Mostly I found more people advocating the restore button fix-all. Eventually, I ran across the aqua soft forums discussing the problem. Apparently some of the 5th generation (iPod Video as it was called back in the day) iPods have been having an issue with a connection on the logic board. The forum is also full of users who have called Apple, explained the defect and received a free replacement iPod. This sounded appealing.

So, I grabbed my phone and called Apple’s customer service line. After answering a handful of questions from a machine (whose voice recognition actually seemed to work…) I was connected with Nick. He asked for my name and the serial number of the iPod. I was expecting this question, and I think he appreciated my anticipation. It saved us both several minutes on the phone. He warned me that my iPod was waaay out of warranty (something else I already anticipated) but asked me to proceed with the problem. I told him that the sound had stopped coming out of the headphone jack but everything else worked perfectly. I said I had read online that it was a manufacturer’s defect with the logic board. He immediately asked if I had tried pushing on the bottom right corner (which I had) to confirm the bad logic board connection. The pace of the conversation was remarkably quick as we had both anticipated each other’s next move. He said this was a known problem, confirmed that my unit was within the range of the serials involved and put me through to his supervisor.

Stuart answered after a few minutes of hold time and I explained my problem to him. He set about to creating an “exception” in the system. I think “exception” is their term for “this thing is way outta warranty but we’re gonna fix it anyway.” He said I could ship it to Apple’s repair facilities and I would have one mailed back. This is where I became more difficult and Stuart handled it expertly. I told him I was overseas, but had access to an Apple store. He then set out to open a case for me in their system. I am led to believe that the case contains all of the information about the problem and approvals for repair. He warned me it was possible that my Apple store would want to send it back stateside to be repaired and would thus take more time than otherwise. I was ok with this as it would still be free. This is where things got impressive. Stuart wanted to make sure that everything went smoothly. He gave me the case number and his personal contact information in case there was an issue. He actually took ownership of the problem, something almost unheard of in customer service, especially in a company the size of Apple. Did I mention that Nick and Stuart were also located in the US and had no hint of an accent?

From that point it was as easy as setting up an appointment with the Genius Bar online and showing up in person. I told Flo, the Genius I spoke with, that I had called Apple and they said the Apple Store could replace my unit. (Yeah, I kinda planted the ‘replace’ seed instead of the ‘repair’ seed so I could get it back sooner. Who knows if they would have replaced it anyhow.) Flo hadn’t heard of the problem, but found the bit about pressing on the bottom right corner humorous. He typed in my name and must have found the case straight away and told me they could replace it. The catch: they didn’t have the replacement for my unit on hand so they would have to call me when it came in. This meeting was on wednesday and I received a call on friday. I picked up my replacement iPod (still in cellophane) on saturday.

The whole deal was quite streamlined and impressive. After working at Best Buy for oh those many years, I feel like Apple really has customer service figured out. They are blowing Best Buy out of the water.

Browsing some forums, at least one other person started having this issue after install an update for .NET 2.0, and although this might do it I am pretty sure this can happen for other reasons as well.

What is happening is that the registry entry that tells the system what power profile to use is not being updated when you save the settings in the control panel.  Here is how to fix it.

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1. First you need to have a power plan that is setup like you want in the control panel.

The quick way to do this is to open the start menu and type Power Options in the search bar and click on the result labeled Power Options under the Control Panel heading.

From here you can either click on “Change plan settings” next to one of the default profiles, or you can create your own by clicking “Create a Power Plan” in the left sidebar.

Choose the settings you would like and click save changes.

You can now exit the Power Options window.

2. The second part is to set the profile you just configured as the active one the system uses.  Since the normal method of just selecting it in the Power Options screen is broken we have to do it another way. You can do it by command line or if you are more adventurous by the registry.

The command line option is the safer one for most users who are not familiar with editing the registry.

Also here is a link to a Microsoft support listing detailing this fix as well:  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/935799

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2.1 Command Line Method

Open the start menu and int he search box type CMD and click the CMD or cmd.exe result listed under the Programs header. This will give you the black window with white text and a blinking cursor.

Type Powercfg /List and hit enter which should give a list of all the power profiles you have on your computer and more importantly their unique GUID identifiers.

To make our profile active we just type Powercfg -setactive GUID where GUID is replaced with the long string of numbers and letters corresponding to the power profile you want to use, and again hit enter.

Close the cmd window.

Your power profile should not be set active and all your problems should be solved!

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2.2 Registry Method

Open the start menu and int he search box type cmd and click the CMD or cmd.exe result listed under the Programs header. This will give you the black window with white text and a blinking cursor.

Type Powercfg /List and hit enter which should give a list of all the power profiles you have on your computer and more importantly their unique GUID identifiers. Keep this window open.

Open the registry by typing regedit in the start menu’s search bar and selecting the regedit.exe result under the Programs header.

In the registry navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ControlPanel\NameSpace\{025A5937-A6BE-4686-A844-36FE4BEC8B6D}

Right click on the PreferredPlan item in the right window pane and select Modify…

Replace the text in the Value data field with sting of numbers and letter that make up the GUID of the power profile you want to use.  This is located in the window we opened previously.

Hit OK.

Close both windows.

Your new profile should now be the active one used by the system and your problem should be solved.

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This is the method I used to fix the problem on my Windows 7 setup, but these instructions should work just as well if you are having the problem with Vista.

Also, here is a link I’ve found to a Microsoft Support page that details this same fix: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/935799

Once the head unit is exposed, you will see the classic Bose speaker cloth covering the DIN below the cassette player. Remove the 2 screws on each side of the center speaker channel, and unplug the connector from the back. This black box contains a small speaker and an amplifier.

Using a 5mm socket, remove the screws on the top of the unit. At this point you can crack open the unit to see the small speaker and amplifier. The amplifier is unlike other amplifiers found in Bose-equipped vehicles. It only has one IC chip compared to the two found on most of  their automotive amplifiers. There are a few quirks that I can’t really place reason behind on the unit. The enclosure is unsealed, nor ported; it has vents for the heatsinks. I’m not sure how great a downward-firing speaker in an unsealed enclosure can be tuned.  I’m not going to question it, I’m just going to refurbish it.

Upon inspecting the amp, 8 electrolytic capacitors can be seen. There are 4 shiny green small cylindrical capacitors, and 4 larger blue cylindrical capacitors. I used Parts Express to order my parts. Its easier to use than Digikey. Here is what is needed to replace the electrolytic capacitors:

• 4.7uF  x1
• 47uF  x3
• 100uF x2
• 220uF x1
• 1000uF x1

For all of these, I’ve opted for 50v and 105*c tolerances. You can look on the sides of the caps to find what Bose installed, but keep in mind what I said earlier about the 16v caps they used. Using 50v for all of them made the ordering process easier. It did cost about 10 cents more, though.

Remove the goop by heating it with a heat gun or space heater. I used a combo of a pocket knife, needle nose pliers, and snips. Heat the solder and suck it up with a solder sucker. Be sure to note the polarity of the caps as they are removed.

Background:

This website provides a good detail of Bose systems found in the 300zx family of cars.

Z Max Stystems Bose Page

Here are the high points:

• Bose automotive systems use individual amplifiers for each speaker.
• The amplfier/driver/enclosure are all tuned to each other (as they should be) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiele/Small
• The amplifier gain, equalization and compression are all changed based on what car the speaker is located in, where the speaker is located in the car, and it is rumored that even cloth/leather trims are considered.

Root of the problem:

That being said, it is common for these complex systems to fail.  The most common problem is capacitor failure. Much of the blame can be put on Bose for attempting to save a couple cents, opting for capacitors with a 16v tolerance. Now, a typical car circuit works on 12v (12v battery up front, right?). However, when the car is on, the alternator typically brings the voltage up into the 14-15v range. Getting awful close to that 16v break down voltage, huh? There are additional stresses that can be caused by jump-starting as well. While a higher break down tolerance may have helped most problems, the truth about electrolytic capacitors is that they can deteriorate in time, lowering the breakdown voltage. Let’s not forget the stress that all the bumping around can cause. Also moisture in the air, hot and cold… It’s really a miracle that more car stereos aren’t broken.

Solutions to the problem :

• Buying New/Used Bose

Its still possible to purchase speaker/amp modules from Bose. They charge $140 a pop for a new unit. For a lot of people, this may be a solid option if convenience outweighs cost. You know for sure you’ll get a working unit that is up to factory spec. There are also amps that come up on ebay that have been used or are refurbished. One must be careful they are getting the EXACT replacement for their make/model/year/trim/speaker position.  Other amps may work, but they won’t be matched as they were from the factory.

• Repair

For those who want to spend the least amount of money, this is the option. 20 bucks, one can purchase replacement capacitors for all of the amps in their car. However, some mechanical know-how, soldering skills, and time are the trade off. Some sources also claim that the performance will not be as good as new amps, however, I contest that IC’s, inductors, and ceramic capacitors don’t deteriorate like electrolytic caps, so upon replacement, the unit should work like new.

• Aftermarket Replacement

This option has the advantage that sound quality can be improved (ie louder), modern equipment can be used (cd/dvd/nav systems) and other personal touches can be added. However, this means a non-stock headunit, which leads to two things: thieves like stereos and new headunits won’t match your interior. Also, all speakers must be replaced. Bose uses speakers whose DCR is <2 ohms. Most amps (and no head units I’ve ever seen) cannot run these speakers.

Personally, repair is what avenue I have chosen. For an heirloom car like a 1990 300zx in great condition, having the stock system is a definite plus. I’ve had a loud bumping system before, but the cleanness of a stock system is nice, especially in a small car like a 300zx. Not to mention, there are some weight savings to be had over a large system!  The notes below should help anyone trying to restore their 300zx or any early 90’s car equipped with a Bose system.

Pages:

• Center Speaker Repair

The solution was either one of two variables, but I suggest you address both if you can.

1. Turn off Vista and 7’s network throttling. This doesn’t have a toggle in the control panel or device settings, so you have to RegEdit it of course. Type regedit in the search bar in Windows 7 and right click and click ‘run as administrator.’ Regedit might not show up in the Vista search, in which case you can find it in your C:\Windows\system32\ directory from explorer. Make sure you open it as Administrator though.
2. Click on through to this folder of the registry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile (sorry, regedit is about as intuitive as using a garden rake to comb your hair)
3. There will be a registry key called “NetworkThrottlingIndex” — click this and type in FFFFFFFF in the “value data” box (8 F’s). Hexadecimal should remain checked.  Click okay and the key’s data value should show up as “0xffffffff (4294967295)”. In MS-lingo, this apparently means “OFF” so yay!

The second variable depends on your network card drivers. I had Realtek, so I went to realtek’s website, downloaded the latest ethernet drivers, installed them, rebooted, and changed another type of network throttling, called “Interrupt Modulation,” to disabled in the advanced properties of the device’s configuration window in device manager.

After one final reboot, I had perfect video on my HTPC. Wunderbar!

-On the way down from Sperry Glacier after consumption whilest performing a Mr. Peanut-style pirouette.

I think that the crowd that visits our site is nearly assured to have an updated browser, one that supports all the best of new Internet standards. Thus, I moved to insert a nag for Internet Explorer users. Electronox will pretty much now support only the latest versions of Gecko and Webkit based browsers. I think it’s a move for the best.

Kicking things off is a few new themes in development. I guess I don’t really mean “new” – these are more like updates to the strong foundation Dane created with the original Mobius themes.

Enjoy the small facelift. Of course, if you don’t like the facelift, suck-it just let me know how you want it changed and we can bust out a design we all like.

Before you ask, no, nothing is final and I still have some work to do here and there. But if you want to help me with suggestions or searching for places that need some tidying up, you can preview the forum theme for yourself with this link:

http://www.electronox.net/forum/index.php?style=28

Replace $projectnameX with your project’s name. Use the defaults for the trac-admin installer, except where it asks for your SVN Repository folder.

# apt-get install subversion libapache2-svn trac
# mkdir -p /var/local/svn/$projectname1
# mkdir -p /var/local/trac/$projectname1
# mkdir -p /var/local/svn/$projectname2
# mkdir -p /var/local/trac/$projectname2
# svnadmin create --fs-type fsfs /var/local/svn/$projectname1
# svnadmin create --fs-type fsfs /var/local/svn/$projectname2

# trac-admin /var/local/trac/$projectname1 initenv
# trac-admin /var/local/trac/$projectname2 initenv

# htpasswd -c /var/local/svn/$projectname1/conf/passwd $proj1username
# htpasswd -c /var/local/svn/$projectname2/conf/passwd $proj2username

//Additional users
# htpasswd /var/local/svn/$projectnameX/conf/passwd $addUser

Next, we need to configure Apache, this assumes you have SSL on port 443 configured. If not, you can just run over port 80 without the redirect.

Next, we need to configure Apache, this assumes you have SSL on port 443 configured. If not, you can just run over port 80 without the redirect.

# nano /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/trac.yourdomain.tld
<VirtualHost *:80>
        ServerName trac.yourdomain.tld
        Redirect permanent / https://trac.yourdomain.tld/
</VirtualHost>
<VirtualHost *:443>
        ServerName trac.yourdomain.tld
        DocumentRoot /var/local/trac
        SSLEngine On
        SSLCertificateFile /etc/apache2/apache.pem

        <Location />
                SetHandler mod_python
                PythonHandler trac.web.modpython_frontend
                PythonInterpreter main_interpreter
                PythonOption TracEnvParentDir /var/local/trac
                PythonOption TracUriRoot /
        </Location>

        <Location /$projectname1>
                AuthType Basic
                AuthName "trac.yourdomain.tld"
                AuthUserFile /var/local/svn/$projectname1/conf/passwd
                Require valid-user
        </Location>

        <Location /$projectname2>
                AuthType Basic
                AuthName "trac.yourdomain.tld"
                AuthUserFile /var/local/svn/$projectname2/conf/passwd
                Require valid-user
        </Location>

        CustomLog /var/log/apache2/trac.yourdomain.tld/access.log combined
        ErrorLog  /var/log/apache2/trac.yourdomain.tld/error.log
</VirtualHost>

# nano /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/svn.yourdomain.tld
<VirtualHost *:80>
        ServerName $projectname1.svn.yourdomain.tld
        Redirect permanent / https://projectname1.yourdomain.tld/
</VirtualHost>
<VirtualHost *:443>
        ServerName $projectname.svn.yourdomain.tld
        <Location /$projectname1>
                DAV svn
                AuthType Basic
                AuthName "SVN-DAV for $projectname1"
                AuthUserFile /var/local/svn/$projectname1/conf/passwd
                SVNPath /var/local/svn/$projectname1/
                Require valid-user
        </Location>

        <Location /$projectname2>
                DAV svn
                AuthType Basic
                AuthName "SVN-DAV for $projectname2"
                AuthUserFile /var/local/svn/$projectname2/conf/passwd
                SVNPath /var/local/svn/$projectname2/
                Require valid-user
        </Location>

        CustomLog /var/log/apache2/svn.yourdomain.tld/custom.log combined
        ErrorLog  /var/log/apache2/svn.yourdomain.tld/error.log
</VirtualHost>

Now we will add permissions to certain directories and create those error log directories so Apache will start up correctly — if it fails you probably haven’t created them!

# groupadd subversion
# addgroup $proj1username subversion
# addgroup $proj2username subversion

# chown -R www-data:subversion /var/local/svn/* /var/local/trac/*
# chmod -R 770 /var/local/svn/* /var/local/trac/*

# mkdir /var/log/apache2/svn.yourdomain.tld
# mkdir /var/log/apache2/trac.yourdomain.tld

If you want ssh+svn protocol access, you should add and designate users to your ssh daemon configuration file. While you are there make sure you have PermitRootLogin set to No to disable “root” from logging in remotely.

# adduser $proj1username
# adduser $proj2username

# nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
# Authentication:
LoginGraceTime 20
PermitRootLogin no
StrictModes yes
AllowUsers YourRegularUsername $projusername1 $projusername2

Finally, restart your daemons, navigate to your pages, and checkout some source!

# /etc/init.d/apache2 restart
# /etc/init.d/ssh restart

• DDNS Service: Custom
• DDNS Server: dynamicdns.park-your-domain.com
• Username: makesomethingup
• Password: [your really long Namecheap DDNS password (click the Dynamic DNS button on the left side of the Namecheap management page to grab it) - this isn't your Namecheap account password!]
• Hostname: mythirdleveldomain -a my2ndthirdleveldomain -a my3rdthirdleveldomain
• Url: /update?domain=mydomain.net&password=lotsofnumbers&host=

Keep the url blank after host! You can also set the update interval to 1 (updates everyday). Click Apply Settings and watch it go!

Edit: I recently found that the -a parameter in the hostname field allows multiple host updates.

Get Gspace running:

Step 1) Get firefox: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

Step 2) Get Gspace: http://www.getgspace.com/

Step 3) Make sure everything is installed and updated etc. If you click on the “tools” drop-down in firefox, there should be an item called “Gspace” in that menu.

Step 4) Login. Go to http://www.gmail.com/
Ask the person who referred you for the login and password.

Step 5) Use Gspace. Click Tools>Gspace. Wait a few seconds and it should log you on. You should see a bunch of files and folders appear on the right. These are all of the files hosted by gmail. On the left is your computer. Use the arrows in the middle to move files from your computer to Gspace or from Gspace to your computer.

Adding Yourself to the “Upload Updates” email List:

This is a list of Gspace users. It is used to notify everyone when an album has been uploaded.

Step 1) Go to Gmail

Step 2) Click “Contacts” on the left.

Step 3) Click “Upload Update” in the first pane.

Step 4) Click the “+ person” icon above the pane.

Step 5) Add your info to the right pane. (Include email address and alias at the least)

Uploading an Album:

Step 1) Find the folder. You can navigate the folders in the left pane of Gspace, or click “Browse” above this pane.

Step 2) Prepare for upload. Select the folder in the left pane (your computer). Make sure you are in the root Gspace directory (the one with all of the folders)

Step 3) Begin the transfer. Click the Right Arrow between the two panes. You can see the status of each file as it uploads in the bottom pane.

Step 4) Contact the masses. Once all files have successfully uploaded, go to the normal Gmail page (if you’ve followed these directions, there should be a tab open in firefox with the normal Gmail page).

Step 5) Find the list. Click “Contacts” on the left of the page. Click “Upload Update” in the left pane. Click “select:All” at the bottom of the middle pane. Finally, click “Email” in the right pane.

Step 6) Compose the Email. It’s suggested that you put:

• Name of folder on Gspace (usually album title)
• Name of artist
• Your name/alias
• Possibly some info about the artist/album.

This might sound complicated, but you’ll get the hang of it very quickly.