This article contains the Read Me file that came with the Power Macintosh 7500 and Power Macintosh 8500 computers.

Important Information About Your Power Macintosh 7500 or 8500

Contents

Tips
- Reconnecting to a Server
- Software for the GeoPort Telecom Adapter
- Using an AudioVision 14 Monitor
- About Video Capture

Troubleshooting
- The Energy Saver Control Panel
- AppleShare Displays Incorrect Information for Large Drives
- AppleShare Server Software Version 4.1
- Printing with Apple PhotoFlash
- PowerTalk and PowerTalk Direct Dialup Mail
- Using a RAM Disk
- Using Virtual Memory
- The Assistant Toolbox and Non-Networked Printers
- Japanese and Chinese Language Kits
- Apple Personal Diagnostics
- QuarkXPress
- Incorrect Balloons for Guide File Icons
- Screen Flashes at Startup
- StyleWriter and StyleWriter II Printers
- Presenting QuickTime Movies at Double Size

Important Information About Virtual Memory

Important Information About Document Auto-Save
- Reopening Auto-Saved Documents
- Other Document-Saving Products
- Applications That Auto-Save
- RAM Disks
- Self-Dismissing Dialogs
- Stickies Windows

Important Information About Macintosh PC Exchange

- Apple File Exchange and Macintosh PC Exchange
- AutoDoubler
- Compressed PC Disks and Files
- Working With Disks Containing Multiple Partitions
- Working With DOS-Format SCSI Removable Media Devices
- Working With DOS-Format SCSI Hard Disk Drives
- Tips and Problems

Important Information About Open Transport Networking
- MacTCP
- Application Compatibility Comments
- TCP/IP LAP (Link Access Procedure) Support
- PowerShare Mail Server


Tips

Reconnecting to a Server

If you unexpectedly lose a connection to a server on which you have items in use, and then choose the server from the Recent Servers item in the Apple menu once power is restored, you get a message that the disk could not be opened because you do not have enough access privileges. Before you can reconnect to the server, you must close any open files. If you need to save work in a file, use Save As to save it on a different disk.

Software for the GeoPort Telecom Adapter

For Power Macintosh computers, the software necessary to use the GeoPort Telecom Adapter is Apple Telecom software version 2.1 or later. Apple Telecom 2.1 is included in the Apple Telecom folder within the Apple Extras folder, and on the Power Macintosh CD.

The Apple Telecom folder also contains MegaPhone 1.0.2, a screen-based telephone application that supports the telephone capabilities of the Apple Telecom 2.1 software, including dialing from a graphical keypad, copying and pasting telephone numbers, and dragging and dropping business card information.

If you previously purchased the Apple Telecom 2.0 upgrade package or a Geoport Telecom Adapter Kit that included Apple Telecom 2.0, you also received SITcomm SE/GTA (a terminal emulation program). SITcomm is compatible with the Power Macintosh 7500 and 8500 series computers.

If you are using a GeoPort Telecom Adapter with Apple Telecom 2.1 software, be sure to disable LocalTalk. To do this, disconnect any devices attached to the printer port (except serial printers, which can remain attached).

Apple Telecom 2.2 is available as part of the GeoPort Telecom Adapter Kit, which can be purchased separately. The kit includes MegaPhone as well as SITcomm SE/GTA. Apple Telecom 2.2 along with MegaPhone (but without SITcomm) will also be available as a free upgrade on CompuServe, America Online, and all Apple Internet sites.

Using an AudioVision 14 Monitor

It is recommended that you use the buttons on the front of the monitor, instead of the AudioVision control panel, to adjust sound and picture. See the AudioVision 14 Display user's guide for instructions on using the buttons.

About Video Capture

For best video capture performance, you need at least 16 megabytes (MB) of random-access memory (RAM) installed in your computer.

You can increase the speed of video capture by taking one or more of the following actions:

* Turn off virtual memory (VM).
* Set the screen bit depth to millions of colors.
* Reduce the size of the capture window (320x240 and smaller are the best sizes).
* Make sure that your capture program has enough extra memory allocated for one second of video at the size and bit depth that you are using to record. For example, to record 30fps at 320x240 in millions of colors requires at least 4500K (4.5 MB) free in the application partition. About This Macintosh (located under the Apple Menu) will allow you to estimate memory usage.

* Do not allocate all of the available memory to the capture application. When your capture program is running, you should have an unused block size of at least 500K in About This Macintosh.
* Do not run programs other than the capture application while capturing video. If feasible, turn off AppleTalk, the menu bar clock, and all extensions except for QuickTime. (Use the Extensions Manager control panel and restart.)
* Make sure that your hard drive has enough free space to record and is not fragmented. If you notice a performance degradation, running a disk optimizer may help.

When working with applications that support adjusting video and sound settings, the following settings will allow the highest video capture performance:

* Use the Component Video video compressor. Do not use post-compression.
* Set sound input sampling to 16 bits, stereo, and 44.1 KHz. Do not use a sound compressor.


Troubleshooting

Energy Saver Control Panel

Do not remove the Energy Saver extension from the Extensions folder. If you remove it, you cannot turn off any energy-saving features the control panel is currently set to provide, such as automatic sleep or shutdown.

AppleShare Displays Incorrect Information for Large Drives

If you use File Sharing to connect to a disk attached to another computer, and the shared disk is larger than 2 gigabytes (GB), the Get Info box for that disk shows an incorrect size. (Get Info reports the disk to be 2 GB in size, even if it is larger.)

AppleShare Server Software version 4.1

If you purchase AppleShare server software version 4.1, make sure to choose Custom Install (instead of Easy Install) when you install it.

*** Note: The following is not included in the original ReadMe file:
We do not recommend using version 4.1 or earlier of AppleShare Server Software on the Power Macintosh 7500 & 8500. Version 4.1 is intended only for Apple Workgroup Servers, and earlier versions will not work. At the time of this writing Apple does not recommend using a PCI based Macintosh as an AppleShare Server.***

Printing With Apple PhotoFlash

If you have problems printing images with the PhotoFlash software, make sure that you choose a printer in the Chooser before you choose the Print command from the File menu.

PowerTalk and PowerTalk Direct Dialup Mail

If you use PowerTalk Direct Dialup Mail and have trouble sending a fax, it may be because both Direct Dialup and STF PowerFax PE are set to auto-answer. To turn off STF auto-answer, open the STF Setup window and set 'n' to "never" (in the "Answer on 'n' rings" section).

Using a RAM disk

If your computer has 8 megabytes of RAM (random access memory), and you wish to set up a RAM disk, allocate no more than 544K to the RAM disk. Otherwise, when you start your Macintosh you may see the message, "This disk is unreadable by this Macintosh. Do you want to initialize the disk?" (Important: This message applies to the RAM disk, not to your hard disk, which will not be initialized.)

Using Virtual Memory

A maximum of 1,000 megabytes of disk space can be used as virtual memory. If your hard disk has additional disk space available, the amount over 1,000 megabytes cannot be used as virtual memory.

The Assistant Toolbox and Non-Networked Printers

The Print Later option (LaserLaser) of the Assistant Toolbox extension is not compatible with some non-networked PostScript printers. If you have the Assistant Toolbox extension installed on your computer and you want to print with a non-networked printer, you may want to turn off the Assistant Toolbox extension.

For example, if you want to print with a LaserWriter Select 310 printer, you need to turn off the Assistant Toolbox extension (in the Extensions Manager control panel) to be able to use the Print Later option.

Japanese and Chinese Language Kits

To use the Japanese Language Kit with your Power Macintosh, make sure you use version 1.2 or later. In the United States, you can obtain upgrade information in the Mac OS section at http://www.apple.com/products .

To use the Chinese Language Kit with your Power Macintosh, make sure you use version 1.1.1 or later. To install the Chinese Language Kit version 1.1.1, first install the WorldScript Updater 1.0. Then install the Chinese Language Kit version 1.1. Finally, install the Chinese Language Kit Updater to update your software to version 1.1.1.

Apple Personal Diagnostics

To use Apple Personal Diagnostics (APD) on this Power Macintosh computer, you should upgrade to APD v1.1.3 or greater. An upgrade patch for owners of APD v1.1 and APD v1.1.1 is available on online services and AppleLink.

If you run the Logic Board tests in APD v1.1, your computer may freeze and need to be restarted; or APD v1.1 may falsely report a logic board error when none has actually occurred. APD v1.1.1 and v1.1.3 correct these Logic Board test errors. APD v1.1.3 also corrects a reporting error regarding processor speed in the System Info/Basic Info screen.

***Note: This note is not in the original Read Me file.
Apple Personal Diagnostics 1.1.3 is not supported on the Power Macintosh 7500 or 8500 computers. As of the modification date of this article, the Power Macintosh 9500 is the latest released computer supported by Apple Personal Diagnostics. Apple has no plans to support the Power Macintosh 7500 or 8500 in future releases of APD.***


QuarkXPress

To use QuarkXPress with System 7.5.2 on a Power Macintosh, you must upgrade to QuarkXPress version 3.3.1 or later.

Incorrect Balloons for Guide File Icons

System 7.5.2 includes Apple Guide documents, which provide the on-screen instructions and other information that help you use your computer. However, if you turn on Balloon Help Ðby choosing Show Balloons from the Guide (question mark) menuÐand point to a Guide file icon (any icon with the Guide question mark on it) on the hard disk, the balloon may give you the wrong information about where the file belongs or what you can do with it. To avoid being misled by incorrect balloons, follow the guidelines below:

* Leave Guide files where they are. Some Guide files (for example, the Guide file named "Macintosh Guide") belong in the Extensions folder. Other Guide files do not belong in the Extensions folderÐand will not work if they are put there.

* Keep application programs that have Guide files in the same folder as the Guide file. For example, keep the file named "File Assistant Guide" in the same folder as the File Assistant program. If you move a Guide file that belongs with an application program, you won't be able to get help while using the program.

Screen Flashes at Startup

You may see the screen flash during startup of your Power Macintosh. The flash is normal. It occurs because software needed to use the monitor is being loaded.

StyleWriter and StyleWriter II Printers

If you use a StyleWriter or StyleWriter II printer with your Power Macintosh, use the StyleWriter 1200 printer software (called a "printer driver"). Do not install your older StyleWriter driver; it is not compatible with Power Macintosh computers. For more information about choosing a printer and printing, choose Macintosh Guide from the Guide (question mark) menu, and choose the Printing & Fonts topic area.

Presenting QuickTime Movies at Double Size

Using MoviePlayer 2.0, you can play a movie at double (2X) size. You cannot present a movie (that is, play the movie on a second monitor) at double size. Presenting a movie at 2X size results in the MoviePlayer application quitting without warning.

Important Information About Virtual Memory

Virtual memory (VM) is a feature of the Macintosh that lets you use part of your hard disk as additional memory. If you are using an application program designed especially for Power Macintosh computers (often called a "native" application program), turning on virtual memory may help you avoid running out of memory.

Your computer comes with virtual memory turned on. With virtual memory turned on, a Power Macintosh program uses less memory than when virtual memory is turned off. If you check the program's Get Info box before and after turning on virtual memory, you'll see that the numbers in the Memory Requirements box change. That is because turning on virtual memory allows the program to use memory more efficiently.

If you notice performance problems (such as your computer's responses seeming unusually slow) using certain application programs, you may want to turn off virtual memory. For information on how to turn virtual memory on and off, choose Macintosh Guide from the Guide (question mark) menu, and click the Memory topic area. Then click "How do I use hard disk space as memory?" and "How do I manage Power Macintosh memory?"

For best performance, try setting virtual memory to no more than 150% of the memory (RAM) installed in your computer, or no more than 50% of your currently available hard drive space, whichever number is lower. For example, if your computer has 16 MB of RAM and your hard drive has 50 MB of available space, set virtual memory to a maximum of 24 MB (this is 150% of your 16 MB of RAM, and less than 50% of the available space on your hard drive).

To improve performance, you can also add memory (RAM) to your computer. See the user's manual that came with your computer for more information.


Important Information About Document Auto-Save

The Energy Saver control panel that comes installed on the Power Macintosh 7200 contains a feature named "Document Auto-Save". The purpose of this feature is to automatically quit all open applications during an idle or scheduled shutdown, while saving changes to any open documents in each application. Since there are literally thousands of applications available for the Macintosh (with new ones always arriving), we cannot guarantee that Document Auto-Save will be compatible with every application. This is especially true for any application that does not use standard routines to implement the alerts or dialog boxes used to save changes to new or modified documents. When an application is incompatible with Document Auto-Save, it will either not automatically quit, or it displays alerts or dialog boxes which Document Auto-Save does not recognize and therefore does not dismiss.

If you intend to turn Document Auto-Save on, we recommend that you monitor its operation during the first attempted idle or scheduled shutdown and note if any of your applications are not compatible. You can avoid problems with incompatible applications simply by making sure you leave no documents open that are new or modified before an idle or scheduled shutdown is to occur. Alternatively, you can modify the Document Auto-Save preferences in the Energy Saver control panel to sleep instead of shutting down when unsaved documents are open.

For more information about Energy Saver & Document Auto-Save, choose Macintosh Guide from the Guide (question mark) menu, and choose the Power & Energy Saving topic area. Below are some additional helpful tips.

Reopening Auto-Saved Documents

Document Auto-Save will automatically reopen a maximum of 10 documents per application when starting up after a scheduled or idle shutdown. If more than 10 documents were saved for any application during the idle or scheduled shutdown, the additional documents must be reopened manually.

Other Document-Saving Products

There are conflicts when non-Apple document-saving control panels or extensions are used in conjunction with Energy Saver's Document Auto-Save. Examples of such products are NowSave and SuperBoomerang. For best results, use the document-saving features of only one control panel or extension.

Applications That Auto-Save

Document Auto-Save performs more quickly and efficiently if you have enabled auto-saving in the applications that support it. For example, Microsoft Word has an option available that will save your changes at pre-determined time intervals. It is recommended that you take advantage of application auto-saving whenever possible.

RAM Disks

Do not choose a folder on a RAM disk for auto-saving untitled documents unless you have installed a product which preserves the RAM disk contents before shutdown. Otherwise, your auto-saved documents will be lost when an idle or scheduled shutdown occurs.

Self-Dismissing Dialogs

Under some rare conditions, the Energy Saver control panel may continuously dismiss dialog boxes if the Document Auto-Save feature unexpectedly fails during an idle or scheduled shutdown. (Whenever a dialog box appears, it is dismissed as if you have pressed the Return key.) To return things to normal, simply click the mouse button or press the space bar.

Stickies Windows

If you are using the Document Auto-Save feature of the Energy Saver control panel, and you have any Stickies notes open during an idle or scheduled shutdown, an extra carriage return is inserted in the active (frontmost) Stickies note window. No other Stickies windows will be affected.


Important Information About Macintosh PC Exchange

Apple File Exchange and Macintosh PC Exchange

The Apple File Exchange software is not compatible with Macintosh PC Exchange and should not be used while PC Exchange is installed. Version 2.0 of PC Exchange contains an easier method for accessing DOS and Apple II ProDOS disks on a Macintosh.

AutoDoubler

To use AutoDoubler with Macintosh PC Exchange, you must first open the AutoDoubler control panel and turn off the "Show DD on Compressed Files" option from the DD menu.

Compressed PC Disks and Files

Macintosh PC Exchange does not work with DOS-format floppy disks or SCSI hard disks that have been compressed using Stacker or other DOS or Windows disk-compression utilities. Before transferring compressed DOS files to a Macintosh, you must decompress the files and save them to a noncompressed DOS-format floppy disk.

Working With Disks Containing Multiple Partitions

If a SCSI hard disk or removable media cartridge has been formatted to contain multiple partitions, you can use PC Exchange to mount the Macintosh-, DOS-, or ProDOS-format partitions as individual volumes on the Macintosh desktop. If the disk contains both Macintosh- and DOS-format partitions, PC Exchange will recognize only the Macintosh partition. In addition, PC Exchange will recognize ProDOS-format partitions only on SCSI hard disks that are less than 32 megabytes.

You can use PC Exchange to erase existing individual partitions on a SCSI hard disk or removable media cartridge if they have the same format. However, you cannot use PC Exchange to reformat and resize individual partitions contained on the disk. Nor can you format a Macintosh-format hard disk or removable media cartridge as a DOS-format disk. To resize or reformat multiple Macintosh, DOS, or ProDOS partitions, you need to use third-party software designed for partitioning hard disks and removable media cartridges.

Working with DOS-Format SCSI Removable Media Devices

In order for PC Exchange to recognize any SCSI removable media device, you must turn on the device and eject any cartridges before you turn on your Macintosh computer.

Do not install the device driver software that came with your removable media device. Instead, open the PC Exchange control panel, click the Options button, select your SCSI device from the list, and then restart your Macintosh. PC Exchange will install its own device driver for that SCSI device.

The Eject Disk command is unavailable when you are working with removable media devices. To unmount and eject a removable media cartridge, drag the device's icon to the Trash. Once the device has spun down and the red light goes out, you can manually eject the cartridge from the drive. To access a removable media cartridge that has been ejected, simply reinsert the cartridge in the drive.

When initializing and formatting Bernoulli and SyQuest cartridges on a DOS or DOS-compatible computer, use the disk setup and partitioning software that came with the SCSI controller card installed in your PC or that came with your Bernoulli or SyQuest device. (Do not use the MS-DOS FDISK command.) Also, use the MS-DOS FORMAT command to format a newly initialized removable media cartridge on a DOS or DOS-compatible personal computer (PC) before you copy DOS files onto it.

When you initialize a removable media cartridge on a DOS or DOS-compatible PC, you must fully partition, initialize, and erase the cartridge using the software that came with your SCSI controller card or removable media drive. If you do not, PC Exchange may not recognize the new DOS-format partitions on that cartridge.

Working with DOS-Format SCSI Hard Disk Drives

In order for Macintosh PC Exchange to recognize a SCSI hard disk drive, you must turn on the drive before you turn on your Macintosh.

Do not install the device driver software that came with your removable media device. Instead, open the PC Exchange control panel, click the Options button, select your SCSI device from the list, and then restart your Macintosh. PC Exchange will install its own device driver for that SCSI device.

When initializing and formatting an external SCSI hard disk connected to a DOS or DOS-compatible PC, use the MS-DOS FDISK command or the disk setup and partitioning software that came with the SCSI controller card installed in your PC. In addition, you should use the MS-DOS FORMAT command to format and erase the disk before you copy DOS files to a new SCSI hard disk connected to a PC.

Tips and Problems

* A "Sad Mac" icon may appear on your Macintosh screen at startup if a removable media cartridge has been left in the drive. To keep this problem from occurring, manually eject removable media cartridges from their drives before you turn on your Macintosh.

* Macintosh PC Exchange cannot recognize SCSI hard disks, removable media devices, or drive container files that contain more than one gigabyte of disk space.


Important Information About Open Transport Networking

MacTCP

After you install new networking software on your hard disk, if you have problems with TCP/IP applications, look in the Control Panels folder for a MacTCP file. If one is there, remove it from the Control Panels folder and restart your computer. Each time you install new networking software, you may want to verify whether or not the software's installer also installed MacTCP, and follow this procedure.


Application Compatibility Comments

FTPd: Application currently is experiencing sporadic failures with TCP/IP MacTCP compatibility. These failures are rare and generally do not result in loss of data or other problems.

MacTCP Watcher, TCP/Connect II, MacTCP Switcher, and Anarchie are applications that are known to be incompatible with Open Transport. Developers are revising their products to be compatible with Open Transport.

Timbuktu works only with AppleTalk using Open Transport.

Eudora: Open Transport supports commercial version 2.11 and shareware version 1.5.1 of Eudora.

FileMaker Pro TCP/IP networking throughput is noticeably slower than with classic MacTCP.

NFS/Share for large file transfers must have a blocksize of 16K or smaller.

TCP/IP LAP (Link Access Protocol) Support Caveats

Only the following MacTCP Link Access Modules are supported: "InterSLIP", "InterPPP", "InterPPP II", "TCP/IP PPP", "MacSLIP", and "MacPPP".

Open Transport does not support SLIP and/or PPP connections occurring automatically when the networking application is executed with the currently available MacTCP Link Access Modules (e.g. MacPPP, InterSLIP, InterPPP, MacSlip). SLIP/PPP connections must be started up using the 3rd-party-supplied control panel before running the TCP/IP application.

InterSLIP: Version 1.0.1 is not compatible with Open Transport, you need a later version. InterCon should be contacted directly.

InterPPP 1.2.9: May crash when receiving a large graphic file via HTML readers.

MacSLIP 2.0.6: Connect at System Startup doesn't work.

MacPPP: MacPPP versions 2.0.1, 2.0.1 cm4, and 2.1 SD exhibit incompatibilities with Open Transport in opening connections. Future versions (e.g. MacPPP 2.2.0) will address this incompatibility. The MacPPP "Open" button does not work; the only way to open a connection is by opening a TCP/IP application. However, Open Transport might time-out before the completion of the connection so that it cannot get the correct IP address from the LAP. After disconnecting MacPPP, you must restart your Macintosh in order to connect again.

Once a TCP/IP application is opened over a SLIP or PPP LAP, you cannot use another SLIP or PPP LAP without restarting the Macintosh.

When a SLIP or PPP LAP is selected in the TCP/IP control panel, and "Manually" is selected in the Configure pop-up menu, the value of the IP address entered in this control panel is ignored by Open Transport. If you are assigned a static IP address by your SLIP or PPP provider, you should set it in the LAP configuration program. If your IP address is assigned dynamically, you should configure the LAP configuration program for dynamic addressing.

PowerShare Mail Server

There is a known compatibility problem between Open Transport and version 1.0 of the PowerShare Mail Server. If you set up the PowerTalk Universal Mailbox to read mail on the same machine on which the PowerShare Mail Server is running, the Mail Server may crash some time later, usually on shutdown. The workaround is to use another machine to read mail. This problem will be fixed in PowerShare Collaboration Servers version 1.1.