How to downgrade an OS X install

Apple - Discussions - 10.3.6 Firewire Problems

To downgrade from 10.3.6 to 10.3.5, recover from your clone backup. In the future always make sure to clone your operating system prior to making upgrades, if you didn't this time.

The other way to downgrade to 10.3.5 is to shut down your machine, detach all third party devices, Archive and Install from the system CD that came with your machine, or the retail 10.3 installer CDs (the black ones with the white and gray X logo that do NOT say Upgrade or a Mac model name) (whichever CDs are newer*), repair permissions, and then run the 10.3.5 combined update:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120

Repair permissions is in Applications -> Utilities -> Disk Utility -> select hard disk in Disk Utility -> Click on First Aid.

http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosxcombinedupdate_10_3_5_.html

Repair permissions when done.

* Remember you can't install the retail Panther (10.3) CDs, if your machine came out after Panther, and must use the CDs that came with your machine.

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I love OS X, but it's pretty darned sad that experts recommend a full system clone prior to a point upgrade. Of course if one cloned to a firewire drive, and the upgrade disables the firewire drive, a clone alone might not help. One needs both a clone and a boot CD.

OS X: safe mode startup can fix some disk problems

Mac OS X 10.2, 10.3: Starting up in Safe Mode

Wait for tone, then immediately press and hold shift key after the startup tone, releasing on seeing the Apple screen appear. Forces a "directory check" (runs a version of fsck that's compatible with journaled file systems.

It takes quite a while to startup in safe mode. In theory one has to hold the shift key after the startup tone, I did it beforehand and it worked. You know you're in safe mode because you'll see a notice of that during startup.

After restarting shut down completely and power up again. I do this periodically for preventive maintenance.

G4 iBook for $850?

Amazon.com: Computers: Apple iBook Notebook 12" M9426LL/A (1.0-GHz PowerPC G4, 256 MB RAM, 30 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Drive)

Wow. Of course with memory upgrades and an Airport Extreme card this would come to $1100 or so -- but still!

Écliptique: panoramic pictures

Écliptique

Nice set of panoramic photos. French originally, but they've apparently gone bilingual due to increased US traffic. You have to click around a bit to find the QuickTime virtual environment photos, but once there you can spin around the site in dizzying QuickTime mode.

Recycling your iPod q2years

Dan's Data letters #130

Regarding longer life for LiI - nothing that I know of helps. It's a general rule that rechargeable batteries will last for more partial cycles than full cycles, and that applies to LiI batteries too; don't worry about running the battery flat, just top it up when you feel like it. The main problem with LiI is that it naturally ages quite rapidly no matter what you do with it; some LiI packs last better than others, and not leaving your iPod to bake on your dashboard in summer will help a bit, but you shouldn't expect any iPod pack to be good for much after three years, even if it's never been used at all. Death in two years is perfectly possible; common, even. That's just the price you pay for the excellent energy density of LiI - and it's also why I've got a Luddite affection for NiMH, and even NiCd.

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The LiI battery in my iBook seems to last about 12 months. After two years one can either leave the iPod in its cradle and buy a new one for portability, or pay to have the battery swapped.

Why firewire drive enclosures are probably a bad idea

Drivers & Updates

INITIO AND OXFORD FIRMWARE UTILITY DOWNLOAD CENTER

MAXTOR MAKES BAD DRIVES: WE HAVE RECEIVED INFORMATION THAT MANY MAXTOR 250GB 8MB 7200RPM Drives MODEL 6Y250P0062811 (mostly made in June and July 2004) DO NOT WORK PROPERLY IN ANY FIREWIRE ENCLOSURES!

WE HAVE FOUND A SOLUTION: IF you are using Oxford 911 ,912 or 922 you will need to change DMA modes down to UDMA5 (down form UDMA6 default). This will fix Transfer Issues with these Maxtor Drives.

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Firwire is a problematic standard. Oxford is a problematic chipset. Hard drives can be problematic. OS support for firewire can be problatic. Cables can be problematic.

So what's the chance that everything actually works?

Mac OS X 10.3.6 - example of a troubleshooting technique

Mac OS X 10.3.6: "Peter Chin
To all that were having calculator problems: I was able to get Calculator to show the Basic window every launch (its normal execution) by deleting ~/Library/Caches/Calculator and ~/Library/Preferences/ com.apple.calculator.plist. Do this and then relaunch Calculator and this should fix it.

It was interesting to note that ~/Library/Caches/Calculator was only re-created after I updated the currency rates. Little Snitch told me that Calculator had tried to access an Apple address and the International Monetary Fund."