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December 2005Dec. 28PC-Mac-Net FileShare adds remote media control. December 28, 2005 -- Lava Software has released PC-Mac-Net FileShare v5.4 (free upgrade) a new version of its cross-platform file sharing software for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux. PC-Mac-Net FileShare can also play movies and music over local networks and the Internet. This new version includes remote media player capabilities and searching of remote files and folders. It also includes the open-source VLC player which supports a variety of media formats. Pricing starts at US $15. A free Lite Edition has file size limits of 10 MB download and 2 MB upload file size limits, as well as other limits. QuickSynergy for keyboard sharing over a network. December 28, 2005 -- QuickSynergy is a free application for Mac OS X and Linux that allows multiple computers to share a keyboard and mouse without a KVM box. It's a graphical front end that uses Synergy2 to share a keyboard and mouse between Windows, Mac, and Linux computers over an IP network. Readers says Cisco 4.8 client doesn't fix DNS issue. December 28, 2005 -- Duncan Crawford says that the Cisco VPN Client 4.8 update does not fix the DNS problem with Tiger, as reported last week:
PGP Desktop 9.0.4 Ships. December 28, 2005 -- PGP Corporation has released PGP Desktop 9.0.4, an update to the encryption software for Mac OS X. The new version includes a fix for SSL connections that were creating multiple messaging services with changes to account settings. Advice Mac Active Directory binding problems. December 28, 2005 -- Nick Vrtis describes a problem with Active Directory binding and how he got around the issue:
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Kerio MailServer update supports Entourage SP2 features. December 20, 2005 -- Kerio Technologies released Kerio MailServer 6.1.2 (US $499 and up), an update to the email/groupware server for Windows 2000/XP/2003, Mac OS X, and Linux servers, supporting Entourage and Outlook clients. Kerio refers to MailServer as an alternative to Microsoft Exchange.
The new version adds support for the added collaboration capabilities of Microsoft's Entourage 2004 Service Pack 2 (SP2), including support for multiple calendars, support of Global Address List (GAL), and folder delegation.
Kerio Technologies says of the updated server "Now Entourage users can view and share calendars in their workgroup without having to open a second application like iCal or our WebMail client."
Cisco VPN 3000 client 4.8 fixes DNS issue. December 20, 2005 -- Micah Cox reports that Cisco has fixed the DNS issues of the Cisco VPN Client 4.7 and Tiger:
On your site there is a post concerning name resolution with Cisco's VPN client version 4.7. The problem is fixed in Cisco's client version 4.8 released December 9, 2005. I have tested it and it fixes the problem.
If you can verify or refute this fix
Meanwhile, Adam Grant verified a suggested workaround we reported last month that adds an explicit DNS server and search domain. Grant said:
I added "local" to the "search domains" field in networking and now my DNS works on Cisco VPN ver 7.0.
VPC vs GuestPC vs iEmulator. December 20, 2005 -- Al Fasoldt has a short report comparing the performance three PC emulators for Mac OS X: Virtual PC, GuestPC, and iEmulator. He concludes that Virtual PC was the fastest, followed by GuestPC, with iEmulator coming in last. Fasoldt also makes some other comparisons of the emulators.
Tiger Server 10.4: Group members can't save to a CIFS share. December 20, 2005 -- Apple Support has published an article called Mac OS X Server 10.4: Group members can't save to a CIFS share.
When using certain applications, group members cannot save to a CIFS share; they get a permissions error.
This happens on volumes that don't have ACLs enabled. The solution is to either enable ACLs or to disable the ACLs in /etc/smb.conf. Follow the steps below to disable the ACL support for the shares in question.
The article describes how to do this.
MS will stop offering IE at Mactopia. December 20, 2005 -- Microsoft announced that as of January 31, 2006, it will no longer offer Internet Explorer for Mac at its Mactopia web site. (Microsoft currently offers Internet Explorer 5.2.3 for Mac OS X and Internet Explorer 5.1.7 for Mac OS 8.1 to 9.x.) Microsoft also said that it will end support for IE for Mac on December 31, 2005.
MS release new Longhorn Server beta. December 20, 2005 -- Yesterday, Microsoft released new beta code for Longhorn Server, the eventual successor to Windows 2003 Server. (See this eWeek report.) The company also released updated beta code for Windows Vista, the next version of the Windows client, scheduled for shipping a year from now.
Virtual PC network setup & troubleshooting. December 16, 2005 -- Microsoft has an article called Virtual PC Internet connection setup and troubleshooting. It provides a detailed account of setting up networking in Virtual PC as well as troubleshooting and testing.
VPC 7 disk corruption, crashing in Tiger 10.4.3. December 16, 2005 -- Erik Scheirer reports a strange problem with Virtual PC 7.0.2 and Mac OS X 10.4.3. The strange bit are the conditions under which the problems occur:
I am having all sorts of problems with 'disk' corruption, and often it crashes my Mac as well. Seems to happen any time that I 'empty the recycling' or heavy-duty file transfer.
I have found the pattern that crashes my Power Mac dual G5:
- VPC is running and one of the 'machines' must be Windows. This doesn't happen when running freeBSD, for example.
- Another mac on the local net is sleeping and is sharing its printer.
- VPC is in foreground on non-printer Power Mac G5. The printer Mac wakes, and bang! the PowerPC forces restart. This, even though I have removed all shared printer entries from the Power Mac G5.
Happens every time. Only when running VPC with Windows.
If you've seen this problem
More on the Tiger AD/SMB folder-copy problem. December 16, 2005 -- Dan Ball is experience the previously reported SMB folder copy problem with Mac OS X 10.4.3 and Windows server and has more details on the problem:
Logging in as an Active Directory user and saving to an SMB Windows share on Windows Server 2003 has a bug.
When trying to copy a folder with files in it, the folder is created on the file server, but it is empty.
When trying to copy multiple files, only the first one is copied and you get the permission denied error again.
You get a permission denied error: "The operation cannot be completed because you do not have sufficient privileges for some of the items."
The issue isn't a permissions issue, well with Security Permissions anyway. The problem is the Share Level Permissions.
We have our shares setup with the groups that should have access to the shares, but with only Change and Read access, which should be enough access. Works fine with Windows and 10.3 clients.
With 10.4 you have to give the group or everyone Full Control, then everything works as expected. So I think its a bug in Mac OS X10.4.
But that seems to be the problem is the share level permissions on the Windows share.
If you've seen this problem or know how to fix it
Logging into remote servers. December 16, 2005 -- Big Nerd Ranch has an article on configuring Windows and Mac remote servers and having Mac and Windows clients log into them.
More suggestions for Tiger Server "100's of processes" problem. December 16, 2005 -- Galen Sprague offered some more suggestions for the problem of Tiger Server spawning hundreds of processes, which slows server performance:
Do you have a maximum client connection limit set on your Windows Services? I have had problems with this and had to set it to unlimited. Also could you have PC clients running an app that is calling the server or running an App off of the server?
More on IE spinning beach balls with MSN.com. December 16, 2005 -- Dozens of reader have confirmed last week's report of Internet Explorer in Tiger being frozen with a spinning beach ball when trying to access MSN.com.
If you have MSN.com set as your home page, the only way to use IE is to set the home page to something else. When you first open IE, immediately close the window. Go to Preferences and change the home page to anything other then msn.com, or set it to no home page.
Ryan Steckert has another way to do it:
An easier solution is to disconnect the network cable, open up Internet Explorer, change the default home page, and then reconnect the network cable.
Teun de Boer see the problem with Mac OS X 10.4.3, and with another web site:
Same here, I got a beach ball when starting IE after updating to 10.4.3. But I'm not so sure the problem lies with msn.com. In my situation I had another site set as home page (www.rtlnieuws.nl) which gave the same problem. After reinstalling IE the problem persisted. When I disconnect AirPort and start IE, there's no problem, only a message that the server can't be found. In the end, I de-selected "open this home page in every new window" in Preferences, which kind of solved the problem because IE now starts as usual.
Workaround for Tiger Sever 100's of processes. December 12, 2005 -- Douglas DiBella offers a workaround for the problem of Tiger Server spawning hundreds of processes, slowing server performance:
I've seen this problem and it really sucks! I can write a ton about the problem and would be glad to share the details. I noticed two problems.
1. SMBD log would grow and fill the entire system volume overnight and crash the system
2. SMBD spawning... to eventually halt the system.
I narrowed it down to unnecessary login attempts, my solution was to use firewall service to block samba/cifs access from external sources. This has resolved the problem, but I still don't consider it solved.
Better workaround for Cisco VPN 4.7 DNS problems. December 12, 2005 -- Stephen Gilardi has a new-and-improved workaround for the problem with DNS issues and the Cisco VPN Client 4.7. He says it is better than the previous workaround he shared with us:
I have some more info on the VPN 4.7 DNS problem and a method of debugging it.
The domain name resolver's operation is based on entries in the configuration file "/etc/resolv.conf". It's useful to view the contents of that file both before and after connecting to the VPN.
The contents of that file are normally controlled by Apple's "Network" System Preference (under the TCP/IP tab for the interface in question). If "Configure IPv4: Using DHCP" is selected there, the contents of the configuration file are a combination of static entries in Network System Preference UI and information gathered by DHCP.
The configuration file is changed by the VPN software when it makes a connection and restored when it disconnects. Specifically, the VPN replaces the "DNS Servers" with those appropriate for the remote network and adds the "Search Domains" for the remote network to the static entries in the System Preference.
There appears to be a bug in the addition of Search Domains in Cisco VPN 4.7: If the "Search Domains" entry in the Network System Preference is empty, there will be no search domains listed in "/etc/resolv.conf" after connecting to the VPN. Only fully qualified domain names will be resolved. If "Search Domains" entry is not empty, the VPN client correctly changes the configuration file to add the search domains appropriate for the remote network.
The workaround is to make sure the "Search Domains" entry is not blank. I believe that entering "local" as a "Search Domain" is harmless and correct both for the VPN and non-VPN case. In my case, after adding "local" to "Search Domains", the VPN client software correctly adds the search domain for the remote network to /etc/resolv.conf when it connects and I am able to work with simple machine names on the remote network as I have with prior versions of the VPN client.
This workaround is an improvement on the one I gave previously because it doesn't include any static nameservers or search domains for the remote network in the local network configuration. I had noticed delays in resolving names when using the previous workaround because the name resolver was trying (and failing) to reach the remote network's nameservers before trying the correct one that was now third on the list. The combination of two timeouts led to noticeable delays in resolving.
RDC file transfer problem. December 12, 2005 -- John Critzos is having a problem moving files to the Mac using Remote Desktop Client:
When using my Mac with Microsoft's Remote Desktop Client, I can easily control my office computer remotely. I am also able to transfer files from the Mac to the windows office computer. I cannot, however, transfer from the office to my Mac. I get an error message that says "the parameter is incorrect" and "could not copy."
If you've seen this problem or know how to fix it
Price discount on e2Sync for Entourage syncing. December 12, 2005 -- e2Sync, Inc. has lowered the price of e2Sync until December 26th. e2sync enables Entourage to sync with iSync-compatible devices. The sale price is now US$27.30, which is 30 precent lower than the regular $39. This discount can only be obtained using the discount code TASIB05.
TIP: Fixing Entourage, Exchange and Shared Calendars. December 8, 2005 -- Jason Meyer reports a problem with Entourage and the Exchange LockDown tool. He also provided a fix:
Not sure if you have posted about this yet but for those out there (or their exchange admins) that have run the IIS LockDown tool on their Exchange/OWA server will probably discover that they can't access other users shared folders even though they followed the directions here to the letter.
The problem is that urlscan, the meat of the LockDown tool, has a list of allowed verbs. If you look in the urlscan logs you will find that BPROPFIND is being used by the clients trying to connect. Just add the verb to the allowed list and then restart the w3svc on your server. Obviously, if you aren't the admin of the server you have to convince your admins to make the changes for you.
IE problem with Tiger 10.4.3. December 8, 2005 -- A couple of readers reported that Internet Explorer has problems with the Mac OS X 10.4.3 update. Thomas Low:
After the update was installed Internet Explorer for Mac will not open. Continuing beach ball.
Carrie Sherman also saw the problem, though in a specific circumstance, and tracked down the cause:
I have tried reinstalling. The home page was set to www.msn.com. I did get it working. Here's what I did. I have debug activated on Safari so I went to the nwmls.com site and then went to the debug menu and asked it to open in Explorer, it opened in Explorer just fine, then I reset the home page to be nwmls.com, now it opens just fine. For some reason it had a problem with msn.com, though msn.com opens fine in Safari.
We haven't seen this problem, but if you have
Update on Safari's problem with Yahoo. December 8, 2005 --A reader named Siglo responded to our report earlier this week of Safari crashing when the user tries to access Yahoo email. Siglo said:
Perhaps with 10.2.8 and older safari versions, but not with 10.4.3 and newer safari versions. Yahoo mail works fine. I wonder if the 10.2.8 users could try turning off Javascript and accessing the 'old' yahoo mail that way.
Sheepshaver PPC emulator for Windows updated. December 8, 2005 -- Gwenolé Beauchesne has released a new version of SheepShaver, a PowerPC Open Source PowerPC Mac OS run-time environment for x86 PCs and also Mac hardware. (When running in Mac OS X, Sheepshaver functions similarly to Classic.) Sheepshaver runs Mac OS 7.5.2 through Mac OS 9.0.4 on these systems.
Another unhappy iEmulator/Tiger user. December 8, 2005 -- Dick Sampson echoes our report earlier this week about the iEmulator, a x86 emulator for Mac OS X:
I have a G5 1.28 single processor with 10.4.3 installed and iEmulator is exactly that, unusable.
TIP: MS page on Entourage maintenance. December 6, 2005 -- A Microsoft web page called Configuring Entourage X provides procedures for maintaining and fixing Entourage problems. For instance, it describes how to rebuild the database to fix slow performance (spinning beach balls) and other problems. There's also information several topics related to setting up Entourage, with explanation of protocols and technical terms.
More on Entourage delegates and deleting email. December 6, 2005 -- Steven Deutsch is having the previously reported problem with Entourage 11.2.1 problem with deleting email in delegate mailboxes:
I have the same issue of being unable to delete email in a delegate box. That said, sometimes I can delete email in the delegate box, sometimes I can't. And I cannot find anything consistent as to when I can and when I can't. All I know is that when I can, I try to take advantage of the window and clear out as much as I can.
If you know of a fix
Reader verifies fix for firewall, AD binding issue. December 6, 2005 -- Steve Kimberley verified a fix for the Firewall problem with Active Directory, where OS X gives an "unknown error" at step five of the binding process:
I found the same problems as others: OS-X 10.4 client would not connect to a Windows 2003 server which had the firewall up, although it connected OK without the firewall.
Cut to the chase: I found the suggested fix by Scott Dungan (November 28, 2005), tried it and it worked! I now have a firewalled 2003 Server allowing kpasswd through on UDP 464 and no more connection hangups. Thanks, Scott!
Reader reports on latest iEmulator performance. December 6, 2005 -- Kiran Madabhushi is having problems with the recently released iEmulator 1.7.8, the latest version of the x86 emulator for Mac OS X:
I used iEmulator 1.7.8 on a PowerBook 15" 1.5 GHz 1GB RAM. Installed Windows 2000 on it and its almost unusable. This was with Panther.
If you've tried this version of iEmulator how performance is for you.
For reports on previous versions of iEmulator, see our Alternative PC Emulator Reports page.
More on 100s of SMBD processes on OS X Server. December 6, 2005 -- Steve Fair reports having the previously reported problem of Tiger Server spawning hundreds of processes when only a few Windows clients are connected.
We are also having the problem of hundreds of SMBD processes bringing our print server to a screeching halt. The print server is a Tiger 10.4.3 client fully patched and updated. It has been running great for months until about a week ago when I noticed the complete unresponsiveness of the machine. I tracked down the spawning of SMBD through Activity Monitor. As soon as the machine was rebooted, the processes would take down the computer within 2 minutes.
Once Windows sharing was disabled, everything works fine. I have created another 10.4.3 client with Windows sharing enabled that currently works fine. No solution has been found, yet.
If you have a solution
Safari incompatible with Yahoo email. December 6, 2005 -- User forums around the web are reporting an incompatibility with Safari and Yahoo Mail that doesn't seem to affect other browsers.
Clayton Mansfield believes that Safari's handling of JavaScript is involved:
For the past two days Safari crashed every time I tried opening Yahoo Mail. Thanks to Google I found out I wasn't the only one. (See this thread.) Seems Yahoo made a change in its JavaScript that freaks out the browser. I had to disable Java to get into email tonight.
Tip: preventing dot-underscore files. December 2, 2005 -- Earlier this week, we posted some tips on deleting the dot-underscore files that are created on the server when Macs copy files to SMB servers. A couple of readers sent in suggestions on how to prevent Mac OS X from creating the files in the first place.
Readers Arve Knudsen and Ben Roche both told us about a System Preferences plugin for Panther and Tiger called BlueHarvest that prevents Mac OS X from creating resource fork (._) files in specific locations. It can also delete existing dot-underscore files.
Developer Ross Tulloch asks for a voluntary donation for using BlueHarvest.
Tip: moving Entourage data to PC & vice versa. December 2, 2005 -- A web site called the Entourage Help Page has directions on questions that readers frequently ask us. One page describes how to copy messages or contacts from Entourage to Outlook for Windows.
Another page at this site describes several methods of moving mail from Outlook for Windows to Entourage.
A third page on cross-platform Entourage issues describes these tasks:
For our previously reported tips and reader reports, see our Entourage and Exchange page.
Guest PC 1.7 emulator adds shared networking. December 2, 2005 -- Lismore Software Systems yesterday released Guest PC 1.7 (US$ 70, free update) a new version of the x86 emulator for Mac OS X. New features include:
For more information on Guest PC and other alternatives to Virtual PC, see our Alternative PC Emulators page.
CDFinder update. December 2, 2005 -- West-Forest-Systems has released CDFinder 4.5.1, (US $30), a disk cataloging tool for Mac OS X. CDFinder can work together with CDWinder for Windows as a cross-platform, network solution to catalog disks and CDs and DVDs on a Mac and a PC. CDFinder can also catalog the contents of archive files, including, StuffIt, Compact Pro, ZIP, TAR, .rar, and Apple Installer files.
Among the improvements in version 4.5.1:
Tiger-compatible Palm Desktop. December 2, 2005 -- Palm Desktop was incompatible with Mac OS 10.4 until September, when Palm released Palm Desktop 4.2.1 Rev D.
Tip: deleting d0t-underscore files. November 28, 2005 -- We often get email asking how to delete the dot-underscore files that are created on the server when Macs copy files to SMB servers.
These are the resource forks of Mac files. For most files, they only store type, creator and Finder information, among other data. Windows can't see the files because of the dot at the begining.
There are several Mac utilities that can delete all of these files at once. WinFSCleanser a free utility for Mac OS X that can delete these files.
The Macs can delete the files from the Unix command line in Terminal. There's a page at Mac OS X Hints that describes scripts for doing this.
Fix for AD binding problem (unknown error) with firewall . November 28, 2005 -- Scott Dungan believes he has a fix for the Mac OS X problem of binding to Active Directory with a firewall, which causes a problem at Step 5 of the binding process. His fix:
I have seen this behavior as well and I believe I have a fix.
Microsoft has a Knowledge Base article that discusses exactly which ports to open on a firewall to allow for, among other things, clients to join and authenticate with the domain. After setting up the firewall and the needed ports, all our Windows clients joined to the domain and authenticate fine. Any Mac OS X 10.4 client (we have not tried any down level clients like 10.3 yet) will begin to bind (join) to the domain as the previous reports explain, but it will crash on Step 5 of 5.
After setting up a test environment and a packet sniffer, I noticed that the OS X 10.4 client was requesting kpasswd on UDP port 464. This port was not specified in the Microsoft KB as needing to be open. I opened the port on the firewall and it worked! The 10.4 client bound to the domain and continued to authenticate just fine.
If you've tried this
Alvin Bridges describes the problem:
We have been battling this unknown error in binding our Tiger workstations. It has really prominent since the implementation of 10.4.3.
During step 5 of the binding process in the directory access utility you receive the error "unknown error". The machine is not bound at to AD at this point. But if you go through the process one more time right after that. The process goes twice as fast and succeeds. But it is hit or miss if the machine is actually bound completely or not.
Workaround, reports of Cisco VPN 4.7 DNS problems. November 28, 2005 -- Several readers verified having the problem we reported last week with DNS issues and the Cisco VPN Client 4.7.
Stephen Gilardi has a workaround:
I'm seeing the same issue. As a workaround, I added an explicit DNS server and search domain (for my work network) to my "System Preferences/Network/AirPort/TCP/IP" configuration. The previous versions of the VPN client that I've used haven't required this workaround.
If you've tried this
A reader who wishes to remain anonymous also describes the issue:
I too have seen DNS issues with 4.7 under Tiger, but it is not consistent. Some times I get a connection and local DNS services for Safari seem to work.
Remote DNS usually needs fully qualified names but this is not consistent either.
Can't really explain what conditions cause the failure but I can totally understand how beta testing could miss this because I've had some connections to the same firewall that works like a charm.
Michael Murphy has seen it:
Yep, I see this as well. I am running 10.4.3 with Cisco VPN client 4.7.00 Build 0510. I have tried changing the settings for the DNS server in networking but it does not seem to help.
Fix for VPC 6.1/Tiger 10.4.3 problem. November 28 , 2005 -- Mardi Kennedy reports that the old Virtual PC stopped working when the Mac was updated to Tiger 10.4.3. Kennedy fixed the problem by installing the VPC 6.1.1 updater, which is still available from Microsoft.
Virtual PC 6.1 has been working well for me from OS X 10.3.x to 10.4.2. I installed 10.4.3 and lost all useful VPC/ XP functionality.
Got to the XP desktop and clicked my shortcut to Windows Explorer. Nothing. Went to the Start menu to access My Computer. Nothing. In other words, I have an initial display but no actual functionality. Can't get into other Control Panel items etc.
I solved the problem by installing the VPC 6.1.1 updater.
For our archive of VPC 6 problems and fixes, see our Virtual PC 6 Reports page.
More on SMB/AD Finder file copy problem . November 28, 2005 -- James Robertson in Australia reports seeing the Finder copy problem with SMB files servers in Active Directory:
You wanted to know if others had seen this - Yes, we have. Assorted Linux servers running Samba 3. Same symptoms as the original poster, copies using terminal work fine, etc.
One of our clients is actually a Mac shop, and they have not been able to give any help either.
This occurs with OS X 10.3 and 10.4, but does not fail all the time. It does seem to be dependant on the files/filenames though.
If you've seen this
Theories on Windows users locked out of Tiger Server. November 28, 2005 -- Bob Sneidar has some theories about the problem of Windows clients locked out of Tiger Server. (We have a suggestion posted on our Mac OS X Server page). Sneidar also reports on the response from Apple:
Concerning the problem of Windows Users getting locked out of SMB, I too am experiencing this. I believe it's a bug in the server. I do not have to reconfigure anything. I just stop and start the server and all is well.
It should be noted that when browsing the network neighborhood the server does not show up for Windows Users until after I restart the Windows service. Once I do that the server is browsable again. I have to think the Windows stack is crashing somehow.
I contacted Apple tech about this problem. They are aware there is a problem but they have so little feedback on the issue that they have nothing to work from as yet. I would suggest encouraging those in the discussion to contact Apple especially if they can reproduce the problem, or if the problem occurs frequently.
One of the things that seems to be a part of the problem is that numerous SMBD processes are spawned and stranded, that is there are no logged in SMB users to account for them. One theory is that when users disconnect the processes are not terminated, however when I try to reproduce this the processes terminate normally.
Another theory is that a Windows virus or worm that attacks Windows servers may be using aggressive brute force tactics to gain access to the server from a PC on the same LAN as the server. The repeated attempts to log in to the server may be overwhelming it. What would be especially useful is to know if the problem goes away for anyone right after patching their PC's or running a virus sweep that detects a virus or worm infection.
Basilisk II JIT, 680x0 emulator for Windows, updated. November 28 , 2005 -- Gwenolé Beauchesne has posted an updated version of Basilisk II JIT, a 680x0 (pre-PowerPC) Mac emulator for Windows. Basilisk JIT is a performance-enhanced version of Basilisk II is an open Source 680x0 by Christian Bauer.
Maintenance update for Slide Show. November 28 , 2005 -- Apimac has released version 7.0.2 of Slide Show for Mac and Windows, a cross-platform slide show create for Mac OS X and Windows. The update fixes a couple of bugs and improves presentations on in Windows.
iEmulator update adds audio playback. November 21, 2005 -- Today, iEmulator.com released iEmulator 1.7.8 (US $24, free update), an update to the Windows-PC emulator for Mac OS X 10.3 and 10.4.
The update adds the ability to play audio from within Windows on the emulated PC. The update also improves iEmulator's ability to import PC profiles from Virtual PC 7, and improves the way the emulator handles CD-ROMs.
If you've tried this new version,
For more on iEmulator and other altenratives to Virtual PC, see our VPC Alternatives page.
A fix for binding and home folders. November 21, 2005 -- James Doty has a fix for the problem reported with Active Directory binding and home folders in Tiger 10.4.3:
I wrote last week about home folder issues and logging Mac Tiger clients into a Windows Server 2003 Active Directory. I've come upon a fix that works for us.
I did some research and discovered that our Tech Director had turned off NetBIOS on the server we use for home folders. We turned NetBIOS back on for the home folder server and on the Mac clients enabled UNC path from AD to derive network home location and set it to SMB.
So far I've logged on with a teacher account, a student account and an admin account and all were successful.
The Macs will not properly authenticate at logon to a server who's port 139 is not active.
To test this theory I created a dummy account and set it's home folder up on a server we have that did have port 139 active. This worked great and gave me the info I needed to bring to our Tech Director to get permission to turn NetBIOS over TCP/IP turned back on.
Cisco VPN Client 4.7 works better on Tiger . November 21, 2005 -- A couple of readers report that a new Cisco VPN Client 4.7 solves some problems with the previous version and Tiger.
Phil Truesdale said the newer version is better in a solution we reported last week:
I had to do the same thing under the Cisco 4.6 client. Cisco, however, has a newer 4.7 client that does not require restarting the VPN service to resuscitate the GUI.
Another reader reports success:
I am using cisco VPN client 4.7 on Mac OS X 10.4.2 without issue. I connect to a Cisco concentrator with Remote Desktop to my Windows XP box at work--no issues.
Another reader, however, has a problem with DNS, as reported in the next item.
DNS issue with Cisco VPN 4.7. November 21, 2005 -- A reader named Colomb is having trouble with DNS with the new Cisco VPN Client:
I'm having some DNS resolution issues using 10.4 and version 4.7 of the Cisco VPN client. Everything works fine when using the fully qualified server name, but as soon I try and use other names, I get a host not found error. I've read through a lot of the literature regarding this on your site and I've tried turning hardware checksum off and UDP checksums off, but it still doesn't work correctly.
If you've seen this
Entourage 11.2.1, new problem with delegation option. November 21, 2005 -- Aaron Kirkland reports this problem with the most recent Entourage update and delegation:
We are seeing the same problem here I have verified that on pre 11.2.1Entourage clients I can delete mail in Delegated mailboxes but not with thenew update. I am using the webmail client to delete items until I find a better solution.
MassTransit updated for Tiger, Safari and Firefox for web-based file transfer. November 17, 2005 -- Group announced that its MassTransit file and print server software for Mac and Windows clients now supports the features of Safari, Firefox and Tiger. This enables Mac users to transfer files using Safari and Firefox. Mass Transit includes a web client plugin for these browsers. Previously, MassTransit supported only Internet Explorer for web-based file transfers. MassTransit is designed as a solution for enterprise businesses.
The Mass Transit servers run on Windows, Mac OS X, and Mac OS 9.
Helios "Unbreakable Server" includes Web-based file sharing. November 17, 2005 -- Helios Software has shipped the next generation of its cross-platform enterprise servers. It is now calling the product line Helios UB Unbreakable Server Solutions. The product line includes web-based file transfer, file sharing for Mac and Windows clients, and print and prepress servers. The software runs on Unix-based servers, including Mac OS X, Linux, Sun Solaris, HP-UX, IBM AIX, and others.
The Unbreakable Server Solutions line includes the following:
TIP: Using Cisco VPN Client for Mac 4.6.03 in Tiger. November 17, 2005 -- Clinton Fisher describes how he got around a problem with the Cisco VPN client in Tiger:
After installing the Cisco VPN client 4.6.03 and getting it to work twice, again it failed to start by clicking the GUI. I get the same messages about kernel module not loaded, similar to other reports.
I ran these two commands in Mac OS X 10.4.1:
sudo /System/Library/StartupItems/CiscoVPN/CiscoVPN restart
sudo /usr/local/bin/vpnclient autoinit
After that, I was able to click the VPN GUI in my Applications folder and connect successfully again.
If you've tried this
See our Tiger Reports page for previous report so Cisco problems with Tiger.
10.4.3 update fixed cascading ACL permissions problem. November 17, 2005 -- Michael O'Lear reports that the Tiger 10.4.3 update fixed a problem caused by the Tiger 10.4.2 update with access control lists (ACL) not cascading:
Back when 10.4.2 was released, I reported to your site that our XServe (acting as a member server attached to a Windows 2000 Active Directory Domain) was not cascading permissions from the ACLs on its SMB shares.
I am happy to report that on updating to 10.4.3, ACLs now work for our Windows users accessing the XServe's SMB shares. I am also happy to report that the network services no longer go unresponsive every 24 hours. The XServe has stayed up since Saturday. My hope has returned.
Active Directory tutorial describes single sign-on. November 17, 2005 -- Big Nerd Ranch, Inc. has posted a tutorial called Mac OS/Linux/Windows Single Sign-On. It describers how to use Active Directory to handle logins on Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. There are three pages, each with directions and screenshots for each of the operating systems.
TIP: Use Panther Classic to run Outlook 2001 on Tiger. November 17, 2005 -- Manuel Hernandez from Spain recommends using the Panther's Classic to run Outlook 2001 in Tiger:
I had the same reported problem when I attempt run Outlook 2001 over iMacs G5 with Tiger.
My solution: Install again Tiger erasing the disk, and install the version of Classic from Panther, Mac OS X 10.3.x.
It was not necessary to do with the last version of Tiger (10.4.2) is not necesary that.
If you've tried this
Duplicate Junk Mail Folder in Entourage. November 17, 2005 -- Michael Wilmar now has two Entourage junk mail folders; he'd like get rid of one of them:
I have picked up a duplicate Junk Mail folder in my folder list which is supposed to replicate my folders on our Exchange Server. It’s just there; it doesn’t synchronize with the Exchange Server; all junk mail goes to the other Junk Mail folder. So I would like to get rid of it without doing a complete rebuild of my database, which takes forever.
If you've seen this
Fix for running Outlook 2001 on Panther/Tiger. November 11, 2005 -- Jeff Pollard passed along a solution for running Outlook 2001 (in Classic) on Mac OS X 10.3 and 10.4:
Someone named Tilmon Wooden posted what I have found to be THE fix for folks who haven't been able to run Outlook 2001 since Jaguar. Many of us have been struggling with trying to even log in once since upgrading. Error messages about "folders cannot be opened", duplicate login screens, and the inability to use the GAL have plagued those of us still clinging on to Outlook 2001. Like many other administrators, I've spent countless hours troubleshooting permissions and preference files, only to find that running Outlook 2001 from a disk image (or another partition) was the best fix. Until now. Here's the fix that Tilmon posted to the Microsoft Outlook newsgroup:
- Clear all of the Outlook/Exchange preferences from the System Folder. (You want to start from scratch)
- Launch "Outlook Settings" from Control Panels or inside of "Outlook Files"
- Set up the user account and check name.
- Copy the Exchange Preferences and Outlook Services file from the Outlook Files folder into the Preference folder of the System Folder
- Launch Outlook and you are done.
So far, this has worked for me on all five of the machines I've tried it on. It's simply amazing to finally have a solution to such a frustrating problem. My hat's off to Tilmon Wooden for figuring this one out.
Here's a link to the original post.
Insights into Tiger AD binding problems. November 11, 2005 -- James Doty has some insights into problems with Active Directory binding from Tiger:
I've been having issues with Tiger 10.4.3 and Active Directory on a Windows NAS File Server 2003 SP1. I'm able to bind the client computers to our Active Directory domain without issue. Here's where I run into trouble.
If I set up Active Directory on the Tiger client computers to use UNC path from AD to derive network home location and set it to SMB the Tiger users can not log onto the network. If I leave that box unchecked they can, but then have to select the Go menu and connect to the server from there to find their home folder.
Panther 10.3.9 ignores this error and will log the user in, but not give the AD home folder.
Also, on Tiger, if I select SMB in the Directory Access application and select the drop down I do not see our domain listed. But in Panther I do.
I still haven't solved this issue, but it may be what's causing other people here AD connectivity grief.
WebDrive gives Win drive letter access iDisk. November 11, 2005 -- South River Technologies has a product called WebDrive, a utility that allows Windows users to map their iDisk storage to a standard windows drive letter. Apple's Windows iDisk utility does not enable mapping of the iDisk volume.
With WebDrive, users can upload, download, edit, and even stream video from their iDisk account on to a Windows box.
Build a Google Earth overlay on a Mac. November 11, 2005 -- And a Software 4 Free article describes how Mac users can build an overlay for Google Earth, which is not yet available for Mac. The method uses a web application called CommunityWalk.
Binding issue with AD. November 7, 2005 -- Chris Windham ran into Active Directory binding problems with Tiger:
We've seen the same problem where our G5 just quits allowing anyone to authenticate from AD. This originally surfaced in 10.3 after applying an 'Active Directory' enhancement update. After getting nowhere with Apple's support, I reinstalled 10.3 without updates and it worked again. After the release, we tested 10.4 and had no issues so we upgraded. After several months, it quit authenticating out of the blue again. The first time I resolved by setting it to be a standalone server and then going back to the domain member role. This did not work the second time. I had to unbind and re-bind to Active Directory before getting it back online again.
Apple doesn't mention it on their website and their 'Premium' support doesn't cover this. They consider it to be 3rd party integration and want $700 to fix. Wow! Microsoft will resolve all kinds of issues for $250. Look for a G5 Xserve on Ebay soon. I am not a fan.
VPC Quicken Medical Manager incompatible. November 7, 2005 -- Stuart Berwick reports that Quicken Medical Manager will not on Virtual PC 7:
Quicken has come out with a new program for tracking medical expenses and it works great on my Windows machines but I get nowhere in VPC 7.02 I keep trying it and it worked only once immediately after install. I keep my data on a thumb drive and plug into the machine I am using at the time. I have an iMac G5 2.0 ghz and 1 gig of RAM, 250 gig hard drive.
If you've tried running this program in VPC
Bug fix update for Missing Sync for Win Mobile. November 7, 2005 -- Mark/Space has released The Missing Sync for Windows Mobile 2.0.2, an upgrade to the Mac OS X utility that syncs Macs with Pocket PC and Smartphone devices. The 2.0.2 update is a free download and includes the several fixes:
Better USB and Bluetooth connections
Fixes Entourage syncing problem with duplicate record generation
Improves sycning of Tiger's Address Book and iCal, with better support of birthdays, anniversaries, children's names and read-only calendars.
Mark/Space noted that this update does not add compatibility with Windows Mobile 5.0, but the company will supply a free update in the future.
TIP: Fix for Slow Windows Logon to a OS X Server Acting as a PDC. November 7, 2005 -- Louis Gephardt found the cause and fix for the problem of slow authentication of Win clients to OS X Server:
I ran into this same issue, the issue was bad DNS resolution. Make sure you server has a DNS entry and that it will resolve the hostname and IP address BEFORE promoting your server to an Open Directory Master. If DNS is not working correctly, you will have ALL sorts of problems and will likely have to rebuild the LDAP. Once I got DNS running correctly and rebuilt the LDAP, the login time dropped to less than a second.
If you've tried this approach
AD home directories with ExtremeZ-IP. November 7, 2005 -- Dedrick Allen solved his Mac file sharing problems on Active Directory/Open Directory by using Group Logic's ExtremeZ-IP on the servers:
I have been reading about the SMB issues people have been having with OS X since SMB support was added in Jaguar.
We recently deployed 150 Mac's running Tiger and decided to use Open Directory+Active Directory integration with network home folders stored on our Windows domain controller. We knew Windows Services for Macintosh would not support network home directories because it does not support AFP 3.1 and we did not want to use SMB because of all the problems with data loss, file locking etc...
We even had issues with Windows Services for Macintosh and OS X clients on stand-alone file servers. Many times opening files from the server would lock up apps and other strange issues like files disappearing etc...
We finally broke down and purchased ExtremeZ-IP 4 and those problems went away for good. ExtremeZ-IP is a great for server based storage with Mac OS X and OS 9 clients.
NOTE: Group Logic has an article called Creating Active Directory Integrated Home Directories.
Work around (sort of) for Entourage 11.2.1, problem with delegation option. November 9, 2005 -- Jay Christianson a bit of a "temporary and flaky" workaround for the problem with Entourage 11.2.1 delegation:
We've seen this problem too. Currently, I only have one person and myself set up to use delegated mail accounts (we were the guinea pigs).
Anyway, by default, while the Exchange admins have us set for proper permissions (that work in Windows Outlook and old Mac Outlook for OS 9), we can not delete mail from these delegated accounts.
We have found, though, that if you log in to a Windows machine, and open the account from there, you can get properties of the mailbox and change yourself to owner, or whatever and then you can deleted files, etc.
BUT, we've found the effect is very temporary and flaky. The other person we have testing the delegated folder has to reset the permissions from the PC fairly often because they keep reverting to not letting him in. I, on the other hand, have been able to set the permissions once from Mac Outlook, and then once my permissions reverted, I can't get them to change to allow me to delete again. Oh, this applies to individual emails in there. I've noticed that it appears I can create and delete folders from within the mailbox at will.
Hotfix fixes Macs hanging while searching Win 2003 SP1 . November 7, 2005 -- Frederic Pognant verified that the Microsoft hotfix does indeed address the problem of Macs hang while searching Win 2003 SP1, reported on our Windows 2003 reports page:
I had the same case when I migrated file servers using Windows NT4.0SP6/MAc Server IP to Windows 2003 Server SP1 without any add-ons for now. Searching files from Mac resulted in crashes at any time. Contacted Microsoft: they sent a hot-fix which you can't download from their sites ( a beta patch created on October 06). Works fine!
Tiger 10.4.3 fixes AD, LDAP problems. November 7, 2005 -- A pair of readers report that last week's Tiger 10.4.3 Update fixes two problems with Active Directory. Dedrick Allen has two:
Active Directory lockout with password change:
When an Active Directory user's account has been flagged by an admin to force the user to change their password at next login previously, the user could successfully change their AD password but it would leave the keychain password out of sync with the new AD password and the user would be locked out. This has been fixed in 10.4.3 update.
Power Mac G5 problem logging into Open Directory:
Power Mac G5's (I think it's just the Power Mac G5's with this issue not sure) had a problem connecting to the Open Directory LDAP Server at startup and would display the empty blue screen for up to 10 minutes or more in some cases before it eventually continued and the login window was displayed. This has been fixed in 10.4.3.
Adrian Cooke said that 10.4.3 fixes an account locking problem:
The account locking problem when a Windows UNC path SMB home folder is automatically mounted has been resolved. However, there is a problem accessing Login Items. This is caused by use Windows UNC path for home with SMB as the path is added into the login items in Systems Preferences / Account. When login items is selected, Systems preferences crashes. I think that this has something to do with the path name which is "SMB//server.domain/share$" as it generates entries in the Console with "[NSUL initFileURLWithPath:] nil string parameter."
If you can comment on these fixes
Reader verifies 10.4.3 fix of InDesign bug. November 7, 2005 -- Luis Menoyo as verified that the Mac OS X 10.4.3 Update fixes the problem of Adobe InDesign Crashing in Tiger 10.4.2 on Windows networks:
The problem in OS-X 10.4.2, of InDesign crashing when opening a file on an SMB server, have been resolved in OS-X 10.4.3. Now I can work on InDesign files residing on a Windows server.
We first reported the fix last week from another source.
Reader reports 10.4.3 still has SMB/AD Finder file copy problem. November 7, 2005 -- After upgrading to the Tiger 10.4.3 Update, Hory Fabien is still seeing a problem with SMB file coping from the Finder, but not from, Terminal with Active Directory users, and only in some logon conditions:
The 10.4.3 version still doesn't solve the following problem for us. With an Active Directory user logged on the Mac and a Windows 2003 share mounted via SMB, if I try to a Finder copy of files to the SMB share, only the first file is copied. A message says there are not enough permissions to write the file. (The permissions on the Windows 2003 server are read/write and not 'total control' for the user.) If I copy files with the Terminal, there are no problems.
If I login with the local administrator of the Mac and mount the Windows 2003 share with the active directory user, I can copy files with the Finder.
If you've seen this problem
Reader says AD binding problem remains in 10.4.3. November 7, 2005 -- Adrian Cooke of the U. K. reports that a problem with Active Directory binding that began with Tiger is still not fixed in 10.4.3:
There are still problems with and generated by the Active Directory Plug-in with 10.4.3. I get an error "An Unknown Error Occurred" when I bind to Active Directory. On a second attempt it binds without any errors.
The "Allow admin groups" doesn't work. This was the same in 10.4.2. This has always worked fine with 10.3 with our network.
TIP: Importing Outlook for Win email into Entourage. November 7, 2005 -- A reader posting at the O'Reilly web site describes how to move Outlook for Windows email messages to Entourage.
Entourage permission problem not fixed in 11.2.1. November 7, 2005 -- Terry Brink reports that the most recent Entourage 11.2.1 update does not fix a problem with permissions caused by Service Pack 2:
My Entourage problem sounds familiar.
Last week the auto updater for Office 2004 ran in the middle of the day upgrading to 11.2.1. When I restarted Entourage it began constantly asking me to re enter the password. Even if I check the box to remember the password it will ask again a few minutes later. I can get new mail by quitting and restarting entourage, but within a few minutes it will start asking for the password again.
Am I stuck with removing it and reinstalling and not upgrading, or is there a way to fix it?
Entourage 11.2.1, new problem with delegation option. November 7, 2005 -- Brad Boots found a new problem with delegating mailboxes caused by the Entourage 11.2.1 update:
Many people in our organization used the delegate option to access shared email accounts. We are a magazine publisher and these mail boxes are an important tool for filtering mail coming into the various titles. Many editors will monitor the same mailbox on the Exchange server for stories or feedback that relates to their work.
After upgrading to Entourage 11.2.1, these people can no longer delete mail in the delegate mailboxes. This is a huge problem. I have not found a workable solution.
I did open a shared mailbox as a stand alone account and set several users with the new delegated mailbox user option. This works fine for the mail that existed up until I closed the mailbox but any new mail that arrives is not available to manage.
If you've seen this problem
Long list of cross-platform fixes in OS X 10.4.3 Update; bugs still remain. November 3, 2005 -- The long-awaited Mac OS X 10.4.3 Update that Apple released this week has a long list of dozens of bug fixes and improvements, including several related to cross-platform issues. Apple's bug fix list includes these cross-platform topics:
Readers are reporting that while some problems are fixed, others remain, including some problems that began with Mac OS X 10.4.0.
Win Server-based Adobe InDesign incompatibility fixed
A reader who wishes to remain anonymous reports that Tiger incompatibility with Adobe InDesign has been fixed:
The InDesign crash problem (when using SMB/CIFS) seems to be fixed in the upcoming 10.4.3 update of Tiger. At least it works OK in the recent beta.
SMB Issues/ Active Directory
Jay Christianson said that the update did not fix one SMB problem:
10.4.3 does not solve SMB access problem to W2K3 servers. On our first, quickie tests, it appears that 10.4.3 does not solve the problems we've seen trying to utilize SMB shares on our w2k3 server.
Eric Stewart reports that Tiger problem with Active Directory is not fixed in 10.4.3:
From 10.4 - 10.4.3, the "Allow Administration by ..." check box has not worked. I've gone as far as to open a call with Apple, and they still haven't fixed it.
The only workaround I've discovered so far is manually granting the account admin status in the account properties, validating as another (i.e. local) admin user.
Brad Price reports that the Updated fixed an SMB bug, but that it still has an Active Directory issue:
10.4.3 appears to fix a six-month bug in mounting SMB shares that required port 137 on the Windows server.
As previously reported, Mac OS X Tiger introduced a change from Panther in that ports 139 (netbios-ssn) AND 137 (netbios-ns) were required to mount via SMB in the Finder. Panther required only port 139.
(Interestingly, Windows has been able to "direct-hosted" SMB over port 445 for many years. I'm not sure why Apple won't modernize this critical cross-platform aspect of Mac OS X.) So this is good news for folks at institutions that have firewalled port 137 on their server (for whatever reason...)
The AD Plugin for Directory Access still requires port 137 in order to use an SMB share for the login home directory, via unchecking the "Force local home directory on startup disk" box in the AD Plugin configuration GUI (This is the same as the "dsconfidad -localhome disable" parameter.)
Price also said that 10.4.3 fixes one problem with the Active Directory plugin:
Coincidentally, the AD plugin doesn't require port 137 for a simple automatic mounting of the SMB share. This is the "Use UNC path from AD to derive network home location", or "dsconfigad -useuncpath enable -protocol smb". So if your Mac lab is using local homes but you want the logged in AD user's LAN drive to be mounted automatically, 10.4.3 does the trick!
Virtual PC 7
Loren Olson reports that the update fixed one VPC bug but not another:
I can confirm absolutely that Virtual Switch does work and works just fine. Why, I have no idea. One thing that has never worked with Virtual PC 7 and continues to not work is Palm Syncing.
Mac OS X Server 10.4.3 problem
Loren Olson is not happy with the Server, with new problems:
The Server version of 10.4.3 is the worst of the two and actually for me it's the pits. I appear to have to reinstall everything which is not one of my favorite subject.
One thing this turkey had the nerve to do that it has never done before is trash all my mail.
Microsoft Exchange Server
Jay Christianson reports on a problem with Mail and Exchange Server:
We've just run a quick test to see if Mail 2.0.5 has resolved the issue where when Mail connects to an Exchange server, things appear fine on the client side and mail downloads/syncs/etc., but on the server, millions of error messages flood the event logs.
Apple was aware of this problem with the last version of Mail... and may need to be made aware that it still is not resolved.
Dave Brady has a problem with OWA & Safari 2.0.x that the upgrade didn't fix:
We're using Microsoft Exchange with Outlook Web Access for email throughout the district. We haven't had a serious problem until Tiger and Safari 2.0.x Users are required to re-authenticate to open mail, close mail, send mail, open folders, save messages, attach files, etc.
I must say it happens on MOST (1000+) machines. There are a couple where something has happened that the issue doesn't exist. Unfortunately, we can't figure out what that is.
I just upgraded to Safari 2.0.2 this morning (fresh yesterday with OS 10.4.3) and the issue is still there.
Does 10.4.3 fix cross-platform problems for you?
ExtremeZ-IP 4.1 speeds file searches. October 27, 2005 -- Group Logic released ExtremeZ-IP 4.1 Update for its file server and printer server lines, which install AFP servers on Windows PCs. The update adds performance enhancements for file name searches on servers from Mac clients. The company said that the searches are now up to 150 times faster than Microsoft Services for Macintosh and up to 600 times faster than the Mac OS X SMB Client.
Other improvements include:
Reader verifies AdMitMac cure or Tiger/InDesign problem. October 27, 2005 -- Micah Tremain verified that the current version of ADmitMac 3 from Thursby software fixes the problem of Adobe InDesign for Mac crashing when users access a file on a Windows server from Mac OS X 10.4.2. Apple still has not issued a fix.
Apple's cross-platform file sharing tutorial. October 27, 2005 --- Several readers asked us recently how Windows users could access files on a Mac. Apple has an article that describes setting up OS X to enable Windows users to access files.
Saving files to apps via SMB not keeping network path. October 27, 2005 -- Scott Norman reports a problem with Tiger and saving files from within applications to SMB servers:
With Mac OS X 10.4.x, I connect to a network drive using SMB, when I run Dreamweaver (and some other apps), when I try to do as a Save or Save As with a new file, the file will get saved to the Documents folder. I've had this problem a two months or so now. Didn't have this problem before, not sure if was an update to 10.4.2, or something else when I first ran across the problem. If I open up a site in Dreamweaver on my laptop, saving a new file or file save as saves to the right folder, but connecting to network no longer saves to right folder/directory.
If you've seen this problem
Prosoft 1.3.1 improves NetWare access. October 27, 2005 -- Michael Campbell reports that the recent Prosoft Engineering Netware Client for Mac OS X 1.3.1 improves access to NetWare:
Just a note to say that the new client 1.3.1 works well with 10.4.2, most noticeable difference is that it is faster at logging in and mount/eject volumes.
Slide Show 7 for Mac and Windows released. October 27, 2005 -- Apimac has released SlideShow 7, cross-platform software to create presentations and slide shows for Mac and Windows. The software is available for both platforms, produces files that are cross-platform, and supports movies and images.
MacWindows updates Cluster Server page. October 25, 2005 -- We've updated our old Macs and MS Cluster Server Report page.
If you'd like to share a tip or problem with Macs and MSCS
Reader reports on Entourage 11.2.1 update. October 25, 2005 -- Two readers have reported their experience with the Entourage 11.2.1 Update that Microsoft released last week.
Robert Greenhood had a problem:
After upgrade to 11.2.1, I have lost all connectivity with my Exchange Server.
Allyn Martin reports success with the update, and has a suggestion:
Since running the update I have had nothing but good experiences. I don't get a lot of help so its my monster to take care of some VIPs at the company who choose to use Macs still in a XP/AD2003 environment. I must say I love making use finally of the Exchange Server and calendaring and delegating Permissions.
Good practice for all who update or have been running versions of Entourage (X, 2004, etc.) Run the Rebuild Entourage Main ID (Launching Entourage with the "option" button down. This helped a user's experiences' run faster and better.
NOTE: I ran it after each upgrade (2004, SP2, and 11.2.1)
I bet many problems may lie within Upgrading from Outlook for Mac to Entourage. I always had hiccups with that. I converted and stayed since upping to v2004. Stayed away from heavy Calendaring-- if need be jumped on a co-workers PC if I had to do that. Now I don't have to anymore.
if the 11.2.1 Update fixes your Entourage SP2 problems, or causes new ones.
e2Sync 2.6 compatible with Entourage SP2. October 25, 2005 -- e2Sync.com has released e2Sync 2.6, an update to the Address Book-to-Entourage connectivity tool for Mac OS X. The update makes the software compatible with the Entourage Service Pack 2 that Microsoft released last month. The developer describes the e2Sync update:
When Microsoft recently broke our iSync conduit, e2Sync, after radically changing the database with the Service Pack 2 update, we discovered they had also fixed lots of bugs, and so v2.6 of e2Sync rolls out some serious bug fixes. Most importantly, alarms are now fixed and .Mac syncing now works again.
With e2Sync installed, iSync moves Entourage contact info into Mac OS X Address Book, and moves Entourage events into iCal. This also makes the contacts and events searchable by Spotlight.
Cross-platform clipboards sharing over network. October 25, 2005 -- Stretched Out Software has released CrossClip, software for Mac OS X and Windows 2000/XP that allows Mac OS X and Windows to share clipboard contents over a network. Users do not need to create files to move information. CrossClip runs in the background on each computer. It can be configure to send data automatically or manually from the CrossClip menu. The new so
PC-Mac-Net improves speed, checks integrity. October 25, 2005 -- Today, Lava Software released PC-Mac-Net FileShare v5.1, a (free upgrade) new version of the cross-platform file sharing and data synchronization software for Mac OS, Windows, and Linux. The new version adds file integrity checking and transfer speeds that are two-to-ten times faster. Users can now start a transfer by dragging files and folders between file lists, now available in contextual menus.
A free Lite version restricts the size of file transfers.
MS Office patch aimed at fixing Entourage SP2. October 21, 2005 -- Yesterday, Microsoft released Office 2004 for Mac 11.2.1 Update to fix problems with the recently released Entourage SP2, which we've previously reported. Microsoft "strongly recommends" that all Entourage SP2 users install the new update.
The company said that the 11.2.1 Update fixes a bug that could cause data loss when Entourage SP2 tries to synchronize with an Exchange mailbox that was moved to a different Exchange server. It also fixes problems with setting Exchange server permissions and with printing calendars.
Brian J. Little describes these problems with SP2, and notes that Microsoft advised users against further SP2 upgrades:
Everything was basically fine until our primary Exchange server went down. All Entourage SP2 users saw problems ranging from a disappearance of mail (fixed by a resynchronization) to duplication of folders (also easily fixed) to outright loss of data (fixed only by restoring from backup, a painful process). After I spent three days fixing these issues, we moved back to the repaired primary server, only to have the problems resurface, with the instances of actual data loss approximately doubled.
Two days later, MS pulled the update from AutoUpdate and issued their recommendation against further upgrades. Unfortunately, my users who already have it installed are hosed, as there is no retrograde tool (not that I would expect one, mind you).
While SP2 appears to provide some nicely improved functionality, and to repair a couple of fairly serious problems some users were experiencing, I have to say that my testing has been disastrous. Where my users were just starting to develop real confidence in Entourage, vs. the old Outlook they were accustomed to (and which, frankly, offered a lot of features still missing from Entourage), many are now actively concerned about the safety of their data. While I recognize that my situation was mostly the result of a “perfect storm” of bad timing, I have to wonder how such an apparently big bug managed to get past QC.
This incident has given our IT organization a big fat black eye that will take weeks or months to smooth over, and has made me very wary of future Microsoft product upgrades — a state of mind I had recently managed to get past.
if the 11.2.1 Update fixes your Entourage SP2 problems.
Firefox doesn't have problem with proxy and Entourage. October 21, 2005 -- Several readers report that Firefox does not have the problem with proxy settings, Entourage and Safari.
A reader writes:
There are 2 ways around the proxy setting and Entourage. The easiest is to use Firefox as the browser and set the proxy manually. The second and the one we use is authoxy and set the proxy to a local address 127.0.0.1 and then all the other web access apps work also.
A reader named Ju also can work with FireFox:
Firefox lets you manually configure your proxy settings where Safari does not. Go to Firefox Preferences/Connection settings/ then tick Manual proxy configuration.
New X11 based remote control for running XP on Mac. October 21, 2005 -- Yesterday Daystar announced that it is the Mac reseller and support agent for
