texts: How to change font color of notes made on Preview?

texts:
Its possible to add notes in a pdf file with macOS Preview app, by doing:

Tools > Annotate > Note

Or usinng shortcut ctrl+cmd+N.

The note is enclosed by a colored box and its possible to change its (background) color by right-click on it.

While editing/composing note text color is black.

But (the issue is) notes showing on left panel by:

View > Highlights and Notes

Or using shortcut opt+cmd+4.

They appear with white font color and its almost impossible to read them, because color contrast between font and background is not good.

Main question: How can I change font color?

Additional question: Can I make font color the same on the left panel as it is on the note which appear on a page in the pdf file?


texts: iPhone says "The Apple Id you entered Couldn't be found or was incorrect. Please try again."

texts:
All of a sudden my iPhone 4 (iOS4.0.2) can no longer download apps. It says:

  The Apple Id you entered Couldn't be found or was incorrect. Please try again.

I know for certain that the password is entered correctly. I have only 1 iTunes ID. I downloaded an app successfully this morning, over 3G. But now I consistently get this message when I try to download any app! I'm still on 3G with adequate signal strength.

I've quit all running apps, I've restarted (twice) and even a hard reset. But still I get this message. I've also noticed that the battery level is falling rapidly (1% every 2 min's) despite no other running apps/wifi/Bluetooth, so it must be doing some heavy 3G traffic.

What's up? How can I solve this? Preferably without involving my PC at home because I will be travelling for the next few days...

My exact steps:

tap on App Store
find any (free) app, tap on Install. Itunes closes, I see a white placeholder app icon labeled Waiting..., and I'm asked my iTunes password.
I enter the correct password and tap OK.
The white placeholder icon is still Waiting... for a long time.
After ~5min's the correct app icon is show, but still labeled Waiting....
After additionally ~5min's there's a new popup with the text The Apple Id you entered Couldn't be found or was incorrect. Please try again. and buttons Cancel and Retry.

Note: I've seen entries like this one but they are based on working on a Macintosh. I'm at work so I hope for a mobile solution.


texts: Restore Access to File System for Emacs on MacOS Catalina

texts:
I upgraded to macOS Catalina and see that applications now need to be permitted to access the file system, even the shell running inside Terminal.

I work extensively in Emacs which seems to have lost access to the file system. Unlike with other applications, no popup appears to allow the access  for Emacs.

How can I restore file system access for Emacs?


texts:
I have a great many directories where I've latex'd my notes on various topics, so many that I'm beginning to have trouble finding things.  Is there a way to display thumbnails of all the pdfs (under a given parent directory) in a single window so that I can browse my notes?

Also, I've noticed that Mountain Lion is not generating thumbnail icons from my latex pdfs.  Not sure why.


texts:
I just bought a book from Google Book store.
I tried to export it to PDF or epub.

Google kept exporting .acsm file for me.

I am on a Mac OS X.

I tried to download Adobe Digital Edition
Import the .acsm file, and still see 0 option to export to PDF.

When I select show in finder, The PDF shows all white.

When I opened it, I can't see any contents

This is quite frustrated. ♂

Can someone please show me how to export the book that I bought to PDF ?


texts: After Updating to High Sierra, my bluetooth headphones have terrible sound quality

texts:
Also, I can no longer pause and play using the button on the headphones.

These are the Beats by Dre headphones that are included for students and educators. The quality is great when I plug in the wire connection.


texts: Why does High Sierra complain about IDLE?

texts:
I've installed an updated version of python 2.7, which comes with the IDLE development environment.

High Sierra is giving me warnings that it needs to be updated (which I took to mean that it's 32-bit, but it's not.)

I can't remember the exact warning, but it's the 'this app is not optimized for MacOS, consult the developer' thing.


texts: When does macOS switch between light and dark mode?

texts:
MacOS Catalina added support for automatic light and dark mode switching.

The support article linked above reads:

Auto (available in macOS Catalina): Automatically use the light appearance during the day, and the dark appearance at night.

This doesn't seem to quite capture my experience though, so I'm wondering what the exact algorithm is here.
For example, where I'm currently situated today:

in the capital of the country, the sun sets at 18:43 according to Google
in my city, it sets at 18:46 according to Google
my theme switched from light to dark at 18:57

Is this due to simply different services used by Google and Apple for determining the sunset, or is there more to the switching algorithm than meets the eye?


texts: SMB connection to external Thunderbolt drive not working in MacOS Catalina

texts:
After upgrading to macOS Catalina, I can no longer connect to one SMB drive from my MacBook Pro with MacOS Mojave. The share is stored on an external Thunderbolt drive.

It always shows an error message that shows that I don't have permission.

I can connect to other shares which are stored on the internal hard drives.


texts:
I try to transfer 50 000 mails from an IMAP account A to another IMAP account B using Mail.app but it constantly fails during the process (that takes a day or so). There is a message-id-based duplicate filter on B so I am not afraid of duplicates but it is a PITA to figure out which messages are missing (≈ 100).
Is there a way to compare two mailboxes in Mail.app? Script?
Google didn't return any obvious results. Would be nice to be able to do it both using message-id but also a combination of timestamp, to/from, subject and/or size and similar.


texts: Unable to mail from command-line - public/pickup: No such file or directory

texts:
Attempting to send mails using mail(1) from the macOS terminal shell results in the following message and the mail is not sent.

postdrop: warning: unable to look up public/pickup: No such file or directory

I have checked for the directory where I think it should be and it's there:

root# ls -ld /var/spool/postfix/public/pickup
prw--w--w-  1 _postfix  _postdrop  0 Dec 31  2016 /var/spool/postfix/public/pickup

I've read that Postfix is launched ephemerally to send mail but I don't know how - I have no idea how Postfix is configured on macOS. I know Postfix from Linux but am unfamiliar with macOS.

I'd just like to fix this so my script can send email its output.

Pertinent system details:

  System Version: macOS 10.12.6 (16G29) (Sierra)
  Kernel Version: Darwin 16.7.0


texts: How do apps installed via Mobile Device Management behave?

texts:
What happens if a user installed an app manually (from AppStore or Enterprise App) and later on MDM tries to install the same app?

Does MDM app installation fails (because the app is installed already)
Does MDM overwrite existing app?
Does MDM request whether to overwrite?

MDM has a notion of "managed apps". These apps are installed through MDM and MDM can remove them. Mainly, I am interested in this question to understand whether these apps could be removed through MDM later on.

If MDM overwrites existing app (with or without user acceptance) then these apps will be managed and could be removed through MDM later on. If MDM fails to install them than they won't be managed (can't be uninstalled).


texts: What is the format I should write the command to SSH into Linux VPS?

texts:
I am trying to use SSH and log in from the terminal into a Linux VPS.

I have tried a few variations around the following:

ssh [user]@[hostname].[my.ip.address.xx]:22

and keep getting:

ssh: Could not resolve hostname [hostname].[ip address]:[port]: nodename nor servname provided, or not known

I have verified that my VPS works fine logging in from Windows with Putty, so I am sure I have something mixed up.

What is the format I should write this SSH command in?


texts: How to delete search suggestion on mac safari(iCloud)?

texts:
By"delete"I mean remove, not disable. I still want to keep that function for other sites. Just an annoying site keep bothering me when I search google in safari.

The search suggestion still exist after I removed all the history, bookmarks, readinglist. Even reinstall safari. It seems hide in icloud, not only in local mac.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated!


texts: How to create and send "move folder to trash" AppleScript message to the Finder using C or assembly?

texts:
How to create and send "move [folder as FSSpec record] to trash" script to the Finder application using C or (PowerPC or 680x0) assembly language?
I did a PBCatSearch (1) and got a dozen of FSSpec records describing folders. Now I want to trash these folders. The best way to do it, I think, will be by sending an AppleScript message to the Finder, because it deals with the Trash and only the Finder knows what the Trash abstraction actually is. The problem is that I wrote Apple scripts only in Script Editor, and never wrote them in assembly or C.
post scriptum: This question is about pre-OSX technology. However, CarbonLib API answers compatible with Mac OS 9 are okay.


texts: How can I use a TP-LINK WiFi USB interface in OS X Lion?

texts:
I happen to have a TP-LINK TL-WN821N (it's a WiFi USB stick) around. Is there any chance to get that working on a Mac mini running OS X Lion?

There are no official drivers but it seems there are some kind of drivers for the ATHEROS AR9170+AR9102 chipset from other vendors like Ralink.


texts: My late 2012 Retina MacBook Pro has been used in area's in which it was allowed to smoke. The smoke is now in the circulating system. Is there a way to clean this? The MBP is "smoking" now, producing old smoke smell around it.


texts: Transfer reminders from iCal to Google Calendar

texts: I switched from iCloud to Google calendar. I already transferred all my calendars via export/import to Google Calendar. Now I'd like to transfer my reminders from iCal/iCloud to Google Calendar. How can I do this?


texts: How to write to iCloud in Terminal? (Currently seems read-only)

texts:
I have a bash function that writes to a markdown file. Here it is in its simplest form:
function n() {
   echo $@ >> path/file.md;
}

This works fine. However, when I change the path to an iCloud destination, nothing happens. No error is returned, but the markdown file is unchanged.
Terminal, though, has access to read the iCloud-based file. tail path/file.md indeed returns the last lines of the file.
Also, for clarification, the problem is not that iCloud isn't syncing cross devices. Even the local version of the file is unchanged.


texts: Is there a feature or trick to automatically substitute or expand abbreviations to full phrases?

texts:
In Windows I used to have a program (or actually a background service) in which I could define shortcuts or abbreviations, which would automatically expand to full sentences or phrases wherever I type them.

For example, when I type: (in any program or context)

br`

It would automatically be replaced with:

Best regards,

Rocketnuts.

And I could define and customize tons of personal 'text shortcuts' like these. It helped me a great deal in typing texts faster and more efficient.

Note that the backtick character was to invoke the replacement (could also be customized to something else, like ~).

Question: Is there a way to pull this off in OS X? (FYI: I'm using OS X El Capitan 10.11.3)

I've heard it ought to be possible with OS X's native keyboard / text settings, by defining autocorrect entries, but could not find a way to get that to work as described above.

Note that I absolutely don't want to enable dictionary-based autocorrection (that drives me crazy, as I often type in multiple languages).


texts: Enable ear detection to pause music when using AirPods Pro on a MacBook Pro

texts: Is it possible to enable the "ear detection" function to play/pause the music when one of the AirPods Pro is removed? I know that this can be done with an iPhone, but is this valid also when using the AirPods Pro on a MacBook Pro? I am not currently able to do so.


texts: Why can't I find OS X Yosemite in the Mac App store?

texts: I need to install OS X Yosemite onto my laptop, but can't find it in App Store.


texts: Transferring multiple files from one folder to another using Terminal

texts:
I am a new user of macOS, so please accept my apology in advance if my question sounds very trivial or stupid.

I have a folder that contains 13000 images. I want to transfer those images into three different folders in such a way that five thousand images go into two different folders each and remaining 3 thousand go into the third folder.

After searching for a while, I used the following command to transfer first 5000 images but it didn't work. Here are my steps:

I went into the source folder that contains the images
Used this command to copy the images cp  head -5000 ../Paras_valid, but it did not work.

Could anyone help me how to copy the multiple files into different folders?


texts:
I use Notes on my iPhone, iPad and Macbook Pro. Of late, the gmail syncing has been unreliable. I want to move all my gmails notes to the iCloud folder.

There doesn't seem to be a way to 'move' a note, apart from deleting and recreating it.

My question is: How can I move my notes from one folder (gmail) to another (iCloud)?


texts: How to remap a few keys for chrome/google docs?

texts:
I'm using Cmd-Option-1 .. Cmd-Option-5 to go to different desktops, on Moutain Lion.

Besides changing my global defaults, how else could I enable the google doc shortcuts for Cmd-Option- to set a paragraph style?

I want some sort of program that will take Ctrl-Option- in chrome and send chrome Cmd-Option-num (and not change desktops).


texts: Where can I find iOS Enterprise Developer Program terms of use (license)?

texts:
Is it possible to see the full license (terms of use) of iOS Enterprise Developer Program before going through the whole process of enrollment to the program?

I know that you can see the license during the process of enrollment to the program but this is at the end of this process, after company verification, etc. However, I would like to check some details in terms of use before going through the whole process. I was looking for this document but found nothing.


texts: Unable to select Gmail Important in Smart Mailbox

texts:
I have two Google email accounts -- one gmail.com and other managed by university.

I want to have a smart mailbox that shows important emails from both accounts.

But I am unable to do so.

The important folder from gmail.com gets unselected when I click ok and reopen next time.

I run macOS Catalina 10.15.4, not sure whether its specific to my computer because of some corrupt configuration. Appreciate any thoughts on fixing this.


texts: Dual identical monitors swap settings after displays turn off

texts:
I have dual LG 4k monitors on a 2015 macbook pro on High Sierra. One is connected via a belkin thunderbolt 2 hub. They both work at 4k 60Hz no problem (via displayports, not HDMI, that is).

The system itself is set to never sleep with Prevent computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off in Energy Saver, in System Preferences, and I have Turn display off after 3hrs rather than never.

When I return after more than 3 hrs and wake, i.e. cause the screens to switch on again (the system I believe should not have actually been in sleep due to power connection remaining on the laptop) the two screens consistently swap their settings with each other, such that the one I have at 270 rotation for vertical aspect swaps with the one I have at normal rotation, and I have to manually swap them back again.

Strange and annoying. Not quite sure what to do.


texts: LaunchBar/Quicksilver as a replacement of Spotlight?

texts:
I asked about the usefulness of spotlight here, as I don't like the drag that spotlight causes all the time.

What I found useful in Spotlight is those two.

word lookup : spotlight opens 'Dictionary' App automatically when it can look the word up.
search for PDF

And one of the answer that I got is from 'Dan Ray' saying "Personally, I disable it in favor of Quicksilver.".

I don't use Quicksilver, but LaunchBar, but it seems to me that LaunchBar doesn't look up the pdf. And, furthermore, it has an option to search in Spotlight.

and My questions are

Can LaunchBar can do the two things? Look into Dictionary, and pdf search?
Can QuickSilver can do the two things?

If one of the tools can do that, I guess I just disable Spotlight, and enjoy the speedup.


texts: How to uninstall application from iOS when there are many of them?

texts:
How to uninstall some application from iOS?

Please don't say to press and to hold an app icon, because it is impossible to find it visually in my case. My child downloaded a lot of games and made a lot of folders.

I need convenient way to delete application by it's name from alphabetically sorted list.

Is this possible in iOS?


texts:
How do I tell Siri to go away when I activate it by accident?

The best I can come up with is "Cancel", which works but replies that "there's nothing to cancel". Functional, but irritating.

Searching on Google has thus far just turned up a whole lot of stuff about how to turn Siri off altogether, which isn't what I'm after.


texts: iOS 13 (and web interface): Cannot share an iCloud folder

texts:
I read about folder sharing feature recently added to iCloud (Can I share iCloud Drive folder with other iCloud user? and here).

Although I have iOS 13+ on my phone, I still cannot share folders. When I select folders, sharing button became grey and inactive. I checked web interface (icloud.com) and see the same behaviour.

Should I do something to activate this feature?


texts: iTerm - going one word backwards and forwards

texts: Would it be possible to configure iTerm 2 to go backwards and forwards one word through the curent text in the command line using a keyboard shortcut?


texts: "brew install rtorrent" now failing to build

texts:
This morning, I tried to launch rtorrent on Mac OS X 10.10.3, and it failed with a "symbol not found" in libtorrent (I've lost the backtrace from my screen).

Tried a bunch of stuff, as documented below, but no luck on getting it to build.

I've seen that error before, and as I recall, it requires rebuilding libtorrent, so I did

brew uninstall rtorrent libtorrent
brew install libtorrent
brew install rtorrent

The latter now fails due to an error in make. Using brew install -vd rtorrent shows the following:

libtool: link: g++-5 -g -O2 -DNDEBUG -D_THREAD_SAFE -I/usr/local/Cellar/libtorrent/0.13.4/include -o rtorrent main.o -Wl,-bind_at_load  libsub_root.a ui/libsub_ui.a core/libsub_core.a display/libsub_display.a input/libsub_input.a rpc/libsub_rpc.a utils/libsub_utils.a -lncurses -lcurl -L/usr/local/Cellar/libtorrent/0.13.4/lib -ltorrent
Undefined symbols for architecture x86_64:
  "std::__basic_file<char>::is_open() const", referenced from:
      rpc::parse_command_file(std::__cxx11::basic_string<char, std::char_traits<char>, std::allocator<char> > const&) in libsub_rpc.a(parse_commands.o)
[...]

and so on for lots of pages. So it appears to be a linker failure?

In Brew Install Rtorrent not Working, it seems the problem is with gcc 5.0.1. I tried following the instructions there (downgrade to gcc 4.9.2):

brew switch gcc 4.9.2

That works, but then brew install rtorrent fails even more spectacularly:

checking for Cppunit - version >= 1.9.6... no
checking whether the C++ compiler works... no
configure: error: in `/private/tmp/rtorrent20150526-82101-c1xxo5/rtorrent-0.9.4':
configure: error: C++ compiler cannot create executables
See `config.log' for more details

I look in config.log, and the problem is here:

configure:3319: checking whether the C++ compiler works
configure:3341: g++-4.9    conftest.cpp  >&5
dyld: Library not loaded: /usr/local/lib/libisl.10.dylib
  Referenced from: /usr/local/Cellar/gcc/4.9.2/libexec/gcc/x86_64-apple-darwin14.0.0/4.9.2/cc1plus
  Reason: image not found
g++-4.9: internal compiler error: Trace/BPT trap: 5 (program cc1plus)
./configure: line 3343: 82310 Abort trap: 6           $CXX $CXXFLAGS $CPPFLAGS $LDFLAGS conftest.$ac_ext $LIBS 1>&5

That ain't good. Wonder where libisl10.dylib might have gotten to?


texts: How can I limit whatever Time Machine wants to do with sparsebundles

texts:
Is there a way to limit the "appetite" Time Machint?
How do I this is achieved in the most simple manner on a network drive?


texts: Every time I start my terminal, I get ".zshrc:source:18: no such file or directory: /sourceme.sh"?

texts:
I've been trying to download some softwares. I've deleted those files, but now, I think my zsh file keeps wanting to source a file that's no longer there. Because of that, I get the following message every time I open up my terminal:

This is really annoying, and I'd like to get rid of it somehow... Thanks!


texts: How do I reset to default window sizes in MacOS Safari's Responsive Design Mode?

texts:
I use MacOS Safari's Responsive Design Mode for web development (Command-Option-R or 'Develop' > 'Enter Responsive Design Mode' in the menu.
I have "accidentally" changed the largest window size to a random size (should be 1920 x 1080) by adjusting the horizontal and vertical handles. I would like to reset to 1920 x 1080, but it is very difficult to do by adjusting the handles because of the responsiveness of the controls; it's hard to stop on a specific dimension. Unfortunately, that is the only way I can see to do it, as I can't find a reset control or option anywhere?
I have searched the menu options and the almighty Google and can't seem to find an answer? I suspect there is .plist I can remove? Could someone point me in the right direction?


texts: Problem with "touch sensitivity" on iPhone calendar

texts: After installing the latest software update, my calendar on my iPhone 5s has lost it's "sensitivity". I cannot just touch a date to see my scheduled events. I must the date over and over, with much for "force" than before. There is also a similar type of problem with my iPad since the last update. It take MUCH more force to close an app with the "finger pinch".


texts:
Recently I upgraded to Lion, since doing this upgrade I am now getting a bug with Safari where the browser window "scrambles". By this, I mean that the entire window breaks up into rectangular blocks say .8cm x 1 - 2cm of different colours etc. Each of these blocks can be a solid or mixture of colours.

I have noticed this happen with the desktop once, and the Finder as well so I'm pretty sure its not just Safari-related, although it happens in Safari ~99% of the time. If I am watching something like YouTube, the video remains ok but all other page content gets scrambled.

To add some background to this I have had this MacBook for 4+ years now and never had any issues like this until I changed to Lion from Snow Leopard.

I was wondering if anyone else has had this issue or heard of it and knows how it can be fixed?


texts: Encrypting/protecting Time Machine backup drive?

texts: How do you guys secure/protect your Time Machine backup drive? Even though it's an external drive, it's still susceptible to physical theft though. What do you guys do for precautions?


texts:
I have an iPod with iOS 6 (the latest it will support). iTunes shows many of my apps with "Update" but when I synch nothing happens.

I presume the Updates are not compatible with iOS 6. How do I stop this, and how to distinguish from real updates


texts: How to view Microsoft Document Imaging (MDI) files on a Mac?

texts: I've received a bunch of MDI files which I need to open on a Mac Snow Leopard. Any way around this e.g. free readers available?


texts: Is it possible to have more than one active windows on Lion?

texts:
I am in a situation where I really need to have multiple windows to be active simultaneously. I know it is against the optimization principle of most operating systems, but is it possible?

Here is my story: I will be presenting a network project this weekend at somewhere far from my university. We have a working demo that shows a synchronized car racing game. Ideally, to present our demo I need at least two Macs: I can make our demo run on all machines and show the effect of synchronization. However, I have only one Mac - my laptop. So I came up with a solution: to run multiple instances of our demo software on my laptop. I tested it and it worked fine. Although it's networking on the same machine, it is still networking. But the problem is: Lion would only give me one active window at a time. I can switch between windows of couse, but only the currently active window would update, other windows just remain static. To show a synchronized game, I need multiple windows to be active - I want the multiple demo windows to update simultaneously, as if they were on different machines.

To re-state my question: I want to place, say four windows on my screen and I want all of them to be active windows. Is that possible at all on Lion?


texts: Folder management app for iPhone photos?

texts:
Is there any iPhone app available that allows you to create folders in iPhone while using their Photos app?

It is kind a annoying that every time I must connect to iTunes and do the folder management there.


texts:
I'm using Parallels on my mac. But when I open a software the font are so small, it's very weird. Can anyone help me out!!!

The picture above is when I open up my chrome, how can I fix it?


texts: How to set a Calendar alert for AFTER completion of an event?

texts: I would like to set calendar alerts to happen at the scheduled completion time of my events - whatever that may be.  I can't seem to figure out a way to do this.  You can create alarms that go off before an event starts, at the start time, or a fixed number of minutes after start time.  But is there a way to set an alarm that triggers AT OR AFTER the completion time of an event, without having to specify the exact date & time?


texts: Where is the latest Microsoft Messenger (or alternative) that works with Exchange?

texts:
I'm using Microsoft Messenger for Mac 7.0.2, but it crashes every time the network connection is lost and has to be force quitted. I'm looking for an alternative that is more stable.

It seems Microsoft Messenger has been discontinued in favor of Skype. I downloaded Skype but can't find a way to sign into my Exchange account at work. Is it possible to use Skype with an Exchange account? If not, is there somewhere I can download Microsoft Messenger 8.0 / 2011?


texts: iCloud Tabs no longer a feature in Safari 13?

texts:
Prior to updating to Safari 13, iCloud Tabs was a feature that, when turned on and on clicking the tabs button on "Desktop" Safari, would show you tabs that were open on other devices at the bottom of the list.

Here’s how they used to work per Apple's support documentation: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202530

I no longer see this list of tabs.

As of this writing, I am running Safari 13.0.1 on 10.14.6.


texts: Unable to restore Time Machine backup to a different computer

texts:
I have a MacBook Pro 2017 that was sent for replacement. The system was always synced with Time Machine.

I have a temporary MacBook Pro 2017 I am trying to restore to, but I can't get it to work.

The Time Machine backup is on a NAS partition (Synology DS216).

The path from the NAS' perspective is:

  smb://SynologyDS216/volume1/TimeMachine

The path from Finder's perspective is:

  smb://SynologyDS216._smb._tcp.local/TimeMachine

I reboot the computer to macOS Recovery, it finds the NAS, I can connect to the partition providing the username / password, and then nothing happens from there. It stays on the same screen.

It is the same behavior whether I try to use the auto detected path, the NAS' path, or the path Finder creates.

No backup appears.

When I connected with the original Mac, through Time Machine, I can see the files, the history, etc. so the files are there.

Now I have two questions:

Is there such a thing as a 'machine backup' vs. 'just some folders backup'? I had a lot of folders exclusion in my Time Machine settings, so maybe the files are there but not the OS.
If I connect to this backup through Time Machine, instead of the system restore/migration, is there a way to connect as read-only so the temporary computer will not start to edit the backup?

As a side note, the backup is from macOS Catalina (on a MacBook Pro 2017 15") and the temp laptop is running macOS High Sierra (on a MacBook Pro 2017 13"), if that makes a difference.


texts: Connecting to OS X server with Windows 7

texts:
I run an OSX server in my office (Previously Mavericks now upgraded to Yosemite) and I need to allow a few Windows laptops to the server.

I have never been fully successful at doing connect to the OSX server but I have had moments when I can see and connect.  Mostly I cannot connect at all, I don't know why that is. From Windows network, I can see the OSX server however when I attempt to Authenticate it fails.

One confusing thing that happens is that windows prompts me to log in again but forces my computer name as the domain. something like \mycomputername\name

When I see this it never connects.

I don't know if there is a trick to connect from my windows laptop or if I need ot config the server differently.

Welcome any and all insights!!!


texts: Western Digital Passport Drive Shows up on Old 2009 MacBook Pro, but not my new one

texts:
I just bought a new MacBook Pro to replace my old 2009 model. For some strange reason, the external Western Digital Passport Drive I've used for Time Machine on my old Mac doesn't seem to work on the new one.
No icon shows up on the desktop. Disk Utilities doesn't show the disk. I've tried it in all three USB ports. No luck.
It sometimes shows up in system reports. When I plug the drive into a USB port, I get information from the Console App:

9/16/14 9:32:13.000 PM kernel[0]: The USB device Apple Internal Keyboard /     Trackpad (Port 5 of Hub at 0x14000000) may have caused a wake by issuing a remote wakeup (2)

Dead Drive? No, it works just fine on my older MacBook Pro 2009 model.
The only thing I can think of is that my older model had USB 2 ports while the newer Mac uses USB 3 ports. The port on my drive is a USB 3 port. Maybe formatting the drive via USB 2 makes it impossible to use for USB 3?

One More Thing...
I didn't mention this earlier because I forgot. Whoops.
The drive is encrypted, and I need a password to open it. On my old MacBook, if I hold down the option key while booting, I can put in a password for the drive, and I see the various partitions (There is the TimeMachine partition, a Yosemite Beta partition, and a Yosemite Emergency Boot Partition).
If I put this on my 2009 MacBook Pro, it simply shows up. If I put this on my wife's iMac (2012), I have to put in the password, but it mounts fine.
On my new MacBook Pro, I don't see it (or am I offered an option to enter a password) if I hold down the option key when I boot the system.
Also, a question came up about the OS:
The old MacBook is running a beta of Yosemite. It was running Mavericks and it would be the same release and version of the one on the new MacBook Pro. However, the drive crashed, and I was forced to initialize and format, and install Yosemite since that's the only emergency boot item I had.
It's the reason I decided I needed a new MacBook Pro. The new MacBook Pro and my wife's iMac are both running the same version of Mavericks. The old MacBook Pro was running the same version of Mavericks and using the WD disk before it crashed.
This isn't a terrible emergency. I had put my Documents folder on Dropbox, so all of my documents were backed up to Dropbox. Other docs were in iCloud. Almost all of my apps were from the Mac App store (except for some open source tools). My mail is IMAP. The only thing on the WD I didn't have were iPhotos that weren't in iCloud. (Which makes me wonder if Time Machine is still all that important).


texts: MacBook Pro randomly discharges from 100% to ~90% when plugged

texts:
My 15 inch 2018 Mac Book Pro with Mojave 10.14 randomly starts draining battery when plugged in. When I try to move the cable, change the power cable to a different USB slot nothing helps. The battery indicator is in charging state, but when pressed, it says "Not charging". After some time, when it gets to 88-92% it suddenly starts charging again.
I noticed that this happens independently of loads. Once or twice a day. This can happen when 2 IDE, browsers windows, media player are running simultaneously, and when it is in idle state showing only desktop. I'm using native 85Watt charging block and cable.
Additional info:
In System Report -> Power, the Condition is displayed as Normal. With cycles count equal to 52. This used to happen even when the condition used to be better, with fewer cycles count. But less frequently.


texts: How to disable SSH passphrase keychain saves in OS X Sierra

texts:
I like having my SSH passphrase stored for the duration of my MacBook session, so that I don't have to keep entering it every time I SSH into a server, but when I restart my computer I want to have to enter it again (I don't want my passphrase encrypted and stored on disk in the keychain). This wasn't the case until I upgraded from Mountain Lion to Sierra; ever since then, it has been permanently storing my passphrase in my keychain. I can open the keychain preferences and delete my SSH passphrase, but the next time I SSH into a server and it prompts me for my passphrase, it is immediately added to the keychain again.

How can I get back to what I had with mountain lion, where my passphrase would be stored for the duration of my MacBook session, but then I would need to reenter it the next time I turn my MacBook on again.


texts: Relocating /Users folder in MacOS 10.15 (Catalina)?

texts:
In the past when we wanted to offload the /Users folder from the internal disk we simply created a symbolic link for /Users that pointed to /Volumes/External_Drive_Name/Users. The Mac in question is a server for two computer labs, hosting 60 Macs with a few terabytes of data spread out across 200~ user accounts. Hosting the Users folder on the internal drive is simply not a good option for us.

Symbolic links are no longer supported (for the root directory folders) in Catalina / 10.15, so this no longer works using the tried and true method. During the upgrade the symbolic link was simply removed and replaced with the standard Users folder.

I've read up on firm links by way of creating a synthetic.conf file via man synthetic.conf, but this method isn't working for the Users folder. I AM able to build a synthetic.conf file that creates a link for foo in the root directory that points to another volume, but attempting to redirect Users in the same manner breaks nearly all functionality.

I'm using the following syntax and placing synthetic.conf in /etc/synthetic.conf:

  Users  (tab character)  /Volumes/External_Drive_Name/Users

With that I'm able to fully boot (albeit slowly) and log in but Finder and Spotlight repeatedly crash, signaling to me that the system is unable to find/create a user folder for the current logged in user.

Has anyone found a way to do this yet?

Anyone know of any other tricks for redirecting MacOS to look for the Users folder on a different volume?


texts: Terminal appears to ignore autoproxyurl setting

texts:
I can't get easy_install to install anything as it complains it gets a connection refused.:

  Searching for BeautifulSoup
Reading https://pypi.python.org/simple/BeautifulSoup/
Download error on https://pypi.python.org/simple/BeautifulSoup/: [Errno 61] Connection refused -- Some packages may not be found!
Couldn't find index page for 'BeautifulSoup' (maybe misspelled?)
Scanning index of all packages (this may take a while)
Reading https://pypi.python.org/simple/
Download error on https://pypi.python.org/simple/: [Errno 61] Connection refused -- Some packages may not be found!
No local packages or download links found for BeautifulSoup
error: Could not find suitable distribution for Requirement.parse('BeautifulSoup')

If I query the interface I am told the proxy is setup and working (which it definitely appears to be as I can browse, etc.)

networksetup -getautoproxyurl Wi-fi
URL: http://webproxy.******.co.uk/wpad.dat
Enabled: Yes

Visiting https://pypi.python.org/simple/ manually in a browser also works.

It gets more confusing;

I tried setting the proxies manually instead:

djsmiley2k:~$ echo $HTTP_PROXY
webproxy.*******.co.uk:8080
tbowers@tims-mbp:~$ echo $HTTPS_PROXY
webproxy.*******.co.uk:8080

Still no dice :/

Edit:

More urls appear to be affected, unsure if this is some weird resolving error I just happened to have hit at the wrong time:

djsmiley2k:~/bin$ echo $HTTP_PROXY
webproxy.*******.co.uk:8080
djsmiley2k:~/bin$ echo $HTTPS_PROXY
webproxy.*******.co.uk:8080

djsmiley2k:~/bin$ wget https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py
--2015-05-18 15:30:33--  https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py
Resolving bootstrap.pypa.io (bootstrap.pypa.io)... 185.31.18.175
Connecting to bootstrap.pypa.io (bootstrap.pypa.io)|185.31.18.175|:443... failed: Connection refused.
djsmiley2k:~/bin$ wget http://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py
--2015-05-18 15:31:49--  http://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py
Resolving bootstrap.pypa.io (bootstrap.pypa.io)... 185.31.18.175
Connecting to bootstrap.pypa.io (bootstrap.pypa.io)|185.31.18.175|:80... failed: Connection refused.

I've checked and I can access the script directly in a browser, trying to go to http forwards me to https automatically.


texts: New Apple TV screensavers not downloading

texts: I've read about and seen other people have new cities appear in the Aerial Apple TV screensaver. My Apple TV, and with the latest software, doesn't seem to ever show these. Has anyone else had this? I've also experienced a black screen when the screeensaver is meant to otherwise appear.


texts: Using Ram pulled from new iMac in an old iMac?

texts:
My parents have an iMac circa 2007. Documentation says that this model should use this type of RAM:

Memory: DDR2 PC2-5300
Memory Type: DDR2 PC2-5300, DDR2 (non-ECC)
Maximum Memory: 4GB

I've got a couple of 2GB RAM chips lying around that I just pulled from my "new" iMac. The info on the chips reads:

2GB 1Rx8 PC3

Will these work in my parent's iMac, or am I just asking for trouble?

Thanks!


texts: Why would a python3 script not find a module when run in Automator?

texts:
I am trying to automatically run a python script using automator. This script
python3 ~/Desktop/python/gmaps.py
works fine in terminal but not when I try to run it through Automator , I get a "module pyperclip cannot be found", even though it is found fine when running from terminal.

I can not figure out what would cause the path to be different. Is there a guide to command line plus Automator ?


texts: Which process is periodically writing to the disk?

texts:
Even when I am not doing anything on my Mac, I see a lot of Disk IO: "Data Written per Sec" in Activity Monitor showns continuous writes:

Is this normal? Why would some process continuously write? I understand there can be some housekeeping activities going on, the "Sleep image" being updated, but does this happen this frequently? (I have not set up Time Machine)

Edit: I have quite some free memory:


texts: Is there a way to sync music from more than one iTunes account to one iPod?

texts: I got an iPod Touch 4th Gen from a friend, and she left all of her music on it so I could have a larger music library. The problem is, I don't know if there is a way to sync my library with the iPod without deleting all of the music she left on it. Is there a way to sync music from more than one iTunes account onto one iPod?


texts: How to prevent Terminal window from changing its size after opening and closing tab

texts:
Each time I open and close new tab in Terminal app, the size of window "shrinks" by one line, until it reaches 5 lines, where it stops shrinking at last.

I can literally keep repeating sequence ⌘+T and ⌘+W to reproduce this any time.

I have tried changing Terminal settings, font family and font size, but nothing helped. Is there anything that can be done to prevent this?

Note: this question is not related to Opening tab in Terminal resizes window.


texts:
My SuperDrive, USB connected to a 2012 Mac Mini with latest El Capitan OS X, has been working just fine until I tried to rip a purchased CD from a small singer songwriter. It hung up on the last cut and iTunes could not proceed to finish ripping the CD and eject the CD.

I tried to eject with the eject button, and by restarting the Mac. I would get a clicking sound from the drive on the restart  but the disc would not eject. I unattached the drive and then reattached it and now the CD does not show up in the  Finder sidebar at all. I used drutil also, got a clicking sound from the drive but would not object.

Does it sound like now the drive is destroyed or are there any suggestions how to get that disc out? Thanks so much for any help!


texts:
I extensively use Launchbar and have almost all my daily productivity items working through it.

Since I use my personal MacBook at work, I do not have use a screen saver password, however, when at work, when I leave my desk, I use the Lock Screen feature of Keychain to lock my machine. When at home it hardly ever gets locked, so putting a password on the screensaver is really not useful to me.

I have searched far and wide, but can't seem to find a way to have Launchbar emulate the Lock Screen feature of the Keychain.

Any suggestions on how this can be achieved using Launchbar?

I would also be happy if someone can just provide me with guidance on an AppleScript that can achieve my goal?

Solution

bmike gave a very usable solution, however I ended up purchasing Lock Screen 2 from the App Store which allows you to set a hotkey to lock your screen among other options.


texts: Updating iPod Touch from iOS 3 to 4 - have lost all apps and music

texts:
A kid down the road asked me to update his iPod Touch from IOS v3.1.3 to v4.2.1.

I was doing this on my Windows 7 with itunes. This was a fresh install of itunes. I connected the device and the first thing i did was right click & back up. It took a while because he had filled all 7Gb of the device. Sure enough, I could tell that the music was now listed in my itunes library.

Then i started the update (which decided to do its own back up again, which seemed identical to the previous because of how long it took). The new IOS downloaded and installed and lastly it said it was restoring the apps and music. That restore process was quite quick and to my horror, ended up with almost 7Gb free. So the music and apps were gone! I look in the itunes library and the music is all gone too.

These apps and music were not purchased content (AFAIK). In particular i think the apps were free ones (little games), but all these apps will need to be re-downloaded. Plus save game files may be gone.

I do not know if the device was jail broken or anything. I am not an Apple Pro.

What went wrong?

Additional

I also tried to do a restore and there was a drop down list. In that list was:

<Name's> backup 20/Nov/2011 5:20pm <-- correct time of my backup
<Name's> backup

I did the restore using the 1st backup. However, the data did not restore and version of iOS remained at 4.2.1


texts: It seems to take far too long to unlock the "Users & Groups" setting on Mojave than was the case for High Sierra

texts:
This has bugged me from the time I did the first upgrade to Mojave (revision 3) under advice not to upgrade from High Sierra when Mojave was first released. I have tried several resets and even a clean install (I'm now on 10.14.6). Compared to High Sierra, it seems to take as long as 3 - 4 minutes to unlock but (without actually having measured it) HS might have only been a minute or so. Even the login at boot time it seems to take longer and I have to type more slowly type in my login than I used too!
I would appreciate please if anyone can provide any suggestion that might help. I have tried already quite a few discussion groups for answers but many refer to other OS's and other situations not related to mine specifically. I can provide more info if needed.


texts:
When I'm reading this guide it seems to be quite straightforward.

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH18705?viewlocale=en_US

But I was expecting to be typing the ip address. I don't understand what they mean by

nfs://DNSname/pathname

DNSname and pathname. Can someone elaborate?

(I'm trying to connect to my seagate business storage nas)


texts:
I'm trying to get an iPad to play a video playlist through the VGA output cable. The only way I know of to play a video playlist is through the iPod app. The problem, is that the iPod  app doesn't output the video through the VGA cable.

Is there any way to get it to output correctly? Or is there another way to play the video playlist?


texts:
I'm using iCloud Photo Library to store all my full size photos and keep everything synced between my laptop and iPhone. The laptop has a small SSD, so I use the optimize space feature to keep only low-res photos locally.
This all works great, but I want to have a backup of the full-res photos on an external disk, in case the iCloud servers fail. Time Machine will only backup the low-res photos in the local library. I want to continue using the local Photo Library without having the external backup disk connected all the time.

One possibility is to create a second macOS user account, set it up with the same iCloud credentials, disable optimized storage, set its Photo Library location to the external disk, and login to this account weekly to do a backup. But this seems sort of clunky. What is the preferred "Apple way" of doing this?


texts: Why does SystemUIServer cause high CPU usage?

texts: The SystemUIServer process is taking 30% of my CPU. Searching around reveals a Snow Leopard daylight savings bug which is solved by removing the clock from the menubar. I am on Lion and I have tried this without success. Any ideas on how to fix this?


texts:
For some reason I drag any of the icons on my Desktop. They are stuck. This is happening not only on my desktop, but also in all my other folders. I've checked "Show View Options" and set the order to "none." I've also set "Sort by" to none. I've checked the privileges on my Desktop and everything seems to look normal (I can read and write my desktop.) I don't want to restart my computer cause I'm in the middle of backing it up on an external hard drive. From the few minutes of surfing through forums I found that this is problem is not unheard of, but I wasn't able to find a solution. Any suggestions?

BTW, I'm running Mavericks 10.9.2


texts: Is it possible to regress to previous versions of an app? (iBird Pro)

texts:
I have iBird Pro on my old iPad and it has stopped working because I "updated" it and the new version requires an internet connection. Even with a connection it does not work and I just get Flickr ads, no pictures of birds.

Before it did not require an internet connection at all. So, basically my app has been ruined.

Is there any way for me to go back to a previous version so I can see bird pictures again?


texts: Preventing 13-year-old from downloading apps previously downloaded

texts:
My 13-year-old had an Apple ID before family sharing was available. In the span of a few days he had downloaded a bunch of messaging apps on his iPhone that we, the parents, do not approve of. We deleted them and instituted family sharing (to require approval of app downloads), but it still allows him to download these deleted apps because he had downloaded them before.

How can I clear out the previously downloaded apps so if he tries to download them again it will require him to "ask to buy?"  Also, there are some downloads that are on his phone that I believe he found a way around family sharing.  Is this possible? How can you prevent it?


texts: apple macbook pro screen doesn't comeback if we hit a key instantly after it goes to sleep

texts:
I just got a Macbook pro 2014 old retina version. When the display switches off, like its going to sleep and I quickly hit a key to wake it back up. It shows a black screen with a cursor for about 15-20 seconds before the login screen appears. Its only if I do it instantly after the screen switches off. If I leave it off for sometime it comes back instantly...

Its not a problem when I don't log back in and let the screen go black from the login prompt.

I also tried to totally disable the show login screen after screensaver/sleep option and it still take a while to go from black to my desktop.

This is a problem if I have an external display plugged in or no displays attached. Its really annoying because I want  stop it from sleeping because I want to do my office work I expect it return from sleep vey quickly


texts: Time Machine Icon on Desktop showing the yellow icon

texts:
My Time Machine in Finder shows the correct icon, however, on my Desktop, it shows the Yellow icon that is used for normal external hard drives. It only changes on the desktop to the time machine icon when I either eject the hard drive or in terminal use, killall Finder. But ejecting it is kinda useless as I can't use it then, and if I then reconnect it, it shows the yellow icon again.

I'm running the latest version of OS X El Capitan.

Anybody else have this issue or know how to fix this?


texts: In FireFox, how can I make new windows start blank with the focus in the URL bar?

texts:
In FireFox version 50 on OS X 10.10.5, when I create a new window (using ⌘-N), the new window opens with the FireFox logo and the input focus on the search field in the middle of the page:

I would really much rather prefer to start with a blank page and the input focus in the URL bar. How can I configure FireFox to behave that way?

In my FireFox Preferences, in the General tab, for "When Firefox starts" I have the setting "Show my windows and tabs from last time" and I want to keep that setting. Hopefully whatever is needed to change the ⌘-N behavior does not need to change the value of this preference setting.


texts: Changing the default screenshot filename

texts:
Is there a way to change the default screenshot filename prefix (the Cmd-Shift-4 type screenshot) to something other than the default? The default name looks like this:

Screen Shot 2011-08-30 at 10.01.36 AM.png

But I'd prefer to use something like:

screenshot_2011-08-30_100136.png

Basically so I can remove the spaces and junk, since it's annoying to browse dig through files in Terminal. Any easy way to change this prefix with one of the defaults write com.apple.screencapture style commands?


texts:
Does the iCloud service upload and download data or does it only upload and if so how fast will it be using a 3MB/s line?

Does it upload everything from my iPad or only the installed application names which are then downloaded from the Apple servers?


texts: How to move iTunes database from Windows 7 to Lion where the music is on a network drive?

texts:
I asked this question months ago and I finally had a chance to try the answer.  I followed the instructions in the answer but it didn't work. After I copied over the iTunes folder from Windows to Mac as per the instructions, when iTunes starts on the Mac, I see all of my music listed.  But iTunes can't locate any of the songs and throws this error: 'The song “Hard Days Night” could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?' Doing a get info shows that iTunes thinks that the file is located here: file://localhost/192.168.1.6/music/HardDaysNight.mp3

So clearly the path is incorrect.  The correct SMB path is smb://192.168.1.6/music/HardDaysNight.mp3.  How do I fix this?

I cleared out the iTunes folder and simply added the file directly to iTunes.  iTunes copied the file from the network directory to the local hard drive which is not what I want.  I want to keep my files on the network folder.  How do I replicate what I had on Windows on the Mac where iTunes references music stores on a network drive?


texts:
Am trying to run eclipse in maverick but a dialog box says that version 1.7.0 or later is needed to run Google plugin for Eclipse. My mac has version 1.6.0 when I run java -version from the command line.

I downloaded the latest Java https://www.java.com/en/download/mac_download.jsp , installed it but still the JRE is 1.6.0. What could be the solution?


texts: Why does the name of my flash drive change whenever I demount, then remount it?

texts:
I have a LaCie key (iamakey). When I change the drive's name to "LaCie" then dismount and remount it, it's name changes to "LACIE"
I'm trying to figure out why it won't stay named as "LaCie"

Any ideas?


texts: Does MacOS on M1 prioritise arm binaries later on path?

texts:
I'm trying to nix my new M1 Mac with home-manager and I'm thinking I might wanna skip xcode devtools altogether.
I've installed nix and home-manager and built a generation with git, but:
viktor@Viktors-MacBook-Air result % which git
/usr/bin/git

So this is the fake Mac binary that prompts to install devtools.
However, my real git from nix is before on PATH:
viktor@Viktors-MacBook-Air result % echo $PATH
/Users/viktor/.nix-profile/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin

Only thing I can think of is that MacOS somehow continues traversing PATH until it finds a arm64 executable?
viktor@Viktors-MacBook-Air result % file /Users/viktor/.nix-profile/bin/git
/Users/viktor/.nix-profile/bin/git: Mach-O 64-bit executable x86_64

viktor@Viktors-MacBook-Air result % file /usr/bin/git
/usr/bin/git: Mach-O universal binary with 2 architectures: [x86_64:Mach-O 64-bit executable x86_64] [arm64e:Mach-O 64-bit executable arm64e]
/usr/bin/git (for architecture x86_64): Mach-O 64-bit executable x86_64
/usr/bin/git (for architecture arm64e): Mach-O 64-bit executable arm64e

I have rosetta installed and the real git works fine from full path.
I am using zsh as the shell
Am I misunderstanding the executable resolution? There's no alias at play at least, but is there something else going on?


texts: How can I update MacBook Air Lion when I can't review Apple ID with El Capitan?

texts:
My wife has bought a used MacBook Air with macOS 10.7.5 and needs to update to allow installation of a couple of apps.

The problem:

Cannot update macOS from App Store without reviewing Apple ID
Cannot review Apple ID without updating macOS

I've tried adding myself as a new user with Admin. privileges, but the same problem occurs.

Neither of us have any other Apple devices, and we don't use Windows.


texts: Mac App mysteriously remembers deleted settings

texts:
After evaluating several its demo version, I decided to buy Linkinus from the Mac App Store.¹ As I had played with the settings a bit, I wanted to do a clean reset before seriously using it.

So I deleted all preference files and folders containing with the app's or its developers's name from my home directory, which were:

~/Library/Application Support/Linkinus 2
~/Library/Caches/net.conceited.Linkinus
~/Library/Preferences/net.conceited.Linkinus.plist
~/Library/Preferences/net.conceited.LinkinusSysInfoPlugIn.plist

To my surprise, Linkinus still remembered at least a part of its preferences after relaunch.

So I dug deeper, reinstalled the app and also deleted:

/private/var/db/BootCaches/XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX/app.net.conceited.Linkinus.playlist

As that didn't help as well, I tried to deactivate iCloud – also without success. I even used fseventer to take a look at the files read and written while using Linkinus, but that also didn't give any additional insights.

Can anybody solve that mystery?

¹ Yeah I know, the developers appear to have disappeared for a while, but I still like the app.


texts: Bootable usb stick created in windows won`t show in startup manager in mac

texts:
My MacBook Pro (Early 2015) won't boot any more;  it boots into a flashing screen with a folder with question mark.

I downloaded a High Sierra DMG and created a bootable USB using both Transmac and PowerISO (in Windows 10) and none of them boots the system.

What should I do? Am i doing something wrong here?

EDIT:
I have tried from a ubuntu using dmg2img and then making a bootable stick by dd and it didn`t work either.


texts: Where is the cron log file in MacOSX Lion?

texts: I want to troubleshoot a cron job that worked fine until a recent modification, but I can't find the cron log file, where is it?


texts: 1 pixel gap between window top and menu bar

texts:
MacOS Mojave 10.14.6 MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)

I have a 1 pixel gap between the top of the window and menu bar and I can't move the window close to the menu bar.

Is there any way to solve this problem?


texts: Why won't my restored iPhone 4S accept my Apple ID credentials?

texts:
I recently had to restore my iPhone 4S (iOS 7) and when I turned it back on and the activation screen came up, it prompted me for my Apple ID credentials. I put in my Apple ID username and password but it says that it's wrong. I tried to change my password, but when I did, and tried the new password, it still doesn't work.

What should I do?

I obviously can't even use my phone to make a call.


texts:
I just upgraded to El Cap, and now recovery HD will not boot. It goes part of the way, but gets stuck here:

I've tried to boot multiple times, but it just gets stuck there.

Resetting the NVRAM appears to work. However, I used the terminal command: sudo nvram -c, instead of the startup key combination.


texts: Colors are different when SSHing onto a Linux machine from iTerm2. How can I standardize them?

texts:
Currently, when I SSH onto a Linux machine, the ls output colors and syntax coloring in VIM are different from the colors on my local machine. The colors shown are not defined in my Profile...Colors...ANSI Colors, and include an ugly dark brown color for "yellow." How can I force the text from a remote session to match my ANSI colors, so the coloring is always consistent?

Here's an example of what I'm talking about: left is VIM session on my local computer, right is VIM session within an SSH session. Notice the hideous brown.

And here's an example of the ls problem -- the colors are different.


texts: Can't move items to Trash – resistant to usual fixes

texts:
On an internal data-only SATA HD, the OS forces me to delete files immediately, just as for removable media, a mounted network volume, or any unwritable volume.

Already tried removing and recreating the .Trashes directory, etc.

The error message is familiar:

  Are you sure you want to delete “filename.ext”?
  This item will be deleted immediately. You can’t undo this action.

I am working in the 501 account, the primary admin.

From the volume root, the permissions settings I see are:

  drwxrwxrwx     root  admin    .Trashes

And for the Trash subdirectory belonging to the user account, it's also:

  drwxrwxrwx     root  admin     501

Writes are not getting denied by extended permissions (because there aren't any).

The drive is seen by the System as a generic internal journaled SATA HD that's writable, repairable, not ejectable, and not bootable. No problems found with file structures on the volume.  Already recreated the Finder's plist file for luck.

I can live with the behavior, but it interferes with file de-duplication apps among other things. What am I not thinking of?

Trash on the System disk works as expected. OS X El Capitan v. 10.11.6 (desktop OS, no OS X server).

Thanks for the pointer to https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/249328/trash-folder-not-a-directory-files-only-delete-immediately but I've got a different situation.

The earlier question was about a .Trash folder inside the users' Home directory on a startup volume. Other local volumes have a different file architecture, and the OS manages them differently by design.

The answers don't apply either, because the OP's temporary fix does not make a difference for me, and in my case the required attributes for the .Trashes and 501 directories are not getting removed. Those look fine on inspection, although the Trash folder on that volume doesn't function.


texts: Windows 10 via Bootcamp MBR Partition Error

texts:
I have had nothing but problems today trying to install Windows 10. Boot Camp Assistant has already created the flash drive for installation and the partition on my hard drive. I restarted and booted into the Windows installer.

The partition created by the BCA gives an error in the Installer saying the selected disk has an MBR partition table, and that on EFI systems, Windows needs to be installed on a GPT disk.
Well, searching on the internet I came across this forum: https://superuser.com/questions/508026/windows-detects-gpt-disk-as-mbr-in-efi-boot .
I completed the steps using gdisk in Terminal. Now, when I boot into the Windows Installer, it just sits there, not loading. And eventually, the flash drive goes inactive.

What am I doing wrong? How do I get past the partition error?


texts: I have an iPod touch 6th generation but I can't sign in to Face Time or iMessage

texts: I am using iPod touch 6th generation. I've tried to sign up in Face Time and iMessage a lot of time but they are showing that there's a problem on network. Why is this happening?


texts: Outlook "select an identity", how to get this window?

texts:
I'm familiar with the Microsoft Database Utility app / window that you can trigger by opening Outlook while holding option, like this one:

However I received a different window this morning when opening Outlook normally, without any modifier keys.  This is the window I received this morning:

Does anyone know how to manually bring up this "select an identity" window?  A few of my users at work have to refer to old identities, usually archives, and I'm always hesitant to teach them how to use the MS Database Utility for fear of them rebuilding or accidentally deleting the identity.  This "select an identity" window seems much more user friendly.


texts: Fastest way to migrate data from Late 2016 13" MacBook Pro to 2009 Mac Pro

texts:
I'd like to use Migration Assistant to migrate data from a Late 2016 13" MacBook Pro to a 2009 Mac Pro. The only connection options I see possibly working are gigabit ethernet or USB.

I'm not sure if Migration Assistant will even use USB to connect two Macs. Even if it did, I'm at the mercy of the slower USB 2.0 port on the Mac Pro.

Is it possible to transfer data using USB and if so, is USB faster or is it faster to use gigabit Ethernet?


texts:
In console app I can see only couple system.log.${i}.gz archived log files that can only show me info about last 10-15 days.
How to keep all logs archived somewhere, forever ?


texts: Change the input language to english when shift is pressed

texts:
On Windows and Linux, when I'm typing in Hebrew and pressing the shift key, the input language automatically changes to upper case English (just while the shift is pressed, when I let it go it changes back to Hebrew).

Is this possible on OS X also?


texts: What happened to jabber / hangouts options in messages?

texts: Messages (on Mac OS X) used to let you add a gmail account for jabber -- it appears this is gone now? Is there a way to re-enable it?


texts: How to never "allow this device to access photos and videos"?

texts:
I have an iPhone at work, and I charge it by connecting it to my work laptop (Windows 7) via USB. Every damn time I do this, the phone asks me to Allow this device to access photos and videos? with the choices Allow and Don't allow.

I want to say never allow because I don't want any data connection at all but Apple has not provided this useful choice. What workaround can I use?

Note: I would just use a wall charger instead but there are no power sockets in my workspace.

added: The phone is listed as an Unspecified device under Devices and printers. When I open the properties, it just says This device is working properly. and I am not allowed to update the drivers. See screenshot:


texts:
The current behavior for an upward four-finger swipe on the trackpad is to move all Windows to the side and display your desktop.  I personally have no use for this since I keep absolutely nothing on my desktop.   Is there a way to reassign this gesture to something else?

For instance, I'd like to reassign it to Activate Spaces, since I'm a heavy Spaces user.

I'd prefer a non-third party solution to this, if such a solution exists within the bowels of OSX somewhere.  If not, a third-party solution will suffice.


texts: Macbook Pro 16" USB-C to DisplayPort not working

texts:
I'm trying to connect a MacBook Pro 16" to my external display through DisplayPort with these devices :

Cable Matters Adaptater USB C to DisplayPort
DisplayPort Cable
External display : iiyama prolite b2783QSU

But it's not working.
When I plug it in, the external display goes out of sleeping mode, but the MBP does not detect it and after a couple of seconds, the display displays a "no input detected" message and goes back to sleep.
I've tried :

Reseting the SMC and NVRAM and tried all 4 usb slots.
Switching off and unplugged the display, plugged it back in etc.
Restarting in clamshell
Force detect the display (the display goes out of sleeping mode, but then wont be detected)

I've tested the cable, adapter and screen with another computer and everything works fine.
Is there something I'm missing here ?
Is it possible that my external display isn't compatible ?
== Edit ==
It looks like incompatibility between MacOS and this iiyama model (or I guess this DisplayPort version).
It also seems to be a software problem, since it works under Windows/Bootcamp (!)
I've raised the issue to the Apple support, but of course no answer, and I think no hope of this getting solved.
Basically, I need to buy a new screen... sad.


texts: How to display (small) image previews at actual size?

texts:
After upgrading to Lion, I'm finding that Finder is stretching the preview of smaller images (~100 pixels), which is making them look terrible.

Is there a setting somewhere I can check to have small images show at actual size?


texts: iPhone 6 Plus Touch ID Sensor developing oily-like "rainbow colors" on its surface

texts:
I've bought my iPhone 6 Plus back in September 2014 and it's Touch ID sensor has been developing "oily-like" rainbow colors lately. I've tried cleaning it with water, screen cleaners etc. but it's not going away. Here is a picture of it:

It's not oily or anything, but it appears so. However, Touch ID is working perfectly, it's just a visual artifact affecting its look, not its operation.

Is there a way to get rid of that "layer", or should it get it replaced under warranty?


texts: MacOS High Sierra lags to change input layout

texts:
I have configured input switch with CapsLock. But Some times it takes several times pushing CapsLock key to change input language. Is it MacOS lag, or is it configuring some where?

p.s. I don't whant to use ctrl+space to change layout


texts: Xcode's Organizer window gets lost, when using 2 external monitors

texts:
The Xcode's Organizer window (Window -> Organizer) disappears, when using multiple (in my case 2) external monitors.

Xcode's Window -> Bring all to front command doesn't bring the window back onto any of the screens
Same goes for MacOS's Show All Windows command, when holding the Xcode's Dock icon

The only option for me is unplugging the monitors, or restarting Xcode.

Are there any alternative solutions?


texts:
Summary

iTunes appears to have a formidable weakness. It does not appear to be possible to store a subset of one's collection on a Mac, just as one routinely does on an iOS device.

Details

We normally treat an iPod, an iPad, and an iPhone as a slave device, by that I mean that we declare a Mac a master device, store our complete iTunes library on the Mac, and sync the iOS (slave) device using some given criteria.

I would like to do exactly the same process between two Macs. I would like to declare one Mac/OS X the master device and store the complete iTunes collection on it. I would then declare a second (third, etc) Mac/OS X the slave and sync with the master device.

As you can guess, the idea is that one OS X (the "slave" in this context) will be your work machine with its disk dedicated to serious stuff (and/or comes with fast/limited storage), while the other OS X (the "master") will be your media machine with large (disk-based) storage.

Can one sync iTunes between two OS X machines? How?

Update: This question is similar, but the rsync option is not suitable. The point is not to store a duplicate, but a small subset of the full collection. It seems a solution is not possible with stock utilities at this time, at least not until the competing ecosystem offers a viable solution to the same problem, but don't hold your breath.


texts: How to delete imported photos and videos from my iPhone 5c

texts: I synced photos and videos from my PC to my iPhone 5c using iTunes. I need space on the phone so I tried deleting them. I can select them just fine but the trashcan icon is dull. Normally it is lit up and I can delete photos or videos, but now i can't. I've tried going on iTunes, clicking the phone, selecting the photo icon, unchecking the sync box, and it says that they are deleted but they are still on the phone taking up 6.7 GB of data. I still can't delete them. I can select but I can't delete, even on the PC. What do i do?


texts: I am trying to update my macbook to 10.6.8. I tried to update to 10.6.8 directly but it does not update it directly so I am going in a sequential manner now. Firstly, I updated it to 10.6.1 by downloading the update to my macbook. Next, I updated it to 10.6.2 and doing so again and again I have updated my laptop to 10.6.4. Is there any better(faster) way I can get my macbook updated to 10.6.8? Thanks


texts: Store iTunes library on network drive, keep local cache of some media for offline use, and let iTunes organize media on network drive

texts:
I have a relatively large iTunes library, a Macbook Pro laptop with a relatively small SSD, and a Linux box with plentiful storage space that is always connected to the internet. I have a dream that one day I will be able to store my iTunes library on the Linux box as a network drive, keep a hand-curated list of songs and podcasts cached on my laptop, and still allow iTunes to organize my media library on the network drive. (Specifically, I want to use the 'Keep iTunes Media folder organized' and 'Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library' options in iTunes so that I can drag-and-drop files into iTunes, have iTunes organize copies via ID3 info, and delete the original files.)

The last time I tried to tackle this problem was ~2 years ago. From what I can recall, my best attempt was a continuously running script that checked if the network drive was accessible and if so, it mounted the network drive where iTunes was set to look for media, and otherwise it moved or mounted (I forget which) a local directory with hand-copied media there instead. I forget exactly why this solution was causing me headaches but obviously it does sound terribly kludgy and I did give up on it. At the time I was trying this, iTunes would not follow symlinks to find media so mounting was necessary.

Lately I've "sucked it up" and stored all my iTunes media on my laptop but right now I'm feeling renewed vigor for solving this problem. Needed clarifications? Thoughts?

I'll try to work on this myself over the next week and update if I think I have new ideas on a good solution.

For this question, I don't want to insist on exactly how iTunes should behave if I attempt to add media while my laptop is offline. Ideally, iTunes would prevent that and display an error message but if that's not feasible and I just need to remember to not do that, it's not a dealbreaker.

Related questions:

Splitting an iTunes Library [duplicate]

iTunes videos on a different harddrive?

A REAL iTunes server on NAS

I don't want to split my iTunes library so this question is a bit different from the ones above. I want the Linux box to have a master copy of all my iTunes media.

Solutions need not be limited to configuration within iTunes. Solutions that "trick" iTunes -- such as how I suggested above by selectively mounting drives to the iTunes media directory -- are fair game. Thanks for reading!

Edit: I promised to update after a week. Currently, I do not have interesting progress to report.


texts: I would like to explore the contents of the RAM my application is using? I would like to see if I can find that string I allocated. Any suggestions to print out the entire contents of my application's memory to the terminal?


texts: How to fix curl throwing "error setting certificate verify locations"

texts:
I'm a web developer and I have a MacBook4,1 with OS X 10.5.8. Important stuff like GitHub, homebrew, ruby and python doesn't work correctly, because curl doesn't work.
It seems that the SSL certificates are outdated.

I get this error every time:

curl: (77) error setting certificate verify locations:
  CAfile: /usr/share/curl/curl-ca-bundle.crt
  CApath: none

What can I do to fix this?


texts: How can I clear unwanted music off of my iphone?

texts:
My iphone shows me a variety of songs that I no longer want to have on it. iTunes does not show those items under 'Music' under the phone. I sync -- they're still there. What do I need to do to get rid of them? Contrary to various sources on the internet, sliding to the left on the song does not offer deletion, but starts to play it.

What's particularly vexatious is that I've got some Van Halen song on here. I've never seen it before. It does not show up on my Mac in itunes at all. I guess a child of mine might have purchased it.

I tried disabling icloud and setting up music syncing from itunes, and ran a sync, but that song and other undesirables persists.


texts: Trying to update to Yosemite. Unfortunately I'm encountering the Verify File System and Repair Fail. Ive got no backup whatsoever prior to updating to the new OS. I have Windows and I can boot on that just fine. How do I solve this problem and how do I recover my files on OS via Windows.


texts:
I would like to record a screen film of my iPad. If possible, I would like to include my spoken comments.

How can I do that ?


texts:
In iTunes 12.2.2.25 running on Windows 7, I see my hidden music purchases on the account page. But when I press 'unhide' button nothing happens. How can I unhide it? Can I back to old iTunes versions?

UPD. It's the iTunes bug. Call iTunesStore support to resolve the problem, it will take some minutes.


texts:
I'm a big iTerm user with 3 split panes on a 30" monitor. The only issue is that I sometimes want to add a Safari window as the left most pane. I can achieve this by using any of the window sizers out there and setting the window to float on top. However, this means that I have to Command ⌘-Tab to get to the Safari window while I ⌘+arrow to switch between the panes.

Is there a program that not only uses a grid for positioning/sizing, but also provides directional navigation between panes?


texts: Microsoft RDP 10 File Transfer - Specifically .mtw files in Minitab 17

texts:
Does anyone know how to open files from Mac in Microsoft Remote Desktop 10? I'm specifically looking to open .mtw in Minitab 17.

I tried changing the folder to my "Macintosh HD" folder and also tried using the specific folder from "My Documents" but it still doesn't show up when I'm using Windows through RDP.


texts: How do I prep a, temporary, root login before editing sudoers?

texts:
I want to alter my sudo capabilities on my mac, to avoid password prompts on starting postgres among other things.  I'm reading Michael Lucas' Sudo Mastery and generally have an OK idea on how to modify the entries and use visudo.

However, Michael makes the point that, regardless of what you do, editing sudoers is inherently unsafe and can lock you out of your machine.  And he goes out of his way to warn people to activate a root login, especially on macOS.  Once your sudoers file is ok and you've confirmed that with a reboot, you can always disable the root.

I mean, if it's just copying the original sudoers and then, when things blow up, safe boot, go to the Terminal and restore the backed up sudoers, that's fine.  But I want to be 110% sure I will not get locked out.

Note:  I might very well try my hand on a Linux VM's sudoers first, but I still want to have an escape route.

On macOS Mojave, keeping in mind Apple's various intentional security limitations around safe boots and SIP, what are the simplest steps to go create temporary root login backdoor?


texts:
I try to minimize my online footprint and don't use iCloud.  My iPhone SE has an Exchange account which I synchronize at home (over WiFi) with my laptop's Outlook [1].  I only sync Contacts, appointments, and notes [2].

According to https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/iphone/iph3d1110d4/ios, the default calendar in iOS 13 is set via "Settings > Calendar > Default Calendar".  In the panel for "Settings > Calendar", I have no "Default Calendar" field.

Is there a more updated documentation for setting the default calendar?  I am using iOS 13.3.

Footnotes:

[1] While not necessarily relevant to the problem, I use AkrutoSync to interface with Outlook and present an Exchange interface to the iPhone.

[2] For email, I use Navigator to access a webmail interface.


texts: How to regain features from Safari 5 that are not found in Safari 6?

texts:
I upgraded to Mountain Lion, there are a lot of differences in Safari 6.

Have the four features below been relocated?

If not relocated, are there fixes?

Activity window (previously: Window -> Activity) is gone.
Bonjour access from the bookmarks menu is gone.
Ability to empty cache (previously: Safari -> Empty Cache) is gone.
delete/backspace key no longer works for going to the previous page.


texts: Connecting a THIRD display to Mac Mini (late 2012) via USB 3?

texts: Is it possible to add a third display using a USB 3 video adapter?  Will MacOS 10.14.6 recognize it?


texts:
Is it feasible to list all tags already defined in OS X in Terminal?

I know there are some third-party applications that list all tags, but I just want to use Terminal to find all tags, since I use this tool to work with tags in Terminal (but unfortunately the tool doesn't provide to list tags for an entire system - it just lists for a single or multiple files selected arbitrarily).

Thanks.


texts: What does the dynamic global hostname option in sharing settings do?

texts: Can anyone explain what this option does?


texts: Photoshop scaling screwed up after upgrading to 4K monitor

texts:
Running Mac OS 10.14.6 and Photoshop 21.2.3. I just switched from a 1920 x 1200 monitor to a 4K (16:9) monitor whose native resolution is 3840 x 2160. I have the Mac's display preferences set to simulate 2560 x 1440 — this makes the user interface the right size across programs.
The problem is that if I make a new document of 3840 x 2160, it appears significantly smaller than the screen - about 75% of the screen size when Photoshop is set to display at 100%. I work a lot with screen-only images, and I want Photoshop to display actual 100% when set to display at 100%.
When the new document is set to the scaled size of 2560 x 1440, it appears MUCH smaller than the screen.
How can I make Photoshop display 100% at 100%? I don't remember having to do anything special before I switched monitors.
TIA!


texts: Facebook is forcing use of its new messenger app, which is only supported on iOS7?

texts:
I'm running iOS 6.* on an IPhone 3Gs.

I noticed that Facebook was talking about redacting support for messaging inside the Facebook app...

This slightly bothered me, considering I am Quite happy using SMS for instant messaging, and Facebook for less frequent chat.

Regardless of how I feel, I now see that they are "Forcing" users over to their secondary Messenger application... which seems to be quite the ignorant move on their part-

When I went to the appstore to download the new messenger application... I found out that it was only supported in iOS7...

Will we really no longer be able to send and receive messages using Facebook on anything but the latest model phones?

Seeing as how they are doing the same on Android, and Seeing as how I wasn't offered to use a version of Facebook Messenger that was supported by iOS 6.*...

They can't really be considering dropping all support for any "older" model phone, can they? that is more than just stupid, it's plain cynical.

The tech enthusiast in me wants to believe their is a work around for this, or something I have simply over looked. but the conspiracy theorist in me wants to scream out about how this feels like they are trying to coerce mobile device owners to upgrade their phones.

It just doesn't feel fair, or even logical, that iOS 6.* should not support a basic messaging application.. especially one from a Company such as Facebook. they certainly have the wherewithal to support development of multiple versions of an applications.

are they really so out of touch that they could not possibly fork their app in the development repository, and build a release supporting the ios 6.* API/SDK?

in short (and minus the rant), does anybody else have this concern? does anybody know how to work around this issue? does anybody actually know how to contact Facebook in order to complain?


texts: Disable Bluetooth "roaming" on Macbook Pro

texts:
So, my Macbook Pro (15-inch, 2018) are often bluetooth "roaming" and connecting to devices (like my headphones) despite being on battery power with closed lid. I would very much like to disable this feature – seems like a bit of a security/privacy concern as well.

Any ideas on how to disable bluetooth when lid is closed?


texts: Installing Ubuntu Server on my MacBook without a CD

texts:
Trying to install Ubuntu server on my MacBook however the CD drive is not working. All the guides I have seen so far use the bootcamp process (same as for windows) to achieve this.

I currently have a windows partition on my machine (it was installed with a CD when the drive was ok) which I'm going to remove before I do this. Is it possible to boot using the USB drive from the Mac bootloader using this method? I don't want to remove my Windows partition to find that I NEED a CD to do this.

I would also prefer to have a separate partition as opposed to any sort of VM setup to do this.


texts: Is there a way to update an existing window arrangement in iTerm2?

texts: I have saved window arrangements which work great. However I sometime want to update an existing one and I cant find a way to do it without having to save a new one and delete the previous?


texts: Mountain Lion Messages: Gmail user is not registered with iMessage

texts:
I'm trying to use Messages instead of Adium, but it won't let me chat with some of my contacts.

These aren't iMessage accounts, but gmail users. If I try to message them, I get a "address is not registered with iMessage." alert.  There doesn't seem to be any reason or method to it, either.  I've tried restarting iMessage as well as rebooting my machine.


texts: Excel API data query - populates into a single column

texts:
I am trying to populate some data from an API call.
(Below is the process to get the same example)

Everything works fine until I hit the last button: all the data goes into the first column and does not seem to understand the separator.

Mind that my Language & Settings are for "United Kingdom" which should recognise comma as separator.

Process flow:

create text file with "https://api.coinmarketcap.com/v1/ticker/"
change the .txt file into .iqy
Open Excel, go to Data tab
Get External Data then Run Saved Query
Open the .iqy file
Select new sheet and you're good to go.

Thanks for the help,
Chris


texts: How can I use a USBC DisplayPort monitor with my 12” MacBook and charge at the same time?

texts:
I was hoping to get an Asus MB169C+ monitor to increase my screen real estate while traveling and working on my 12” MacBook.

However, I'm confused as to how I can charge my MacBook and use the display at the same time? I expect to have it setup for extended periods while traveling and would prefer not to run everything off the battery whenever I want to use the monitor.

Is this even possible? It seems like I would need some way of splitting power and also the usbc to DisplayPort connection, but continually more concerned at how limiting this single port system is.


texts: Mid '11 Mac Mini won't shutdown cleanly. OS X El Capitan 10.11.6

texts:
When I go to shutdown my mid 2011 Mac Mini (running OS X El Cap, EDIT* 10.11.6), it will not do so "cleanly." I close all applications, then click Apple > Shutdown and finder closes like it's going to shutdown, but it gets stuck. I have to hold the power button till it shuts down, then when it powers back on I get the error message (with a yellow exclamation point):

  You shut down your computer because of a problem. If you want to open the applications that were open when you shut down, click Open. If you do nothing, the computer will continue to login in 17 seconds...

So far I have tried:
 - Opening Disk Utility and running "First Aid" on the SSD. I get a green check mark when done.
 - Booting to Recovery (Cmd + R) and running First Aid.

EDIT: Apparently "First Aid" is not the same as repairing disk permissions! Looking into this... http://osxdaily.com/2015/11/04/verify-repair-permissions-mac-os-x/

EDIT2: As a result of the issue, I am unable to install any OS X updates and the only way I can reboot is via the terminal command sudo reboot now

EDIT3: Booting in verbose mode, I see many (about 20 or so) of these:
Could not open PlatformSupport.plist
and also...
ERROR!!! Recovery Image verification fail with status [0x800000000000000e]
Error loading kernel cache 0oxe)

What could be the issue here? Anyone know what logs files I can check and where? Thanks.


texts: How can I install Snow Leopard on my 2011 Mac Mini Server?

texts:
Can I install Mac OS X Snow Leopard on a 2011 Mac Mini Server? (I own the Server model because of its better CPU)

I tried, connecting my MacBook (running Snow Leopard natively) via FireWire (in Target Disk Mode) and thereby installing Snow Leopard on my Mac Mini. It worked, however, glitches in graphics as well as an overall bad performance really freak me out.

Is the 2011 Mac Mini really that different from the 2011 MacBook Pros? Might it be that Snow leopard just doesn't load the correct drivers since it does not know the 2011 mac Mini? If so, is there a way of manually adjusting this?

I don't like Lion on my Mac Mini since I run two monitors with it, and Mission control plain sucks in that regard compared to Spaces. I'm not interested in the Server Features.


texts: Can't send or receive MMS on iPhone 8 Plus on Verizon if on WiFi calling

texts:
An iPhone 8 Plus can't send / receive MMS messages (i.e. non-iMessage group messages) when on WiFi calling on Verizon - it just sits with the progress bar when trying to send and then eventually fails.

Phone calls and individual SMS messages work fine when on WiFi calling, and going down the street to where there's 4G signal causes MMS to work immediately.

A Galaxy S9+ on the same WiFi calling is able to send/receive fine.  The underlying internet is 1Gbps fiber and works well.

In case it's relevant, there is extremely marginal cell tower coverage at this location (i.e. ~1 bar).

Updating iOS on the phone did not solve the issue.


texts:
When I was installing windows 7 on my mac I allocated 55GB to my bootcamp partition, I now realise that it is not enough for me. is there a way to extend it, without loosing any data and re-instaling windows?

Additionally, is it possible to store files on Macintosh HD partition (as it shows up when I access my computer from windows) while using windows?
That would solve the problem, however I'm not sure if it will work.


texts: Apple Mac Pro - reload OS for a beginner's new start?

texts: I'm a recent refugee from Windows and new to all Apple basics. I've bought a secondhand post-2013 Mac Pro and I've discovered (unsurprisingly) that I don't have Administrator's rights to load software. Looking at Forums it looks like quite a task to gain it. As my machine doesn't have any 3rd party programs or data on it, it seems to me that the easiest solution would be to reload High Sierra. Is that a good idea and can I do that without those Admin rights?


texts: Why can't I delete iCalendar account subscription?

texts:
I'm trying to delete Contacts and Focuster. It is a Gmail account, and it doesn't appear on my google calendar.

For some reason, it's not letting delete from my iCal.


texts: How can iOS Siri display Google search results in Safari immediately?

texts:
In iOS 10, I would tell Siri "Google Boston Strong", and a Safari window of search results would appear. I miss this behavior.

In iOS 11, I tell Siri "Google Boston Strong", and Siri remains onscreen, displaying the first five results. I do not like this behavior.

What can I tell Siri so that she immediately opens a Safari window of Google search results?  I'm not satisfied with the workaround of scrolling down to tap the Show Google Results button that Siri displays below its five results.


texts: Repairing Mac OS X Leopard without Time Machine

texts:
I did a dumb thing and accidentally overwrote my copy of /usr/bin/sqlite3 on my Mac OS X 10.5.8. I don't have a Time Machine backup so I can't grab the file from there. When I try to run Apache2, I'm getting the error:

dyld: Library not loaded: /usr/lib/libsqlite3.0.dylib
  Referenced from: /usr/sbin/httpd
  Reason: no suitable image found.  Did find:
/usr/lib/libsqlite3.0.dylib: mach-o, but wrong architecture
/usr/lib/libsqlite3.0.dylib: mach-o, but wrong architecture
/usr/lib/libsqlite3.0.dylib: mach-o, but wrong architecture

How can I retrieve or rebuild /usr/bin/sqlite3?

Edit: Before all of this, I ran the 10.5.8 Combo Update in case something on my system was corrupted.


texts: iPhone backup switches to "This Computer" in iTunes and I want it to back up to iCloud

texts: When I open iTunes and click on my phone icon, all of my settings look good except for backups which is set to "This Computer." I check off iCloud and click "Apply" and it instantly switches back to "This Computer." I'm signed into iCloud on the phone and the computer with the same account. I have plenty of space in iCloud as well so that shouldn't be a problem. Why does it switch and how can I get it to stick to iCloud?


texts: MacBook Air not booting up with a black screen

texts:
I have a MacBook Air (2014 Model) and facing a bit of weird problem here. I had plugged in my Mac and kept a huge file for download and locked the screen, (the disk might have actually run out of space.) After I while I saw a question symbol hovering over the screen and I tried to force restart my Mac. But the problem is after the restart, my Mac won't boot. It just throws me a black/grey screen with the apple chime every time I restart.  I am not able to enter the recovery mode or safe mode either.  I tried creating an external bootable drive but my Mac would still show me a black screen when I press the options button while booting.  I tried resetting the NVRAM and SMC controller but still no change. Can anyone help me with fixing this problem?

I was wondering could this be a problem with the Hardware/SSD problem or it could be a firmware issue. (I recently upgraded the MBAto OS X Catalina).


texts: Is it bad or unhealthy to put my Mac to sleep?

texts:
I am wondering if it is bad or unhealthy to always put my Mac to sleep or should I shut it down instead? What I mean by putting it to sleep is that the display and hard drive are sleeping.

The reason for asking this question is I have heard from several computer literate people that sleeping the hard drive is not good for it.


texts:
I've connected a high-resolution projector to my MacBook Pro Retina through an Apple Mini DisplayPort-VGA adapter. It gets quite blurry (even for fonts) on the projector.  Here are the settings.

How do I make slides on the projector as clear as on the laptop?


texts: El Capitan - Increasing/Resizing the BootCamp Partition Size

texts:
I'm running OS X 10.11.5 El Capitan with a 240GB SSD. I made a 50GB BootCamp Partition using this guide because my usb/dvd wasn't being detected. I found myself searching for space because I somehow only have ~16gb left after installation of several programs. I need around 2-5GB more.

Upon research, I found this youtube guide which basically makes a 3rd partition, booting in Windows, and then using MiniTool Partition Wizard, have the windows partition "take" the 3rd blank/unused partition. However, upon further research, I've seen this thread among several others that say that this method does NOT work on El Capitan. It primarily has something to do with the partition mapping and how adding a third one makes you unable to boot in Windows. There are comments that say it works on El Capitan and some say it doesn't. I'm not sure if those who managed to make it work did 10+ steps in between or if those who didn't manage to make it work simply weren't resourceful enough, and I'm not taking a risk by figuring it out on my own.

I then found Paragon Campture which seems promising as it says it support El Capitan. I know this isn't free and I'll have to shell out cash, however, I'm okay with the free 2GB reallocation. My main concern is that I haven't seen as much feed back (I'm pretty sure I'm looking at the wrong places) about Paragon on El Capitan but so far, they seem to be the most solid choices. It would greatly help if I got feedback from anyone who used Paragon on El Capitan.

I know the old method is to scrap the Windows Partition and reinstall one using the Boot Camp Assistant, however, as I stated above, I took a pretty darn long way around installing Windows on my Mac and I don't wanna do that again.

Any feedback on these software, or any tips on how to make MiniTool Partition Wizard work on El Capitan, will be very much appreciated.


texts:
I am facing a strange issue with my track pad. My machine is a MacBook Pro Retina Display (Mid 2012) updated with Yosemite.
So when i click on the track pad's right side, the track pad clicked down properly but nothing happens, although the left side is working properly.


texts: macOS Catalina: incorrect permissions on /tmp directory

texts:
I've recently initialized my MacBook Pro 10.2 restoring from a TimeMachine Backup. It installed macOS Catalina GM on a Beta (Not sure about that, but now I got version 19B77a (10.15.1).

After this installation, there are problems installing applications or updating etc.

After some investigation I've discovered that the system is unable to write the /tmp directory.

I've tried to made an ls to the / directory:

$ ls -lah /
total 9
drwxr-xr-x   22 root  admin   704B Feb 12 22:16 .
drwxr-xr-x   22 root  admin   704B Feb 12 22:16 ..
-rw-rw-r--    1 root  admin     0B Oct  8 07:20 .DS_Store
lrwxr-xr-x    1 root  admin    36B Feb 12 22:14 .VolumeIcon.icns -> System/Volumes/Data/.VolumeIcon.icns
----------    1 root  admin     0B Oct  8 07:20 .file
drwx------    7 root  admin   224B Apr  3 19:46 .fseventsd
drwxr-xr-x    2 root  wheel    64B Oct  8 07:20 .vol
drwxr-xr-x+ 144 root  admin   4.5K Apr  3 08:02 Applications
drwxr-xr-x   64 root  wheel   2.0K Mar 11 17:57 Library
drwxr-xr-x@   8 root  wheel   256B Oct 15 07:37 System
drwxr-xr-x    5 root  admin   160B Feb 13 01:22 Users
drwxr-xr-x    4 root  wheel   128B Apr  3 19:50 Volumes
drwxr-xr-x@  38 root  wheel   1.2K Oct 15 07:46 bin
drwxr-xr-x    2 root  wheel    64B Aug 24  2019 cores
dr-xr-xr-x    3 root  wheel   4.2K Apr  3 19:46 dev
lrwxr-xr-x@   1 root  admin    11B Feb 12 22:06 etc -> private/etc
lrwxr-xr-x    1 root  wheel    25B Apr  3 19:50 home -> /System/Volumes/Data/home
drwxr-xr-x    6 root  wheel   192B Feb 13 01:22 opt
drwxr-xr-x    6 root  wheel   192B Feb 13 01:22 private
drwxr-xr-x@  64 root  wheel   2.0K Feb 12 22:14 sbin
lrwxr-xr-x@   1 root  admin    11B Feb 12 22:14 tmp -> private/tmp
drwxr-xr-x@  11 root  wheel   352B Feb 12 22:14 usr
lrwxr-xr-x@   1 root  admin    11B Feb 12 22:14 var -> private/var

So I can see there is an incorrect group in the alias /tmp directory, but correct in /private:

$ ls -lah /private/
total 0
drwxr-xr-x    6 root  wheel   192B Feb 13 01:22 .
drwxr-xr-x   22 root  admin   704B Feb 12 22:16 ..
drwxr-xr-x  126 root  wheel   3.9K Mar 30 00:07 etc
drwxr-xr-x@   2 root  wheel    64B Feb 13 01:22 tftpboot
lrwxr-xr-x@   1 root  wheel    11B Jun 27  2018 tmp -> private/tmp
drwxr-xr-x   31 root  wheel   992B Feb 13 08:08 var

So the next step is try to set the correct group on /tmp, but, since Catalina, the System partition is read-only:

$ sudo chown root:wheel /tmp
Password:
chown: /tmp: Read-only file system

Obliviously I've already disabled SIP:

$ /usr/bin/csrutil status
System Integrity Protection status: disabled.

So, whats next? Got any suggestion?


texts: Split USB from iPod to both aftermarket and factory car head unit

texts:
I have an iPod Classic. I also have a 2017 Mazda 3 in which I installed a new stereo system with an aftermarket Pioneer head unit. The iPod works great with the Pioneer, no problems there. However, I went to great lengths to leave the factory receiver and display screen intact to be able to at least utilize the backup camera.
I'm curious to know if it is possible to split the USB cable coming from the iPod and have it interact with the aftermarket head unit for iPod control and audio, while also sending the split signal to the factory head to utilize its display capabilities?


texts: Create script to disallow using Mac at night?

texts: I want to stop watching too much pornography at night. It'd be useful if I were to create a script to automatically turn off my Mac at 11:00 PM and keep it turned off until 7:00 AM. If I power the computer on at any time between 11 o'clock and 7 o'clock, it should immediately shut itself down again. I also want disabling the script to be difficult to prevent myself from easily bypassing it to watch porn. How do I create this program?