FlashMac
Registered
So I installed iTunes 7 a couple of days ago, and my Finder went nuts.
Firstly, let me point out I am not necessarily blaming iTunes 7, but the fun started right after I launched that for the first time. I'd installed it a few days before, but hadn't used it so it launched when I went to charge my iPod.
I think the problem was largely due to me having a 120Gb Samsung HD and only having about 2Gb space left on it when this started.
So anyway 7 launched and started 'determining gapless playback information' which was weird as I don't have it set to gapless playback but rather a 2 second gap. This wasn't helpful at the time so I quit iTunes, reasoning that I could let it do this later. Schoolboy error.
The machine froze - no biggy, rebooted. Logged in OK - now we beachball for a few minutes while desktop loads - fair enough, the disc is pretty full. The desktop loads - phew - but - oh no! - everything on the desktop dissappears every 30 seconds, it constantly relaunches the Finder and quits it. I cannot launch any windows without them disappearing along with anything else. I manage to launch Terminal as its in my dock, Top tells me that Crashdump is running at 60% of the CPU. I cannot Sudo Kill Crashdump, it won't accept my password (which can only be one thing) I still don't know why this was.
Anyway, its not looking good. Especially as I have 2Gb of Tiffs from a photoshoot last week to get off the machine, or I won't get paid. Its only my second photoshoot, and future contracts depend on it.
I have another disc in a dead Quicksilver, so I put that in and boot from that, but Disc Utility cannot mount the second (problem) disc. Starting to panic now. OK, ok, stay calm, deep breaths.
Go down to my flatmate's Mac, its the exact same model as mine. I unplug one of his four discs and it boots OK, plug in my disc and it will boot but won't detect the screen. Screwdriver breaks. Now thats just rude. Go back upstairs and try my mac again, leave disc utility searching for half an hour, come back and its found it, Repair and Verify reveal no errors found.
Reboot - it mounts the disc as a second disc! Hallelujah! Cannot access my account on second disc - its been so long since I used this old disc in the Quicksilver that I've forgotten the password (auto-login).
Boot from install disc but can't find a reset password option, and the Apple Hardware Test CD I have 'does not match this machine'. Oh well. Erase and re-install spare disc from Quicksilver, manage to mount second disc again, and successfully start to copy files across. I only lost 2 Tiffs from the shoot and a few others from older things. I think there may have been a bad sector on the drive (despite DU not finiding anything) due to the slightly random pattern of corrution on a few files.
On the plus side I now have a very quick machine as theres nothing on the startup disc. This has also driven me to get a MacBook which I will be doing next week - I'd never have had the worry over the picures if I wasn't using Aperture on a machine that can barely run it, as it just can't batch export as Tiff from CR2, in the end I used Lightroom as this has a specific batch export function.
So; never fill up your hard drive, always write your passwords down somewhere no matter how easily you think you'll remember them. Seems obvious really, but its funny how easily you becoem complacent.
Firstly, let me point out I am not necessarily blaming iTunes 7, but the fun started right after I launched that for the first time. I'd installed it a few days before, but hadn't used it so it launched when I went to charge my iPod.
I think the problem was largely due to me having a 120Gb Samsung HD and only having about 2Gb space left on it when this started.
So anyway 7 launched and started 'determining gapless playback information' which was weird as I don't have it set to gapless playback but rather a 2 second gap. This wasn't helpful at the time so I quit iTunes, reasoning that I could let it do this later. Schoolboy error.
The machine froze - no biggy, rebooted. Logged in OK - now we beachball for a few minutes while desktop loads - fair enough, the disc is pretty full. The desktop loads - phew - but - oh no! - everything on the desktop dissappears every 30 seconds, it constantly relaunches the Finder and quits it. I cannot launch any windows without them disappearing along with anything else. I manage to launch Terminal as its in my dock, Top tells me that Crashdump is running at 60% of the CPU. I cannot Sudo Kill Crashdump, it won't accept my password (which can only be one thing) I still don't know why this was.
Anyway, its not looking good. Especially as I have 2Gb of Tiffs from a photoshoot last week to get off the machine, or I won't get paid. Its only my second photoshoot, and future contracts depend on it.
I have another disc in a dead Quicksilver, so I put that in and boot from that, but Disc Utility cannot mount the second (problem) disc. Starting to panic now. OK, ok, stay calm, deep breaths.
Go down to my flatmate's Mac, its the exact same model as mine. I unplug one of his four discs and it boots OK, plug in my disc and it will boot but won't detect the screen. Screwdriver breaks. Now thats just rude. Go back upstairs and try my mac again, leave disc utility searching for half an hour, come back and its found it, Repair and Verify reveal no errors found.
Reboot - it mounts the disc as a second disc! Hallelujah! Cannot access my account on second disc - its been so long since I used this old disc in the Quicksilver that I've forgotten the password (auto-login).
Boot from install disc but can't find a reset password option, and the Apple Hardware Test CD I have 'does not match this machine'. Oh well. Erase and re-install spare disc from Quicksilver, manage to mount second disc again, and successfully start to copy files across. I only lost 2 Tiffs from the shoot and a few others from older things. I think there may have been a bad sector on the drive (despite DU not finiding anything) due to the slightly random pattern of corrution on a few files.
On the plus side I now have a very quick machine as theres nothing on the startup disc. This has also driven me to get a MacBook which I will be doing next week - I'd never have had the worry over the picures if I wasn't using Aperture on a machine that can barely run it, as it just can't batch export as Tiff from CR2, in the end I used Lightroom as this has a specific batch export function.
So; never fill up your hard drive, always write your passwords down somewhere no matter how easily you think you'll remember them. Seems obvious really, but its funny how easily you becoem complacent.