Leopard Disk Utility Format Issue Screws With Time Machine (But There’s An Easy Fix)

Paul

Disk_Erase_Failed.jpgThe bad news is, we have discovered a Leopard-related issue that may very well throw a monkey wrench into your Time Machine. Anyone trying to use Time Machine with a previously PC-formatted drive could be at risk. The good news is, there is an easy—albeit none-too-obvious—fix. Here’s the dilly-o:

After I upgraded my MacBook Pro to OS X Leopard, the first thing I did was grab a brand-new Maxtor USB drive and format it to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) using Disk Utility, just like I had countless times before. As soon as I erased the disk, Time Machine popped up as promised, and asked if it could use the disk for backup. I said yes, and was on my merry way. Only I wasn’t.

Time Machine ran for a bit, and then crapped out after about 10GB. I went into Disk Utility and saw that although the partition was formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled), the volume itself still said FAT32. I clicked Erase to reformat the drive, and got the format failure error you see above.

I tried this with FAT-formatted drives from Seagate, Iomega and HP as well. Each time I saw the same thing. I could reformat the partition to Mac OS Extended (Journaled), and Time Machine would recognize it. Get Info would say that it was formatted correctly. But Disk Utility showed that the volume was formatted for PC. Inevitably, if the Time Machine backup was greater than 10GB, there were problems. Worst of all, if I dared try to format the volume for Mac, I would get the dreaded error, and the disk would be temporarily unmountable.

Go read the full story to find out how to fix the problem. I thought it was funny because Windows does that to!!

Samsung unveils Super-WriteMaster 16x DL DVD burner

Paul

Samsung has rolled out its fastest DVD burner yet, with the Super-WriteMaster (ha!) SH-S203N running at 20x for DVD±R discs, 16x for dual layer DVD+R variants, 12x for DVD-RAM, and progressively slower for other disc standards. It’s all kitted up with a SATA connection standard, and supports LightScribe burning so you know what the hell’s on that disc you just burnt. Samsung says this is the fastest dual layer DVD burner out there: we don’t know if that’s true, but we do know it’s faster than our crappy 8x DL burner. Pick it up anywhere from now for $79.99.

I hope they come up with the DVD Burner for the Laptop, that would be sweet!!

SanDisk starts shipping 8GB microSDHC and M2 cards

Paul

SanDisk was trumpeting its 8GB microSDHC cards all the way back in June, but it’s taken until now for the company to ship the little buggers — but we’re also getting an 8GB Memory Stick Micro (also known as M2) version as a reward for our patience. The 8GB SDHC card will set you back $139, while the M2 stick is $149, and both should be in stores worldwide now, according to SanDisk.

That’s not bad now we can have even more movies on our smart phones!!

Use Exploratree to Plan A Project or Idea

Paul

exploratree.png

Plan a project or map an idea with Exploratree, a free online library of “thinking guides” you can either print out or use online. Templates include the Futures Wheel pictured above, thinking boxes, compare and contrast, and a lot more. Each template is customizable; you can also use them to collaborate on projects with other people.

Exploratree
I’ve not checked it out but I will later this week!! I looks kinda cool!!

Microsoft apologizes for Windows Update snafus

Paul

Microsoft has been having all sorts of problems with automatic Windows updates lately. First, it was reports of users who had turned off automatic update installations finding that their computers had installed and rebooted anyway without their consent, then some enterprise Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) users found out that Windows Desktop Search (WDS) had been installed without administrator approval. Microsoft acknowledged the first problem but denied the second, then relented and issued an apology via WSUS product manager Bobbie Harder’s blog.

The explanation of the WSUS issue is a tad confusing, but it revolves around a WDS update from February that was an optional update that only applied to people who already had WDS installed. So far, so good. Then last Tuesday, Microsoft revised that same update package to be applicable (but still optional) for all XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003 SP1+ systems. Unfortunately, WSUS users who did not have WDS installed found that they got this “optional” update automatically, because WSUS is set by default to automatically approve update revisions. Confused yet? I sure am.

Harder apologized for the error and posted instructions on how to remove WDS, which adds fast hard drive searching to the Windows desktop at the cost of RAM and CPU resources. For the time being, the distribution of WDS through WSUS has been suspended completely, so the only way to get it is by going to the Microsoft Download Center and installing it manually. Harder added that Microsoft is “working on improving our internal publishing processes to ensure this does not happen again in the future.”

As for the desktop users who experienced unexpected reboots when they thought they had set Windows Update to install manually, the culprit may have been Microsoft’s own OneCare. According to the product team, Microsoft OneCare automatically changes the Automatic Update settings to automatically download and install. This behavior is briefly alluded to in the first dialog box of the OneCare installation screen, but many customers were unaware that installing OneCare would change these settings.

Can you say “OPPS’ i wonder how many of them decided to go to another platform!!