Troubleshooting

DayStar and Mac OS 7.6 problem solved

John Strung had problems running Mac OS 7.6 on a Quadra with a DayStar PowerCard 601. Apparently the 7.6 Installer was not correctly recognizing the presence of the 601 card and therefore not installing the correct version of the OS on an Easy Install. The solution was to go back and do a Custom Install selecting the "for any Macintosh" option.

ActiveX security leak

From PC WEEK comes the following: "In the wake of a controversy stirred by hackers who claimed they found a way to use ActiveX code to make bogus money transfers, Microsoft Corp. today announced the formation of a program to educate users about the security risks of executable code." (Thanks Susan Lesch, AOL Forum Assistant.)

Conflict Catcher 4 demo

A demo version of Conflict Catcher 4 is now available at Casady & Greene's web site. (Thanks, David Lee Rutledge.)

MacLinkPlus 9.0b Updater - and more

The MacLinkPlus 9.0b Updater (which I was unable to locate last time) is available as DataViz's web site. (Thanks to Scott Thomas of DataViz, Kurt Christensen of Version Tracker, and Raul Regalado.)

Update: If the above DataViz link does not work, try this one. (Scott tells me he had to move the link to a faster server, due to high demand after its posting here!)

Scott Thomas also added the following useful information:

"The update fixes the Word blank cell in table problem (as reported on MacFixIt last time). This problem only affects MacLinkPlus 9.00 customers … Read more

More rumors about Apple

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, rumors continue to fly, according to a San Francisco Chronicle article. Current speculation is about the impending number of lay-offs, whether Ellen Hancock may be the next Apple executive to resign (asked to leave?) and Steve Jobs is gaining increasing influence within Apple's inner circles.

Mac OS 7.6 warning clouds?

Despite the assortment of mostly minor glitches reported here, the general reaction to Mac OS 7.6, at least from a troubleshooting perspective, remains positive. Which is as it should be. After all, Mac OS 7.6 doesn't introduce a wealth of new features. It should clearly be better at fixing existing problems than at creating new ones.

However, I have gotten two reports of more serious problems in the last week. As they remain somewhat isolated, I would ordinarily hesitate to post them here. However, they come from very reputable sources, involve numerous Macs at each site in … Read more

TechTool 1.1.3 is out

TechTool 1.1.3 is now available here in the Download Library as well as at MicroMat's web site. It adds Mac OS 7.6 support and includes a new floppy drive cleaning routine. (Thanks, Ken Kapson.)

CFM-68k Runtime Enabler Public Beta

Apple has released a public beta of its fixed version of CFM-68k Runtime Enabler. However, they note: "If you install and use this software, you are doing so at your own risk. There is the possibility that this software may cause crashes and cause data loss." (Thanks, Mark Hattam and Steve Jones.)

SpeedLib speeds your Mac? (perhaps not)

A group called the Usual Suspects has produced a set of Shared Library files that purport to increase the speed of your 603 or 604 PPC Mac by somehow doing faster processing of code optimized for 601 machines. The ReadMe file says that the files are "designed for System 7.6 or higher. Use of the ObjectSupportLib 1.2 or higher will produce much faster results." Currently, they are in beta. Final versions are expected by the end of the month.

I have no information as to how effective these files really are. I haven't even tried … Read more