Filed under: Troubleshooting

In case you are on the road to an iOS 4 update (and be careful), you might want to double check your work. Remember, first you have to update iTunes to 9.2, which will then allow you to download the iOS 4 update.

After I updated iTunes, I went in to make some changes to what I had synced and take off some podcasts that I don't listen to and video I don't really watch. After making changes and clicking apply, I got this error:

"iPhone cannot be synced. A duplicate filename was specified."

A bit of searching found other people having this issue, and the clear explanation at Apple Toolbox saved the day. As it turns out, the culprit is iToner from Ambrosia Software. I used it once a long time ago, and then I deleted the application without using my handy dandy AppZapper. As a result, it left behind a little file in my iTunes Plug-ins folder that I didn't realize was there.

I removed the file, and as if by magic, everything started working again. However, if FedEx isn't lying and my iPhone actually does show up tomorrow, it was a bit silly of me to jump through all of these hoops to run iOS 4 on my 3G ... for one day.

Although it's been relatively quiet in the mailbox over the past 48 hours with regard to Mac OS X 10.6.3 issues and outcomes (probably because everyone is too busy refreshing their delivery status), every OS update comes with a few problems. In this case, the reports we've gotten include the usual mix of stalls, slow reboots, and even one very unhappy graphics card.

Fortunately, the team at cnet's MacFixit site has a solid list of seven recommendations for managing a hung update process, including using the Combo updater and going to safe boot if necessary. If you have been having issues with the update and need a quick fix, run through their list and see if you can't get it working. Oh, and we'll add one more tip, just in case: be sure before you start that your backups are current. Good luck!

Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we have questions about accessing a shared Google calendar, baby monitoring, sharing music between user accounts, scanning over an Airport Extreme, using a Mac mini as Time Machine target, and more.

As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Leave your questions for next week in the comments section at the end of this post. When asking a question, please include which machine you're using and what version of Mac OS X is installed on it (we'll assume that you're running Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify), or if it's an iPhone-related question, which iPhone version and OS version you have.

Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we have questions about using DVD Sharing on an iMac (instead of a MacBook Air), ignoring Software Updates, getting a drop-down calendar in the menubar, seeing Wi-Fi network channels, using iChat with other services, and more.

As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Leave your questions for next week in the comments section at the end of this post. When asking a question, please include which machine you're using and what version of Mac OS X is installed on it (we'll assume that you're running Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify), or if it's an iPhone-related question, which iPhone version and OS version you have.

Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we have questions about replacing a MacBook hard drive, refreshing a NFS mount, getting a simple clock on screen, improving iCal's note handling, and more.

As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Leave your questions for next week in the comments section at the end of this post. When asking a question, please include which machine you're using and what version of Mac OS X is installed on it (we'll assume you're running Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify), or if it's an iPhone-related question, which iPhone version and OS version you have.

Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we have questions about changing file ownership and permissions, adding two external displays to a MacBook Pro, converting OGG and FLV files on an older Mac, transferring a Time Machine backup to a new disk, and more.

As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Leave your questions for next week in the comments section at the end of this post. When asking a question, please include which machine you're using and what version of Mac OS X is installed on it (we'll assume you're running Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify), or if it's an iPhone-related question, which iPhone version and OS version you have.

Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we have questions about whether to buy a 27" iMac or a MacBook Pro, increasing the number of iPhone home screens, moving your home folder to an external disk, and more.

As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Leave your questions for next week in the comments section at the end of this post. When asking a question, please include which machine you're using and what version of Mac OS X is installed on it (we'll assume you're running Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify), or if it's an iPhone-related question, which iPhone version and OS version you have.

Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we deal with some technical issues on our production Mac before turning to questions about Windows key remapping in Boot Camp, sharing files with a LaCie media extender, downloading images in Safari, recovering from a hard drive failure, and more.

As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Leave your questions for next week in the comments section at the end of this post. When asking a question, please include which machine you're using and what version of Mac OS X is installed on it (we'll assume you're running Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify), or if it's an iPhone-related question, which iPhone version and OS version you have.

Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we've got questions about changing keyboard shortcuts in Keynote, the iPad's dock to VGA adapter, Time Capsule failures, Mac-compatible scanners, iPhone voice control, and more.

As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Leave your questions for next week in the comments section at the end of this post. When asking a question, please include which machine you're using and what version of Mac OS X is installed on it (we'll assume you're running Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify), or if it's an iPhone-related question, which iPhone version and OS version you have.

Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we've got questions about MacBook power adapters, Windows 7 in Boot Camp and virtualization in general, resetting the Mac Setup Assistant, the next iWork refresh, and more.

As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Leave your questions for next week in the comments section at the end of this post. When asking a question, please include which machine you're using and what version of Mac OS X is installed on it (we'll assume you're running Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify), or if it's an iPhone-related question, which iPhone version and OS version you have.

I make part of my living as an Apple consultant, so one of the first thoughts that went through my mind on Wednesday when I first saw the iPad was "would I be able to use that to help support my clients?" After a bit of thought yesterday while waiting for files to be loaded onto a new server I was installing, I think the answer is a resounding yes.

Usually when I'm visiting my clients, I lug along a computer bag filled with various tools along with my MacBook Air. The rest of the time, I'm either in my office with my iMac, or away from a Mac enjoying myself. Unfortunately, Mac issues tend to arise at the worst possible times, and so there are many situations where I only have my iPhone available for support.

One of my tricks of the trade is to talk with clients while looking at their Mac screens using a remote support tool, and the iPhone screen has always been too small to be useful. When you're trying to control someone's computer through Jaadu VNC or some other remote control software, screen real estate is very helpful. I can see using the iPad for remote support in many situations where an iPhone just won't work.

A friend's MacBook had slowed down to a snail's pace. Despite looking everywhere for the issue, streamlining everything I could, and yelling at it, it failed to accelerate to usable speed. So I recommended we start from scratch and build it back up with only the things she was using, free of all the other downloads and aborted installs of various software she never used or cared about. It also housed a prior system, and a PC migration from a few years back. All told, the computer was a bloated, duplicated whale of files and applications for what was essentially a light-load writer's computer.

So I backed up the essential parts of her system using Time Machine: documents (including her novel and decades of prior writing, published and unpublished), ten years of family photographs, a 41GB iTunes library, among other things, and then....backed it up again elsewhere, outside of Time Machine.

And again.

And just for good measure, once more time, to yet another drive. I wasn't going to be the (ex-)friend who lost her novel.

What I wanted to do was do the ol' "erase and install" that prior system software discs allowed you to do. But clicking around Snow Leopard left no obvious method for this. But instead of booting Snow Leopard while inside of Mac OS X, if you just directly reboot the computer off the disc itself (holding down the "c" button after the system chime, letting go when you see the Apple logo) you get a few more options. Once you've gone into the installer program, you'll see "Utilities" at the top, and if you select Disc Utility, you can see your hard drive. If you click on "erase" (like I did, with one hand over my eyes) you can wipe the drive clean with various security options, and then you can do a fresh install of Snow Leopard on your computer on a pristine hard drive.

Once you've done that, you can either transfer your files back in directly, or use the installer program's built-in migration utility to restore any or all files from Time Machine.

And now? The world awaits the Next Great American Novel, untragically unlost by yours truly.

Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we've got questions about preparing a Mac that you're transferring to a new owner, updating Boot Camp, adding words to the built-in spell check, dealing with flaky network disks, FTP clients, and more.

As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Leave your questions for next week in the comments section at the end of this post. When asking a question, please include which machine you're using and what version of Mac OS X is installed on it (we'll assume you're running Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify), or if it's an iPhone-related question, which iPhone version and OS version you have.

Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we've got questions about automatically sorting downloaded files, using Disk Utility to change partitions and format external drives, using a KVM in a multi-platform environment, replacing an iPod touch battery, and more.

As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Leave your questions for next week in the comments section at the end of this post. When asking a question, please include which machine you're using and what version of Mac OS X is installed on it (we'll assume you're running Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify), or if it's an iPhone-related question, which iPhone version and OS version you have.

Now in its fifth iteration, iChat has gained a host of features as it has matured. However, the addition of new features has brought on new complexities and requirements, including both hardware and bandwidth issues. For instance, at the time of its release, iChat 3 users needed a minimum of a Dual 1 GHz G4 and a 384 Kbps Internet connection to initiate a four-way video conference on iChat 3. Photobooth and Backdrop effects, which came along in iChat 4, call for a minimum an Intel Core Duo processor. And then, of course, one must climb the proverbial firewall.

Fortunately, there's iChat's Connection Doctor. Besides telling you what your system is capable of (for example, screen sharing, multiperson video conferences and video recording) and the audio and video quality of your video chat (resolution and frame rate), the Connection Doctor can also tell you if networking issues (i.e., a firewall or port issue) are the source of your video conferencing maladies. To launch iChat's Connection Doctor, click on "Video" on iChat's menu and then select "Connection Doctor." It's just what the doctor ordered.