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Question Profile
| DATE | Nov 24, 2006 |
| TICKET | #331542 |
| STATUS | Closed |
| SUBJECT | idisk: won't mount any more |
| CAT | Computers, Operating Systems, Applications or Connected Devices |
| TYPE | Operating System Features, Bugs and Problems |
| DESC | Apple |
| DESC | 10.4.X (Tiger) |
| PLATFORM | Apple Macintosh (PowerPC G3,G4,G5) |
| MODEL | PowerBook 5,8 |
| PROC | 1.67 GHz |
| RAM | 512 MB |
| DRIVE | 75 GB |
| NAME | Michael |
| USERNAME | michaelion |
| TECHNICAL | Little Experience |
| ISSUE | Stumped |
Question Details
TICKET ARCHIVE -> idisk: won't mount any more
michaelion - Nov 24, 2006 - 5:25 am
After using idisk more or less trouble-free for a year and loving the simplicity, I was getting a little irritated by the occasional slowness and thought it might help if I deactivated it in preferences. Since then, it doesn't work. The icon used to be called iDisk on my desk but now it's michaelijohnson (my .mac user name). It's still called iDisk in the finder sidebar. I've tried everything, but whenever I try to switch on iDisk syncing in Preferenes, I get the spinning grey wheel for a while and nothing happens. I've trawled Google for hours but find nothing that helps. Help!
LovesMacs - Nov 24, 2006 - 12:37 pm
HI Michael,
Can you tell me exaclty what you mean by, "deactivating iDisk" in Preferences?
Carolyn
Can you tell me exaclty what you mean by, "deactivating iDisk" in Preferences?
Carolyn
LovesMacs - Nov 24, 2006 - 12:48 pm
Michael... I think what you meant to say is that you disabled your iDisk in Preferences and it won't mount on your Desktop again when you try to Start syncing.... make sure you click the button that says: Manually not Automatic and see if that makes a difference.
Also, make sure and run Disk Utility and Repair Permissions. Disk Utility is in your Applications>Utility folder. Launch Disk Utility. When the window opens, select MacintishHD in the panel on the left. Then click Repair Permissions. Takes about one minute to run. Quit Disk Utility, reboot your Mac. Logon to your internet service and try to sync your iDisk again.
Carolyn :-)
Also, make sure and run Disk Utility and Repair Permissions. Disk Utility is in your Applications>Utility folder. Launch Disk Utility. When the window opens, select MacintishHD in the panel on the left. Then click Repair Permissions. Takes about one minute to run. Quit Disk Utility, reboot your Mac. Logon to your internet service and try to sync your iDisk again.
Carolyn :-)
michaelion - Nov 24, 2006 - 9:56 pm
Hi Carolyn
Thank you for the rapid response. From the time difference, I guess you're on CST - I'm a Brit in Switzerland, which is seven hours ahead. I dashed off my problem in haste yesterday before leaving the office, so pardon the inaccuracies. It shouldn't happen, I know: I earn my living copywriting, where clarity, precision and comprehensibility are my benchmarks. I digress. Let's start again. I use iDisk all the time, syncing files from my G5 at home with the G4 in the office. A couple of days ago, I was getting a little tired of watching the spinning rainbow all the time and though it might be worth seeing what happened if I turned off iDisk syncing in Preferences (sorry, that's what I meant by "deactivating iDisk in Preferences"). Which I did. I don't know what happened next or why. Now, when I try to start iDisk syncing again in Preferences, the little gray wheel spins, nothing happens and the button simply reverts to Start (whether I select Automatically or Manually). I have also just tried running Disk Utility and Repair Permissions (something I had already done before) and am informed that all is well. When I try to restart, however, I get a message telling me that Mirror Agent has failed to quit and is not responding. I can only reboot or switch off the computer by forcing quit, which I am loathe to do. This is the state of play. Can you wave a magic wand?
All good things
Michael
Thank you for the rapid response. From the time difference, I guess you're on CST - I'm a Brit in Switzerland, which is seven hours ahead. I dashed off my problem in haste yesterday before leaving the office, so pardon the inaccuracies. It shouldn't happen, I know: I earn my living copywriting, where clarity, precision and comprehensibility are my benchmarks. I digress. Let's start again. I use iDisk all the time, syncing files from my G5 at home with the G4 in the office. A couple of days ago, I was getting a little tired of watching the spinning rainbow all the time and though it might be worth seeing what happened if I turned off iDisk syncing in Preferences (sorry, that's what I meant by "deactivating iDisk in Preferences"). Which I did. I don't know what happened next or why. Now, when I try to start iDisk syncing again in Preferences, the little gray wheel spins, nothing happens and the button simply reverts to Start (whether I select Automatically or Manually). I have also just tried running Disk Utility and Repair Permissions (something I had already done before) and am informed that all is well. When I try to restart, however, I get a message telling me that Mirror Agent has failed to quit and is not responding. I can only reboot or switch off the computer by forcing quit, which I am loathe to do. This is the state of play. Can you wave a magic wand?
All good things
Michael
LovesMacs - Nov 25, 2006 - 9:18 am
Hi Michael,
Switzerland! I'm in San Francisco! LOL A world away but not too far too hopefully come to your aid.
On both your G5 and your G4 locate this file:
com.apple.MirrorAgent.plist
Here's how to find it: MacintoshHD>Users>Library>Preferences. Open that Preferences folder and locate that file. Drag it to the Trash, Empty the Trash and reboot. Do this on both Macs, the G5 and the G4. You've got a corrupted MirrorAgent preference file somewhere.
Also, it's OK to force a G4 or G5 to quit. By either holding down the Command + Option + Escape keys or holding down the Power Button until the screen goes black.
I wish I had a magic wand especially since I live in "Apple" land. One other suggestion would be to reinstall your .mac software from your the .mac disk you received when you purchased .mac. That ultimately should clear the problem up once and for all. But try Trashing that .plist file first.
My fingers are crossed for you!
Carolyn :-)
Switzerland! I'm in San Francisco! LOL A world away but not too far too hopefully come to your aid.
On both your G5 and your G4 locate this file:
com.apple.MirrorAgent.plist
Here's how to find it: MacintoshHD>Users>Library>Preferences. Open that Preferences folder and locate that file. Drag it to the Trash, Empty the Trash and reboot. Do this on both Macs, the G5 and the G4. You've got a corrupted MirrorAgent preference file somewhere.
Also, it's OK to force a G4 or G5 to quit. By either holding down the Command + Option + Escape keys or holding down the Power Button until the screen goes black.
I wish I had a magic wand especially since I live in "Apple" land. One other suggestion would be to reinstall your .mac software from your the .mac disk you received when you purchased .mac. That ultimately should clear the problem up once and for all. But try Trashing that .plist file first.
My fingers are crossed for you!
Carolyn :-)
LovesMacs - Nov 25, 2006 - 9:37 am
I see you are about 9 hrs difference from the west coast U.S. I'll try to keep an eye out for your response. I understand your dilemma with your work and will try to get you through this.
Carolyn :-)
Carolyn :-)
michaelion - Nov 25, 2006 - 9:24 pm
Hello again Carolyn
Sunday morning. And what are Sundays for if not to sit around trying to figure out computer problems? Gone are the days when people used to wash the car, go for walks with the family...
This is all incredibly helpful stuff. Incidentally, much as I appreciate your concern, there's no immediate time pressure. I'm working exclusively on the PowerBook until this problem is sorted out. To do that, I think I need to go through a few basics and clean up Users. Although I'm the only user on both Macs, I have multiple names under Users (on both Macs). I can only assume that this has happened because I wasn't completely au fait with various things (and am still not) when I was setting it up etc. I came back to Mac just over a year ago after an eight-year estrangement and still have a bunch of stuff to figure out. So, my questions for today:
1)
In Users on my G4, I have four folders: Michael Johnson, michaeljohnson, My Mac and Shared. michaeljohnson comes with the little house icon (which I assume is because it is the short name I have in Accounts and am the administrator). Each of the first three folders contains folders that in many cases appear the same, although there are some which only appear in one or two folders. What I would like to do is tidy this all up and get all this data together under one user - me, of course. Can you tell me what I can safely do to sort this mess out? I hope I didn't do something completely stupid: there was a Mirror Agent.plist in Preferences for each of these three names and I trashed them all.
2)
Is iDisk assigned to a particular user? The icon I used to have on my desktop was called iDisk (I can't see it at all now, but the one in the sidebar is still called that). The icon in the dock is now called michaelijohnson (that's my .mac name).
3)
Did I get .mac software when I joined? I certainly didn't get a physical disk (if that is what you meant).
Look forward to hearing from you when you have a minute (or five).
Michael
PS San Francisco: my favourite city in the US. I spent four months there years ago (after originally planning on just a week or so).
Sunday morning. And what are Sundays for if not to sit around trying to figure out computer problems? Gone are the days when people used to wash the car, go for walks with the family...
This is all incredibly helpful stuff. Incidentally, much as I appreciate your concern, there's no immediate time pressure. I'm working exclusively on the PowerBook until this problem is sorted out. To do that, I think I need to go through a few basics and clean up Users. Although I'm the only user on both Macs, I have multiple names under Users (on both Macs). I can only assume that this has happened because I wasn't completely au fait with various things (and am still not) when I was setting it up etc. I came back to Mac just over a year ago after an eight-year estrangement and still have a bunch of stuff to figure out. So, my questions for today:
1)
In Users on my G4, I have four folders: Michael Johnson, michaeljohnson, My Mac and Shared. michaeljohnson comes with the little house icon (which I assume is because it is the short name I have in Accounts and am the administrator). Each of the first three folders contains folders that in many cases appear the same, although there are some which only appear in one or two folders. What I would like to do is tidy this all up and get all this data together under one user - me, of course. Can you tell me what I can safely do to sort this mess out? I hope I didn't do something completely stupid: there was a Mirror Agent.plist in Preferences for each of these three names and I trashed them all.
2)
Is iDisk assigned to a particular user? The icon I used to have on my desktop was called iDisk (I can't see it at all now, but the one in the sidebar is still called that). The icon in the dock is now called michaelijohnson (that's my .mac name).
3)
Did I get .mac software when I joined? I certainly didn't get a physical disk (if that is what you meant).
Look forward to hearing from you when you have a minute (or five).
Michael
PS San Francisco: my favourite city in the US. I spent four months there years ago (after originally planning on just a week or so).
LovesMacs - Nov 26, 2006 - 8:11 am
Hi Michael,
Ok... to simply and organize shared files in different users on the same drive go here: MacintoshHD>Users>Shared. When you find the "Shared" folder, don't open it. Just click once on it so it's highlighted. Now, on your Keyboard press Command + I (that's an "i" not an "L". Now, the Shared Info pane will appear. Toward the bottom look where it says: Owernship & Permisisons. Click the black arrow on the left. A Menu will appear. You want to click: Read & Write in all of your User names. If you the system won't allow you to open "Ownership & Permissions" simply click the gold lock on the right. A dialog box will appear and ask for your system password. Take care of that and click OK. Now, you should be able to go into each of your User names and Select Read & Write under Ownership and Details both. When you are finished here is how to access and Share those folders:
To share a document with people who use your computer, copy it to your Public folder (in your home folder) or the Shared folder (in the Users folder on your hard disk).
To share your Public folder with other Macintosh computers on your network, turn on Personal File Sharing in Sharing preferences.
To give someone a copy of a document, put it in the Drop Box folder in their Public folder.
To share a document with other Macintosh users on the Internet, copy it to the Public folder on your iDisk.
To share files with someone using a Windows computer, open System Preferences, click Sharing, and then select Windows Sharing.
To share your iDisk Public folder with anyone on the Internet, use HomePage to publish a file sharing webpage.
As for your estranged iDisk. Michael, have you tried double clicking on the iDisk icon you said you see in a Finder window in the Sidebar? Sometimes that will wake it up. Also, the only way to have iDisk software is to have a .mac account. It comes with it. A .mac account is software you pay Apple an annual fee for, the least being $99 per year depending on how much storage you require. iDisk does not come pre-installed on Tiger or any Mac. Could you have purchased it on line and downloaded the software directly from Apple? In any case, I have a feeling reinstalling the software is the only thing that is going to be a fix. You've tried restoring and all the other troubleshooting tips.
Check for software updates also: Choose Apple menu > Mac OS X Software to open the Mac OS X Downloads page.
Use Software Update preferences to get regular updates to your Mac OS X software. These updates include important security updates to eliminate threats to your computer.
If you have a .Mac membership, check the Applications folder on your iDisk for new Mac OS X programs, updates to existing applications, and demonstrations from other developers.
Run Disk Utility in all User names to Repair Permissions. I know this can be a tad time consuming but sometimes that's what it takes. After you Repair Permissions in all Users, reboot your Mac(s), go to System Preferences, click the iDisk button and see if Sync will work. Also, click the Account button. It will tell you exaclty how much time you have left before you need to reactivate your .mac account in order to use iDisk.
Carolyn :-)
Ok... to simply and organize shared files in different users on the same drive go here: MacintoshHD>Users>Shared. When you find the "Shared" folder, don't open it. Just click once on it so it's highlighted. Now, on your Keyboard press Command + I (that's an "i" not an "L". Now, the Shared Info pane will appear. Toward the bottom look where it says: Owernship & Permisisons. Click the black arrow on the left. A Menu will appear. You want to click: Read & Write in all of your User names. If you the system won't allow you to open "Ownership & Permissions" simply click the gold lock on the right. A dialog box will appear and ask for your system password. Take care of that and click OK. Now, you should be able to go into each of your User names and Select Read & Write under Ownership and Details both. When you are finished here is how to access and Share those folders:
To share a document with people who use your computer, copy it to your Public folder (in your home folder) or the Shared folder (in the Users folder on your hard disk).
To share your Public folder with other Macintosh computers on your network, turn on Personal File Sharing in Sharing preferences.
To give someone a copy of a document, put it in the Drop Box folder in their Public folder.
To share a document with other Macintosh users on the Internet, copy it to the Public folder on your iDisk.
To share files with someone using a Windows computer, open System Preferences, click Sharing, and then select Windows Sharing.
To share your iDisk Public folder with anyone on the Internet, use HomePage to publish a file sharing webpage.
As for your estranged iDisk. Michael, have you tried double clicking on the iDisk icon you said you see in a Finder window in the Sidebar? Sometimes that will wake it up. Also, the only way to have iDisk software is to have a .mac account. It comes with it. A .mac account is software you pay Apple an annual fee for, the least being $99 per year depending on how much storage you require. iDisk does not come pre-installed on Tiger or any Mac. Could you have purchased it on line and downloaded the software directly from Apple? In any case, I have a feeling reinstalling the software is the only thing that is going to be a fix. You've tried restoring and all the other troubleshooting tips.
Check for software updates also: Choose Apple menu > Mac OS X Software to open the Mac OS X Downloads page.
Use Software Update preferences to get regular updates to your Mac OS X software. These updates include important security updates to eliminate threats to your computer.
If you have a .Mac membership, check the Applications folder on your iDisk for new Mac OS X programs, updates to existing applications, and demonstrations from other developers.
Run Disk Utility in all User names to Repair Permissions. I know this can be a tad time consuming but sometimes that's what it takes. After you Repair Permissions in all Users, reboot your Mac(s), go to System Preferences, click the iDisk button and see if Sync will work. Also, click the Account button. It will tell you exaclty how much time you have left before you need to reactivate your .mac account in order to use iDisk.
Carolyn :-)
michaelion - Nov 27, 2006 - 5:33 am
Hi Carolyn
I messed around sorting out Users this morning. For some reason, I decided to restart the computer and this time it actually did shut down (no message about Mirror Agent not wanting to quit). At some point, while I was doing something else, I suddenly got the iDisk dialog box asking me which of two files to use. Yep, sure enough it had started working again with no warning. OK, it had to resync around 1500 files but it did it and now it's fine again. Trouble is, I still don't know why, or what I did (if anything) to get it up and running again.
Incidentally, I do have .Mac membership (in fact, it renews this week), but do not recall having to install software. I paid the money and that, I think, was that. But what's it called and where is it located? I've programmed Updates to come automatically so I get all those things.
One more little but incredibly annoying quirk. I usually prefer Column view for my folders (rather than Icons or List) but Finder often reverts to Icons when I open a new window. How can I get Finder to stay in Column view?
Sorry if I seem dumb. But I'm learning and feel vaguely pleased with myself that I've managed to sort out problems for almost a year now with no outside support apart from the good people at macosx. I've particularly appreciated your help, Carolyn, and would like to contact you again if I may in the event of other problems. I realize you may not want to disclose your e-mail address to a stranger but is there any way I can reach you directly through the macosx.com site? Another thing: in view of the fact I'm not able to offer technical assistance, I've always wanted to make a financial contribution to macosx but never manage to find a page that allows me do so.
Best wishes
Michael
I messed around sorting out Users this morning. For some reason, I decided to restart the computer and this time it actually did shut down (no message about Mirror Agent not wanting to quit). At some point, while I was doing something else, I suddenly got the iDisk dialog box asking me which of two files to use. Yep, sure enough it had started working again with no warning. OK, it had to resync around 1500 files but it did it and now it's fine again. Trouble is, I still don't know why, or what I did (if anything) to get it up and running again.
Incidentally, I do have .Mac membership (in fact, it renews this week), but do not recall having to install software. I paid the money and that, I think, was that. But what's it called and where is it located? I've programmed Updates to come automatically so I get all those things.
One more little but incredibly annoying quirk. I usually prefer Column view for my folders (rather than Icons or List) but Finder often reverts to Icons when I open a new window. How can I get Finder to stay in Column view?
Sorry if I seem dumb. But I'm learning and feel vaguely pleased with myself that I've managed to sort out problems for almost a year now with no outside support apart from the good people at macosx. I've particularly appreciated your help, Carolyn, and would like to contact you again if I may in the event of other problems. I realize you may not want to disclose your e-mail address to a stranger but is there any way I can reach you directly through the macosx.com site? Another thing: in view of the fact I'm not able to offer technical assistance, I've always wanted to make a financial contribution to macosx but never manage to find a page that allows me do so.
Best wishes
Michael
LovesMacs - Nov 27, 2006 - 7:16 am
WoW Michael... I can see why it takes your iDisk to sync for so long. Next time you need to sync, do everything else you need to do on your Macs first, then sync the iDisk and just walk away... do some chores, run errands LOL... because it takes awhile. I'm so glad it's working for you!
As for all folders/windows in Column view. Go to your Desktop. Click once somewhere there aren't any icons... just a clear spot, then it should say Finder in the Menu top of your screen. Now, click Finder>Preferences. When that pane opens, click the General Tab, Then click the button that says: Open Windows in Column View. Now close that Preference window. Open a Finder window and see if it opens in Column View. If you have a window that is stubborn only opens in say as Icons, simply press Command + 3 on your keyboard and the window will change to Column view for you.
As for site donations here is the link: https://macosx.com/order/vip/index.html We appreciate and and all donations to keep this site thriving!
As for learning the Mac OS. Michael, it just takes time and going through situations like the one you just experienced. Sometimes bugs work there way out on their on, sometimes it takes some tech support. But no matter what, you do not "seem dumb'... it takes computer savvy to have arrived at the point where you are now as it is. Anytime you need assistance, just post here or e-mail me.
I will let my boss know you would like to do donate. I'm certain he will be thrilled!
If you need further assistance, please do not hesistate to ask.
Carolyn :-)
As for all folders/windows in Column view. Go to your Desktop. Click once somewhere there aren't any icons... just a clear spot, then it should say Finder in the Menu top of your screen. Now, click Finder>Preferences. When that pane opens, click the General Tab, Then click the button that says: Open Windows in Column View. Now close that Preference window. Open a Finder window and see if it opens in Column View. If you have a window that is stubborn only opens in say as Icons, simply press Command + 3 on your keyboard and the window will change to Column view for you.
As for site donations here is the link: https://macosx.com/order/vip/index.html We appreciate and and all donations to keep this site thriving!
As for learning the Mac OS. Michael, it just takes time and going through situations like the one you just experienced. Sometimes bugs work there way out on their on, sometimes it takes some tech support. But no matter what, you do not "seem dumb'... it takes computer savvy to have arrived at the point where you are now as it is. Anytime you need assistance, just post here or e-mail me.
I will let my boss know you would like to do donate. I'm certain he will be thrilled!
If you need further assistance, please do not hesistate to ask.
Carolyn :-)
LovesMacs - Nov 27, 2006 - 7:24 am
Hello,
For a donation, I e-mailed my boss. You might receive e-mail from either:
ScottW@digitalcrowd.com or ScottW@macosx.com same person...
he can give you the details.
And let me thank you from the bottom of my heart. Donations are gratefully received.
Carolyn :-)
For a donation, I e-mailed my boss. You might receive e-mail from either:
ScottW@digitalcrowd.com or ScottW@macosx.com same person...
he can give you the details.
And let me thank you from the bottom of my heart. Donations are gratefully received.
Carolyn :-)
LovesMacs - Nov 27, 2006 - 7:44 am
michaelion - Nov 27, 2006 - 7:10 pm
Hi Carolyn
I also sent this to the e-mail address you gave me (macchicksf@mac.com) but just wanted to make sure you receive it.
Just a line to say how grateful I am that you helped me through this over your weekend. It's still working and now I'm back on the G5 at home, all perfectly synced. I don't usually have this much stuff on iDisk - I normally transfer finished jobs to the hard disk on both computers and make a backup on my external hard disk, but have been slightly lackadaisical about it the last couple of months. I can hardly believe I missed the tip about column view in Mac Help (the one about General Preferences) but there you go: I was under pressure and didn't have time to read it properly. All your tips have been immensely helpful, and if you were 6000 miles closer, I'd be inviting you out for dinner. That not being the case, I'll have to put some cash into the general macosx coffers. Which does not exclude the former option, of course, if ever you happen to be in Switzerland or my travels take me back to SF.
By the way, I just tried to transfer $100 to you guys: first, Switzerland wasn't shown in the countries list and in the end I couldn't process. You said I may get details from ScottW. Would appreciate it: I love the Web for your kind of altruism but don't merely wish to profit.
All good things
Michael
I also sent this to the e-mail address you gave me (macchicksf@mac.com) but just wanted to make sure you receive it.
Just a line to say how grateful I am that you helped me through this over your weekend. It's still working and now I'm back on the G5 at home, all perfectly synced. I don't usually have this much stuff on iDisk - I normally transfer finished jobs to the hard disk on both computers and make a backup on my external hard disk, but have been slightly lackadaisical about it the last couple of months. I can hardly believe I missed the tip about column view in Mac Help (the one about General Preferences) but there you go: I was under pressure and didn't have time to read it properly. All your tips have been immensely helpful, and if you were 6000 miles closer, I'd be inviting you out for dinner. That not being the case, I'll have to put some cash into the general macosx coffers. Which does not exclude the former option, of course, if ever you happen to be in Switzerland or my travels take me back to SF.
By the way, I just tried to transfer $100 to you guys: first, Switzerland wasn't shown in the countries list and in the end I couldn't process. You said I may get details from ScottW. Would appreciate it: I love the Web for your kind of altruism but don't merely wish to profit.
All good things
Michael
LovesMacs - Nov 29, 2006 - 7:15 am
Thank you so much for such a wonderful compliment regarding Feedback. I assure you I am blushing from head to toe.
Scott e-mailed me to let me know he had contacted you. You have my e-mail address and if you need any help at all, don't hesitate to use it.
Carolyn :-)
Scott e-mailed me to let me know he had contacted you. You have my e-mail address and if you need any help at all, don't hesitate to use it.
Carolyn :-)
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