About Mac OS 8.5
About Mac OS 8.5
This document provides information about Mac OS 8.5 that supplements the information in your installation manual and on-line help. For up-to-date news and compatibility information, please see the Mac OS Late-Breaking News web site at <http://www.apple.com/macos/latebreaking/>.
Notes about Mac OS 8.5
•AppleScript and Mac OS 8.5
Mac OS 8.5 incorporates many new scriptable features and changes the behavior of some existing features. These changes may require some scripts to be updated.
•Creating Desktop printers for Non-AppleTalk Printers
Use the Desktop Printer Utility to create Desktop printers for non-AppleTalk Printer such as Infrared and LPR (TCP/IP). Double click on the utility, select the printer type and the correct PPD file for the printer by clicking on the change button. For LPR printers, you need to provide the Domain name or IP address as well as the Queue name of the printer or server. Close the dialog to save and create the desktop printer.
•Monitor Resolution changes after Mac OS 8.5 install
After performing a clean install of Mac OS 8.5, your monitor resolution may have changed from its previous settings. You can change your monitor resolution back by using the Monitors & Sound control panel.
•Slow screen redrawing
If a desktop picture is redrawn slowly after closing a window, your computer might be running low on memory. Set the Appearance control panel to display a pattern, instead of a picture, to speed up the redrawing process.
•Unusual or inconsistent appearance
Some applications may exhibit unusual or inconsistent cosmetic anomalies when used with Mac OS 8.5. These should not impact the performance of the application. Contact the manufacturer of the program to see if an updated version of the program is available.
Notes about compatibility
•America Online (AOL) Customers
To enjoy QuickTime content on the web while using America Online, simply drag a copy of the file "QuickTime plugin" into the AOL Plug–ins folder (located in the same folder as the AOL application) and relaunch AOL.
•Anti-Aliased Text and Mac OS 8.5
If you turn on "Smooth all fonts on screen" in the Appearance control panel, you may notice some visual anomalies in some applications. This might include problems in the appearance of highlighted text (particularly when your highlight color is black), text that switches back and forth between smoothed and unsmoothed, or text that is not drawn correctly in front of a colored background. Contact your application vendor for updates to address these problems. You can reduce the anomalies in highlighting by choosing a light highlight color.
The width of text on the screen may be different when smoothing is turned on, which may cause line breaks in your documents to change.
•Apple CD-ROM extension and non-Apple CD-ROM incompatibilities
If your computer or CD-ROM drive is not manufactured by Apple, or you have an Apple CD-ROM drive and you use a non-Apple driver, incompatibilities may result. For your CD-ROM drive to function correctly, remove the file named “Apple CD / DVD”from the Extensions folder, and reinstall the third party software which supports your CD-ROM drive. Please contact the developer of the third party software to see if you have the latest version.
•Apple HD SC Setup program
After you install Mac OS 8.5, you cannot use the obsolete Apple HD SC Setup program to initialize your Apple hard drive. Use the Drive Setup program supplied with Mac OS 8.5 instead.
•Apple language kits and Mac OS 8.5
Apple's language kits require an updater for full functionality with Mac OS 8.5. If you have language kits installed on an older system you are updating, or if you install a language kit after installing Mac OS 8.5, be sure to run the Language Kit Updater, located in the CD Extras folder.
•Applications that install QuickTime
Some applications replace the version of QuickTime installed by Mac OS 8.5 with an earlier version when they are installed. This will cause problems with other parts of the system that require features of the newer version of QuickTime. If this occurs, you will need to re-install QuickTime from the Mac OS 8.5 CD by selecting "Add/Replace" in the installer, and then doing a custom install.
•At Ease and Mac OS 8.5
Some of the Mac OS 8.5 control panels can't be enabled for At Ease users and won't appear in At Ease Setup. You should use these control panels in the Finder before running At Ease. Also, note that At Ease does not support file sharing. Do not turn on file sharing when using At Ease or your computer may freeze.
•Command-Tab shortcut and Third Party Applications
The keyboard shortcuts to switch back and forth between applications are Command-Tab and Command-Shift-Tab. These shortcuts may conflict with some third party applications. An assistant for changing this keyboard shortcut can be found in the on-line Mac OS Help within the "Files and Programs" chapter, under "Switching between open programs."
•Connectix Virtual PC and Mac OS 8.5
Connectix Virtual PC 2.0 and 2.0.1 are not compatible with Mac OS 8.5 and users should update to version 2.1 or later. The 2.1 updater is available as a free download for all Virtual PC 2.0 owners on the Connectix web site: <http://www.connectix.com/html/updates.html>
Connectix Virtual PC 1.x users should upgrade to version 2.1 or later for Mac OS 8.5 compatibility.
•Desktop Printing extension and Mac OS 8.5
The Desktop Printing extension is incompatible with Mac OS 8.5. It may cause your computer to freeze when starting up. Restart with the shift key held down and remove the file from the Extensions folder, then restart.
•Dr. Solomon's Virex and Mac OS 8.5
Dr. Solomon's Virex versions 5.8.1 and earlier are not compatible with Mac OS 8.5 if the Virex "Scan Files When Opened" option is turned on. For more information on upgrading to Virex 5.9, contact Dr. Solomon's software at virex-tech@drsolomon.com or <http://www.drsolomon.com.>
•Iomega 6.0.1 driver and Virtual Memory.
Mac OS 8.5 includes support for the use of removable media (like the Iomega Jaz drive) for Virtual Memory; however, the currently shipping version of the Iomega driver included with this release does not support the use of an Iomega drive for Virtual Memory. A new driver, Iomega driver version 6.0.2, is under development and will support this new feature. The 6.0.2 driver should be available for free download at <http://www.iomega.com> in September 1998.
If you wish to install Mac OS 8.5 onto a Zip or Jaz disk, you should change the backing volume used by Virtual Memory to a non–removeable volume. To do this, disable extensions while restarting the first time by holding down the shift key. Open the Memory control panel and turn on Virtual Memory. The Memory control panel will let you set the VM backing volume to a volume that is compatible with VM.
•FM Radio application and Appearance sounds
You may find that launching the FM Radio application after turning on Appearance Sounds disables sound. This can be remedied by turning off Appearance Sounds before launching the FM Radio application and turning them back on after the application is running.
•Some programs refuse to open
A small number of application programs will not open if the system font is not set to Chicago. Use the Appearance control panel and change the large system font to Chicago then open the program again. Contact the manufacturer of the program to see if an updated version is available.
Some programs may require additional memory when used with Mac OS 8.5. If a program will not open, select the program's icon, choose Get Info from the File menu and increase its minimum memory allocation by 300K. See the Memory topic in Mac OS Help for more information.
Notes about Internet access
•International Internet access
If you don't already have an account with an Internet service provider, you can obtain one using the Internet Setup Assistant, or you can choose one from the list in the International Internet Access file in the Internet Extras folder on the Mac OS 8.5 CD. Read this information before using the Internet Setup Assistant.
Notes about PowerBook computers
•Password Security protects one partition only
The Password Security control panel asks for a password in order to start up the computer. If you have formatted your internal hard disk so it has more than one partition, only the startup partition will be password-protected. Additionally, if more than one partition has a System Folder, the PowerBook may start up from a non-protected partition.
•PowerBook 3400/G3 Modem
To function properly, ethernet on the PowerBook 3400 and PowerBook G3 (but not the G3 Series), requires the PowerBook 3400/G3 Modem extension.This extension is installed by the Mac OS 8.5 installer and should not be removed, even if other modem software is installed. Removing this extension will prevent you from making ethernet connections.
Notes about Printing
•Reinstalling printer drivers
If you perform a clean installation of Mac OS 8.5, and an icon for your printer is not available in the Chooser, you may need to reinstall the software that came with your printer. If you have a StyleWriter, StyleWriter II, or StyleWriter 1200, you can use the StyleWriter 1500 driver that comes with Mac OS 8.5 instead of installing your original printer software. If you have a Color StyleWriter 2200 or Color StyleWriter 2400, you can use the Color StyleWriter 2500 driver instead. After performing a clean install of Mac OS 8.5, you will need to re-install fonts and ink jet watermarks.
•Switching between a LocalTalk network and a serial printer
If you use the same port to alternately connect to a LocalTalk network and a serial printer, the port is not always correctly released after you turn off AppleTalk to use the printer. If you have trouble printing after turning AppleTalk off, restart the computer.
Miscellaneous notes
•Drive Setup and Energy Saver
When using Drive Setup to perform an extended operation, such as testing the disk, initializing the disk with a low level format, or zeroing all data, use the Energy Saver control panel to set the hard drive sleep setting to “Never”. This will prevent errors caused by the hard drive spinning down before Drive Setup completes the operation.
•QuickTake 150 software installs old version of QuickTime PowerPlug extension
Mac OS 8.5 includes a new version of the QuickTime PowerPlug for computers with PowerPC microprocessors. The QuickTake 150 Installer replaces it with an older version (version 2.0). To install the QuickTake 150 software, first remove the newer version of the QuickTime PowerPlug extension from the Extensions folder (within the System Folder) then install the QuickTake 150 software. After installation is finished, drag the PowerPlug file back to the Extensions folder replacing the older one.
•QuickTake Image Access
When you are copying pictures from a QuickTake 100 or QuickTake 150 camera to your computer, make sure all the pictures you want have finished copying before you erase the contents of the camera. Previously, you couldn't erase the camera until copying was completed. Mac OS 8.5 can perform other tasks while copying files so it's possible to accidentally erase the pictures before they have been copied from the camera. You cannot recover a picture once it is erased from the camera.
•Using Acrobat PDF documents
Some of the manuals included with Mac OS 8.5 are in Adobe Acrobat format. These files have “pdf”at the end of their names. To view or print these documents you must install Adobe Acrobat Reader, located in the Adobe software folder on the Mac OS 8.5 CD.
•Using Monitors & Sound with add-on devices
If you have a video or sound device that cannot be accessed using the Monitors & Sound control panel, use the Monitors control panel, or the Sound control panel, installed in the Apple Extras folder. Unless you specifically need to use these, the unified Monitors & Sound control panel should be used instead.
©1998 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved.
Apple, the Apple logo, AppleShare, Apple Script, AppleTalk, Chicago, LaserWriter, LocalTalk, Macintosh, Mac OS, Power Macintosh, PowerBook, QuickDraw, QuickTake, QuickTime, and StyleWriter are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. At Ease, Disk First Aid, and Finder are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Adobe and Adobe Acrobat are trademarks of Adobe Systems, Incorporated or its subsidiaries and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. PowerPC is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation, used under license therefrom.
Updated August 29, 1998
