which graphics cards does MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014) have? from "About This Mac" I see that model is "MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)".
From my understanding technical specifications page (https://support.apple.com/kb/SP704) for MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014) lists two graphics cards for that model:
Graphics and Video support

Intel Iris Pro Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M with 2GB of GDDR5 memory and automatic graphics switching

I can't find any evidence of GPU "NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M" in the system.

About This Mac shows only "Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB"
System Preferences -> Energy Saver doesn't have "Automatic graphics switching" option (according to https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202043: "If you don't see the automatic graphics switching option, your computer has one graphics system. To confirm, choose Apple menu > About this Mac, press the System Report button, and select Graphics/Displays on the left. The graphics system or systems are listed under Video Card.")
About This Mac -> System Report button -> Graphics/Displayes on the left. Again, I see only "Intel Iris Pro Graphics"

It rather looks as my Mac has only one graphics system.

am I right that my Mac has only Intel Iris Pro graphics system?
if there is only "Intel Iris Pro" in my Mac how is that possible that official technical specifications page https://support.apple.com/kb/SP704 also lists "NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M"?

Apple sold many different versions of the 2014 MBP - different SSD sizes, different RAM amounts, different processors, and on the most expensive machines, a dedicated graphics card.

You may have a machine with only integrated (Intel Iris Pro) graphics. To learn whether or not you are right about only having integrated graphic, you need to know the exact MBP model you have.

One easy way to determine which model yours is:

Go to the Apple (top left of screen) and choose "About this Mac".
Look at the pop up window and find the serial number listed at the bottom. Copy it.
Go to www.everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/ and paste your serial number where it says Enter Identifier.
This will bring you to a page with the model of your machine. There you can see all of the specs. If the name has a (DG) after it, then you have a model with dedicated graphics. If it has an (IG) after it, you don't. This is an example with dedicated graphics:


How do I put a password to stop the download of an app I have an iPad for my children and I want to stop them downloading the YouTube app. Can I put a password on their iPad to stop them downloading it.

You can prevent them from accessing the App Store by restricting access to it:

Settings -- General -- Restrictions

A passcode needs to be set, keep it at a safe place as any other password.


Desktop files and folders always moving In OSX 10.9.5 my desktop folders re-arrange when a new window is opened. I have "sort by" off. I can arrange my folders and then when I open a new window (not every time) all of the folders will randomly rearrange to avoid the new window. What gives?

Usually this is a corrupt .DS_Store file. Delete it and see if your shaky folder clears up.

In finder - press command + shift + .

Then you can delete the file and revert the setting to show hidden files if you wish to not see them.


How do I make Command+Tab only bring the active window for an application to the foreground? When I switch to an application using ⌘ + tab, all the open windows for that application are brought forward (usually covering other windows in other apps that I want to see). I would like only the active/selected window for that application brought forward. Is there a way to accomplish this?

I would be happy to change this globally, as the existing behavior drives me batty.

Apple's solution, like it or not, is to use Exposé or Mission Control (Lion) to switch between windows. ⌘ + tab is considered an application switcher.

There are third party solutions to change this behavior, but I don't have experience with them. There is some discussion about these solutions on this Super User question.


User account gone after flash install Has anyone had an issue where their Mac user account has disappeared after installing flash player?

Thanks

It turns out this is a false alarm. Following a restart a queued update made in error by my IT dept mean't that the user account had be deactivated - Thanks for your input otherwise


External USB drive keeps disconnecting randomly I use a Mac mini as a Server and have two OWC MiniStacks attached to it. The Ministacks are connected via USB3 and are underneath the Mac mini. The Ministack in the middle started disconnecting randomly and I need to turn it off and back on to get it connected.

The Mac mini is always on, uses El Capitan and I use the USB drives as Server provided networked disks. The drive disconnects after a day or sometimes a week. I only have it mapped to Server.

I have Seagate Enterprise Capacity Drives everywhere.

I get the following output in Console:

22/08/16 19:08:19,000 kernel[0] USB device 1E91B0B114700000 - BOT reset completed with kIOReturnTimeout.
22/08/16 19:08:19,000 kernel[0] USB device 1E91B0B114700000 - will be reset!
22/08/16 19:08:20,000 kernel[0] 1533181.822274 PRT7@14700000: AppleUSB30XHCIPort::resetAndCreateDevice: failed to create device after (1) tries, disabling port
22/08/16 19:08:21,000 kernel[0] USB device 1E91B0B114700000 - fConsecutiveResetCount = 1.
22/08/16 19:08:21,000 kernel[0] disk3s2: device/channel is not attached.
22/08/16 19:08:21,000 kernel[0] disk3s2: media is not present.
22/08/16 19:08:21,000 kernel[0] disk3s2: media is not present.
22/08/16 19:08:21,000 kernel[0] disk3s2: media is not present.
...
22/08/16 19:08:21,000 kernel[0] disk3s2: media is not present.
22/08/16 19:08:21,000 kernel[0] hfs: err 6 reading VH blk (vol=SERVER DATA 2)
22/08/16 19:08:21,000 kernel[0] disk3s2: media is not present.
22/08/16 19:08:21,000 kernel[0] hfs: err 6 reading VH blk (vol=SERVER DATA 2)
22/08/16 19:08:21,000 kernel[0] disk3s2: media is not present.
...
22/08/16 19:08:22,000 kernel[0] hfs: err 6 reading VH blk (vol=SERVER DATA 2)
22/08/16 19:08:22,000 kernel[0] hfs: unmount initiated on SERVER DATA 2 on device disk3s2
22/08/16 19:08:22,000 kernel[0] disk3s2: media is not present.
22/08/16 19:08:22,000 kernel[0] hfs: err 6 reading VH blk (vol=SERVER DATA 2)
22/08/16 19:08:22,000 kernel[0] disk3s2: media is not present.
22/08/16 19:08:22,000 kernel[0] hfs: err 6 reading VH blk (vol=SERVER DATA 2)
22/08/16 19:08:22,000 kernel[0] disk3s2: media is not present.
22/08/16 19:08:22,000 kernel[0] jnl: disk3s2: do_jnl_io: strategy err 0x6
22/08/16 19:08:22,000 kernel[0] jnl: disk3s2: write_journal_header: error writing the journal header!
22/08/16 19:08:22,775 fseventsd[61] disk logger: failed to open output file /Volumes/SERVER DATA 2/.fseventsd/00000000088fc0e6 (No such file or directory). mount point /Volumes/SERVER DATA 2/.fseventsd
22/08/16 19:08:22,776 fseventsd[61] disk logger: failed to open output file /Volumes/SERVER DATA 2/.fseventsd/00000000088fc0e6 (No such file or directory). mount point /Volumes/SERVER DATA 2/.fseventsd
22/08/16 19:08:23,085 deleted[695] normalizeUserMountpoint:791 volRoot failed for /Volumes/SERVER DATA 2
22/08/16 19:08:23,085 deleted[695] _validateVolume:813 unable to normalize volume: "/Volumes/SERVER DATA 2", vol: (null)
22/08/16 19:08:26,148 certadmin[97828] Connected to the Notify Service

What is going on?
Failing HDD?
Failing Enclosure?
Screwed up Mac mini settings?

Thank you very much in advance!

After studying my problem further, I identified the Newertech Ministack 2012 as the cause of my problem.

Our drives disconnected, because they overheated. Practically, while fans start spinning when I turn the Ministack on, they do not resume spinning when drives return from standby/idle and stay off. This caused already a couple of dead hdds in our setting and other drives experienced temperatures around 70C.

Strangely the enclosures are quite clean inside, this could mean that the fan behavior has been consistently this way since we bought them. The enclosures have been bought through official channels between 2014 and 2015.

I am starting to believe this might be a production related or architectural related problem this model has. The day after I contacted Newertech the enclosures where unavailable for purchase. Usually I had good experiences with the company, but data storage is very important so I am trying to get to the cause of this issue.

I tested different settings by turning the enclosure on, accessing the drive, letting the drive idle (usually 10 min) and go into standby, reaccessing the drive and inspecting fan behavior. I switched HDD vendors, cable, interfaces, computers, OS-X versions, this leaves the enclosure.

Could someone please give me a feedback? I would like to figure out if my enclosures just all went bad with the same problem or if we all have a very huge problem! My drives heated up to 70C and should be around 40C, with 60C the maximum advised temperature from the drive vendor.


Control music playing on iPhone from Computer Is there an app that allows one to control the music playing on my iPhone using the Function keys along the top of my Mac keyboard?

I haven't tried out this application, but I guess for $0.99 it's worth a shot?

Bowtie


Mac terminal cd to folder IN current directory Let say my current directory in terminal is ~/Users/Desktop. On my desktop, there's a folder called "sample_dir". How can I cd in this "sample_dir" folder with typing: "cd ~/Users/Desktop/sample_dir"? There's gotta be a shorter way that looks at your current directory and appends that path to the directory you pass in to make things faster.

Thanks

There is. Type:

cd sample_dir

It checks for you. If for some strange reason that doesn't work, type:

cd ./sample_dir


MacBook Air can't connect to cafe wireless, but iPhone can My MacBook Air stopped being able to connect to the wireless network at a coffee shop I frequent.  It's an open network, but requires a clickthrough on a gateway page to complete the connection to the internet.

My iPhone accesses the click through page fine and connects to the network, but my Air cannot load the page, the autoconnect pop-up will load forever, and I get a timeout when going through the browser.

Is it possible there are some stored settings for this network that I need to clear before trying to connect again?  I've tried removing the network from my list of preferred networks, looking for any entries in my keychain, and accessing the network through my guest account.  Any suggestions are appreciated!

Lion 10.7.2

Two things you could check:

Do you have a Proxy set?
Do you use some VPN?

Maybe an adblocker could also be in your way.


When an old iPhone 3 can connect to WiFi but not associated with a Cell Phone carrier, can it still send files? I have an old iPhone 3 that was using AT&T as the phone carrier.  But since June 2010, I started using the iPhone 4 and that iPhone 3 has no phone carrier any more.

It connects to my home network using WiFi.  But when I try to send my old Notes written on the iPhone 3 by email or view weather or stock data, it can't access the network.

Is it true that an iPhone 3 that has no phone carrier won't be able to use the WiFi to send or receive data?  Thanks.

After you switch to a new iPhone, the old iPhone will still be able to access data over WiFi, just not the 3G network.


iTunes Match Alternative ... or some way of implementing this We’ve been using iTunes Match pretty much since the beginning, but recently my wife has turned it off and refused to re-subscribe. I’m fast getting to the same place. It just seems so unstable, wishing Apple would invest some of their billions into it. I read with dismay how many people find Google Play to be so much better. As I write this I see a “Cannot connect to iTunes store” on my iPhone. Noting wrong with our connection … it’s alive and well.

Bearing in mind that I have two Macs, an iPhone and an iPad and my wife has a Mac, iPhone and iPad what we really want is the following.

I want all our music to go up to one location (iCloud or even better our own server). I want an app or web app that I see on the right hand side a list of artists or albums (or playlists) and columns for each device. I want to be able to tick the “matrix” to specify which devices the artist/album/playlist should be downloaded to. When the device is switched on, it must download (no fuss no bother and no stupid I-can’t-do-anything-about error message). A nice enhancement would be to specify three options for each entity (Download, Stream, Not Available). There must be options to easily bulk select.

So … is there such a thing out there?

In my immediate family plus spouses and kids girlfriends/boyfriends there are 11 Macs, three iPads and 10 iPhones. My brothers are very similar. I have nieces and nephews that use Apple. My parents also use Apple. Collectively, we have a bunch of Apple equipment.

I had some kind of similar question here.

I decided to go my own route, because basically everything from big companies is specific to their environment. And even though it required some work, I ended up with a solution I am quite happy with.

I have a Mac Server and a DynDNS service.
I have a Madsonic Instance running, which is a fork of Subsonic.

Subsonic has a lot of Apps that can be used for streaming.
Madsonic (and any other fork) is compatible to those clients.

Subsonic wants 1$ per month, if you want to use streaming (via Apps),
Madsonic (and most other forks) do not.

The Web-UI is awesome and there are also other Web-Clients like JamStash
,
that I love to use personally.

Besides the Subsonic Setup, I have a very cleaned up iTunes Library that has Home-Sharing enabled and can sync via Wifi with my iPhone. Also including my purchases.

iTunes requires a lot of attention and maintenance as I discovered recently;
and I would not recommend to let iTunes manage the Library itself.
Instead I wrote some scripts (and found some)
to make maintaining my Library a lot easier

I decided to build up a Folder Structure, that I like
and only let iTunes reference those files, but never touch them directly (except for metadata).

Subsonic does not care about the management, it simply searches for new media every day/week/month (as you wish) in a folder and updates the library.

However, all of that requires a lot of work.
If you are lazy or you simply do not care that mouch about Music, You should use another Service besides iTunes Match, as other Users also suggested (Amazon Cloud/Spotify/Ecoute/...)

From where we stand today, I am very sure, that there is no solution to a good music-streaming service that we seek.


MacBook Pro fan always on I noticed that for the past few days my MacBook Pro has been running the fan non-stop. I dont know if this is a problem, should I be worried? Is this something that I can solve on my own? Should I bring it into the Apple store?

If it is the same as mine, it was fixed by:

Opening Activity Monitor and see if any background processes are running.
If there are, then quit them.
If that didn't work, you might need to do a SMC. System Management Controller reset.

To reset the SMC:

Shut down the computer.

Plug in the MagSafe or USB-C power adapter to a power source and to your computer.

On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.

Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.

Press the power button to turn on the computer.

On MagSafe power adapters, the LED might change states or temporarily turn off when you reset the SMC.

To read more about troubleshooting the fan read this: https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT201295


I want to hear sound of push notification when sound is turned off (like iOS alarm clock) When I receive a push notification no sound is played when the sound is switched of on the device (with switch on side of iPhone).

When I add an alarm event in the iOS clock I do hear the sound although sound is switched off.

Can I force to play sound with Push notifications when sound is switched off?

everybody thanks for the response (this was a programming question)

with regards,
Frank

PS I don't know what is meant by fixing up my accept rate but I'll have a look into that...

You can't, the push notification is handled by the iOS. If the user muted his device there is no way force it to play sound on receiving a push notification.

The reason the alarm can play a sound is because it is not bound by the apple rules for app s from the app store.


Can I run the game Civilization on mid-2011 MacBook Air? Is there any version of the game Civilization that will run reasonably well on a mid-2011 13" MacBook Air (1.7 gHz core i5; 4GB RAM) that shipped with Lion but now runs Mountain Lion?

PowerPC software won't run on Lion or Mountain Lion, and the graphics performance might preclude the latest releases, but is there any version modern enough to work with Lion/Mountain Lion but old enough that the graphics on an MBA will handle it?

I have the same generation MBA.  You don't specify 11 or 13 inch, and that makes a potential considerable CPU difference, but on my 11" 1.6Ghz 4Gb RAM Air I have played Civilization V just fine.  Slows down a little as the game progresses, but looks good and plays perfectly acceptably to me.


How do I delete forward on a Macbook Pro? I know this:

Fn + backspace - "del" key (delete letter to the right) <-- where's the Fn key in the MBP?
Alt + backspace - Delete last word
Command + backspace - Delete whole line

Now... there is no Fn Key on a MacBook Pro. What key combination should I use, or it's a matter of simply: It's not possible?

As an alternative to Fn+delete, you can also use control+D to trigger a forward-delete, at least in most places.  Some older apps may not support it, apparently.


OS X El Capitan auto-correction crazy Auto-correct in my email is correcting the word to something that makes no sense, before I'm even done writing it. IE I was trying to write correct but it keeps changing corr to core before I can finish writing the whole word even though I am not pausing.  I have OS X El Capitan 10.11.6

If you want to turn it off, go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Text (tab)  and unselect auto-correction.
If you want to do more, then on the same page you can tell it what language to auto-correct (if you don't want it for all languages you use on your Mac) or specific words (on the right you click the "+" to add specific auto-corrections.
If you want to disable auto-correction of a single word, then look at this answer already given:
Answer already given for "Can I disable auto-correction of a single word on OS X"


How to make Apple Mail.app to use SOCKS proxy configured by a PAC file For some reasons, I have to use a SOCKS proxy to access Gmail, otherwise, the connection will be blocked.

I tried the global SOCKS agent, and the Mail.app worked fine. Nevertheless, when I turned to use a PAC file to configure system agent automatically, the Mail.app wasn't able to access Gmail.

My questions:

Is it possible to set proxy in Mail.app? That is, Mail.app passes its web traffic to the SOCKS proxy while other apps won't be influenced.
If the answer to the first question is NO, then how to modify my PAC file to make Mail.app possible to access Gmail?

Any clues or suggestions would be appreciated.

More info:

OS version: OS X 10.9.5

Mail.app version: 7.3 (1878.6)

The PAC file:

var domains = {
  "l.google.com": 1,
  "gmail-imap.l.google.com": 1,
  "googlepages.com": 1,
  "googlesile.com": 1,
  "google.co.jp": 1,
  "gaeproxy.googlecode.com": 1,
  "sshtunnel.googlecode.com": 1,
  "googleusercontent.com": 1,
  "goagent.googlecode.com": 1,
  "google.com": 1,
  "googlevideo.com": 1,
  "google.com.hk": 1,
  "tuite.googlecode.com": 1,
  "gfwinterceptor.googlecode.com": 1,
  "gtap.googlecode.com": 1,
  "googleapis.com": 1
};

var proxy = "SOCKS5 127.0.0.1:1080; SOCKS 127.0.0.1:1080; DIRECT;";

var direct = 'DIRECT;';

function FindProxyForURL(url, host) {
    var lastPos;
    do {
        if (domains.hasOwnProperty(host)) {
            return proxy;
        }
        lastPos = host.indexOf('.') + 1;
        host = host.slice(lastPos);
    } while (lastPos >= 1);
    return direct;
}

Try go to Network Preferences, select the network you want to set, and go to Advanced -> Proxies. Then, set both Automatic Proxy Configuration and SOCKS proxy. It works for me.

FYI, if you're using Shadowsocks the PAC would probably be http://127.0.0.1:8090/proxy.pac.


Errors using brew to install python3 I'm trying to install python3 using brew on a 2008 MacBook (OSX Lion).

I have a few years using apt-get in Linux environments, but this is my first time trying to install something using brew.

Per the instructions at Get Your Mac Ready For Python Programming and Install Python 3 on Mac OS X and use virtualenv and virtualenvwrapper I entered:

brew install python3

This was after accidentally trying to install version 2.x of python using

brew install python

The python package installs fine, but when trying to install python3 I get

gcc-6 -Wno-unused-result -Wsign-compare -fno-common -dynamic -DNDEBUG -g  -O3 -Wall -Wstrict-prototypes -o FileSettings.o -c ./FileSettings.m
In file included from /System/Library/Frameworks/Foundation.framework/Headers/Foundation.h:120:0,
             from ./FileSettings.h:9,
             from ./FileSettings.m:9:
/System/Library/Frameworks/Foundation.framework/Headers/NSTask.h:75:24: error: expected identifier or '(' before '^' token
 @property (copy) void (^terminationHandler)(NSTask *) NS_AVAILABLE(10_7, NA);
                        ^
/System/Library/Frameworks/Foundation.framework/Headers/NSTask.h:78:1: error: expected identifier before 'end'
 @end
 ^
make[2]: *** [FileSettings.o] Error 1
make[1]: *** [install_PythonLauncher] Error 2
make: *** [frameworkinstallapps] Error 2

READ THIS: https://git.io/brew-troubleshooting
If reporting this issue please do so at (not Homebrew/brew):
  https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-core/issues

These open issues may also help:
python & python3: fix sqlite3 on sierra https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-core/pull/3134
Warning: You are using OS X 10.7.

Per the errors I checked python & python3: fix sqlite3 on sierra which seems to indicate the fault lies somewhere with sqlite3 however the link at python3 (v 3.5.1) failed to build on 10.7.5-x86_64 indicates its an issue with the compiler?

I'm not sure where to go next in the troubleshooting process.

I have no way to test it as I am not running 10.7 anymore, but the second issue you posted looks like the exact same error and a successful fix was in the comments:

brew install homebrew/dupes/apple-gcc42
brew install python3 --cc=gcc-4.2

This basically installs a compatible version of gcc and overrides compiler selection when installing python3.


Is a there a simple solution to avoid problems with hotspots? It seems that OSX does not behave well with hotspots.

By hotspot, I mean the wireless networks which opens automatically a window for login/password such as

when you join them.

When you login for the first time to such a hotspot, there is no problem.

The problem occurs when to try connect later. I think OSX tries something like putting automatically your login/password, but it doesn't work. But the result is that the window to connect never shows up.

I had such a problem few months ago on OSX 10.8 and it was difficult and unclear how to solve it. It involves keychain and other things.

It seems that this problem still exists on OSX 10.9.

So is there an easy way to avoid these problems?

From your screenshot it looks like your browser is opening (and later failing to open) a login screen in a new window. Try using a different browser.

You might also try

System Preferences -> Network -> [with "Wi-Fi" selected] Advanced ->
 uncheck "Remember networks this computer has joined"

and / or

Keychain Access -> [with "System" keychain selected] -> delete the AirPort network password


Mojave won't show disk in Disk Utility I purchased a new disk to use as a Time Machine backup.

diskutil list shows it as:-

/dev/disk4 (external, physical):
#:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
0:     FDisk_partition_scheme                        *2.0 TB     disk4
1:               Windows_NTFS                         2.0 TB     disk4s1

But is does not appear in Disk Utility or in Finder.

How should I go about formatting it?

Last time I did something similar I was prompted if I wanted to use it as Time Machine

I used gparted on a Linux machine (Raspberry Pi) to delete the partition table.

Disk Utility then recognised it, and I could create a GPT partition table.

Added to Time Machine and it seems to be working (150GB to go) .


How do I sync contacts between 2 iCloud accounts with iOS 8? I have one iCloud account, and my wife has another.  I have an iPhone, and so does she.  It's easy to share calendars in iOS 8, and I'd like to do something similar with our contacts.  How can we keep our contacts synchronized between the two accounts/devices?

Found this on a forum today.  Suppose a husband and wife want to share contacts.  In Settings > iCloud, the husband adds his account.  In it, he must sync contacts; he can also sync whatever else he wants.

In Settings > iCloud, the wife adds her account.  In it, she cannot sync contacts, but she can sync whatever else she wants.  In Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars, she adds her husband's account. In it, the only thing she syncs is contacts.

That's it.


Can spotlight do Int > Hex conversion ? Spotlight is great to do some fast calculation and conversions.

But can he also do some geeky conversions like Integers <> Hexadecimals or Integers <> Binary ?

I use Alfred for the Mac -- one of the most used tools I have. https://www.alfredapp.com

You will need the PowerPack for workflows. As a user I would recommend the lifetime update option. It keeps getting better and better.

There is an Alfred workflow created: https://github.com/obstschale/NSC/ that easily does number format conversion.


how to change the carrier name in my iphone 6 without Jailbreak? how to change the carrier name in my iphone 6 without Jailbreak? Can anybody help me?

If you want only to change the displayed name of your carrier, I'm afraid you can't do that without a jailbreak.


Failed to run VirtualBox on macOS 11 Big Sur I got this error when started a VM:

Big Sur is a developer beta, not a public release beta.
The difference being is that it's released to software developers so they have a relatively decent platform to begin work on getting their applications compatible with the new release of macOS.  It's not meant for end users to gain access to the bleeding edge of macOS tech because you want the latest and greatest features.
Report it!
You've gotten an error when trying to run VBox on Big Sur.  It's not ideal, but completely expected.  This is something you want to search for as an issue in Oracle's Bug Tracker; if it doesn't exist, you should probably report it.
Testing is encouraged!
If you've decided to install Big Sur (or whatever the latest build is for future readers) on a production machine, I highly advise you to rethink that.  By "production," I mean one you rely on for work.  It's the machine you turn on to get your work done that gets you paid so you can keep the lights turned on.  A Beta version can work just fine and a subsequent release can break things to the point where you're dead in the water.
Install it on a test Mac.  It could be a cheap Mac mini or even a broken LCD, busted keyboard or dead battery MacBook laptop.  You just want something inexpensive you can try out the new features on.  This would be my recommendation.
If that's not possible, create a second (or third, or nth) boot volume so that you can manually boot into the new OS, test and play to your hearts content and when you need to get back to work on a stable version of macOS, your original install is still there.  Remember to make copious backups.


iPhone app that records audio during specific time I was looking for an app that records audio during specific time.

For example: I want talk for 1 minute and this app should record just 1 minute. The audio recording should be stopped after this time automatically.

try this free app

Some of the features:Compare These Features:

One Touch Recording
One Touch Stop & File Saved
Super Small MP4 Recording File Sizes
Send Voice Emails Up to 5MB
Records for Seconds or Hours
Pause Record and Resume
Adjustable Recording Qualities
Flip Mode For Mic on Top Recording
Record Timer and Playback Counter
Double Tap for Quick Playbacks
Auto File Naming w/Optional Renaming
Finger Scroll Through Messages
Pause Play and Resume Modes
Drag Slider for Seek/RWND/FFWD
Audio Level VU Meter
Displays File Sizes and Time Stamps
Plays Thru Earpiece, Speaker, Ear Buds
Use Devices' Built-In or Add-On Mics
Ringtone Recording Feature
EZ Sync Recordings to Computer
Great Visual Voicemail Like Interface
Voice Reminder Notes
Send Voice Notes Through Apple's iMessages


How do I get Siri to pronounce my name correctly? Siri doesn't pronounce my name correctly. I tried editing the phonetic spelling as it says on many sites, but it doesn't fix the problem. How do I fix this problem?

When this happens, it's usually because the nickname field is also filled in. The nickname field trumps the phonetic first name field. So if you ever used the Siri command "Call me ..." she would automatically fill in the nickname field, making the phonetic field useless.

To fix the problem, either write the phonetic spelling inside the nickname field, or delete the nickname field and write the phonetic spelling in the phonetic first name field.

Tip: To hear her pronounce your name, you can ask her, "What is my name?"

The advantage of using the phonetic spelling field is that it expresses the property more accurately. However, I noticed that it has a flaw in that it messes with the sorting in the Contacts app (especially if you sort by first name and include an accented character to help with the pronunciation). Therefore, you might want to use the nickname field instead of phonetic spelling.


iOS 9.1 ipad cannot connect to the App Store I just upgraded my original iPad to iOS 9.1 and it now cannot connect to the App Store. No other error is given. If I go to the App Store I get a blank page. If I try to Update an app, the screen spins for a long time and eventually gives a pop up message reading "Unable to Connect to the App Store". The connectivity of the iPad is fine and I can use other networked applications such as Safari with no problem. It is only the App Store that is not working.

How can I diagnose the cause of this problem?

Update: I signed out of the App Store by going to Settings / iTunes & App Sotre / Signout. Now, when I try to sign in, the machine hangs for about two minutes and then presents a message box that says: "Cannot connect to the iTunes Store".

I went to a Genius Bar to fix this.

The genius said that I needed to reinstall 9.1. He said that sometimes when 9.1 is installed something gets messed up, so it needs to be installed TWICE.

Unfortunately, you can only do this from a PC or Mac desktop computer, because iOS on the iPad does not give any option to re-install an operating system you already have.

After re-installing 9.1 the App Store did indeed work on my iPad.

Note that this machine is an original iPad.

Also, another important note is that the App Store can get munged if it is accessed from a blocked network. If you trying to use the App Store from a place where there is a firewall or advanced packet filtering, like a company network, then the App Store can get blocked and this will mess it up because it will timeout and then not attempt to connect again. The App Store uses many different ports and if any of these are blocked by a firewall, it can get messed up.

To fix this:

(1) get a clean, unblocked, unfiltered connection

(2) close any open instance of the App Store by using a 4-finger swipe up

(3) start App Store again


Siri can no longer find my home # Whenever I wanted to call my land line at home, I would instruct Siri to "call home" (my home number is listed as home in my contact list) She would respond by saying "calling home" and the call would be made. Now she says "I dont have a home number for John" (this is my name). A friend is having the same problem. What has happened?

I had similar problems, only Siri was not finding contact information of any kind, was not locating my friends, and not opening apps on command. I found that the problem was that Siri was having an issue with opening apps was causing all problems listed. To fix I used a Cydia app called iFile to locate the following files:

/var/mobile/Library/Caches/com.apple.LaunchServices-045.csstore
/var/mobile/Library/Caches/com.apple.mobile.installation.plist

Delete both the files, close iFile, and reboot device. After restarting all your apps will be gone and they will come back one at a time. Took only a few seconds for them all to load. Tested Siri and all my problems solved.

I'm using a jailbroken iPhone 5 with 6.1.2


Mac Air iMessage problems I recently plugged my iPhone to my Mac. Ever since I did that, every time that I text on my iPhone it shows an icon pop up on the Mac screen, however I am not set up through messaging on my Mac. I am wondering if there is a way to stop the computer from showing that I am typing and showing who I am texting. It does not show conversation or any details, just who I am texting. It is pretty annoying.

You have Handoff turned on under Settings>General>Handoff & Suggested Apps on your iPhone.

Switch off Handoff and you shouldn't see it anymore.

Though I would be more concerned with the message to "ransom"....


App Store is stuck downloading Software Update So, I have tried a lot of stuff but my App Store keeps getting stuck downloading the OS update that you see in the first picture below.

I have tried canceling, restarting, deleting some files Library/Updates folder, also deleting some files in open $TMPDIR../C

The last thing I tried was doing what is suggested in this question Mac App Store update stuck (Installing - Calculating...)

I am getting desperate because no matter what I do, when I try again, the update hangs at 125mb and the waiting time keeps going up when I wait.

What are my options at this point?

The simplest might be to just bypass the App Store altogether & get the update manually - this will only work if you are already on El Capitan, any version, which the App Store picture would indicate you are.

Just fetch the 10.11.4 Combo Updater directly from Apple. This will bypass the App Store's delta updater, & also likely clean up whatever is causing the issue in the first place, by re-applying all updates since 10.11.0


Write code on iPad, offline I want to write code on my iPad, with the possibility to do it offline and to download the files later on my computer (MacBook Pro), for instance via iTunes.

I am right now coding in Java.
Offline compiling is not my priority now.
Of course if there exists an app which can execute Java (or other languages, Swift, Python, Objective-C, etc.) it is a plus.

I am looking for tools that don't need jailbreak.

the best app I ever used: Textastic. It costs about 7 USD/EUR and it is one of the most sophisticated apps I know.
I am a web and app developer and I like to use it with SFTP connection support and Dropbox combination ...

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/textastic-code-editor-6/id1049254261?mt=8

https://www.textasticapp.com


Will Apple TV work if I connected it to a DVD player? My TV does not have an HDMI input, so I was wondering if I could still use it by connecing the Apple TV to my DVD player's HDMI port instead?

My DVD player (Philips DVP3560/F7) is capable of 1080p.

Also, will Apple TV work with my (rather old) TV? My TV (Samsung TXN2668WHF) is capable of 1080i and 480p.

The apple TV 2 supports 480p. In my case it works through my AV/Amplifier which is connected with an HDMI cable to my TV.

The only catch would be HDCP which requires end to end protection of data. But from what I understand HDCP allows non HDCP compliant hardware to receive lower quality image using legacy connectors (RCA, S-Video ...). So it all depends on how your DVD player is connected to the TV.


VNC Server for non-Jailbroken iPhone/iPad I'm looking for a VNC server for my iPhone/iPad that (assuming I know the IP address) I can connect directly to using a VNC client. To summarize the features I'm looking for:

Non-hosted, i.e. no software needed to be continuously running on a computer (rules out  Reflector or AirServer)
Non-Jailbroken device (rules out Veency)

A VNC server on an un-jailbroken device is impossible due to Apple restrictions. Any such app would not be able to run in the background (without a jailbreak tweak to modify the backgrounding code) and is not permitted by App Store regulations anyway.


Sound output device disappeared after upgrade I have my Samsung TV connected to my Macbook Air via HDMI/thunderbolt.
Everything was working just fine until I upgraded to Yosemite (10.10.5).

At the moment, in the "sound" configuration in the "output" tab I don't see anything except internal speakers and I can see the images on the TV but there is no audio.

[I already rebooted, but with no change in behavior.]

Any idea on how to fix this?

If you have the speaker icon in your menu bar, hold down option key and click on the speaker to choose your inputs/outputs.

If you don't see the device you are looking for, go to Launchpad -> Other and look for Audio MIDI Setup. In the bottom left corner you will see a + sign, click on this to add new inputs/outputs for it and then configure them.

If you don't see the device you would like to add, I suggest you start troubleshooting. Remove all the cables there is, switch off and wait, switch on and hold down cmd+R+option+P until it restarts again then release. (resetting PRAM)


How can I make Automator run service I made (shell script) and display the output in Terminal? Hi I'm new to Macs and OSX, I'm using p7zip cli app to compress folders with big files inside (1; 2 GB or more). So I managed to make a Bash script to do it in batch process when I go to bed and I'm not using the computer.

This the code:

#!/bin/bash
 for folder in */
 do
 7z a -t7z -m0=lzma2 -mx=9 -mfb=64 -md=1024m -ms=on -mmt2 "${folder%/}.7z" "$folder"
 done

I have this in Comp7zip.sh file, I put that file inside the main folder that contains all the other subfolders I want to compress. So from the terminal I do:

$cd myfolder
$./Comp7zip.sh

Then in the terminal I can see how the 7z app is working, and it compresses all the folders just fine.

But since it is a bit annoying, copying the .sh file inside the folder and using the terminal every time, I use Automator to create a service and do it with a couple of clicks, this is the code:

#!/bin/bash
cd "$@"
for folder in */
do /usr/local/bin/7z a -t7z -m0=lzma2 -mx=9 -mfb=64 -md=1024m -ms=on -mmt2 "${folder%/}.7z" "$folder"
done

It's almost the same, just add the cd "$@" to use the selected folder in finder, so I have a new service that does the same thing that the .sh file does.

I just select the folder that has all the subfolders I want to compress, then pick my service from Finder's context menu, works fine and compresses all the folders inside the selected folder.

The problem here is, that in this way I can't see the 7z app wile it's working, all the compressing is made in the background with just and icon of a little gear in the menu bar that indicate the compress is running, and nothing more.

So with little files this is not a problem the compress ends fast, but with large files, I can't see how the compress work is doing it.

So the question is, how can I make Automator to show me the running task in the same way the method with the .sh Bash file does?

Also any ideas of how to add to this process a way to compress files outside subfolders in the selected folder? I mean all this code only works with folders and it's content, but not with files, so how cam I make it work with folders and files in the same process?

I'm sorry for my grammar, English is not my native language.

If you run a shell script by:

Opening the Terminal application
Telling the Terminal application to start your script

Then the script's output will, by default, be displayed inside the Terminal window (this can be changed by, for example, redirecting the output to a text file with the > character). This is what you have been doing "before going to bed".

Shell scripts, however, can also be run without ever opening the Terminal application! For example, you could create a launchd plist to run a shell script whenever your computer finishes booting. In this case, the script would run, but nothing would be displayed on screen, because the Terminal application was never opened.

Similarly, Applescript's do shell script command executes shell code directly without ever opening the Terminal.

Instead of running the shell code directly, tell the Terminal application to run the shell code for you:

tell application "Terminal"
  do script "echo 'Hello World'"
end tell

Now, Applescript will open a Terminal window, and run your shell code inside of it.


What iPhone model is shown in Apple's Recycling video? In Apple's most recent event, they highlighted their environmentally-friendly products. One of their videos sported a robot named Liam, who would disassemble iPhones once they were in need of recycling.

However, in the video I couldn't place the iPhone shown on the disassembly line. I've included an image below. Can somebody identify it? Or is it not an iPhone in the current lineup, something different or...dare I say...new?

Looks like it has a flush camera lens, which is something the newer models don't have. That's what's confusing me.

Link to the video is right here, at the bottom of the page.

Judging by the guts of it, the size, and the finish, I am going to say that this is an
iPhone 6
It's too big and rounded to be a 5/5S series or earlier.  Assuming that it's not the iPhone 7 (which hasn't even hit the prototype phase), we can narrow it down to a iPhone 6 or 6S.  There is one slight difference between the two:

In our little video we see that it has only the iPhone name on it:

So, that's why I say it's an
iPhone 6


Does My Company Need To Code Sign with Two Digital Certificates? Apple Developer and EV Certificate? My employer plans to distribute Mac OSX software outside the App Store through their website. Do I need to get an organizational developer ID from Apple ($99 USD/yr) plus purchase an EV code-signing certificate from Symantec? Or, will the Apple Dev ID certificate work just fine? I'm confused -- what's the process? And if you could also show what we do at command line or XCode, that would help, too.

See, I'm used to distributing on Windows. On Windows, we just get an EV cert from Symantec to sign the product. By doing the expensive EV cert, it gets past the web browser filters without warning eventually, given enough downloads from different IP addresses.

Apple states the following, but it's clear as mud (no surprise there, given that this is Apple documentation) because it doesn't explain if I don't need to sign with both certs or just one (if that's even possible to sign with two certs).

https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Security/Conceptual/CodeSigningGuide/Procedures/Procedures.html

On that page, it states:

  Note: Apple uses the industry-standard form and format of code signing
  certificates. Therefore, if your company already has a third-party
  signing identity that you use to sign code on other systems, you can
  use it with the OS X codesign command.

Here is what the Apple Documentation says about this in the Developer ID section: "You can distribute your Mac applications outside of the Mac App Store by using Developer ID. Signing your Mac applications, plug-ins, and installer packages with a Developer ID certificate lets Gatekeeper verify that apps are not created by malware developers and haven't been tampered with since they were signed." Here's the link: http://developer.apple.com/programs/whats-included. Click Learn more in this section for details.

According to the documentation approved developers can request the Developer ID and use it to build certificates and sign app files. From what I read it appears you will only need the Apple certificate. I plan to do this when I'm approved as an Apple Developer.


"Repair Disk Permissions" doesn't seem to repair the permissions I tried repairing the permissions on the boot disk, resetting the Mac, and repairing the permissions on the boot disk. All times I repair the permissions, the list of the files that needs to be repaired is the same.

What does not allow to repair the permissions? What should I do to repair the permissions on the boot disk? Should I repair them from another Mac?

How do you know that your file's permissions are not OK?
What output does your repair permissions print? Any errors?

You could also try running the repair from the command-line if it would make any difference:
diskutil repairPermissions /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/

Replace the volumes name.

You could also try running that with sudo or as root, to see if it changes anything.

Edit:
Actually, what you could be seeing is that some application is using the files that "need" to be repaired and thus Disk Utility can't repair them.
Try shutting all applications off and the running the repair


Powerline fonts in vim & OS X 10.9 Mavericks I'm unable to get Powerline fonts working in Vim (homebrew) on OS X 10.9 Mavericks. My Vim config is available at https://github.com/aaronlake/vimrc. From 10.8.x to 10.9 I've imported the same Powerline font files from 10.8. Assistance appreciated.

Screenshots below:

let g:Powerline_symbols = 'fancy'

let g:Powerline_symbols = 'unicode'

I have no idea why but the mappings in Parser.vim don't exist in the glyph table anymore for 10.9 (maybe the Unicode 6.3 support?). In the powerline docs it specifies that the glyph table starts at 0xE0A0 however in Parser.vim they're using 0x2B60 instead. On 10.8 it works because, in the case of 0x2B60 and 0xE0A0, the branch glyph simple exists in both locations.

You can try it by typing into a 10.8 terminal:

echo -n '\uE0A0'
echo -n '\u2B60'

Anyways, because 0x2B60 and the others do not exist anymore you just have to update autoload/Pl/Parser.vim to look something like this:

        \ 'fancy': {
            \   'dividers': [ [0xe0b0], [0xe0b1], [0xe0b2], [0xe0b3] ]
            \ , 'symbols' : {
                    \   'BRANCH': [0xe0a0]
                    \ , 'RO'    : [0xe0a4]
                    \ , 'FT'    : [0xe0a2, 0xe0a3]
                    \ , 'LINE'  : [0xe0a1]

Also, you'll probably have to run :PowerlineClearCache for it to take effect.


Connecting Thunderbolt 2 device to 2010 Mac Pro I have a Pegasus RAID array that connects to Thunderbolt 2 ports. I'm looking for a way to hook this up over USB 3 to my Mac Pro.

Does anyone have any suggestions? There is for example this: http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MMEL2AM/A/thunderbolt-3-usb-c-to-thunderbolt-2-adapter

But I don't know if it would work since it would not be connected to a host device.

Thanks!
K.

You can connect the Promise Pegasus R4/R6 RAID directly to any 2013 Mac Pro.

You will need, however, a Thunderbolt 2 cable. These cables need to be bought separately and cost about about $35.

I have a Pegasus R4 RAID myself and can connect it to other Macs using the Thunderbolt cable without any issues. Keep in mind that you cannot connect two Macs simultaneously to the same Pegasus RAID.


How can I transfer my iPhone’s contents to an empty iTunes library? Last night, my hard drive crashed and it is dead. I don’t have any single iTunes backup – I use my iPhone to sync apps music, photos, etc.

When I plug my iPhone in this new formatted PC, will it delete all content on my iPhone? How can I resolve this?

What should I do so that it will not delete all files in my iPhone when it syncs?

Also, is there a way to transfer my iPhone content to the new iTunes library?

Download DiskAid (free trial). You can transfer all your music and apps over to iTunes from your iPhone. It’s pretty straightforward so I think you don’t need instructions for that.
Connect your iPhone to the PC. The content won’t be deleted right away, it will be deleted only if you choose to.
Right click on your phone in the left pane in iTunes. Click Backup.
Make sure you have transferred all your content by checking the Music, Apps, etc. libraries on iTunes.
Reset the phone by going into Settings > General > Reset > Erase all Content and Settings. Make sure you have backed up before doing this.
After the reset, choose to restore from an iTunes backup in the setup screen.
The phone will restore first your settings, then your music and apps.
It is a time-taking and painful process, but eventually things will be restored.


Will the MacBook Pro hinge tighten over time or with use? The hinge on my 5 month old MacBook Pro is very loose. I took it to the Apple store, where I was told that it will tighten over time. Has anyone else had the same problem? Has the hinge tightened over time? This sounds suspect, due to the fact he said the spring inside gets tighter, but I was taught in school that springs lose their tension over time.

No, it will not tighten overtime. If anything, it can only become looser as it wears (simple physics).

You should book an appointment with a Genius at the Apple Store and tell them you are unhappy with it. They will either replace the mechanism or give you a new machine.

The previous person you dealt with, unfortunately gave you false information.


Why my Mac OS X Startup Disk used space is around 30 GB I just bought a new MacBook Air 128GB SSD. This is my first MAC. As on Windows, I want to create a separate partition for my Data. The Default partition shows around 30 GB used space. Why is it so? I suppose Mavericks takes up around 10 GB only.

Secondly, what is the recommended size for Startup disk. I will only use it for development purpose - XCode, XAMP, Qt etc.

Ok you've got iLife for free, and installed which means you have:
Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iPhoto, GarageBand.
I suspect that this adds upto just under 5GB.
Delete them from the application folder if you don't need them.

This is the link to grandperspective, it's free and really great.

And as I said in the comments Xcode is big 3-5GB, the iOS Simulators are big.

If you are going to develop in the start-up partition, I would get your development environment set up now and then afterwards add the 2nd data partition in.

Oh and I forgot the sleep image - if you have 4GB RAM then you'll have a sleep image that mirrors the memory.  If your Mac battery dies when you power it up it recovers the exact state it was in when it shut down. It's the same when it sleeps.  If you have 8GB then you'll have even less drive space.

Something to bear in mind when creating bootable partition.

This can be turned off, but not a great idea


How to set Video Background in iMovie How can I set a video background in iMovie? I have a video and the background is black. How can i change it to white in iMovie?

The black background is just because black is the absence of any other image there. You can make a white jpeg photo with Photoshop or Inkscape or whatever program you have, insert it as a frame, and then it's white. Then you can drag title text onto that white image.

You can also drag title text as a new clip, and then it gives you an option of various backgrounds (including white).

For the rest of the video, well, you see video as the background, not any color.

If you want more control of layers and opacity and backgrounds and such, you may want to consider a step up to Final Cut Pro.


unexpected workspace transposition I am using yosemite and take advantage of workspaces.  Occasionally, my workspace locations get transposed.  E.g. workspace 2->3 and workspace 3->2.  I use ctr-N where N is the workspace that I want to go to.  What is the hot key or command that causes this to happen?  It happens to me every once in a while and I can never seem to figure out what I have done to cause this to happen.

Possibly System Prefs > Mission Control > Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use.


What is this "web" icon in iOS battery usage? Does anyone know what this “web” icon is under battery usage in iOS 13.6 ?

The "Web"-icon in the battery settings are the time, where was used by visiting a website, where you have saved from safari as "Add to Home Screen" via the share-button.
So you have like your own app on the home screen, but effectively it is only a website that is called about safari. Therefore it is declared as "Web" in the battery settings.


VMWare Fusion: Could not open /dev/vmmon error After updating to Yosemite the only trouble I have is that VMWare Fusion (Professional Version 5.0.5 if that helps) fails to start showing following error:

  Could not open /dev/vmmon: No such file or directory.
  Please make surethat the kernel module `vmmon' is loaded.

I've tried to google the issue but the only relevant thing found was this:

  The Mac has a certain amount of devices it can register in the /dev/ directory ...,  virtual devices like virtualization software and VPN clients also create devices in this directory quickly filling up the number to the limit. To solve this I went through my installed applications and removed every VPN client and VM software that I don’t require any longer and rebooted my machine. After the reboot everything worked immediately.

But even if this is true, I just can not get rid of my VPN client for example. So, I still have no idea what steps I should take to solve the issue. I'll be very much obliged for any hint how to fix this problem.

After having this issue with macOS High Sierra and VMWare Fusion 8.5.8, I was able to resolve it by allowing the system extension as described in http://planetvm.net/blog/?p=3240

In short; open System Preferences, click Security & Privacy, and from the General tab you should see a message stating System software from developer "VMware, Inc." was blocked from loading. Clicking the Allow button resolved the issue for me.


Sync Safari bookmarks between computers I've got a lot of bookmarks in Safari on my iMac. How do I get the same bookmarks show up in Safari on my MBA? Both using latest OS X with iCloud. I have checked Bookmarks in the iCloud settings, but no sync is taking place.

Ahhh... I don't know what happened but somehow the bookmarks that I edited on the iMac just didn't reflect on the MBA at all. I am only using really the Bookmarks Bar and don't keep bookmarks anywhere else.

What I did:
Went into iCloud settings on the MBA. Switched Bookmarks syncing off. Then back on. It asked me if I wanted to sync and merge the local bookmarks with the ones in the cloud. I said yes. It synced, and I got double bookmarks everywhere (iMac and MBA). Then I just deleted the duplicates, and all seem synced and well on both devices. I sync with some iPhones, iPads too and it seems ok. The bookmarks there appear in the "Bookmarks Bar" subfolder.


Cannot merge back space left by bootcamp So, I uninstall Windows 10 using Bootcamp, but now I got this 'free storage' space that I cannot merge back again, I've tried everything that's already answered in this forum for this type of questions, since booting in recovery mode to running the sudo diskutil apfs resizeContainer /dev/disk0s2 0 command on the terminal

If I tried to do it in diskutility I got the following error

And if I try to run the command to resize my partition I got the following error:

Here's an extra pic of my diskutil list command:

And my diskutil

Any suggestion ? I'm running High Sierra Version 10.13.6

You want to grow the APFS container, not the physical drive that it's on (as this would be impossible, obviously). This can't be disk0, and it looks like it's disk1 in your screenshots, so diskutil ap resizeContainer disk0s1 0 should do what you want.

There is no disk0s2 to operate on, so that should error based on your excellent details in the question.

It’s safe to do a live resize of the container.


What could cause Command-Tab task switching to get "stuck"? When I Command-Tab to task switch (in both Mavericks and Yosemite), occasionally (maybe 60% of the time) the task switcher will behave as if the Tab button was held down. That is, the task-switcher selection will fly over to the right-most icon. If I mouse-over the app icons, the cursor will continue constantly moving to the right.

I doubt it's a stuck Tab key, because I use the Tab key all the time when coding, navigating Cocoa controls, etc...never have a problem with Tabs being constantly entered. This only ever occurs on Command-Tab.

Any ideas?

Just had the same issue.

Turns out it is because I've got my mouse in my bag and it's still connected to the bluetooth dongle on the machine. So essentially is the mouse.

As soon as I disconnected the mouse the issue went away.


MacBook Pro 2011 having problems with sleeping and screen brightness after removing GPU drivers (it had failed)? My MacBook Pro 2011 GPU has failed earlier last week, I had to remove the GPU drivers to get it to work again.

After doing so,
it either doesn't sleep at all (when closing the lid),
or it goes to sleep when you choose Sleep from the Apple menu but never wakes up.

It also has an issue with overheating and screen brightness.

I'm wondering if there is any solutions to any of these problems.

The first thing I would try is resetting the System Management Controller (SMS).

How to reset the SMC on your model of MacBook Pro

Shut down your MBP
Unplug the power cable from your MBP
For 10 seconds, press and hold at the same time the shiftcontroloption keys (on the left side of the built-in keyboard) and the power button
After 10 seconds let go of all keys and the power button
Plug in the power cable
Switch your MBP back on


macOS Sierra identifies my external Microsoft keyboard as my MacBook internal keyboard My computer identifies my external Microsoft Sculpt keyboard as my MacBook internal keyboard. When I run "Change Keyboard Type..." in System Preferences, I get the error "You have pressed a key on your Apple keyboard. Please press the keys on the keyboard that can't be identified." Also, the modifier key custom preferences for my internal keyboard get applied to my external keyboard as well. Everything works fine when I boot into Safe Mode. I had other recent keyboard problems that I posted about here on this MacBook, and followed these instructions to no avail.

I have tried removing everything I found related to my uninstalled copies of Karabiner, Karabiner Elements, and Logitech software like the Logitech Control Center.

I finally figured out that there was a kernel extension named org.pqrs.driver.VirtualHIDManager from an old Karabiner installation that was running and causing this problem. It was in my boot volume at /Library/Application Support/org.pqrs/Karabiner-Elements/org.pqrs.driver.VirtualHIDManager.kext/. Removing org.pqrs didn't work while I was logged in, so I restarted into my recovery volume, mounted my boot volume, and used the terminal to remove the directory. Everything went back to normal after that.


What's wrong with site layout under macos? Both in chrome and safari under macos layout of sites is often broken when browser is collapsed to half screen. This affects top sites too - facebook, google, apple store. However, it does not affect wikipedia or yandex.

The problem was in Adobe Flash Player. I've installed this monstrous thing and forgot.


Youtube in Safari cause system crash Regarding MacBook Pro early 2011: sound loop, black screen

It happened again and it's the 5th time in one month. Everytime I play youtube videos on Safari only the screen just freeze and the fan gets much louder.

I forced it to shut down and when I turn it on again I got black/grey/blue screens..

Is the Flash Player the main source of problem here? I updated it to the latest version.

First thing I would always try for Flash issues is to disable Hardware Acceleration...

Right click any Flash video & select Settings...

Then click the first tab at the bottom & uncheck Enable hardware acceleration


Searching in every contact field in iPhone I am looking for an app that is able to search a string in every fields of my contacts on the iPhone (same as in outlook).

Try Contact Find by Piet Jonas in the App Store or Fast Contacts by SpiceLoop also on the App Store.


How to use unix executable file if double clicking it doesnt work? I'm very new to using terminal on mac and was wondering if anyone can help with the issue I'm having.

I want to use a command that I downloaded but when I double-click this shows up. The terminal window then freezes and when I try to call the command from new shell, then it just says the command can't be found. Would really appreciate some help. Thank you!

Last login: Mon Jun  1 20:37:34 on ttys000
/Users/harinlee/Downloads/sonic-annotator-1.5-osx-amd64/sonic-annotator ; exit;
(base) Harins-MacBook-Pro:~ harinlee$ /Users/harinlee/Downloads/sonic-annotator-1.5-osx-amd64/sonic-annotator ; exit;
sonic-annotator: no transform(s) specified
sonic-annotator: use -h or --help option for help
logout
Saving session...
...copying shared history...
...saving history...truncating history files...
...completed.

[Process completed]

If it is meant for command line use, you should type all the required info in the command line. For more help, run these two commands in Terminal app.

cd ~/Downloads/sonic-annotator-1.5-osx-amd64
./sonic-annotator --help

https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/397524/what-does-the-mean-dot-slash-in-linux/397528#397528
https://unix.stackexchange.com/a/4432/359891

Many tools provide README, docs or similar files which contain examples of usage.

Also I found the examples of usage in the online docs here, in case anyone wants to check it out:

https://code.soundsoftware.ac.uk/projects/sonic-annotator/wiki


Using OS X Lion on a main SL mac - use USB key instead of partition? I need some advice. I am new and non-techy so please could you help me on a simplified level.

I am running Snow Leopard on my Mac which I am happy with. I will upgrade to Mountain Lion later but I want to bypass Lion.

However I need access to Xcode 4.2 for a course I enrolled on. It's a long story but you can't get access to Xcode 4.2 for Snow Leopard unless you have a paid developers account for $99. The only other option is to download Lion for $29.99 instead and use Xcode 4.2 for Lion.

I was told I could keep Snow Leopard and use Lion on a partition. I have downloaded Lion and made a bootable USB drive.

I keep reading about booting from a USB drive. What does this mean in practise? Could I just run Xcode from the USB drive instead of having to make a partition on my Mac's HD? Would an 8 GB flash drive be enough to run Lion and Xcode? All I need to use in Lion is Xcode and maybe Safari.

Or should I just make a small partition for Lion? I feel uncomfortable making a partition for Lion as I read that Lion OS makes a second extra unrecoverable partition that uses up space.

Thanks
Soph

There are multiple scenarios in your question. Your final objective is to run Xcode 4.2. Since Xcode is free, you can always try an Apple Store, they may be able to give you a hand with that and install the SL version for you if you charm them enough. That's the simple route, never underestimate an Apple store.

If you want to go ahead and install a Lion, you can connect any external drive (8GB Penn Drive won't cut, too small, too slow), you should rather get a cheap USB2/FW800 (if your hardware supports it) 500GB drive (or even less) and you could use that as the installation drive (make sure it's connected when you boot your Lion's bootable media).

Another alternative (more time consuming but more "secure") is to use an external drive the same (or bigger) size as your current drive, clone your current bootable Snow Leopard into it, make sure it boots (more on this later) and then install Lion in your current drive, as an Upgrade. You can always boot back your old backup drive with SL (and clone it back to Lion if you prefer, including the "hidden" Lion Recovery Partition).

This way you know your original drive stays untouched in the Backup and you can always bring it back. I wouldn't, being so close to ML, I'd just stick with Lion for a month or so, but that's just me.

So how do you boot an external drive or a different bootable partition?

When the computer is starting (and you hear the chime), press and hold ⌥ and wait for things to happen, you should see a list of bootable media (and partitions).

How do you clone your drive(s)?

Using the very reliable and free of charge Carbon Copy Cloner. Rather simple to use.

Remember, after you make a bootable clone, always restart your computer and test the clone making sure it boots and that your data is there. You don't want to find out in a couple of weeks that what you thought was your backup, doesn't work at all.

Last but not least, if you need help installing OS X on an external drive, here's a simple tutorial.

Good luck in your Xcode endeavors!

[thisAnswer release];


Battlefield 2 via CrossOver: Graphic Bug With High Terrain I'm trying to play Battlefield 2 with CrossOver on 10.7.4 but it produces a graphic glitch:

I've already checked the software updates for new graphic-divers but can't find any anything. Is there maybe a way to update the drivers without the "Software Update..." seclection from ? Does anyone have ideas how to fix this?

Thanks for every answer!

Unlike on a Windows gaming machine you don't have many choices to fix such issues on a Mac. As far as I know there are no dedicated drivers sections on the NVIDIA or ATI pages and no possible beta-drivers from Apple.

After a couple of years I ended up with a separate Bootcamp partition for the gaming fun because (forgive the harsh words) all the CrossOver, Wine, whatever crap sucks! Take a look in the AppStore and see the comments on Civ V as an example. Even the relatively smooth running and still good looking Eve Online has some glitches.

Sorry for the negative mood, but I think we'll have to wait some more years to see more 'native' mainstream games like Starcraft.


Special Characters window no longer resizable in OS X Lion I upgraded my Mac Pro to OS X Lion (now 10.7.1) a few weeks ago, and am mostly very happy with it. The edge-resizing of Windows is especially nice.

Still, the Special Characters app, which used to have a resizable window from the lower right corner, now has no resizing available at all.

Is there any way to alter this behavior to make this window resizable, or do I just need to wait till Apple recognizes this problem and fixes it?

You can resize the window, but it's different than most windows in Lion.

If you click and drag a corner or an edge, the window will resize. Yes, it doesn't look like you can use the corners, but they do work.
This appears to work with every corner except the top left, which is blocked by the close button. Edit: Actually, if you aim just right (to the top left of the close button) you can use that corner too.

To summarize: Things still work, but the active areas are tiny. You just have to be careful.

This behavior is strange, and seems buggy to me. I expect than a future update will fix this and allow you to resize by all the corners and edges.


My iPhone 4 phone number is disconnected and I can't use FaceTime or iMessage I have an iPhone 4 (Verizon). My phone number is currently disconnected. Does that mean I can't use FaceTime or iMessage? I thought it would work with Wi-Fi but it is not working - it keeps showing "waiting activation".

How can I make FaceTime and iMessage work?

Do you have an Apple ID? Also, just to confirm, what version of iOS are you using?

To use FaceTime with your Apple ID, navigate to Settings → FaceTime and tap Use your Apple ID for FaceTime.

To use iMessage with your Apple ID, navigate to Settings → Messages → Receive At and tap Use your Apple ID for iMessage.

Other Troubleshooting Steps:

Note: After each of the listed steps, be sure to try the steps listed above

Update to the latest version of iOS.
Ensure that you have an active Internet connection. You can complete activation using Wi-Fi or a cellular data connection. Check your Wi-Fi network using standard Wi-Fi network troubleshooting.
If you receive an error when signing in to your Apple ID, visit myinfo.apple.com, sign in to your account, and ensure that the primary email address has been verified.
Ensure that FaceTime has not been restricted: Settings → General → Restrictions → FaceTime.
In Settings → General → Date & Time, ensure that Set Automatically is on. If Set Automatically is on, but the incorrect time zone is displayed, turn Set Automatically off and then choose the correct time zone, date, and time. Then turn Set Automatically on again.
Enable iMessage and FaceTime while connected to another Wi-Fi network in a different location.

You can check if Facetime / iMessage is activated with the following steps:

Settings → FaceTime → You can be reached by FaceTime at:
Settings → Messages → Send & Receive → You can be reached by iMessage at:

If you look above, you can see an example picture. Yours will not have a phone number, but instead your Apple ID.

See more steps and information in Apple Support article TS4268: Troubleshooting FaceTime and iMessage activation.


VMWare Tools do not allow changing resolution in El Capitan Looks like VMWare Tools do not allow changing resolution in El Capitan. Input data as follows:

VMWare Workstation 12
Latest VMWare Tools 8.0.2 (here)
Mac OS El Capitan, build 15B42

I've tried everything I could find online. I set sudo nvram boot-args=rootless=0 before installation. I also disabled protection via csrutil disable in Recovery.

VMWare says it's installed successfully. I see that its drivers are loading in verbose boot log.

Nov  5 13:51:38 localhost kernel[0]: gfx: Loaded com.vmware.kext.VMwareGfx Version 0297.78.63 Build 2977863 (Aug 11 2015 19:19:22)
Nov  5 13:51:38 localhost kernel[0]: gfx: svga: Start: FB size=0x300000, FIFO size=0x200000
Nov  5 13:51:38 localhost kernel[0]: gfx: svga: Start: host_bpp=32, bpp=32, num_displays=2
Nov  5 13:51:38 localhost kernel[0]: gfx: fb: start: maxWidth 3840 maxHeight 1920 vramSize 33554432
Nov  5 13:51:38 localhost kernel[0]: gfx: fb: setDisplayMode: (1) wxh=1024x768, 32 4096
Nov  5 13:51:38 localhost kernel[0]: gfx: svga: SetMode: mode w,h=1024, 768 bpp=32
Nov  5 13:51:38 localhost kernel[0]: gfx: svga: SetMode: pitch=4096
Nov  5 13:51:38 localhost kernel[0]: gfx: fb: setDisplayMode: Display ID=1, Depth ID=0
Nov  5 13:51:38 localhost kernel[0]: gfx: fb: setDisplayMode: wxh=1024x768, bpp=32, pitch=4096
Nov  5 13:51:38 localhost kernel[0]: gfx: gfx: UpdateTraces: Enabling traces.

Nov  5 13:51:43 Jacks-Mac kernel[0]: memctl: Loaded com.vmware.kext.vmmemctl Version 0297.78.63 Build 2977863 (Aug 11 2015 19:19:20)
Nov  5 13:51:44 Jacks-Mac kernel[0]: memctl: Opening balloon
Nov  5 13:51:44 Jacks-Mac kernel[0]: memctl: offset 0: 80
Nov  5 13:51:44 Jacks-Mac kernel[0]: memctl: offset 1: 16
Nov  5 13:51:44 Jacks-Mac kernel[0]: memctl: offset 2: 56
Nov  5 13:51:44 Jacks-Mac kernel[0]: memctl: offset 3: 64
Nov  5 13:51:44 Jacks-Mac kernel[0]: memctl: offset 4: 76
Nov  5 13:51:44 Jacks-Mac kernel[0]: memctl: Timer thread started.
Nov  5 13:51:44 Jacks-Mac kernel[0]: hgfs: Loaded com.vmware.kext.vmhgfs Version 0297.78.63 Build 2977863 (Aug 11 2015 19:19:16)
Nov  5 13:51:44 Jacks-Mac kernel[0]: gfx: fb: VMwareFramebufferGetLastCustomResolution: Last custom resolution: missing

But unfortunately it's not working in practice - there are no screen resolutions besides 1024*768

I suspect it might be related to System Integrity Protection introduced in El Capitan. Suspiciously despite the fact that csrutil status says disabled in Recovery in real system it gives following result

Any thoughts how to make it work?

Admittedly, this is a very old thread (that I found from searching for com.vmware.kext.VMwareGfx), but I wanted to update with an answer.

I was able to get a working setup using Mojave 10.14.5, on Workstation 15 Player, using the copy of VMware Tools from Fusion 11. Additionally, I did not have to do any csrutil tweaks.

So perhaps you can try using those versions and see if things will work out of the box. Good luck!

(As for the commenter talking about the Apple licence agreement, I'm not a lawyer but I understand it's not a violation if you're running on Apple hardware. In my case I'm running this on my MacBook Pro, and I'm happy to report that macOS guests worked out of the box for me.)


Windows XP doesn't recognize devices on Mac I installed a Windows XP on an iMac beside Mac OS X. When i start Windows XP it appears that it doesn't recognize devices like network card, sound card and video card as well as other devices. It cannot connect to the internet, so i am trying to download the device drivers from the Mac OS.

Is there any way to do that, any links where can I download the drivers necessary for Windows XP to recognize all devices?

Plug in a USB drive that is formatted with FAT while on Mac OS and run Bootcamp Utility, then select the download Windows drivers option. Reboot back into Windows and run Bootcamp.exe/Setup.exe either from AutoPlay or manually.


How to create an apple script that forwards a flagged email I want to create an apple script that will forward a flagged email to x@mail.asana.com

I have tried this script:

on run

 tell application "Mail"
    repeat with _acct in imap accounts
        --Look For Flagged Messages in the INBOX
        set _acct_name to name of _acct
        set _inbox to _acct's mailbox "INBOX"

        set _msgs_to_capture to (a reference to ¬
            (every message of _inbox ¬
                whose flagged status is true))

        repeat with eachMessage in _msgs_to_capture
            set theStart to missing value
            set theDue to missing value
            set theOmniTask to missing value

            set theTitle to the subject of eachMessage
            set theNotes to the content of eachMessage

            set theCombinedBody to "message://%3c" & message id of eachMessage & "%3e" & return & return & theNotes

            tell application "OmniFocus"
                tell default document
                    set newTaskProps to {name:theTitle}
                    if theStart is not missing value then set newTaskProps to newTaskProps & {start date:theStart}
                    if theDue is not missing value then set newTaskProps to newTaskProps & {due date:theDue}
                    if theCombinedBody is not missing value then set newTaskProps to newTaskProps & {note:theCombinedBody}

                    set newTask to make new inbox task with properties newTaskProps
                end tell
            end tell

            set flagged status of eachMessage to false

        end repeat

    end repeat
end tell

end run

However, this script opens OmniFocus instead of just sending an email.

How would I change this script or start with a new one so that it will automatically forward a flagged email to x@mail.asana.com?

Here is some code, with no references to your OmniFocus application, that forwards all flagged messages to a set address. Adjust to your liking....

Works like a charm on my Snow Leopard macbook.

set toAddress to "userx@mail.asana.com"
set toName to "User X"

tell application "Mail"
    repeat with _acct in imap accounts
        --Look For Flagged Messages in the INBOX
        set _acct_name to name of _acct
        set _inbox to _acct's mailbox "INBOX"
        set _msgs_to_capture to (a reference to ¬
            (every message of _inbox ¬
                whose flagged status is true))

        repeat with _msg in _msgs_to_capture
            set _fwdmsg to forward _msg with opening window

            tell _fwdmsg
                make new to recipient at end of ¬
                    to recipients with properties {name:toName, address:toAddress}
            end tell

            activate

            send _fwdmsg
        end repeat
    end repeat
end tell


Missing Space on Drive using Core Storage after Boot Camp Assistant Failure Using Boot Camp Assistant, I started to create a 50 GB partition, but it hung on partitioning. After waiting about 30 minutes without the progress bar moving, I quit the Boot Camp Assistant, thinking I would be able to fix the partition either by using the Boot Camp Assistant or the Disk Utility. However, the partition doesn't appear in either. Instead, my drive has just become 50 GB smaller. Looking for other solutions, people were generally able to find the partition by using Terminal application commands, however I haven't even been able to do that. (Notice in Disk Utility, it says Macintosh HD is 441.65GB, but "Capacity" is 500.28GB):

I tried booting in Recovery mode and doing First Aid in the Disk Utility. This resulted in the same "All's Fine," but still haven't gotten my 50GB back. I spent all day clearing 100GB to make room for a Windows partition, and now in the Finder I'm down to 43GB :/.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

The use of Core Storage seems to be a common denominator in problems similar to mine. I used the

sudo diskutil cs revert [Logical Volume guid]

command in the Terminal application to get rid of Core Storage, and then restarted. Presto! My missing GBs were returned.

  The above command can only be used if the command diskutil cs list shows the Logical Volume to be revertible. See the image included in the posted question for an example.


Is there a video app which can position subtitles over black bars? I've been happily using VLC for all video playback but now realised it's missing a feature I think is quite essential – having subtitles placed on the black bar below a movie instead of in the actual picture where it wastes screen real estate and annoys. VLC has a 'Force subtitle position' option which does not do anything useful with negative values. MPlayerX allows adjusting the position relative to the bottom, again, no use for negative values.

Can anyone suggest a player that can do this?

I found this - Subtitler Lite VLC plugin,
which might possibly do what you need.

I haven't tested it myself yet, so feel free to add comments re success or otherwise.


mid-2009 macbook pro - erased. Now "Mac OS X cannot start up from this disk". (and cannot install to this disk!) I have a mid-2009 macbook pro, and the original 10.6.8 installer DVD that it came with.  I booted up in recovery mode, and erased the HD (whether or not that was a good idea). My intention was to get rid of old private files, and then update the OS to something current (hopefully 10.10.4), (so the machine could be used in a public setting), using an internet connection while in recovery mode.  But I found that the install OS option, while in recovery mode, fails with, "Mac OS X cannot start up from this disk".
I am thinking, "Of course it cannot start up from that disk, because there is nothing on it yet!  And how can there be something on it if you will not let me install something!"  Argh.
So then I thought maybe I should have 10.6.8 already running (again) on the laptop before I try to update that OS.  But then I get the same result, "Mac OS X cannot start up from this disk", when I try to install even 10.6.8 from the original installer disk.

Can anyone better at this level of macs shed light on what I need to do?

Start from the original disk, open disk utility and reformat the disk. Then reinstall.


"Open with" configuration gets screwed up unpredictably on El Capitan I've been having a problem on my El Capitan installation for a few months. At unpredictable times, the system "unlearns" the programs associated with certain file types.

For example, I double click a PDF in Finder, and it tries to open it with Microsoft Word (which of course complains it is unable to open it). To fix, I have to [right-click -> "Open With" -> "Other..." ] a PDF file, go find Preview (which by the way is not even in the "Recommended Applications") and select "Always Open With", and then the problem goes away for some time.

For a while I thought this problem was limited to PDFs, and was somehow a bug caused by Microsoft Office.

However, just now I had the same problem, but the system defaulted to iTerm for opening hyperlinks! So when I clicked on a link inside an email, it caused an empty iTerm to be opened... To fix I had to create a shortcut to a webpage, then [right-click -> "Open With" -> "Other..." ] and select Firefox.

Would be glad for any help to restore sanity, or at least to understand what is going on!

I would suggest you rebuild the LaunchServices database, the mechanism which matches files to the apps which open them.

There are several sites which explain the process, here and here, for example.

In essence, you need to copy and paste the following command in Terminal after making a full backup with Time Machine:

/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Versions/A/Support/lsregister -kill -r -domain u -domain s -domain l -v

If you are leery of using Terminal, you can use the free app Onyx to rebuild the index. Onyx has many other abilities in addition to rebuilding the LaunchServices database.

Disclaimer: I have no financial or other stake in Titanium Sofware, the developer of Onyx.


Function to turn text into voice while using skype or similar on iPhone so ideally I would like to type and turn the text into voice that speaks to the person on the other end of skype, on my iphone, is there something like that? Doesn't have to be skype if there is another app that can phone and do this type-to-voice function simultaneously.

A cursory search of the App Store reveals iSpeech, which is basic and doesn't have the greatest reviews, but looks like it will suffice. There are many more applications available simply search "text to speech" on the App Store.


How to make sublime text the default file viewer for all file types it supports I want sublime text to open all the file types it supports. For e.g., if I double click on .hpp file, Xcode tries to open it. I want sublime text to open the file. I've looked at RCDefaultApp, but it doesn't do the job.

Select an .hpp document and get info on it (command-i). In the resulting window, you will see an "Open with" section. Select the appropriate app to open it with from the little menu and then press the "change all" button immediately below that menu. That will change all the .hpp files to default open with the app you chose.

To do this categorically (for multiple file types at once), I'm not so sure...

Good luck!


Identifying users who are sharing When I select Restart from the Apple menu and get the alert "There is a user sharing this computer...", I would like to know which user (e.g. their IP address or some other identification) is sharing.  Is there a (Terminal) command to discover the addresses of sharing users?  (I'm not suspecting unauthorised users, rather I am trying to identify the source of a problem).

For network sharing you could do following in Terminal.

Assuming you have the file sharing enabled.

Applications using a file reference to your computer can mount a remote disk automatically, as long as the computer is on the network. A command like

netstat -na | grep 548

will list what machine and user is connected by AFP.

If you simply type netstat it will list all active connection.


How to make Dock less sensitive I am having a problem with the Dock popping up when I have my mouse near the bottom.  Before, the Dock would pop up when the mouse was at the very bottom.  But the current behavior makes it difficult to access things like tabs on a spreadsheet because the Dock comes up and covers them.  What is to be done?

Try following in Terminal to adjust the Dock behavior.

defaults write com.apple.dock autohide-time-modifier -float 0.5

compliment that with killall Dock to make it active.

The number at the end is in seconds (delay) so choose what it suits you.

To return to original settings use

defaults delete com.apple.Dock autohide-time-modifier


Using VNC to connect to a Mac (10.7.5) from Windows From what I've seen, it sounds like many of the solutions posted for similar question don't work in 10.7 or beyond.  (For example Vine Server and TightVNC.)  Does anyone know of solutions do allow using VNC to control a 10.7.5 Mac remotely from a Windows 7 machine?  Is it question of configuring the Mac appropriately?

I stumbled on Vine Server 4.01 by Eggplant, which solves this problem completely and is available at www2.tesplant.com (The earlier versions apparently cause trouble for 10.7+).  Note this is not the version available on sourceforge.

Vine Server 4.01 worked immediately on my Mac and automatically selected an port to use for VNC connections, something which had been baffling me before I found the Vine Server software.  I could then include this port with my Mac IP address when I used TightVNC on my Windows 7 laptop, and was able to connect remotely to the Mac with (almost) no trouble:  The only hitch was that first I needed to set a VNC password in Vine Server, which you have the option to do upon launching the server.  (No need to set a VNC password through System Properties->Sharing, so all the choices are centralized in the Vine Server interface.)


Can't download free apps When I try to download a free app it keeps sending me to the settings info about my card number. Then it says that there was a billing problem with a previous purchase. And to update my payment methods . I no longer have a credit card so how do I download free apps???

You have to set None as the payment type.

For more information, see the apple support or discusson.


Resizing HFS+ volume after cloning I cloned a disk containing an HFS+ volume to a larger disk using the command line dd utility.  Now I want to grow the HFS+ volume to fill the new disk.  There's an EFI partition before the HFS+ volume in the partition table but nothing after it.

When I attempt to resize the HFS+ volume in Disk Utility, it acts like everything works, but completes in about 4 seconds without making any changes to the partition table.  Trying from the command line using sudo diskutil resizeVolume /dev/disk3s2 0 gives 0 does not appear to be a valid disk size.  If I use a size of 2T instead, I get the error Error: -5341: MediaKit reports partition (map) too small.

How can I resize this partition?  I'd prefer not to have to copy the data to the new drive all over again.

This is really terrifying that the only answer suggest to overwrite your gpt table.

The correct and safest solution, with explanation, is from this comment.

download GParted-Live CD from http://www.gparted.org/download.php
boot from this CD
accept the suggestion to enable the full disk
reboot from mac OSX
try again – now you can resize it!

Explanation:

The only problem is the disk header which exists twice: at the beginning and at the end of of the disk. Somehow Mac OSX shows the real disk size, but is not capable to change the GPT size header and to relocate the second “header” to the real disk end.


Late 2011 MacBook Pro no backlight I bought a late 2011 MacBook pro for parts. The computer turns on and functions but there is no lcd backlight. I can see there is video to the screen when shining a light through the back of the apple logo.

The lvds connector looks fine. The motherboard looks good. I've tried an SMC and a PRAM reset but those have failed.

I've heard that backlight fuses go bad but I don't have the right soldering iron, or confidence, to replace the fuse.

I see another board beneath the LCD clutchplate. Is that board an inverter? If so, maybe the inverter is the cause of the problem?

I have a couple mid 2010 mbp lcd assemblies sitting around but it appears those have a different cable layout. Before I try to dismantle these LCDs to find any cross-over parts, does anyone know if the 2010 mbp LCDs are compatible with a late 2011 board?

What do you suggest trying next? How can I isolate this problem?

Thank you @allan for helping me move forward through the isolation process. Through deduction, I found the problem to be with the motherboard.

This is the entire process I used to isolate the issue...

Power on and shine a light through the Apple logo or examine the LCD closely to see if it is receiving video. The other option is to connect the computer to an external display.
Perform SMC and PRAM resets.
Remove back cover and examine the LVDS connector (it's the gold connector located near the hinge facing the display assembly. Look for any broken pins or corrosion on the motherboard in case of liquid or prior repair damage.
Try using another, working, display assembly. Also, check the backlight fuses on the motherboard. If the working LCD still doesn't have backlight power, the problem is isolated to the motherboard. All the A1278 MacBook Pros use the same LVDS cable (and pinout) so it is safe to connect. The other cables are for the camera and wifi connectivity. Leave those disconnected. Also, unlike older laptops, the display inverter is integrated onto the motherboard so it is nearly impossible to repair it


How can I sync my iTunes music library between two Macs for free? I have a desktop system that I use as a server. I also have a MacBook Pro that is my main computer. I've done a lot of organization and cleanup of my music library and have it all on my MacBook Pro.

I'd like to be able to keep the music library on my MacBook Pro in sync with the desktop machine so that my wife can access everything from her own MacBook Pro.

I thought about setting up folder actions that would copy the files into the "Automatically add to iTunes" folder.  However, since I like to use the "keep my iTunes library organized" option, the files get moved into the iTunes music directory and I can't write a script that will compare my MacBook Pro's iTunes music library with the "Automatic" directory on the server.

Also, a simple file copy will not sync metadata like ratings and plays. Is there a free, automated solution for syncing iTunes libraries between 2 Macs?

Below is how I finally did it based on the rsync suggestion:

I used the link provided by James in this answer (but I took out the --size-only option after the first sync):

iTunes Utility - Merging Libraries

I also took out the --force option (because it's redundant when also using --delete). so my rsync command looks like this:

rsync -av --delete ~/Music/iTunes/ /Volumes/robert/Music/iTunes > ~/Automation/automator/logs/itunes_rsync.log

I then integrated this into an Automator workflow. Looks like this: Get Specified Servers ► Connect to Servers ► Run Shell Script ► Eject Disk.

Creating it as an iCal Workflow is screwy for me because I use MobileMe and the iCal event gets synced with my other machines where I don't want this workflow to run.  So instead, I created an agent using Lingon that runs the workflow every 8 hours.

It's possible to keep libraries in sync using rsync. Google for iTunes and rsync and you'll find some solutions.


Someone is using my Game Center account; how can I secure it? I shared my Game Center details with my friend. He betrayed me and changed the primary email address of my Apple ID.

When I persuaded him a lot he gave back my Apple ID and Game Center and I quickly changed all my info. However I have found out that he still uses my Game Center.

I have another Game Center ID and I saw my own Game Center ID active 2 hours ago when I woke up in the morning. How can I log off the other device from my Game Center?

I guess his device is still logged in with your credentials, and even if  you changed the email address or password, his device is still mantaining the session active.

I don't think there's a way to log him off remotely. It seems to me that the only way is a manual log-out on his device.


2011 MacBook Pro monitor as a 2nd display for Windows 7 (Display port) laptop How can I use my 2011 MacBook Pro monitor as a 2nd display for my Windows 7 Lenovo Laptop (Display port)?

iMac's support what is known as Target Display Mode. However, this is limited to iMac's only, Macbook Pro laptops do not support this.

Alternatively, you can use your Macbook Pro as a secondary monitor by using an app such as Air Display.

Air Display is an app that will allow another shared desktop to display on it, over wifi.  However, if you are doing any critical photo, video or even games, you will find the lag to be very annoying.


Windows not updating folders from the OS X drive I have installed Windows 8.1 on my MBP through Bootcamp. Sometimes I encounter a strange issue:

Log into OS X, and move/delete/create some files, e.g. Desktop\test_file.txt
Turn off the machine;
Turn on again (even after hours) and boot into Windows;
Look into D:/Users/user/Desktop, and there's no test_file.txt in it! I can see all other files, but the new entry is not there.

This happens very often, and to get things working I have to log into OS X, do nothing, and log again into Windows (which is quite annoying).

Does any of you know why?
I'm looking for a workaround for, when in Windows, "refreshing" the D: contents without having to reboot two times.

I have tried with no success:

Actually clicking "Refresh" in the file manager;
Move to D:/Users/user/Desktop from the command line. Can see all that was before, but no test_file.txt.

My experience with Windows 8.1 and Yosemite is the HFS+ drivers installed in Windows do not work very well. In defense of Apple, I have a 2007 iMac and Windows 8.1 is not approved for my model.

I assume you are not using Core Storage. If so, you could try the free drivers from Paragon. See link HFS+ for Windows® 8/8.1 Free Edition

Note: You can test for Core Storage by opening a Terminal application window and entering the following command.

diskutil  cs  list

If you are not using Core Storage, the result will be

No CoreStorage logical volume groups found


iOS: Change language back to English after accidentally changing to a language I don't know I just plugged my iPhone in and instead of it being in English which it normally is, it's using German & I've not been to Germany. What can I do to get my preferred language back?

To solve a problem like this, I'd typically go to translate.google.com, type in "General", "International", and "Language", and translate them from English to German.

Or, sometimes I'm fortunate enough to have two computers/devices side by side, or I simply remember the user interface layout, and I navigate by menu item location.

I changed my iPhone 4 to run in German (Deutsch), and the German words are:

Einstellungen (Settings) > Allgemein (General) > Landeseinstellungen (Country settings) > Sprache (Language)

So just look for those words to navigate through Settings and change back to English.


Where did this file come from I started up Disk Utility to mount an external HD and noticed an image file decryptedFile.dmg

Any idea where this file could have come from ls -l@ shows:-

-rw-r--r--@ 1 root  wheel  15643651 17 Feb 11:21 /var/folders/zz/zyxvpxvq6csfxvn_n0000000000000/T/decryptedFile.dmg
    com.apple.diskimages.recentcksum          81

It appears the download was Flash Player. I never use this, but it is not my computer, and apparently Flash had automatic updates (and other undesirable privacy breaches) enabled. (I am very reluctant to open any .dmg I haven't actually downloaded.

Have you installed Flash Player recently? If so, it's just a harmless leftover. If not, it could be part of the Flashback Trojan.

Also keep in mind that programs like Google Chrome embed flash player, so you are correct to not trust dmg you don't really want to install. More digging might be needed if you don't want to make a backup and then just delete the files and see if/when they reappear.


Reset Apple ID completely Is it possible to reset the entire data present in your Apple ID.
From all the download apps to all the iCloud data and Game Center data too.
If yes, how?

One way I know is changing your e-mailaddress to another one and then sign up with your previous e-mailaddress. It will be a clean account at that time.