Here's a new one - "Connect to Server..." continuously popping up...

bluehz · 05-03-2003, 07:43 AM

Ok - I'm stumped on this one... especially since its on an iBook that was working fine yesterday morning and now is exhibiting this odd problem. Whenever I start it up, before I get to the Desktop - the Connect to Server dialog appears... several times, stacked on on top of the other. You can not type in the fields, cancel, or connect with the dialogs. You can move the windows around, but thats about it. Usually there are about 5 stacked one on top of the other. The Finder will hang for up to a min before it appears behind the Connect to Server dialogs. There is no way that I have found to get rid of them, and I can not figure out what is causing this oddity!!!

Here's a bit of troubleshooting I have tried that has failed:
* checked to make sure I didn't have any aliases to my other machines on my LAN in a startup phase somewhere.
* logged out and back in as another user, connect dialogs remain
* kill Finder
* perused top and process manager for suspicious processes. I actually found a few processes that looked suspicious called "lsregister". I killed one of them and sure enough one of the Connect dialogs disappeared, then 3 new ones blossomed. I did a search for lsregister, but can't seem to find any info on it.
* deleted netinfo db and .AppleFirstRun (whatever its called) in single-user mode then booted, thereby creating a new user and netinfo db.
* repair permissions

.... all of those have failed.

Has any one ever heard of anything like this????

EDIT - I did find this similar problem, but no solution. Read the comments (small txt link, lower right corner)
http://radio.weblogs.com/0100148/2002/09/25.html

djn1 · 05-03-2003, 08:07 AM

This is all I could find but I don't know whether it will help:

http://www.omnigroup.com/.../001742.html

bluehz · 05-03-2003, 08:33 AM

thx - I saw that one two - I seem to remember something about lsregister in the early days of OS X when we used to delete ~/Library/Preferences/LS... files. But not much info on it now...

hayne · 05-03-2003, 12:15 PM

You don't mention having looked to see what error messages might be in Console. That would be the first thing I would try.

bluehz · 05-03-2003, 12:32 PM

I tried tailing log files, watching console, watching processes... nothing...

djn1 · 05-03-2003, 01:16 PM

This probably wont help but have you tried starting up with all peripheral devices unplugged?

bluehz · 05-03-2003, 01:29 PM

No haven't tried that - all I have is a mouse and keyboard attached and they have been attached forever with no problems. Its not like I changed things, updated, etc...

djn1 · 05-03-2003, 01:33 PM

How about a safe boot? I guess you probably already tried but you didn't mention it above.

djn1 · 05-03-2003, 01:40 PM

Again, I don't know if this is of any use but have you checked which sharing services (etc) you have enabled? It might be worth turning everything off for a while (firewall, sharing, Internet Sharing etc). You might also want to try disabling your network connection.

bluehz · 05-04-2003, 01:40 AM

Safe boot did not work - still there...

... and this is an oddity... I opened up Sharing PrefPane > Services to disable everything. Can't authenticate to disable stuff, and here's the weird stuff...... just below the list on the left hand side - between the services list and the authenticate button is this text:

"Info Text goes here!
Line 2
Line 3 Probably will never happen."

Then on the righthand side above the Start button it says:

"Cupertino Sharing On"

and under the Start button it says:

"Lots of information for you.
and you.
and timmy."

.... now thats a bit odd....

djn1 · 05-04-2003, 05:58 AM

Quote:


	Originally posted by bluehz "Info Text goes here! Line 2 Line 3 Probably will never happen." Then on the righthand side above the Start button it says: "Cupertino Sharing On" and under the Start button it says: "Lots of information for you. and you. and timmy." .... now thats a bit odd....

I initially assumed you must be joking (as this sounds a little beyond the realms of possibility) but, on a hunch, opened the sharing prefpane in Interface Builder and if you look at the following file:

"/System/Library/PreferencePanes/SharingPref.prefPane/Contents/Resources/English.lproj/SharingPref.nib"

you get exactly the text you mentioned. Now, as to why this is happening I have no idea. I suspect that either your sharing prefpane has become corrupt in one way or another or that something majorly weird has happened to your system. Frankly I'm bewildered, but if it would help I'll happily mail you a working copy of the sharing prefpane. Drop me an email if it would help.

mervTormel · 05-04-2003, 06:00 AM

"timmy" has been documented, and solved, but it's hard to find references for it...

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&i...=Google+Search

djn1 · 05-04-2003, 06:05 AM

Quote:


	Originally posted by mervTormel "timmy" has been documented, and solved, but it's hard to find references for it...

Bad memory? Is that it?! Just when I thought this was getting interesting along comes Merv - AS USUAL - and spoils it all with a solution

bluehz · 05-04-2003, 08:47 AM

Thx for the timmy links...

I think the whole "bad memory" argument is a copout and WAY OVERUSED as reasoning behind unexplainable events. It reminds me of the Window's user's mantra. I'm sure you all know what they tell a Window's user to do when they start having unexplainable problems - "RELOAD WINDOWS"... that too is a copout.

Now I am not saying that RAM can not be defective - but in my experience using Mac's since 1985 - I have found that either RAM is bad from the get go, or its not. It rarely (I have never had it happen) go bad over a length of time.

... in my case the machine is over 2 years old, and so is the factory installed RAM. I believe if it was defective, I would have noticed it by now. As far as the weird text in the Sharing PrefPane goes - I believe the answer is in one of the above posts.... "the text in the pref pane is dynamically created..." What I suspect is that I was viewing the Sharing PrefPane after booting into SafeMode. I forgot about that (DING!).... anyway that means that probably the sharing extensions, and other related were not loaded and therefore - no dynamically created text in the PrefPane....

As far as the Connect to Box problem... its still there, I am going to try reinstalling the last Mac OS X 10.2.5 Combo update as that has often solved problems for people (including myself) who have Systems that have been built on to over the last year (as opposed to clean installs).

djn1 · 05-04-2003, 08:57 AM

Quote:


	Originally posted by bluehz Now I am not saying that RAM can not be defective - but in my experience using Mac's since 1985 - I have found that either RAM is bad from the get go, or its not. It rarely (I have never had it happen) go bad over a length of time.

I agree, but it isn't unheard of for RAM to become unseated, or less well seated than it should be. I'm not familiar with the iBooks - is it relatively easy to unplug and reseat the RAM? It might be worth trying, despite your belief that this isn't a RAM related problem.

[edit] duh! If your hypothesis is correct regarding safe-boot there's absolutely no point in tinkering about with your RAM [/edit]

bluehz · 05-04-2003, 10:11 AM

Ok - just reinstalled the Mac OS X 10.2.5 Combo updater, upon restart - I thought I had solved the problem. Normally when I was starting up - before I get to the desktop - the "Connect to Server" dialogs would start popping up and were non-dismissable (cancel btn had no effect). This time - I got to the desktop and no "Connect to Server..."... then after a few secs (Longer than normal) a single "Conncet to Server.." appeared, BUT this was different... I was able to click the cancel btn and it went away... then another one pops up... that one I can also dismiss with the cancel btn. Then the screen is clear (no "Connect dialogs) for about 30 secs and another "Connect" dialog appears and this last one can not be dismissed... its basically dead... non-clickable (although draggable).

djn1 · 05-04-2003, 10:27 AM

What's the status of the Finder's 'Go' menu when one of these dialogs pops up? Is it greyed out as it would be if you'd selected 'Connect to server' from this menu? The reason I ask is that clearly some process is making these requests and if it was a problem with the Finder it would seem logical that it would be greyed out if it's the Finder that's made the request. I hasten to add that this is yet further wild speculation on my part.

bluehz · 05-04-2003, 10:32 AM

The Finder > Go > Connect menu is selectable.

I checked and reseated the ram.

I just did a test and unplugged the network and started up and the dialogs do not appear. Plugged the cable back in (without restarting) and the dialogs do not appear. Restart with network still attached and its back to the old behaviour.

djn1 · 05-04-2003, 10:46 AM

Quote:


	Originally posted by bluehz Restart with network still attached and its back to the old behaviour.

So, what do you have that's trying to establish a connection? Have you tried turning everything network-related off including the mundane stuff such as using a network timeserver?

djn1 · 05-04-2003, 10:49 AM

One thing that might help you here is Little Snitch which, in effect, is an outgoing firewall; i.e. it monitors which apps are trying to establish an outbound connection and notifies you. It might be worth a try.

05-03-2003, 07:43 AM	#1
bluehz MVP Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 1,562	Here's a new one - "Connect to Server..." continuously popping up... Ok - I'm stumped on this one... especially since its on an iBook that was working fine yesterday morning and now is exhibiting this odd problem. Whenever I start it up, before I get to the Desktop - the Connect to Server dialog appears... several times, stacked on on top of the other. You can not type in the fields, cancel, or connect with the dialogs. You can move the windows around, but thats about it. Usually there are about 5 stacked one on top of the other. The Finder will hang for up to a min before it appears behind the Connect to Server dialogs. There is no way that I have found to get rid of them, and I can not figure out what is causing this oddity!!! Here's a bit of troubleshooting I have tried that has failed: * checked to make sure I didn't have any aliases to my other machines on my LAN in a startup phase somewhere. * logged out and back in as another user, connect dialogs remain * kill Finder * perused top and process manager for suspicious processes. I actually found a few processes that looked suspicious called "lsregister". I killed one of them and sure enough one of the Connect dialogs disappeared, then 3 new ones blossomed. I did a search for lsregister, but can't seem to find any info on it. * deleted netinfo db and .AppleFirstRun (whatever its called) in single-user mode then booted, thereby creating a new user and netinfo db. * repair permissions .... all of those have failed. Has any one ever heard of anything like this???? EDIT - I did find this similar problem, but no solution. Read the comments (small txt link, lower right corner) http://radio.weblogs.com/0100148/2002/09/25.html Last edited by bluehz; 05-03-2003 at 07:57 AM.

05-03-2003, 08:07 AM	#2
djn1 MVP Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: UK Posts: 1,212	This is all I could find but I don't know whether it will help: http://www.omnigroup.com/.../001742.html __________________ chromasia G4/800, OS 10.3.x, 1.25GB RAM, 2x80GB HD, 60GB firewire, Geforce4MX, Iiyama VMpro 455+413 Goldtouch keyboard, Cirque EasyCat trackpad, D-Link DSL-604+

05-03-2003, 12:15 PM	#4
hayne Site Admin Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Montreal Posts: 32,473	error messages? You don't mention having looked to see what error messages might be in Console. That would be the first thing I would try.

05-03-2003, 01:16 PM	#6
djn1 MVP Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: UK Posts: 1,212	This probably wont help but have you tried starting up with all peripheral devices unplugged? __________________ chromasia G4/800, OS 10.3.x, 1.25GB RAM, 2x80GB HD, 60GB firewire, Geforce4MX, Iiyama VMpro 455+413 Goldtouch keyboard, Cirque EasyCat trackpad, D-Link DSL-604+

05-03-2003, 01:33 PM	#8
djn1 MVP Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: UK Posts: 1,212	How about a safe boot? I guess you probably already tried but you didn't mention it above. __________________ chromasia G4/800, OS 10.3.x, 1.25GB RAM, 2x80GB HD, 60GB firewire, Geforce4MX, Iiyama VMpro 455+413 Goldtouch keyboard, Cirque EasyCat trackpad, D-Link DSL-604+

05-03-2003, 08:33 AM	#3
bluehz MVP Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 1,562	thx - I saw that one two - I seem to remember something about lsregister in the early days of OS X when we used to delete ~/Library/Preferences/LS... files. But not much info on it now...

05-03-2003, 12:32 PM	#5
bluehz MVP Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 1,562	I tried tailing log files, watching console, watching processes... nothing...

05-03-2003, 01:29 PM	#7
bluehz MVP Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 1,562	No haven't tried that - all I have is a mouse and keyboard attached and they have been attached forever with no problems. Its not like I changed things, updated, etc...

05-03-2003, 01:40 PM	#9
djn1 MVP Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: UK Posts: 1,212	Again, I don't know if this is of any use but have you checked which sharing services (etc) you have enabled? It might be worth turning everything off for a while (firewall, sharing, Internet Sharing etc). You might also want to try disabling your network connection. __________________ chromasia G4/800, OS 10.3.x, 1.25GB RAM, 2x80GB HD, 60GB firewire, Geforce4MX, Iiyama VMpro 455+413 Goldtouch keyboard, Cirque EasyCat trackpad, D-Link DSL-604+

05-04-2003, 01:40 AM	#10
bluehz MVP Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 1,562	Safe boot did not work - still there... ... and this is an oddity... I opened up Sharing PrefPane > Services to disable everything. Can't authenticate to disable stuff, and here's the weird stuff...... just below the list on the left hand side - between the services list and the authenticate button is this text: "Info Text goes here! Line 2 Line 3 Probably will never happen." Then on the righthand side above the Start button it says: "Cupertino Sharing On" and under the Start button it says: "Lots of information for you. and you. and timmy." .... now thats a bit odd....

05-04-2003, 06:00 AM	#12
mervTormel League Commissioner Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 5,536	"timmy" has been documented, and solved, but it's hard to find references for it... http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&i...=Google+Search __________________ On a clear disk, you can seek forever.

05-04-2003, 08:47 AM	#14
bluehz MVP Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 1,562	Thx for the timmy links... I think the whole "bad memory" argument is a copout and WAY OVERUSED as reasoning behind unexplainable events. It reminds me of the Window's user's mantra. I'm sure you all know what they tell a Window's user to do when they start having unexplainable problems - "RELOAD WINDOWS"... that too is a copout. Now I am not saying that RAM can not be defective - but in my experience using Mac's since 1985 - I have found that either RAM is bad from the get go, or its not. It rarely (I have never had it happen) go bad over a length of time. ... in my case the machine is over 2 years old, and so is the factory installed RAM. I believe if it was defective, I would have noticed it by now. As far as the weird text in the Sharing PrefPane goes - I believe the answer is in one of the above posts.... "the text in the pref pane is dynamically created..." What I suspect is that I was viewing the Sharing PrefPane after booting into SafeMode. I forgot about that (DING!).... anyway that means that probably the sharing extensions, and other related were not loaded and therefore - no dynamically created text in the PrefPane.... As far as the Connect to Box problem... its still there, I am going to try reinstalling the last Mac OS X 10.2.5 Combo update as that has often solved problems for people (including myself) who have Systems that have been built on to over the last year (as opposed to clean installs).

05-04-2003, 10:11 AM	#16
bluehz MVP Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 1,562	Ok - just reinstalled the Mac OS X 10.2.5 Combo updater, upon restart - I thought I had solved the problem. Normally when I was starting up - before I get to the desktop - the "Connect to Server" dialogs would start popping up and were non-dismissable (cancel btn had no effect). This time - I got to the desktop and no "Connect to Server..."... then after a few secs (Longer than normal) a single "Conncet to Server.." appeared, BUT this was different... I was able to click the cancel btn and it went away... then another one pops up... that one I can also dismiss with the cancel btn. Then the screen is clear (no "Connect dialogs) for about 30 secs and another "Connect" dialog appears and this last one can not be dismissed... its basically dead... non-clickable (although draggable).

05-04-2003, 10:27 AM	#17
djn1 MVP Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: UK Posts: 1,212	What's the status of the Finder's 'Go' menu when one of these dialogs pops up? Is it greyed out as it would be if you'd selected 'Connect to server' from this menu? The reason I ask is that clearly some process is making these requests and if it was a problem with the Finder it would seem logical that it would be greyed out if it's the Finder that's made the request. I hasten to add that this is yet further wild speculation on my part. __________________ chromasia G4/800, OS 10.3.x, 1.25GB RAM, 2x80GB HD, 60GB firewire, Geforce4MX, Iiyama VMpro 455+413 Goldtouch keyboard, Cirque EasyCat trackpad, D-Link DSL-604+

05-04-2003, 10:32 AM	#18
bluehz MVP Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 1,562	The Finder > Go > Connect menu is selectable. I checked and reseated the ram. I just did a test and unplugged the network and started up and the dialogs do not appear. Plugged the cable back in (without restarting) and the dialogs do not appear. Restart with network still attached and its back to the old behaviour.

05-04-2003, 10:49 AM	#20
djn1 MVP Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: UK Posts: 1,212	Little Snitch One thing that might help you here is Little Snitch which, in effect, is an outgoing firewall; i.e. it monitors which apps are trying to establish an outbound connection and notifies you. It might be worth a try. __________________ chromasia G4/800, OS 10.3.x, 1.25GB RAM, 2x80GB HD, 60GB firewire, Geforce4MX, Iiyama VMpro 455+413 Goldtouch keyboard, Cirque EasyCat trackpad, D-Link DSL-604+