My external hard drive stopped working and nothing at all was done to it to cause it to break. I'm getting a compact flash card or two with a usb reader for the desktops, netbook etc. and a pcmcia adapter/reader for the laptops and Braille Note. I feel alot more secure with those. I just want to make sure that it's DOS and Windows-compatible first. I only use about 20gb on any given machine and that's giving myself several gigs of extra space, so I don't need a huge drive/card. The other Mac is also a Macbook, so it does have the port. Opa! I like this idea. I'll try it if nothing else works. In the meantime, I've also heard that I can insert the first Leopard disk and hit c or d and that might get it to work. I'll have to see. Assuming that I can get VoiceOver working, I know I can get some usb sticks to use temporarily so I can retrieve my info and put it on my XP machine. I'll have to check my Mac bag now. I no longer have the original box, so hopefully, I put it in the bag. I never even realised it came with an extention cord. I'm used to the cords on laptops being a decent length so one of these isn't necessary, but it'll certainly make my life easier.
On 23/12/2009, Esther <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Elen and Chris, > > Did you check whether you can hear VoiceOver through your headphones? > One possibility is that you damaged the speaker connection and can > still get VoiceOver if you plug in headphones. If it's simply a case > of not hearing sound, you can try resetting the PRAM, since this > module contains information about initial volume settings and also the > startup disk selection. You'll have to reboot your computer and hold > down the Control, Option, P, and R keys simultaneously as outlined in > this Apple Support document about resetting your Mac's PRAM: > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379 > > Chris, I'm not sure that she has a fully working system to back up, > since she's talking about connecting the MacBook to another Mac to get > the files off. Eleni, here's what I think may work: get a firewire > cable and plug it in between your MacBook and the other Mac. (I'm > assuming that the Desktop Mac has a Firewire port.) Then, power up > your MacBook while holding down the "T" key. This lets you boot up > into target disk mode. What happens is that the laptop's hard drive > shows up as a second drive of the desktop Mac (but probably also named > "Macintosh HD") under the devices in the sidebar of Finder. The first > "Macintosh HD" will be the hard drive for the desktop Mac. The second > one (VO-Down arrow) in the sidebar will be the drive of your MacBook. > You should be able to access the files you want in Finder and copy > them over to the Desktop Mac or to other hard drives or peripherals > attached to the Desktop Mac. I've never had to do this kind of file > recovery -- usually I have a cloned drive of my laptop to recover > files from -- but I just tried booting my 5+some years old Powerbook > up in target disk mode connected to my MacBook. Basically, you should > be able to boot your machine in target disk mode to another machine > under circumstances where you can't get your system to fully boot up > by itself. However, I would first try resetting the PRAM since it's > possible that might fix the boot up and/or VoiceOver speaking problem. > > Here's the Apple support document on how to use Target Disk mode: > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661 > > You should have your MacBook connected to AC power if you're going to > be using it in this mode for any extended period (e.g. for copying > files). > > Finally, I'm puzzled by something you mentioned in one of your earlier > posts (on converting movies -- something I'm not familiar with) > > Tiffany D wrote: >> It's bad enough that this is a large machine and that >> the charger cord is so short it's laughable, but when I can't do my >> work and ordinary things, it really gets on my nerves. > It sounds as though you're not using the extension cord that came with > your computer. Each Mac comes with a power adapter whose corner has a > plug attachment whose prongs (for U.S. power plugs) can simply flip > down and be plugged into an AC outlet. That corner piece can also be > unplugged and the power plug for a different country inserted. > However, for all the U.S. Macs, there's also an extension plug that > comes with the power adapter. That's a heavier cable that ends in a > three-prong plug and whose other end can be plugged into the corner of > the power adapter when you pull off the plug attachment. Aren't you > using this? I normally keep this cord plus my Mac power adapter > unless I want to carry less, or if I don't have any outlets available > that can accept the third prong. The extension cord is usually packed > in with the cables that come with the MacBook. Assuming that you had > the same box that I did, this was in the rectangular bay in the foam > at the front of the box. You shouldn't have any problems with the > cord length if you're using the extension cord. > > HTH > > Cheers, > > Esther > > > Chris Blouch wrote: > >> Sounds like you got a dud, which happens on all computers of all >> brands >> from time to time. Still doesn't make it a pleasant experience. My >> wife's MacBook has been shipped to AppleCare twice now with a dead >> motherboad (the first time) and a dead hard drive (the second time). >> Since I convinced her to switch from her Dell I got to hear about >> it. Of >> course the Dell had already had its share of failures hardware and >> otherwise so it wasn't a huge armtwist. She does like it when it >> works. >> >> That said, as far as a backup goes, you could just plug in an external >> hard drive and copy to it anything you care about. Time machine also >> works well and will do an incremental backup every 60 minutes. The UI >> isn't very accessible but if you had to reinstall things there is a >> step >> in the setup where you can restore from a timeMachine backup, so if >> things really went pear shaped you could at least get your files back. >> The time machine backup is organized so you could go to >> DriveName/ComputerName/Latest/YourDriveName and find everything that >> it >> backed up from your drive, so you don't have to use their GUI at all >> once it's turned on. I'd get an external drive roughly 2x the size of >> the drive you want to back up. That way you'll have room for a full >> backup and lots of incrementals. >> >> Hope this helps. >> >> CB >> >> Eleni Vamvakari wrote: >>> So the Mac quit on me again, no more than two weeks after I got it >>> back from Apple. I was trying to use that converter program and it >>> just sat there and did nothing, as I've said in another post. Then, >>> it just disappeared. One minute it was open and the next it was >>> gone. >>> When I reloaded it, I couldn't get into it's menus. I could only get >>> into the Apple and other menus by hitting VO-m twice. Now I was >>> really annoyed, so I did two bad things. First, I pounded my hand on >>> the computer and second, I shut it off with the power button instead >>> of going through the normal shut-down process. As a result, the >>> hyphin key came up a little (don't ask how, since I wasn't anywhere >>> near it) and when I turned it back on, I got no speech. No matter >>> what I did, I couldn't get VoiceOver to start. >>> >>> Two days ago, Mom came up to try to help me but with no success. >>> When she turned it on, she only saw an apple going around and around >>> and then a blank screen. We tried the tech tool cd but when we put >>> it >>> in, nothing happened. So we tried the Leopard installation disk. >>> This time, the cd drive made a bit of a strange sound (sort of like a >>> buzzing) but did nothing else either good or bad. I heard the drive >>> sound getting louder, as it usually does and then it went quiet. >>> Yesterday, I hooked up the external keyboard but that didn't work >>> either. The machine turns on, makes the start-up sound and I know >>> the >>> hard disk is doing something, But I can't get it to talk. If anyone >>> can offer me a suggestion as to what I can do, I'd sincerely >>> appreciate it. >>> >>> In the meantime, we called Apple. They said they'd give us a >>> refirbished model, but now I have to wait for someone to bring me >>> and/or it to the store. I know that I misused the Mac but it still >>> shouldn't be acting like this. It's not like I spilled a whole cup >>> of >>> coffee in the keyboard and threw it out the window. I seriously >>> can't >>> take this anymore. Yes, Leopard does have some advantages over >>> Windows. But what is the advantage of having a $2,000 machine when >>> it >>> always breaks down and when a cheaper one works just as well? My >>> AppleCare is about to expire, and when it does, I can't keep shelling >>> out money every time this thing decides to break down. >>> >>> Anyway, I asked a friend about how I can save my files and get them >>> off of there and he suggested I hook up my Mac and the household Mac >>> via a fire wire connection and use Migration Assistant. How does >>> that >>> work? I can't ask Joanie, cause she barely uses it and only for very >>> basic things, and Mom's just learning how to use a computer. Please, >>> can anyone help me so that I don't mess up the other machine? Can I >>> transfer files to a cd or usb stick with this program and is it >>> possible for me to delete the ones off of my machine with it? Btw, >>> I've never used Time Machine, if that's required to use Migration >>> Assistant. >>> >>> Thanks, >>> Eleni >>> >>> -- >>> >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> [email protected] >>> . >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en >>> . >>> >>> >>> >> >> -- >> >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> [email protected] >> . >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en >> . >> >> > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. 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