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News Archive for Monday Jan. 26, 2009 (later added items first)
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First feedback on Nvidia Graphics Update 2009 (v1.0)
After posting info/links on the Nvidia Graphics Update 2009 earlier tonight, I wrote some Unibody MacBook Pro owners that had reported the 'jerky' cursor tracking issue with their mini Displayport to Dual-Link DVI adapters to ask if the update solved the problem.

" I'm using the mini-display port to dual link DVI adapter with an Apple 30" display... my mouse seems less jerky than before, but I'm still having the problem. I still see "dp events: 0x04" in my console as well, though it seems less frequent than before. I don't have any video players open at the moment. (referring to a comment in an earlier report below.)
(he later wrote after reapplying it from the download updater)
I downloaded the update and reapplied it.. When I restarted my system I didn't see any 'dp events: 0x04' console messages, and the mouse was fine. I was running for about 10 minutes before I started iTunes. As soon as iTunes started (before I even played anything), I was seeing the message again and the mouse became jerky. Exiting iTunes seems to have stopped the problem. (Others also mentioned running iTunes (or QT player) seemed to trigger it, It may not matter but I asked if he'd retest with his network connection disabled and/or with "look for remotes" and AppleTVs, etc. disabled in prefs.) I can't say for certain (after the original application of the update) if I was only seeing the problem when iTunes was running.
Thankfully I haven't had any problems with display distortion. Just the jerky mouse problem.
-John"

" Alas, it did not work for me. Although it seems like it takes more input before the cursor jumps so maybe it's a partial fix. I ran it twice, first in safe mode and second in regular boot. It gives that updating boot caches message before restarting so I thought I may try to clear the caches and see if that helps.
(he later wrote)
The workaround that still works to stop DP_events and the jerky cursor is the previously posted sequence of launching System Profiler, hitting Refresh and then hitting Send to Apple. This kills the bad process and lets me work until the next sleep or reboot when I have to do it again.

I forgot to mention that I could do the circle test with the trackpad instead of the mouse and it didn*t get flakey. They may have fixed an interaction with the trackpad driver but not the mouse driver. It*s a wired USB Apple Mighty Mouse.
- Scott T."

Ron (below) said he's seeing it with the trackpad and mouse (at least with QT player or iTunes open).

" I've only used it for about a half hour, but the dp events have stopped and my cursor seems to be normal again....
(a few minutes later he wrote)
An addendum to my last email:
Interestingly, the dp events (and cursor jumping) came back the moment I launched an HD movie in Quicktime (I tried the Ice Age trailer others were having frame rate problems with). The movie will now play at 24 fps, but the jerky mouse and dp events return until you quit Quicktime. Even having Quicktime open with nothing playing will make the cursor jump and dp events return. Seems this was only a partial fix...
(I assume he had updated to QT 7.6 (released last Wednesday) but wrote to confirm that (if that even matters, although some had problems after the QT 7.6 update in some cases related to addons.))
Yes, I applied Quicktime 7.6 (via software update) when it came out.
Seems Quicktime AND iTunes will both cause the problem to return until they are quit.
(I asked if it still occurs using the trackpad vs a Mouse)
Mouse (wired/wireless/Apple/non-Apple) and trackpad both have the issue.
-Rob"

BTW - as I added in a note in the post below on this update D/L page, despite the update info mentioning improved 7300GT HD playback, a 2006 iMac (24in) w/7300GT running 10.5.6 w/all updates said it doesn't show up in Software Update, nor will the download updater install on that system.

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Apple posts iDVD 7.0.3 and iLife Media Browser Update 2.0
Matthew called with a heads-up these are available via Software Update. I prefer to use D/L updaters so here's their page links/info:

"About iLife Media Browser Update (v2.0)
This update improves overall stability and addresses a number of other minor issues.
It is recommended for all users of Aperture, iLife 08, iWork 08 and Mac OS X 10.5.6 Leopard or later.
System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.5.6"

The page on iDVD 7.0.3 update has the same general 'improvements', etc. note:

"About iDVD 7.0.3
This update improves overall stability and addresses a number of other minor issues.
System Requirements: OS X 10.4.11, OS X 10.5.6"
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Apple How-To/Troubleshooting docs on iLife '09 Apps
Apple says iLife '09 is shipping tomorrow - here's some new/updated related docs:

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Nvidia Graphics Update 2009 v1.0 (for Cursor issues w/Unibody Dual-Link DVI adapter use)
(Update: On Jan 28th Chris sent a note that Apple had pulled both the updater download page and kbase doc linked here originally on Monday/Jan 26th. They also pulled a duplicate D/L page as of appx noon the 29th.)
I suspect they are working (hopefully) on a "version 2" release as the v1.0 update didn't help with the problem anyway per several reader's feedback on it. (And despite the note on improved 7300GT HD playback, it wouldn't install on a 7300GT iMac either.)
(original post from Monday/Jan 26th follows)
A reader with a Unibody MacBook Pro (thanks Luis) wrote this appeared in Software Update today. I don't own one of these but found the Apple download page for the Nvidia Graphics Update 2009 they say addresses the 'jerky' cursor movement mentioned in the past from some Unibody MB/MBP owners w/Dual-link DVI adapters, as well as improving HD playback on 9600M and 7300GT GPUs. (BTW: A 2006 24in iMac owner w/7300GT running 10.5.6 said this update won't install on that system nor does it show in software update.)

"About NVIDIA Graphics Update 2009 (v1.0)
This update improves cursor movement when using the Apple Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI adapter with the Mini DisplayPort enabled MacBook Air, MacBook and MacBook Pro.
It also improves playback of HD video running on systems with NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT or GeForce 9600M graphics.

System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.5.6"

Apple also had posted a Kbase doc on the cursor issue that also mentions this update as a fix - "Erratic or jumpy mouse movement when using Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter". (Doc also pulled as of Jan 28th) I wondered if this update would also fix the ext. display distortion issue some Unibody owners using Dual-Link adapters have seen.
(FYI - I wrote some readers that had reported on Dual-Link DVI adapter issues with their Unibody MBP/30in Displays - all 3 replies so far said this update did not completely fix the problem. See their comments in later post above)

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Feedback from Revolution card/Leopard user on latest M-Audio Beta drivers
(from a reader mail today)

"Hi Mike, some days ago m-audio released new beta drivers for revolution 5.1 and 7.1 working on leopard. Rev. 5.1 had support for leopard since may 2008 (noted here below back in May 2008), while 7.1 got updated this month.

I've just installed the new 1.6.3 beta for my revo5.1, and there are less glitches and mixer is more responsive.

I have no more kernelpanics (i had a lot of KP, when waking from sleep, or when it had to play 2 sounds at once).

I suggest all revo users to upgrade their firmware. New version is downloadable from m-audio forum (not the homepage!) in the section "Beta Drivers".
(I checked the M-audio drivers page and as of this morning (Jan. 26, 2009) the Revolution 5.1 OS X Leopard beta there was still v1.6 (listed under 10.5.4 beta - dated 5/6/2008) and I didn't see anything for the Revolution 7.1 card later than the 10.4.6 driver there (from 5/20/2005). Got a link to the new beta drivers?-Mike)
You hard to watch inside forums. i dunno if you must be registered (for free) to download the package. Anyway, this is the link to the "home page" of beta drivers.
http://forums.m-audio.com/announcement.php?f=37 (has links to "New Revolution 5.1 & 7.1 Public Beta Drivers Available" for OS X 10.5.5. Not tested w/OS X 10.5.6? Are you using them with 10.5.6?-Mike)
I can confirm you that it works on 10.5.6 - Very satisfied with this new release.
Best Regards
Eugenio G."

I'm not a member of the forum but you can still access the page above which has links to these releases (from last month).

I've updated the previous pages of Rev 5.1 and 7.1 reader reports with this info.
If you try the latest Beta drivers (for either card) with Leopard on your system let me know what you think. (Include card model and OS X Leopard version used) Thanks!

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Seagate Kbase Doc page updated with affected Drive S/N Check
I've updated the previous page on Seagate SATA HD Failures and Firmware Updates for affected models with notes they've now updated their affected drive model numbers/firmware (Doc 207931) to include a serial number check for determining if your drive model in the listing is one of the "small number" (their wording) affected. (Not all drives in the list (w/firmware version listed) are affected, although that's little consolation to the many owners that have have reported bricked drives in the last several months.) I'd be curious if anyone that had a failed/bricked drive finds the S/N check said their drive was not affected.
I've also added a Mac Pro owner's tale (w/screen photos) of trying to update a failed drive, notes/links from a reader on end user data recovery of a failed drive using adapters, more feedback from those that used the guide for Mac Pros, notes on some drives with HP/proprietary firmware versions, notes from an ES.2 owner on no reply from Seagate on updates and another Freeagent 1TB (ext.) owner failure report (may be just be random infant failure - unknown if the drive inside was an affected S/N) and a link to an "insider" article claiming the Seagate boot-of-death analysis - nothing but overhyped FUD . (I guess a lot of owners of bricked drives were just "unlucky" unless this is just more spin...)
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G5 Tower coolant leaks/repairs page updated (another out-of-warranty repair done)
I've updated the page on PowerMac G5 Coolant Leaks/Repairs with a follow-up mail today from Dennis (ref: Jan 12th report) that notes he's finally got his out-of-warranty leak repaired. (The page also has reminders to check for leaks frequently, notes/pix on the 2 LCS systems, previous posts on DIY leak repairs (pump o-rings, replacement, etc.), out-of-warranty repairs covered, etc. - and in some rare cases a mac pro replacement system.)
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Other News/Articles, Software Updates
(some from over the weekend)

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Recent Articles and Reviews
Listing/links to recent articles and reviews you may have missed.
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