000 Server. August 17, 2001 -- Steven Lugo reports of a problem with Mac clients copying large groups of fields to a Windows 2000 server:

I am a Sr. systems Engineer for a large publishing company that has several Mac client on a windows NT domain with several Windows 2000 servers. The issue that I am having is that when a user on a Mac copies a large amount of data (100 meg) from one W2k server to another Win2K server he receives an error message half way through the copy that the file already exists in the location when in fact it does not. The files consist of font files and .tif files, but if you copy those files over one at a time they copy to the server.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

Mac/Ipaq 3670 synch w/Virtual PC. August 17, 2001 --John Runkel wants to use Virtual PC to sync his IPAQ 3670:

I can't get my platinum G4 PowerBook to synch with my IPAC via USB. I've tried the newest stuff from Connectix and Microsoft (activesynch) but no luck.I use OS 9.1 and Virtual PC 4.02 with WDO98 (2000 seems to make no difference).

I'm forced into the IPAQ from work and don't want to give up the platinum PowerBook under any circumstances (ever) but I need to get the two to synch. I believe I'll be able to transfer my palm stuff just fine once I get initial recognition.

If you have a suggestion, please let us know.

Remote access in Outlook for OS X. August 17, 2001 -- Diarmuid Mallon asks the question:

I've got Outlook 2001 working under X. How the heck do I get it to work remotely? For the companies Windows clients, you can direct dial the exchange server, but it doesn't seem to work for X.

If you know, let us know.

Problem with encoding attachments in Outlook 2001. August 17, 2001 -- Scott Goodfellow noticed that when he sends Word 2001 to PC users with Word 2000 using Outlook 2001, the files arrive as Mac-encoded files, and the PC can't open it. However, the problem doesn't occur with Outlook 8.2.1. Goodfellow says:

Choosing Mime (or any other encoding option) doesn't make any difference.The file still appears (in Outlook 98 on NT4) as foo.doc.bin BUT (correctly) as foo.doc in Outlook 2000 on W2000. Outlook 8.2.1 (Mac) has no problems encoding Office 97-2001 files.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

Tip for speeding up folder browsing of Windows NT Server from Macs. August 17, 2001 -- Marco Westenbrink writes with this suggestion:

Environment: Huge network (500 GB), System 9.1 on local Macs (300 MHz).

Problem: Navigating through the folders goes extremely slow and windows don't open immediately after clicking on them.

Bottom line: After a deep investigation on your site I concluded that perhaps it could be related to the 'alias' folders, and especially the recent documents option. After removing them everything apparently works faster.

Accessing iDisk from Windows. August 16, 2001 -- An reader who wishes to remain anonymous reports that Apple's iDisk web-based storage now supports the WebDAV standard, and can be accessed from PC using Windows WebDAV software:

iDisk has WebDAV support already! There is already Windows software for accessing your iDisk from Windows. The commercial try-ware TeamDrive is available at TeamStream's web site, but there is also free software such as the Java-based DAV Explorer. The attached screen shot shows the TeamDrive software after having mapped drive Q to my iDisk. Now it's just as transparent as with AFP over IP!

Previously, iDisk supported only the AFP file sharing protocol of AppleShare, and was not available from Windows. With WebDAV, users will be able to keep an iDisk volume mounted as long as the Internet connection remains active. 

Wireless adapter options for PCs and Macs. August 16, 2001 -- Charles Martorelli is successfully using a Linksys USB adapter to connect a Windows PC to a an AirPort network:

I have a G4(2001) & G3 Pismo on my AirPort Base Station connected to a PacBell DSL Modem. I wanted to add a PC to the network. After checking around I decided on the Linksys USB adapter. My decision was basted on price and the fact I could not spare a PCI slot for a internal card. I was all set for a evening on configuration nightmares and restarts on my Widows 2000 system. I installed the software restarted and plugged in the Linksys USB adapter and that was it. It works great I even test my thought put and it is as good as being connected to the modem directly. I also logged on to Shields Up and the firewall in the AirPort Base Station is working great.

However, Dan Mangialetto is looking for a similar solution for his older iMacs, which don't have an AirPort slot. He did find a wireless Ethernet adapter:

I want to hook up some old non-AirPort iMacs wirelessly, but the USB wireless adapters are all for PC's. I found Linksys and SMC have them but I do not think they will work on the iMac.

I did find the Nokia A040 which actually connects to the Ethernet port, not USB, to make it wireless. I am pretty sure it will work with the old iMacs because their downloadable PDF document features an iMac.

If you've had experience with the Nokia device with Macs, please let us know.

Problem with AppleTalk and Lucent Orinoco AP-1000 wireless access point. August 16, 2001 -- John Young reports this problem with using AppleTalk with an Orinoco AP-1000 access point.

I've been successfully using an AirPort, but upgraded to the presumably more sophisticated Agere/Lucent unit in order to create a wireless backbone and avoid running network cable between floors of the same building. In the AP-1000 configuration application, AppleTalk is very clearly listed as one of the bridging protocols, but none of my OS 9 machines can see each other unless I use File Sharing over TCP/IP to interconnect. All communication over IP is flawless, and of course all of my Windows machines work just fine. None of the FAQs on wavelan.com seem to address this issue.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

Wireless for under $250 with D-link Wireless. August 16, 2001 -- John DiBease reports on a less expensive way to go wireless:

Using a D-link 713P and it works fine with the latest AirPort card and 128-bit security. Wireless Internet hooked up immediately using Apple install software. Network had a problem. Couldn't see other computers.

D-link recommends you update the firmware before one uses the system. Typical Apple user didn't read and attempted installation. D-link has a new Tech number for just the wireless portion of its products. They were very helpful. The Firmware 2.56.6a update provided for apple talk packets and solved the problem.

Currently buy.com has the D-link713P (Cable/DSL wireless hub and three ports 10/100 Ethernet) for $229.0 with a D-link $50.00 rebate which equals $179.00. Added a Airport card to the G3 PowerBook (FireWire) for $99.00 can have one up and running for $278.

I am currently up and running wireless for $232.00. Note this D-link Cable modem was in Dealmac on 3 Aug 01. It was then $212.99 and I also used a coupon from Dealmac coupons for $30.00 off 300.00 @ buy.com for a total cost of $213-rebate $50 -coupon $30 =133. Add a airport card for 99.00 That's how I went wireless for $232 pus shipping. Check the coupons at Dealmac and the rebates @ vendors sites.

(Note: There are more cross-platform wireless reports on our AirPort special report page.)

More on Sherlock searches of NT yielding multiple results. August 16, 2001 --Korbin Berg is also seeing the problem with searching Windows NT Server SFM volumes with Sherlock that we reported on August 13.

We recently experienced the exact thing on our NT server. Sherlock searches would return duplicate results... usually it would run out of memory after displaying the file about 3000 times or so.

It started happening immediately after we had disabled catsearch on the NT server (specifically on the primary volume our art department uses), in order to prevent our client Macs from locking up during a search.

The duplicate results only showed up on certain queries, and ONLY if the search included an NT volume which still had catsearch enabled (our IT department was only willing to disable catsearch on our art volume... they said that disabling in on all volumes would render the server unusable... I have no idea why it would do that though.) 

If you have a clue about this, or have seen the problem, please let us know.

More on Macs locked out of Internet by Novell Bordermanager. August 16, 2001 -- Dennis Chang is another reader experiencing the problem of Macs Internet access being blocked by Novell Bordermanager reported on our NetWare special report page. However, his Linux clients don't see the problem:

We too have this problem. All of our several Macs, running Mac OS 8.x to 9.1 and using Apple TCP/IP, must bypass Bordermanager with direct connections out to the Internet. We do not have any Netware-provided clients for Mac OS or the Prosoft-provided client. Our Mac's Internet Explorer browsers simply fail to connect when trying to go through Bordermanager as a proxy server. Funny thing is, our LINUX boxes have no problems going straight through, proving that you don't need a NetWare client to make use of Bordermanager. So, our solution has been to put the Macs on a subnet that is routed out directly through our T1 to the Net.

Decompressing .ace archives on Macs. August 16, 2001 -- A reader asked about using the free Mac UnAce, a free Mac utility for decompressing .ace archives from PCs, which is listed on our Cross-platform Compression Solutions page:

I am desperate for any help which may be offered regarding the operation of the program Mac UnAce. Or any other Macintosh program that will decompress ace files with a more user friendly interface

We don't know of another Macintosh .ace utility, but if you do, please let us know.

Cross-platform wireless--3Com Airconnect card and Mac software base station. August 13, 2001 -- Dan Appelquist told us how he configured a 3Com Airconnect card to use WEP encryption with the software base station running on an iMac:

I have an iMac DV with an AirPort card and a Sony VAIO laptop with a 3Com Airconnect card (First rev). I have cable modem service through Blueyonder (Telewest) which uses the Motorola surfboard cable modem/router. The iMac is on an Ethernet network with the cable modem and acts as a base station using the software base station utility. Currently running MacOS 9.1. I hope to upgrade to MacOS X soon but from all the information I can find the software base station functionality isn't present in MacOS X, so it looks like I'll be stuck with 9 for a while, or until I plunk down for a base station.

The only hitch was correctly configuring WEP, which I've been banging my head against on and off for months. The information on this page about entering the network password as a hex string preceded by a $ worked great. I simply set a HEX password in the Airconnect setup screen and then, using the AirPort software base station admin utility, entered that same HEX string preceded by a $ into the network password dialog. After that, everything clicked.

There are more cross-platform wireless reports on our Cross-platform AirPort special report page.

More 802.11 wireless standards coming. August 13, 2001 -- An eWeek story discusses some variations of the 802.11 standard that are on the horizon. Some are compatible with the current 802.11b of AirPort and other systems.

Reasons for IE 5.5 SP2 incompatibility with QuickTime. August 13, 2001 -- Monty Solomon reports that the reason QuickTime for Windows no longer runs with Internet Explorer 5.5 SP2 or later is that Microsoft has removed support for "Netscape-style" plugins. Apple needs to do an Active X version of QuickTime for Windows to get it to work with newer versions of IE for Windows. MacWindows readers have been reporting this problem. Our previous report was last week.

Suggestions for running Office 2000 with OrangePC card. August 13, 2001 -- Several readers responded to last Friday's report of a reader who could not run Office 2000 on an OrangePC coprocessor card. Scott Hander says it was a known problem:

If this is the problem I think it is, then I have dealt with it already. There is some conflict between MS Office 2000 and a file called OPCFLOP.PDR. It is the 32 bit driver for the floppy drive. You must remove Office 2000, remove the driver, then reinstall Office 2000. The problem was corrected in version 3.4.2 on OPC 600 boards, but not for anything below that (I have a 550).

Kathy Sullivan agreed that the software revision 3.4.2 from Orange Micro fixed the problem. However, a reader named Ken had a different suggestion:

To get the program to operate correctly, you must disable the Orange PC 32 bit floppy driver; this will not disable the floppy drive-it will still run in DOS mode. You should also make sure Virtual Memory is off and your disk cache is set to 128k. I would also go to www.orangemicro.com/software updates and download the latest drivers for the OPC card, also Win 98 SE is a big improvement over 95. Be sure to follow the instructions verbatim-Orange MICRO has a lot of troubleshooting info on this site.

Problem with Sherlock and Sherlock 2 searches on NT volumes. August 13, 2001 -- John Hedren reports this problem with searching Windows NT Server SFM volumes with Sherlock:

When doing a search in Sherlock (OS 8.6/PowerMac 8500) or in Sherlock 2 (OS 9.1/G4) against and NT volume, the search results return the same item thousands of times--until Sherlock runs out of memory.

The symptoms remind me of the 'jumping icons' problem prior to NT service pack 3, where in the Finder list view of an NT volume, single items appeared to multiply over and over. Our NT servers hosting Services for Macintosh are all at Service Pack 5. I've been reluctant to go to SP 6.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

VPC 3 incompatible with AOE2. August 13, 2001 -- F. Moreno reports that Connectix Tech support has acknowledged That Virutal PC 3.0.3 cannot run Age of Empires II. Moreno passed along this message he recievedfrom Connextix:

There is a known issue with AOE2, along with several other titles by various software publishers. The anti-copy protection on the CD-ROM causes VPC to not properly identify the CD-ROM. We have logged this and will be attempting to complete a fix or workaround. Unfortunately, I don't have a date for that yet.

Sorry,
Steve
Connectix Technical support

We have Age of Empires II listed on our Virtual PC Conflicts page.

Augsoft releases single-user version of ODBC Router. August 13, 2001 -- August Software has released a single user version of ODBC Router (US $99), an Open DataBase server for Mac that gives Mac clients access to ODBC databases running on other platforms.  

DAVE for OS X v3.0a8 fixes log in problem. August 10, 2001 -- Steve Crossman reports that the new build of DAVE 3 for OS X (3.0a8) fixes the log in "DXCannotInnitCIFSD" problem.

I upgraded to the latest DAVE 3 for OS X and can say they have fixed the DXCannotInitCIFSD problem. I can put the cube to sleep, wake it up and connect to our NT servers. I could not do that before, having previously used the DAVE Browser to connect.

Crossman also reported another issue.

However, do not try to mount a share in which you don't have privileges too, as you will get stuck with a spinning cursor and the Finder becomes unresponsive. It is a similar condition to what happens when iDisk doesn't always connect. I had a lot of problems just getting the computer to shut-down or restart when this happened.

I did not try to mount a share before that I did not have permissions to with the prior version of Dave, so I don't know if this is a new problem.

If you've seen this new problem, please let us know.

Windows XP may ship at same time as OS X 10.1. August 10, 2001 -- A ZDnet story says that Microsoft may allow PC vendors to bundle Windows XP with PCs as soon as September 25--about the time Apple is expected by some to ship OS X 10.1. (September 24 is the first day of the Seybold Conference, a possible ship date for Apple.) This would be one month before Microsoft has said it would release Windows XP.

Office 2000 on OrangePC. August 10, 2001 -- Dave Green can't get Office 2000 for Windows to run with his Orange Micro OrangePC, card, a now-discontinued Pentium coprocessor card for Macs:

My company (I'm the only Mac user left) is upgrading from Office 97 to Office 2000. We've installed the upgrade on my OrangePC 540 card running in a PowerMac 8600 with Powerlogix G3 upgrade and have run into trouble with "missing registry" errors when any of the Office 2000 applications are opened.

If you've seen this problem, please let us know.

Dell goes for cross-platform look. August 10, 2001 -- Paul Nelson of Thursby Software passed along this apparent blooper in a Dell catalog:

I was perusing my Dell (August 2001) catalog, and noticed something strange on the inside back cover. There is a picture of their web site, and a description of the "Quick Paths" item found there. A dialog appearing on the catalog page is definitely from a Macintosh! You can tell by the font and pop-up menu. (This catalog is the business solutions edition with a big red $899 price on the cover.)

Update to DAVE for Mac OS X. August 9, 2001 -- Thursby has posted a new build of DAVE 3 for OS X (3.0a8). Like the first OS X version release last month, the new version runs only on OS X 10.0.4, is a free download, and is unsupported. Warren Witt of Thursby told us this about it:

"Our engineering group has spent extensive time working on the installation and setup aspects of DAVE. As always, we appreciate feedback from the end user community."

Of course, MacWindows is also interested in hearing of your experiences with the new build.

How to install Mandrake Linux 8.0 on VPC for OS X. August 9, 2001 -- Saul Good send us step-by-step instructions for installing Mandrake Linux into Virtual PC Test Drive 4.0.6 for Mac OS X. He describes the process:

It was a nearly brainless install, with almost no troubles. The only trouble that I've had is with ejecting CD 1 to insert CD 2 extras during the install process, it will unmount but not eject. All I had to do was click cancel on the dialog box to complete the install process.

You can read Good's detailed instructions on our Virtual PC 4 special report page. (There are screenshots here.)

TIP for decompressing EXE archives with StuffIt. August 9, 2001 --Christopher Jones passes along the following:

I found that you can open.exe files in a Mac with StuffIt if you change the extension to .zip. This comes in handy if you're trying to use for example a Sim download in exe.

Jones is referring to self-expanding Windows archives with file names that end in .exe (and not general Windows applications, which all end in .exe).

Thursby responds: DAVE 3 for OS X is only an interim solution; it will update. August 8, 2001 -- Thursby software sent us a note regarding the free DAVE 3 for Mac OS X. The company did not address the log in "DXCannotInnitCIFSD" problem we've been reporting, but did say it would be posting updates:

I want to clarify our position regarding the free version of DAVE being offered for Mac OS 10.0.4 only. DAVE for OS X is being offered as an interim solution. It is for early adopters who are seeking a Windows file sharing solution.

This is not a commercial version of DAVE and is unsupported. As Apple integrates key features into Mac OS X, we will deliver the commercial version of DAVE with the quality our customers have come to expect. To accomplish this, Thursby engineers are focused on finishing the commercial version of DAVE, which imposes limitations on our ability to answer support issues for this free version.

We will provide updates as we find problems, but updates are not guaranteed. Updates will be posted, and a list of users will be notified as the updates become available. Individuals can join this list at http://www.thursby.com/support/dave3x.html.

Even though there is no support for this free version of DAVE, we would still like comments, suggestions, and bug reports. To contact us, please send email to: DAVE3X@thursby.com.

We cannot guarantee a response to every request, but we may need to contact a user for further details. As your readers encounter problems, we would like to hear from them directly so we can use this information for product development.

Best Regards,
Warren T. Witt
Vice President, Sales and Marketing
Thursby Software Systems

Another workaround for DAVE 4 for OS X log in problem. August 8, 2001 --Meanwhile, Steve Crossman has another suggestion for the log in "DXCannotInnitCIFSD" problem with DAVE 3 for OS X:

I have Dave 3 on my OS X 10.0.4 cube at work and home and have the same problem with the DXCannontInitCIFD cannot be initialized after putting the computer to sleep. One reader noted doing a reinstallation of Dave to fix it. I found that if I logged out and back in, it worked fine until I put the computer to sleep again.

Outlook 2001 issues: printing 5-day view, deleting messages. August 8, 2001 -- Shan Younker reports two more issues with Outlook 2001 for Mac

I've run across a few more problems in Outlook 2001 not addressed on your site:

1. I usually print a 5-day view of my calendar. In Outlook 8.2 anything marked as an 'all day event' would show up at the bottom of the calendar print out in the 'Other' section. In Outlook 2001 the all day events show up at the bottom but they also show up in the 'timed' section of the calendar. If you have more than 2 or 3 all day events then they 'push' your timed events off the print out. A bummer for those of us still relying on a paper calendar.

2. I have personal folders set up for my Outlook and all incoming e-mail is moved to my personal folders 'Inbox' The problem is that I get an error message when I try to delete items from my inbox. The message states 'An item could not be deleted. The action could not be completed.' If I remove the personal folders from the services dialog and then re-create them, I can delete items until I quit and restart Outlook. The problem then returns.

If you've seen these problems, please let us know.

Update on Red Hat Linux 7.1 and VPC 4.02 install problem. August 8, 2001 -- Enrico D'Urso sent an account of how he tried to install Red Hat Linux 7.1 in Virtual PC 4.02, a known problem we've reported before. He says he has made some progress. You can read D'Urso's report on our Virtual PC 4 special report page.

Another Cross Platform wireless experience. August 8, 2001 -- Monty Solomon mentioned this MacVillage article about one user's experience with setting up a cross-platform wireless network.

Fixes for DAVE 3 for OS X. August 6, 2001 -- Two readers wrote in with methods of getting DAVE for OS X running, getting around the problems with logging in the we reported last week. Peter Prows suggests using the DAVE setup assistant:

I can also confirm the 'DXCannontInitCIFD' error on the launch of Dave for OS X. However, I've found a simple solution: simply rerun the DAVE setup assistant (/Library/Application Support/DAVE Setup Assistant/), leaving all of your settings the same and then relaunch the DAVE Explorer program and everything should work fine. I've been using this technique whenever I get the error for over a week without any complaints

Saul Good found a solution in the Unix command line of OS X's Terminal application:

This day's update includes a report by Leland Jory, he says he "gets the "DXCannotInnitCIFSD" when he tries to launch DAVE Explorer in the DAVE 3 for OS X", and I've been getting this error too since I installed DAVE. This happens because the cifsd application which queries for SMB shares crashes randomly. You do not have to reboot the computer to fix this, all you need to do is relaunch cifsd. From the command line, type 'sudo open /System/Library/Filesystems/DAVE/cifsd.app' then you can use DAVE Explorer to browse for SMB shares.

Apple disables Tech Info Library. August 6, 2001 -- This weekend, Apple switched the Tech Info Library over to new software at the Apple Knowledge Base. Unfortunately, we found that most of the MacWindows links to TIL articles no longer worked this weekend, even when we logged in. Searching was also not working well.

Yes, Virginia, there is OS X and Windows domain authentication--or will be. August 6, 2001 -- Three readers responded to last Friday's question authentication between Mac OS X and a Windows Domain. They all said, yes, it is possible, or will be soon. Anthony Trumbo writes:

I read your article regarding authenticating users in MacOS X against a Windows domain. I was told by Apple that third parties are working on products that will allow this. MacOS X has an extensible authentication module so if someone wrote the module it would be easy to add in.

John Lite

I have heard some things about this from Apple. One being that it is possible, though the documentation has not yet been published to do it.

Michael Perbix had some more details as to how this type of authentication would work:

Yes it IS possible. However there is little to no documentation on the EXACT steps to do this, however I can tell you the theory.

First off, supposedly there is a third party developing an actual NT plugin for the authentication feature in OS X. I am not sure to what end this will work, if it will allow just NT authentication, or enable other feature like what your readers are looking for.

Now with Win2K and AD, you can enable LDAP on the Main Win2K AD controller machine. You can then use OS X server to point to that LDAP server and use it to pull authentication and account information from there. This has been explained to me by a few SE's at Apple and I have seen a few reports of people trying this. The most important part is that you need to map certain variables in LDAP to those on OS X, that is supposedly the hardest part, but what exactly needs to be mapped to what is not documented anywhere that I can see.

I talked to some people at MWNY and supposedly there will be some Apple SE's trained for this type of setup. What I actually wanted to do was have one server talk to LDAP for the account info then be a Netinfo parent server for the rest of OS X servers then use Macintosh Manager for my login and security on the clients. Since MacaNTee is no longer supported (and BTW MacaNTee did not work for me with Win2K controller in mixed mode) I no longer have a way to authenticate user logins on Macs against our NT domain.

Perbix also discussed Alaran's MacaNTee (now discontinued) that used to let Macs join NT domains:

The only way to really have MacaNTee still work is to leave your Win2K AD controller in mixed mode, and have an NT 4 server set up as a BDC out there to install the MacaNTee NT service on. There are however problems with some features on MacaNTee when authenticating against a BDC versus a PDC. For instance, users