AppleScript do shell will not work on Application Support directory I've spent the day doing several researches and attempts on how to copy a file that is located inside an AppleScript app to the root Application Support directory (hdd -> Library -> Application Support).  Originally I thought it was an issue with calling do shell script and administrator privileges but for some reason if I have a file located in an AppleScript app I try to call that file to be added to Application Support, for example:

set foo to "Macintosh HD/Users/vader/someapp.app/Contents/Resources/Scripts/foobar.txt"
set bar to "Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/"

do shell script "cp " & (quoted form of foo) & space & (quoted form of bar) with administrator privileges

I've taken this down to the basic form when it comes to the folder path and file path but when I run the above I get an error message of:

  cp: Macintosh
  HD/Users/vader/someapp.app/Contents/Resources/Scripts/foobar.txt: No
  such file or directory

I can return true that the file exists in the app with:

set foobar to POSIX path of (path to resource "foobar.txt" in directory "Scripts")
if not (exists foobar) then
    return false
else
    return true
end if

I've tried this with:

tell application "Finder" to duplicate file (foo) to folder (bar)

but that didn't work either.

Research when I tried to remove the file after manually adding it (yes I have admin permissions on my box):

I've researched several areas to see how to implement the prompting of permissions using administrator privileges but with no luck:

Can't delete directory via AppleScript
AppleScript: match and delete files in folder
Automatically delete temporary ~/Library/Application Support folders
Delete folders if exist and delete
Applescript oe shellscript to delete config file?
Delete files with AppleScript to recycle bin or permanently

Here are the following attempts I've tried:

AppleScript System Events:

tell application "System Events" to delete file appWithPath

do shell attempts:

attempt 1

do shell script "rm -f " & appNamewithQuotedFormPath with administrator privileges

attempt 2

do shell script "find " & quotedPathToDirectory & " -name \"" & applicationName & "\" -type f -delete" with administrator privileges

It still wouldn't work and I checked with:

do shell script "echo " & appNamewithQuotedFormPath with administrator privileges

After digging into Script Editor I found I was getting -10004 error so I researched:

Unknown cause for -10004 error

so I moved the add and removal of the file in Application Support to a handler that didn't have a try block but still nothing.

Thinking it might be an issue with the used privileges I tried all of the following parameters used with Scripting Additions:

In an AppleScript app how can I add and remove a file that exists in the app to the root Application Support directory?

EDIT:

After further testing I removed the usage of Macintosh HD and the do shell script would work which I do not understand why that would cause the script to fail.  Why would adding Macintosh HD to the path cause the script to error out?

If you are hardcoding, without testing if the file exists, then use the following example:

set foo to quoted form of "/Users/vader/someapp.app/Contents/Resources/Scripts/foobar.txt"
set bar to quoted form of "/Library/Application Support/"
try
    do shell script "cp " & foo & space & bar with administrator privileges
end try

If you are calling it from the script within the application bundle,  then use the following example:

on run
    try
        set foo to POSIX path of (path to me as string) & "Contents/Resources/Scripts/foobar.txt"
        set bar to quoted form of "/Library/Application Support/"

        tell application "System Events"
            if exists file foo then
                tell current application
                    do shell script "cp " & quoted form of foo & space & bar with administrator privileges
                end tell
            end if
        end tell
    on error eStr number eNum
        display dialog eStr & " number " & eNum buttons {"OK"} default button 1 with icon caution
        return
    end try
end run

Note: When working with the do shell script command, POSIX pathnames must be used, not aliases. Macintosh HD is not valid in a POSIX path, just in an alias. In a POSIX path of the startup disk, everything starts in the root of the volume: /

Example:

tell application "Finder" to get name of startup disk as alias
tell application "Finder" to get POSIX path of (name of startup disk as alias)

Returns:

Macintosh HD
/


What is the process „Tornit“? It wants to access Safari documents & passwords I was using Safari a couple of days ago, when I got a pop-up window:

  Tornit wants to control Safari and access your documents and passwords.
  Do you allow it?

I clicked No.

Tornit is a process I can find in the activity monitor. I’ve generated a log. It’s too long to post, so here’s a Pastebin:

Analysis of „Tornit"

There’s absolutely no information about this process in the web. I’d like to know whether I can let Tornit access Safari or not, and how to cancel my blockade of the process, if it is harmless.

I use BitTorrent from time to time, and I thought the name Tornit could be derived from Torrent.

– masOS Mojave

Tornit seems to be located in ~/Library/UpdateMac, which one normally associates with where MacKeeper likes to hide its more shady tools. MacKeeper itself is a potentially unwanted program that one usually associates with malware-like behaviour and is something I would never want on a computer. Run a Malwarebytes scan to completely remove this application.


Why is the usage and standby time always the same on my iPhone? Why do the usage and standby times on my iPhone 7 Plus always show the same value?

I have tried restarting my phone and I have let it drain until it turns itself off to see if that would fix the problem (it has in previous versions of iOS) but does not seem to now. I assume this is due to some background process that refuses to quit. If so, how can I find out which one it is and how can I fix it? I would like to be able to track my battery usage properly if possible.

I have 2 possible solutions.

Downgrade your iOS version.
Use a separate battery tracking app. Just search "Battery tracker" on the app store. (As a plus, some come with widgets you can put on the Widget View)

If that doesn't work, then I suggest taking it to the Apple Store to get it checked out there.

**EDIT:**Here's a link I found, haven't tested it personally yet, but here Battery Doctor


How do I get LaunchBar to open the enclosing folder for a selected file? After selecting a file or application in LaunchBar, how do I get it to show it in the Finder? (I'd like the equivalent of right-clicking on a file in a Spotlight search and selecting "Open Enclosing Folder" in the pop-up menu.)

Command-Return

Hold the Command key and tap the Return key

This will bring you to a Finder window, where the file/app is selected within the enclosing folder.


Configure to Select DNS based on Domain At my office, I have a hardware VPN with a split tunnel that routes all my traffic either to the public internet or to the other office, depending on IP address.  However, to resolve the intranet hostnames to IP addresses, all of my DNS queries get routed to the internal server.

So, when the VPN link goes down, I lose almost all internet connectivity until I go in and manually configure my network interface (wifi in this case) to use 8.8.8.8 as my DNS. Then I have to erase that  (so that it will revert to the DHCP-assigned addresses) to get back to the intranet when things are fixed.

Is there any way to configure OSX to use 8.8.8.8 as my default, but another DNS when querying on a specific domain?

What you're describing is a split-horizion DNS setup.

There's a pretty good walkthrough on how to do exactly what you want to do, but it will require root on your laptop and some command line patience to setup.  In a nutshell, you'll be configuring your own DNS server on the laptop to forward your DNS requests to the right server.

If you're on Mavericks (not sure yet about Yosemite), it looks like bind isn't installed anymore.  You'll want to get it with homebrew or similar.  Check out this stack overflow Q/A. It should also have a default named.conf that you can just edit, but YMMV.


How active is my mobile phone when I'm not using it? I wonder whether there is any study/website/research work or a place to check how much data my phone is sending when I'm not using it. My question is: when my phone is off, but I'm not actively using it (just left it on my desk) do any of the apps on my phone send any network data to servers, etc.? Can I somehow check this information on my phone (I have iPhone 7) or maybe someone already did such an analysis?

Since iOS 10, I’ve seen very good ability to control activity. Even better, you can see exactly what runs, hour per hour what’s front most and what background apps are taking energy.

If you want no background - just turn that off for all apps. Then review the activity graphs for a couple days. If you want more activity, enable background and remove apps that are more active than you care or selectively disable background activity so you know apps only run when you ask them to run.

If you’re technically minded, the Charles proxy is excellent to log outbound traffic without needing to manage your router. I also use Ubiquiti network routers so know and log access / block some traffic, but that’s on the network side, not the iOS side.
I don’t think getting outside analyses are as important as choosing your apps so you know how they are funding development. If the app is slick and free, you’re paying them in data / marketing / eyeballs in many cases.


How to install user Applescripts for Safari and activate the Scripts menu item? I want to add a user script to Safari and activate the Script menu for Safari.

I have seen some references which indicate this can be done by adding a .scpt to ~/Library/Scripts/Applications/Safari but that does not seem to work. Neither does ~/Library/Application Scripts.

You haven't specified the version of macOS or Safari you're running, but usually you would do this:

In the Finder, go to the top level of your Mac's hard drive (or SSD)
Navigate to /System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/
Double-click on the Script Menu.menu file

This should add the Script Menu to a number of supported apps, etc.


Why are home folders in Mac OS X located in /Users, and not /home? My question is as title stated.

Why mac osx user directory located at /Users, but not /home?
Because /home is the default directory of user's home of Unix and Linux.

While we can only guess on Apple's motivations for certain decisions, the most obvious explanation would be that a "Users" folder has existed since Mac OS 9, before it was a Unix system, and Apple chose to stick with something familiar to their users. The same goes for other already familiar folders like "Applications".

This effectively translates in two different parts of the filesystem, where the not-so-user-friendly Unix hierarchy is hidden from the GUI, and a more friendly folder hierarchy is added on top of that and is exposed in the GUI.

There also is a clear difference in the style of directory names between the visible and invisible part. The invisible part uses all lowercase words as per convention in *nix filesystems, while the exposed part of the filesystem will uppercase the first letter of each word in a folder name.


Spotlight index has ghost app that I cannot get rid of Spotlight has ghost entries for an USB disk that I cannot get rid of. It links to a bootable usb disk that is not currently connected. I have added that disk to Spotlight Privacy. Nothing I have tried unloading, reseting, deleting and reloading spotlight. Nothing.

These ghost entries do not show up when using Finder search.

Where are Spotlight caches stored other than .Spotlight-V100 ? There must be a place so that they survive cache rebuilding.

I am on 10.12.1 MBP and it is a clean install from two days. No use of migration assistant, etc. No external disk currently connected. Single partition.

The indexing is not finished, I would wait until it is finished before considering an error.

If the indexing is still going on 2 days after the clean install, you either have a big drive with a lot of files or it's hung on something. That usually happens with wrong permissions on some files and in worse cases because of I/O errors of the drive.

In order to check that you should take the following steps:

First: run the Disc Utility found in /Applications/Utilities/ to check your drive and repair permissions. Details for usage can be found on the Apple Support Pages found here

Next: I strongly suggest you rebuild the Spotlight Index in any case. A guide to do that can be found on the Apple Support Page here (In short: Click on the Apple Icon > Privacy > add your drive, confirm, then remove it again)

Most likely your problems will be solved after these steps.


Signed binary being warned as signed by unknown developer on OSx I have a binary file. I released it to the customer, which is signed by a valid developer certificate. When customer is downloading that binary and trying to execute it (customer has a standard user account on Mac) the user gets a popup notification:

  signed by a unknown developer and you security setting allows installation only from Appstore

When user try to change setting obviously it ask for admin password.
How do I see if something is wrong with my developer certificate?

Another possible clue on this: After downloading the same binary, if I execute on my system, it does not give my non-admin user any warning.

Signed binary cert chain is :

Authority=Mac Developer: tommyboy

Authority=Apple Worldwide Developer Relations Certification Authority

Authority=Apple Root CA

It appears the security settings of the computer in System Preferences → Security & Privacy are set to Allow apps downloaded from: App Store as shown in the error message. Regardless of how your application is signed, if it's not distributed through the App Store, Gatekeeper will show that message. To allow all other signed apps, the setting needs to be changed to ‘App Store and identified developers’.


Why is a WD 4TB hard drive refusing to be used as an internal boot disk in an iMac 27" 2011 Bought a WD Re 4TB 3.5" HD to use as an internal boot disk in an iMac 27" mid 2011. I have seen nothing online indicating that shouldn't work. iMac does not ask for any firmware/EFI updates so seem to be fully up to date in that regard. The WD drive is formatted with GUID and split into two volumes. But when the iMac starts with the new hard drive (cloned from the old with the newest version of Carbon Copy Cloner) internally mounted, there is just the blinking folder with question mark. If I then boot from a USB stick with the drive still inside, the iMac will say that it doesn't recognise the disk. If I open Disk Utility and select the WD disk, it will be listed as having a Master Boot Record partition scheme.

If I take it out, mount it in an external enclosure and connect to same iMac over USB, it works fine, and can even be booted from.

As can be seen, when used externally is is correctly listed with a GUID partition map.

To recap: Works fine externally, can be booted from over USB. Does not work internally on SATA, is listed with wrong partition map type.

Here's a listing of disks with it mounted on my laptop:

    LarsMacBook:~ larsgu$ diskutil list
/dev/disk0 (internal, physical):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *500.3 GB   disk0
   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk0s1
   2:          Apple_CoreStorage Macintosh HD            499.4 GB   disk0s2
   3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk0s3

/dev/disk1 (internal, virtual):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:                            LarsMacBook HD         +499.1 GB   disk1
                                 Logical Volume on disk0s2
                                 3E6BC282-2AA4-46CE-BBBC-FC9BC7DCAC9D
                                 Unlocked Encrypted

/dev/disk2 (disk image):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:     Apple_partition_scheme                        +19.8 MB    disk2
   1:        Apple_partition_map                         32.3 KB    disk2s1
   2:                  Apple_HFS Flash Player            19.7 MB    disk2s2

/dev/disk3 (external, physical):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *4.0 TB     disk3
   1:                        EFI EFI                     314.6 MB   disk3s1
   2:                  Apple_HFS Mac HD                  1.8 TB     disk3s2
   3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk3s3
   4:                  Apple_HFS Mac HD 2                2.2 TB     disk3s4

I can't see anything weird. Anywhere really, and I've run out of ideas. Hope somebody knows.

PS. For some reason, I can't boot into verbose mode on the iMac. But I have tried resetting PRAM/NVRAM without any difference.

The problem of undetected GUID partition tables arises when disks with 512B aligned partition tables are mounted to 4k-only enclosures (or 512B disks partitioned in 4k-only enclosures with a 4k aligned partition table are attached internally).

The 512B GUID partition table looks like this in blocks (in parenthesis the "respective" start Byte/size in Byte):

                0     (0)     1   (512)   PMBR
                1   (512)     1   (512)   Pri GPT header
                2  (1024)    32 (16384)   Pri GPT table
               34             6
               40 (20480)   ...           Start of first partition 4k aligned

The 4k GUID partition table looks like this in 4k blocks:

               0     (0)      1  (4096)   PMBR
               1  (4096)      1  (4096)   Pri GPT header
               2  (8192)      4 (16384)   Pri GPT table
               6 (24576)    ...           Start of first partition

Either GPT table can hold up to 128 partition entries.

The GPT standard requires that the primary GPT header must be located at block 1.

A 512B disk partitioned in a 4k-only enclosure won't have the primary GPT header starting at Byte 512 but at Byte 4096. The GPT of this disk attached internally won't be detected properly because the primary header is expected at Byte 512.

Only the PMBR seems to be valid and the "Partition Map Scheme" is therefore detected as "Master Boot Record".

The opposite is also true: the GPT of a 512B disk partitioned internally (with the primary header starting at Byte 512) won't be detected in the 4k-only enclosure because there the primary header is expected at Byte 4096.


How to install an homebrew formula without updating homebrew itself? When I install or reinstall a formula, homebrew automatically update itself before installing the formula.

When working on a slow connection, this is annoying. How can I cancel this automatic update?

According to this github issue and to the man page, the environment variable HOMEBREW_NO_AUTO_UPDATE can be set to 1.
HOMEBREW_NO_AUTO_UPDATE=1 brew install <formula>

This will stop the homebrew update for this command. If you want to prevent auto update for your shell session, use:
export HOMEBREW_NO_AUTO_UPDATE=1

to set it permanently, add it to your ~/.bash_profile. Note that changing this permanently is discouraged by the developers.


Is it possible to use iTunes Match to replace my existing metadata with metadata from the iTunes Store? My music in my iTunes library has come from many sources over the years, and it's filled with incomplete or inaccurate or simply missing data, not to mention the fact that most of my stuff doesn't have album art associated with it.

I had hoped that as part of the 256kbps 'upgrade' functionality that iTunes would also upgrade the metadata on my songs to the metadata that they ship with the iTunes Store purchases. However, deleting and redownloading a matched song only upgrades the audio data, but keeps the metadata intact. Is there a way to upgrade the metadata as well?

No - the design clearly is intended to honor whatever set of metadata you have currently entered into your library. As you have discovered, the matching process can find songs based on other criteria and re-downloading the "canonical" AAC 256 kbps stereo will not currently fill in any metadata holes or correct parts of the metadata that do not match what Apple has in the store (or it's Match database for songs that are not for sale like the AC/DC catalog)

I can see two reasons for this:

Intentional - preserve user customization where the data may be better on the individual customer iTunes database.
Not automating the process of cleaning up songs that may have been passed or downloaded rather than ripped when connected to a metadata lookup server or otherwise encoded by the official artist when it was sold or released.

I specifically have hundreds of Hawaiian songs where I've entered the metadata with the help of a native speaker to have the correct punctuation (and that doesn't match Apple's punctuation). There certainly is a great need for a tool to help people manage this, but iTunes Match isn't that tool today.


How can I reduce the size of a continually growing Mail app on my iPhone 5? I have two email accounts on my iPhone: Cox and Gmail.
Each accounts have few messages in their respective Inbox.  No attachments.
The Draft, Sent, and Trash folders are empty.
Yet, with time, the size of this app continues to grow and take up more of the free space on my iPhone 5: and its size is limited, the 16 GB model,
of which 12.5 GB is available to the user.  I am running iOS 8.4.1.

It's as if there is garbage collection that isn't taking place and the storage space doesn't get freed-up.  Think about how hard drive space may get freed-up after sectors are freed-up when you defrag a Windows hard-drive.
Battery Doctor helps free up cache space, etc., but does not affect the Mail app.  My Mail app now takes up 3.0 GB of space!

I have tried removing the accounts, and then setting them up fresh, but this doesn't help… the space is still taken.  I have performed factory resets on the iPhone where it is wiped clean and then have all apps reinstalled, but the problem still exists.  And, so far, I do not have a program that saves my Notes off to my laptop and maintains the formatting of the text, e.g. Bold, Italic, carriage returns, etc.  So, trying to recover the iPhone to the way it was is a real hassle, and the Mail app doesn't reduce in size… it will continue to grow.  Any ideas?

Delete App Mail, just delete. Reinstall the Mail app. Add your email accounts and the hidden hidden storage will disappear


Is there a macOS equivalent of the Windows assoc command? I am looking to change a file association on the Mac using some sort of script. I know that I can do something like that in Windows using the assoc  command.
Is there something scriptable on macOS which will do a similar job?

No. Apple file mapping is implemented very differently than windows does it. The file metadata has many variables that affect launch services and mapping a particular file to a particular app.


Password confirmation on app launch I recently changed the email address and the password for my apple ID. Since then, when I launch an app, it occasionally asks me for my apple ID password. Even apps that I've successfully launched before, might ask me again. This is very annoying and I'm loosing hope that this is going to stop.

What can I do about it?

Oh, it's an iPhone 6s with iOS 12.1.

Option 1 Reboot your phone

Restart your phone by holding the on/off button for up to 10 seconds then slide to turn off your phone. Then hold the on/off button till the apple logo appears.

Option 2 Sign out of Apple ID and Sign Back In

If just rebooting your iPhone doesn't fix the issue, you can try signing out of the Apple ID and then sign in back. Many times, this method works out well. To do this:

Option 3 Reset your Apple ID password

Sometimes, resetting the password might help fix this problem. To do this, launch Safari browser, and type this appleid.apple.com and hit enter.

Now, click on Forgot Apple ID or Password


terminal folder access having a trouble to access few folders in my root user. For example: cannot access - Ideas Infinitas, Treehouse workshops folders. At the same time I can access test_app and some other folders.

My root user is the user I'm logged in with, find image below.

How do I have an access to these folders?

The folder name contains a space which means that the shell interprets it as two separate arguments. Either escape the space with a \ or enclose the string in ".

cd "folder name"
cd folder\ name


Two drobo NAS on one network causes premature  'Server has closed down' events. We have a Drobo setup with a fixed IP on ethernet which we've named BoxA. It shows up in the finder list, everyone can connect to it and share files.

We brought a second Drobo to backup the first, this was given a different fixed ip and a different name BoxB.

When we connect BoxB to the network all the clients which are connected to BoxA receive the message "BoxA has closed down" clicking on BoxA on the finder reveals the content of BoxB.

Any idea what might be causing Finder to display this message? Why would it see two different network servers as the same?

Have you tried placing each in it's own NetBIOS Domain Name to keep them from chatting/colliding on a shared port or name?


Audio device list screwed up in El Capitan, audio interface not appearing in list I'm using the following audio interfaces:

Internal audio
Thunderbolt Display audio
RME Fireface UC (USB audio interface)
Alesis ControlHub (USB audio interface)
Orion32 (USB audio interface, used occasionally at a friend's studio)

Everything was working fine on Yosemite. I upgraded to 10.11.2 a couple of weeks ago and since then, I've been experiencing the following:

When connected to the Thunderbolt display, it doesn't appear in the audio device list. Instead, the Orion32 device appears. I checked to see whether there's just a title mixup with the display audio, but nothing comes out of the speakers when selected so that's probably not the case
The Alesis interface does not appear in the list and is unusable. According to this KB article, it should work out of the box. I also tried disabling SIP as detailed in this article (which deals, though, with another audio interface). I opened an issue at the Alesis support forum but don't have my hopes up for a reply from them, seeing other people complain about USB devices and getting no feedback.

I'm assuming that the two issues are related. I haven't tried connecting the real Orion32 device, as it's not in my studio, but the RME device works fine.

I would appreciate any input on how to investigate further.

So, for the sake of documenting this:
I suspected that the Orion32 driver might be causing the trouble. Looking at system.log, every time I connected the Control Hub, the Orion driver logged some error messages. I deleted the driver and restarted the machine, which seems to have solved the problem.


How do I fix a broken OS X update that shows as both Available and Installed? The "Command Line Tools (OS X 10.10) for Xcode 7.0" is not working correctly.  It installs and shows in the "Updates Installed" section, however it is still listed in the "Updates Available" section.  Oddly, it's being shown in the "Updates Installed" sections multiple times -- once for each time I tried to install it.

I have restarted and it persists.  How can I fix this?

I'd go for the standard toolkit first...

In Disk Utility, "Verify Disk Permissions" and if necessary "Fix Disk Permissions".  Also "Verify Disk" and if necessary "Repair Disk".
Reset Home folder permissions & ACLs using OnyX  - Maintenance tab/permissions, tick the box at the top then Execute.
Update to 10.10.5 [or re-apply if already updated] using the 10.10.5 combo update, not the delta from App Store


Can you update an iPhone 4 on iOS 6.1.2 to 7.0.6 using an IPSW file? So I have an iPhone 4 that's been happily jailbroken on iOS 6.1.2 for a while now, but I want to upgrade to 7.0.6. I downloaded the IPSW for it and shift-clicked on update, but I get the error 'The iPhone could not be restored. An unknown error occurred (3194)'. I read up on it and proceeded to correct my hosts and firewalls, but nothing seems to work.

So, the question is: Is what I'm trying to do even possible, or should I just settle for iOS 7.1 with no jailbreak? Also, is there any way to update without using iTunes, because it seems to be the only thing causing the problem?

iOS 7.0.6 is no longer being code signed by Apple. Only the most recent version of iOS is code signed by Apple, and the iPhone will not accept a version of iOS that has not been code signed. So essentially, this is impossible.


In TimeMachine, what happens during the "clean up" phase? When TimeMachine runs a backup it goes through several phases.  There is the "prepare for backup", "backup" and "clean up" phases.  There might be more.

What happens during the "clean up" phase?

When Time Machine goes through the "clean up phase" it's doing "house cleaning" which will consist of activities like:

delete old/expired backups (i.e. past X number of days)
removes old(er) backups if there is insufficient space
trimming incomplete backups


How to duplicate an entire dropbox directory tree to skydrive? I've got a directory tree set up in my Dropbox folder.  For redundancy, I'd like to duplicate that entire tree in SkyDrive.  I'd like everything to update and sync automatically (from Dropbox to SkyDrive) so that any changes I make in the Dropbox folder (add/remove/change to files or sub-directories) get reflected in the SkyDrive folder.

I thought that a symbolic link between the top-level directories (e.g. ln -s /Users/MyName/Desktop/Dropbox /Users/MyName/Desktop/SkyDrive) would do it, but it's not working as I expected.  I only see the directories get linked, not the contents.

Is there a better way to do what I'm trying to accomplish?

Dropbox honors symbolic links so you can use

ln -s ~/Desktop/SkyDrive ~/Desktop/Dropbox/

This creates a symbolic link SkyDrive inside your Dropbox folder pointing to the whole SkyDrive. All files/directories stored inside SkyDrive will be available in Dropbox as well now.


Is there technical reasoning behind Animoji being exclusive to iPhone X? To what extent, if any, is Animoji dependent on the camera and sensor system specific to iPhone X? Would there be a noticeable quality difference if the Animoji software was available on other iPhones?

My understanding is that Animoji requires ARKit. Since the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus rear camera supports this, it could be possible in theory to use these cameras to create Animoji. However, using a rear camera would be problematic at best, since you wouldn't be able to see yourself as you're creating the Animoji. And since ARKit is not supported on any front facing camera except for the one on the iPhone X, it is further problematic using the software on any other current model of iPhone.

It's also possible that since Face ID itself is not required while you're creating the Animoji, that the process may still use the map of your face initially created by Face ID when it's set up (this is pure speculation on my behalf). If that is the case, then creating Animoji on an iPhone 8 / 8 Plus would not be possible - at least not to the quality we see on the iPhone X.


How can I gain the 'true' space on this micro sd? First off I know this post is about a micro sd, but I'm on a Mac..
Anyway, I got a micro sd card with my phone. It's a Cricket phone that features their Muve Music service. (Though I rooted and removed the app for it) Though the phone came with a 4GB Micro SD card, 3GB  of it was dedicated to Muve Music; and the other 1GB was for the user.. Is there a way to use my Mac to access the full 4GB?

I recommend you insert it directly into a sd card reader attached to your Mac and backup the part of the drive you can access to your Mac's drive. Then open Disk Utility.app select the SD card reader in the left bar on the top level of the hierarchy (not the volume itself on the second level!), switch to the partition tab on the right hand, choose "1 Partition" from the "Partition Layout:" menu and click on "Options" beneath it. Choose "Master Boot Record", confirm the dialog with "OK" and click "Apply". Wait until it's finished, then check if the size of the volume has increased and if it has you can copy your files back.


Password-Protect Apps MacOS Big Sur I need to block an app with a password for privacy, but I can't find this feature in Screentime.
It used to be in the old Parental controls in Mojave and earlier, but it seems to have been removed in more recent versions.

free apps preferred

Is there a 3rd party app to block apps with a password?

From a quick internet search, I found this article that lists two apps:

AppLocker is free to block one app, with a $10 purchase to unlock full functionality. Take this with a grain of salt, though - the average review is one star
AppCrypt is a one-time $30 payment (25% off with their coupon code). It looks like you can download it for free from their website, but likely has limited functionality


Is there an application that executes commands on a server computer? I'm looking for an application that can do the following things.

On the server side (either Mac or PC): define executable commands; let's say I can choose 10 executable files.
On the iPad or iPhone: the application displays from 1 to 10 icons, one icon for each application.
When I click one of the icons, the server executes the file that is related with the number.

Does such application exist?

The only application I can think of is Mobile Mouse; its purpose is to use an iPone/iPod/iPad as mouse to control a Mac.

One of its features allows to have some icons on the iPod/iPhone that invoke some applications on the Mac; by default, the icons shown on the iPod/iPhone are the ones that appear in the Dock, but you can select a directory containing the applications or the scripts you want to execute.

The last screenshot shows the list of icons shown when I select a directory containing other directories; when you hover over an icon, the application shows the icon name, in the same way the Finder does. The icons with an indicator light are running applications.

The server application is available from the App Store, while the application for iOS is available from the iTunes App Store.


Create new partition in unallocated space with diskutil I have deleted the first partition on my external HD such that it now has 100GB of free space at the beginning of the partition. I'd like to reclaim that space, but Disk Utility doesn't let me create a new partition there (it just does nothing when I click 'Apply'). Is there a way to accomplish this with diskutil? I’ve only found ways to change (or erase, or split etc.) existing partitions by e.g. entering disk2s2 as device ID, but the free space has no such device ID.

Outputs:

$ diskutil list disk2
/dev/disk2
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *1.5 TB     disk2
   1:                        EFI                         209.7 MB   disk2s1
   2:                  Apple_HFS Shared                  199.3 GB   disk2s2
   3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             784.2 MB   disk2s3
   4:          Apple_CoreStorage                         500.0 GB   disk2s4
   5:                 Apple_Boot Boot OS X               134.2 MB   disk2s5
   6:          Apple_CoreStorage                         699.6 GB   disk2s6
   7:                 Apple_Boot Boot OS X               134.2 MB   disk2s7
$ sudo gpt -r show disk2
Password:
       start        size  index  contents
           0           1         PMBR
           1           1         Pri GPT header
           2          32         Pri GPT table
          34           6
          40      409600      1  GPT part - C12A7328-F81F-11D2-BA4B-00A0C93EC93B
      409640   195575768
   195985408   389353696      2  GPT part - 48465300-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC
   585339104     1531680      3  GPT part - 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC
   586870784   976562504      4  GPT part - 53746F72-6167-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC
  1563433288      262144      5  GPT part - 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC
  1563695432  1366319552      6  GPT part - 53746F72-6167-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC
  2930014984      262144      7  GPT part - 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC
  2930277128           7
  2930277135          32         Sec GPT table
  2930277167           1         Sec GPT header
$ sudo fdisk /dev/disk2
Disk: /dev/disk2    geometry: -5415437/4/63 [-1364690128 sectors]
Signature: 0xAA55
         Starting       Ending
 #: id  cyl  hd sec -  cyl  hd sec [     start -       size]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1: EE 1023 254  63 - 1023 254  63 [         1 - -1364690129] <Unknown ID>
 2: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused
 3: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused
 4: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused
$ sudo pdisk --list /dev/disk2
pdisk: No valid block 1 on '/dev/disk2'

(Before proceeding, please make sure the disk in question is still disk2, you have backups of your data, etc. - that said, the changes here are not particularly dangerous. Read through the whole instructions before doing anything to make sure you understand all the steps.)

OK, your partition tables look fine (a valid GPT and a correct protective MBR), so I don't know why Disk Utility is failing you in this instance, but you should be able to create a partition in the empty space using the gpt command-line utility. Your GPT looks like this:

       start        size  index  contents
           0           1         PMBR
           1           1         Pri GPT header
           2          32         Pri GPT table
          34           6
          40      409600      1  GPT part - C12A7328-F81F-11D2-BA4B-00A0C93EC93B
      409640   195575768
   195985408   389353696      2  GPT part - 48465300-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC
   585339104     1531680      3  GPT part - 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC
   586870784   976562504      4  GPT part - 53746F72-6167-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC
  1563433288      262144      5  GPT part - 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC
  1563695432  1366319552      6  GPT part - 53746F72-6167-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC
  2930014984      262144      7  GPT part - 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC
  2930277128           7
  2930277135          32         Sec GPT table
  2930277167           1         Sec GPT header

The free space is indicated by this line (the numbers are 512-byte sectors, so just under 100GB free space:

      409640   195575768

Apple requires 128MiB (262144 sectors) free space following a partition, so the new partition can be 195575768-262144=195313624 sectors. Unmount all the volumes on the disk using:

diskutil unmountDisk disk2

Then, this command will create an HFS+ partition in the free space:

sudo gpt add -b 409640 -s 195313624 -t hfs disk2

That only creates the partition, not the file system. To check that it went well, you should now see a disk2s8 if you run diskutil list disk2. If this is indeed the case, you can format the partition like so:

sudo newfs_hfs -v "Volume Name" -J /dev/rdisk2s8

If disk2s8 hasn't appeared, you'll need to reboot before formatting. Instead of running newfs_hfs you should also be able to erase the partition in Disk Utility.

The gpt utility doesn't re-order the partition numbers but this shouldn't be a problem in practice. If you make any further changes with disk utility, that will probably fix the ordering anyway.


Airport Extreme won't work: "Cannot be setup by this software" We are at a cottage in Maine that has an old Airport Extreme A1034 (c 2003) that is not working.  When we try to connect to Wifi on an iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, or iPhone 8, it says:

  The Airport Extreme named "Apple Network abcdef" cannot be set up by this software.

The rest of the error message is cut off.

How do you connect?

You can actually get this old piece of technology to work fairly well with a few easy steps.

Power off the Airport Extreme and any other router it is connected to for 20 seconds.
Turn everything back on and wait for lights to stop flashing.
On your iPhone go to Settings > Wi-Fi.  Turn on the setting for Ask to Join Networks.  This will make it so the phone always asks you before joining an unknown wireless network.
Now go to Settings > General > Software Update.  You will be prompted to Select a Wireless Network with the Apple Network abcdef as an option.  Touch it.
You should now be connected!  There is no need to actually perform the rest of the software update at this time.

I think this works because - one, the software update tool really wants you to download (very large) iOS updates on Wi-Fi to save your data.  And two, the Airport extreme for some reason only works if you ask to join the network such that the network selector will pop up.  It's a hack, but it works!


iTunes library access not consistent I have an iPhone 4s, iPad2, and AppleTV3
My problem is that, my iTunes library on my PC doesn't consistently appear over all my devices (on my phone and ipad, I am referring to Apple's Remote app).  Sometimes, my itunes library will be visible by my apple TV and not my phone, or not my ipad, and vice versa. It's very random how some devices can see it and some cant. Even more strange, sometimes, a device will see it, and connect, and control it, but then shortly after, it's as if a connection is severed. And the device can no longer see my library. Any ideas why this would be? Here are some things to help you form answers.
- Everything is on the same network.
- They are all as up to date as possible.
- it DOES work, it just isn't always working.

I have sometimes have similar issues accessing iTunes libraries from AppleTVs. Sometimes I have better luck using a WiFi rather than Ethernet connection.

Also, have you tried assigning your AppleTVs static IP addresses (assuming you use DHCP?)


Is there any default tool in OSX by which to add text (such as subtitle) to a video? I would like to add a notification to a video at some particular time period that "Mistake  Lorem in this".

Does OSX have any default video tool (simple) to add any type of text (subtitle ok too) to the video?

iMovie may work for you.

Import your Movie and then.

1,  Select the Titles in the Content library to pick Title theme

2, Drag the Subtitle Theme down to the movie strip.

3, Adjust the Subtitle time line to where you want it and duration.

4, Write you text in the text field.

5, Set your text style.

Open image


How to set default application for special link types (e.g., ssh://)? Some applications will signal to the OS that they can open special link type, such as ssh:// or github-mac://.  They get automatically opened for such links by the web browser (or when using open in a terminal).  If I have multiple such applications, how can I set which one should be the default?

For example, both GitHub Desktop and SourceTree can handle github-mac://. When I installed GitHub Desktop, it became the default handler for these links.  How can I set SourceTree as the default handler without uninstalling GitHub Desktop?

Update December 2020
Rubicode (RCDefaultApp) seems to have gone. That leaves SwiftDefaultApps as the new go-to for this task.
Late Edit July 2019:
Though RCDefaultApp still works on Mojave, it may not survive Catalina [time will tell]
There is, however, a new kid on the block - SwiftDefaultApps, which may become the newer standard. Time will tell (again;)
Very late edit May 2020. I have no Mac that can run Catalina, so I'm reliant on others to keep this answer up to date.
From comments, SwiftDefaultApps reported as working in Catalina 10.15.5

You can do that with a freeware app called RCDefaultApp. It's ancient, but still works on El Capitan.
Update April 2019 - still works on Mojave too.
You can define the default app for any URL scheme.
I don't have one for github, but this shows how you can set, for example, ftps specifically to any installed app that supports the protocol.


Transfer files between bootcamp partitions I am using Snow Leopard and Windows 7 with bootcamp. I would like to be able to save some files to my OSX partition from Windows. I would also like to have files (say, photos, source code, etc) that I can manage with both partitions. Is it possible to get the two partitions to "play nice"?

You have a few choices:

NTFS in Mac OS X:

Paragon NTFS (US$19.95)
Tuxera NTFS for Mac (€25)
NTFS-3G (free)

HFS+ in Windows:

MacDrive (US$49.99)
Paragon HFS for Windows (US$19.95)

There is a bundle promotion for Paragon NTFS and Paragon HFS for Windows, available here.


OS X Mavericks bash_profile paths don't work I need to create a new path in OS X Mavericks.

To do so, I edited .bash_profile:

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

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

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

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

This is the content of my .bashrc file:

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

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

What am I doing wrong?

After editing the login file you need to either run the source command on the login file or create a new terminal session before the updated environment variables will be available.

For Example:

source .bash_profile

I prefer to use this method of adding to the path. That way, if the file is executed multiple times, $PATH doesn't add redundant paths.

##
# DELUXE-HOME-BIN-INSERT
# (do not remove this comment)
##
echo $PATH | grep -q -s "${HOME}/bin"
if [ $? -eq 1 ] ; then
    PATH=$PATH:/bin
    export PATH
fi


iOS Clips app: What is the difference between Save Video and Save to files on iPad? When using Clips app on iO S12, I see two options Save Video and Save to Files. What is the difference between them?

"Save Videos" saves the video to the Photos image & video library.

"Save to files" means to save the video as a file to for example iCloud Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, local storage or other storage service!


Where to find a list of iTunes Internet Radio Station URI's? Looking for a source of iTunes Internet Radio Station URI's. Any suggestions?

Assuming you want a source of radio stations that will play through iTunes, SHOUTcast is as good a starting point as any. Go for the .M3U streams, these will open and play in iTunes.


MacBook Pro Mid 2012 briefly displays static after waking from sleep On my MacBook, whenever I wake it up from hibernation, it briefly displays static for about 2 seconds before showing the login screen, very like an untuned analog TV.  The problem is purely cosmetic, because after that it functions perfectly.  It doesn't seem to happen if I simply sleep it though.

The machine has gone through two OS upgrades, I believe starting from Mountain Lion, which I don't think had the problem, so it may have started with Mavericks, and continues with Yosemite. I currently have everything updated to the latest version.

It's not really a huge issue, but I'd like to fix it if possible. Any ideas?

I've had this issue many times over the years. It's kind of like the video ram gets clogged in a way. I've solved it with a PRAM reset. Restart and before the computer actually starts up hold down Option, Command (⌘), P, and R till you hear the second startup chime. Then release the keys. This should take care of that for a while. If you get it again you can look into a SMC Reset which is a bit more complicated


Inserting links in the Pages document Here is a nuisance that I'm encountering during my word processing using Apple Pages. Every time when I need to make an external link (http link) to some web page I need to make sure to edit the link field from http://livepage.apple.com/ to my desired one. Now this is not a problem if you need to do this procedure once or twice but you can imagine how frustrating this can get with more links.

I wonder if there is a preference to change this into say the one from the clipboard?

Any other suggestions on how to proceed in this case would be welcome.

In my experience, when you paste a link or write it out, you just need to go on typing and Pages automatically converts it to clickable text.


Wifi doesn't work but Skype does (and it's not like the one case you already solved) So. I select a wifi network. Get into safari and int wont load the main page. But I can make calls in skype and with perfect comunication with the caller. (Wifi works for skype) but when I do all the steps you told somebody to do (go to the network preferences. Then "advanced" go to the DNS. And select one of thise numbers (8.8.8.8) (they are not grey for me, they're black) then Ok and then Apply, safari would still not load and skype would kee working. What can I do?

To find the hosts file, open Finder and, in Finder’s menu bar, select Go > Go to Folder. In the box, type the following location and press Return.

/private/etc/hosts

That will show you the Host file.

Double click on it and you will see:

##
# Host Database
#
# localhost is used to configure the loopback interface
# when the system is booting.  Do not change this entry.
##
127.0.0.1   localhost
255.255.255.255 broadcasthost
::1             localhost
fe80::1%lo0 localhost

Yours has to be exactly as this, nothing more or less.

If it is different, let me know so we will fix that.


What is the length of a frame in Final Cut Pro in seconds? Possible to specify it? It took 23 frames and 0.92 seconds for the ball to travel from the first picture to the second so one frame is 0.04 seconds long, with 0.1 slowness (so the speed of the ball is roughly 150 km/h). How can I specify the length of the frame? Is it possible to specify arbitrary precise frame length in time?

The length of a frame is proportional to the frames per second of your clip.

Professional films, and HD television are typically set with a base frame rate of 23.98fps.  So 1 frame will be 1/23.98th of a second.

Further details on specifying and adjusting the base frame rate in Final Cut Pro can be read indepth here:  https://documentation.apple.com/en/finalcutpro/usermanual/index.html#chapter=D%26section=4%26tasks=true


Allow cookies from certain websites? I have some problems with cookies, I don't want cookies everywhere, but only for certain websites.

What I have done right now is I allow cookies, then do the thing where a cookie is saved, then block cookies. But some websites requires me to always have cookies on for some reason, in this case Stackexchange and another website.

So does anyone know how to do this?

In Firefox you can do that.

I have not found a way in Safari, so one needs a external app (3d party).

Here is one you might like:

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/31018/safari-cookies


Remote Management Port 5900 Not Responding I am trying to understand why Remote Management (vnc) is not working on my iMac.  I enable Remote Sharing via GUI on Sharing "Remote Management."

when I request "telnet localhost 5900" I get an answer.  when I request "telnet 4-digit-ip 5900" I get no response.

Normally, I would think that my firewall is blocking it, but the firewall is off.

A portscan tells me that 22 (ssh) and 3283 (net assistant), as well as a couple of high ports (like Dropbox) are open, but nothing else.

I tried allowing access for everyone or just for me.  I have tried "Anyone may request permission" or not.  Are there other plist etc options that need to be switched on, that might have been accidentally turned off?

I did two things in sequence, which cleared up the problem.  First,

sudo /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/Resources/kickstart -activate -configure -access -on -users admin -privs -all -restart -agent -menu

Second, in the GUI, I turned off remote management and turned on screen sharing.  now port 5900 responded.  Next I turned off screen sharing again and turned on remote management.  Now it is still responding.

Probably a bug in macos...


Blutooth stopped connecting to car automatically My iPhone5S always AUTOMATICALLY connected with my car radio upon entering the car and when I made or received a call by pressing the button on the steering wheel of my 2011 Chevy Mailbu, I would hear the call through the car's radio speaker, no problem.

Then with no changes made on my end, bluetooth quit connecting automatically. I can still make a receive a call by pressing the button on the steering wheel but the call is now NOT heard thru the car speaker. I can make it use the car speaker by pressing on the round "audio" icon that appears on the iPhone screen and the pressing "my vehicle" on the next box that appears. However, having to hit these two buttons on the phone while is too dangerous while driving.

I have turned bluetooth off and back on. I have re-paired the iphone to the car. I even installed the latest Apple 11.2.6 software upgrade, all to no avail. So for now I can use the steering wheel button to make/receive calls but only hear the call thru the speaker in the iPhone, not the car. For years the bluetooth worked correctly, automatically connecting to the car upon entering the car and all calls came thru the radio speakers. This bluetooth auto-connect stopped working about a week ago. Apple support on the phone twice could not solve the problem.

Has anyone had this same problem and fixed it. It is driving me nuts as I have tried everything I know of and have read about on google. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Try making a call using the iPhone while in your car and making sure it has the Chevy MyLink selected.

This happened to me a while back and it was very annoying (iPhone 6s and 2015 Chevy). Some how my default was changed from using the car speakers to using speaker phone.


How to update shell programs How do I update shell programs like crontab for example?
On my Mac I've got version from 29th of December 1993, but on a server linux machine that I am using version of crontab is much better in terms of usability since it's from 19th of April 2010.

I am running MacOS Mojave and my bash version is :
GNU bash, version 5.0.2(1)-release (x86_64-apple-darwin18.2.0)

crontab on my Mac:

crontab on my Linux:

The content of /usr/bin and friends is updated with each release of macOS, but usually the versions shipped by Apple are significantly older than what's available on Linux. There are various reasons for this, in a lot of cases it's related to changes in the GPL. In case of crontab it may also play a role that the use of cron is deprecated, launchd should be used instead.

If you want to update Unix binaries yourself

Use Homebrew (https://brew.sh)
Compile from source yourself and install in /usr/local/bin


UK keyboard layout \ and ` swapped even with ISO keyboard and British PC layout Normally to get and \ the right way round for a British keyboard you need to change the keyboard layout toBritish - PC`, and you need to convince MacOS that you have an ISO keyboard, rather than an ANSI one. This is described in this closely related but not duplicate question. The solutions there have worked for me in the past (see my answer to that question).

However, I just got a new Mac, and I am now running it through a Thunderbolt 3 dock and a KVM switch, and that seems to have confused it somewhat.

When I run the keyboard type identifier it says they keyboard type cannot be identified:

If I click "Skip" it defaults to JIS - I definitely don't have a Japanese keyboard!

If I select ISO then the problem remains - @ and " are the right way round, but \ and ` are not.

How can I fix this? Note that I do have Karabiner-Elements installed, but unlike in previous versions there are no options to change the virtual keyboard type in it.

Ok, so I re-read my previous answer and noticed that I needed to restart my computer when I wrote that. So I tried it, and it worked! The keyboard identification wizard appears on login but this time it had no problem identifying my keyboard as ISO.

If you have keyboard layout issue in MacOS try restarting your computer!


If I change my iTunes payment method after making a purchase, which one is used? As explained here, there is often a delay of anywhere from a few hours  to a couple of days between an iTunes/App Store purchase being made and the payment going through.

If I change my payment information after making a purchase, but before I am billed, which one will be used?

After trying it; it seems that the payment is taken from the card set up at the time of purchase.


M1 Mac clean install, getting stuck at "Create a computer account" I wanted to do a clean install on my shiny new M1 MacBook Pro, running macOS 11.1. I booted into recovery mode and navigated to disk utility, click my Macintosh HD entry, erase, then erase volume group.
Reformatting done, I selected "Reinstall macOS Big Sur." This progressed normally, and I was eventually greeted with setup assistant, asking me to select a language.
Everything works normally, up until I reach the "Create a computer account" dialog. No matter what information I enter here, the setup assistant freezes for 5-10 minutes [1]. It eventually reports that creating the account failed, with no further information. It asks me to try again - if I try to use the same short or full account name, it complains that the short or full name is in use and to select something else. If I change the full and short names and try again, the same thing occurs.
If I forcibly shut down the machine at this point and reboot, I am greeted with a normal login menu - e.g. no setup assistant. The accounts that I tried to create using the setup assistant are all listed, but I am unable to log into any of them - seems the password might be set to something other than what I specified.
If during the setup process I signed into iCloud (I have tried with and without signing in), I am given the option to reset the account password using my iCloud account - but this does not work, it shakes a bit as if the iCloud password is wrong. (The iCloud password works perfectly fine on another machine.)
I would write the whole thing off as a glitch, but it is 100% reproducible (on this machine, at least - I am afraid to try my existing machine for the moment). That is, erasing the hard drive and restarting the entire process results in the same errors. If there was a hardware issue, doesn't it seem more likely that we'd run into different set of problems each time?
So, wall of text finished: has anyone run into this, or have any advice on debugging?
I am on attempt 5+ at the moment.
[1] I can still bring up the Force Quit dialog, and adjust brightness/etc using the Touch Bar.

paraphrasing @Remiks' answer (thanks Remiks - your writeup got me unstuck!). Remiks reports:
Apple Support shared a far easier fix using recovery tools
upsides over the published approach:

requires no 2nd machine or external drive
requires no new software (just the Mac OS already on your machine; no downloads of any kind)
works reliably (whereas Apple support warns configurator 2 is flakey)

Crazy idea, but should these become the official steps? Anyone aware of a situation actually requiring Configurator?
steps to follow:

shut down your computer
remove the computer from any iCloud accounts (thanks for the edit, @abbaf33f)
hold the power button until the "options" icon shows
select the "options" icon
when next screen loads, select menu item to launch terminal
in terminal type "resetpassword" and hit enter
when a reset password box appears, reveal a new menu by clicking somewhere off to the side of the reset password box (thanks for the edit, @brendan-duke!)
select "Recovery Utilities" then "erase Mac"; in new pop up confirm option to erase Mac
once erased, exit back to recover
reinstall the operating system
once installed, create the account.

Remiks' reported result matches mine: this fix works on the first try.
On the other hand, the official apple steps failed repeatedly for me, and two Apple Sr. Advisors warned me as they attempted to assist that the published instructions were unreliable (yep, they were also frustrated that the Apple-supplied steps failed try after try).


Guest account as sandbox? How much extra security do I get by downloading and running code only in a guest account. My normal user data is safe. Shared data is write able somewhat, but I can do a search for writable areas and cut these down

I want to download a tool but the more I read about the NSA and all their friends the less and less code I want to run on my box. I figure I can run as guest and that shouldn't have write access to much. Is there a way to run a normal GUI app in something like a FreeBSD jail?

In reality, little to none. The best result would be having less downloaded junk in your normal user account.

OS X is sandboxed by default. Applications are by default run in a sandboxed environment without root privileges. Your best bet for security is trusting the sources you download code from, and being wary of code that asks for administrator or elevated privileges.


Is it safe to Symlink your applications folder? If you had a NAS and you were going to store all your applications on there, would it be safe to - on the computers accessing it - replace their application folder with a symlink to the folder on the NAS?

It would be possible to use the NAS as your applications folder, however you would not be able to create a symlink, as symlinks do not work across different partitions, or network shares.  You would instead mount the share as your applications folder.

There are other considerations you may want to be aware of, the first of which is that most NAS shares using windows file sharing would (samba, cifs) do not use a unix style permissions system, so there may be some issues with application permissions.  This could be handled by using a NAS that allows you to export shares using NFS which allows for more compatible permissions on the files.

The second issue is that of network connectivity.  If there is a problem with the network, your applications folder will disappear, and this could cause instability with your systems.  To overcome this issue, you may want to only mount the users applications (/Users/username/Applications) over the NAS, and not the system applications (/Applications).  This way important applications such as Finder, etc will be local, and other applications can be installed to the users applications folder.  Be aware, that most shortcuts point to the system applications, not the users applications folder (e.g. in Finders Sidebar the applications folder shortcut usually points to the system applications folder, and applications purchased via the Mac App Store install to the system folder too).  Users may still have problems with certain applications when there are network issues, however it will not effect the whole system.

The third issue is your question seems to imply that this applications share will be mounted by multiple users.  This may cause some issues, but applications are not supposed to store user data in the application itself, so you should be fine, however not all applications follow all the guidelines 100%.

To mount a share as your applications folder use the command: 'mount shareIpAddress:/pathToShare /Users/username/Applications'  for further information on automating this, you might want to read the Apple document: http://images.apple.com/business/docs/Autofs.pdf


Is there a way to get "Spaces" set to remain on a relative display? I have dual monitor set-ups at both my work office and my home office, but when I move between them, the "Spaces" sets flip between the two external monitors.  (This has consistently happened despite changing cable arrangements, and even when setting up a new pair of monitors at my office.)

Is there a way to get "Spaces" sets to remain on their relative displays?

     Work Office             Home Office
     -----------             -----------
┌─────────┬─────────┐   ┌─────────┬─────────┐
│  Left   │  Right  │   │  Left   │  Right  │
│ Display │ Display │   │ Display │ Display │
│ ------- │ ------- │   │ ------- │ ------- │
│ Spaces  │ Spaces  │   │ Spaces  │ Spaces  │
│ *set A* │ *set B* │   │ *set B* │ *set A* │ <-- unwanted flip-flop
├─────────┴─────────┤   ├─────────┴─────────┤
│  MacBook Display  │   │  MacBook Display  │
│   Spaces set C    │   │   Spaces set C    │
└───────────────────┘   └───────────────────┘

For anyone trying to figure this out, the fix turns out to be really simple, but you do need to pay attention when disconnecting and reconnecting the monitors.
Basically, whatever order you disconnect the monitors, then you need to reconnect them in the opposite order, making sure to give the Mac time to register each monitor, e.g.
                     Work Office
                     -----------
                ┌─────────┬─────────┐
                │  Left   │  Right  │
                │ Display │ Display │
                │ ------- │ ------- │
 Disconnect  -->│ Spaces  │ Spaces  │  <-- Disconnect
   SECOND       │ *set A* │ *set B* │        FIRST
                ├─────────┴─────────┤        & then
                │  MacBook Display  │   take a 1-2 second
                │   Spaces set C    │        pause
                └───────────────────┘

                     Home Office
                     -----------
                ┌─────────┬─────────┐
                │  Left   │  Right  │
                │ Display │ Display │
                │ ------- │ ------- │
  Reconnect --> │ Spaces  │ Spaces  │  <-- Reconnect
    FIRST       │ *set A* │ *set B* │       SECOND
    & then      ├─────────┴─────────┤
   wait for     │  MacBook Display  │
 anything to    │   Spaces set C    │
 be displayed   └───────────────────┘


prevent desktops/fullscreen windows from being re-ordered When an application gains focus, it can change the order of desktops in mission control.  In my mind, this creates some very confusion animations.

Can we force desktops to stay in their order?
Can we disable the animation entirely? (I saw the thread here, nothing seemed to wrok.)

Please, look this and this QAs which have answers for your questions.


`diskutil list` shows type Windows_NTFS, but `Disk Utility.app` shows type ExFAT. So What is the type? I just bought a new external ssd drive (connected to USB3 port of Macbookpro). and then run

$ diskutil list /dev/disk1
/dev/disk1 (external, physical):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:     FDisk_partition_scheme                        *480.1 GB   disk1
   1:               Windows_NTFS TOSHIBA SSD             480.1 GB   disk1s1

It shows Windows_NTFS. And then I launched Disk Utility.app. It shows me USB External Physical Volume • ExFAT. I am not going to paste the screenshot, but this is what it displays. This is very weird.

How to tell the true file system type? Thanks.

Btw, I know I can reformat it with Disk Utility.app, but I just want to know the current type in this question. Thanks a lot.

There is no mystery here. The volume is ExFAT formatted.

The drive is using the legacy Master Boot Record (MBR) partition scheme. The diskutil command displays the TYPE based on the single byte partition id. In your case, the partition id is a hexadecimal value of 07. The diskutil has this hardcoded to the string Windows_NTFS. This partition id is also used for Microsoft's ExFAT format and IBM's HPFS format. The Disk Utility application actually looks at the contents of the volume to determine the format.

You can get the partition id by entering the command fdisk /dev/disk1. A list of MBR partition id's can be found here.

The diskutil command does know the partition is ExFAT formatted. If you enter the command diskutil info /dev/disk1s1, you can see for yourself. The diskutil list /dev/disk1 command displayed the Partition Type, while the Disk Utility application displayed the Name (User Visible).

Example

Below is the diskutil list /dev/disk3 output for a small mounted file named exfat.dmg.

/dev/disk3 (disk image):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:     FDisk_partition_scheme                        +100.0 MB   disk3
   1:               Windows_NTFS myexfat                 100.0 MB   disk3s1

Below is what is shown by the Disk Utility application.

The output from fdisk /dev/disk3 shows the partition id as 07.

Disk: /dev/disk3    geometry: 775/4/63 [195376 sectors]
Signature: 0xAA55
         Starting       Ending
 #: id  cyl  hd sec -  cyl  hd sec [     start -       size]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1: 07 1023 254  63 - 1023 254  63 [         1 -     195375] HPFS/QNX/AUX
 2: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused
 3: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused
 4: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused

The output from the command diskutil info /dev/disk3s1 is shown below.

   Device Identifier:        disk3s1
   Device Node:              /dev/disk3s1
   Whole:                    No
   Part of Whole:            disk3

   Volume Name:              myexfat
   Mounted:                  Yes
   Mount Point:              /Volumes/myexfat

   Partition Type:           Windows_NTFS
   File System Personality:  ExFAT
   Type (Bundle):            exfat
   Name (User Visible):      ExFAT

   OS Can Be Installed:      No
   Media Type:               Generic
   Protocol:                 Disk Image
   SMART Status:             Not Supported
   Volume UUID:              EE0D02D3-C2F6-3230-B97D-17C9C3AD7724
   Partition Offset:         512 Bytes (1 512-Byte-Device-Blocks)

   Disk Size:                100.0 MB (100032000 Bytes) (exactly 195375 512-Byte-Units)
   Device Block Size:        512 Bytes

   Volume Total Space:       99.8 MB (99831808 Bytes) (exactly 194984 512-Byte-Units)
   Volume Used Space:        24.6 KB (24576 Bytes) (exactly 48 512-Byte-Units) (0.0%)
   Volume Free Space:        99.8 MB (99807232 Bytes) (exactly 194936 512-Byte-Units) (100.0%)
   Allocation Block Size:    4096 Bytes

   Read-Only Media:          No
   Read-Only Volume:         No

   Device Location:          External
   Removable Media:          Removable
   Media Removal:            Software-Activated

I am using macOS High Sierra version 10.13.6.


Is there fuser -k  analogue for Mac OS? I want to kill process that runs at some port. In ubuntu I used fuser -k 8000/tcp. What is the Mac OS way?

I found out this way:

lsof -i tcp:8000
kill -9

But it's very long. I need one short command like fuser

Thanx

Save this in some file that is in your PATH, call it kill-server for example. Make sure to chmod +x on it.

#! /bin/bash

lsof -i tcp:8000 | grep -v PID | awk '{print $2}' | xargs kill

Then invoke it with kill-server or whatever you decided to call it. This is about as short as it gets.


How to gain access into /etc/networks/loopback file from terminal? In the terminal I am typing:

sudo vi /etc/networks/loopback
, but I am getting a permission denied inside the vi editor.

The /etc/networks file has this inside:

##
# Networks Database
##
loopback    127    loopback-net

Are those three items actual files I can go into?

I am running El Capitan Version 10.11.6.

Thank you.

Edit: I rebooted into recovery mode, typed in csrutil disable, and now when I type in sudo vi /etc/network/loopback I get this output:

E575: viminfo: Illegal starting char in line: /private/etc/networks
E575: viminfo: Illegal starting char in line: ^I"^I1^I0
Press ENTER or type command to continue

Then when I press enter, it goes into the vi editor but it still says [permission denied] on the bottom.

/etc/networks is not a folder, it's a plain text file with the contents given in your question.

loopback, 127 and loopback-net are not files within a file, they're just words within the contents of the /etc/networks file, as part of the configuration expressed within. There's no /etc/networks/loopback, as it's just the file /etc/networks with the word loopback within.


Mac OS Mojave 10.14.1 Trying to Install Old Command Line Tools I've just installed Mac OS Mojave 10.14.1 and the latest XCode.

➜  ~ sw_vers
ProductName:    Mac OS X
ProductVersion: 10.14.1
BuildVersion:   18B75

I was just running updates and noticed one of them was an old version of the command line tools. It won't stop offering me this, and I'm not sure why. I did recently download the High Sierra installer to make bootable media for another computer, but have since removed it from my hard drive.

Here are the offending command line tools:

➜  ~ softwareupdate --list
Software Update Tool

Finding available software
Software Update found the following new or updated software:
   * Command Line Tools (macOS High Sierra version 10.13) for Xcode-10.1
    Command Line Tools (macOS High Sierra version 10.13) for Xcode (10.1), 190584K [recommended]

It looks like I can flag it to be ignored using the softwareupdate cli, but I feel like there might be a more systemic issue that needs to be addressed.

You can manually download it from

More Downloads for Apple Developers

until they fix the Software Update Tool

There are current reports that they "profile" has been messed up so it lost your information on what OSX and what updates you already have...but that is just my guess.


My iPhone 11 running iOS 13.3 won’t give permission to apps to use my camera or microphone I’ve rebooted, deleted and reinstalled apps. I’ve also reset my location and security settings.  No deal. This is affecting WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, messenger and many more. Sometimes it will say on the permissions page that it is allowing it and it still won’t and sometimes it won’t even give me the option to give permission. But it’s allowing me to insert photos on here. Any ideas?

Photos and Camera are two different settings, access to the Camera doesn‘t automatically grant access to the Photo library as well. There should be a separate option to enable for Photos, e.g. for WhatsApp it looks like this:

You can try to tap on "Enable Library Access" (from the second screenshot). If this doesn't work I would proceed with reinstalling the apps in question and trying again.


Lock folder and all its contents such that it is temporarily read-only I want to lock a folder from modification, which includes all its contents. I thought that this could be accomplished with the "Get Info" window and selecting the "Locked" checkbox, but this does not affect the contents of the folder.

I am on an iMac running macOS Catalina 10.15.4

Open Terminal
cd to/folder
chmod -R a-w .

To undo run chmod -R u+w . instead.

The first command recursively removes wrote access from all users, the second gives write access to the current user (because that‘s what is the default anyway).


Can you pair macOS and iOS device with same Magic Keyboard and switch between them? I have a Magic Keyboard and use it on my MacBook. I also want to use it occasionally on my iPad.

As soon as the Magic Keyboard was paired to a device and is then paired to another device, the Keyboard cannot be paired to the first device again, except if you "forget" the Keyboard and discover it as new one.

This AskDifferent Question from 2011: Can you pair Mac AND iPad with same Apple Wireless Keyboard? solves this for Apple Wireless Keyboards, but does not work for Magic Keyboards anymore.

Can you pair macOS and iOS device with same Magic Keyboard and switch between them without having to set it up as new device everytime?

No - Apple's firmware on the keyboard remembers the last paired device.

Some bluetooth keyboards can switch back and forth, but that feature isn't available on Apple's current hardware.


Problems connecting to iTunes store Every time I open App Store on my iPhone, I am prompted for my password, which I do – and then, the message “Cannot connect to iTunes store” appears.

Here's the thing: Everything else network related works on the phone. I can browse the web, I can even browse the app store from within the App Store app, and I can update apps when required. I just can't buy any new apps.

I have tried everything on the following knowledge base articles, to no avail:

Can't connect to the iTunes Store
iTunes: Possible iTunes Store errors
iTunes: Advanced iTunes Store troubleshooting

What to do?

I solved the problem with help from Apple support. The resolution in my case was simple enough, if perhaps a bit drastic: I had to reset the network settings.

Settings → General → Reset → Reset Network Settings

Warning: This reboots the phone, and you have to reenter any WiFi settings for networks you use. Be sure that you have the needed passwords before doing so!

This may not be the solution for you, if you have this problem. Be sure to consult the three articles linked from the question first! But the network settings reset is an option to keep in mind if all else fails, and before you contact Apple Support yourself. (I don't know why this is not listed on the Advanced … page.)


Can I fix the screen on my macbook? I dropped my Macbook the other day, and when I opened it, there were lines on my screen.

I have a pretty solid cover as a case and it was about a 3-foot drop.
The colored vertical lines tend to shift whenever I move the screen.
There aren't any cracks on the screen.

I don't know what's wrong with I t, and I'm not sure if I can contact anyone to fix it. Here is a link to what my screen looks like, I
   also added a video of the shifting lines. https://imgur.com/gallery/M0FbvBe

Is there
   anything I can do?

Buying a replacement display assembly would repair that damage. It's not a super hard repair, but you could break the rest of the Mac while it's open so if you read the guide for your Mac on iFixit.com or another place where people make DIY repair manuals - you can choose to pay a technician or see if DIY is worth an attempt.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201834

Also - you don't need to fix this - you could use your Mac in closed clamshell mode with an external display - it won't be portable, but an external display is cheaper and larger than the built in one and you would get to use that external with any computer and not sink the cost on the custom display as a service part.

Since your movement changes the lines - it's a fracture / disconnect of the wires to run the display and the panel that broke - not that the logic board or GPU have issues as the most likely failure mode. Once you get in to the Mac - you may find the logic board also cracked - so be sure you are OK getting it repaired ($800 for MacBook - $1200 for MacBook Pro) if all the parts are damaged and not just the screen. When you open, like Humpty Dumpty - if the case is holding things together marginally, when you open the case, you may find / cause more damage.


Monitor which folder has used the disk storage I got a mac air with only 256 GB storage.  Some apps must be using the storage and after deleting and moving everything I can (down to relocate mail and dropbox to external disk using symbolic links and their own folder), the storage is still kept on dropping. It lost quite quickly down to 0.01G per 15 minutes. Looking using du df or visual is hard to spot so far.

Is there any way (shell script etc.) to monitor which folder is increasing in size over time? (Space approach)

If that is not possible, how about a script to monitor any directories that have been modified in the last 15 minutes? (Time approach)

Many advice I found is only on one folder or one layer e.g. home/* but not the whole directory structure.  Possibly to have a way to spot out an offending directory?

I like omni disk sweeper to see where my space is going. Link: https://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnidisksweeper/

To see which folders have changed in the last 15 minutes, run this from a command-line: $ find / -type d -cmin -15


What hardware does Xcode storyboard performance depend on the most? I'm considering upgrading my MacBook Air to a Pro in the interest of getting better performance out of Xcode development experience. Right now using Xcode 5 seems ok for writing code. However storyboards are becoming painful to work with.

What specs will influence the performance of storyboards the most?

I had the same issue. Whenever I opened the storyboard after the inconsistencies message was displayed, Xcode would consume 60%+ CPU and essentially make it unusable.

I (very slowly) found which images were being reported as problems, then deleted them through finder and restarted Xcode. You may also need to remove any references to these images in the storyboard.

Xcode now runs fine - hope it helps!


How can I extract the *.icns from the Get Info dialog? Previously, I've changed the icon of an application before by manually replacing the icon file .icns located in loremipsum.app/Contents/Resources/loremipsum.icns.

This time, I've downloaded some beautiful icons which are folders with the needed icon and not simple .icns files.

How can I get access of the the *.icns file?

You can mark it in the Get Info dialog, go Edit → Copy, switch to Preview, and select File → New from clipboard.


Converting large amounts of JSON to CSV on macOS I want to convert some 20mb+ JSON files to CSV.
Tried using webapps like https://konklone.io/json/ or https://www.convertcsv.com/json-to-csv.htm but they just crash.
So how can I use other tools to do such conversions?

jq works quite well for this, you can install it via Homebrew. Specific usage depends on the structure of your JSON file, the accepted answer on https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/570548/convert-json-array-into-csv has details which should help to get started.


Ipod classic was corrupted, so erased everything off it using disk utility So my ipod classic was corrupted, and i read somewhere that you could use disk utility to erase everything off it (i read somewhere that this was nessesary). My computer now does not register it as an ipod, but rather as untitled on my home screen. I am afraid that i have deleted everything off my ipod, including the actual ipod software! when i connext the ipod to my laptop itunes opens but the ipod does not appear on the screen. What to do please help !!

You can follow the troubleshooting options here, and if it still does not work, please let us know.

It's also sounding like there's a possibility of a failed HDD in that iPod. Using diagnostic mode, can you give us the details on the "Memory" SMART test?


Cannot reduce Keynote size I had a 17MB template that I wanted to reduce.
I started removing slides to identify which was causing problems, but even with just one remaining blank slide, the file is still 17MB.
I've restarted Keynote and my Mac, but the file size won't change.
Any help would be much appreciated!

Keynote files are basically zip archives, so you can see the contents of the presentation/archive using the unzip command. As a shortcut instead of unzipping the presentation, you can list the archive contents. Using this command will list all the embedded files in order of size:

unzip -l MyPresentation.key | sort -n

Since you mentioned a "template" you might check the Master Slides, which can become bloated, but won't show up in your list of regular slides. You can see them by popping up on the slide navigator icon and choose Edit Master Slides:

Additionally, you might look into letting Keynote optimize the file for you. You can do this by selecting File > Advanced > Reduce File Size


Lion's Preview regularly hangs when unhiding with open documents In Lion, I've had an incredible amount of difficult with Preview hanging indefinitely when restoring open documents after being hidden for any extended period of time.

There is no immediate solution except to force quit Preview and relaunch it.  Console reports no error messages except for Preview being manually killed.

Any recommendations on dealing with this problem?

I’ve been having this problem in Lion, and the only workaround I’ve found is to disable Resume, on a once-off or total basis for Preview.

Disabling Resume permanently

If you open Terminal (/Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app), and enter the following string, then Resume for Preview will be disabled permanently:

defaults write com.apple.Preview NSQuitAlwaysKeepsWindows -bool false

You can also disable Resume for all apps in System Preferences: in the General pane, untick the checkbox marked Restore windows when opening and quitting apps. I find Resume generally useful, so I haven’t, but you might want to do this.

One-off disabling or Resume

If you don’t switch it off permanently, and you’re working with a lot of files in Preview, you might not want it to re-open them the next time you launch it. When you quit Preview, hold down the option key; then the Quit Preview command becomes Quit and Discard Windows. Use this, and it won’t reopen all of your files next time. (Keyboard shortcut is opt-cmd-Q).

If you forget to do this when you close Preview, and it starts hanging, then you can flush the Resume data. Navigate to ~/Library/Saved Application State/com.apple.Preview.savedState and delete the file or folder stored there. This deletes all the saved data for Preview, so when you open Preview later, it doesn’t restore any of your saved documents.

This is probably more useful if it’s misbehaving intermittently, than for the problem you describe.

Further comments

If you’ve set Preview to never remember your files, you can temporarily get it to remember them. As with the one-off disable, hold down the option key when you quit Preview, then you get the command Quit and Keep Windows.
I disabled Resume for Preview shortly after Lion came out, and I’ve not had any problems since. However, I only use Preview for images, not PDFs (I use TeXShop for that), but even so, the hanging is completely gone.
You can also have “opt-in” Resume using these steps. If you disable Resume for all apps, then run the Terminal command above with true instead of false, then you can whitelist Resume-enabled apps, rather than blacklist them. You can find the com.apple.Preview equivalent for any app by looking at what the appropriate file is called in the Saved Application State folder. (A quick Google search for Terminal commands involving that app
would also do the trick).

I hope some of this is useful and speeds up Preview: it certainly worked for me.


Macbook Battery Cycle Count (Unibody White 2010) I have a macbook white unibody 2010 (A1342) that is now 17 months old. I'm wondering if my battery is still good? The battery's information is below.

Design Capacity: 5200mAh
Current Capacity: 4578mAh (84% left)
Mac model: 6,1
Age of macbook: 17 months
Battery loadcycles: 187
Condition: Normal

Thank you!

Any Apple store or Authorized Service Provider can run a diagnostic for you within a few minutes to gauge the health of the battery for the official Apple answer to your question.

However, saving a trip and appointment and just looking at what you posted, it looks like it is in correct working order for the age.

The design capacity is the total charge the battery was produced for. If you ran this check on the day you bought the MacBook the current capacity should have been right around 5200. Just like a rechargeable battery in a phone, toy, etc. it never fully charges to its designed capacity over time. It is just the nature of rechargeable batteries. So now, your battery when fully charged will only charge to the current capacity.

Given that you have used it for 17 months. These results seem in-line.

According to this Apple KB Article, your model does not require any calibration.

They also publish some tips in this KB Article.

Here's a great app for checking the battery and it gives some great definitions and links to Apple as well.

Hope that helps.


Where does Macbook Pro store wifi information? Last December I connected to a wifi network with a password. A couple weeks ago I got a new hard drive for my computer. Today, I reconnected to that wifi network (this is the first time since I changed my hard drive) and my computer automatically connected to it.
I expected the computer to lose network credentials when switching the hard drive, but it did not. Where is network information (such as credentials) stored on a Macbook Pro?

Your Mac also stores the information about Wi-Fi access points it connected to in NVRAM.
From the Apple Support article:

https://support.apple.com/kb/HT204063

NVRAM (nonvolatile random-access memory) is a small amount of memory that your Mac uses to store certain settings and access them quickly.

While iCloud keychain also stores the Wi-Fi access point information, it's tied to a users Apple ID.
So if you are looking for a scenario where you want to give away your Mac to someone else, and do not want the Mac to retain crucial information such as your Wi-Fi access point password, you could, in addition to wiping the hard drive/reinstalling the operating system also take additional steps to reset NVRAM and PRAM on your Mac.
The linked article describes the steps to reset NVRAM and PRAM.

How to reset NVRAM
Option + Command + P + R
Shut down your Mac, then turn it on and immediately press and hold these four keys together: Option, Command, P, and R. You can release the keys after about 20 seconds, during which your Mac might appear to restart.


How do I find my iPad apps that run on macOS using Catalyst? How do I find my previously purchased iPad apps that run on macOS using Catalyst? What happens to apps that I paid for separately already on macOS?

You need to either contact the developer of that app to see if they've created a version using Catalyst or search the Mac App Store for a specific app name.  There's no automated way to find out if an iPad app was updated to run on the Mac.

Right now, Apple requires a separate purchase be made.  For example, if you have a paid iPad app that the developer updated for the Mac, you would need to pay for the Mac version in the MAS, and vica-versa.

This could change in the future but a new purchase is required right now (not applicable for free apps, of course).


MacBook Air: Can't connect to my TP-Link wifi router I have a MBA 13" mid 12, OS X 10.7.5. It often completely ignores my Wi-Fi network, not showing it in the list of available networks (my Linux boxes and Android devices are connecting perfectly).

I tried to remove my network from the list of known networks, rebooted my router and notebook many times, tried to change encryption standards (now it uses 802.11b/g, WPA/WPA2, TKIP), but network still was not visible.

My router is TP-Link TL-WR340GD.

After long experimenting I've changed my Wi-Fi channel settings on the router from "Automatic" to an average value (8, in the range 1 - 13).

Now the network is well visible.

Ed. Here: https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/74575/36329 is shown how to check what channels are supported by Apple (Broadcom actually) hardware.


Downsides of encrypting disk with FileVault Is there any downside of encrypting my OS X 10.10.5 laptop via FileVault, in terms of usability?

Obviously, if I lose the password I can no longer use the laptop. (out of interest is that correct, will the laptop be completely un usable, or will the hard drive be unusable eg. if I were to swap out the HD for a new HD could i use the laptop again)

But apart from that would any other features stop working when the laptop was unlocked because it is encrypted (e.g. file sharing, printer sharing, Apple Remote Desktop, performance degradation, security issues).

I'm setting up the MacBook as new and debating turning on FileVault or not.

The implementation of Corestorage / Filevault2 is pretty great. That means you will hardly notice that your system is encrypted. I see the following points you may want to consider:

As you say: If you loose the passcode it is next to impossible to access your data.
There is a very slight performance hit because the CPU needs to constantly encrypt and decrypt your data. But moderns CPUs are optimised to do so and therefore the impact is negligible.
If your disk is corrupted or faulty in some way it may be more difficult to fix a corestorage volume than a standard HFS volume. Personally, this has never been a problem for me.
Passwordless boot or waking from standby is not possible anymore.
The most obvious difference is pre-boot authentication. That means you need to enter your password before  the Mac boots up. Without encryption the system would boot and only require your password to log into an account.
Depending on your level of paranoia Filevault2 alone may not be enough. You should consider to also encrypt your backups (even higher risk for total data loss) and activate the option to destroy the password from RAM while the Mac sleeps.


Trying to drop Mac OS 9 disk image over sheepshaver on Sierra gives me error "Please drop either a file named 'Mac OS ROM'... " I'm trying to install sheepshaver to run old mac games on my Macbook running Mac OS Sierra. I know I should download the Mac OS 9 image and name it "Mac OS ROM” and drop it over sheepshaver wrapper. I named it properly, dropped it on the wrapper, and I still get that message:

Please drop either a file named “Mac OS ROM” or a Mac OS installation disk image on me.

Do not drop any other kind of file.

What am I doing wrong here?

I had a similar issue and realised that I was running the application from my Downloads folder, this violates the "app translocation" introduced in macOS sierra. You need to copy the application to another directory, e.g. the Applications directory and then copy the ROM file over.


Settings -> messages screen is empty Had an iPhone 6, created an iTunes backup, restored it to new iPhone 6s.
Both devices are managed by my company.

On the 6s, iMessage has a red exclamation mark, telling me I have been logged out of iMessage. To fix this, i shall go to "settings -> messages" (may be called differently, translated this from German Einstellungen -> Nachrichten).

This screen is completely empty with the only thing showing is the "

How can I reconnect my phone to iMessage?

Turned out the settings were intentionally hidden by our IT department using AirWatch.


Bluetooth file transfer between Mac and android phone I am trying to transfer a couple of images from android device to mac. As per the following links it seems that this transfer should be possible:

Apple support
HowToGeek - how-to-use-bluetooth-file-transfer-between-os-x-and-android-5.0-devices

But the android device is not visible in mac's list of discovered devices and similarly mac is not visible in android's discovered devices list. I have tried searching for possible gotchas but unable to find any.

Android device specification:
OS : 5.0.2 (Lollipop)
Bluetooth version: 4.0

Mac Specification : MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)
OS : El Captain
Bluetooth version: 4.1 (LMP version 0x7)

I can do the transfer by other means but trying to understand that what's the trouble here. Any help will be appreciated.

If you have done everything in that HowToGeek article correctly, I don't see how it's not working. So maybe go through it step by step and check that you didn't miss anything.

Next thing may sound stupid, but have you tried turning both devices/Bluetooth on those devices off and on again? A good old reboot may be enough to fix this problem.

If both of my above solutions don't work, then I cannot help you further, however, I can give you an alternative (although that isn't what you really wanted). I use a messenger called Telegram and send images (sometimes files) from my Phone to my Laptop and vice-versa. Good thing is that there is a client for almost any platform which means you can access your messages (and in this case images) on any device you want.


If I use Find My IPhone to check on the location of someone in my friend list, can they telll? If I the Find My iPhone app to check on the location of someone in my friend list in the app, are they notified in any way that their location is being revealed to me?

There is no immediate indication on the device that it is currently being tracked, only that GPS is in use by something.

Invoking the GPS will cause the location services arrow to appear in the top bar. The catch is that going into the settings, General -> Privacy, the user can tell what. If FMI is being used currently, the arrow in its box will be purple, and if it was used in the last 24 hours, the arrow in its box will be grey.

However, the user can disable the Find My Iphone feature with a simple toggle in the same menu.


How do I prevent iTunes opening in a new virtual screen instead of the current one iTunes used to just open on the screen like other apps, but now it always opens in a new virtual screen taking up the whole screen. This is incredibly annoying how can I get back to the older behaviour ?

While iTunes is open, move your mouse pointer to the very top of the screen so that the top menu bar drops down. You will then also see the three buttons in the top left corner, but only the green one will be active. Click that and iTunes should pop out of full screen mode.


`Do you want the application "main" to accept incoming network connections?` pop up while running Go applications Every time I am running Go applications on MacOs with this command:

go run main.go

I get this pop up message:

Do you want the application "main" to accept incoming network connections?

I added Go and all main executable files to Firewall Exceptions but I am still getting this pop ups. I am running out of ideas. Please can anyone help me to get rid of those pop ups? At this point I have no idea if the problem is related to Golang or MacOs.

You can avoid this pop-up when running local tests if you specify the host portion of the address that will be listened to to be "localhost" or "127.0.0.1". Many programs let you set the address through the command line or an environment variable and many of those programs will default to passing no host to the listen command. With no host specified, Go will listen on 0.0.0.0 and macOS will want to warn you about that. When Go opens ports on the localhost, macOS doesn't warn - at least not in my cases.