wierd font on safari

[bwiygul]

I have a question, i've had a mac for a couple years....Powerbook G4 12" and i've not had any problems except for the airport card. lately i've been having issues with it though (i.e. slow to start, slow to shut down-only sometimes though) and then i noticed that on some websites, like myspace text is all in characters (!^@#%#$%)
any clues on what i need to do, also if you don't mind giving me some basic "clean up"/"tune-up" tips. i did just run a scan with norton but nothing came up, as i expected. any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

What OS version do you currently have installed in your PB G4?

In your Utilities folder you'll find Disc Utility. You can use it to repair your Permissions/HD.

Apps ~> Utilities ~> Disc Utility

Here's a link to explain further.

Here is a link to a list of Mac Maintenace apps

OS X Maintenance

Mac Tune-Up Tips

 

[bwiygul]

i have tiger 10.4.10 i think it's tiger....the one before this leopard the new one...man too many big cats...but thanks for the tips i'll check em out.

 

[bwiygul]

well i still have writing that's screwed up on the internet? i don't know what to do. all i get are symbols.

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

So, what maintenance have you done since I last replied?

Can you post a link so I can test it out on my Mac? Are you using Safari? What version?

Have you installed any fonts lately? Or any hacks of any kind?

I need info otherwise it's difficult to advise.

 

[bwiygul]

i ran the permissions repair and i reset safari v2.0.4 and like i said i ran norton. after i did the permissions deal, i restarted the computer and now i get that wierd icon when i start up. i didn't run any of the other programs from versiontracker because i don't know what i'm actually looking for as far as a cure for the problem. i haven't installed any fonts or hacks or anything, i haven't done anything really since it happened, i just use it for school mostly. i don't have a link because it've actually noticed it mainly on my myspace but also on some websites and occasionally when i'm searching on the internet. let me know if you have any other questions. sorry about the second post. oh yeah, how about stopping garage band from starting up automatically? thanks.

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

Right-click/Control-click GarageBand's icon in the Dock and see if there's a tick next to the "Open At Login" option. If there is, then just select it again to turn that off.

I'm still trying to look for clues regarding the weird symbols ....

 

[bwiygul]

I $& $&$& $&$&d & $&$&$&$&$&

that's a copy and paste of the captions on one of my friends pictures. thanks for the g=band thing.

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

Open Font Book (it's in the Apps folder) and see if there are any bold dots next to any of the Fonts .... that indicates a problem with a font.

Try disabling the Helvetica fonts, one at a time and see if your myspace page looks as it should. Re-enable Helvetica if there has been no change.

You will see this dialogue box:

Some further reading on disabling System Fonts:

Mac OS X 10.4: Fonts list

Mac OS X: Issues After System Fonts Removed or Relocated

Remember you are only temporarily disabling these fonts to test out Safari.

BTW, on the subject of Safari, why not first upgrade to the latest version? Just fire up Software Update and download 10.4.11, which includes Safari 3 ... worth a thought .... might just sort out this fonts issue once and for all without the need to try any of the above.

If you don't want to use Software Update here's the link to the download:

Mac OS X 10.4.11 Combo Update (PPC)

 

[bwiygul]

well i have a whole bunch of fonts that have bold dots next to them....do i have to disable them all? is here a way to repair them or trouble shoot them? i disabled a few of them while i was getting the new safari, for some reason my software update didn't tell me that there was a new one, anyway, it's resolved the problem one way or another......thank you very much for the help.

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

If the issue with your MySpace has been resolved you don't need to continue disabling fonts.

Look at the 1st image in my previous post, you'll see there's an option in the contextual menu to "Validate Fonts". This would be the next step for those Fonts that have a bold dot.

Had you installed any apps just prior to this issue? Some apps can add fonts which may clash with the OS X System Fonts.

Great to see the Safari problem has been resolved. Let me know how the fonts validation works out.