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MacFixIt answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed in by our readers. This week readers had questions on security software recommendations for Macs, systems pausing while showing green pixels, garbled boot images when booting from the OS X DVD, and Office 2011′s Solver utility crashing when launched. we continually answer e-mail questions, and though we present a few answers here, we welcome alternative approaches and views from readers and encourage you to post your suggestions in the comments.
Question: Security software for a newMacMacFixIt reader “scfox” asks:
After using a G4 933MHz Quicksilver for years and now a Mac Pro, do I need to use some form of Internet security software like Symantec’s or [others]?
Answer:The use of security software is up to you. While there are some hacks and malware out there for OS X, they aren’t very prevalent. my recommendation is to be wise about what you open on your system, and if you need to then install a virus-scanning suite (I like Sophos, but others do well), keep it updated, and have it scan your downloads folder and Mail folders regularly (either on demand or weekly). I don’t recommend setting up automatic full-system scans, but running a full scan a few times a year won’t hurt anything.
I would avoid tools that claim to take control of all your security needs, as these can many times result in odd behavior as Apple changes and develops its OS. if you are going to install a malware scanner, my recommendations are Sophos, VirusBarrier, ClamXav, Avast, iAntivirus, MacScan, and Kaspersky.
Question: Green pixels showing with intermittent pausesMacFixIt reader “James” asks:
I have had intermittent freezing of the whole system (15-inch 2008 MacBook Pro running Lion) accompanied by a mostly-green pixelization of the screen. I suspect a graphics card problem, but when I try starting the MacBook Pro with D depressed, I don’t see the Apple Hardware Test. Rather, the machine (so far) starts normally. is the Test no longer accessible on my machine with Lion? any idea about the green freeze I’m experiencing?
Answer:The test should still work if you can otherwise boot to the DVD; however, I have heard of the tests not working on some Lion systems. Here is one article that has a hint which may work to get the tests running again, though it’s not guaranteed.
As for the problem at hand, it could be a driver-related issue, but is definitely a problem with the graphics system and could be hardware-based (sometimes overheating can cause similar anomalies). Generally random pixel-based patterns mean a GPU hardware problem is occurring. have you tried any hardware resets on the system like resetting the PRAM or SMC? Does it happen when you boot into Safe Mode? if doing this cannot fix the issue then you may need to have the system serviced to fix it, especially if the problem persists when you either boot off the OS X recovery drive or boot to an alternative OS (an older version of OS X that is installed on an external drive).
Question: Gray Apple logo appears garbled when booting to OS X DVDMacFixIt reader “Dan” asks:
I have a late 2008/2009 iMac, 2.66GHz dual core, 24″ screen currently running OS 10.5.8. A few months ago I tried to upgrade to Snow Leopard using the disk purchased at an Apple store. after loading and restarting, it came on to the gray screen, with what looks like the dark gray Apple logo scattered in pieces across the screen. When I asked the Apple genius they said it must be a graphics issue, but 10.5.8 runs with no issues, and I don’t want to start throwing parts at this thing. I had to restart and boot back to Leopard, and subsequent tries of simply booting from the disk had the same results. any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
Answer:The problem may be driver-based, but Apple tests its installers on all supported Mac systems and since your system is not modifiable, so you can’t replace the graphics card, the hardware should work properly. have you tried resetting the system’s PRAM and SMC? if not then give that a try.
Also, do you have any peripheral devices attached to the system–printers, scanners, or other USB/FireWire devices? if so then try removing them while you upgrade.
Lastly, if the problem persists it may be an issue involving the optical drive. One option you can try is to get an 8GB USB memory stick and then use Disk Utility to restore the Snow Leopard installation disc to the memory stick. to do this, format the USB stick to Mac OS X Extended, and then click the Restore tab. Drag the OS X installer disc to the Source field, and then drag the formatted USB stick volume (not the drive, but the volume name underneath it) to the Destination field. When this is done, click the Restore button to in essence clone the installer to the USB drive. after this, you can boot to the drive by restarting while holding the Option key, and then selecting it from the list of boot drives when they appear on your screen.
Question: Office component Solver crashing when launchedMacFixIt reader “Marcelo” asks:
I’m running Mac OS X Lion and Office for Mac 2011. When I go to Launchpad and click in SOLVER, it attempts to open, but always closes suddenly without starting [and shows a crash log]. What happened? is the problem with Mac OS X Lion or with Office for Mac 2011?
Answer:You are supposed to launch Solver from within Excel, and not as a separate application. to do this, open Excel and select “Add-ins…” from the Tools menu. then check the box next to “Solver” and it should now appear at the bottom of the same menu. From here, you can invoke it to use to solve various equations in the foremost Excel spreadsheet.
Questions? Comments? have a fix? Post them below or e-mail us!be sure to check us out on Twitter and the CNET Mac forums.
With a fast new second-generation Core i5 CPU, a high-end 3D graphics card and support for promising Thunderbolt high-bandwidth peripheral connection ports, Apple’s new 27in. iMac has plenty to offer media professionals and enthusiasts in terms of performance and peripheral device flexibility. for serious media editors, or those looking for a vanity desktop, the £1,649 (inc. VAT; £1,374.17 ex. VAT) Apple iMac remains one of the fastest and most attractive systems available.
Windows all-in-one makers like Dell, HP and Sony have improved their designs over the last year or two, but none of them approaches the iMac for sheer visual appeal. The metal-and-glass unibody chassis, along with the expansive 27in. display, still have no design peers roughly 18 months after their debut. we actually find it strange that you still won’t find a 27in. all-in-one from anyone other than Apple. we wonder how long that will last.
The new iMac’s design hasn’t changed on the outside, but its internal components have been completely revamped from those of the previous model. as it upgraded its MacBook Pro notebooks earlier this year, Apple has introduced Intel’s second-generation Core CPU family (formerly codenamed Sandy Bridge) to the iMac. It has also added AMD’s latest-generation graphics processor, the Radeon HD 6000-series. iPhone users will appreciate that Apple has brought FaceTime support to the new iMac, which allows for cross-device video chatting over the internet.
The iMac’s new Thunderbolt ports offer exciting potential for digital media professionals
Apple has also incorporated the new Thunderbolt data throughput standard into the iMac, two Thunderbolt ports on the back of the 27in. models replacing the single Mini-DisplayPort input found on older iMacs. Developed in conjunction with Intel, Thunderbolt is designed to replace USB and FireWire inputs by offering simultaneous 10Gbps throughput in and out of the system via the same port. The standard supports both data and video connections, and is on track to both simplify the experience of connecting peripheral devices, and also allow for a wider and more powerful variety of external components.
Thunderbolt devices aren’t expected to hit the market until this summer, which means we have to speak mostly about the potential it offers the iMac. Announced Thunderbolt products include external RAID arrays, video conversion hubs and other devices that will take advantage of the iMac’s fat new data pipe. Thunderbolt will eventually roll out to Windows PCs as well, and we may see more consumer-oriented devices before too long. for now though, the early supporting hardware is clearly geared toward digital media editors and others who will appreciate Thunderbolt’s ability to move large amounts of data between workstations at great speed.
Because it can work as a video port, Thunderbolt, in conjunction with the Radeon HD 6970M graphics chip, also allows you to connect two additional monitors to the iMac. That capability is certainly welcome, and it makes extending the iMac’s display easy, but multimonitor support in general isn’t unique to the iMac. among other multidisplay technologies, AMD showed us its Eyefinity graphics card series last year for Windows desktops that can support six LCDs.
Compared to HP’s TouchSmart 610q 1065qd, the iMac fares well. The large screen remains the iMac’s most obvious advantage, but it also boasts a faster graphics card and a more up-to-date CPU than the HP system. HP, in turn, offers a Blu-ray drive, a lower price tag, as well as a touch screen and HP’s accompanying suite of touch software. HP can’t match the iMac’s Thunderbolt ports, but it does offer two HDMI inputs, which means, unlike the iMac, that you can connect current-generation home entertainment devices to the TouchSmart without having to buy an adapter.
Comparing the speed-oriented iMac with the Dell XPS 8300 feels more relevant than matching it up against HP’s more family-oriented all-in-one system. The iMac does include its user-friendly iLife digital media software, but the TouchSmart and its almost kitschy touch software clearly have home users in mind.
Which isn’t to say that the iMac and its large screen wouldn’t make an excellent, attractive media PC for a den, an office or a student room. With the right (if expensive) adapters, you can even integrate a cable box and a game console with the iMac to make a powerful and versatile media hub. We’re unclear how a more casual home user would take advantage of the iMac’s Thunderbolt ports, though. The fast CPU and graphics card would also be going to waste without some robust digital media files to put them to work. The OS X gaming library certainly won’t keep them busy for long.
The new 27in. iMac offers the best all-around performance among all-in-ones. It loses to the HP TouchSmart only on the Cinebench 11.5 multithreaded CPU test, and that’s probably because of the HP system’s 2.93GHz Core i7-820 CPU, which, although from Intel’s previous processor generation, has effectively eight threads thanks to Intel’s HyperThreading technology. The iMac’s 3.1GHz Core i5-2400 lacks HyperThreading, and thus remains a pure quad-core CPU.
as expected, the Dell XPS 8300 and its current-generation Core i7-2600 processor give the iMac a tougher fight. The iMac excels in converting audio files in iTunes, as well as multitasking between iTunes and QuickTime, but that’s no surprise given those are Apple-made programs. The XPS 8300′s speed advantages on both iterations of Photoshop aren’t too troubling for the iMac’s performance outlook since the two aren’t that far apart on those tests, but the Dell has a noticeable edge on Cinebench multithreaded testing, with both a faster core clock speed for its CPU, as well as the Core i7-2600′s HyperThreading benefits.
The solution for the iMac lies in the Core i7 option available from Apple for an additional £160 (inc. VAT). With that CPU, the iMac should approach, if not bypass, the XPS 8300′s performance, and it will still offer a better deal for its complete hardware package thanks to the iMac’s large high-resolution display. We’d only recommend the upgraded CPU option to digital media professionals who know they will see real benefits from an increase in processing threads, however. for others, the Core i5-based iMac’s competitive performance, combined with its large display, make it a well-priced high-end desktop package.
should you demand more performance or features from the iMac, Apple offers a few options, including up to 16GB of RAM (+£480), a 2TB hard drive (+£120), a 256GB solid-state drive (+£400), and even the same Radeon HD 6970 3D card but with 2GB of RAM (+£80) instead of the default 1GB. as it typical from Apple, all of those upgrades will cost you more than you would pay for the same hardware from Apple’s Windows-based competition. The most significant option might be the ability to trade out the Apple Magic Mouse for the Magic Trackpad, with no extra charge. before, you couldn’t opt out of the mouse.
aside from a pair of Thunderbolt ports replacing the previous 27in. iMac’s single Mini-DisplayPort, the rest of the new iMac’s external connectivity remains the same. you get four USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire 800 port, an Ethernet adapter and audio in and out. Apple has bypassed eSATA for Thunderbolt and its legacy FireWire 800 support, which is a reasonable trade. and while we still miss native HDMI input or output support, adapters like the Belkin AV360 remain a viable, if more expensive, alternative.
Power efficiency is one of the hallmarks of Intel’s second-generation Core CPUs, and given the new iMac’s performance edge over the previous model, the fact that it consumes only marginally more power speaks highly of both Intel and Apple. Also note that while the Dell XPS 8300 has a small but noticeable speed advantage over the iMac on certain tests, it uses more than twice as much power, and doesn’t include a screen. Vendors often comment that consumers like environmentally friendly hardware but are not willing to pay for it. if that’s true, kudos to Apple for pressing forward on power efficiency anyway.
Apple’s phone support receives high customer satisfaction ratings, but as always we wish it were available to customers beyond the first 90 days of purchase without having to pay £142 (inc. VAT) for an AppleCare coverage plan. Apple’s network of in-person help via its Genius Bar and its authorised services providers remains unique as well, but for desktop customers in particular, extended phone-based help would be far more convenient.
Conclusion a fast new Intel CPU and an AMD GPU provide Apple’s new 27in. iMac with competitive performance for its price, while the advent of Thunderbolt offers the iMac the potential for exciting peripheral devices later this year. Apple seems less concerned with engaging family users than some of its Windows-based all-in-one competition, but for digital media professionals, or others in need of a fast, serious-minded all-in-one with a large display, we can make no other recommendation.
Audio Audio outputs headphone/optical digital audio out, microphone/optical digital audio out Speakers stereo Number of speakers 2 Cabinet (chassis) Case form factor all in one Dimensions (W x H x D) 65×51.7×20.7 cm Weight 13.8 kg Colour brushed aluminium display display technology LED-backlit glossy widescreen TFT display diagonal size 27 in Maximum resolution 2560×1440 pixels display type LCD Hard drive storage Hard drive interface type SATA Hard drive type standard Hard drive size 1000 GB Rotation speed 7200 rpm Interfaces & networking USB 4 x USB 2.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394) 1 x FireWire 800 Ethernet 10/100/1000Mbps other 2 x Thunderbolt ports, Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth (2.1+EDR) Memory RAM installed 4096 MB Number of memory slots 2 RAM capacity 16 GB Miscellaneous Accessories Apple Wireless Keyboard, Apple Magic Mouse, power lead, install/restore DVDs, printed and electronic documentation other FaceTime HD camera Optical storage CD / DVD type DVD±RW (±R DL)/DVD-RAM OS & software Operating system Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Software included iTunes, Time Machine, Quick Look, Spaces, Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Photo Booth, Front Row, Xcode Developer Tools Processor Processor manufacturer Intel Processor model Core i5-2400 Clock speed 3.1 GHz Service & support Standard warranty 1 year Video Graphics processor AMD Radeon HD 6970M Graphics RAM 1024 MB Maximum monitors supported 3 Video outputs 2 x Thunderbolt Expand « Previous Photo 1 of 4 next »
