Hard Drive Spins Down after "Tiger" Upgrade

DavidMD · #1 December 3rd, 2005, 09:04 PM

Hello, everyone.

I did a "clean install" of Mac OS X 10.4 two days ago, upgrading from Mac OS X 10.2.8 ("Jaguar"). I have downloaded all of the updates.

Since upgrading to Tiger, my G4 QuickSilver's internal SCSI drive keeps spinning down, with no pattern that I can detect so far. I have the Energy Saver set never to power down the Mac, although the monitor shuts down after one hour of inactivity.

I have changed no hardware on the system since the upgrade. I have a Macally external USB floppy drive (which I just disconnected to see if it is the cause of the problems, and because it takes forever for it to mount a floppy), a Kensington USB Keyboard-in-a-Box, and a Kensington USB Studio Mouse. The computer also has an internal 100-MB Zip drive.

I am assuming that this behavior is a "feature" of Tiger, but I can find no way in System Preferences to disable it.

I can hear the drive spinning down, but sometimes I do not hear it. I was using Mailsmith this evening and clicked on BBEdit on the Dock. The black arrow appeared beneath the BBEdit icon on the Dock, but nothing happened. I clicked twice more, then hear the drive spin up and saw BBEdit launch.

This situation is frustrating and, worse, alarming!

Is there a problem with Tiger or is my SCSI drive going bad?

Thank you very much, in advance!

Cordially,

David Dickerson

ElDiabloConCaca · #2 December 3rd, 2005, 09:26 PM

In System Preferences > Energy Saver, do you have "Put the hard disk(s) to sleep when possible" checked?

DavidMD · #3 December 4th, 2005, 01:14 PM

Greetings, Jeff!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElDiabloConCaca

In System Preferences > Energy Saver, do you have "Put the hard disk(s) to sleep when possible" checked?

I feel incredibly stupid! I did have that option checked!

It was not an option with "Jaguar" and I simply did not see it! As the saying goes, "If it had been a snake, it would have bitten me!"

Thanks, again, Jeff! I will assume that deselecting this check box will fix the problem.

Next time, I will RTFS, with the 'S' standing for "screen"!

Cordially,

David

ElDiabloConCaca · #4 December 4th, 2005, 04:59 PM

It happens to all of us! Hey, as long as the problems gets solved one way or another, that's all that counts.

Glad I could help.

DavidMD · #5 December 4th, 2005, 05:19 PM

Hi, Jeff!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElDiabloConCaca

It happens to all of us! Hey, as long as the problems gets solved one way or another, that's all that counts.

Glad I could help.

Thanks again.

Tiger is very different than Jaguar (obviously) in function and also appearance. I have to be more careful about using once familiar features, because their interfaces may have subtle, or very clear, differences than previous versions of Mac OS X.

And to think that I've been using the Mac since 1986...!

I still miss hacking with ResEdit, but Mac OS X is great and I am constantly learning -- although I miss some "Classic" features and programs. (I got The Talking Moose to work for a friend under System 7, months before Baseline Software did; of course, they "folded" soon after that time. Their technical and customer support staff must have been zero people!) The Talking Moose was a clever hack from its inception by a med student in Canada, but it was a great program for modifying with ResEdit!

I am, for instance, trying to find a replacement for MicroMat's SoundMaker, which I have to use in "Classic" mode and is showing its age. I've tried Audacity, and hope it will meet my needs eventually.

I also miss the "Classic" environment's simple drag-and-drop file-type and creator changer, CTC. After I edit an HTML file and save it, I want its state to stay BBEdit, as I've saved it, but the state changes to my default browser. (Urgh!)

Cordially,

David

Satcomer · #6 December 4th, 2005, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMD

And to think that I've been using the Mac since 1986...!

I still miss hacking with ResEdit ....

I find the Developer Disk Applications are a great way to "hack" files.

DavidMD · #7 December 4th, 2005, 07:01 PM

Hi, Satcomer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Satcomer

I find the Developer Disk Applications are a great way to "hack" files.

I installed XCode when I installed Tiger.

Are the Developer Disk Applications part of XCode?

Thanks.

Cordially,

David

Satcomer · #8 December 4th, 2005, 07:19 PM

Yep. If you just right click (Option+click for one button mouse) of an application and select "Show Package Contents" . Once there you better know what you are doing. I select the appropriate folder/file and open with one the Developer applications like Property List Editor. You can make some application changes with a lot of the Developer programs.

I learn a lot of "hacking" from a web site called Mac OSX Hints. They update their web site almost everyday with a lot of useful hints/hacks.