From Neighbors Paper Issue 87, Oct 09
Usually when a major update is released I’m not willing to jump on board right away as I don’t need to tell you there are usually lots of compatibility issues. But Snow leopard was not considered a major update so for some reason I decided to take the plunge and install it.
Everything seemed ok, at least at the beginning. But as I began to use 10.6 I noticed several of my apps didn’t work. Apple says:
Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard is designed to protect your Mac from certain incompatible software that can quit unexpectedly or cause other issues in Mac OS X v10.6.
When you install Snow Leopard or migrate to Snow Leopard, known-incompatible software is moved to a folder named Incompatible Software on your hard drive.
Snow Leopard moves known-incompatible software such as; Parallels Desktop, VirusScan, Norton AntiVirus, Internet Cleanup 5, Application Enhancer, AT&T Laptop Connect Card, launch2net, iWOW plug-in for iTunes, Missing Sync for Palm Sony CLIE Driver, TonePort UX8 Driver, ioHD Driver, and Silicon Image SiI3132 Drivers to a folder named Incompatible Software at the root level of the hard drive.
You will need to check the vendor’s website to see if there’s an update.
The biggest problem I’m hearing about Snow Leopard is printer compatibility. My Epson Photo R280 did not work properly after the upgrade. A quick visit to Epson’s website and I found an update to fix the problem. I downloaded and installed the update but the problem remained. At this point I tried the old tried and true “fix” which was to uninstall the old drivers and reinstall the new download from Epson. It worked. However Epson failed to mention this little trick to all it’s adoring users.
How do you uninstall a printer driver you ask? In the blue Apple icon menu open your System Preferences, then click on the Print and Fax icon. It will open a new window called Print and Fax so from here on the left side of the pane you should see a list of printers that your mac can access. Click on the printer you’d like to uninstall, then click the “-” minus (subtract) button just below. You just removed the old driver and printer connection.
Although it’s usually not required, I like to restart the mac and this point with the printer off. Once it’s up and running fine, turn on the printer making sure it’s connected via USB (or ethernet). (Sometimes I noticed HP printers like to be on before the mac boots, especially older HP printers connected to older Macs.)
Now go ahead and install the latest printer driver software from the vendor’s website. Follow the prompts if there are any. Now let’s go back to add the printer if it’s not there.
Again, in the blue Apple icon menu open your System Preferences, then click on the Print and Fax icon. It will open a new window called Print and Fax so from here on the left side of the pane you should see a list of printers. If your printer is there, you are done. Try printing something.
If not, click on “+” plus (add) button just below. Be patient as you’ll see some messages about searching for driver... Keep in mind most printers are bundled with some kind of print interface or multi-purpose software that scans , prints and performs all sorts of output options like printing 3 up on a sheet of paper or making greeting cards. Be sure this software is updated and compatible with the system you are using.
While I’m at it there’s a special considerations for you when buy a new printer. Never install the CD software that comes with the printer. You should first go to the company's website and check to what the latest software is for your printer. The CD in the box is probably ancient.
To see what printers are compatible with OS 10.6 see:
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