Mac Problems: Crashes and Uninstalling Software

[Monique]

I just bought a mac and it's driving me crazy, first of all it already crashed twice on me and also didn't want to restart.. aren't macs supposed to not-crash?

Major issue at the moment: when I install software (like firefox or amsn) and run it, a desktop item appears: volume. In order to remove it I need to CTRL-click it and select "eject volume", is this normal behaviour?

Also: how do I uninstall software? For the firefox I needed to delete everything folder-by-folder and it took forever to find all the locations and be able to delete it (no uninstall file was present).

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I just bought a mac and it's driving me crazy, first of all it already crashed twice on me and also didn't want to restart.. aren't macs supposed to not-crash?

Major issue at the moment: when I install software (like firefox or amsn) and run it, a desktop item appears: volume. In order to remove it I need to CTRL-click it and select "eject volume", is this normal behaviour?

Also: how do I uninstall software? For the firefox I needed to delete everything folder-by-folder and it took forever to find all the locations and be able to delete it (no uninstall file was present).

Besides the crashing your frustration comes from a lifetime of using windows. With macs there are no uninstall files, macs organize files and register them differently than windows. To uninstall something all you need to do is trash the root folder. The volume desktop item upon install is normal. The mac experts can give you more indepth help. Be patient, I used a mac all last summer and learned to love it... even if I still use windows personally

 

[Monique]

Yes, I'm trying to be patient.. it is just hard when I keep reaching for the home/end key, page-up/page-down, end, which aren't there or all the other utilities I can't find. BUT I just downloaded a super-cool aquarium screensaver that slowly fillls my screen with water, which is super-cool

 

[Moonbear]

I don't know why you're having trouble with crashing and not restarting. That's certainly not typical. If an application freezes up, you can force it to quit by pressing simultaneously the apple key (also known as the command key, but that's not written on it...it's the one with the weird symbol next to an apple), the "option" or "alt" key (the key has both written on it...should be right next to the apple) and the "esc" or escape key, which I assume will be on the upper left of your keyboard (not sure if the keyboard layout on a Dutch machine is different from a US machine). That will give you a menu of all the open applications and will indicate in red any that are not responding. Sometimes one is just thinking really hard and stuck but not technically not responding...you can still force it to quit so you can unstick it. You shouldn't have to do that often unless you've installed things that are incompatible.

Why are you installing Firefox? Have you tried the Safari browser that comes with it? I don't think you really need Firefox on a Mac unless you've grown to like it (wait...weren't you the one complaining not long ago about not wanting to switch from IE to Firefox? Did you find you like it?)

So, yeah, the volume icon thing is normal (I think you mean the one that looks like another harddrive that appears when you unzip something to install?) Once you've installed whatever is in it, you can safely drag it off to the trash (which will say eject)...it's one of those mac quirks, that to eject disks or disconnect from servers, you drag the icon to the trash...it's scary when you first switch, but at least in OS X they change the icon to an eject icon when you're actually ejecting something. It's no stranger than having to click on Start to shut down in Windows I suppose.

If you're just switching from windows, it'll take a little time to get used to everything being in totally different places, but once you're used to it, I think you'll be happy with the switch.

There are a number of mac users here, so we can help you when you can't find something.

To customize everything, play around in System Preferences, which is somewhat like Control Panel on windows...you can change the size and behavior of the "Dock" (adding and removing things to or from it is as simple as dragging the icon to it or off it...it'll make a "poof" sound when you remove something), the background, screensaver, mouse click speeds, etc.

If it's brand new and already crashing a lot, I'd call Apple Support and ask, because it shouldn't do that.

 

[Moonbear]

Yes, I'm trying to be patient.. it is just hard when I keep reaching for the home/end key, page-up/page-down, end, which aren't there or all the other utilities I can't find. BUT I just downloaded a super-cool aquarium screensaver that slowly fillls my screen with water, which is super-cool

You should be able to find all the utilies by going into your Finder (double click on the hard drive icon, or single click on the square, blue face on the dock), click on Applications, then in the list of folders, click on Utilities. All your utilities are in that folder, unless there's a quirky software you've installed that hides it somewhere else.

It came with the Tiger version of OS X, right? If so, you can use spotlight to search (the blue and white icon in the top right corner of your screen that looks like a magnifying glass).

Help is also helpful, and if you can't find your answer there, you can also go to Apple's website and check out their Support page.

If you can't find something you need, just ask here, and we'll try to help.

 

[Monique]

I don't know why you're having trouble with crashing and not restarting. That's certainly not typical.

I was trying to download software updates, but somehow the admin password window got hidden behind the download window so it looked like it was stuck. First I tried to close the application, but that was not possible, then I restarted it.. things were really messed up then: everything was frozen and it wouldn't even restart or do anything. Finally I figured out that some keyboard combination (I forgot) with the on/off button resulted in a forced reboot.

If an application freezes up, you can force it to quit by pressing simultaneously the apple key (also known as the command key, but that's not written on it...it's the one with the weird symbol next to an apple), the "option" or "alt" key (the key has both written on it...should be right next to the apple) and the "esc" or escape key, which I assume will be on the upper left of your keyboard (not sure if the keyboard layout on a Dutch machine is different from a US machine). That will give you a menu of all the open applications and will indicate in red any that are not responding.

Nice, I was looking everywhere for that before the first reboot.

Why are you installing Firefox? Have you tried the Safari browser that comes with it? I don't think you really need Firefox on a Mac unless you've grown to like it (wait...weren't you the one complaining not long ago about not wanting to switch from IE to Firefox? Did you find you like it?)

Someone said it was better, but it doesn't look nice on a mac so I trIED to uninstall it.

So, yeah, the volume icon thing is normal (I think you mean the one that looks like another harddrive that appears when you unzip something to install?)

It looks like a drive. I don't understand the use of having all those things on your desktop. I quit a program and then I still need to 'eject' the program

There are a number of mac users here, so we can help you when you can't find something.

How do I change the download location of files? My desktop becomes very cluttered if I can't choose where I want to download files/programs.

Is there some touchpad modify-utility? I already searched for it, but can't find it. The tracking speed is way too slow (yes, I already changed it in the system folder) and the way it changes exponentially slows down when you move your finger a little bit is annoying and already is giving me arm-aches after one evening using it (while I've been used to exclusively using a touchpad for 2 yrs).

 

[Moonbear]

It looks like a drive. I don't understand the use of having all those things on your desktop. I quit a program and then I still need to 'eject' the program

It shouldn't be opening on the desktop once you quit the program, it should only create that icon when downloading and installing. Once it is installed, you should dump the hard drive icon thing into the trash and should never see it again. Most applications, by default, install to the Applications folder. If you want it in your dock, you can just drag the icon onto the dock, and if things are in your dock that you don't want in it (i.e., to keep the dock from getting too cluttered with something you don't use too often), you can just drag the icon off the dock and it'll go away and stay away. You can also create shortcuts that you leave on your desktop if you don't like using the dock (personally, I set it to hide and appear only when I point over where it should be, because I don't like it taking up space at the bottom of my screen). Shortcuts on a Mac are called aliases if you're having trouble finding that in a menu. But you don't need to open them from the desktop. If for some reason an application installs onto the desktop instead of in Applications, you can just drag the icon into any folder you want it in (such as Applications) and it will move it there for good.

How do I change the download location of files? My desktop becomes very cluttered if I can't choose where I want to download files/programs.

If you're using Safari as your browser, click on "Safari" in the menu at the top, then select "Preferences." In that, click on "General" if it doesn't automatically open to that, and about 1/3 to halfway down, there's a drop-down menu that says "Save downloaded files to:" and under that you can select "Other" and tell it where to save them by default.

Is there some touchpad modify-utility? I already searched for it, but can't find it. The tracking speed is way too slow (yes, I already changed it in the system folder) and the way it changes exponentially slows down when you move your finger a little bit is annoying and already is giving me arm-aches after one evening using it (while I've been used to exclusively using a touchpad for 2 yrs).

I'm not sure what you mean. You said you changed it in the system folder? Do you mean the System Preferences? In system preferences, you select "Mouse and Keyboard" and then click the tab that says "trackpad." You can adjust the speed there. That's the only place you need to change anything. If you install another mouse from a different company, that will show up in a different place in System Preferences, but if you're talking about the trackpad on a laptop, maybe the maximum speed just isn't fast enough for you? I prefer using a mouse because trackpads make my fingers sore after a while.

Hope this helps.

 

[loseyourname]

Monique, when you are installing a new program, just copy the application icon from the virtual drive to your applications folder (or elsewhere if you prefer to keep certain applications in different folders) and then eject the virtual drive. It's not really any different from running the .exe file and then deleting it in windows. It doesn't take any additional time; you'll get used to it.

When you are running the software updater, you should be able to simply minimize the download window into your dock. Just click on the yellow button in the upper left-hand corner of the window that shows a "-" when you hover the mouse over it (exactly like in Windows, only in Windows it's on the upper right-hand corner).

Also, don't worry about the touch pad. Seriously, you get used to it after two days. Now PC touchpads seem super-fast to me.

 

[ComputerGeek]

to me, PC touchpads suck because I keep hitting the right mouse button. I like the one button deal on the laptops:-), Thought it is a 2 button mouse for desktops all the way.

 

[Monique]

Monique, when you are installing a new program, just copy the application icon from the virtual drive to your applications folder (or elsewhere if you prefer to keep certain applications in different folders) and then eject the virtual drive. It's not really any different from running the .exe file and then deleting it in windows. It doesn't take any additional time; you'll get used to it.

Thanks, I'll try that. I already tried deleting the drives, but that didn't work: next time they showed up again.

Also, don't worry about the touch pad. Seriously, you get used to it after two days. Now PC touchpads seem super-fast to me.

I very much doubt that, I'll buy a mouse tomorrow (it's giving me RSI)

 

[Monique]

Most applications, by default, install to the Applications folder.

Nope, everything is installed on the desktop, even exclusive mac software. It would be nice if I could tell it where to install stuff when I'm about to download it.

So there is no way to turn off the tracking delay in mouse/trackpad?

 

[Moonbear]

Nope, everything is installed on the desktop, even exclusive mac software. It would be nice if I could tell it where to install stuff when I'm about to download it.

That's odd. When you install stuff, it usually asks where to install. If you want to show us what is happening, you can use "Grab" to take a screen shot (you can find it in Applications --> Utilities). That might help us see if what's happening looks normal or not. Once you trash the disk image and the installer, opening the application shouldn't create a new disk image.

So there is no way to turn off the tracking delay in mouse/trackpad?

Tracking delay? I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that. The trackpad should respond to how quickly you move your finger. If you move it slowly, the pointer moves slowly, if you move quickly, the pointer moves quickly. I don't think I've noticed any difference between my Mac trackpad and the action of the trackpad on PCs I've used/borrowed.

 

[loseyourname]

Monique, I made a thread for you in GD where I include pictures. Maybe that will help you.

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?p=805229#post805229

 

[Monique]

Thanks loseyourname, that cleared up a lot! I'll store the .dmg files in a downloads folder, copy the program to programs and immediately throw away the drive icon (I've already got 11 files and folder junk on my desktop).

 

[Monique]

That's odd. When you install stuff, it usually asks where to install.

In Tiger when I click a link it immediately starts the download to the desktop, no questions asked, and unpacks/installs to the desktop. I'll take loseyourname's instructions for the next download/install.

Tracking delay? I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that. The trackpad should respond to how quickly you move your finger. If you move it slowly, the pointer moves slowly, if you move quickly, the pointer moves quickly. I don't think I've noticed any difference between my Mac trackpad and the action of the trackpad on PCs I've used/borrowed.

You can test it by the following: put your pointer to the edge of the screen and very quickly move the pointer to the otherside, now very slowly try to get to the initial point you were at. You'll notice that when you move the pointer slower you cannot travel as far as you move it quickly. PCs also have that activately by default, but you can turn it off. Result is that I can set it very sensitive: with very small finger gestures I can travel over the screen. With the default tracking delay very small finger gestures results in very small distance movements.

 

[ComputerGeek]

In Tiger when I click a link it immediately starts the download to the desktop, no questions asked, and unpacks/installs to the desktop. I'll take loseyourname's instructions for the next download/install.

actually, the download manager requires that you OK the download before it unpacks the file.

 

[Moonbear]

In Tiger when I click a link it immediately starts the download to the desktop, no questions asked, and unpacks/installs to the desktop. I'll take loseyourname's instructions for the next download/install.

It should only download the dmg file, not unpack it or install it. You should then have to click on the dmg file for it to unzip and begin installation. Once the application is installed, you should be able to throw out both the dmg file and the drive icon.

As for automatically choosing the desktop as the download location, that's something you determine in your browser settings, not in your system settings. Are you using Safari as your browser? If so, I posted instructions earlier for changing the default download location. If you're using IE or Firefox, I don't know those well enough to tell you where to change it.

You can test it by the following: put your pointer to the edge of the screen and very quickly move the pointer to the otherside, now very slowly try to get to the initial point you were at. You'll notice that when you move the pointer slower you cannot travel as far as you move it quickly. PCs also have that activately by default, but you can turn it off. Result is that I can set it very sensitive: with very small finger gestures I can travel over the screen. With the default tracking delay very small finger gestures results in very small distance movements.

Right, that's what I meant, it responds to how quickly you move your finger. It's not the distance you move your finger on the trackpad, but the speed you move at. If you move a short distance very quickly, the pointer will move faster and further than if you move a long distance very slowly. This means you have better control of your pointer for fine tasks. I guess I'm just not understanding why you would want it to work differently than that? Do you want the pointer to zoom across the page when you're just trying to carefully select one word, or draw a short line in a diagram?

Maybe someone else can help with a way to turn that off, but it's not something I ever considered even wanting (I wouldn't know how to turn it off in Windows either; never looked for it, never considered it would even exist).

Where's rho? He helped me with changing the way PDFs were handled by Safari, which required changing something using terminal. Maybe he knows how to solve your question too...just have to get him back over here!

 

[Monique]

This means you have better control of your pointer for fine tasks. I guess I'm just not understanding why you would want it to work differently than that? Do you want the pointer to zoom across the page when you're just trying to carefully select one word, or draw a short line in a diagram?

If you want to draw a short line you just move your finger very little, you don't even need to move your finger but just tilt it. The problem with not having it that way is that the tracking pad because too small for moving the pointer over the screen, you are constantly whiping your finger over the pad, which is very uncomfortable (for your finger and arm).

Anyway, I bought a eenie teenie tiny mouse for 12 euros that looks really nice and works well too

 

[Moonbear]

If you want to draw a short line you just move your finger very little, you don't even need to move your finger but just tilt it. The problem with not having it that way is that the tracking pad because too small for moving the pointer over the screen, you are constantly whiping your finger over the pad, which is very uncomfortable (for your finger and arm).

I never noticed anything in my arm. I think trackpad finger matches my pipettor's thumb.

Anyway, I bought a eenie teenie tiny mouse for 12 euros that looks really nice and works well too

I've always wondered about those tiny mice. Is it comfortable to use? There are a number of makers of those, and I've been tempted to get one for travelling. I recently got a full-sized mouse (Mac's Mighty Mouse...my full "review" is posted in General Technology), which is fine when just going from home to office, but when I'm traveling, I was thinking a small one that takes up very little space would be better since I'm often cramming as much as possible into one bag (and I admit, they're also just cute looking). Which brand did you get? I don't know if the same would be available in the US, but if it works well, at least I could try to find it here.

 

[Monique]

I got this mouse http://www.sweex.com/product.asp?pid=469 from sweex, with retractrable cord. It looks VERY sleek! The scroll button has a blue led underneath, so it lights up blue and the whole thing is matt black rubber, with the silver lining/dots. It moves very easily over the desk, there is little resistant and lies good in the hand. I love it, my bf can't keep his hands off it too Also, when I hold it up from the desk the red led underneath starts flashing: a real disco mouse I tried another small mouse (a pretty green one), but the shape wasn't as ergonomic as this one.
I also looked for a mac mouse, but those things are 55 euros (how do I make the euro sign under the two appear?) and you only get one button

 

[Moonbear]

I got this mouse http://www.sweex.com/product.asp?pid=469 from sweex, with retractrable cord. It looks VERY sleek! The scroll button has a blue led underneath, so it lights up blue and the whole thing is matt black rubber, with the silver lining/dots. It moves very easily over the desk, there is little resistant and lies good in the hand. I love it, my bf can't keep his hands off it too Also, when I hold it up from the desk the red led underneath starts flashing: a real disco mouse I tried another small mouse (a pretty green one), but the shape wasn't as ergonomic as this one.

Cool...I might see if I can find it in the US.

I also looked for a mac mouse, but those things are 55 euros (how do I make the euro sign under the two appear?) and you only get one button

Wow, that's expensive. For quite a bit less than that price, I got the Mighty Mouse, which has 4-buttons and a trackball (don't be fooled, it still looks like a one-button mouse, but it isn't), and still within that price range, I could get a wireless mouse! I wonder why a basic single-button mouse would cost so much in Europe? They seem to be ripping you off for it there. Actually, I just looked for the US pricing, and can't even find a basic one-button mouse at the Apple Store now. That's odd. I wonder if they've just done away with those for the Mighty Mouse. But, anyway, other brands of mice work just as well, so no need to spend money for the brand-name if you just want a basic mouse.

 

[Crumbles]

If you want to draw a short line you just move your finger very little, you don't even need to move your finger but just tilt it. The problem with not having it that way is that the tracking pad because too small for moving the pointer over the screen, you are constantly whiping your finger over the pad, which is very uncomfortable (for your finger and arm).

Anyway, I bought a eenie teenie tiny mouse for 12 euros that looks really nice and works well too

I recently started using a mac too and yeah the latency of the track pad drove me nuts! It took forever to move from one edge of the screen to the other. But I eventually found an add on that fixes that. http://homepage.mac.com/bhines/mousezoom.html"

Upon installation, it adds an option in 'System Preferences' called MouseZoom. You can get to 'System Preferences' from the Dock. And it let's you adjust how fast you want the mouse pointer to move.

 

[Crumbles]

Monique, I made a thread for you in GD where I include pictures. Maybe that will help you.

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?p=805229#post805229

Thanks for that loseyourname! Just wish this post was here about a month ago! I went through the same confusion about how OSX handles program installations.

But I do like Adium! It let's me connect to all the different IM services in the one program and looks real sleek too!

 

[rho]

Just saw this thread I'v been busy doing my uni applications recently, did everyone sort out all there problems? I'll read it all tommorow and post some advice.

 

[rho]

I just bought a mac and it's driving me crazy, first of all it already crashed twice on me and also didn't want to restart.. aren't macs supposed to not-crash?

Major issue at the moment: when I install software (like firefox or amsn) and run it, a desktop item appears: volume. In order to remove it I need to CTRL-click it and select "eject volume", is this normal behaviour?

Also: how do I uninstall software? For the firefox I needed to delete everything folder-by-folder and it took forever to find all the locations and be able to delete it (no uninstall file was present).

Monique's first post:

Is it still crashing often?, is it just freezing or is it a kernel panic? (a semi-transparent grey screen with "you need to restart" (or word to that effect). If it is the latter and it happens often once a day or more it may be your RAM so find the hardware test disk that came with your machine and follow the instructions on it to test the RAM. If anything is wrong ring apple and get a replacement machine.

When you download an application (a free one usually has this form of installation)
you need to load up the file you download (icon will look like a hard-drive), this will create a temporary drive in the finder, just under "Macintosh HD", but what you need to do is drag the contents of this volume onto your applications folder and it will copy it to there (make a folder in there for each application to keep it tidy). Then eject the volume and delete file you downloaded.
Some applications do have installers like on windows but these are normally
applications to be installed from disks you purchased.

No applications on OS X have uninstall file you just have to put it in the trash and then empty the trash to do this, some preferences files will remain but you can search for them in spotlight and delete them if you wish.

More to come.

 

[rho]

For the track pad I would use the MouseZoom application posted by crumbles above.

I had a look around for a way to do it without any third party applications and found this. You'll need to use the Terminal for this, as well as the Property List Editor tool that's part of XCode. The setting is inside this file: "~/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences.plist" (without the quotes). You'll need to make that file visible by copying it (using the cp command - cp source destination) to a filename without a period in front of it (I used test.plist). Then, drag that test.plist file to Property List Editor (found in /Developer/Applications/Utilities) and look for a setting called com.apple.mouse.scaling. Its normal maximum value is 3.000000 - change that to something bigger. Save the edited file, then go back into Terminal and use cp again to replace the original .GlobalPreferences.plist file with the edited one. Once that's done, log out and back in for the change to take effect. This will provide you with a faster trackpad if you put a large number in above.