Ask Jacob - Free Apple Technical Support

Can you charge a standard MacBook with a MacBook Air charger?

Jacob — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:17:08 +0000

Hi Jacob,
Hope you can clarify whether it is possible to charge the MacBook using the 45w power adapter (for Macbook Air)? I want to share my mate’s 45w power adapter. Any downside in using the lower wattage adapter?

Please advise.

Thanks and regards,
Lincoln

The lower wattage of the MacBook Air power adapter will let your MacBook Unibody run. It will not recharge the battery with the MacBook running though.

Your MacBook has a 45-watt battery and that 45 watt adapter will just provide enough power replace the power that would have come from the battery, but that is it. To charge the battery you will need to have the proper 60 watt adapter or, completely shut down the system so all power can be used to charge the battery.

- Jacob

Can you put a fully configured hard drive from a MacBook into a MacBook Pro?

Jacob — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:08:03 +0000

I just replaced a MacBook with a MacBook Pro. Is it possible to swap the fully configured hard drive from the MacBook and put it into the Pro? I ask this because it is faster than the one that comes in the Pro (7200 vs 5400 rpm), it is the same size, and it already has a Bootcamp partition that I’d hate to have to start over with. I know I can use Winclone, but I thought this might be a convenient solution. What do you think?

- Michael

You should be able to swap that SATA hard drive between MacBooks. Make sure that you have the latest OS installed on the MacBook’s hard drive before you install it on the MacBook Pro, and be prepared to use the OS X install disk that came with the MBP. You probably will not need them but you can always do an Archive and Install if you experience any issues. Both the MacBooks, and the Unibody MacBook Pros, make it a trivial job to swap out hard drives.

Do not be too surprised if Windows needs some driver updates after the swap though. The Mac OS is portable but Windows often chokes on a hardware transplant. Have the Mac Boot Camp drivers handy.

- Jacob

Jacob — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:48:02 +0000

Hi Jacob,

The Quad Core G5 that I purchased from PowerMax is a gem - only problem is that I cannot connect it to a 28″ I-INC HDMI digital display to share with my Mac mini.

The Mac Mini with its built-in GFA graphics connects fine through the USB DVI KVM box. It seems that the GEForce 6600 card in my Quad Core seems to be having problems detecting the display throgh the KVM box. Works just fine via direct connect - bypassing the KVM box. The Boxn did work OK with my old G4 with a ATI Radeon 9800 Mac Edition via DVI. I suspect
that the KVM box (LINKSKEY 212ASK) is the culprit. I found a refurb. ATI XT1900 cards for Mac on ebay as an alternative graphics card which I am hoping will work with my present KVM box. I use the MAC mini to run wintel apps, but I have a ton of PPC and Classic apps (Including PPC Photoshop). The G5/MAC MINI combo is an ideal solution for my needs. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks for your time,
- John

I do not have personal experience with that brand of KVM but I know some KVMs will have problems passing along settings data to a Mac. When you power on the G5 Power Mac, you have the KVM switched to its port right? In many cases that is essential for the video card to find the proper resolution.

Aside from that, it should work. Please let me know if the other video card makes a difference.

- Jacob

Any ideas on how I can repartition my WD MyBook for my Mac?

Jacob — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:47:13 +0000

Hello Jacob,

I have a G4/800 256/40/CD-RW/Radon upgraded with OS 10.4.11 Tiger plus 512 MB RAM, and superdrive. I want to hook up a WD My passport Essential 320GB to it to back up my hard drive. It shows up in the utility list but I cannot partition it and get an error message This new WD Ext HD works with my friend’s PC and up at the nearby college on their much newer Macs.
Any ideas why I cannot get it to work with my Mac?

Thank you,

Cynthia

You may need to repartition it through the Partition tab in Disk Utility.

To repatriation a drive, select the drive (not the indented Volume) that you want to erase and click on the Partition tab. Change the Volume Scheme popup menu from “Current” to “1 Partition.” Click the [Options...] button and set it to use the “Apple Partition Map.” Then give it a name and click on the [Apply] button. One more click to say that you understand all data will be lost on that drive and then it should work fine for your Mac computer.

It will not work on PCs after that though, it will be a Mac drive.

- Jacob

My daughter’s iPod went though the washer - can it be saved?

Jacob — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:52:07 +0000

My daughter has a 3rd generation iPod nano silver 4 GB and it got put through the washing machine by accident. Is there any hope of repair or do we need to just get a whole new one for her?

The earbuds work just fine but so far nothing is working with the iPod. I didn’t know if we had a shot of it working if it dried out completely or if the water would ruin the internal components. Please help me out! I’m feeling horrible about it.

- Timon

Even the mighty iPod nano is no match for a washing machine...

It is unlikely your daughter’s iPod nano will come back from the dead. The wash is a thorough killer of the iPod family, particularly the batteries. The best bet is to dry it in the windowsill, on a sunny day. That should get it warm enough to cook out the moisture without further damaging the electronics. After a day of drying try connecting it to a computer through the docking cable. Then see if it will power on. Even if the battery is dead it should still work off the USB power. If you see nothing it will probably mean you need a new iPod.

If it does turn on then try to charge the battery. If it does not charge, there are battery replacement options. Some sites offer repair, but those could cost as much as just replacing the unit.

- Jacob

My Bluetooth keyboard and mouse suddenly stopped working…

Jacob — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:10:38 +0000

Jacob,

I purchased an open-box MacBook from PowerMax about two weeks ago. Until today, I was using and Apple Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. Today, I find no Bluetooth preference and get this error message:

“The Bluetooth tab of Keyboard & Mouse preferences is hidden because you don’t have a Bluetooth module installed or attached to your computer.”

When I search About this Mac for Bluetooth, I get, “No information found.”

- Frank

There is the chance that it is a Software related issue. If you boot up off the Mac OS Install DVD, you can reinstall the OS via an Archive and Install. Then run Software update to get your MacBook to the most recent version. Also make sure that your MacBook does not need a Firmware or SMC update.

If after that, you still have trouble, it may bee that the Bluetooth module needs to be replaced. If that is the case, any Apple Authorized service center can do that for you as part of the Apple warranty on your product. Use Apple’s Service Location Tool to find your nearest provider.

- Jacob

What’s the best way to transfer Mail files from an old Mac to my new one?

Jacob — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:29:48 +0000

I am going to trade in a G5 Power Mac running 10.4.11 for new Mac Pro 2.66ghz Quad this week. I have read mixed things about migration assistant especially when it comes to applications. I believe this is how my iPhoto library was corrupted when I upgraded from a G4 to a G5 and I would like to avoid these same issues.
How do I transfer my emails in Apple’s mail program, both inbox items and archived/saved emails, from the old machine to the new one when it arrives without using migration assistant?

Thanks,
Jeff

The good news is that you can move the mail file over fairly easily. There is are two folders and a file you need to copy from your home folder. The home folder is in your hard drive in the “Users” folder and then in a folder with your unique user name. The home folder is indicated with a ” ~ ” symbol and I will use the symbol in describing the files locations.

First copy the preference file: ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist
Then grab the main mail folder ~/Library/Mail/
And lastly the Mail Downloads folder ~/Library/Mail Downloads/

On the fresh system copy these back to your new Users account, in there respective places. Then when you launch the new mail app it will look just like the old one.

- Jacob

Jacob — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:23:58 +0000

We want to sync the address book between all computers on our network (4) - is there a way to do this? What do you suggest. Thank you.

- Frederick

There are a few ways to do this but here are the two ways I would recommend. The standard “Apple” method is that you would want to use the MobileMe service to do this. You can sync calendars Address Books and even BookMarks. It was designed with the idea of keeping your Home and Work Macs in sync but will work in a small office too. It is integrated into the OS so you really just have to enter the account info into the System Preferences and enable the services you want to keep synchronized on that computer. There is a annual cost for this service and although there are many more features than what I have mentioned, you may not find the value in the service.

So next look at the Gmail solution. With a free Gmail account you can sync your Apple Address Book with a single account from many computers. In Leopard, go to the Address Book preferences and click on the General tab. Then mark the checkbox for “Synchronize with Google.” Click the [Google] button and enter your email address and account password. Set up all you computer with the same info and soon they all will be in sync.

- Jacob

Should you insert those small, 3-inch DVDs into an iMac slot drive?

Jacob — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:12:22 +0000

Jacob,

As an owner of two iMacs purchased through PowerMax, I hope you don’t mind a really simple question: can I insert and play a small (3″ diameter) DVD–assuming it’s formatted for Macs–into the right side slot, or will it lodge inside?

Layne

I am happy you asked before trying it. Mini sized CDs or DVDs should never be used in any slot-loading drive. This is true for Apple computers and car stereos. Really they are a terrible idea and should have never been produced. Currently only tray-based drives will accept them, and the tray has to have a special indent to keep the small disc centered.

This idea came out of the initial high cost of creating a full sized CD. Now that cost is pennies so making it smaller does not reduce the cost appreciably. The best way to get data off those disc, is to find a tray loading drive and transfer the data to a USB thumb drive or full sized CD-R.

Many service techs has had to extract those little discs from a drive, at great expense.

- Jacob

My G4 Powerbook processor is failing, I think…

Jacob — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:12:16 +0000

Hi Jacob,
I have a 4 yr old Powerbook G4 1.5ghz. It seems like the processor might be going. It’s stalling frequently. Big spinning beach ball. It’ll eventually catch up but it’s pretty annoying to pause a song in iTunes and it takes 30-120 seconds for it to actually pause. I have 1.25g of ram. I think that’s the max I can have in it. I’ve done a ton of maintenance as recommended by http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html. I can’t even find a replacement processor anywhere.

Any suggestions (besides a new mac)?
Thanks,
- Ruston

In general Apple laptops can not get replacement processors or even upgrade processors. In a portable PC or Mac, the processor is often soldered to the logic board.

Early PowerBooks used daughter cards for the RAM and Processor, consequently that made them upgradable, but the G4 Powerbooks never used that design. The good news is that you processor may be slower than you like but it is not physically failing, at least not by what you describe. You can have a total of 2 GB of RAM in that computer so I would recommend that you buy another 1GB stick and remove the 256 MB stick. Also replacing your hard drive with a faster unit could be a good way to boost speed. You can get a 2.5″ 7200 RPM drive for your laptop and greatly increase your file access speeds. Also if you have not done so in a while, backup your data and erase your hard drive. Then install a clean version of OS X and pull your data back over.

Starting fresh can provide a amazing boost to your overall system performance.

- Jacob