texts:
I recently discovered this nice little spotlight feature in that you can convert a number of bytes into a human readable format. E.g you can type 2147483648 bytes and it will give the corresponding number of "gibibytes" in the preview window. (I think it's documented somewhere that it can do conversions "like" calculator, but the standard calculator doesn't have a conversion for bytes, so this feature seems to be undocumented).

But the strange thing is that now the preview on the right pane of the spotlight window is fixed to the last conversion I did. That is if I do a new conversion (that is any conversion like $ in € not just byte conversions) I see the result in the preview pane, but I cannot see any previews of selected search results anymore even when I change the search term:

I'm not sure when it got broken, I don't think it was right after I tried my first conversions. But anyhow this is a pretty annoying bug so how can I fix this?


texts: Create bootable USB drive from Linux ISO

texts: I'd like to take a Linux ISO (e.g., CentOS, Ubuntu), and create a bootable USB drive. (It will be used for booting on a stock PC, not on the Mac). How do I go about creating such a drive using a Mac?


texts: How can I stop incoming e-mails interfering with music playback?

texts:
I use my iPod Touch to playback music. I have it plugged into a music system. When an e-mail is received the iPod notifies me by beeping and lowering the volume. This is undesirable for me.

How can I make my iPod play music and never lower the volume?


texts: Is it possible to disable Versions for all applications?

texts:
I've never used Versions, and the extra step needed to Save as are enough reasons for me to downgrade to Snow Leopard.

Is it possible to disable Versions in all apps and have a Save As… menu item instead of a Duplicate one?


texts: Use cron to screencapture on Mountain Lion

texts:
I want to set cron to capture the current desktop every hour:

screencapture -Cd -tjpg ~/Desktop/screen-`date +"%Y%m%d-%H%M"`.jpg

I tired this method but it seems doesn't work on Mountain Lion. I also tried Lingo but with no luck. Any ideas?


texts: Safari doesn't detect font installed on system

texts:
When using Safari, I thought the font it was using in Google search pages looked different. Sure enough, Google was using the Roboto font in a Chromium-based browser, but Safari's Google still used Helvetica or something similar. What's even stranger is that I looked into the loaded webpage's CSS, and it seemed like Roboto was loaded preferentially above all other fonts.
Why would it be the case that Safari can't display Roboto, but Chrome can?


texts: How to Check if a Number is Divisible by Another Number

texts:
I am currently creating an AppleScript program that lets you see if the number you enter is divisible by another number. The code I use to see if my number is divisible by two (I think) works just fine:

set twoCheck to (round (myNumber / 2))
set twoCheck to (twoCheck * 2)
if twoCheck = myNumber then
    set twoCheck to true
else
    set twoCheck to false
end if

To determine if a number is divisible by three, you add up all of the digits in the number, and if the sum is divisible by three, so is the original number. I use this code to find the sum of the digits from the my number:

set numString to (myNumber as string)
set numCount to (number of characters of numString)
set threeCheck to 0
set numSelect to 1
repeat numCount times
    set threeCheck to (threeCheck + (character numSelect of numString))
    set numSelect to (numSelect + 1)
end repeat

This code works just fine. I figured that if I used the same code to see if my number is divisible by two and just replace the two with threes, it would execute just fine and tell me if the sum of the digits is divisible by three. However, this not the case. It always returns either "true" or "false", and it's almost never accurate.

Maybe this is super obvious, and I apologize, but I'm stumped here. Keep in mind that I want to find if the number I enter is divisible by any number, not just the number three (although in this case I do want to find if it's divisible by three, but in other words, this code needs to be expandable to other numbers).

I'm fairly new to AppleScript and it'd be great if I could get some help on this. Thanks.


texts: My iPhone 5 will not connect to some public Wi-Fi connections. I have found that if I turn off cellular data it will usually connect. It is as if the two are competing. Anyone know why this happens or how to fix?


texts: Open iMovie with alt down from AppleScript

texts: How to open iMovie with alt from keyboard with AppleScript?


texts: What's a more graceful way to hide private information during a live demo

texts:
Sometimes I give live demos from my Macbook, whereby I plug in an HDMI cable and show my screen on a projector.

During such demos, I sometimes might need to look up a login password which I keep stored in an encrypted file.

What's a better way besides unplugging the monitor to privately copy this password into the pasteboard without flashing my entire password file on the big screen?


texts: How does the volume control work on my iPod touch?

texts:
OK, I'm going to sound like an idiot for asking this, but...

How's the volume control work on an iPod Touch (iOS 4)?  I always seem to surprise myself when I discover that the volume is up when I assume it's down, or vice versa.

I've owned (pre-iOS) iPod, and they were easy: there's one volume setting.  For the iPod Touch, having a speaker, running "OS X", and using the Mac OS X semi-transparent gray volume icon overlay, I figured it'd be just like my Mac.  That is, two separate volume settings, one for the speaker and one for the headphones, and it uses the correct one depending on whether there's something plugged in.

After a while, I found that it doesn't work this way.  I can't figure out quite how it works, though.  One thought was that maybe the volume control is per-app, but that doesn't seem to always be true, either.  Or is it per-app and per-headphones/speaker?

Another aspect that confuses me: when setting the volume, sometimes I get the Mac-style gray icon overlay, and sometimes it uses a round slider in the app itself.  It doesn't seem to be just the app: sometimes the YouTube app shows the gray overlay, even when its own slider is visible!  Is this visual distinction supposed to be useful to me?  It seems like it might be, but I haven't figured out the pattern yet.

Can anyone explain to me how this is supposed to work?  Or is there any official documentation on how the volume controls work?

I'm so confused...

EDIT: Example: I go to Flashcards, set the volume to 0%.  Go to home screen, set volume=50% (up from 25%).  Go to Youtube, set volume=25%.  Start playing a video, it shows volume=0% now (why?), so I turn it up to 25%.  Exit, go back to Flashcards, volume here is now 25% (why?).  (This is all with no headphones plugged in -- I'd like to understand the simple case before I even try to figure out how headphone volume works!)

It's obviously not simply a per-app setting: I've never set the volume in Flashcards to be anything other than 0%, yet it keeps getting turned up, in this case to the volume I set in Youtube.  But the Youtube volume isn't a global setting, either, since I set the volume on the home screen, and Youtube showed me 2 different volume settings (depending on whether a video was playing), and neither of them used that setting.

My next theory was that there's a "shared app volume" setting that was used by Flashcards and Youtube-but-only-when-not-playing-video (but not by the home screen, which is silly, since the home screen doesn't have any sound).  So I tried setting the volume in Youtube-not-playing-video and going back to Flashcards ... nope, in this direction the Flashcards volume stays the same.

My latest theory is that Youtube-not-playing-video can set the shared-app-volume, and Youtube-playing-video will read the shared-app-volume, and Flashcards will both set and read this volume.  (And Youtube itself has 2 volume settings, neither of which is the same as the one I set on the home screen, so I always have to just set the Youtube volume twice.  And double this if I decide to plug in headphones.)

This is the simplest theory I've found to explain most of what I'm seeing, but it seems completely insane.  If anybody has a way to explain this that doesn't involve epicycles, I'd love to hear it.


texts: How do I prevent Mac apps from blocking the restart process?

texts:
My desktop is configured in such a way that a sudden power loss (or abrupt restart) would result in absolutely no data lost. I therefore want to make sure that updates can always install on schedule and that I don't have to manually close any programs when clicking the Restart button.

How do I force Mac to always restart without delay, completely ignoring whatever software might be running in the background?


texts: Is it safe to give my MacBook to a service center with my data on it?

texts: I have to give my Macbook Pro to a service center for a few days to replace the display. Is it safe from the data perspective? Can they access it? (user login is password protected, but I think the data is not encrypted) Can they just take hard drive and copy everything? What should I do to avoid it?


texts: Possible to change the visibility of a column in finder with AppleScript?

texts:
When I change the visible property of a Finder column to false it does not have any effect even after closing and reopening the window.

tell application "Finder"
    activate
    set visible of column id kind column of list view options of Finder window 1 to false
end tell

It appears to be a bug. Any workarounds?


texts: MacBook Pro USB-C adapter and regular USB devices compatibility

texts:
I got a new MacBook Pro from late 2016, MacOS Sierra, 2 thunderbolt 3 ports.

In this machine I need to plug in one external monitor via HDMI, and a few USB devices (mouse and keyboards). For this I bought an adapter that plugs in to the Mac's USB-C port, and supplies two USB 3.1 ports, one HDMI port and a power delivery for the USB-C power supply. The adapter is: Promate uniHub-C (https://www.promate.net/products/unihub-c)

The power supply works, when I plug in the power cable to the adapter, the computer charges.

The HDMI works with another monitor.

My external USB hard drive works, so the mouse/keyboard issue feels strange.

When I have a USB keyboard plugged in, and an external hard drive - the System Report > USB shows as follows. The keyboard and the hard drive are both plugged in to the uniHub-C.

In the finder I see the hard drive though, seems to work well.

Screenshot showing the System report

Screenshot showing that the finder can find the connected hard drive

Here is the problem: the USB slots doesn't seem to do much. When I plug in mouse and keyboard in the adapter, nothing happens. I was worried that perhaps I need another kind of USB-C => USB 3 adapter for regular USB devices to work, but I can't confirm that.

How can I verify I have an active connection in each USB slot?


texts: Hard Drive Issues with MacBook Pro 13-inch mid-2012

texts:
I'm trapped in a HDD nightmare with my MacBook Pro mid-2012.

I updated to Yosemite 10.10.3. A couple of days after the update, I was watching a movie on my TV screen via HDMI. In the middle of the movie I removed the HDMI cable from the MacBook Pro and everything freezes. I forced shut down (Note: My HDD was encrypted). After I forced shut down, I tried to turn on and the loading screen would never stop loading - like, 14 hours stuck with the progress bar. Since I have backups, I decided to access DU and format my HDD. I tried everything. For real. Every command line I could type on Terminal to format, repair, erase and/or partition. I read almost every issue-related questions on the forums and stack exchange groups for a week (even posted my issue here: Erasing and Partitioning Hard Drive from Internet Recovery).

So, I decided that it was a HDD failure and bought a new one.

I bought the Seagate 1TB SSHD Hybrid  - ST1000LM014. Installed the new fresh disk and guess what? All those same problems again. I´m not able to restore from Time Machine because it doesn't recognize the disk in the restore page. But the disk is recognized in the DU. When I try to erase or partition the new SSHD, the same old errors: File system formatter failed. Yes, I tired GUID Partition Table, all of the security options, etc.

Please. Any light that you can throw at this issue, I'll be very grateful for. BTW, the new SSHD is recognized and the SMART Status says: Verified.

Any ideas on WTF is going on?

Thanks in advance!

MacBook Pro, i7, 8GB RAM, mid-2012, 13-inch.


texts: 10.9.2 What fonts can be deactivated? How?

texts:
I'm looking for ways to manage my fonts on 10.9

Just now to fix a hang in Dreamweaver CC, I used Font Book (v5.0) File --> Restore Standard Fonts... That fixed the hang, but now the font menus in all my apps are cluttered with at least 60+ fonts, most of which I will NEVER use.

I understand there are some fonts required by MacOS -- fair enough, these can't be disabled in Font Book.

Some apps have additional requirements, and these are not always clearly documented.  Dreamweaver seems to need Tahoma and Verdana, maybe others.

Beyond those required by the system and my installed apps, I only need a small set of "generic" fonts, e.g. Times, Helvetica, Courier, Comic Sans, maybe a few more. (I'm a minimalist, get over it.)

Font Book preferences offers "Automatic font activation", which is described as follows:  "Activate fonts on your Mac whenever they’re needed by an app, even if you haven’t installed the fonts using Font Book."

This implies that I can start with no apps active, use Font Book to deactivate ALL fonts --excepting the required ones it won't deactivate-- and make a trip through (launch) all my apps.  Once that's done, I should be able to look in Font Book to see what's been activated -- in sum, all the fonts required by all my apps.  Correct? Is this a safe, reliable procedure?

(Yeah, I know, some apps have private font repositories and clog up font menus using those, but that's a separate annoyance.)

What is the safest procedure to deactivate fonts to declutter font menus?


texts: I bought a second hand iphone 5s, I erase all content and settings, then i want to create my apple id, to download apps and all, i completed the procedure to create an apple id but at last the device showing me that "this device is no longer eligible for creating a free icloud account" how can i solve this problem?


texts: Leaving the last 9 characters of a filename in Automator

texts:
I have a ton of files to rename where we only need the last 9 characters of the file.
The files are currently named as this: FirstName_LastName_000000000.pdf.
Essentially, I want to rename the files so that they are named as such: 000000000.pdf
If somebody can assist with providing a way of doing so that will be awesome.


texts: Macbook Pro keyboard and mousepad hang after waking up while connected to VPN

texts:
I have a 2018 15" MacBook Pro running OS X Catalina 10.15.5 (19F101). When I am connected to the company VPN (via the built-in client, no third party VPNs), and my computer goes to sleep, it often freezes for a few minutes when waking up.
When this happens, upon tapping a key or the track pad the screen wakes up, but the mouse cursor is frozen, and the keyboard does not seem to register any input. The touch bar still works (I can adjust volume, brightness, etc), and if I press Esc then the screen immediately turns off, as though it realized "oh snap, I'm actually still asleep". If I wait 3-5 minutes, it will eventually shake itself out of this stupor and wake up properly.
It also only seems to happen if it goes to sleep for at least a few minutes (so, only on actual sleep, not just display blanking).
edit: remove previous edit


texts: How to debug Detect Displays? Having trouble using an external monitor

texts: I have a MacBookPro (MacBookPro5,4) with the DVI output connection and I can't seem to get it to connect to my Dell Monitor.  I've tried using Detect displays and made sure the monitor is using the DVI input.  It says there's no power coming from the cable and enters power save.  Detect Displays does nothing.  Any ideas?


texts: How do I find out what wireless card my Mac has?

texts: I am trying to ID the wireless card on my MBP. How do I find this information? I've trying looking on EveryMac, but to no avail. How do I find this info?


texts: Is there any wired headphones solution to make calls while charging iPhone 7?

texts:
There are lots of hardware to listen to music while charging iPhone 7 but is there any way to make calls and charge iPhone 7 at the same time?

Using a lightning headset?
Using a 3.5 mm headset?


texts: AdobePDFViewerNPAPI shows up in Mission Control

texts:
When I open a PDF document in Safari and then go into Mission control, I see a window with
different kinds of artifacts (e.g. horizontal black lines on a white background) and it's titled AdobePDFViewerNPAPI (Safari internet plug-in). This window is probably related to the Adobe Reader plug-in that Safari uses. Is there any way to have this window not show up in Mission Control?


texts: How do I remove notifications from certain websites not in my Chrome or Safari browsers?

texts:
I am getting notifications from sites I have visited in the past such as SitePoint. I have gone to the Chrome extensions and I do not see it there and I checked out my MacBook notifications, nothing there regarding these sites and yes I have also checked out the Internet Accounts, nothing there either.

How do I stop receiving those annoying notifications from these vendors?

I don't mind the alerts, I just want to end them for some particular vendors.


texts: OS X Mavericks bash_profile paths don't work

texts:
I need to create a new path in OS X Mavericks.

To do so, I edited .bash_profile:

export LC_ALL="en_US.UTF-8"
export PGHOST=localhost

export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/heroku/bin
export PATH=$PATH:/Applications/Postgres93.app/Contents/MacOS/bin

But it doesn't work. When I type echo $PATH, the result is:

/usr/local/heroku/bin:/usr/local/rvm/gems/ruby-2.0.0-p0/bin:/usr/local/rvm/gems/ruby-2.0.0-p0@global/bin:/usr/local/rvm/rubies/ruby-2.0.0-p0/bin:/usr/local/rvm/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/Users/nicolas/.rvm/bin:/usr/local/rvm/bin

This is the content of my .bashrc file:

PATH=$PATH:$HOME/.rvm/bin # Add RVM to PATH for scripting
PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/rvm/bin # Add RVM to PATH for scripting

I don't have (or find) a .profile file.

What am I doing wrong?


texts: How can I transfer non-paid music from my iPod back to my PC?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Transferring music from iPod Touch to PC?

I have some music ripped from my own CDs on my iPod Touch. Recently, I lost those CDs (well, I still have one but it's too damaged to use). I also recently have a new PC, so the only copy of the music is on my iPod.

When I try to sync, I get told that 'do you wish to transfer your paid content' from iTunes. I have done this, but I don't want to sync in case I lose the music I ripped.

I tried going into the iPod via the Windows Explorer thing, but I cannot find my music files.

Are these lost, if I sync again?

Summary: Can I get music I ripped myself transferred from my iPod to iTunes?


texts: High GPU usage and performance drop with HiDPI enabled

texts:
I have a macbook pro 13 2018(Iris Plus 655, quad-core) with a 2K external monitor.
But if I enable HiDPI:

there's a dramatic performance drop and high GPU usage. For example, when I'm writing code in IntelliJ Idea, the GPU usage increases to 30% ~ 50%, which is usually less than 5% with native 2K without HiDPI. In the mean time, I'm suffering from noticeable response lag and frame rate drops.

I guess the Iris Plus 655 has became a bottleneck. Can I solve this by using an eGPU(RX580)?
Thanks!!


texts:
I have a Brother DCP-7040 USB connected printer on my High Sierra system that I'd like to share on my network if possible. It is using the Brother-supplied CUPS driver, which I just updated yesterday. The driver version shows up as "4.5.2" in the printer's "General" settings.

In Printers and Scanners Preferences I have the box checked beside "Share this printer on the network". In Sharing Preferences I have the boxes checked beside "Printer Sharing" and beside the specific printer, and I have "Everyone Can Print" in the "Users" box.

I have two other Macs on my network. Neither of them can see this supposedly shared printer.

I'm pretty sure I had this working under either El Capitan or Yosemite, though at that time I had a Win10 system on the network and no other Macs.


texts: How do I redeem an App Gift from a different App Store? "This code is only valid for customers of the ___ Store."

texts:
My friend has sent me a gift app from the Singapore App Store whilst I'm on the Australian App store.

I encounter the following:
"This code is only valid for customers of the Singapore Store."

How do I redeem this?


texts: Some USB Ports dont support usb hub after login

texts:
I have a problem that seems to be a combination of other problems mentioned here & on the apple support forums. I've tried al the fixes I could find but am still coming up short.
I have a USB-C Hub that I use for a second monitor (HDMI) and a USB Keyboard for my 2019 Macbook Pro. Everything works fine if I use one of the two USB ports on the left side, but I get a weird pattern of problems if I try to use one of them on the right side:

If I plug it in on the right side, neither the keyboard or the monitor are ever recognized at first (the USB keyboard has lights that turn on if it's powered so it's definitely just not being recognized at all).
If I leave it plugged in, sometimes (not always) the computer will eventually recognize the keyboard after ~10m or so but never the monitor
If I reboot the computer before resetting NVRAM/SMC the keyboard and monitor are not recognized, but the keyboard may be recognized ~10m later as before
After resetting NVRAM and SMC the keyboard is reliably recognized after restarting, and works when I type my password to log in, but as soon as I log in the keyboard stops being recognized and seems to be less likely to be detected after some delay than before. The monitor is never recognized.

So in summary -- the left side USB ports work normally, but the right side USB ports work very selectively and are not fixed by resetting NVRAM/SMC. I've read a few posts that suggest it might be an issue with FileVault, but those are all a few years old so I don't know how relevant they are for a machine w/ the T2 chip and latest version of filevault. This problem has persisted for several versions an was definitely still true when i was still running Catalina.
Here are the other guides/threads/posts/etc. i've read and tried the solutions from:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8048517
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8038548
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7212849
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4132214
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251666003
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7212849

Info about my machine:

Macbook Pro 15-inch 2019
macOS version 11.2.1
2.4GHz 8-core Intel Core i9
Filevault enabled

Also posted this over here: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252492736


texts: How can I change a filetype’s “Kind” value in the Finder?

texts:
There are several filetypes that get a generic “Kind” description (if viewed in Finder’s List View) based on the program used to open them.

I’d like to add descriptions for some file extensions so that they are not of the Kind “[editor] document”.

Is this possible?

If so, how?


texts: How do i disable launchpad animation on mac?

texts:
I want to disable the animation when I open Launchpad on a Mac.

Is there any way?

I somehow lag out when using Launchpad, is there any fix to it?


texts: Turn off "this web page is using too much battery" on safari

texts:
Safari prompts "this web page is using too much battery" and restarts the web pages. Most of these pages are gmail, youtube, etc.

How to turn this feature off on macOS 10.13.6?

EDIT1: Memory - 8 GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3. Processor - 3.1 GHz Intel Core i5

EDIT2: While opening YouTube, it always says "the page was reloaded due to some error"

EDIT3: Just one extension - Grammarly

EDIT4: Another problem with YouTube (see image) (private window does not open YouTube at all) (I was currently at 3% battery at that time)


texts:
I'm not a mac user anymore. But I used to be one when I was a kid.
My father had a Macintosh Performa 6200 running MacOS 7.5.3.

On said MacOS you could press command + the turn on key on the keyboard, and a white rectangle with a textcursor would appear.

Does anyone know what type of commands (and in what language) this box expected?

I googled around and found no mention of this textbox. Until this day I have not the slightest idea what that thing was.


texts:
I am going to update my iPod to the newest software and was wondering if this will delete the files?

Most of my songs are from my old computer which I now longer have, so I no longer have the songs in iTunes. If I try to back up my files will it only do the ones from my current iTunes and delete the rest?


texts: SSD with adapter is not displayed on startup disks list

texts:
I have a problem installing macOS Catalina on my Macbook Air (Mid-2013, model A1466).
I created a bootable USB drive with macOS Catalina. Then I restarted my Mac from it and, in Disk Utility, I formatted my SSD (connected with an adapter) with GUID scheme and MacOS Extended.
After that, I installed Catalina on it, but when my Macbook Air restarts, I see a folder with a flashing question mark. When I try to choose my SSD as startup disk I cannot see it on the list. Have you any idea what is going wrong?


texts: Why does Apple name the new product iPhone 'se', what is 'se'

texts:
The latest release of iPhone is 'se', with the appearance of iPhone 5s and features from iPhone 6s.
So why does they call this new iPhone is 'se'?


texts: RSS reader with tagging of individual posts

texts: Is there an RSS reader (ideally a website / iPhone app combo) that allows individual posts to be tagged? Most seem to allow "starring", but that's it.


texts: "Verification Required" when installing free apps?

texts:
When I tried to install a free app, AppStore says:

  Verification Required

  Before you can make purchases, you must tap Continue to sign in, then
  verify your payment info.

I never had this problem before. How do I install free apps without providing Apple with my credit card information?


texts: How to "type to search" in current folder

texts:
Prior to owning Mac, I used Ubuntu with Nautilus (the default file-browser). With Nautilus, you could simply start typing something, and it would select the folder / file matching the characters you typed.

I'm a programmer who simply just needs to quickly navigate folders so you might understand why I would prefer this over the normal finder search which is slow, searches file contents, and the entire contents of your disc.

Is there a simple equivalent of this type-to-select functionality for finder?


texts: I'm given to understand that Disk Utility in macOS Big Sur does not support RAID options other than RAID 0 and RAID 1.  I've got a multi-drive enclosure that I'd like to setup for RAID 5.  Are there any other options for doing this?  I could do RAID 1 for multiple 2-drive pairs, but would prefer to have a single, large RAID 5 volume.  Any ideas?


texts: How to mark as read e-mails from a certain person in mail app

texts: There is e-mail group that I'm a part of. I don't want to quit the group, because occasionally something interesting gets posted. However, I get a large volume of e-mails that are not interesting. Is there a way to mark these e-mails as read in mail app automatically? Just to be clear, I want to keep everything else unread unless I read them. I just want the e-mails from this specific group to be marked as read.


texts: Can I receive money as a gift on iTunes from a different country?

texts: Someone in US is sending 25 dollars as a gift to me in Ireland, how would I know when I recieve it? And can it be done in the first place?


texts: Any potential issues logging into an ARD session with a dedicated ARD user?

texts:
One of the reservations I've had with ARD is that it allows anyone on the same network as you to access your computer, as long as:

ARD is enabled (this can be confirmed by scanning with the ARD client software)
Your username (most likely the same or similar to your computer name that shows up in the ARD client software)
Your password. (this is not so easy to figure out, but most users seem to be a bit more lax with their local machine password, than they would with say a cloud account password, which may be managed by a password manager)

The problem with this is that there doesn't seem to be any brute force protections, built into ARD, nor key / certificate method, where you could setup a key in advance.

I think I've found a way around this to some extent, but wanted to know if this would actually work, or if there are any shortcomings in this. My work-around would be to create a new user on the machine I plan to be the ARD host. This user account would be called, for example, "ARD", and have a really strong password manager generated password.

I would then use my the ARD client machine to login to the ARD user on the host. What I've noticed is that once you've connected, and as long as you have the usernames / passwords for the other user accounts on the host machine, you can login to those other user accounts, even if those other users don't have ARD enabled under the preference tab.

Are there any potential issues you could see with the above ?


texts: External drive for Time Machine and sharing files cross platform

texts:
I have read through this question and the associated apple kb article. I know that I can use an existing external hard drive and time machine can backup to it without affecting the other files.

However, it seems that is only the case if the external drive is formatted as HFS+. So if I want to have an external drive that I can use to store files that will be used by both Mac OS X and Windows 7 (and possibly linux), is my only option to partition the external disk?

Partition 1: HFS+ (Time Machine backups)
Partition 2: exFAT (Docs, Music, Videos for use by W7 and OS X)

Is there another way to accomplish this without having to partition the external drive?


texts:
My Iphone storage is almost full, so I am trying to copy and remove images from my iphone to pc with itunes. For some reason I am not able to do that and the reverse is happening.
Images from my laptop is copied to my iphone.

How should I fix that?


texts: iPhone 6 and iCloud contacts reverted back to an old list

texts: I recently noticed my contacts seem to have reverted back to what they were several years ago. I've lost contacts I added within the last year or so and old contacts I deleted years ago have made a sudden reappearance. I recently updated my iPhone 6 to iOS 12.4.1, but I'm unsure if this has anything to do with the issue, as the contacts seem to have also changed within my iCloud (I checked on iCloud.com). I have had my contacts set to back up in iCloud for years now, and have never had any issues with deleting contacts and creating new ones. I attempted to restore the contacts using advanced settings in iCloud, but the single restore point from September 1st appears to be the same. Any help? This is an odd and frustrating issue.


texts: Finder is not finding my books on the mac

texts:
I am trying to sync my books from my mac to my iPAD but the finder is not showing my books so nothing is synced.

Even PDF files are not showing in the finder.
I am using MacOS 10.15.3


texts: On OS 9.2.1, how can you access shared files from windows computers?

texts:
I'm a total newbie Mac user. I got a Powerbook 3 Pismo off of ebay, got OS 9.2.1 installed, and enabled file sharing. Web browsing is working and I have an IP address.

How do I access the shared folder from my windows 8 machines?


texts: How can I diagnose a superdrive that won't read disks?

texts:
My MacBook (Snow Leopard) seems to be unable to read DVDs and CDs. When I insert a disk (DVD or CD, I've tried a couple of each), the drive spins up, and (it sounds like) moves the laser back and forth a few times, then ejects the disk. I haven't tried blank media.

I've searched around the nets, and it looks like I may be experiencing a relatively common problem, but I don't want to jump to conclusions. Unfortunately, all the threads I've found are filled with "me too, me too", and not a lot in terms of actual help.

What tools can I use, or tests can I run, to try to diagnose (and perhaps even solve) the problem myself before I give up and replace the drive?


texts: Wireless Keyboard: SHIFT-P suddenly not working

texts:
(This question is NOT about Macbook Pro keyboards. It is about an Apple Wireless Keyboard)

I'm using an old Apple Wireless Keyboard (can't find model number - it's the white and clear plastic model).

Yesterday the SHIFT-P (capital 'P') functionality suddenly stopped working. I didn't spill anything or otherwise mess with the keyboard (that I am aware of).

The "p" key works fine but in order to type a capital 'P', I need to set the caps lock. I looked at the 'keyboard viewer' and SHIFT-P doesn't trigger an event. No other keys appear to be affected.

Anyone seen this before?

UPDATE ok, so it's the left SHIFT key which is failing with the letter "P" but the right SHIFT key works fine with it. Weird. I understand total hardware failure but why would the left SHIFT key only fail with the letter "P"?

(the irony here: I am using the wireless keyboard because my MacBook Pro laptop battery swelled up and knocked out the Y, U, I, O keys. I replaced the battery but that didn't fix the keyboard issue)


texts: How to disable update notifications when running Catalina

texts:
Despite having all the usual settings disabled:

macOS insists on reminding me every few days that app store and system updates are available.  I would like to make these permanently stop.
Please note that I am not talking about notification to update the OS to Catalina.  I am asking about notifications that appear after you have updated to Catalina.
Running Catalina 10.15.4.
Old answer for Mojave that says it isn't possible.


texts: Is the iOS image saved by iTunes for restoring the same for all iPhone models?

texts:
If you restore an iPhone 6 with iTunes, iTunes will first download the iOS image and then it will restore the iPhone.
I wonder if this same iOS image will be good for a different iPhone model, such as an iPhone 5 or would it need to download a specific image for iPhone 5?.


texts: Xcode GUI adjusting location of Navigator-Menu

texts:
How can one adjust the view settings, so that the Navigator-Menu (see image) appears on the right or on the bottom, etc.?

UPDATE: Thanks, jherran, for telling me the name of this menu.


texts: Maximizing (not fulll screen) safari window in Bug Sur not working (Option Click Plus)

texts:
I am using Big Sur. Inside the Messages app when I click the green circle in the upper left hand corner while holding the Option key the green icon will display a black plus (+) sign and the window will maximize to take up the whole screen except the dock and the menu bar. I call this Maximizing the window.
This same functionality does not work in Safari. In Safari I use the same key combination and the green circle shows a plus (+) symbol when the mouse hovers over the icon, however when I click the Safari window does not expand all the way. It only uses about 60% of the horizontal area of the screen instead of the full 100% of the horizontal area.
Is there a way to correct this? It is very annoying to have to manually drag the edges of Safari to fill up the screen.


texts: Word 2016 - Can't save to AFP share (El Capitan)

texts:
One of our macs running El Capitan mysteriously can't save Word 2016 documents to our AFP share anymore.

More specifically, when trying to save a Word 2016 document to our AFP share, the normal "Save" dialog pops up. After completing the dialog, Word dutifully closes it and then displays a "Save as..." dialog a short time later (with the file not having been saved to the share). Subsequent attempts to save via the "Save as..." dialog yield the same behavior.

This is exceedingly weird, as:

Other Office programs (Excel, etc.) on that very machine don't make any trouble when trying to save to the share.
The affected machine can use the share just fine otherwise (e.g. Finder).
Other users have no trouble saving to the share from Word 2016.

I updated Office without any luck. Then I reinstalled it, still no luck.
Finally, i mounted the share via SMB... no dice.

Any ideas as to what the problem could be?


texts: How to share an AirTag with family members

texts:
I have an AirTag. I would like my wife to be able to see where it is.
We are part of a family in terms of AppleID (if I download an app, she can also install it).
Is there a way she can also access the AirTag’s location?


texts: What can I do when the power button does not put the macbook to sleep?

texts:
I have this randomly recurring problem that a short press on the power button will not cause my Mbp mid-2012 to sleep. Besides that, everything is normal, i.e. I can still use it to power off and I can still put the laptop to sleep via any other means. Rebooting always fixes the issue.

Is there any service that one could restart to avoid the reboot?

My os is Sierra 10.12.6.


texts: Are there any files which are NOT restored from a Time Machine backup but taken from the recovery partition?

texts:
I'll get a replacement Mac soon, so I'll have to restore from a backup. Apart from the home directory and the applications, does Time Machine also backup the usually hidden Unix folders like /etc, /usr and so on?

I've got a few programs and config files in there and I'd like my new Mac to be in exactly the same state as the current one, in terms of software. Can I rely on Time Machine to backup/restore everything without exception, or would I have to use something like Carbon Copy Cloner instead?


texts: To take off the Transparency features in Yosemite

texts:
I have the newest Macbook Air with maximum flash memory and processor power.
Still, the search functionality lacks i.e. there is a time gap when hitting a button and getting the result in Finder.
No such gap exists in Terminal.

How can you take of the new features of Transparency and others which can make my Yosemite faster?


texts: Mac ssh terminal set echo on after connection

texts:
I have a custom ssh server implemented. Where I have not handled echo, ie once a user connects and logins successfully using client lets say Putty he will not be able to see the characters he is typing in putty window.

In order to see the characters user has to go to change settings Terminal >> turn the local echo force on. Once user does this, he will be able to see what ever he is typing. In putty we can do this at any point after connection.

Now once I connect through Mac ssh client (Terminal) is it possible to change the settings like we have in putty after connecting to server?

Its possible when I try to connect, at the very beginning I just have to give a echo command, but can we do it in between like we do in putty?

Am a first time Mac user, generally work on Windows systems. Might be a very easy way, but have searched and dint find a way.


texts: Failed to Change Carrier-Logo on a jailbreaked iPhone 4 with iOS 5

texts:
today, i wanted to change my carrier logo on my iPhone.
Every Tutorial failed. Even if i complete delete my Carrier-Folder: nothing happens.
The path on the iPhone: /System/Library/Carrier Bundles/iPhone/TMobile_Germany.bundle

There isn't any other path were the icons can be.

I restarted the iPhone many times and changed four times the size and the name of the images.

Any suggestion?


texts: Batch change creation dates based on file names

texts:
I have files that are named like "12. 2017-04-11 063118.jpg", and "123. 2016-09-05 115236.jpg". The number to the left of the "." counts up like an index from 1 to 1400.

How can I set the creation date and time according to how it is specified in the file name for all 1400 files I have in the folder. I know the command touch -t changes the creation date, but I do not know how to extract the date/time information from the file name and put this into a command so this is done automatically for all files.

I know from another thread that the below should work. but i don't know how to tweak the text conversion to correctly apply to my file naming convention.

for f in *; do
    t=$(echo $f | sed -E 's/([A-z]*-)|([ ,;])|(\..*)//g' | sed -E 's/(.*)(..)/\1.\2/')
    touch -t $t "$f"
done

The above code works if my file naming convention is like "clip-2014-01-31 18;50;15.mp4", however, I have a different format: "12. 2017-04-11 063118.jpg", and "123. 2016-09-05 115236.jpg". Does anyone know how to tweak the sed function command to process the conversion into the correct format for touch?


texts: Screenshot a specific dimension, by default

texts:
I would like to do a screenshot/grab of a specific size, is there a way to set this on Yosemite, or is anyone aware of a software tool/app to do this?

I currently have to draw the shape, but often start at the wrong place so have to go through the motions two or three times, when if I had a fixed size i could position it over the area to screenshot to make sure it is correct.

Unlike the related question, The exact position on the screen may differ as I'll be taking a screenshot of my own web site but the browser window might differ in its location.

I am open to all possibilities whether programmatically, workflow, app or website.

On Windows there is a tool called MWSnap that allows settings a default fixed area.

thanks


texts: How can I copy my video from my Mac and send it to my iPhone via a cable or wireless?


texts: Configuring Time Capsule to distribute ISP given DHCP address

texts:
I am using tikona broadband internet and they usually have a 5 IP address restriction. I managed to by pass that by using a linksys router WRT120N . I setup the router to distribute IP addresses as 192.168.1.2-20.

However, when i am connecting my new time capsule, it seems to distribute IPs from DHCP as 10.x.x.2 onwards only.

How do i set up the time capsule so that it takes 10.x.x.x a its IP from DHCP and distributes over the network IPs as 192.168.1.X onwards?

That is also needed so that i will not have to login on each individual device with the ISP username and password on their website.


texts: My iPhone 3G won't receive data (using WiFi)

texts:
I have an older iPhone 3G and the cell phone carrier is no longer available.  It can connect to my WiFi, but the IP Address is showing as 192.254.xxx.xxx and subnet mask as 255.255.0.0, and no data can be sent or received.

If I compare the numbers with my iPhone 4S that can send or receive data, the IP Address is showing as 192.168.1.xx (a local IP) and subnet mask showing as 255.255.255.0.  Is there a way to make the iPhone 3G work like that and send and receive data?


texts: Where are these ads on my lock-screen coming from and how can I get rid of it?

texts:
Every time when I am close to an "dm market" (a German drugstore) I am getting this advertisement on my lock-screen. When I open this notification it looks like in the second screenshot below. There is no app for "dm" or the related service "PAYBACK" installed on my phone. I used the app in the past but it is no longer on my device.

First of all I would like to understand where is this coming from? And second how can I disable this kind of stuff?


texts: Creating Multiple iPhone encrypted backups

texts:
Is it possible to create multiple encrypted backups with different passwords in different iTunes?

For example, if I create an encrypted backup in iTunes 1 with password 'abc' and then plug the device into into iTunes 2 on a different computer and try to create another encrypted backup. Will I be able to set password 'xyz'?

From then on, when I return to iTunes 1 will the backup password on that iTunes be 'abc' or 'xyz'?


texts: How to stop maps, photos, and ibooks from loading in dock on startup

texts:
I checked system preferences (screenshot attached).  They are not listed there.

I checked the folders mentioned in this question, but they are not listed there:

# Nothing
grep -i -R photo /Library/Launch*/*
grep -i -R photo /Users/$(whoami)/Library/Launch*/*
sudo grep -i -R photo /Library/Preferences/*

When I right click on one of the icons in the dock, all I see is a "Remove from Dock" option.  I click this every time my computer starts up.

How do I stop these applications from putting themselves into the dock on startup?

I'm on OSX Yosemite 10.10.5 if it makes a difference.


texts: MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) LCD font smoothing issue with external display

texts:
I am using my LG UltraWide 34" display (34WL500-B) plugged into a 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro (Coffee Lake 2.6GHz Core i7 9750H with 16GB memory) from work.

Here is the product page for the display.

I use VSCode & tmux extensively up to and beyond 8hrs a day, the text resolution is atrocious. No smoothing or anti aliasing and that's the default resolution offered up by the MacBook.

I don't do image or video work at most architectural diagrams using lucidchart. 75% of my work is text based

The real issue is the blurred quality of the text in VSCode & Chrome, the second part of this is that the MacBook Pro doesn't handle the refresh rate or additional resolutions offered by the monitor when scaling is selected (it gets much worse).

I have high quality, finely ground, coated and stabilised zeiss lenses in my glasses and I have a current prescription. I doubt that they are an issue as the MacBook Pro's builtin screen, is comfortable and clear even at a distance.

My other laptops don't cause this issue, these being an Asus C302 with the latest version of ChromeOS, a Dell Precision 5510 running Windows 10 Pro, and a Xiaomi MI Notebook Pro running Ubuntu 20.04 / KDE 19. Clear, antialiased, smoothed text.

This is really bothersome as work obviously has to be done on the work supplied laptop and the uncomfortable nature of the text, is making it really unpleasant to use the external monitor.

The actual question.

What would the specification of an eGPU be to resolve this issue, bearing in mind it will be purchased by me and I'd like to ensure its compatible with my other kit.


texts: How can I force macOS to show the window of a program that I know is open but won't appear anywhere?

texts:
My problem arises because sometimes I'm doing something on my MacBook and the user session logs out, as if I'd restarted the computer. Normally it's something exerting that must overload my RAM, like navigating and suddenly opening too many windows (e.g. I was looking for flights and the option was checked to automatically open windows to look in 4 or 5 more different sites).

The thing is, if I have something open like a game, or a half-filled form on Safari I wouldn't wanna lose progress on, like this question... I know that the program stays open because I've been able to still hear the game music and sounds in the background, as if nothing had happened.

So what I was wondering, is if there is a way to force macOS (10.12.5) to forcefully show a window that is not appearing on the dock, mission control or anywhere else.

By the way, the only way I've been able to restart said program, the game for example, has been by terminating the process on the activity monitor. Trying to open it normally doesn't work.


texts: Admin can't select user to reset password

texts:
This relates to a 2011 Macbook Pro running El Capitan.

I'm set up as the admin and my child has a standard account with parental controls enabled. My child forgot their password and I'm trying to reset it in System Preferences. I unlock the padlock with the admin password, but my child's account is still grayed out and I can't select it to reset the password.

This also happened about a month ago but one day suddenly I could select their user account and I successfully reset the password. I don't know why I suddenly could select it, and I don't know why I now suddenly can't select it. I tried locking and unlocking the padlock but it doesn't make a difference.

I know how else I can reset the password, but what I'm asking here is:

What circumstances could explain why I can't select the user account after unlocking the padlock with my admin password?


texts: How to automatically apply permissions to files added to a shared folder

texts:
I have a shared folder setup on a Mac Mini Server. It has permissions for our company group to read/write. When a mac user adds a file to the shared folder, it inherits the permissions of the folder and everyone can access it (yay!).

However, when a PC user adds a file to the folder, it insists on applying its own permissions to the file, not allowing the other users in the group to access it. I have to manually go into the server and apply the folder permissions to the new files added.

How can I have the files added by the PC users automatically inherit the permissions of the parent share folder?


texts: How to capture a screen shot of all spaces

texts:
Regularly I use more than 4 spaces in my Macbook Pro ( lion/10.7.1 ).

Can I get a screenshot of all spaces at one time ?


texts: Can't connect to other network devices on AirPort Extreme

texts:
We have an AirPort Extreme 6th generation in the office. It's providing 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz wireless networks, with different names:

AirPort Utility: Wireless tab:

AirPort Utility: Wireless options:

Sometimes, when a device is on Brains 5GHz, it can't communicate with other devices on the network, but it's able to connect to the internet with no problems.

It doesn't happen all the times, but it happens pretty frequently. Once it's begun, the only resolution is to switch my devices to the 2.4 GHz network, at the cost of much worse wireless performance.

When I say my devices "can't communicate with other devices on the network", here's what I mean:

Can't print from MBP or iPad (airprint) to wired printer. Printer status says the printer is "not found".
Can't ssh/screen share to coworkers' computers.
Can't reach my dev web server on my computer from an iPhone/iPad (and other mobile devices).
Can't mirror to Apple TV — doesn't even show up on the Airplay device list.

If both devices are on the 2.4 GHz network, there are no problems. If even one of them is on 5 GHz and the AirPort is misbehaving, we can't communicate with them.

The behaviour makes me wonder if the AirPort is isolating clients from each other somehow, but I've gone through the settings and updated the firmware, and still have problems.

Is there something I can change in my setup to resolve these problems?


texts: AirDrop doesnt work on Macbook Air 2012 and iPhone 6S

texts:
I try to send content from iPhone to my Macbook Air via AirDrop. Everything seems to be correct. On both devices the bluetooth and same wifi is turned on. On both it is allowed from Everyone. But my mac is still invisible for my iPhone. Why?

Definitely sth is wrong with my macbook, because I can share between iOS devices, but cannot connect from and to my Macbook.

I know that AirDrop doesnt work with Macbook earlier than 2012, but my Macbook is 2012, so it should work. It is not duplicated question.


texts: iMessage from iPad wont send to texts to my husband, but I can send them to other iphone users without issues

texts: Recently, without any settings changes, my iMessage on iPad began failing every attempt I made to message my husband.  I can still message other friends from my iPad without any other issues.  I can still message my husband from my iPhone.  So frustrated....looked at settings options and can not detect anything to fix this issue.  I have restarted iPad several times, still not working.


texts: AppleScript: How to right-click, without deselecting text, in Google Chrome?

texts:
If one has selected some text in Google Chrome, and then uses cliclick to right click on this text in order to pull up the context menu for the selection, the text will no longer be selected. I would like the text to remain selected/highlighted after the right-click occurs (just like what happens when one right-clicks manually).

Here is the AppleScript code that I am using to right-click (wherever the cursor is located when the script is triggered):

do shell script "/usr/local/bin/cliclick kd:ctrl c:+0,+0"

Oddly enough, the issue only occurs in Google Chrome. If I run the AppleScript in Notes.app, TextEdit, Microsoft Word, Script Editor, Finder, Safari, etc. the selection remains highlighted after the right-click occurs.

Here is what I want to happen when the script is triggered:

(If you are wondering how I achieved this desired result while in Chrome, I simply right-clicked manually.)

Here is what actually happens when the above code is triggered:

Observe how PleaseRemainHighlighted goes from being selected to unselected.

Note: In the above GIF screen capture, the selected text happens to be editable. But the issue persists in Google Chrome whether the selected text is editable or uneditable.

I wanted to install MouseTools to see if this issue was unique to cliclick. But I can't figure out how to install MouseTools.


texts:
In linux:

I can open a folder via xdg-open command from terminal.
Then define a keyboard shortcut to any a combination of key to open a common used folder.
e.g ctrl + shift + c to open the dir /home/me/note/cs

On mac:

I can open a folder via open /path/to/dir from terminal.
But is it possible to define a shortcut so that I can open a specific dir with a specific shortcut?


texts: What MAC address should I use for my Thunderbolt Ethernet on a MBPR?

texts:
I use MAC addresses to assign static IPs on my network and have recently added a new MacBook Pro Retina with Thunderbolt adapters in stead of Ethernet ports. On the box one MAC address is given for the "Ethernet" but when I plug in to the Thunderbolt ports using the Ethernet-Thunderbolt adapter, I see a different MAC address for this connection.

Which MAC address does the DCHP server see when assigning IP addresses?

I should add that the Ethernet-Thunderbolt adapter doesn't seem to work at all for me. It either incorrectly reports that no cable is connected, or self-assigns an IP address.


texts: Cannot save Chrome links to desktop / Finder

texts:
I'll often save links from Chrome to my desktop or Finder, simply by dragging the URL from the address bar to wherever I want to save the shortcut to.
But all of a sudden it won't let me anymore. I think I used to get the green + icon showing when I'd be dragging it, but now I just get the website name and then it just disappears when I unclick my mouse:

I've just tried doing the same in Safari and that won't work either (although not sure if it normally would as I never use that browser).
I've tried Googling the answer but can't seem to find anyone else with the same problem, has anyone else had this?


texts: Simulating copy and paste on applications that don't allow it

texts:
Context
Some applications currently don't seem to allow copy and pasting.
For example I have an application that asks me to log in every time and it doesn't allow me to paste anything so I'm forced to type a very long and complicated password every time.
I don't think it's something they intentionally restrict but rather a limitation of the libraries they are using (maybe xQuartz?).
What I've tried
I've tried cmd+C and cmd+V in the input area. I've also tried to right-click and click on "Paste" (which is highlighted) but that also yields nothing.
Question
In any case, is there any way to simulate pasting on Mac OS X? Maybe by sending multiple key presses instead?


texts: Why have option- shortcuts in text fields started inserting special characters?

texts:
I'm a daily user of a couple of IntelliJ IDEs. Unusually for Mac apps (probably because they're Java, not real native apps) they make liberal use of option/alt- keyboards shortcuts. I probably use these unthinkingly hundreds of times a day.

Suddenly they're not working. Either they do nothing, or if the cursor is in a text field, they insert a special character (eg. Ø for option-shift-o).

I don't think this has anything to do with the IntelliJ software per se. I mention them for completeness (and because I didn't use the option-key shortcuts in other apps, so can't be sure of the behaviour elsewhere). This is on a 2013 MB Pro, with both the internal and a bluetooth keyboard.

The one wrinkle in setting up my question is that it's possible this started when I installed the 10.11 RC (I had previously been on release Yosemite). I'm not quite sure, unfortunately, as in the heat of getting work done, I ignored the new shortcut behaviour when it first cropped up (so don't quite remember when that was).

So, has 10.11 introduced something that might have caused this different behaviour? Or is there a setting I might have unwittingly changed? I'd be grateful for any suggestions as to why these shortcuts could have changed behaviour overnight, and what I can do to get the old behaviour back.


texts: Is there any way to turn off the "Finish Setting Up Your iPad" nag in iOS 11?

texts:
iOS 11 will nag you to "Finish Setting Up Your iPad" with notifications and a badge on the settings app if you don't have a passcode. Is there any way to turn this off?

(Just so someone doesn't tell me that I really should set up a passcode: I am setting up the iPad in question for a stubborn older person who uses the iPad at home exclusively and hates the minor inconvenience of having to type in a passcode or use TouchID. I would like to upgrade because software updates are important for security but the person in question refused to upgrade once they learned they needed to set up a passcode.)


texts: Recommended way to remotely control your Mac Mini from your Macbook Pro at home

texts:
My configurations to access Mac mini (Leopard) from my MacBook Pro (Leopard) at home are:

Mac mini: Apple remote desktop enabled with VNC viewers flagged
MacBook Pro: Jollyfast VNC

I find this configuration too slow for my cabled LAN (100Mbit) and I'm searching for a better software solution.

What is a recommended way to remotely control your Mac Mini from your Macbook Pro at home?


texts: Screen brightness control (F1, F2) not working on a WASD mechanical keyboard with mac mode keys

texts:
I got a WASD mechanical keyboard with mac mode keys which has the all the media shortcuts such as play, pause, volume up/down etc except for screen brightness control. Even though in System Preferences F1 and F2 are set up to control the screen brightness for my iMac, they don't work when I press them on their own or in combination with Fn/ Command/control/etc.

Is there a way that I can have keyboard shortcuts to screen brightness control?


texts: Latest Windows 10 update (March 2021) broke Bluetooth on mid-2014 MacBook Pro Retina

texts:
Running Windows 10 on Boot Camp on a MacBook Pro Retina from mid-2014 (with Catalina, if that makes a difference). Bluetooth was working fine till last night. Today it installed a system update and Bluetooth is no longer working on Windows.
In Settings, it says Bluetooth is on and lists all the paired devices (currently only a Voxon mouse). I use a Belkin numeric keypad as well, but when I noticed it wasn’t working I removed the device from the list thinking I could just add it again. Big mistake. Now my computer can't find the keypad when I click on “Add Bluetooth or other device”. The keypad is literally right next to my Mac and has newly charged batteries. I also tried with a different pair of batteries at about half charge, so it isn’t that. It works perfectly with macOS.
My mouse doesn’t work either despite it showing up on the list of paired devices (again, tried changing the batteries without success). Again, works with macOS.
I thought it was a driver problem, but I can’t find a list of drivers for Belkin keypads on Belkin’s website, Apple’s website or Google. All the Google results I can find for BlueTooth issues on Windows on Boot Camp are from 2016 or earlier and terribly outdated.
Thanks for any help.
Edit:
Tried uninstalling the system updates (Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features > Installed Updates > Microsoft Windows). It showed three updates:

“Servicing Stack 10.0.19041.860”
“Security Update for Microsoft Windows (KB5000802)”
“Feature Update to Windows 10 20H2 via Enablement Package something something something”

It would only let me uninstall the latter two. Bluetooth still not working.
Another edit (07 May 2021):
Restoring a previous OS version didn’t work.
A few weeks after I reported the problem here, the computer decided to detect BlueTooth devices properly again (no updates in the meantime). This lasted for a few weeks before the problem spontaneously appeared again (no updates in the meantime). It’s been like that, a few weeks on and a few weeks off, since then.


texts: Is it possible to test iMessage functionality without another person?

texts: I'm trying to switch cell carriers and I want to make sure that both iMessage and SMS text work on the new one. I can trigger an SMS anytime I want through any number of websites with 2FA. Is there a way to get a test iMessage sent to you other than asking a friend through a different channel to text you?


texts: If I need to download an App, what method of installer should I prefer DMG or Package Installer? Which has greater advantage.


texts: I want to see the local stocks in our countrry instead of stocks in US. How to do that in Stocks app in Mac?


texts: Late 2012 iMac - Thunderbolt : no hardware was found

texts:
I have an Late 2012  27" iMac (iMac13,2) and somehow when looking in system report for the Thunderbolt ports say "no hardware was found.”

I have tried:

Endless searching to find a solution
Resetting SMC and NVRAM
Updating OS to High Sierra

Clean Install, deleting HD and installing High Sierra
Clean Install, with 2nd level secure disk delete in hopes to delete firmware

Updating Thunderbolt firmware 1.0, 1.1, and 1.2 to no avail
Tried to create a bootable installer of Yosemite to trick the machine into letting me "downgrade" firmware to v1.0 or v1.1. I’m almost positive that it's a firmware issue as the system does not see any Thunderbolt firmware.

This system was used as the heart of an audio editing project studio and is now completely non-functional as the two high-end Thunderbolt audio interfaces used to get audio in and out of this iMac are no longer functional.

What can I do to fix the Thunderbolt ports?


texts: Is it possible to delete a file from a folder via the Dock? I know I can drag the file to the Trashcan but I'm curious if there is some key combination perhaps that I can use to click on a file via the Dock Grid and delete it quickly and without closing that Folder in the Dock.


texts: My computer wakes up at 5:59:39 every morning. How do I stop that from happening?

texts:
For some reason my 2017 iMac running macOS 10.14.6 keeps waking up from sleep at exactly 5:59:39 AM every morning. If I look at the logs using pmset -g log at this time it consistently reports:

2019-11-07 05:59:39 -0500 Assertions            PID 77(powerd) Created UserIsActive "com.apple.powermanagement.wakeschedule" 00:00:00  id:0x0x900009fac [System: PrevIdle PrevDisp DeclUser kDisp]
2019-11-07 05:59:39 -0500 Assertions            Kernel Idle sleep preventers: IODisplayWrangler
2019-11-07 05:59:39 -0500 Notification          Display is turned on
2019-11-07 05:59:40 -0500 Assertions            PID 77(powerd) Created UserIsActive "com.apple.powermanagement.wakeschedule" 00:00:00  id:0x0x900009faf [System: PrevIdle PrevDisp DeclUser kDisp]
2019-11-07 05:59:41 -0500 Assertions            PID 77(powerd) TimedOut UserIsActive "com.apple.powermanagement.wakeschedule" 00:00:02  id:0x0x900009fac [System: PrevIdle PrevDisp DeclUser kDisp]
2019-11-07 05:59:41 -0500 Assertions            PID 77(powerd) TimedOut UserIsActive "com.apple.powermanagement.wakeschedule" 00:00:01  id:0x0x900009faf [System: PrevIdle PrevDisp DeclUser kDisp]

I don't understand what those log entries mean and searching for the terms in them hasn't yielded anything revealing so far.

In the Energy Saver system preferences, I have the following options enabled:

Prevent Computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off
Wake for network access
Enable Power Nap

In the "Schedule" settings the "Start up or wake" setting is disabled.

Why is my computer waking up? And what can I do to stop it?


texts: How do I full-screen QuickTime Player on an external monitor in Lion?

texts: I am trying to play a QuickTime video in Lion on an external monitor. How do I get it to play full screen on the external monitor, not on the laptop screen?


texts: Built-In Trackpad and Keyboard Unresponsive after Sleep or Restart

texts:
I have a MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2008) that's currently running 10.7.3. I've been finding that it will intermittently freeze and then I have to shut down and restart the computer, but sometimes that will not fix the problem.

If I plug in an external mouse and keyboard, then I can move the cursor and type again, but as soon as I remove them, the problem persists.

I've tried resetting the P-RAM, reinstalling Lion, installing a new HD, and I've had the graphics chip tested and it's performing properly. If you have any suggestions on how to fix or diagnose, that would be very helpful. Thank you.


texts: Binding DualShock 4 button to AppleScript?

texts: I setup a dualshock 4 (PS4) controller to work with my Mac Mini for XBMC, which can play games on emulators like SNES9x. The issue I'm having though, is that when I want to quit the game/emulator that I'm playing, it requires a mouse and a keyboard. So what I would like to do ideally, is take an applescript that I have, which terminates the current emulator and bind it to the "PlayStation" button on the controller so when I'm ready, I can quit the current game without having to use a mouse and keyboard. At the same time, it's necessary that every other button on the controller can continue to be mapped normally to buttons in the emulator.


texts: How to click and drag to select/copy only part of a message in iMessage for OS X?

texts:
Can anyone tell me how to restore the feature that allows clicking and dragging in a message in the OS X Messages app to select only part of a message that has already been sent or received?

This capability seems to come and go. I just did it a few days ago, and now it doesn't work again.


texts: How can I downgrade iTunes 10.5 Beta 7 to the regular iTunes 10.5

texts: I installed iTunes 10.5 Beta. I want to go back to the regular version of iTunes on the iTunes website. When I try and install it, I get an error saying the version on my computer is newer, so it can't. My version of iTunes will expire. I don't want to upgrade to the next beta. I just want the regular iTunes. How can I do this?


texts: Is there a way to delete an app of an iPad that used the same Apple ID without touching it?

texts: My relative yelled at me for downloading an app for my friend now I have to delete it but there's no way I can ask my friend if she could delete the app and look for someone else to download it for her (Minecraft). I can't take her iPad and delete it so how can I delet it without touching the iPad. Is there a way? Mine is iPad Pro, hers is iPad Air 2.


texts: Using the system voice for TTS in the Books app

texts:
I'd like to have my ebooks read to me using TTS. I can do this by clicking the "Start speaking" menu option in the Books app, however, the voice is atrocious compared to the high quality Siri male/female voices.
I want to use the system selected Siri voice I've chosen in the Books app, but so far the only way I've been able to get it to work is by selecting text and hitting the accessibility hot key. This means I can't just leave the book talking I have to keep going back to it and repeatedly select the text I want it to speak.
Conversely, the "Start speaking" feature will continuously speak with the low quality voice without needing to select anything.
How do I make Books use the system default Siri voice for the "Start speaking" feature?


texts: My dad keeps getting all my apps that I download. why?

texts: My dad and I used to have the same Apple id, but recently I made his own (he didn't know how to work his) and I changed it on his phone. I kept mine on a new device. But he still keeps getting any app that I download. I don't know how to make it stop transferring all my data to him.


texts: App stuck while downloading at stage of 2%

texts:
I have downloaded two apps using iPhone App Store in the morning and they were downloaded successfully. My apps stuck when I was trying to download 1 of the app called Ninjump. It's still showing in downloading mode but no progress has been made yet.

Rebooting doesn't resolved my problem too. Its still in downloading mode. I have full Internet Speed right now. I can browse as well so there is no chance app is stuck due to Internet.

How can I remove that app which is still in downloading mode?


texts: What methods exist for reading out content to hear correct pronunciation?

texts:
I would like to be able to have selected content from ebooks and webpages read out to me so that I may hear the correct pronunciation of words and sentences.

What accessibility options exist to help me do this using existing apps like Safari and Kindle or iBooks, and do 3rd party apps exist that are specifically written to narrate selected text or contents?


texts: Transferring an old iPhone after I upgrade?

texts:
I'm about to upgrade from the iPhone 3G to the iPhone 4, and I'm not sure what will happen to my old device once my phone number is transferred.

Specifically, I want to give the old device to my girlfriend, who is on a AT&T non-smartphone. What will I have to do to move her to the iPhone 3G? Will she need to sign up for an iPhone specific data plan if I put the sim card in there? WIll it work like any old phone if I just put the simcard in there?

In short, I'm not sure what will happen, and what I need to do.


texts: Port 9000 apache returns access forbidden

texts:
I am using native PHP and native Apache. PHP version is 5.5. userdir module in Apache is enabled, and I have my PHP codes under ~/Sites. Localhost URL is localhost/~username. I have installed XDebug and I am configured it with Vdebug plugin. In phpinfo() it says the extension is enabled.

I am not able to access localhost from port 9000. When I visit this URL http://localhost/~subhojit:9000 it returns access forbidden. Not just 9000 port, even if I am entering port 80 like this http://localhost/~subhojit:80, it returns access forbidden. But I am able to access PHP websites using virtual hosts or from localhost URLs like this http://localhost/~subhojit/phpwebsite.

I am not sure what I am doing wrong. Please help.


texts: Apple/iOS: record videos via iPod touch; reduce video size?

texts:
I have the latest gen iPod touch: which has an HD camera with mic. I
want to record class lectures and such but the files are massive that
it produces: 4+ gigs for 1 hour using the built in app. Is there a
setting or another app that will allow extremely high quality audio
and video without the cost of such a large file?

Currently I record, sync, encode then watch.  My 1 tb HDD is filling up quickly.

Any suggestions?


texts: Macbook Pro Retina 13 (late 2012) SSD replacement, putting in a SATA 2.5' SSD drive?

texts:
Macbook Pro Retina 13 (late 2012) SSD replacement, putting in a SATA 2.5' drive?

Before you jump in and say no it can't be done please read the below information to see it can be done.

The late 2012 Retina is a mixed breed laptop, the old generation used SATA drives and you could upgrade yours to a SATA SDD, while the new generation macbook use a "stick like ssd" that connects directly to PCI-Express.

Now, the late 2012 Retina is a hybrid between those, it still uses SATA but the connector looks like mini-SATA and similar to PCI-Express but the pinouts are mixed around.

If one could find an adaptor from the main board connector to SATA and get the pinouts connected right it would be possible to connect a SATA SSD, there is even enough room under the trackpad.

Photos of the SSD tray: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Retina+Display+Late+2012+SSD+Tray+Replacement/12822

I'll post pictures of the pinouts later.

Has anyone found an adapter like this?


texts:
Background
I have a Seagate BlackArmor NAS220 running Debian. I would like to use the NAS as a target for Time Machine backups from my Mac (2020 Mac mini M1). I have used disk utility to create a 500 GB sparse bundle disk image (HFS+J). I can mount the sparse bundle on my computer no problem when it is stored locally. I then copy the sparse bundle to my NAS.
Problem
When I try to mount the sparse bundle on my Mac while it is stored on the NAS (by double-clicking on it) I get the following error:

When I double click on it again I get this error:

Attempting to mount via the Terminal using,
sudo hdiutil attach -verbose /path-to-network-share/MacminiTM.sparsebundle/
results in,
Mac-mini:Time Machine Backups christopher$ sudo hdiutil attach -verbose /path-to-network-share/MacminiTM.sparsebundle/
Initializing…
CBSDBackingStore::newProbe directory, not a valid image file.
DIBackingStoreInstantiatorProbe: interface  0, score    -1000, CBSDBackingStore
DIBackingStoreInstantiatorProbe: interface  1, score     1000, CBundleBackingStore
DIBackingStoreInstantiatorProbe: interface  2, score    -1000, CRAMBackingStore
DIBackingStoreInstantiatorProbe: interface  3, score    -1000, CDevBackingStore
DIBackingStoreInstantiatorProbe: interface  4, score    -1000, CCURLBackingStore
DIBackingStoreInstantiatorProbe: interface  5, score    -1000, CVectoredBackingStore
DIBackingStoreInstantiatorProbe: interface  0, score      100, CBSDBackingStore
DIBackingStoreInstantiatorProbe: interface  1, score    -1000, CBundleBackingStore
DIBackingStoreInstantiatorProbe: interface  2, score    -1000, CRAMBackingStore
DIBackingStoreInstantiatorProbe: interface  3, score    -1000, CDevBackingStore
DIBackingStoreInstantiatorProbe: interface  4, score    -1000, CCURLBackingStore
DIBackingStoreInstantiatorProbe: interface  5, score    -1000, CVectoredBackingStore
CBSDBackingStore::newProbe directory, not a valid image file.
DIBackingStoreInstantiatorProbe: interface  0, score    -1000, CBSDBackingStore
DIBackingStoreInstantiatorProbe: interface  1, score     1000, CBundleBackingStore
DIBackingStoreInstantiatorProbe: interface  2, score    -1000, CRAMBackingStore
DIBackingStoreInstantiatorProbe: interface  3, score    -1000, CDevBackingStore
DIBackingStoreInstantiatorProbe: interface  4, score    -1000, CCURLBackingStore
DIBackingStoreInstantiatorProbe: interface  5, score    -1000, CVectoredBackingStore
DIBackingStoreInstantiatorProbe: interface  0, score      100, CBSDBackingStore
DIBackingStoreInstantiatorProbe: interface  1, score    -1000, CBundleBackingStore
DIBackingStoreInstantiatorProbe: interface  2, score    -1000, CRAMBackingStore
DIBackingStoreInstantiatorProbe: interface  3, score    -1000, CDevBackingStore
DIBackingStoreInstantiatorProbe: interface  4, score    -1000, CCURLBackingStore
DIBackingStoreInstantiatorProbe: interface  5, score    -1000, CVectoredBackingStore
Attaching…
Error 5 (Input/output error).
Finishing…
DIHLDiskImageAttach() returned 5
hdiutil: attach failed - Input/output error

I can't figure out why the sparse bundle mounts fine when it's stored on my Mac locally, but not when on the network share.


texts:
I need to compile some small cpp files so I'd like to do that through the terminal. I'm using Catalina 10.15.5. I found out that macOS has a built-in clang compiler and I can use commands like c++ or g++. It's version:

Apple clang version 11.0.3 (clang-1103.0.32.29)
Target: x86_64-apple-darwin19.5.0
Thread model: posix

But I need to know which c++ version it uses (e.g. c++17, c++11 or even less version). It's really important for my files.

I know I can specify the version like c++ --std=gnu++17 but the question is how to make the compiler to use it by default (without aliases, there must be a command to change it). Or at least how to find out which version does it use right now?


texts: What is the keyboard short cut to cycle to a minimized window?

texts:
For example, if I have 2 Safari windows open. One is minimized and I have focus on the other one, how do I open the minimized one with out using the mouse?

I found ⌘-` activates the next open window in the frontmost application, which will cycle through the open windows.

How do I get to a window that is minimized?


texts: Load MacBook Air back-up on MacBook 2017

texts: I've recently purchased a MacBook 12' 2017 and would like to restore it with a TimeMachine back-up of my previous MacBook Air 13' 2014. When I try to do that from the recovery mode, an error message says something about the two models not being compatible. I wonder if this is indeed the case and if there is a workaround.


texts: Restoring WhatsApp backup from iCloud Drive

texts:
I have a problem with restoring iCloud WhatsApp backup on my new iPhone.
Some time ago I created WhatsApp iCloud backup and then sold the phone.
I've bought a new iPhone, inserted the same sim-card, signed in the same Apple ID account.
When I open WhatsApp app it tries to find my iCloud backup and always says that no backup found.
I have read that question: Accessing WhatsApp iCloud backup? and have found all .icloud files on my Macbook. But I don't understand how I can import them on new phone.
Moreover, I've read that: Whatsapp-Restore from iCloud is not showing my Backup. I've already checked that my new iPhone has the same name as the previous one.
PS: The first thing I did is writing to WhatsApp support. They have answers like "we cant help you with data restoring".


texts: Does fixing a Fusion Drive using 'diskutil resetFusion' destroy the BOOTCAMP partition

texts:
I have a 2015 iMac 27" retina whose Fusion Drive split into separate drives whilst attempting to fix a partition table issue prior to upgrading to macOS Big Sur.
I have a fully functioning BOOTCAMP partition with Windows 10 on the HDD drive.
If I run diskutil resetFusion to rejoin the Fusion Drive's SSD and HDD, will it destroy my BOOTCAMP partition?


texts: Notes from iCloud account don't sync with devices when added as secondary account

texts:
I have a "work" iCloud account - a couple of Macs and stuff at work which use that account. I added that iCloud account under Mail etc settings on my iOS 9.0.2 iPhone. However even though Notes is checked, I do not get the exact same content in Notes as is on those Macs at work, or the Notes that appear when I sign in iCloud.com with a desktop browser.

It looks as if the notes that appear for my work iCloud account on my iPhone are old.

I do not see any recent notes, especially not any from October 2015, just older ones.
I no longer see any changes made on the iPhone to the Notes appear on my work Macs/iCloud.com.

I am suspecting that iOS 9 and/or OS X El Capitan has something to do with it.

I have tried to sign out of and then in to the iCloud account over and over on my iPhone, but it seems I can no longer use that iCloud account for Notes on my iPhone. I use the job email account too on my iPhone - that works.

Update: I added the same work account to my personal Macbook Air - again as a secondary account. The funny thing is I get the SAME work notes that I have on my personal iPhone! So in essence, I have two sets of "work notes": (let's skip bold here)

A set of work notes that sync between Macs and iPhones at work, when that account is added as primary iCloud account. The notes are also accessible at iCloud.com when using a desktop browser.
Another set of work notes that sync between my private Macs and iPhones, because (I guess) those are added as secondary accounts.

How can this be? The account id and password are surely the same. Still iCloud somehow keeps two different content sets for these... This is getting beyond me...


texts: Resizing a partition got stuck, what to do now?

texts:
I'm trying to resize my Mac partition from 380 GB to 350 GB.
Disk utility didn't allow me to do that, claiming my current container size is also the minimum container size, despite having 130 GB of unused storage, so I used Terminal and these two methods:

First

  | cut -d. -f4 \
  | xargs -n1 tmutil deletelocalsnapshots

from Can't resize APFS Container: Not enough free space in Container due to APFS limits or tidemarks

and then Resize APFS partition in Mojave

Initially that seemed to work, but it got stuck at some point, showing this:

Started APFS operation
Aligning shrink delta to 30,068,936,704 bytes and targeting a new physical store size of 349,999,996,928 bytes
Determined the minimum size for the targeted physical store of this APFS Container to be 261,254,807,552 bytes
Resizing APFS Container designated by APFS Container Reference disk1
The specific APFS Physical Store being resized is disk0s2
Verifying storage system
Using live mode
Performing fsck_apfs -n -x -l -S /dev/disk0s2
Checking the container superblock
Checking the EFI jumpstart record
Checking the space manager
Checking the space manager free queue trees
Checking the object map
Checking volume
Checking the APFS volume superblock
The volume Macintosh HD - Daten was formatted by hfs_convert (748.1.46) and last modified by apfs_kext (1412.101.1)
Checking the object map
Checking the snapshot metadata tree
Checking the snapshot metadata
Checking the extent ref tree
Checking the fsroot tree
Checking volume
Checking the APFS volume superblock
The volume Preboot was formatted by newfs_apfs (748.1.46) and last modified by apfs_kext (1412.101.1)
Checking the object map
Checking the snapshot metadata tree
Checking the snapshot metadata
Checking the extent ref tree
Checking the fsroot tree
Checking volume
Checking the APFS volume superblock
The volume Recovery was formatted by newfs_apfs (748.1.46) and last modified by apfs_kext (1412.101.1)
Checking the object map
Checking the snapshot metadata tree
Checking the snapshot metadata
Checking the extent ref tree
Checking the fsroot tree
Checking volume
Checking the APFS volume superblock
The volume VM was formatted by newfs_apfs (748.1.46) and last modified by apfs_kext (1412.101.1)
Checking the object map
Checking the snapshot metadata tree
Checking the snapshot metadata
Checking the extent ref tree
Checking the fsroot tree
Checking volume
Checking the APFS volume superblock
The volume Macintosh HD was formatted by diskmanagementd (1412.101.1) and last modified by apfs_kext (1412.101.1)
Checking the object map
Checking the snapshot metadata tree
Checking the snapshot metadata
Checking the extent ref tree
Checking the fsroot tree
Verifying allocated space
The volume /dev/disk0s2 appears to be OK
Storage system check exit code is 0
Shrinking APFS Physical Store disk0s2 from 380,068,933,632 to 349,999,996,928 bytes
Shrinking APFS data structures
[ \ 0%..10%..20%..30%..40%............................... ] 45.0%

I left it overnight (twice), since it might take some time, but after about 40 hours I'm starting to feel a bit nervous.

What should I do?
Thanks in advance


texts: What drivers should I install to use the trackpad "two finger swipe" on Windows 7 running under VirtualBox?

texts:
I'm using Oracle VirtualBox to run several VMs on my MacBook and am unable to use the trackpad to "two finger swipe" to the previous webpage under Win 7.

I'm guessing this is a driver issue.

Since my mac never came with a CD, or anything else, where can I download the Win7 drivers that will allow me to properly "swipe" under Win7?

(The OracleBox drivers do currently support two finger scroll, but not the "go back" macro in IE)


texts:
After upgrading to El Capitan, directories on a SMB network volume are displayed unreliably. The volume has 567 "numbered" directories but when browsing the volume, some of the directories are suddenly gone (e.g. we need the folder named 328-60 and see folders from 316-00 to 377-20 are not "there"). Even if they reappear later, a double-click on the folder name kicks me back onto root level.

Any ideas on what is causing this or how we could analyze the issue would be highly appreciated.

PS: If it matters, volume is mounted via "Connect to server" and "smb://IP-address".


texts: The maximum number of three accounts have been activated on this iPhone

texts: I recently bought an iPhone 11 on eBay. Find my iPhone is this deactivated but when I try to create an Apple ID, it tells me that the maximum number of three accounts have been activated on this iPhone. How can I create a new ID on this iPhone?


texts: Stop the Outlook 2016 Reminders window from being "always on top"

texts:
It looks like Outlook 2016's calendar Reminders window is set to "always on top" and there's nothing I can do about it. But that seems crazy. Googling isn't finding other people complaining of the same thing, and I can't find a setting for it, so I wonder if it's specific to my machine. Can anyone confirm?

Is there a way to force it to stop being always on top? Maybe an app that can change window behaviors? Or an AppleScript option?


texts:
I want to install Ubuntu on my iMac. But I don't want to use Unity. I want to use Gnome 3. I can install it over Ubuntu (as I do on my laptop) but I know that Fedora and OpenSuse use Gnome 3 natively.

Also, I use Ubuntu on my laptop because of drivers. It was a pain in my ass to install all working properly on Fedora and CentOS. So finally I've installed Ubuntu and it works fine for years.

So now I understand, that here is another bunch of drivers on my iMac and maybe here won't be any problems with Fedora.

Ok. Actually, the question is what is the best distribution (best, I mean most compatible with drivers wireless devices: Mouse, Keyboard etc) to use on iMac. As a second OS and as OS in my VirtualBox.


texts: We have one photo that overrides all the photos in iphoto thumbnails.  When we pull the photo up it is different than what is on the thumbnail.   We want to get rid of the thumbnail photo and have the actual photo underneath show.


texts:
I'll be short and sweet.

My hardware:

Mid-2010 13" MacBook Pro
P8800 2.66GHz Core2duo
8GB aftermarket RAM
750GB aftermarket Seagate Momentus HDD @ 7200RPM

My software:

macOS Sierra Public Beta (latest version).

The computer was feeling very sluggish last night, having trouble loading simple webpages (it spent 5mn on google.com) - so I force shut it down using the power button in order to start it back up (it sometimes goes a bit slow after a few days of uptime).

When I booted it up again, it got stuck at 95% of the grey startup progress bar, and hung there. I restarted it again, and it started shutting down completely midway through the progress bar.

What I've attempted so far in order to solve the issue:

Command + Option + P + R to reset NVRAM - this never seems to have worked, as i was unable to make it restart the machine
Command + R to boot into recovery mode, which worked - First Aid failed with code 8, and the reinstall option was a no-go, because it stated my hard-drive was "locked".
Command + S to boot into single-user command line - tried to run /sbin/fsck -fy, which failed returning disks02: I/O error

I get the feeling I've pretty much exhausted my options at this point. What I want to try again once I'm back home tonight:

Command + Option + R to boot into internet recovery - I don't know how successful this will be given my "hard drive locked" issue
Try to get my hands on a USB boot drive/installer for macOS, and try booting and running Disk Utility once I'm booted from that.

My own opinion is that it looks like my hard drive is shot. Do you guys agree? Did I miss anything in my troubleshooting process?

Also, since this lappy is my only macOS device, I am currently stumped as to how to get a bootable installer for Sierra. I only have access to Windows machines. Any advice on this front?

Also, if it turns out my drive is indeed fried, what are my options for recovering that which is still recoverable?

Thanks a lot in advance!

-Karim


texts: How can I stop the prompt "Do you want Microsoft Office to automatically update?"

texts: I am one of the users on a multi-user version of Office365. I am a Mac user since 1991. This just started happening about 2-3 weeks ago and every time, I click "Not Now" out of frustration because there's no "Never" response. Every time I restart the machine, the prompt pops up again and I'm getting really pissed off that there is no way to respond "Don't show this prompt again." In the past, I've had updates that have problems and I want to choose which updates I install. I've searched various preferences, indicated that I wanted only manual updates wherever I can find it. I don't see the Microsoft Auto-Update app like was present before Office365. I KNEW Office365 would be something I regret. Is this harassment something that MS thinks is going to win friends and influence people?


texts: How to suppress the “OS X Spotlight search information was removed” warning?

texts:
Whenever I open an old Pages document in Pages 5, I now get the following warning message:

  Some changes were made to your document.

  OS X Spotlight search information was removed.

Is there a way to suppress this annoying and useless warning forever? Like, a shell script I can run on a list of documents to remove the search information all in one go? (I assumed xattr would help with this, but I couldn’t find any specific metadata on the files.)


texts: Changing Volume Without Waking Display Screen

texts:
I am using the Hot Corners feature to turn my display off on my Macbook Pro (OS X 10.8.4) when I am not using it. Oftentimes, I keep music playing and I want to change the volume while the display is off. Every time I increase or decrease the volume, the screen turns on, and I have to turn the display off again.

Is there a way in ML to change the volume without waking the screen again? I know that it is supposed to wake the screen when the user presses something, but is there a way to maintain that functionality for everything but the volume buttons? If that's not possible, are there any third party apps that could do this?


texts: Why does my iTunes 11 won't work on os x lion 10.7?

texts:
When I open my iTunes it will say iTunes cannot open because of an item

Process:         iTunes [3382]
Path:            /Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunes
Identifier:      com.apple.iTunes
Version:         11.0 (11.0)
Build Info:      iTunes-1100099063000000~1
Code Type:       X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process:  launchd [188]

Date/Time:       2012-12-06 01:31:03.118 +0800
OS Version:      Mac OS X 10.7 (11A390)
Report Version:  8
Sleep/Wake UUID: CA52DB83-6721-402C-AD84-FEB26ABFEA59

Interval Since Last Report:          14029 sec
Crashes Since Last Report:           10
Per-App Crashes Since Last Report:   9
Anonymous UUID:                      A8E41D02-37C7-4336-831E-E7F47E84DECF

Crashed Thread:  0

Exception Type:  EXC_BREAKPOINT (SIGTRAP)
Exception Codes: 0x0000000000000002, 0x0000000000000000

Application Specific Information:
dyld: launch, loading dependent libraries
@executable_path/../Frameworks/iPodUpdater.framework/Versions/A/iPodUpdater

Dyld Error Message:
  Library not loaded: @executable_path/../Frameworks/iPodUpdater.framework/Versions/A/iPodUpdater
  Referenced from: /Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunes
  Reason: unsafe use of @executable_path in /Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunes with restricted binary

Binary Images:
       0x1055a4000 -        0x10696ffef  com.apple.iTunes (11.0 - 11.0) <B59F624F-D66C-374E-8036-5866262DC87F> /Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunes
    0x7fff651a4000 -     0x7fff651d91ff  dyld (195 - ???) <71093406-21CF-3DBE-A001-802259ED5300> /usr/lib/dyld

Model: MacBook7,1, BootROM MB71.0039.B0B, 2 processors, Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.4 GHz, 2 GB, SMC 1.60f5
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 320M, NVIDIA GeForce 320M, PCI, 256 MB
Memory Module: BANK 0/DIMM0, 1 GB, DDR3, 1067 MHz, 0x80CE, 0x4D34373142323837334648532D4346382020
Memory Module: BANK 1/DIMM0, 1 GB, DDR3, 1067 MHz, 0x80CE, 0x4D34373142323837334648532D4346382020
AirPort: spairport_wireless_card_type_airport_extreme (0x14E4, 0x93), Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 5.100.198.11 )
Bluetooth: Version 2.5.0b13, 2 service, 12 devices, 1 incoming serial ports
Network Service: AirPort, AirPort, en1
Serial ATA Device: Hitachi HTS545025B9SA02, 250.06 GB
Serial ATA Device: MATSHITADVD-R   UJ-898
USB Device: Built-in iSight, apple_vendor_id, 0x8507, 0x24600000 / 2
USB Device: BRCM2070 Hub, 0x0a5c  (Broadcom Corp.), 0x4500, 0x06600000 / 3
USB Device: Bluetooth USB Host Controller, apple_vendor_id, 0x8218, 0x06630000 / 6
USB Device: Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad, apple_vendor_id, 0x0236, 0x06300000 / 2


texts: How to force photo thumbnail download on iOS 8.3

texts:
I have 30,000+ photos synced to iCloud and am trying to get their thumbnails to show on the Photos app on iOS 8.3. On the (first) Photos tab, viewing at Years or Collections levels shows lots of grey placeholders instead of photos. Only when I click into Moments do the thumbnails actually load.

However, trying to scroll through all my photos at the Moments level, to trigger downloading of the thumbnail, would take hours. (It's a little faster under Albums > All Photos, but not much.)

Is there a way to force all the thumbnails to download? I tried disabling iCloud Photo Library and re-enabling it, but it did not force a sync. Note that I have Optimize iPhone Storage set, but I thought this should still download thumbnails.


texts: How do I prevent a MacBook laptop from sleeping when closed with no external keyboard, mouse, or screen?

texts:
Context/goal:

I have a 2008 MacBook pro (running El Capitan with the latest updates) that I want to use as a media center/server.

It will be controlled exclusively via Screen Sharing and remote control apps (like Kodi/XBMC, Airfoil, etc). It's stored underneath my TV, which doesn't allow enough room for the laptop to stay open, so it has to be closed. I know that MacBooks can get hot if run while closed; it's not covered on any side where it sits, so it should be able to stay cool.

The laptop will always be connected to HDMI and speakers. The TV and speakers may not always be on; sometimes just the speakers will be on (e.g. for audio streaming).

It will be constantly connected to wired internet/Ethernet. My shared wireless connection is spotty, so it will often not be connected to WiFi.

Question:

I need the laptop to stay on without going to sleep. There are reams of advice on the internet for how to enable clamshell mode. However, in my case, there's no external dock, mouse, keyboard, or thunderbolt peripheral connected.

How do I prevent a closed, disconnected-from-everything MacBook running OSX 10.11 from going to sleep?

There are lots of similar questions on StackExchange and the internet, but none of them that I've seen deal with laptops that will be disconnected from everything but internet and speakers; most other questioners seem to want to use an external monitor or dock-like device.

What I've tried:

I zapped the PRAM/PMU before starting tweaking stuff to ensure that there were no stale settings lingering around.

Disabling sleep entirely while on AC/battery.
I tried various nvram commands to disable the internal display. While the internal display then didn't stay lit up during other attempts in this section, this did not seem to change sleep behavior.
Temporarily connecting a Bluetooth keyboard, so there's at least a disconnected Bluetooth peripheral to make it consider clamshell mode. I don't want to use a Bluetooth device to control the media center in the long term; screen sharing other apps only. No luck; with the TV disconnected or off, even a connected Bluetooth accessory seems to make it go to sleep as soon as Screen Sharing is disabled.
Enabling Internet Sharing, File Sharing, and the Bluetooth PAN. This doesn't consistently work; it seems to work more consistently when a WiFi connection is available, but my apartment's WiFi is flaky and is often not connectible.
Installing InsomniaX and configuring various modes with it; this occasionally keeps the MacBook on while the TV is on and connected and a Screen Sharing session has ended, but does not seem to work for audio-only streaming.


texts:
Back when the iPad generation was first out, I remember a setting which allowed you to shrink the screen to iPhone resolution. It would fill in the remaining portions of the screen with just black, allowing the screen to look like you're running an iPhone on the iPad.

Is this still possible?


texts:
I've formatted my SanDisk flash drive to a OSX Extended format with the GUID Partition Map.
But when I go to encrypt the drive I continually get this error:
"A partition, not a whole disk, is required for this operation."

The partition option in Disk Utility is not available for this drive. I'm using Disk Utility to format it.

I'm using OS X version 10.11.


texts:
I have a question: when attaching my external hard disk to my Mac, there seem to be a little ghost that deletes my files.

Can anyone please give me some information on this, please note that I am not a Mac expert, I do use the maximum security allowed by Apple and my network but I have the feeling something is not right and would appreciate it very much if someone could help?


texts: When does macOS delete local iCloud Drive files?

texts:
I want to free disk space.

Apple documentation about this says "When storage space is needed, only the files you recently opened are kept on your Mac".

Ok, so I have this 25GB file in my computer that I'm going move to the Documents folder and I'm wondering if it will really delete if from my computer once it has uploaded because I need more space to copy other projects into my computer.

"When storage space is needed" is pretty abstract to me, I wanted to know how this really works.