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Ask TUAW: Switcher questions, WiFi stumbling, dual-band WiFi, hard drive upgrading, and more

by Mat Lu May 28th 2009 at 2:00AM

We're back with another shot of Ask TUAW! This time we've got a couple of common switcher issues, as well as questions about upgrading a hard drive, using WiFi stumbler software, setting up a dual-band WiFi network, and more.

As always, your suggestions are welcome. Questions for next week should be left in the comments. When asking a question please include which machine you're running and which version of Mac OS X (we'll assume you're running Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify). And now, on to the questions!

Brassen asks

I'm considering upgrading my standard HD to a Seagate 320gb 7200 RPM, which is a SATA II, and as far as I know, my MacBook is SATA I. Will there be a problem or it will automatically "adapt"? Also I plan to make a clean install on the new HD, so I'll put the old one on a external USB enclosure. When on the new install will I be able to access my files/folders from the older drive to drag (eg. iTunes, documents) to the new or it will be blocked (i have a password to log in to my account)?

SATA II drives are supposed to be backwards compatible with SATA I, so a SATA II drive should work in your MacBook; however it may require you to set a jumper on the drive. You'll just have to check the specs on the particular drive you're thinking of buying.

As for your second question, the easiest way to access your old data in the USB enclosure would be just to import it with the Migration Assistant. However, you will be able to get at the data either way using an Administrator password, or by checking the "Ignore permissions on this volume" checkbox via Get Info for the drive.


sn0man1 asks

I have an aluminum macbook which I just bought in February. I also am an avid fan of my wired Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer... Onto my problem. When the computer sleeps for a longer amount of time, and I wake it, the mouse doesn't track right. The buttons work just fine, but i feel like i have to pick it up and scroll 30 times to move just a couple inches. When I say longer amount of time, I mean over an hour at the least. I know this because if I go up to the apple menu and click sleep... then come back 15 minutes later and wake it up, the mouse tracks fine.... I took it in to the apple store... [and they said] it was an issue with the microsoft mouse combined with my preference to have a password on wake from sleep/screensaver. They further said that if I disabled password on wake that I would not have the problem. They also pointed out that if I bought a mighty mouse I would not have the problem.

I'm afraid I don't have an easy solution for you. It sounds like the problem lies with how the Microsoft driver software is interacting with the screensaver. I think my primary recommendation would be to see if you can live without the drivers (after all, you don't really need them for basic functionality). However, if that won't work my other suggestion would be to try a third-party USB mouse driver.

The biggest problem, of course, is that you have to pay extra, but it would probably be worth at least trying the demos of USB Overdrive ($20) or SteerMouse ($20). If you install one of the demos and your problems go away, then your issue is with the Microsoft software. Then it's up to you whether the extra functionality is worth the Jackson.


Patrick asks

When I attempt to connect to a public wireless in a new location (say, on the commuter train), I can frequently see a bunch of different base stations available. I can't connect to any of the encrypted base stations, so that knocks out about half of them. How can I tell which one has the best signal strength or signal quality? In my specific case on the train, there are sometimes 2 base stations on different cars one the train, one close to me and one further away, as well as one on the platform (perhaps) or one in the coffee shop near the platform. I would like to select the best one. How can I do that?


You need a network stumbler tool like iStumbler (donation requested) or KisMAC (donation requested). It will show you all the available base stations along with the signal strength. That way, you can easily choose which one you want to join. I think iStumbler (above) is probably the easiest to use, provided that you have the stock Apple Airport card.


Sigbhu asks

I use Mail.app to access my GMail account via IMAP. I have a problem I can't seem to fix : I want to delete a lot of old mail in my GMail account. So I go to "All Mail" under my GMail account in Mail (the application), sort the messages by sender, and junk the ones I don't need. The problem is, they don't go. They pop back after a few minutes. I tried using "Erase deleted messages" by right-clicking on the folder, but that does nothing. How do I delete these mails from within Mail?

You have to make sure that Mail is using the correct Gmail folder for Trash, by mapping it with the Mailbox > Use This Mailbox For command. As another reader suggested, have a look at this tutorial.


Scott asks

In Windows, when a dialog box appears (i.e. to choose save/don't save/cancel) you can tab between the choices and select with the Enter key. I have been unable to duplicate this in OS X. Is there a way to do this, or is the mouse needed to click on my choice?

This is a common switcher question that's worth reiterating. In the Keyboard Shortcuts tab of the Keyboard & Mouse Pref Pane you need to turn on "All Controls" in the Full keyboard access option at the bottom. This will almost make Tab work as you you expect, with one significant change. You have to use the space bar (not the enter key) to actually select the highlighted button. Unfortunately, that's just one of those Mac things you'll just have to get used to over time.


David asks

I've like to use my iPhone to record dialogue for audio documentaries. Is there a professional microphone that I can plug into my iPhone?

No, not really. Basically your only option at this time is just to use an RCA breakout cable or a mic headphone adapter like the Monster iSoniTalk, but either one is going to be far from pro-level performance. With the forthcoming iPhone 3.0 upgrade Apple has promised hardware access to the Dock connector. That may mean in the future that a higher quality audio interface will be developed, but as for right now your options are rather limited.


Mike asks

I have an Airport Extreme using 802.11n/2.4 Ghz, however my Macbook is the only n-device on the network, the rest being g. I'd like to use the 5GHz band so that communication with my file server (connected to the router via 1Gbps Ethernet), since my computer is the only one that does. I have a spare D-Link 802.11g router collecting dust, is there any way I could also hook that to the Airport Extreme and have two wireless access points on the same network?

Yes, we've addressed a question like this before. You need to turn off the D-Link's router functionality (via the web interface) and convert it to a simple access point. Then you just connect one of the D-Link's LAN ports to one of the LAN ports of your Airport Extreme. Our blog buddies over at Engadget recently had a Mac-centric tutorial on doing exactly this.



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We're back with another shot of Ask TUAW! This time we've got a couple of common switcher issues, as well as questions about upgrading a...
 

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Zoe

I have a couple of questions about iWork - Pages 09.

1. Is there any way to add new border 'images' to the list, i.e. a double line like a 'thick line, a small gap and then a thin line.' by hacking the package and putting in a new .tif or something?

2. Is there any way to fool Pages 09 to add in a Table of Figures by having two Table of Contents with different 'label types'?

Basically I'm trying to do my Masters Dissertation - and in almost every way Pages is SOOO much nicer to use than Word (Windows AND Mac versions), but it just doesn't quite have everything it needs to be a really 'pro' for this type of report... :/

Thanks

Zoe

June 17 2009 at 5:09 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Julen

Hi,

I am a last released PowerBook G4 15" user. I still work with Tiger and two years ago I added 1 GB of RAM so now it works with 1.5 GB RAM pretty well. However with the announcement of Snow Leopard in WWDC time to change has come and I will move to a new iMac in September. Anyway I would like to keep using my old laptop, what do you suggest? Media center? Storage? Can you bring me an idea? Thank you very much!

Julen.

PD: Sorry for the spelling mistakes if any.

June 15 2009 at 9:25 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
matteorampazzi

Dear TUAW...

This or the next weekend I plan to attempt a drastic surgery on my MBP 17" pre-unibody.

I will swap HDD from the original 250 GB one to a Seagate 7200 rpm 500GB one.
Besides the phisical part (unscrewing, opening, etc), for which I have been preparing for quite a while, I have a question concerning some applications.

I plan to do a clean install, not cloning my actual HDD. I know it is a longer, more painful process, but I nevertheless have chosen that...

My questions are the following:
- How can I backup iTunes? The music wouldn't be a problem in itself, but the iPhone apps are... Where are they stored? Is there a smart way to back up ALL of iTunes config and files (some music resides on my HDD, some on external drives (as well as movies etc)? Which files will I have to copy on an external HDD and then copy back to save my configuration of iTunes?

- Will I be able to restore Aperture from my Vault without any problems?

I plan to assign the current name to the new HDD as well as, in the course of Leopard's installation, also the same username.

I did read that it is necessary to format the HDD and insert Leopard DVD to do that.
Can the MBP, with a sparkling new HDD in it, load a DVD? In other words: will it be possible to do the operation as I intend to perform it?

Thank you in advance! TUAW has been so helpful in many occasions :-) Tips and information from other users who performed a similar operation are more than welcome.

June 12 2009 at 4:12 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to matteorampazzi's comment
GlennAC

Mat, I think you're making this more complicated than it needs to be. I would suggest this. Make a Time Machine backup onto an external HD if you aren't doing so already. Next make a clone of your Mac onto another HD as a second source in the event of trouble.

Now perform the Erase & Install with the Leopard DVD. When the Setup Assistance appears asking if you have data you want to migrate, say 'Yes - From a Time Machine backup.' Then migrate over your User account - it will include everything, music, iPhone Apps, photos and all. Even your settings from the previous install. And there is no need to fiddle with your data already on the other external HD. (In the event of trouble, you will still be able to use Migration Assistant to move just your User account over from the clone as well.)

Either way, you will end up with an clean installation of the Mac OS X software, on a reformatted HD, and all your user data without having to manually move anything over piecemeal.

June 12 2009 at 3:42 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
nogreenworld

i (very) recently purchased a macbookpro 13" and am making the switch back to mac from PC. my query is twofold (one is more of a gripe, but it sets up the main question)

1(the gripe): i don't like that iphoto doesn't let me rename the files when i import them. i have a fairly nice way of renaming and filing the photos on my pc using the date (my camera filenames are all just dcim001, dcim002), and it's logical and i've been doing it for four years now. i like it, it makes sense, and i have a hard time trusting a program (iphoto) to keep track of all the photos and keep them organized. i feel if something goes horribly wrong with the program, then i'll have all these photos named DCIM#### with no way of reconstructing what goes where. what can i say, i've become a pc user, i have ot worry about these things. any thoughts on renaming/this issue? my solution so far is to import them to the pc first and then to the macbook. but when the desktop dies, i want to replace it with a mac, then i'm screwed, methinks.

2 (the real question) i have an extensive photo library on my pc (win xp) currently, and i'd like to migrate that to the mac. that i can handle with import alright, but my question is going forward. i'd like to keep downloading my pictures to the pc first for now i think (see above), but i'd like the mac to import them as well. it creates a backup as well as lets me rename them first. i can't seem to figure out how to get automator to connect to my pc over my airport extreme and then import the pictures it hasn't yet downloaded.

your help is appreciated!

June 11 2009 at 2:27 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Dudeman (psn: Jballboy88)

my mighty mouse is almost a year old. For the last 3 months, it hasn't been able to scroll down (the scroll ball itself will scroll down, but the scroll bar won't go down). It scrolls up, & I tried another mouse (only with 2 mouse buttons & a scroll wheel) goes both up & down, but my mighty mouse won't & I don't want to switch mice (i love those 2 extra buttons)... can I fix it?

June 02 2009 at 8:45 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
dtpollitt

Quick question--

I love using Dashboard--it's quick, easy, and gives me the information I want without having to load an application. However, it eats resources like no other. Is there a way to minimize this? Or put Dashboard-like tools on my desktop so it is less resource intensive? Thanks!

Dan

June 02 2009 at 12:49 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
kirk waterman

hiya
i wanted to pick some brains for a bit
we got a new imac(10.5osx) and want to connect it with the old one(emac)
the old one runs on the old system(classic and 10.3.5) and wanted to know the best
way to connect/run them both- do i use a firewire??-put the old system on the new
to free it up??the new one can handle it! the old one is slowwww(30gb), keep classic as well or use 10.5 for it
a reply is much apprectiated!!
thanks kirk

June 02 2009 at 1:03 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Nathan

I have an iMac with Leopard 10.5.7 in my bedroom. Generally, at the end of each day, I put the Mac to sleep and plug in my iPhone to sync and charge. Unfortunately, as soon as I plug in the phone, the iMac wakes up and that big, bright screen turns on. Not the best lighting for sleeping.

Of course, I can change the time it takes for Display to go to sleep in the Energy Saver settings. But if I change it to be short enough for the bed time (1 minute or so), it's too short for the rest of the day and the display is constantly falling asleep.

Is there a way to make it so that the screen doesn't turn back on when the iPhone is plugged in?

Thank you in advance!

May 31 2009 at 11:14 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
sjshaw

I have an old PowerBook 5300cs with a broken display. It was running OS9 (I think... maybe 8). I have a lot of data on the hard drive I would like to transfer to my iMac. Because the 5300cs has no USB port or network interface other than a modem port and an old 24-pin SCSI port, I can't connect it to a storage device to transfer the files, and even if I could, the display doesn't work. I have a 2.5" external drive enclosure I can put the HD in, assuming I can easily remove it.

This presents several problems.

1. How do I remove the drive?
2. How do I transfer the files to my iMac? I can't just plug the 5300cs' hard drive into my iMac and expect it to mount and be readable, can I?
3. I have tons of files like PageMaker 5 files, WriteNow 3 files, etc. Any way to update/convert them so I can read them? How about text snippets (that makes me think it was running OS9, because I don't think those were available until 9)?

May 31 2009 at 9:44 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
whoapossum

I do all my work off of an external FAT32 160GB HDD since I move between Windows and Mac quite frequently. I have a 1TB networked HDD at home (2 partitions for TM backups of my 2 Macs, 1 partition as a bootable OS X DVD clone, and one 300GB partition for miscellaneous use, all HFS+), and I was wondering if there was an elegant way to back up the contents of my FAT32 HDD to a directory on my 300GB misc. network share. SuperDuper! and CCC won't play nice with FAT32. Thanks!

May 30 2009 at 12:19 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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