Answers...

to commonly asked questions.

networking

Network is blocking shopify secure connection

Hoping you can set me straight. I’m getting this annoying message - loop- on both lap top and desk top. Both browsers, Firefox and Safari. Is this any easy fix?


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This looks less to be the fault of your browser/computer and more the fault of the network connection/wifi router you’re currently on.

I bet if you were to take this computer to a different location ie: coffee shop, different office, you’d be able to connect. If that’s the case then we need to look at the router at your current location and tell it to calm down and allow certain services to pass through. Especially if it’s happening on more than one browser. It’s the network’s fault.


Not a simple click remotely. Most likely in person session, but first, if you’re on a laptop, take it to a different wifi network and try to connect then let me know.

Another device on the network is using your IP address.

A new mystery.  Just turned on my computer after a few days of being unplugged and this notice appeared.  I continued to open and was greeted by the same notice when trying to view new emails.

I rebooted the router and received the same notice.

I restarted the computer and received the same notice.

What should my next step be?

Thanks so much for your help!

IMG_5480
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This typically means your router is having trouble talking to all the devices in your house and it’s confused about what numbers it’s handed out. In other words, it’s given the same IP address to more than one device and now it’s confused itself. This does not seem to be the computer’s fault. It’s likely the router’s fault. The router is in charge of handing those numbers out.

First step: try restarting your router(s)

Second step: If that doesn’t work, you’d need to log in to the router and set the DNS refresh rate to a different time. The router hands out and checks on these numbers it deals out periodically. Every 24 hours, 12 hours, 1 hour, etc…. Sometimes just asking the router to check more often will resolve the issue.

Third step: You could also set a specific IP address to the computer. That would tell the router, “hey I want this number every single time.” Therefore taking the decision away from the router.

Fourth step: you could try just renaming the computer to a different name. (Found in the sharing preferences). That might be enough to trick the router into thinking it’s a brand new device.

In closing, this is not really something you’re probably used to dealing with and also not something you’d want to handle remotely. If it’s a large enough issue to you, you can schedule me in person and I’d be happy to assist. Otherwise, it’s not a major problem. More of an annoyance. After closing the message, the computer is usually assigned a new number anyway.

Why am I not connecting to the internet?

disconnected any of the wires from what I can see. Does it need some kind of reset?



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By the looks of the screenshot, your computer is in fact connected to your wifi network. That doesn’t mean the internet works but the wifi network is up. If you couldn’t connect to your router, you wouldn’t see an IP address there. In this case, 192.168.0.4 tells us you are connected to the trouser. This indicates that the problem could very well be the actual modem. Not the wifi network. I know that can be confusing. Every home has a modem and a router. In some cases, they are one in the same, meaning that one box handles both. I don’t know what your exact setup is but all this to say, first thing to try is to unplug the first box in the chain. The modem. Most of the time this is a black box with several lights on the front. If you still don’t have internet about 8 minutes after you’ve plugged the modem back in, then there is an even bigger chance that your ISP’s line is having a problem delivering a signal to your modem.

It’s possible the coaxial cable is not providing signal. That could be a break in the line from outside or perhaps it’s lose from the back of the modem. But overall, it doesn’t seem to be your wifi router.



Orbi reset after power failure

After a power failure my Orbi router has appeared back as the default network name? How can I join it?
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Sounds like somehow the Orbi reset if you are seeing the default network name in your list of available networks. If that is the case, you should be able to look on the bottom or back of either of the routers and it will list the network name AND password. Usually orbi default passwords are two words and a number like luckyorange24 or something similar.

How can I get more detail on my mesh network?

We recently upgraded to Verizon Fios here in DC and I just had an issue which has a few proposed fixes from online research, one being to keep your software up to date for connectivity reasons. We bought our own mesh network system (Asus), and while we have a strong signal with impressive speed test results, it seems we have a signal problem. I just did my first zoom call on the new fios/Asus configuration and even though the signal showed strong my service kept dropping, I was freezing and getting dropped off the call over and over. My husband just disabled something called “smart connect” in the mesh system, thinking it might have been kicking me off looking for a better connection, but who knows if that will fix it.
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Wifi can be chalenging to deal with for sure. Couple of things.

1. If you hold down the option key when clicking on your wifi bars in the menu bar you’ll get a list of technical information. The most important number is the TxRate or Transmit Rate. That number represents how strong the potential wifi signal is coming from the router. That doesn’t mean your ISP is giving you that. It just means that’s what the router wifi can push to you. Transmit rates over 75 or so are descent but should be much much higher depending on the environment.

If you want to get a better look at what’s going on in your house, I recommend buying Wifi Explorer from the App Store. It runs on a Mac and if you put it on your laptop, you’ll start to gain a better understanding of how your wifi network is performing.

Do you suggest third party wifi extenders?

Your thoughts on this Range XTD for our home?


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No. I never suggest people mix router manufacturers. These third party extenders are problematic.

My macbook isn't talking to our router.

Below is a screenshot of where it’s trying to connect first.  The next email is how it connects once I’ve reset the WiFi. She tried to manually enter the DHCP address and it. So this is the address that works but it won’t work if she tries to manually enter. Only if we reset the WiFi!



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If you do enter manual DHCP, you’ll need to enter ALL the information manually. Router, subnet mask, IP address.

When you see the number 169.254.xxxxxx that means that the computer has not received a number from the router so it’s just making it’s’ own number up. 169.254 obviously doesn’t get you on the internet. On your network, only a 192.168.xxxx number will do. If you are powering off the router and powering it back on again and her computer comes back online, that is a very big indicator that it is not the computer’s fault but rather the router’s fault.

Also, the Araknis hardware has the ability to specifically assign a device its own number. In other words, every time the araknis router sees your iPad, it could be told to give it 192.168.1.57. That means that .87 would be reserved for the iPad only and not be given out to any other device. You SHOULD NOT have to use this setting but considering how finicky her computer and that router are communicating with each other, that’s a possibility.

To make matters a little more confusing, the araknis router (like every other router) identifies every piece of equipment that connects to wifi with something called a “MAC address”. This stands for “machine access code” and has nothing to do with Mac computers. Everything has a MAC address. Printers, iPhones, windows machines, etc…. Just wanted to let you know in case you see that terminology some time.

New wifi router and now airports are down.

Hey! My husband has switched our internet - now the apple routers your installed don’t work- have no way of knowing how to get those working apparently there is a password- can you let me know what to do?
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There are many things that could be going on. It would be very hard to guess what the problem is without more details. Here are a few possibilities:

1. The new internet service provider has overridden the previous routers by turning on wifi with the new one.
2. The new router could have the same name as your apple routers.
3. The apple routers could have been disabled (turned off).

The two difficult things for me to work with via online session are printer and wifi issues. So this is more of an in-person type of problem to solve. We could attempt to adjust the network via remote session but it could possibly not go well. If we were to make changes to your wifi network remotely, without me being there, I could make a change that would require an in-person visit. So without more information, this is a difficult problem to guess at.

How can I extend my wifi to the pool?

I am trying to get wifi out to the pool at my house. We have new smart pool equip. but wifi from the house won't reach where the panels are located. Our pool guy would really like to have the system set up so he can monitor remotely. I know you purchased signal boosters for remote parts of the house and I've tried putting one of those in an outlet as close as possible with no luck. Is there something else we can do to extend the reach? Or should we just go ahead and have it hard-wired separately?
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I don’t remember if we moved over to the Orbi wifi system (by Netgear) within the last couple years at the Stonebridge house.  I seem to remember we upgraded the wifi system and I usually recommend the Orbis.  They look like this:

If this is the type of network that is there, then you could add an additional Orbi extender but nothing beats hardwiring.  You could invest in the extender and still not have  a reliable signal.  Wifi networks are just not strong enough yet for homes with cottages, large back yards, pools, etc…. I have lots of clients that want to try to share the house wifi across over to another building structure and by the time the signal leaves the walls of the home, it’s usually not strong enough to use.  Running an ethernet cable out to the desired location is 100% guaranteed.  


Can I replace one of my Airports with a different router?

Scotty, I have a question. My AirPort Extreme base w/ time capsule started making noises and heating up. The base unit was connected by cable to two other airports extremes located in remote locations in my house. I took one of the remote AirPort Extremes and replaced the base unit with it. I can not get the remote AirPort Extreme to work. Are the remotes just relays for the base? What are your recommendations?

Second question, what router would you recommend to replace our base unit? Will it work with the two remote AirPort Extremes?

Third question, how do I get my back up information from the time capsule?
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1. Any time a hard drive starts making noise, it's time to get a new drive. The Time Capsule was a product that contained a hard drive so always time to replace or move on. When moving around the roles of Airport devices in the home network, i.e. moving a router from extender to main, it's better to just reset all devices and start over. Think of the other like the magician that pulls the table cloth from the table but leaves the glasses and plates sitting perfectly. Not so easy to do and most likely the network will have an issue of some sort. Better to just go around to all the devices, reset them with a paper clip, then start all over again.

2. My golden rule of networking is that one should NEVER miss manufacturer's devices on the same network. In other words, only use all Linksys with Linksys. Only use all Netgear with Netgear. Only use all Apple with Apple. So in the case of your failed Apple router, you would not want to buy a non Apple router and expect it to work with the existing ones. If you are looking to replace your entire wifi network, my go-to router of choice is now the Orbi system by Netgear. They are very good and I've had great feedback over the last year or so from clients who now use them. Linksys Velop is also good although a little quirky at times. Neither of these are as easy to set up as the Apple routers where but Apple has left the router business so it's time to move on. Google's mesh system is ok but my third choice at the moment. I do have a few spare Airport extremes if you'd like, I'd be happy to reset the network if needed, and add an additional Airport. Possibly alternative to purchasing a brand new system at this point.

3. Time Capsule is the worst product Apple has made in the last 15 years. I hate it with every fiber in my body. This is not to be mistaken with Time Machine, the software than backs up to an attached hard drive. That is great. However, Time Capsule, the router/wireless backup can go jump in a lake. It may be possible to get the data off but problems abound. First, if you open the time capsule sparse image bundle from a computer other than the one that created it, it can corrupt the image and it will never be accessible. Second, if the drive has failed (heating up and making noises) you might as well forget it. Third, if the drive is ok but the enclosure was bad, then you'd still need to extract the old drive and put into another Time Capsule enclosure. A standard hard drive enclosure won't do. Apple did not approach Time Capsule in an accessible way. They locked it down so much that it's almost impossible extract information postmordom.

Why can't I play Fortnight on my xbox?

We are getting an error message about our Teredo IP adress for our internet. My son is trying to play Fortnight on our Xbox One. He’s not able to talk to friends or join groups because of this “teredo IP address” issue. We’ve googled the solution and tried everything short of messing with the setup of our IP address manually. My sound system guy thinks we probably need a “port forwarded or a pinhole in the firewall” for the application to work. Is this something you can do?

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Whoever installed the wifi network would be the one to deal with this. Your only apple router (let time I was there) was not in charge of anything. It was just a backup time capsule and didn’t participate in distributing wifi or IP addresses at all. This is very commonly an xbox issue. The solution may be to disable the router’s ability to hand out IPv6 numbers and only pass out IPv4 numbers. Your wifi person would understand how to do this.

An IPv6 number looks like this:

2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334

Whereas an IPv4: number is the older more common method:


192.168.1.12

The xbox may feel a little better simply getting the IPv4 number.

This is not something I can do for you as only your wifi person would be able to make those changes. I’m not saying this is the solution. This is just the first recommended step to troubleshoot. The next steps would be to change the firewall settings on the router, then if that doesn't solve it, you could assign a specific IP address to the xbox and forward a specific port's traffic to that xbox. I don't know what port that would be but I'm sure they could google it to figure it out.

None of these things are something that would fall into my prevue as an Apple Consultant. I wouldn't want to make changes to settings that could effect other elements of the home network, ie: cameras, entertainment equipment, etc…

I just got a new router from my ISP and now my airports don't work.

We just switched to direct tv and also got fiber wire internet. We can get up to a gigabit of speed. The airport light is yellow and also the express are yellow.  Can you tell me how to get the airport on line? Or is this something that you need to come out for?
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It’s common for a new service provider to come into a home and disconnect the existing network.  If you are happy with the current coverage of the single ATT router they have given you then I would suggest not reconnecting the Airport devices.  However, if you feel your coverage is better with them, then you can reconnect them but it can be a little complicated.  This is due to the fact that having two routers on the same network can conflict in identical IP addresses being handed out by two routers at the same time.  In general, one would put one router into bridge mode and allow the other router to pass out numbers.  This is not always the best method but it can get a little complicated.  

I deal with this all the time.  I don’t like to try to force business for myself but in this case, you may want me to solve it for you.  It’s a little more involved than I can describe in an email.  With that said, I do suggest you first see if they simply unplugged the ethernet cable from the back of the Airport closest to the ATT router.  There should be an ethernet cable leaving the ATT router and going into the lower most input on the back of the Tower looking Airport extreme.  If it’s an older flat model, then the ethernet port for input would be the one closest to the power plug.  (The far left most as you look at the back of the flat router)

What is a Doube NAT error?

Why is my network flashing?

unknown

Screen Shot 2017-01-06 at 7.20.52 PM

unknown

Suggestions?
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A double NAT error is not really anything to be concerned with in your case.. It means there are 2 devices functioning as routers in the same network. Your main Apple Airport Extreme wants to distribute IP addresses in the range of 10.0.1.x but the modem/router in the chain just before that router (given to you by your ISP) also wants to hand out numbers but in the range of 192.168.x.x. When a router detects another router on the same network you get this error. In general you can just select to ignore the error. But if you wanted to solve it completely you could but the airport extreme into bridge mode. It would then stop handing out 10.0.1.x numbers and instead rely on the modem/router given to you by your ISP to distribute the IP addresses to devices in your home. I don't personally like to do this because I feel the Airport does a better job handing out numbers than the modem?router given to you by your ISP. Overall, I would just ignore the issue.

Dealing with home network issues.

I think my iMacs aren’t getting online within managed or standard users but the admin accounts are. We’ve had some network issues in the past.
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While it is possible to apply parental controls onto a managed user on a mac from an administrator account, generally the parental controls do not block the internet.  They only filter sites.  If a person is within a parental controlled user and is trying to access a site, they would be prompted that the site was blocked.  Not “just not loading”.  This leads me to believe strongly that there is another issue at play.  There is currently no possibility of a virus on two macs that would prevent access to the internet.  The closest thing to a virus a mac can get comes in the form of a browser plugin  that actually routes traffic in a different way so the user is presented with a different set of ads within that browser.  This plugin must be installed purposefully by the user and the admin password must be entered therefore it is not actually a virus, more so just a really bad plugin that people are tricked in to installing on their own machine.  By definition, a virus is something that installs on its own without the permission of the user.  This does not currently exist on macs.  Nevertheless, this was not the case on your office mac.  Nor is it the case with my own laptop, iPad and iPhone.  All which exhibited the exact same behavior when connected to the network before discovering the other device.  

I would suggest not mixing router or extender brands.  In other words, I have found it best to only use one manufacturer’s brand router within a network.  This is to say either all apple routers, all linksys routers, all netgear routers, all d link routers, all belkin routers, etc…  I have not had good experiences where there are more than one brand router working together to display the home network.  

Secondly, when troubleshooting network issues, I’ve always found it a good practice to abandon the network name when reseting the network.  For example, if your network was previously called Smith Network, the new network would be called Smith Net, New Smith, Family Net, etc…  But not Smith Network once again.  I have found that this can also cause issues.  Certain devices that return to the network later can become confused upon rejoining.  It all comes down to the one router’s ability to hand those numbers out we discussed called IP addresses.  If a device was given a number a yesterday under the smith network, then the smith network changes in some way, when the device returns it can be a little like talking to the identical twin.  One device expects the other of having knowledge of the prior conversation while the other device is offering a new number.  It’s always better in my opinion to just start fresh with a new network.  

Networking issues in home with multiple routers

Scotty, please read the email thread below and let me know if you could do what our av guy is describing. Have had no problems with ur airport. Was waiting to hear from him before we bought one. Let me know ur thoughts. Thanks so much.

Hi, thanks for the update.  No, you only need 1 router in the house. Your MAC guy needs to setup the IP scheme the way it was with the previous router. It should be 192.168.1.x.  He should know what that means.  He then needs to link it to the main switch in the closet on the rack. This will allow the audio system to continue to be able to access the net for streaming and etc.  If both routers are connected, there are going to be problems.

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My thoughts:

I would be happy to set the router in place however, I think we are still left with the mystery as to why the linksys router would not be functioning properly but adding a router to the home for wifi and setting it to 192.168.1.x may conflict with the router that comes before it in line (the Time Warner modem/router).  I think that router (TW) is distributing 192.168.1.x range as well and I think the linksys was distributing 192.18.0.x range which would not conflict.  I may have that backwards but I don’t think so.  

So, putting the airport router in behind the switch and setting it to bridge mode will allow the TW modem/router to continue to handle DHCP (passing out of 192.168.1.x range if that is what technician feels would be best.  

I just want to make sure I don’t conflict with any settings that iTech may currently have in place that I’m not aware of.  There’s also the issue of not knowing why the ethernet cable feeding the laundry room iMac is not sending out a usable IP address.  This could be one of several reasons:

1.  the router in charge of handling DHCP is not giving out numbers correctly
2.  there is a conflict between router’s handing out numbers
3.  wiring is incorrect at the source
4.  ethernet cable capped incorrectly (doubtful)


I ruled out the iMac being the issue.  That issue also exists on other computers directly connected to the same ethernet cable as well.  So while adding the airport router may give you great wifi throughout the house, the actual real issue has still not been completely solved.

Server connection has been lost

In-App purchases....

Yep it’s finally happened.

Apple has thrown up the white flag. So many parents have no idea what their children are doing on their phones and iPads then they get mad after their children run up $500 in-app purchases. In my opinion, in-app purchases should be turned off by default, however, we as parents give our children the passwords to the accounts anyway. Children are called children for a reason. They don’t understand how money changes hands in the world quite yet. They only know they want the next level of the zombie game or the purple outfit for the dress Justin Beiber app. And those cost money.

Apple has now offered to refund in-app purchases in some cases. You may have received the following letter:



Apple is committed to providing parents and kids with a great experience on the App Store. We
review all app content before allowing it on our store, provide a wide range of age-appropriate
content, and include parental controls in iOS to make it easy for parents to restrict or disable
access to content.

We’ve heard from some customers that it was too easy for their kids to make in-app purchases.
As a result, we’ve improved controls for parents so they can better manage their children’s
purchases, or restrict them entirely. Additionally, we are offering refunds in certain cases.

Our records show that you made some in-app purchases, and if any of these were unauthorized purchases by a minor, you might be eligible for a refund from Apple.

Please follow the steps below to submit a refund request:


Find your in-app purchase records. Check your email for iTunes receipts or use a computer to sign in to your iTunes account and view your Purchase History.


Use this link to submit your refund request to Apple.


Provide the requested information and enter “Refund for In-App Purchases made by a minor”
in the Details section.

Apple will review your request and contact you via email about your refund status. All refund requests must be submitted no later than April 15, 2015.

If you have any questions or need further assistance with your refund request, please contact Apple.

To learn more about parental controls in iOS, please see this article.

Thank you.

Apple”
“Dear iTunes account owner,

Re-Order your wireless networks

Hey- I'm trying to figure this out. My daughter is telling me that her iCloud account was disabled when they setup her new phone. Should I go to the apple store or get you back over here?
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You should be able to regain access to that iCloud account before you take steps to create a new one. I think your child’s iCloud account was based on an @icloud.com email address but that really doesn’t matter.

First try going to iforgot.apple.com and see if you can reset the password. First you’ll be asked for a birthdate. If I assisted you to set this up I most likely encouraged you (the parent) to use your own because your own child’s age doesn’t isn’t eligible. If you get the birthday right, next you’ll be asked a couple of security questions you’ve answered in the past. At that point you should have access to change the password to the original iCloud account.

If the account still shows as disabled and doesn’t allow you access, your next hope to regain control of that iCloud ID is to talk with apple support.

If you still can’t get back in to the account then it may be time to create another one. The Apple Store should be able to assist or of course I would be happy to as well. But as you know, one is free and one is not!

Ubee router not getting along with Extreme

Scotty—It is critical that I find a voice memo that I recorded on my phone but somehow disappeared.  It was in January 2012.  I tried looking today and got this screen.  I closed the window and then it said there were no memos.
Pasted Graphic
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I feel like the only way we may be able to retrieve those prior January voice memos would be to check to see if you have a prior iOS backup from that approximate time.  Those voice memos do not live in the cloud.  They are stored locally on your phone so they would be included in a backup.  I could take a dummy phone, restore from that time period (provided you backed up locally to a computer around that time period) and we may be able to retrieve them.  

If however, you were using iCloud to back up, then those may be gone.  When was the last time you remember seeing that voice memo?  January?

Sharing a DVD drive with an Air

Scotty,

I tried typing in my client's skype name and it says I can't call them because I have blocked them.  How do I unblock them?
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In Skype, go to preferences under “Skype” in the menu bar. Once there, select Privacy from the tabs across the top. You’ll then see “manage blocked users”. Click that and see if anyone is mistakenly listed. You’ll be able to select the person blocked and unblock them. Then hit “done”.
Screen Shot 2011-12-15 at 3.43.17 PM

Home Wireless not covering area.

Hi Scotty - I hope that you are well.  Thomas is working on research for a homework project.  Pages just crashed and he's lost the unsaved portion of his work.  We've been looking on your website for answers to if/how he can retrieve the lost information.
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It depends on how long the project was on the computer. Time Machine could help to recover the document. You could navigate to the documents folder, assuming that’s where you’d last saved it, then enter time machine from the menu bar (icon like a clock) and try to recover the previously saved version. Lion now autosaves documents so in the future (with Lion installed) this can be avoided.

If he had not saved and he’s not running Lion and not running Time Machine, then the data could be lost.

Reseting the airport express

what is your experience with U-verse? Is it better/worse than RR?
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I have several clients who have Uverse and have been very happy with it. The only complaint I’ve heard from a small number of people is that the quality of video is inferior to RR. Internet speed is fine. I’ve found Uverse internet speed to be in the mid 20’s down often which is very very good. The only thing I would warn of is the Uverse wireless router ATT seems to be installing. It’s a much slower modem than the airport extreme which you may already have. They tend to replace a customer’s current router with their own crappier one. They can work together but a few settings must be adjusted.


Slow internet at the office

Scotty, my iPad Contacts is empty and when I sync my iPad with my computer, I notice that the Contacts icon does not appear.  Have I not activated something on my computer to allow my Contacts information to be shared with my iPad?  Thanks,

PS Thanks for the two Peach Frescas, they were great!
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When you plug your iPad up to iTunes, select it in the left hand column then you’ll see tabs across the top…one of which is labeled “info”. Be sure that contacts are checked to sync between your device and your computer. Remember that Apple promises the upcoming iCloud transition will grant me.com email addresses free of charge and will include wireless contact and calendar syncing. We’ll get you signed up the moment it’s out!

Extending an Airport Network

Scotty
I have some how created two google email accounts with the exact same address...some incoming messages go to one and some go to the other, I think this happened when I had the password problem that you helped me with a few weeks ago. how do I fix this?
Thanks
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To delete one account from your mail application (the stamp), first open mail then go to preference in the menu bar (under “Mail”).
Screen Shot 2011-08-15 at 10.51.38 PM
Next, select the Accounts tab then select the account you want to delete. Finally, hit the minus button in the bottom left corner. Your second gmail account should disappear.
Screen Shot 2011-08-15 at 10.52.45 PM

ATT Uverse wireless router is crappy

Hey Scotty,

Hope all is well!  I am in need of either a netbook or a tablet...however..it has to be PC based :((  Do you have any suggestions??

Thanks,
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My first suggestion would be to run as fast as you can away from them! My second suggestion would be to consider using a mac laptop and use bootcamp. Therefore you have all the benefit of good hardware and you can boot to either the mac or pc by holding down the option key at startup. You could also use virtualization software like vmware but that may not fit your needs.

The netbooks out there are all just crap in my opinion. I don’t have any experience in what is a good choice. Luckily they’re pretty cheap so you won’t have to invest much.

iCal upgrade and using two routers

Reminder pls- where do I go to back up time capsule on my external hard drive?

Thanks
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To archive your time capsule backup, first you’ll want to make sure the backup drive is plugged into the usb port on the back of the time capsule router. Next, go to airport utility and select disk in the top of the window. Next select the “archive” button. Your network may be down during the process so time it when you won’t need to be online for a couple hours.

Self Assigned IP is a problem.

Hi Scotty,

I have the iPhone 4 and it is completely full. Unfortunately I have hundreds of photos and videos that my children have snapped with my phone that seem to be taking a ton of space. Is there a way to erase them other than one by one on the phone itself? I can't find them on the computer.

Thanks!!
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I don’t know of a way to delete them directly on the phone other than selecting them one by one. However, you should be able to sync your phone to your computer, open iPhoto and select to import all. Then delete all the pictures off via iPhoto once the import is done. Next, in iTunes, under “photos” in the iPhone preferences window, just choose the albums or events you want to return back onto your phone. That should do it.

Checking the speed of your network

Hi Scotty,
I am having trouble making cds.  I can get it to burn 1/2 way on a 1.2 hour cd.  Or I can get 2 songs or 8 
but never the whole hour.  And I am only trying to burn one hour of songs.  This is so frustrating.

Also, I have just inherited the office of treasurer for a non-profit called No Regrets.  But I do not know 
how to do book keeping.  What software do I need and how do I get started?  THANKS SO MUCH!
___________


So there are several things that could be causing the non burning issue. Have you tried rearranging the order of the songs? If you move the order around then if the cause is a particular song, the burn may stop at a different time. If it’s an emergency you could also try converting the song format from mp3 to aiff for instance. This can be done in itunes under Advanced in the Menu bar.

You may also try different media. Some DVD+R’s may not work as well as a DVD-R or one manufacturer of CD may be less capable over another brand.

As for the book keeping. The best place to start is
Quickbooks. It’s not cheap but it’s the default application for anyone who runs a business. You may look into Quickbooks online instead of purchasing the entire program. That seems to be the possible trend going forward.

Reseting your IP address

Scotty,

New problem:  search bar in Outlook returns absolutely nothing.  Every single search I have tried, and I have made them incredibly easy, turns up No Results.  Any trick I might be missing, might have had some settings blown away, etc.?
___________

The first thing you may want to consider trying is to re-index the drive so that spotlight is forced to go through the microsoft user data folder in Documents. However, considering the state of your hard drive, you may want to wait until the drive is replaced. This is demanding on the drive.


How to re-index.

“Open System Preferences and click the Spotlight button. Select the Privacy tab and add your hard drive to the list of drives to exclude from Spotlight searches. Wait about five minutes and then remove your hard drive from the list. Spotlight will then re-index the drive.”
-Diane Ross MVP Microsoft/Mac Office dev team

To my knowledge, Outlook borrows it’s results from spotlight. I may be incorrect.

Downgrading the firmware for airport devices

So I’m doing my annual shopping for shoes. Yes, once a year. One pair. I grew up wearing my brothers hand-me-downs so new shoes to me consisted of getting his old ones and a roll of duct tape. Anyway, as I shop for shoes on Zappos I find myself watching those great videos they make on every shoe. Yes, the make a 1 minute video on every single shoe they sell. And those guys sell it. Then I start to ask myself, why am I spending 30 minutes on a shoe website? Because it’s great. I love Zappos.com. These guys have their act together when it comes to online retail. Everything about this company screams customer service. They have a 1 year return policy, virtually any shoe you could imagine, and lots and lots of sales. You get a real sense that the employees don’t take themselves to seriously and that’s a good thing. Tony Hsieh, the CEO, is a very interesting story as well. Every business in America has something to learn from this guy.

Zappos is a wonderful place to buy shoes online. Period.

My new shoes...
3832-326824-d

Update: I told you so. I checked my email today (after I wrote the above) and this is what they sent...

Please note that this is being done at no additional cost to you. It's our way of saying thanks for being our customer.”

“Although you originally ordered Standard Shipping, we're upgrading the shipping time frame for your order. It will ship out today, so you'll get it even faster than we originally promised! It's kind of like we waved our magic wand!

Express not extending the network

Scotty
Do you happen to know if you can gps a Druid phone?Son cannot find his phone.

Sent from my iPhone

___________


Hard to say.  Different phones have different features.  That would have to be built into the hardware.  Then enabled through software. Here are a few links that may help.

Locate My Droid
Where's My Droid Helps Locate Your Android Phone Near and Far

In most cases you would have to enabled the feature via a software app first.

Adding a printer via Ethernet

Scotty,
When MobileMe request to sync my computers, it will delete approximately 345 calendar events from my computer. How do I avoid this from occurring?
Thanks,

___________


You may first want to back up your calendar in iCal by going under “file” in the menu bar then “export” then select “ical archive”. Now you know you have all the old data in case of a melt down.

Now that you’ve backed up your data, you may want to consider why you are getting this message. If if you feel it is an error then you can overide the command by pushing your known good copy of your calendar on your computer back up to the mobileme server therefore replacing whatever is up there currently. To do this go to system prefs / mobileme / sync. Now select advanced and you’ll be presented with a picture puzzle depicting what direction the data will flow. Now select “reset sync data”. Choose to replace only calendar data up to the server as shown below.



The last thing to consider is that if you have another computer or device that is also syncing via mobileme, you may want to go to that device and have it do the opposite. Replace the data on computer with the cloud’s data. If that device is an ipad or iphone then the procedure is similar but there are several more steps. Just let me know if you need assistance.

Is Clear internet service ready for prime time?

Scotty-my computer is going to go pretty quick I think...the lines are starting to show up more and more lately-just so I am ready....I have everything backing up to Time Capsule and did a back up to the back up last month.  Anything else I should do before it goes on its merry way to make things easier for a new computer?

___________


Not really.  As long as you have a good back up.  Most likely the drive is fine as well so you can just transfer the info to the new computer via firewire cable when you get the new one.  It will go faster than pulling from a TM backup.   Especially if you're using FW 800.  If you don't have a cable though, it's not really a big deal.

Hard drive disappeared after 10.6 update

Warning: SUID file "System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/ARDAgent" has been modified and will not be repaired.

Scotty,

Every couple of weeks or so, I run Disk Utility and Repair Permissions, and I have been getting the message above. Two questions: is Repairing Permissions neccessary?, and is the above line something to be concerned about?

___________


1. While repairing disk permissions is not necessary, it is very helpful to do on occasion. As files are moved around on your system, the permissions can change. This could lead to problems writing or reading the file later. Repairing permissions is a preemptive action that can help avoid problems like that from occurring. 3rd party installers such as HP print driver installers often install files that start off with the wrong permissions. And disk utilities’ permission repair will take care of that as well.

2. ARD is Apple’s Remote Desktop software. You don’t really have a need for it as it is not something you use. The file is damaged and can not be replaced without either a very careful drag and drop from a known good version of the OS from a similar build on another computer or a reinstall of the OS. This is not causing any harm and is perfectly fine just sitting there until an update resolves it down the road or you reinstall at some point for other reasons. I wouldn’t worry about it.

Fastest ISP in Charlotte?


What was the usb port replicator that you reccomended to me the other night?

Thank you,

___________

Dlink 7 port usb hub.
Amazon.com: D-Link DUB-H7 High Speed USB 2.0 7-Port Hub: Electronics

User has large home with main basestation in the far corner room of the home

Quick question. I dropped my 15" MacBook pro and cracked left hand side of screen. Took to apple store they just quoted me $1240- to repair yesterday.  I can buy a new 13" MacBook pro for that much.  

Guy at apple store said it may be worth my while to find an apple certified repair center (not using apple) and try to get a component repair rather than a unit repair which is what I think the apple store guy told me.

Do you know of any reputable apple certified repair centers?  Thanks

__________

My son broke his laptop.  A microphone fell on it and broke the screen.
Is there any help?

__________

I do get this question quite a bit. While I can do the repair on the lcd screen, due to the time involved in the repair and the cost of parts, I prefer to refer clients out to other companies that specialize in that service. TechRestore - MacBook Pro Unibody Free Repair Diagnosis | LCD and Glass Screen Repair | Hard Drive and SuperDrive Repair is a reputable company and will send you a box overnight if you wish. The cost should come in less than what apple quoted.

In a related issue, liquid spills are also very common. Micro Replay has contacted me but I’ve yet to have anyone to use them. I would be interested in feedback for their services as well. Apple : MicroReplay

Airport express (almost) never fails

A couple of questions (similar topic):

I purchased a new iMac to replace my old Power PC G5 (non-Intel based).  The new PhotoShop and Lightroom upgrades only work on Intel based machines.  Anyway, what are the pros/cons of migrating my old machine to the new on the initial startup of the iMac?  I have done this in the past but wanted to get some input from you first.  Any suggestions on what I can do with the G5 (Dual 2.5 GHz, 6 GB DDR Ram, 1 TB Harddrive)

At work I have an iMac (about a ear old), I purchased a new Mac Book Pro and want to migrate my work iMac to the laptop - same question as above (pros/cons)?  I have VM Ware running Windows XP Pro on my wok iMac and want to do the same with the laptop.

Thanks in advance.

___________

Normally the migration assistant built into the mac is wonderful however, in your case I would not recommend using it. You’ll really want to install the intel versions of those apps. Your goal will be to allow no PowerPC based processes running. You can always run the migration assistant to move documents and other files but avoid applications transferred.

I’ve moved VMware over to another computer via migration assistant and had no problems. You should be ok. Intel to intel is fine. Just don’t do it with the G5. As far as what to do with it...you could donate it to a needy family. Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army, or Goodwill would be good choices.

Extreme Router improves download speed

Hi scotty, Somehow I have lost the bar across the top of a new message I am wanting to send that has -  Send - Reply - attach - address etc. If I am replying to a message that is opened I get the bar but do not get it when I am just wanting to send an e-mail.

Sure would appreciate your instructions on how to get the Send bar every time I click on "new Message."

Thanks much and I really like my IMac.  


_______

This is a very common problem. For some reason Apple decided to place a button in the top right hand corner of their mail program that, when clicked, it makes all the important buttons disappear. There are a couple of ways to get those buttons back.

1. Under “view” in the menu bar at the top of the screen when in Mail, select to “show toolbar”.
2. You could also just click the same button that made it go away. Shown below:

Extending your Airport wireless network using an express

Hi... can i use the time machine that you set up for old macbook for new imac?  Do i just plug it in and will back up this computer without erasing other backups from old computer?

_______


Yes, you can use the same drive to back up multiple macs using Time Machine. As long as there's enough free space on the external hard drive to copy all the other mac's data over you should be fine. Just go to system preferences/Time Machine and select that disk as the backup. It may ask you automatically if you'd like to use that disk as your Time Machine disk if you don't already have Time Machine setup.

Hope that helps.

Computer falls off wireless network in the kitchen

Thanks again for helping me clean up my Macbook Pro. It has been running much better!

My question is...

I have to send my computer to Apple to replace my screen because it has some crazy line it it, and I can borrow my girlfriends macbook for the seven to ten day period my computer will be gone. What I was wondering is, since I am backed up on my time capsule, is it possible to back her macbook up on my time capsule as well, and load all the files from my computer on to hers so that it operates just like mine does now, and then when I am done with hers and have my computer back, I can then take her files off the time capsule and put her computer back to the way it was before I put all my stuff on it.

Does that make sense? Thoughts? Is it possible?

let me know! Thanks!

_______


Wow. Yes it's possible but it makes me a little nervous. I think I would invest in another hard drive to make sure all the data is in at least two places with all this moving around. It makes sense what you're proposing but it does have risks. If the time capsule drive dies then you've lost one of your sets of data.

I would consider buyig another external firewire drive, cloning that drive (not using time machine) via something like superduper or carbon copy cloner then booting from that drive via firewire. You'd be teathered to that hard drive which would essentially render the laptop a desktop but it would get you through this and you'd end up with another drive. And you can't have too many of those.

Just remember, if your data is not on at least two hard drives all the time, consider it gone. So if you clone that drive to a new drive then only have that one drive with your data you could also risk losing it unless you also have your data backed up via time machine. And you probably do come to think of it.

Printer won't print within certain areas of the house


I picked up an Airport Express.  Is this installation as simple as plugging it in?  I'm confused because I already have the airport software installed (thanks to you.)  

_______


You don't need to install software.  Open airport utility (you can find it using spotlight search) then double click on your own router's icon first.  Be sure it is set to "allow network to be extended". (see below)  Next double click on your airport express that should be showing if you've plugged it in.  (usually takes around a minute to show up.  If you hit command + R it will refresh.  Now select the airport express to "extend a network" in the drop down menu and select your own network as the one to extend.  (see below) Apply those settings and the express should go green on the light in about 1 minute.  

There's a little more to it than that like actually naming the device and providing a password to make changes to that hardware but that's the main idea.  Those options are availble under the "base station" tab seen below.


Router not giving IP address

While I do many repairs on Apple products, I usually refer laptop display repairs out to these guys. They can do it at a much lower cost and I've always had good experience with them.

PowerBook Medic:
Mac Service - Apple Mac Repair and Upgrades for your Mac, iPod, or iPhone

Using your iMac to create another wireless network

Thanks again for coming over Scotty.  Hate to bother you, but the new MacBook is not printing.  The printing que says the printer is offline.  The other computers print correctly.



____

hmmmm... We had just done a test print. So if all other computers are printing successfully to the printer, then the easiest thing to try first, would be to delete the printer and re add the printer.

1. Go to system prefs, then print and fax.
2. select the printer in the left hand column and hit the minus button.
3. Now click the plus button to re add the printer.

The printer should auto detect the driver (assuming the Snow Leopard computer is the one with the printing problem). See if that helps first.

Here are a couple other answers I've provided concerning Snow Leopard print issues:
Printer keeps falling offline | printers | Sells Consulting
Reseting the print system and printer recommendations | printers | Sells Consulting

Airport channel on wireless

Happy Holidays.

I have a growing list for next year but for now, I am only able to connect wirelessly to my iMac. I can't get an ethernet connection.

I've unplugged everything(routers,cable,etc.) to no avail.
I get the message "Safari cant open...computer isn't connected to the internet"

I took a screen shot in system preferences (attached).  Any suggestions??

Thanks.



_____

It looks like your ethernet cable going into your mac is not providing a signal from your router. Several things could be at fault.

1. ethernet cable is not hot...not plugged into the router.
2. router has failed and is not distributing an IP address
3. Router may be set to bridge mode and is not handing out IP addresses

Usually, the most likely thing is what is wrong. Most likely the ethernet connection is not completed all the way to the router.

The number you see 1.69.254.xx.xx means that the computer has not been given an IP address from the router and has just made its own IP address up. In other words, the problem is at the router, not the computer.

Airport Express security warnings


We have worked before in that you installed a 500GB hard drive in my MacBook Pro.  I am now being warned by the computer that my battery needs service.  Can you please contact me about when you might be able to look at what is wrong with the battery?

If the battery needs to be replaced, can you do it and can you give me an estimate of how this would cost?

____
Your battery may be dead/dying.  Applecare only covers the battery for one year from purchase date and generally there is no way to recover a bad battery other that replacing it.  There is always the outside chance that it could be a software issue but usually it's just the battery has served it's time and is on its way out.  


The battery can easily be removed by anyone.  You should have access to it on the back of your computer.  Depending on exact model and size, you can still buy that battery from Apple but it will cost a bit more.  You may want to check out www.batterysales.com.  Their prices are usually a bit better.   eBay is also a great way to go as long as you're buying a new battery.  Don't buy a used battery on eBay.

Security Camera on network has fallen off

I converted the videos we had downloaded on our dell computer to our mac computer.  I can only view them on itunes but cannot view them in imovie.  Do you know how to complete this process?  I had tuned into your Sunday night conference on August 30th but have not had a chance to log on again.  I plan to listen to your Town Hall tonight.
 

______

The videos you imported may be in a format that iMovie doesn't recognize. What is the file extension on the end? .mov? .flv? .wmv? etc??? That will give me a clue as to what steps we need to take to get them converted properly into iMovie.

Multiple Locations in Network settings

Scotty,

I went into Time Machine to recover an email sent last November. I can see the two messages I want to recover, but the bar along the bottom has disappeared completely. I was able to take a screen shot, but I can't print the messages. Command/tab doesn't bring up any open applications and I'm not sure how to exit. Please help!  


_______


I'm sure you're out by now, but within time machine you should be able to hit the red button in the top lefthand part of the screen.  You should also be able to see the "cancel" button on the bottom bar.  Odd that it's not there.  Hitting the escape key will also exit time machine.  


Linksys, Linksys, Linksys

Scotty,
    I'm having trouble with the following. Please help!!!!!!!
          1. How do I transfer my songs in order from the computer to the ipod?
          2. When I try to disconnect, my screen on the computer tells me that I can't because a program is in use.

   Also, you said that you had a handout for us but we were unable to pick it up after the first session. Could you please mail it to me. I would appreciate any help that I could get. Thanks.  


_________________
Hi

 I've included it as an attachment in this email.  

To respond to your questions:  If you have any software that scans a drive, it could have hold of your ipod's content therefore you're getting this warning.  Not sure if you are mac or PC, but I'll assume PC.  It's common for windows to scan through any device attached.  I would suggest quitting any program that may be running besides iTunes.  There could also be virus protection installed that may be scanning the ipod and therefore you may see that message as well as a result.  (again, on a mac this is not an issue)

To address question 1.  Do you mean to say that they are not in order once you get them to the ipod?  They should show in the order you placed them in your playlist.  

In the future, if you'd like to email me, it would be faster if you send it to my personal email  sells@mac.com.  I don't check my cms mail as often as I should.


CMS handout August 18, 2009

How to recover time capsule passwords

Hi Scotty -

Our airport extreme is flashing yellow and has now gone to solid yellow again.  Also, my computer is frequently reporting that the backup is delayed.  I know that you did some updating for me the last time you were here and that you wrote about it on your website.

Do you know what might be going on?  Is this the same thing?  What do I need to do?


_______

The first thing to check is to launch airport utility then double click on the airport extreme icon in the left hand column. That will then bring up the status window for that device. You’ll notice that the yellow dot is showing there as well. You can click the status yellow button and it will reveal what the problem is. That will help diagnose the problem better. Let me know what it says. You can also take a screen shot and send it to me using command+shift+4.

airport blinking for firmware update

Hello Scotty.  (I contacted you a while ago about memory expansion).  I have an issue with my current graphics card.  I am trying to install iLife '09 and there is a pop-up that states the following:  

iMovie ’09 requires a Mac computer with a graphics card that is compatible with Core Image. These include all systems with an Intel processor, or Power Mac G5 (dual 2.0GHz or faster) or an iMac G5 (1.9GHz or faster). See
www.apple.com/ilife/systemrequirements.html for requirements.  Installation of the other iLife ’09 applications will proceed.

As of now, I have a PowerBook G4 and here is the Graphics Info:

ATI Mobility Radeon 9700:

  Chipset Model: ATY,RV360M11
  Type: Display
  Bus: AGP
  VRAM (Total): 64 MB
  Vendor: ATI (0x1002)
  Device ID: 0x4e50
  Revision ID: 0x0000
  ROM Revision: 113-xxxxx-145
  Displays:
Color LCD:
  Resolution: 1280 x 854
  Depth: 32-bit Color
  Core Image: Hardware Accelerated
  Main Display: Yes
  Mirror: Off
  Online: Yes
  Quartz Extreme: Supported
  Built-In: Yes
Display Connector:
  Status: No display connected


I called Apple and they told me there wasn't anything I could do.  I wanted to double check with you and see if that is true.  Is there someone out there (maybe even you) that can go inside my laptop and install a better graphics card?  If so, what is the cost, procedure...etc.  I will be forever grateful.  The entire reason that I bought iLife was because of iMovie, sigh (since my laptop can't exactly handle Final Cut Pro, lol).

Thank you,

Well I guess I'm the bearer of the bad news. Apple is correct. Due to the video requirements, the new iMovie 09 will not run on your computer. The graphics processor power needed far exceeds the capability of that machine. Secondly, there is no upgrade path for graphics cards on powerbooks or any apple laptop for that matter. The graphics card is embedded into the logic board and there's no way to switch that out. Now, on the bright side, the previous version of iMovie is still a strong application. I wish they had not abandoned it completely. I'm not the biggest fan of the new iMovie. I just completed a few projects in it on a brand new macbook pro and found it sluggish.

Airport relationships

Scotty

Well I went through it with Comporium again this morning. They arbitrarily changed my IP number and it went to a previously used number that rated very or highly risky. Seems the guy who had the number before me sent out a bunch of spam. I only get this solved when I get(name removed) on the phone. He went beyond and found out why I could not send out e-mail. The IP number I currently have is dynamic and he suggests that I changed to a static IP number. The static number never changes and I will always have it. Only issue is it cost $5 per month.  What do you think about static IP numbers, is that the way to go.


Second and I guess I can try this. I want to move the laptop to the other side of the cinema. I guess all I have to do is change the dock to the left side of the screen, is that right. I guess what I am asking is, did we do anything special so it has to be on the left side. Yeah I know you are laughing. I will set up another appointment. I have another dvd I want to edit.


I told you it was comcast’s fault. Instead of blocking functionality to a dynamic IP address knowing it’s going to be assigned to someone else within a day or two, they should have just contacted the person and confronted his questionable spam or effected his personal email account and not an IP address. That’s rediculous. It won’t be the last time you’ll run into problems with Comcast either.

Static IP’s are designed for businesses who need to get back to their machines from abroad or who are hosting their own website etc... Dynamic IP’s change occasionally and you should not have to pay any additonal amount for a problem they created. The large majority of the world (99.999%) of users use a dynamic IP address.

Concerning your other question as to rearranging your display layout. Go to system preferences/displays/arrangement and you’ll need to drag the one display on the left over and around to the right. The displays should refresh and then it will just be a matter of moving one of them slightly up or down to align them correctly based on their actual physical position to one another.

Airport wireless network slow

Hi Scotty,
Is there a way I can hide email addresses/recipients on outgoing messages?  I get some from friends saying "Reply to" and their name.  Or "undisclosed recipients".  I looked on Mail Preferences and found only how to hide email addresses in a group.
Hope you are doing well, and thank you in advance.


Yes, the way to go about this is to send the email out to one person only (can be yourself) then put the rest of the recipients in the BCC field. Your mail program may not have the BCC field available by default. Here’s where you’d look from within Apple’s mail program.

ATT Uverse...what do you think?

I thought this sounded like a good deal when the guys came to our door, but now am getting cold feet.  Only wanted to do it to save money but it won't be much.. have you heard anything?  We'd be doing the Elite which he said is equivalent to Road Runner.... Also, will it mess up our airport wireless network since it has one "built in" as they say??
Please let me know your thoughts...
Thanks


I would say at the moment to not get involved yet personally. I do have a few clients who have adopted the new ATT service. And I’ve heard that after the initial hard times of setup, the service has been good for them. The router is huge. Almost the size of an xBox. Each TV has a box as well.

I would not use their router at all. Especially since you have an extreme. I am not sure if the ATT network has 802.11n but either way, it’s a very new service and I’m sure there are things that need to be improved. If you’d like to be in early then go ahead but I might say wait for a while.

It may be a good package eventually however it may be too early to invest.

wireless printer troubleshooting

Hi Scott,
I'm trying to send a letter to multiple email addresses and the pop up says it is not a valid address.  It lists them all as if they were one address.  Should I separate the addresses with a semi colon and a space or just a space?  I've tried both ways.  Is there a limit to how many addresses can be in the To line?   I tried putting half of them in the Cc space but that didn't work either. It's 10 addresses I've never used before.  (I'm organizing an engagement party & these are all hosts who have given me their addresses)
Any ideas?
Thank you,



They should appear as separate addresses (usally highed in blue each). Most likley one of them is invalid. Try hovering your mouse over each one to reveal the actual email address and most likely you’ll find the botched one. The email must contain a beginning, middle and end.

example: XXXXX@XXXX.com

While your mail program does not have any foreseeable limit to the “TO” field, it is more likely that your outgoing server does. I would say usually around 40 emails at once starts to raise a flag with our email provider thinking you are trying to spam. You could try sending in 2 smaller groups if you are around that number.

hope that helps a little.

wireless printers, USB hubs and old school macs



We have replaced an older, HP printer that I could not get to function wirelessly.  We now have an HP OfficeJet Pro 7590.  This generation can function wirelessly, but I am uncertain that I purchased one that has that capacity since I cannot get it to work.  As before, we would prefer to eliminate the cords and have this function wirelessly.  
Can we have this printer on another wireless system?  

we should have no problem getting it onto your wireless network but it looks like we'd need to use an airport express to get data over to the printer.  As a note, some multifunction printers lose certain functions when wireless. ie:  scanning, faxing.  HP seems to be ahead of the rest of the printer manufacturers in this area however so we'll just have to see how the 7590 acts once wireless.   Sometimes it's a few extra steps but I feel confident we can accomplish it.  

I have an Extreme and one Express network connected now.  How many Express extensions can my Mac Mini handle?

On mac mini really only related to one express.  The more appropriate question may be "how many expresses can an Extreme handle?".  The Extreme can support up to 5 airport expresses.  Each express can support audio out to a stereo or printers via their usb port.  So purchasing an additional express for your printer may be a good idea unless you feel we can use the current express that you have with the printer.  

We also have purchased, an Epson V700 digitizer, to begin digitizing the over 5000 slides I have taken over the years for my class use and for a digital library.  I do not need the digitizer to function wirelessly and can move it around to hook it up through USB ports when I need it.  However, with my screen, my backup (Lacie) hard drive, my usual portable thumb drive, I seldom have a spare USB port.  The extension devices I have seen seem to “hang off” the back of the computer with no support for the cords that will connect into them.  Is there a better way?

a USB 2.0 hub may be a better answer for your setup.  USB connections will support up to 127 devices chained together over mulitple hubs.  The only thing then to consider is how much power each device needs and therefore you'll need a USB hub that can be plugged in so it supplies its own power instead of relying on the USB port from the computer only.  
Is there a way that I can have more ports in a location a few feet 
away from my Mac Mini?
You can use the USB hub to connect to your your computer using one port.  Just use a long usb cable to connect into the back of your monitor or mac mini directly.  

Finally, I need to clean off an older computer – a Power PC 8500-180 which was supported by an Iomega Zip drive.  We would like to be able to get the contents of this computer into to a format we could read on my Mini so that I could determine what to toss and what to save.  I am especially concerned about the contents of I Photo and Nikon and Sony camera processing software that I may have used before I went to I Photo.
Wow, into OS9 we will go.  Depending on what type of documents we're trying to convert into present day, our success rate will vary.  iWork has the ability to recover older clarisworks and Appleworks documents and Microsoft Office does a descent job of recovering old word and excel documents.  As for your pictures, if we can find the originating folders they are stored in, we shouldn't have a problem retrieving them.  The more difficult issue at hand is that the drive in that old 8500 is a scsi drive.  I hope the computer still boots and even if it does, networking from OS 9 to a modern operating system can be a bit difficult.  However, if all else fails we should still be able to port the data over by other means if necessary.  flash drive, floppy drive, etc...

If all of these things can be done, I assume I will need to purchase some equipment – another Express? and/or some sort of USB extension device?  I can have whatever you need here for you when you come if you will give me a list.
Things you may want to consider purchasing:
1 additional airport express
1 USB 2.0 powered 7 port or greater hub.

Gateway not picking up Airport

Scotty:

I hope you are well. My father in law is here visiting and has a gateway laptop. He's trying to sign onto our wireless system and keeps getting a message "Aquiring Network Access" and it wo't go any further. We've got plenty of wireless signal and wife can make her laptop work thoughout the house. Any idea what this might be?

Answer: Gateway. Ugh. There’s a very good chance that your encryption method may not be supported by his current version of his WinXP. I believe that service pack 2 was when Windows first started supporting WPA encryption. That was a long time ago but sometimes you’ll find a computer or two that has not run updates. So that’s thought number one. Run his Windows updates by either connecting directly to ethernet or disabling security on your router for the time being. You could also choose WEP encryption while he’s there but WEP is very 1990’s so you’ll want to get back to WPA eventually.

Next suggestion: be sure you don’t have MAC address filtering turned on. There’s almost 0% chance you do but always just a thought. That can be found in your airport utility. See Below...


Lastly, the more common problem is that Windows is fighting with a 3rd party piece of software to control the wireless card. I see this all the time. HP will have embedded a piece of software to control the card since they manufactured the computer whereas the better way to go is just let Windows control the wireless card. It’s a battle I don’t like to fight because the 3rd party software sometimes comes back to life to retake control. It’s windows. Ugh.

Most likely, however, the best answer is to just turn off security on your network for now. Hope this helps.

sharing within iphoto

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linksys sucks

Linksys routers are about the worst pieces of crap there are.
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