Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) #3: Not automatically re-connecting to network after sleep; Problems with printer sharing; more

Not automatically re-connecting to network after sleep Several readers report an issue where Macs connected to AirPort networks refuse to automatically re-join the network after waking from sleep.

MacFixIt reader Duncan Wakeling writes:

"I have a small domain at home with networked log-on and home folders. My desktop (PowerMac G5, connected via Ethernet) works fine but my laptop (G4 PowerBook w/ third party wireless card using Apple's drivers), connected via Airport, fails to automatically reconnect to the network after sleep. I have to log-on as a local user, wait for it to find the network, then log-off and re-logon as the network user. It does find the network fine after a restart also though."

Another reader adds:

"I'm finding that Tiger does not automatically join my AirPort network upon waking from sleep. I have to manually connect using the AirPort menu bar icon menu."

If you are experiencing a similar issue, please let us know.

Problems with printer sharing Readers also report issues with sharing printers over AirPort networks.

Victor Bottaco writes:

" We had trouble with printers also, because Tiger saw them (via Bonjour, USB and AppleTalk) and we could select them, but when we tried to print to queue every time)."

Another reader writes:

"My (AirPort-connected) laptop doesn't seem to be able to see printers over bonjour where my desktop does. Airtunes from the laptop works fine though."

Software Update quirks It appears that there are a few quirks in Apple's Software Update mechanism under Mac OS X 10.4 that will likely be worked out before or shortly after Tiger's official release date on April 29th.

One reader writes:

"Final Cut Pro 4.x and its companion applications, iLife '05, iWork, AppleWorks, Jam Packs, and Apple software in general, did fine. But there is a curious behavior with Software Update. After installing this applications and opening all of them, I tried to get all their updates through "Software Update" option at the Apple Menu, but I would get the message that no updates were available... but there are. After more than 24 hours later, some started to appear, but others, like Final Cut's updates, haven't showed yet."

Until these minor issues are resolved, users can obtain standalone application updates from Apple's download page.

iSync not properly synchronizing It appears that users will have to re-initialize any iSync-enabled devices from the data saved on their Macs after updating to Mac OS X 10.4. The new version of iSync -- 2.0 -- does not allow devices to automatically sync and retain data stored on said device. Instead, as noted by MacFixIt reader Mark B, users have two options after updating:

• reinitialize the device from the data on the computer (losing any changes made on the device since the last sync) or
• "merge" the two data sets, creating duplicates of nearly everything.

So make sure that your devices are synchronized under Mac OS X 10.3.x first (all data that is on the device is also on the computer) before updating to Mac OS X 10.4.

One reader affected by this issue writes: "Have just updated to Tiger 10.4 and tested out iSync 2.0 and MissingSync 4.0.4 with my Palm T2/SE T68i. Well, it was most annoying that iSync would reset all the past sync data. Meaning that all data will have to either re-merge or overwritten on the peripheral device."

Mail.app plug-in problems There appear to be some significant issues with Mail.app plug-ins under Mac OS X 10.4. In particular, the following plug-ins:

• PGP mail.bundle
• MailPriority

appear to cause issues.

These plug-ins, if they are causing problems on your Mac, can be removed from the folder: ~/Library/Mail/Bundles.

Windows Media Player crashing A number of readers report that the current version of Windows Media Player -- 9.0 -- is crashing repeatedly under Mac OS X 10.4. The crash occurs either at launch, or when re-sizing windows. An updated release is expected from Microsoft.

Virtual PC networking issues A number of readers report networking difficulties in Virtual PC 7.x after updating to Mac OS X 10.4.

MacFixIt reader Sebastian Dreyfuss, for instance, writes:

"Virtual PC does not work in the virtual network switch mode after upgrading to Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. It will launch but warn you that the virtual network switch will not work. You can use it in NAT mode, which is fine for me. As a matter of fact, when you log in your session, the Finder will give you a warning saying that some startup items cannot work properly and need to be repaired, citing the VirtualPCOSServices file located in /Library/StartupItems/. They offer to repair the file's permission and correct the problem. Unfortunately, Virtual PC still gives you an error at launch. I reinstalled the Virtual PC to no avail. It seems that the Microsoft's Mac BU is working on a fix, but the timeframe is ridiculous: two to three months after the official release of Tiger."

More on Roxio Popcorn problems Yesterday we reported on some problems using Roxio's Popcorn DVD burning software under Mac OS X 10.4. It now appears that these issues are caused by the upgrade to QuickTime 7.0.

MacFixIt reader John Horvatic writes: "Roxio Popcorn unexpectedly quits after you drag a VIDEO_TS file to it. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling and removing preferences but it still will quit at the same point."

Cisco VPN client incompatible MacFixIt reader Richard Hardy reports issues with Cisco's VPN client under Mac OS X 10.4.

Richard writes:

"It has been discussed on a number of forums that the Cisco VPN client (current release version) does not work under 10.4 and will require an update, hopefully available 'real soon now'... Network admins running this VPN will need to obtain the software from Cisco and distribute it to Tiger early adopters."

Sonnet ATA controller drivers MacFixIt reader Rick Prescott reports that Sonnet's PCI-based ATA/100 controller card is not properly functional under Mac OS X 10.4.

Rick writes:

"The ATA 100 Sonnet controller is broken in Tiger. Their response is that they are 'waiting for the GM of Tiger...' to see what is happening. The ACard 100/133 controller works well. At least I can get to my other two drives now."

CoreImage on unsupported machines MacFixIt reader Randy Smith has some positive feedback regarding CoreImage functionality on an unsupported machine.

Randy writes:

"Having an eMac 800Mhz G4 my graphics card was not on the list as supporting Core Image and Core Video. I compiled a program called Core Image Fun House which is included in the XCode2 Developer tools folder and to my surprise I could use the program. The results were not real time like higher power card provide but the screen updated at intervals of 200 - 500 milliseconds depending on how many Core Image effects I had stacked up. Not real time but much faster than using photoshop for the same effects!

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

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