A friend of mine has been going through Apple power adapters like they're candy. He has a 17" MBP and his wife has a 13". One of their adapters quit working and they went with a 3rd party option - it had burnt out in about two weeks. He replaced it with an Apple one and it lasted even less. Took the computer to the Apple store, but they couldn't find anything wrong with it. He's trying adapter #3 now.
This is one thing I hate about Apple - their thin, crappy cables break too easily.
That's true of most laptops. What is most annoying to me is that in general, you cannot simply replace the brick to machine cable as there is no connector, so a ten dollar repair becomes a lot more expensive. I went though two of them in three years on a Dell Latitude. Apple's magnetic power connector is a great idea, but unfortunately, my wife's MacBook has the same design flaw at the brick. All of them ought to have magnetic connectors at both ends.
So the power surge last night gives me this today. Luckily the main drives appear fine, and all is sitting @ BackBlaze, too.
What irks me a lot is (a) I have a primary surge protector installed on the main power line into the house (the electric company here installed it) and (b) I have the computers/drives connected to surge protectors as well. The primary surge protector is supposed to trip immediately before allowing any surges into the house.
So, either that did not work or WD external drives just can't handle a power loss.
A friend of mine has been going through Apple power adapters like they're candy. He has a 17" MBP and his wife has a 13". One of their adapters quit working and they went with a 3rd party option - it had burnt out in about two weeks. He replaced it with an Apple one and it lasted even less. Took the computer to the Apple store, but they couldn't find anything wrong with it. He's trying adapter #3 now.
That's true of most laptops. What is most annoying to me is that in general, you cannot simply replace the brick to machine cable as there is no connector, so a ten dollar repair becomes a lot more expensive. I went though two of them in three years on a Dell Latitude. Apple's magnetic power connector is a great idea, but unfortunately, my wife's MacBook has the same design flaw at the brick. All of them ought to have magnetic connectors at both ends.
So - here's the cable in all of its fried glory (click for a larger version).
Do you plug the brick into the wall directly? I use the power cord so the brick sits on the floor. Less convenient, I know but it also gives a couple extra feet of reach.
Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
Do you plug the brick into the wall directly? I use the power cord so the brick sits on the floor. Less convenient, I know but it also gives a couple extra feet of reach.
Yup...power cord all the time. Elsewise the darn thing is just too short.
I use the included grounded extension cord to prevent wearing out the hinge on the duck head, which has given me intermittency and sparking problems in the past if it gets loose, and to keep plenty of slack in the cable. Also, I never wind up the cord tightly around the adapter for transport because I'm suspicious of causing such a sharp bend there, I keep it very loose. And after using white Apple power adapters for a total of 7 years on two laptops I've never had a problem with that cable. Only the duck head.
As a recent Apple convert I am wondering about the following.
How should I lock my pc in case it gets stolen? Right now I just start-up, but so can anyone. Then they can access my mail and other sites, hijacking my identity.
On my travel pc I have to swipe my finger (fingerprint id) which at least slows the thieves down. How to replicate this on Apple without irritating myself enormously by having to log in to my own computer every time? Especially, as with Apple I rarely close down - just shut the lid on my Macbook.
How should I lock my pc in case it gets stolen? Right now I just start-up, but so can anyone. Then they can access my mail and other sites, hijacking my identity.
There are several levels of security.
Go to System Preferences, Security. Under General tab you have options for requiring a password under certain circumstances. First turn on "Disable automatic login" so someone must enter a username and password at boot before seeing the desktop. Right now it's just auto-logging you in straight to your user account's desktop.
For a laptop you might turn on the first option "Require password ___ after sleep or screen saver begins." So if the laptop is unattended for a while, a password will be required. I don't use the "Immediately" option because sometimes I want to get back to my own computer that I was just using 5 minutes ago, without being locked out.
FileVault is another tab there. Many Mac users don't use this because it can have complications, but the reason to use it is if you don't want anyone to access your data even if they take out the hard drive or use other means to bypass the login password.
MacPro 2008 --> just replaced the failed CD/DVD reader/writer with a new unit. 'twas a bit of a pain as I ordered a SATA drive which required the removal of both hard drives, the video card, the front fan, and the cover for the heat sink. This was so I could access the SATA connector on the motherboard. But now I am disk-capable. Also added a bit more RAM today, and will be installing the PS CS5 upgrade and Lightroom 3 in a bit. Might have to find a new owner for my Lightroom 2 software as my 3.0 is a full version vice an upgrade.
So - everything's going well installing PS CS5 when, with a few minutes left in the process, I get a message that the disk can't be read, and then install failed.
So - everything's going well installing PS CS5 when, with a few minutes left in the process, I get a message that the disk can't be read, and then install failed.
What does Adobe say?
Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
It's not typical so there's no quick answer. If it was me, I'd wipe off the disc with a cloth and try again, and if it failed (and other discs install fine to rule out the drive), I'd call Adobe...
It's not typical so there's no quick answer. If it was me, I'd wipe off the disc with a cloth and try again, and if it failed (and other discs install fine to rule out the drive), I'd call Adobe...
Or you could download a trial version from Adobe and give it the serial number that's on the disk you have. I think that works.
Well, 2nd time's a charm. It installed fine. Not sure what happened the first time. Installed LR 3.0, too. Then I downloaded LR 3.2 patch from Adobe's site. That dmg file kept coming up with a corruption error, but would then run anyway.
Comments
What irks me a lot is (a) I have a primary surge protector installed on the main power line into the house (the electric company here installed it) and (b) I have the computers/drives connected to surge protectors as well. The primary surge protector is supposed to trip immediately before allowing any surges into the house.
So, either that did not work or WD external drives just can't handle a power loss.
GreyLeaf PhotoGraphy
So - here's the cable in all of its fried glory (click for a larger version).
GreyLeaf PhotoGraphy
GreyLeaf PhotoGraphy
Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
GreyLeaf PhotoGraphy
GreyLeaf PhotoGraphy
Two to beam up Mr. Scott!
I always think of that when I see flip-phones or cases
Better?
GreyLeaf PhotoGraphy
GreyLeaf PhotoGraphy
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How should I lock my pc in case it gets stolen? Right now I just start-up, but so can anyone. Then they can access my mail and other sites, hijacking my identity.
On my travel pc I have to swipe my finger (fingerprint id) which at least slows the thieves down. How to replicate this on Apple without irritating myself enormously by having to log in to my own computer every time? Especially, as with Apple I rarely close down - just shut the lid on my Macbook.
There are several levels of security.
Go to System Preferences, Security. Under General tab you have options for requiring a password under certain circumstances. First turn on "Disable automatic login" so someone must enter a username and password at boot before seeing the desktop. Right now it's just auto-logging you in straight to your user account's desktop.
For a laptop you might turn on the first option "Require password ___ after sleep or screen saver begins." So if the laptop is unattended for a while, a password will be required. I don't use the "Immediately" option because sometimes I want to get back to my own computer that I was just using 5 minutes ago, without being locked out.
FileVault is another tab there. Many Mac users don't use this because it can have complications, but the reason to use it is if you don't want anyone to access your data even if they take out the hard drive or use other means to bypass the login password.
Macs don't have thumb-print lock though.
Set a master password, use FileVault and also get Undercover from Orbicule http://www.orbicule.com/undercover/
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GreyLeaf PhotoGraphy
CS5_Failed.jpg
GreyLeaf PhotoGraphy
What does Adobe say?
Click for larger...
GreyLeaf PhotoGraphy
GreyLeaf PhotoGraphy
Guess that idea is down the toilet. Just seems strange to see it happen multiple times and with disk or download.
You might want to run some memory diagnostic or look to see if there are memory errors in the log file.
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