# Mac #M2453 Notebook with OS9 - Help!



## BratDawg (Sep 23, 2004)

The unthinkable has happened and I have this alien on my desk - I tried to tell the poor woman I know NOTHING about macs. She looked so woeful, tho, I said I'd try.

I found another thread where I had asked with some links and a suggestion for "virex" as a free av program, which I'm gonna go look for. However, I have a couple of questions.

If I format a cdrw on my pc and put software on it for the mac, will it work in the mac?

How do I see a list of the programs on the computer? (like start, programs on windows). I'm not seeing any antivirus programs. 

Under utilities I see "disk first aid". Not sure if that will help. Under what circumstances should I use it?

What are the mac versions of scandisk and defrag?

The lady who owns the laptop said that when she tries to bring up hotmail it freezes the computer. I'm thinking there is probably a virus or spyware or something on it. For pc's that's often the culprit.  What programs are you using for spyware removal?

Thanks for the suggestions....

Oh, yeah, is this mac even worth messing with? Os9 sounds old for an operating system. I couldn't find any other info on the case other than the "my family number". If I can't figure it out should I tell her to use it for a frisbee? lol


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## MSY-Houston (Dec 5, 2004)

"If I format a cdrw on my pc and put software on it for the mac, will it work in the mac?"

Only if the software was built for the Mac, i.e, you can't simply transfer Office, Norton, etc., that were written/programmed for the PC to a Mac and have it work. The software has to be written/programmed to work on a Mac.

"...see a list of the programs..."

In OS9, you have to create the alias (shortcut) and put the icon either in the Favorites folder, or in the Apple Menu folder (located within the System Folder). The Apple menu is in the upper left corner of the screen.

"..."disk first aid"...Under what circumstances should I use it?"

That is the Apple program used to repair or reformat (initialize) a disk (hard disk, floppy, etc.). I never had much use for it.

"...mac versions of scandisk and defrag?"

MacTools, Norton Disk Doctor (no hollering MSM-Hobbes--I know you luv Symantec products...), Hard Disk Toolkit, etc. Check out MacMall or MacWarehouse to find software.

"The lady who owns the laptop said that when she tries to bring up hotmail it freezes the computer. I'm thinking there is probably a virus..."

Could be a virus. I'm also remembering a neighbor who had the same complaint. The culprit actually turned out to be tons of spam in her email account. The computer would freeze because it couldn't process all of the emails.

"...is this mac even worth messing with...should I tell her to use it for a frisbee?"

OS9 is older, but it still is a workable system and the mac not a frisbee. In fact, there are some Macsters who prefer it over OSX. If she's not installing the latest and greatest memory-hog software, and is simply using it for email, letters, etc., it should be just fine for her. The problem will be (if it is a spam issue) to get those files out of her account. She might need help from her service provider to straighten that out.

Good luck.


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## MSY-Houston (Dec 5, 2004)

If there is AntiVirus software, it should be either in the Utilities Folder or in the Applications folder.


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## BratDawg (Sep 23, 2004)

It seems to be working ok, actually. Hotmail is her home page (MSN Passport login). When I logged in, tho, I got a blue page with only the top part and links to msn pages. I clicked on my msn page and got that to load fine. I wonder if this blue page is what she was talking about. It never loaded. I wiggled my way into my hotmail inbox by clicking thru the msn page link to hotmail and then thru the top link to my mail (my messages didn't seem to work when I clicked, on it. 

I'm accessing this forum on the mac, tho. It's not acting like it does on my pc, tho - fast reply didn't work. The screen looks a little funny. Hope I don't have to retype this AGAIN.

Anyway, the browser is IE 4.5. I wonder if it needs to be updated? Maybe it's choking on something that hotmail itself is trying to display? If so, how do I update it? Is there a better browser she should consider using?

If I find a download that is specifically for mac, can I download it on a cd-rw formatted on my windows pc and it will work in the mac? I usually use directcd to format my cdrw - not sure but it might be by roxio.

Oh, yeah, how do I select all the message I just typed and copy so that if the post messes up I can paste again later? And how do I paste? Is there a notepad equivalent on the mac that I could have typed this into first to be safe - then copy and paste to the post screen?

And when I'm in the browser's address bar, how do I select the whole line to delete it to type in a new address?

Thanks alot!


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## MSY-Houston (Dec 5, 2004)

I think it will work, but not positive. It's one of those "sacrifice one CD" things....

Usually floppies/zips, etc., that are formatted for the PC will work on a Mac. I think it will work, but I can't tell you definitively that it will work. If you try it, write back and let us know what happens.

Also, there is an IE 5.1.7, which you should download it (check for MSN versions, too) from the Microsoft site for Macs.

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.aspx

The problem also could exist with the service provider's software on their end. There are different problems that can arise between different browzers. I actually keep 3 on my computer. I use OSX, so generally I use Safari. However, there are some sites that were built to work best using Explorer, and others are setup for Netscape. If you have the time and inclination, you might try installing Netscape and see if it runs better.

Good luck!

Martha


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## MSY-Houston (Dec 5, 2004)

Oh yeah... 

Position the mouse/cursor at the beginning of the line. Click the mouse to get the I-beam. Hold the mouse button down at that point and drag it so that the entire line is highlighted. Hit the backspace or delete key.

Or

Position the cursor at the end of the line, click once and backspace.


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## MSY-Houston (Dec 5, 2004)

Geez. (It might help if I read your entire message instead of speed reading!)

On the Mac, it's called a Clipboard. You can use menu commands, which are available at the top left of your screen. If you look on the pull-down menu, you'll see that some items have shortcut keystroke commands. The Command key is immediately to the left of the spacebar. Holding that down + another key will result in a command execution (command key + o = Open file, command key + a = Select all). These commands are usually application independent, and are available within all programs.

To copy and paste, select the text (like I described in #6), and while it's highlighted, hit the Command key + c key at the same time.

To paste, position the cursor where you want to insert the copy and click the mouse button once. Hit the Command key+ v key (next to the C).


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## MSY-Houston (Dec 5, 2004)

One more thing, about the blue screen.

You might try clearing the disk cache in Microsoft Explorer. Quitting the program. Relaunch. This will force the software to go get the page instead of referring to the stored cached page. You will need to quit because some items have been loaded into RAM and you'll still be operating on what's in RAM until you quit the program.

Go to the Explorer pull-down menu on the top left of your screen. 

Select Preferences.

Scroll down to Advanced.

In the History section of the menu that appears, click on Clear History.

In the Cache section of the menu, click on Empty Now.

Quit Explorer.

Launch Explorer.


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## MSY-Houston (Dec 5, 2004)

Oh man. I just realized. You might have one of the older laptops that doesn't have a mouse. If that's the case, there should be a small square near the keyboard. That's the mouse pad, and you use your finger as a mouse.


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## BratDawg (Sep 23, 2004)

This laptop has a touchpad mouse and she gave me a round thing that appears to be an external usb mouse.  I haven't plugged it in, maybe it's more responsive than the touchpad seems to be.

I did find Netscape 4.7 on the machine buried in the apple menu somewhere. How do I get shortcuts to it and IE on her desktop? I got IE to load by going to the Quicktime homepage. hehe

I also just posted about Opera - a browser that is supposed to be really great for older slower machines.


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## MSY-Houston (Dec 5, 2004)

Go to Netscape 4.7.

Highlight the program icon.

Under the pull-down File menu (I think--it's been a while...), there should be an item called Make Alias or Create Alias. Select that option. Another icon will appear beside the original program icon. Notice that the text beneath the icon is italicized. That is the indicator that that icon is an alias. It probably has the word Alias at the end of the text. You can delete that if you want, or leave it on.

Drag the new icon to the desktop.


You don't have to do this, but if she's got lots of programs, one way of organizing them and keeping the desktop clear is to put all of them in the Apple menu items folder. You also can create an alias of the Apple Menu Items folder and put it inside the folder so you have quick access to it.

Open the System Folder.

Highlight the Apple Menu Items folder.

Make an alias of it.

Drag the alias to the Apple Menu Items folder and drop it in.

If you now go to the Apple Menu on the top left of your screen, you'll see the new alias. 

If you create an alias for all applications, you can place them in the Apple menu and keep the desktop clear (less confusing). This is where Windows got the idea for the shortcut menus.

You can create an alias or shortcut out of any file.


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## MSY-Houston (Dec 5, 2004)

And yes. The mouse should work better than the ol' finger. Don't know why...


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## MSY-Houston (Dec 5, 2004)

Haven't had to do the spyware thing with my Mac. Clearing the disk cache and periodically dumping all certificates seems to do it (will be under Preferences or Properties).


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## BratDawg (Sep 23, 2004)

Funny, but on my windows xp machine I had trouble loading hotmail too. No clue what's going on. Anyone else noticed hotmail issues lately?


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## MSY-Houston (Dec 5, 2004)

You might want to check the email forum on this site. If it's happening on both computers, it could be your service provider.


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