Mac OS X's force quit mechanism can be a boon when an applications freezes,

often consuming a large amount of system resources as it flails. However, force quits do not always execute properly, leaving hung or stalled applications in their problematic states.

As described by user Jude Kim on the Apple Discussion boards:

"After an application hangs forever, I tried to force quit. I get the message popup window saying that the application has been forced quit unexpectedly or something like that. But even after that message, there's still a blue light under the application. I can't restart the application and most annoyingly, I can't shut down the computer unless I shut it off with the power switch. I had this problem since I got this computer, please help me."

Fortunately, Apple's "Force Quit" dialogue box is only one of the many ways to approach targeting a process to kill it. Alternative Approaches include:

Activity Monitor Use Activity Monitor to display a list of all the running processes on the computer. You can see if one is displayed improperly or if it's using up large amounts of resources, and then kill it specifically to see if that clears the hang. (see this article for more)

The Terminal Use the terminal to kill a process by PID (Process ID). The PID can be looked up several ways, but the most common are to use Activity Monitor or the command line equivalent "top". Using the command line is a more basic approach to killing the process.

In some cases -- in which a single application causes the Mac OS X kernel to become extremely busy and slows the system to a halt -- having a Terminal window open can prove beneficial.

If you are lucky enough to have a Terminal window open, and can switch to it, you can kill processes that you otherwise would not be able to (since it's virtually impossible to launch Activity Viewer or the Terminal after a thrashing -- freezing -- process starts).

When the freeze ensues, switch to the Terminal window then type the following command:

top

and press return.

You'll be presented with a list of currently running processes. Scan down the "COMMAND" column for Safari (or whatever application is causing the issue) and note the number next to it in the "PID" column. Once you've found the PID, press the Q key to exit the top program, then enter the following command, replacing (PID) with the actual number -- without parentheses:

kill (PID)

and press return.

With any luck, the thrashing will stop and you'll be able to re-grain control of the computer -- or at least gain enough responsiveness to access and save currently open work.

Force shutdown If things get worse and you need to force a shutdown of the whole system, try the following: Instead of using the Finder's menus to shut down, try using the terminal to issue the shutdown command. Open it and type "shutdown -h now" (or "shutdown -r now" for a reboot).

Preventative Measures

Since the problem seems to occur for specific programs, that indicates the problem may lie with the program or some of it's resources. Many times a preferences file or other resource could get corrupted so the program has a hard time reading it.

Try removing the program's .plist file and restart the program. Such .plist files will generally be located in the ~/Library/Preferences folder, and labeled as follows:

• com.(name of developer).(name of product).plist [For instance, com.adobe.Reader7.0.plist for Adobe Reader 7.0].

Simply drag the potentially offending .plist file to the trash, re-launch the hampered application, and check for continuation of problems. In some cases, applications will have several .plist files, so make sure you check for any that contain the product name. Also, note that you may lose some settings or other personal data used by specific applications when these files are deleted

You can also use Spotlight to find other files the program has created in your user library folder, and remove or delete them. Note that doing this most likely will get rid of your personal settings for the program, but most of the time re-entering them in the program's settings will set things up properly again. Additionally, this is only safe for applications that are bundled in one package. Many complex programs put vital items all over the place when they install, and removing them could break the program or reduce its functionality. - if the program has built-in maintenance tools, run them. For instance, Safari has a "Reset Safari" feature that clears caches, cookies, history, and preferences.

Finally, you can remove and reinstall the whole program. Hopefully the program came with an uninstaller script or utility. If not, you can use AppZapper which helps target a particular application's installed resources for easy removal.

Note that an application can hang for multiple reasons, and unfortunately it isn't always the program itself that's the problem. For instance, OS X has an automatic spell checker that's accessed by many programs. If something goes wrong with the spell checker, then any program that accesses the spell checker may hang along with the spell checker.

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

Users continue to report an issue in which various iMac models randomly shut down during routine operation. As described by one user: "...it randomly has shut down on me at least 12 times since I turned it on. I can restart it and it'll stay on for a long time. But then, randomly it'll shut itself off again."

This problem has been reported by several other users, but one user has a unique situation in which his computer restarts at the slightest vibration, indicating a hardware fault of sorts in the power system, potentially due to faulty wiring.

It is possible that a batch or two of iMacs have faulty wiring that have caused, or at least contributed to, these random shutdowns and restarts. In the case of the iMac that's sensitive to touch, it's very possible a loose connection in the power system causes the thing to disconnect and shut down. Additionally, one user reports that setting the computer to restart after a power failure causes the system to restart instead of shutting down, adding further evidence that this is a hardware problem.

Some users report that getting their iMacs' power supplies replaced by Apple resolves the issue.

As previously reported, some users have also had success with the following fixes:

Reset SMC

1. Turn the computer off
2. Unplug all cables from the computer, including the power cable and any external device cables.
3. Wait 30 seconds.
4. Plug the computer back in and connect the keyboard/mouse, then turn it back on.

Re-seat RAM The problem could also be improperly seated RAM modules. Try removing the RAM modules then firmly seating them back in place.

As described in Apple Knowledge Base document #303083:

"If the computer detects no SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory, also referred to as RAM) or the RAM installed does not meet the appropriate specifications, the screen will remain black but the power LED on the front of the computer will blink once per second to signal the error. This error condition may be due to physically damaged RAM, installing the incorrect type of RAM, or not having RAM installed."

If the problem continues after performing the aforementioned fixes, the next step is to take the computer in and get the power supply inspect and serviced.

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

Yesterday we noted an issue wherein Time Machine gets stuck on the "Preparing Backup." phase. In some cases, simply waiting it out -- even over the course of several hours or days -- can result in an eventual progression.

It now appars that antivirus software can interfere with Time Machine backups, resulting in the endless prepartory phase.

MacFixIt reader Glen G reports that disabling ClamXav resolved the issue:

"I've had this problem but discovered that my ClamXav anti-virus sentry was set to scan any attached hard drive, USB, etc. Once I disabled the auto-scan function before attaching my Time Machine hard drive, everything worked as expected."

Paul Calamai reports a similar occurence with Norton AntiVirus.

"My experience is that in many of these cases the problem has to do with virus protection software working in the background at the same time that Time Machine is attempting a backup. If you're using NAV then my understanding is that you need to turn off background checking.  On the other hand, if you are using VirusBarrier X5 (a much superior product in my opinion) you can simply add the volume on which Time Machine stores backups to the Trusted Zone."

In some cases, if you're backing up to an external USB or FireWire drive, simply powering the drive off then back on while the "Preparing Backup" message is displayed can force progress.

One reader writes:

"I too have had this problem. It appears to be as simple as my firewire drive will not wake up and allow the backup to proceed. I use a Western Digital 'My Book' connected via firewire that I allow OS 10.5.2 to put to sleep. I can resolve the issue by simply turning it off and then back on or disconnecting and reconnecting it."

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

Previous coverage:

• Ongoing Time Machine issues
• Time Machine and AirPort Updates 1.0 released
• Mac OS X 10.5.2: Time Machine not working properly

Some users are experiencing an ongoing display issue, primarily affecting Penryn-based MacBook Pros. When the problem manifest, alternating light and dark vertical bands appear on the screen when the system wakes from sleep. The problem is easily fixable on a temporary basis, but it occurs repeatedly for most afflicted users.

As Apple Discussions poster "Atomic Wedgie" writes:

"...every so often, when I wake the MBP (Penryn) from sleep, I see alternating bands of light and dark vertical "stripes" along the screen. It looks as if half the LED backlights did not activate."

The problem appears to be related specifically to Mac OS X graphics drivers as the issue does not manifest when systems are booted into Windows under Boot Camp.

Various reports indicate that Apple Engineers are aware of the problem and are working on a fix -- perhaps to be released in the next Mac OS X update, or with a firmware update for the MacBook Pr. Until then there are several easy fixes for this problem:

• Press control-shift-eject, which forces the display to turn off and reset. This has been the most straightforward fix so far.
• Put the computer to sleep (From the apple menu or close the lid), wait for the computer to sleep, and then open the lid or press a keyboard button to wake it from sleep.
• Restart the computer.

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

Adobe's Creative Suite 3 imposes a limit of 20 deactivations per license. This is causing problems for users of cloned backups. MacFixIt reader Dee Dee Martin writes:

"I always try to remember to deactivate Adobe CS3 before cloning a backup, but yesterday (along with numerous other times) I forgot so I booted up from my clone, ran Photoshop and tried to deactivate.  I got a big dialog box saying "Deactivation Failed" error code 194:14, call Adobe tech support.

"I was told there is a limit (21 times) that I could deactivate CS3 and I had reached that limit. Adobe made a 'one time exception' and restored my activation count (yes Adobe tracks this stuff), but I would have to completely erase CS3 (using level 3 of their CS3Clean script) obliterating all prefs, settings, tools, printer profiles etc."

There doesn't seem to be a workable solution for this issue at present.

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

[Friday, May 2nd]

Safari's private browsing feature causes the application to not store information about your browsing history. When private browsing is turned on, Safari stops tracking history, downloads, Forms AutoFill information, and searches. It's generally used on public or shared computers.

Apple's documentation on the feature states: "You can make sure you don’t leave your private information behind, without deleting other users’ personal settings. Then when you turn off the private browsing feature, Safari resumes remembering your browsing history and other information."

However, as noted by MacFixIt reader Christian Buerli, private browsing does not preclude plug-ins from storing historical information.

For instance, even with private browsing on, the domain names of visited, Flash-enabled sites will be recorded to ~/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash Player/#SharedObjects/.

As written by Christian:

"This can be easily tested by watching a video on youtube.com or other unsuspicious sites."

To be fair, this issue also affects other browsers. Using the "Clear Private Data" feature in Firefox, for example, will not delete the aforementioned historical information.

As such, if you'd like your browsing to be even more private, turn off plug-ins. In Safari, this can be accomplished by going to Safari > Preferences > Security and deselecting "Enable plug-ins."

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

Problems installing Several users are reporting inability to install the Boot Camp 2.1 update (remember that the update needs to be applied while booted in Windows, not under Mac OS X). Users are experiencing the installation issues whether attempting to install Boot Camp 2.1 through Windows Software Update or the standalone installers. Among the error messages users are receiving:

• "The installer encountered errors before boot camp could be configured"
• "Error applying transforms. Verify that the specified transform paths are valid."

Some users are experiencing an issue wherein the Boot Camp 2.1 updater .exe file downloaded from Apple's Web site briefly launches then does nothing.

One MacFixIt reader writes:

"The update does appear in the updater Apple Software Update, is downloaded, but then gives an error message advising to download only and not install immediately. I then tried the stand alone installer from the web. This one reports "preparing installation", then disappears en nothing happens. My guess is a file extraction problem (disabled firewall protection, by the way)."

If you are experiencing a similar problem, try the following:

Download the installer appropriate to your Windows installation:

• Boot Camp Update 2.1 for Windows XP [215MB]
• Boot Camp Update 2.1 for Windows Vista 32 [228MB]
• Boot Camp Update 2.1 for Windows Vista 64 [236MB]

Use a utility like WinZIP to extract the MSP file from the downloaded .exe.

Attempt to run the MSP file from the command line as an administrator with a command that looks like this:

• msiexec /p (path)bcupdate(version).msp

Spontaneous reboots Meanwhile, some users who have successfully applied the Boot Camp 2.1 update are reporting spontaneous Windows reboots post-installation.

If you are experiencing a similar issue, please let us know.

Previous coverage:

• Boot Camp 2.1 released: supports Windows XP SP3

While we wait for Mac OS X 10.5.3, which will "resolve AirPort connection issue(s)" according to documentation read by developers with access to pre-release builds, there are several fixes that can work to effectively resolve wireless issues that continue to plague users of Mac OS X 10.5.x.

The most recent report of serious wireless connectivity issues under Leopard comes from MacFixIt reader George Hazelwood, who points to a thread on Apple's Discussion boards in which users describe severely degraded signal strength after upgrading. Other serious issues we've reported in the past include one where AirPort cards are not recognized, disallowing access to wireless Internet services and one involving extremely slow throughput for AirPort connections. Meanwhile an Apple Discussions thread describing an issue where the AirPort connection repeatedly drops currently has more than 500 posts.

Here's a list of fixes that might provide some relief until Apple enacts code-level changes:

If your AirPort card is not recognized in Leopard Navigate to /System/Library/Extensions and drag the following files (if they exist) to the Desktop or another location outside the System folder (you will need to hold down the Command key while dragging the file to move it if you are not an administrator):

• AppleAirport2.kext
• AppleAirportFW.kext

Do not delete AppleAirPort.kext.

Restart your Mac and check for restoration of AirPort connectivity

If throughput is extremely slow, or signal stregth is weak, or the connection repeatedly drops Try these:

• Turn off IPv6 for Macs and AirPort Base stations Turning off IPv6 can sometimes have a beneficial effect on wireless connections, particularly with AirPort Base stations. In order to change this setting, open System Preferences then the Network pane and click on your currently used interface (Ethernet, AirPort, etc.). Click on "Advanced," then TCP/IP settings for the interface -- at the bottom if you see a menu which says 'Configure IPv6...' click that and set it to "Off." Press the Apply Now button. Turning off IPv6 can also eliminate some issues (including frequent dropouts) with Airport Express audio streaming.
• Change IPv6 setting on AirPort Extreme router (For AirPort Extreme 802.11n Base Stations) Launch the AirPort Utility (located in /Applications/Utilities and select your Base station from the left column, then select "Manual Setup." Click "Advanced" at the top of the window, and from the "IPv6 Mode" menu, select "Link-local only." Click the "Update" button.
• Downgrade firmware on Base station (For AirPort Extreme 802.11n Base Stations) In AirPort Utility, select your Base Station, then select "Base Station" from the menubar, and choose "Upload Firmware." From the "Upload Firmware" menu, select "7.2" then press "OK."

For more fixes, see our Mac OS X 10.5.x Special Report and our wireless troubleshooting tutorial.

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

No video/audio playback, fixes Users continue to report an inability to playback certain media after updating to QuickTime 7.4.5. MacFixit reader Amy, for instance, writes:

"I just did the software update to QuickTime 7.4.5 and now I only get a white screen, no audio and no video.  Everything was fine before the update...now, I can't do anything.  I have to have these videos done for an appreciation dinner for our mission and I am unable to accomplish anything."

The first thing you should do when experiencing similar issues is check in the following directories:

• /Library/QuickTime
• /Library/Internet Plug-ins
• ~/Library/QuickTime

for any third-party add-ons that could be interfering with playback. Remove any third-party items and restart then check for restored playback.

Second, if video files were encoded with older versions of iSquint, they may not be playable with the new version of QuickTime. Download the latest edition of iSquint, which includes a tool called "Debreaker" that can repair the problematic video files. Try dragging the unplayable videos onto this droplet application.

Problems installing update if you are having problems installing QuickTime 7.4.5, either from Softwre Update or the standalone update, try deleting the folder /Library/Updates/QuickTime then re-attempting the update.

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

Previous coverage:

• QuickTime 7.4.5: app launching problems: try reinstallation; more
• QuickTime 7.4.5 released: Spotlight crashes

Continued slowness Users continue to report degraded performance under Safari 3.1.1. One reader, Soli Deo Gloria, writes:

"I am experiencing similar problems. Safari is painfully slow after this current fix. I'm not sure what they did, but it sure appears to be broken right now."

See our tutorial "Speeding up Safari" for potentially performance-enhancing procedures.

More problems updating Users also continue to report problems with applying the Safari 3.1.1 update. MacFixit reader Dan Kadel writes:

"I have experience problems with upgrading my MacBook Pro, OS 10.5.2, with the latest Safari application, 3.1.1. I ran the downloaded Safari updater and it appear that the updated ran successfully, or at least that what the software reported. I rebooted my system. I opened Safari normally to discover that the version was still 3.0.4. Now, here's the spooky event: I ran the Software Updater again and the Safari, version 3.1.1, updater did not appear in the updater list.  Now, I don't know if Safari 3.0.4 or Safari 3.1.1 is installed on my platform.  I have a hunch that it's 3.0.4, but that's a mystery."

The Safari 3.1.1 package updates system components other than the Safari application itself. As such, a failed update may result in the updating of some components (e.g. WebKit) but not others (e.g. the Safari application itself). The fix is to re-apply the standalone Safari download.

Bookmarks missing -- fix Some users have found their bookmarks missing, replaced by default Apple-supplied bookmarks, after the update to Safari 3.1.1. If you are experiencing this issue, navigate to ~/Library/Safari/ and inspect the files therein. If you have any files named something similar to "Bookmarks backup.plist" try importing them using the "Import Bookmarks" option under the "Safari" menu in Safari.

Alternatively, inspect the file Bookmarks.plist (in ~/Library/Safari/) with a tool like PlistEdit Pro. If it contains all of your bookmarks, try using the same "Import" option on this file.

DNS issues -- fix Some users are -- oddly -- reporting DNS issues after updating Safari. MacFixIt reader Jerry writes:

"After loading 3.1.1 on OSX Server 10.5.2 and rebooting DNS services didn't come up and everything that relies on DNS services. Repairing permissions didn't help."

If you are experiencing as similar issue, try manually starting the named process by opening the Terminal (located in /Applications/Utilities) and entering the command:

• ndc start

If that fails, make sure that your DNS settings haven't been inadvertently deleted.

Go to the DNS Servers field of the TCP/IP tab of your Internet connection port in Network preferences and make sure the entries appear. If they don't you can usually obtain them from your ISP.

Some ISPs that use DHCP to distribute IP addresses to customers prefer not to provide DNS server addresses, with the argument being that DHCP is supposed to provide such information to connected computers automatically. However, in this situation, one solution is to enter them manually, so we encourage readers to be persistent with their ISPs. Apart from the fact that a DNS server address might change in the future, requiring the user to then manually enter the updated address, there are few technical reasons why an ISP shouldn't give its customers the IP addresses of their DNS servers if it's the best solution to a connectivity problem.

If you're using a DHCP connection and your ISP won't cooperate, you may be able to figure out your current DNS server(s) in one of two ways. Sometimes the server's address(es) will appear in the TCP/IP tab of your Internet connection port in Network preferences. If it doesn't, you may be able to determine its address by launching System Profiler, selecting the Network item in the Contents pane, selecting your current Internet connection type (Ethernet, AirPort, etc.) on the right, and then looking for the DNS Servers item in the details section at the bottom of the window.

iChat issues Some users are reporting problems with iChat after the Safari 3.1.1 update. The update package does modify iChat-related files, so such problems are not unexpected.

One reader writes:

"I installed the Safari 3.1.1 update on Tiger 10.4.11 today. After the reboot, iChat had lost it's GoogleTalk configuration. Easy enough to reconfigure, but weird."

Another reader writes:

"iChat seems to crash a lot after the Safari update. I haven't had time to restart and see if it's just an anomaly. But iChat hasn't crashed in months until today."

Java problems persist Java applet issues extant in Safari 3.1 persist in version 3.1.1. One reader writes:

"In spite of Apple's release of Safari 3.1.1, certain JAVA pages such as NOAA's ADDS pages still have problems with loading. The page icon with the red cross still appears in the upper left corner."

Crashes when displaying PDF files MacFixIt reader Gabriel Dorado reports repeatable crashes when accessing specific PDF files in Safari 3.1.1:

"Safari 3.1.1 consistently crashes 100% of the times when trying to display (not to download) some PDF files."

If you are experiencing similar issues, make sure that the Adobe Reader and associated Safari plug-in are updated to the latest version.

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

Previous coverage:

• Safari 3.1.1: Problems installing/launching, slow page loading, more
• Safari 3.1.1 gets WebKit security enhancements

We previously reported on an issue in which users see interface text in an incorrect language after the update to Front Row 2.1.3. This problem can generally be resolved by deleting the following file:

• ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.frontrow.plist

then restarting.

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

Ted Landau

April 2008

It's that time again. Time for me to check out the current status of creating an emergency boot drive — this time one with Leopard installed. Let's cut right to the chase: the ease of creating these startup drives continues to move in one direction: from bad to worse.

Creating a pint-sized custom startup drive, with your own selection of utilities, was a breeze in Mac OS 9 or earlier. It became much more difficult in Mac OS X, but was still manageable, all the way through Panther. With Tiger, most previously successful methods would no longer work; you had to be increasingly "creative" to find anything that would get the job done. I detailed this unhappy trend in a pair (one and two) of previous columns here at MacFixIt. In a further article, I provided step-by-step details for a workable solution — installing a version of Tiger on a relatively meager in size (but cost-effective) 1GB flash drive.

First off, there's the question as to why Apple continues to make this worthwhile task so difficult to do. The answer I keep hearing is that Apple's legal department insists on putting up these obstacles, supposedly to protect the copyright of Apple's OS. I am not sure this is the real reason, or exactly what dangers Apple needs protecting from, but that's what I hear. Apple does license the software for creating a bootable CD/DVD to a few companies — primarily disk repair utilities such as Alsoft, Prosoft and Micromat. But Apple is very restrictive here. Even if you are a dues-paying developer and are willing to pay extra for a license, you have to prove to Apple that you are truly worthy. And even those privileged companies have not yet been given a license to use Leopard on a disc. That's right. Alsoft's DiskWarrior and Prosoft's Drive Genius 2, for example, still ship with Tiger. I assume Apple will eventually permit these vendors to move up to Leopard, but it hasn't happened yet. This is the current sorry state of affairs.

What's the problem?

"Wait a minute," you may be saying at this point, "What's so difficult about making a custom startup drive? Can't you simply install Leopard on any drive that is large enough to hold the essential software?" Yes, it is certainly possible to boot from an external USB or Firewire hard drive. There are several brands of portable (bus-powered) drives that are reasonably compact and would do the job. But they are still bigger and more expensive than what I had in mind. My goal was to find a very inexpensive and ultra-portable boot drive that could hold a custom set of troubleshooting utilities — allowing you to keep the drive handy at all times, conveniently taking it with you when you travel, ready for whenever an emergency or any unexpected problem occurs.