Wacom Graphire 4 stopped working

tony simpson · Mar 16, 2016

Hi there. I've been using a Wacom Graphire 4 with my Mac Pro G5 for many years, working as an illustrator using Photoshop.
Recently I managed to find a second-hand replacement Wacom Graphire as my original tablet's lead was coming loose, causing it to malfunction. The replacement tablet worked initially but then started to malfunction resulting in my G5 crashing and I was unable to reboot as I couldn't open the cd draw! I assumed that the Wacom was faulty but it works fine on my back-up Mac mini. Consequently, I had the G5 repaired and the hard-drive cloned and replaced. The Wacom then worked for a couple of months but is now malfunctioning in exactly the same way: ( i.e. any movement results in a drawn black line on a yellow post-it type background). The tablet still works fine with the mac mini. I've tried all the downloads on the Wacom site for OS X 10.4 taking care to uninstall and restart each time, but with the same result. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Cory Cooper · Mar 26, 2016

Hello and welcome.

-Which exact model G5?
-Which version of OS X?
-Which version of Photoshop?
-Which model/size of Graphire4? It is a USB model, correct?
-Which version of the Wacom software?

There could be many reasons the issue is occurring. It sounds like a graphics issue by the way you described it. Let us know the additional information and we'll try to sort it out.

C

tony simpson · Mar 26, 2016

Wacom: model CTE-430(Sapphire) USB? (It plugs in to a socket)
software: version 4.79
G5 model

ower Mac 9,1
OS X 10.4.11
Photoshop 7

Cory Cooper · Mar 27, 2016

Thanks for the additional information.

That Wacom model has a USB connection. Is it the exact same model you were using before?

I know that it had been working for a long time previously, but having personally owned all of the hardware/software you listed, I do remember some fussiness keeping things running. Photoshop 7 was notorious for not wanting to work well with others.

There are a couple of things to try:
-Wacom 5.24-4 RC - It may or may not be compatible with your setup.
-Adobe Photoshop 7.0.1 updates - there is a 7.0.1 update and a G5 Processor Plug-in update listed

You mentioned that it works normally on your Mac mini. Which model Mac mini and version of OS X/Photoshop/Wacom software is it running?

C

tony simpson · Mar 27, 2016

Thank you, really appreciate your help. Tried the Wacom driver you suggested but not compatible and the Adobe photoshop update plug-in was for 7.0.1. and not compatible for photoshop 7.0
I'm successfully using the same tablet with the same photoshop on my
Mac Mini G4 OS X 10.3.7 with Wacom driver version 4.79

T

tony simpson · Mar 28, 2016

Hi C
I've reinstalled the original Wacom driver version 4.79 and got this warning come up on opening Photoshop:
An item in the Startup Items folder ("/Library/Startupitems/Tablet") does not have the proper security settings. Using this item may cause problems.

I've tried clicking "FIX" and also "DISABLE" (two of the options) and also the third option "Decide later" but with the same negative result'

Hope this may help

T

Cory Cooper · Apr 2, 2016

-Did you run the uninstaller first?
-You could try uninstalling the Wacom software, then repair disk permissions using Disk Utility. Then restart and install again.

C

tony simpson · Apr 5, 2016

Thanks for the suggestion but unfortunately still the same result!

Cory Cooper · Apr 24, 2016

I didn't forget about this, I am still looking into it.

C

tony simpson · Apr 24, 2016

Hi CC
I did an os reinstall today having looked at Scott Kilby's Mac OS Killer Tips and everything's working now!
I was going to let you know and thanks for your support.
All the best
Tony

Cory Cooper · Apr 24, 2016

No worries...glad you found a fix. I was working toward that as a suggestion, but didn't want to go there until we exhausted other options.

Scott Kelby is an acquaintance of mine and a really good guy. He is one of the best people in the Mac community.

Be well,

C