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bbales · Aug 13, 2007, 05:05 PM

I am using a new iMac. In the migration process, I ended up having to create a new me, so to speak, b/c the process did not go well and a guy at Apple Care had me start the registration process, thinking I would then just drag over stuff from my old machine -- which I did not do.

Everything is there, everything works (or is getting tothat point; I'm having to point the machine in the right direction in some applications) EXCEPT that, in my "new home folder" personna, which is my old machine recreated, I cannot download anything from the Internet. I am having no trouble getting on the Internet (all my old settings got transferred, after all), but the machine won't download. I've gried Sfarai, Foxfire, even my NetNews Wire. Nothing. In Safari, it says something along the lines of "cannot create the file."

any ideas? I can go to another account (the one I was forced to create and then abandon) and it can download just fine. I cannot think of a setting to change.

The only thing I can say that makes me wonder is that the new iMac has a wireless card (my old machine did not), and it connected wirelessly when I first set the machine up. Then, in the migration process, when I returned to the previous settings, I couldn't go online until I re-plugged in the etherhnet cable into airport Extreme. Is that somehow the issue? Do I need to reconfigure Airport?

Thanks in advance.

JKT · Aug 13, 2007, 05:15 PM

My suspicion would be that the permissions of your downloads folder (and/or other folders in your home folder) are incorrect. Do a get info on the folder and see if you have read and write permissions.

bbales · Aug 13, 2007, 06:58 PM

Hmmm-- the home folder was "read andwrite" for everything, but I reapplied the persmissions anyway. And I still can't download. Now, there'sprobably another folder I need to look at, but can't find it at the moment.
Thanks for the help. Anyone else have an idea?

seanc · Aug 13, 2007, 07:13 PM

Create a folder on your desktop and then see if you can point either browser to download to that.

reader50 · Aug 13, 2007, 07:27 PM

Your download folder is most likely still set to your old machine. Since the browsers can't reach the old folder, they are throwing errors. Open your internet pref pane and reset your standard download location to your current Desktop (or other location of your choice).

Alternatively, you can change that preference in each browser individually.

zro · Aug 13, 2007, 09:40 PM

Internet preference pane? Where do I get one of those?

steve626 · Aug 13, 2007, 10:57 PM

Originally Posted by zro

Internet preference pane? Where do I get one of those?

Not sure about the preference pane, but you can specify the download location in Firefox by:

Opening the Firefox Preferences
Select "Main"
Note the location specified for downloads and check to see if you can create a new folder or save a file to that folder.

In Safari open Preferences and the same info is found under "General."

reader50 · Aug 13, 2007, 11:53 PM

Apple removed the Internet pref pane from 10.3 onwards. My bad, I've kept bringing my Jag Internet pref pane along all the way through Tiger. Because those prefs belong at the system level.

steve626 is correct, you can find those prefs in Safari preferences now. Apple pulled a Microsoft and moved a system pref into their preferred browser. So unless you add a 3rd party pref pane, you have to keep Apple's browser around in order to set your Internet prefs. Same thing for email, btw. If you want to specify an email program of your own ... you have to boot up Apple's Mail in order to set your default email program.

Curiosity · Aug 14, 2007, 01:24 AM

I have never used Apple Mail, and I never had any problem setting up Thunderbird as my default email application. Thunderbird can set itself up to be the default.

zro · Aug 14, 2007, 02:09 AM

I knew it had been removed, just being facetious.

Camino, OmniWeb (does default RSS reader also), and Shiira let you specify the default web browser. Firefox can set itself, but no others.

bbales · Aug 14, 2007, 09:14 AM

Found it (in Safari, at least) and fixed it! I KNEW it had to be something simple, but I just wasn't thinking about the downloads folder. SO I'm back in business. This was a major impediment to my enjoying my new machine. (The other -- not being able to print -- was solved when I discovered someone in my household had unplugged the printer from the AEBS.)
Thanks again.