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From: Kevin McMurtrie on 20 Jul 2010 12:19
In article <1jlxb7u.17umlxjn500cgN%dcohenspam(a)talktalk.net>,
dcohenspam(a)talktalk.net (Daniel Cohen) wrote:

> I am trying to help a friend using Leopard on a Powerbook, and doing so
> without being in front of her machine.
>
> She's lost the Volume menu bar icon.
>
> I have remote access to her machine, and found that under the Sound
> system preference it says "no output device available". She has
> unplugged the external speakers, so it can't be a glitch between
> external and internal.
>
> It could obviously be a hardware issue, and that I probably can't do
> anything about from a distance.
>
> I thought it might be a corrupt preference file. I was expecting the
> relevant file to be something like com.apple.sound.plist, but it isn't.
>
> So, though I would welcome any suggestion that might help, I would
> specifically like to know in what file the Sound preferences are stored.

The "no output device available" part is troubling. For years there was
a bug in MacOS X where the "Optimizing System" stage of the Apple
Installer overwrite code libraries with zeros if another application
loaded them at the same time. I think Leopard had it. Simply hitting
the volume key or causing a beep at the wrong moment could cause the
audio libraries to be destroyed. If that's it, reinstalling the OS from
the installer disc or a backup will fix it.
--
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From: Nick Naym on 20 Jul 2010 13:01
In article jollyroger-F63E57.10501420072010(a)news.individual.net, Jolly Roger
at jollyroger(a)pobox.com wrote on 7/20/10 11:50 AM:

> In article
> <michelle-6C12A6.07563020072010(a)62-183-169-81.bb.dnainternet.fi>,
> Michelle Steiner <michelle(a)michelle.org> wrote:
>
>> In article <jollyroger-6F194E.08561720072010(a)news.individual.net>,
>> Jolly Roger <jollyroger(a)pobox.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Nah. Your friend probably just accidentally dragged it off the menu bar
>>> by holding down the Command key on the keyboard while clicking on the
>>> Volume menu and dragging down.
>>>
>>> To get it back, just double-click the /System/Library/CoreServices/Menu
>>> Extras/Volume.menu file. After that, the menu will re-appear on the menu
>>> bar.
>>
>> Er, why not open the Sound preference panel and click the "Show volume in
>> menu bar" checkbox at the bottom of the window?
>
> Well, of course, there's always that too! The geek in me loves to
> overcomplicate things sometimes, I think. : D

Does that mean I'm becoming a <<shudder>> "ITMOJR Geek?"*


* ITMOJR = In the Mold of JR

--
iMac (27", 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4 GB RAM, 1 TB HDD) � OS X (10.6.3)

From: Daniel Cohen on 20 Jul 2010 13:12
Michelle Steiner <michelle(a)michelle.org> wrote:

> In article <jollyroger-6F194E.08561720072010(a)news.individual.net>,
> Jolly Roger <jollyroger(a)pobox.com> wrote:
>
> > Nah. Your friend probably just accidentally dragged it off the menu bar
> > by holding down the Command key on the keyboard while clicking on the
> > Volume menu and dragging down.
> >
> > To get it back, just double-click the /System/Library/CoreServices/Menu
> > Extras/Volume.menu file. After that, the menu will re-appear on the menu
> > bar.
>
> Er, why not open the Sound preference panel and click the "Show volume in
> menu bar" checkbox at the bottom of the window?

Sure, but that was checked, first thing I looked at.

It's probably a software issue, and I have found where the Sound
preferences live. Unusually, they are in Library, Preferences, Audio,
with sections for the individual users. Most preferences live in the
user's library.

None of the answers seem to have noted the crucial things I said in my
post. As I stated, the Sound system preference says "No output devices
found" so it can't be just an issue with the menu bar icon.

Googling seems to produce quite a few posts from people getting this
message. But there are a fair number of possible causes.

With an eight-hour time difference between us, it's often difficult to
check things interactively to diagnose issues. Currently I've asked her
a few questions to see if (which I think possible but unlikely) there's
an issue with the sound hardware.
--
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Send e-mail to the Reply-To address.
Mail to the From address is never read.
From: Daniel Cohen on 20 Jul 2010 13:33
Kevin McMurtrie <mcmurtrie(a)pixelmemory.us> wrote:

> The "no output device available" part is troubling. For years there was
> a bug in MacOS X where the "Optimizing System" stage of the Apple
> Installer overwrite code libraries with zeros if another application
> loaded them at the same time. I think Leopard had it. Simply hitting
> the volume key or causing a beep at the wrong moment could cause the
> audio libraries to be destroyed. If that's it, reinstalling the OS from
> the installer disc or a backup will fix it.

That's an interesting possibility. I need to try a few other things
first, as I don't trust her to re-install the OS herself.

Where would I find the relevant code libraries? Would it be possible
just to reinstall those, say from a Time Machine backup?
--
<http://www.decohen.com>
Send e-mail to the Reply-To address.
Mail to the From address is never read.
From: Jolly Roger on 20 Jul 2010 15:33
In article <C86B4E99.61670%nicknaym@_remove_this_gmail.com.invalid>,
Nick Naym <nicknaym@_remove_this_gmail.com.invalid> wrote:

> In article jollyroger-F63E57.10501420072010(a)news.individual.net, Jolly Roger
> at jollyroger(a)pobox.com wrote on 7/20/10 11:50 AM:
>
> > In article
> > <michelle-6C12A6.07563020072010(a)62-183-169-81.bb.dnainternet.fi>,
> > Michelle Steiner <michelle(a)michelle.org> wrote:
> >
> >> In article <jollyroger-6F194E.08561720072010(a)news.individual.net>,
> >> Jolly Roger <jollyroger(a)pobox.com> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Nah. Your friend probably just accidentally dragged it off the menu bar
> >>> by holding down the Command key on the keyboard while clicking on the
> >>> Volume menu and dragging down.
> >>>
> >>> To get it back, just double-click the /System/Library/CoreServices/Menu
> >>> Extras/Volume.menu file. After that, the menu will re-appear on the menu
> >>> bar.
> >>
> >> Er, why not open the Sound preference panel and click the "Show volume in
> >> menu bar" checkbox at the bottom of the window?
> >
> > Well, of course, there's always that too! The geek in me loves to
> > overcomplicate things sometimes, I think. : D
>
> Does that mean I'm becoming a <<shudder>> "ITMOJR Geek?"*
>
>
> * ITMOJR = In the Mold of JR

Ha! It's rubbing off. Uh oh...

--
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JR
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