Windows XP Boot Floppy

It's not that often I run into issues anymore on the first few steps of a OS install. Since 2000 and XP have been out, boot floppies are pretty much a thing of the past. Or so I thought....

Well, I ended up repurposing an old HP server as a XP Pro workstation. There is no way to make the CD-ROM bootable in the BIOS. I thought I was stuck, but I did find that MS does support boot disks for XP.

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=310994

It takes 6 disks, and you need to know if you have a SP0, 1 , or 2 CD-ROM, but it works.

Did I mention this system is so old, it still uses SIMMS? Barely meets the minimum requirements. PII 266

Run iLife '05 on Mac OS X server (or most OS X apps that say they don't run on server)

This has been pissing me off for quite some time.

There is no difference between Mac OS X server and client(*) (from a core OS standpoint). OS X server is a tack on to OS X client. So Apple and some other companies build into their installer scripts, a version check which when it sees server refuses to run.

This is really stupid, I run server on my desktop Mac for the extra file sharing capabilities, as well as some added web server capabilities. I also use it for everyday stuff like e-mail and games. Most importantly i use it as my iTunes and iPhoto server. It's the fast computer in the house with the most RAM, so it only makes sense to use it as the server box (loosely termed) for my iLife products.

In iLife '04 the installer wouldn't work, but you could boot the system in FW Target disk mode and copy the already installed app to your applications folder and it would work. This is not the case in iLife '05.

After lots of poking around I finally found where the version info is stored for the system. I was anticipating a bit of hacking like you had to do in pre OS X days when you were trying to fool the system into thinking it was something it was not (wishyouwerehere and resedit could turn your PPC Performa into a 9600/350). It turned out to be much much easier.

The file in question is in

Library>Core Services

it's called ServerVersion.plist

Just copy it to a new location, delete the original, install iLife '05 and copy the file back when you are done. Just remeber to write down the permissions first and reapply them just like they were.

Change the location of iPhoto library

If you have lots of drives and prefer to keep your boot drive clean (as I do), the fact you can't easily change the lcoation of your iPhoto database is annoying.

Well, there is a handy little app that allows you to change the location. Feed up about 9GB's on my boot drive, and it is free.

http://homepage.mac.com/bwebster/iphotolibrarymanager.html

Apple Remote Desktop 2.1 shows VNC

Apple is great for lack of documentation.

With Apple Remote Desktop 1.x you could connect to a remote client even if you were behind a NAT. As long as the client was on a public IP and not behind a NAT and/or Firewall you were okay.

With ARD 2.x I started having issues connecting and "pure" ARD 2 clients would show up on my end as VNC clients and in some cases I could not connect.

I am behind a NAT (An Airport Extreme to be percise) Router. Turns out with ARD 2 you need to map ports (TCP/UDP 3283 & 5900) to point at your Admin machine to fully facilitate two way communications.

Applejack (the poor man's diskwarrior)

http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/applejack/AppleJack-1.3.dmg?download

Handy little app which automates system maintainece. If your system is acting kind goofy, download and install it.

Boot your system in single user mode (hold down s during boot) and type applejack at the system prompt.

Runs fsck and other command line based utilities to keep your system shiney and happy

Photoshop Double Click Doesn't Work

I run into this one every now and then. If you reinstall the OS, using archive and install, Double clicking on a photoshop image will not open the file.

Image doesn't open when you double-click it or drag it to Photoshop icon (CS on Mac OS X v10.3)

You can open the image in Photoshop by choosing File > Open.

Solutions

Do one of the following:

Solution 1: Copy the Adobe Unit Types file to Librabary/Scripting Additions.

Copy the Adobe Unit Types file in the Previous System folder to [hard disk]/Library/Scripting Additions.



Solution 2: Reinstall Photoshop.

Remove and reinstall Photoshop.



Background information

If you use the Archive and Install method to upgrade to Panther after installing Photoshop in Mac OS X v10.2.x, the system doesn't copy the Adobe Unit Types file to the Scripting Additions folder. Reinstalling Photoshop restores the Adobe Unit Types file, which enables you to open files in Photoshop.

Printing issues with OS X

http://www.fixamac.net/software/psr/

Printer Setup Repair Utility. Get it.

Even though it looks simpler there is a lot more that goes into sucessful printing under OS X than there was in OS 9. And that means alot more can go wrong. This handy little utility fixes the most common errors (permission issues, etc...) Essential part of your tech toolbox.