Getting errors when trying to send something using Gmail and Mail 5 I've had a problem for awhile with a Gmail account linked to Mail, which arose last summer after I upgraded to Lion. When I try to send a signed message (signed, in terms of security, not a signature at the end of a message), a small error message pops up for no more than half a second (way to short for me to read), but I've been able to make out the message based on a well-timed screen capture:

  An error occured while trying to sign this message with a certificate from [myusername]@gmail.com. Verify that your certificate for this address is correct, and that its private key is in your keychain.

I have no idea what to do in this case, as my knowledge of digital security is superficial, to say the least. I posted this question on Apple Community Discussions awhile ago, but I got no answers whatsoever. Any advice?

It took me a minute to find what he was talking about but near the right corner of the message toolbar you will see an icon that looks like a burst with a checkmark. Click this and it will turn to a burst with an x. Here is a screen shot.


What is the advantage of dual microphones? The new MacBook Air (Jun 2013) comes with dual microphones. What's the advantage over single microphone? Anything to do with background noise cancellation?

You are correct. The signals from the two microphones are used, in conjunction with the Mac's built-in digital signal processing software, to cancel background noise for a person speaking into the microphones, for use in webcame programs like Messages and Skype. The signal thus generated is monaural; the two microphones cannot be used for stereo recording.


In iOS 4.2, how do you search within a web page in Safari? I already have it installed (the gold master), but I can't for the life of me figure out how to search a page.

Searching in a page has been added on to the Google (or whatever you use) search facility. Just tap the search field and enter your search term. Instead of launching the search, scroll down to the bottom of the suggested searches and there will be a section labeled "On This Page". Tapping "Find "___________"" will launch the in-page search feature.


How to limit my Mac's exposure to malware? With OS X malware increasingly in the news (see the Flashback Trojan issue), is there anything that I should do to increase the security of my Mac and reduce my exposure to malware?

What I'm doing so far:

keep up with OS X system patches
installed an antivirus package and kept up with the associated updates
separated my regular user login and the admin login
keep third party software up to date (Firefox, Flash, etc.)
research, scan, and limit the things I download
use adblocking and JS block browser extensions

Is there more that I could reasonably do to improve my machine's security? Any tips/suggestions for software or security best practices would be appreciated.

Web browsing
The largest potential danger comes from the "Internet". My Mac is online most of its operating time and web browsers are among the most used applications on my Mac.
Therefore, the most important rules are:

surf the web carefully
don't just download any software you find

Browser choice
The browser choices, configurations and extensions offers various options to configure your security and privacy.
I like to use Chrome because it's known for having

strict sandboxing
updates itself, its extensions and flash plug-in automatically
open extension design

Safari's extension design is more restricted, causing the JavaScriptBlocker for Safari not to be as functional as similar extensions for Chrome or Firefox: e.g.  Web Bugs are not blocked.
Chrome is considered quite safe. It did not get exploited at the Pwn2Own hacking contest three years in a row (2009-2011). 2012 is the first year a team presented the use of a zero-day-exploit in Chrome.
The German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) (similar to the NIST in the U.S.) recommends the use of Chrome because of its sandboxing technology and auto-updates.
Java
Chrome has disabled Java by default and asks you every time when it's required to run.
You can disable Java for Safari as well. You won't miss it most of the time:

Safari Preferences → Security → uncheck Enable Java
Open /Applications/Utilities/Java Preferences.app → uncheck Enable applet plug-in and Web Start applications

Other options

System Preferences → General →  check Automatically update safe downloads list

Open Safari downloads manually:

Safari Preferences → General → uncheck Open "safe" files after downloading

Flash and PDF viewer
Download Adobe flash only from the official website. However, you don't need to update it manually anymore. The latest Flash update for Mac adds auto-updates.
In Safari, you can use the ClickToFlash extension to manually allow flash to run in your browser.
You don't need to use Adobe's PDF viewer. Apples's preview works in Safari as well. You can remove the Adobe plug-in here:

/Library/Internet Plug-ins/AdobePDFViewer.plugin

Passwords
For creating passwords you can use the Password Assistant provided by OS X. Go to /Applications/Utilites/Keychain Access.app →  click the plus at the bottom left → click the key symbol.

Adblock lists
The Adblock and Adblock Plus extensions offer lists to improve your privacy and security.

http://adblockplus.org/en/subscriptions

The lists are named:

EasyPrivacy: privacy protection
Malware Domains: malware protection
Antisocial: blocks social integration.


Is bookmark sync biderectional in iCloud for Windows? The new version of iCloud Control Panel for Windows (3.0) allows syncing bookmarks with Chrome, Firefox and IE.

I was wondering, is this syncing bidirectional? As in, if I bookmark something on Chrome on Windows, is this new bookmark going to be pushed to iCloud and Safari on iOS and OS X?

As Apple explains it here it seems to be a 2-way sync. This article on http://freakyworld.net/ confirms that.


Lightning cable works in computer but not in wall My wife and I have iPhone 6s and we noticed something odd recently. Three of our lightning cables have stopped working when plugged into the wall. We both get a message "This accessory may not be supported". These are not cables purchased from Apple, but they have worked until a few days ago.

However, when we plug the phone directly into our laptops using these cables, they still charge fine.

We have a fourth cable that seems to work perfectly, both in the wall socket and our computers.

Can someone explain why this is the case? Are these cables all broken, or is there a way to fix the three broken cables?

EDIT: Coming back to this question after a few weeks where I have some more information to provide. I don't think it changes the answer below, but it definitely raises more questions for me.

It seems that the problem occurs in my house only. These power cords seem to be fine in my office and in a few other places that I have tried. Also, some of the broken cords are original (but older) lightning cables and some of the working ones are knockoffs.

My guess is that the difference has something to do with the wiring in my home. And it's just pure luck that some cheaper cables work while others don't. I wonder if there is something about the wiring in my home that could be causing this.

It's not that surprising - a lot of 3rd party accessories aren't of a very high quality, and some of them don't support all functions.

For example, there are many Lightning cables on the market that support charging, but not data transfer.

Another example is some speakers support charging of iDevices, while some only support the transfer of audio data.

The quality of the cable can impact the amount of charge travelling through it and how many devices it will or won't work with. Some cables deteriorate faster than others, meaning they stop working with some devices and not others, or just stop working totally.

Also, sometimes it isn't the cable, but the charger or accessory it is connected to.

Another variable is the amount of current going through the cable - it's quite likely that the current from your chargers is higher than your laptop (especially if they're Windows laptops).

Regardless of the cause/reason, I've seen your scenario occur many times and sometimes disconnecting and reconnecting the cable a few times gets it to work, but it's certainly not a cable I would trust any more. And they wouldn't be worth trying to fix either.

I'd keep them for as long as they work with your laptops, but would otherwise replace them and ensure you buy cables from a reputable source/brand.


Can I retrieve files from Time Capsule if I lost my laptop and want to retrieve the files to my new laptop? I want to retrieve files from my recently stolen laptop and it's not showing up. I am using Migration Assistant. I can see the backup for the laptop I am currently using, but I want to see the backup for the missing laptop.

Choose Time Machine from the menu bar, hold alt and select Browse Other Backup Disks, then select your old machine's backups.


Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard function keys unreliable I have a Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard connected to my 2011 MacBook Pro.

The keyboard's normal keys (letters, etc.) always work fine; however, there is a problem with the various function keys.

Basically, they don't work until I go to System Preferences -> Microsoft Keyboard. Once I go to that prefpane, everything starts working again.

It seems to somewhat randomly stop working, requiring me to go to System Preferences again to make it work.

How can I fix this? It seems like a daemon/driver that's supposed to make the keys work is crashing, but I searched Console.app for microsoft with no luck.

I also have the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard. In my case the simple solution was to press the F Lock key at the far right of the function row (left of the Print Screen button). I didn't realize the button even existed until now.


What user info does Apple disclose to third party app developers, once a user purchases an app? what kind of privacy related info is exposed to third party app developers, if I downloaded and purchase their app?
For example:

Physical SIM card info (e.g, Phone number)

iPhone board info (e.g, IMEI number)

My Apple ID

My name and address that I provided Apple as part of the required additional payment information (Like shipping address, even though the apps are not getting "shipped" to me, or my PayPal email address)

My MAC address (can it be blocked on iOS 14?)

Info related to the Wifi router I often connect to at my home

Cookies and cache - How may I track and delete them? for example, I deleted an app that had permission to use my location, but when I re-downloaded it, I didn't have to give it permission again, which means there is some kind of cache somewhere.

I want to get a very clear picture of what kind of info those apps can collect and store about me to identify me in future time.
This is also relevant in case someone buys a used phone, what steps are required to start a "fresh" page when it comes to any of such apps, so the user does not get confused with the previous owner?

What user info does Apple disclose to third party app developers, once a user purchases an app?

The short answer is it depends.
It depends on what the App developer claims it needs to collect.  Apple doesn't sell your data nor will it give out data "willy nilly."  But if a product/service that you want requires the sharing of data, Apple will share it.
From Apple's Legal page concerning Privacy:

Disclosure to Third Parties
At times Apple may provide third parties with certain personal information to provide or improve our products and services, including to deliver products at your request, or to help Apple market to consumers. When we do, we require those third parties to handle it in accordance with relevant laws. Apple does not sell personal information, and personal information will never be shared with third parties for their marketing purposes. For example, when you purchase and activate your iPhone, you authorize Apple and your carrier to exchange the information you provide during the activation process to carry out service, including information about your device. If you are approved for service, your account will be governed by Apple and your carrier’s respective privacy policies.

To put this another way - Apple will share what is necessary to provide you with the product/service you're requesting.  If there is a 3rd party, your private info they have will be governed by their privacy policy.
As for your data with respect to individual apps, what gets shared depends on what the App itself is requesting.  However, it's Apple's policy that you be made aware of what personal info the app  requires

App guidelines
On the App Store, Apple requires app developers to adhere by specific guidelines designed to protect user privacy and security. Apple also requires them to provide a privacy policy that you can review. When Apple becomes aware of an app that violates our guidelines, the developer must address the issue or the app will be removed from the App Store. Apps go through a review process before becoming available on the App Store.

(Emphasis mine)
In short, the App you purchase can obtain/use any/all the information you described in your question. However, they must make you aware of it.  They may not need nor do you want an App to have have access to PayPal addresses, however, if the App says they collect it, they can.  If they do collect it and don't tell you that would be a violation of Apple's Privacy Policy.
On the other side of that coin, your data that they collected (in accordance with Apple's policies) are now governed by their privacy policy.  So, if on the App store, they say that they collect your personal information like a Social Security number, and then turn around and sell it, they may be well within their rights to do so if that's what it says in their policy.
Bottom Line
Before purchasing/installing an app, check to see what info the app collects.  Many people marvel at how many free apps there are on the App store not realizing the hidden cost - their privacy.  App developers want to get paid for their work and if they're not charging you anything up front or have in-app purchases, the app isn't the product they're selling - you are.


iPhone broken falling from car I left my phone on the roof of my car today and drove off and the result was that I reversed over it and smashed the screen. I am insured so that is OK. The only problem I have is I haven't backed it up for 14 weeks as was running low on iCloud storage. I've taken all photos off so that's not the problem, but just need my calendar as I run my hairdressing business off it, and I cannot see all my appointments. Does anyone know if there is a way to do this on my PC?

iTunes on your PC can make a backup of your device quite easily - especially if you have the two devices paired before the fall.

If you haven't paired it, you'll need to have at least the digitizer working to tap to trust the computer once.

Once that's done (and iTunes will prompt you), you can use the PC to back up the entire phone and/or choose to synchronize the calendar data with the PC.

Best of luck and you probably could call AppleCare for free to arrange a repair and get help backing it up before he repair starts.


How do I find password-protected PDFs on my hard disc? I'm trying to find password-protected PDFs, using Spotlight (though answers involving a third-party app are also fine). Spotlight has a Security field that describes the "Encryption method used to make the document secure":

When I select this, I have to enter something for it to match:

What should I enter to match password-protected PDFs?

The security attribute of an item is stored as the object kMDItemSecurityMethod in the spotlight database.

This is usually a string. Until now I have found "none" and "Password encrypted" as possible strings. This doesn't mean necessarily that the file needs a password to be opened. It requires at least a password to be entered to allow a modification of the pdf.

So enter "Password encrypted" (without quotes) in the search box of your smart folder.


Why does htop show different CPU levels for processes than top or Activity Monitor? I installed htop through brew, real pleasure of a view compared with top.

The totals across both CPUs for top align with the sum of totals per-CPU in htop. E.g. right now I see about 40% per CPU in htop, or 80% of CPU, andtop` gives the right number.

But the individual processes are completely different. CrashPlan in top currently gives ~20%, and if I sum up all of the individual tasks in top it gets to the right total.

In htop, all of the individual tasks show 0.0%, even if the total per CPU is high.

In sum:

CPU of individual processes in top do not equal those in htop
The sum of CPU of individual processes in htop do not equal the total CPU used in htop.

What am I misunderstanding? How do I read htop results?

Turned out to be a permissioning problem. Answer from Linux is here https://superuser.com/questions/338749/htop-isnt-returning-cpu-or-memory-usage


How can I keep my Mac from restarting? I'm about to download a 1TB collection of files. It'll take about 7 days.

I want to make sure that my computer doesn't shut down or restart while the download is happening.

I found a simple solution that's been working for 6 days. Even when I intentionally try to restart my computer as a test, the computer stays on.

What I did is leave a Word Doc open with random text in it, but I didn't save it.

That shows me an error when my computer tries to restart, but it keeps the system on.


I want to create a boot disk for El Capitan, just to start from so I can use disk utilities like Tech Tool. How do I do this? I see all kinds of instructions online that say how to make a boot disk that installs El Capitan. I just want to start my computer from an external disk -- I am not trying to do a clean install. Is the procedure the same? Will the bootable install disk just startup as normal if I tell it I don't want to reinstall the system somehow?

It's just that all the instructions seem to assume you want to do a clean install, and that isn't what I am after.

TechTool Pro allows you to create a so-called eDrive. You will find the feature in the GUI choosing Tools > eDrive. You need an external drive (either an external HDD/SSD or a thumb drive). About 15.5 GB of the disk will be reserved to create a new volume "eDrive".

After choosing your system volume as source and a volume on the external disk as destination drive, the external volume will be resized and a new volume eDrive  will be created. All necessary files and folders will be copied to eDrive after starting the task.

Now quit TechTool Pro, open System Preferences > Startup Disk, choose eDrive as boot volume and reboot your Mac.

Your Mac boots from the eDrive and TechTool Pro will be opened and you are free to diagnose your main volume.

Since only about 5.5 GB of the 15.5 GB are used you may install additional tools.


Downgrading MacBook Pro 16” to Mojave Did anyone succeed in installing Mojave on the MacBook Pro 16”? It ships with Catalina but my corporate requires Mojave to connect to the corporate network.

I followed the instructions here but once I select booting from the Mojave external drive I get a “forbidden” icon and the system shuts down.

No. This won’t work since the drivers to run this hardware only ship with Catalina.

If your support team isn’t ready for Catalina have them get you VMware fusion so you can run the older OS virtually while they contemplate supporting the new os.


Delete file in PKInstallSandboxManager folder I scanned my Mac SSD with DaisyDisk. And in this folder  -/Library/InstallerSandboxes/.PKInstallSandboxManager I found this file  - 13C0DF80-42F3-4228-B301-C0913855E2FA.activeSandbox with 8GB size. I open this file and see 2 folders - root and boms. In root -> Applications I found Xcode.app . After searching on web, I found out that the PKInstallSandboxManage folder is responsible for updating applications. It turns out that in my “updates” folder there is an Xcode package that takes up 8GB and is not used? Can I remove it?

The answer to this is both NO and YES, NO you should never clear those temporary cache items yourself, but YES you can have Mac OS clear out the temporary files itself.

You should not modify or delete any of these folders:

.Spotlight-V100: Spotlight metadata for each mounted volume. The mdworker processes use this metadata to update Spotlight search.

.fseventsd: A log file of FSEvents logged by the fseventsd launchdaemon process. It monitors file system events, such as file creation, modification, deletion, and more. Time Machine uses this data to process backup in the background.

.DocumentRevisions-V100: macOS versioning database used by apps to save and retrieve different versions of a document.

.PKInstallSandboxManager: Used for software updates and sandboxing.

.PKInstallSandboxManager-SystemSoftware: Used for system software updates.

.Trashes: Trash folder in each mounted volume.

If for some reason you reboot the Mac and the temporary files and temp folders are still bloated with who knows what, you can reboot into Safe Mode by rebooting the Mac and holding down the Shift key, this performs additional measurements to get rid of temporary files and caches, when the Mac has finished booting into Safe Mode, rebooting back, as usual, should get things in check as expected.

And if you came across these folders because you’re running out of storage, check out some tips to free up disk space on the Mac, or do a file size based search, you’ll likely find something appropriate for recovering some space for your situation.


Create macOS script to run a Terminal Command I want to ultimately create an executable file that will run a terminal command:
open -a "Google Chrome" --args --profile-directory="Guest Profile"

I want to know what other text and where to add into the Script Editor with the above command so I can create an executable file that runs that command. I would like to do it with out the Terminal window opening. But if it has to open, I would like to add some more code so that is closes.
If there isn't, there should be a Chrome extension that does this.
Thanks.

You can use the do shell script command, however, I've changed the double-quotes to single-quotes in the open command, so as not to have to escape them with a backslash character.
Example AppleScript code:
do shell script "open -a 'Google Chrome' --args --profile-directory='Guest Profile'"

You can save this as an AppleScript application.
Note that if Google Chrome might already be running and you want to be switching to e.g. Guest Profile, then change the -a option of the open command to: -na

On my system it opens Google Chrome with the following dialog box:


Can I share photos to Facebook without downloading my contacts? I would like to share photos on facebook. However, it is required to sign in, after which all facebook contacts will be downloaded.

Would it be possible to avoid downloading contacts from facebook?

Yes. You can turn this setting off in: Settings > Facebook > Contacts On/Off


How to report a deceptive in app purchase Hoe do you go about reporting a deceptive in app purchase to apple? For example if an app has a purchase that claims to remove ads but it does not remove them as described.

What I mean is the app has 3 types of ads. one is a forced ad that shows from time to time. Another is an ad that is required in order to progress in the game, for example in order to unlock the next item that can be purchased. And the final is an ad that can be watched for a reward.

I am currently on a device with ios 13 beta so I am unable leave a review and there appears to be no way to report a problem with the app from the app store on the device

When you open the App Store, near the top on the right is a link to support. This takes you to iTunes support where you can search or submit a question.  I searched on your question and found the following:

  Contact the iTunes Store Customer Service department using the form on
  their   Support page (select the category and subcategory closest to
  the issue you're reporting and you'll find either an "Express Lane"
  button - just follow the instructions to get to the contact form - or
  an "Email Us" button) and explain your situation to them.


Is there a way to cycle between full screen windows on OS X? I have multiple Safari windows in fullscreen mode and I'd like to cycle through them using the keyboard (pretty much like command + ` works when windows are not fullscreen'd). I know I can control + ->/<-, but that will make me pass through all my non Safari windows. Is that even possible?

The short answer is no. OS X, by default, does not have a method which allows you to contextually change between spaces, staying in the current application.

From my experience, your best bet is likely to focus on tabs for your navigation, replacing (or augmenting) spaces. Safari tabs can be switched between with the keyboard using Command+Shift+{ and Command+Shift+}, which would give you functionally the ability to quickly switch between pages, while still not worrying about other applications getting in the way.


New "Resource busy" error when trying to mount DMG files I am having a new issue where DMG files sometimes fail to mount due to "Resource busy" error.
This sometimes occurs and other times doesn't occur.
Temporary solutions include trying downloading the file through another browser, moving the file somewhere else before opening it, or trying again later, but they don't always fix the issue.
How can I fix this error for a permanent solution?

I'm having this issue as well and its driving me crazy. Here is what I found out but I don't have a solution.
After I download a .dmg (image) file through my browser, even though I do not open or mount the image the following things occur:

diskimage process runs against the downloaded dmg. Duration of this seems to last for quite a bit of time. (in my example it was about 12 seconds on my machine for this 160MB image file but with larger images it could last longer and depends on machine resources)
A directory appears in my /private/tmp with a copy of the image. When the diskimage process completes, this directory disappears.

If you try to mount the image while the above conditions are occurring, you will get a resource busy error.
How do you know when you can mount the image? Use the lsof command. And if you are using homebrew, you can install a handy utility called watch. Watch just runs the command repeatedly ever 1 second (-n 1)
So use a command like this from the terminal. In my example, I'm just downloading the image file to my Downloads directory. I'm not trying to open the image or mount the image.
watch -n 1 "lsof +D /Users/gman/Downloads"

After the download finishes, then the output of the command shows this:
Every 1.0s: lsof +D /Users/gman/Downloads                          w4sp Sat Feb 20 10:18:06 2021

COMMAND     PID USER   FD   TYPE DEVICE  SIZE/OFF    NODE NAME
diskimage 46638 gman    3r   REG    1,5 159570818 8771639 /Users/gman/Downloads/Notion-2.0.11.dmg

When the diskimage entry disappears from the lsof command (and this may take some time), you can then open image and mount it without getting the resource busy message.


How to remove the nix volume on macOS 10.15? I tried out nix, but wasn't happy with it. I tried to uninstall it by removing ~/.nix-* and it worked fine, but removing /nix results in the following error.
rm: /nix/.Trashes: Operation not permitted
rm: /nix: Resource busy

How do I remove/unlink this directory?
lsof +d /nix gives no output.

I think you need to open Disk Utility and remove the "Nix Store" volume from there


Don't see messages from one specific sender any longer I am having a problem with Messages. Suddenly my iPhone stopped showing messages from a single contact (messages from other contacts are receiving fine). I did tried restarting my iPhone couple of times but this process was not as sufficient as it may.

So can you please tell me how to fix this problem?

I am guessing the original poster does not need this answer any longer, but I found the answer after having this same problem for months, so perhaps posting here will help others resolve it more quickly. Open your text stream to the sender for whom you are not getting alerts. In the upper right hand corner, you will see a "Details" Link. Click that, and then look for the Do Not Disturb Switch. If that is green (switched on), then you will not receive alerts from that user. The killer thing about this is that you are most likely to accidentally switch this on for someone whom you text often. It is no fun when the only person for whom you don't receive text notifications is the person you most need to hear from, like perhaps a spouse . . .. Glad I got this corrected.


Error “Not authorised to send Apple events to Terminal.” when starting Maxima I downloaded Maxima and installed on Mac OS Mojave (10.14.6).
I followed instructions and remove the quanrantine attributes :

$ sudo xattr -d -r com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Maxima.app

but then I get error “Not authorised to send Apple events to Terminal.” :

The reason is Maxima.app try to launch UI (Maxima, Rmaxima, or wxMaxima) through Terminal.app.
This error is known, but I did not find any answer, for instance the topic “How fix macOS Catalina error “not authorized to send apple events to terminal”?” is unanswered.

A solution is given (for a different but close problem) in “Mojave: not authorized to send Apple events” : allowing Terminal to the Full Disk Access in Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Full Disk Access.
Howewer, Maxima.app need to launch Terminal.app, so I think I have to authorise Maxima.app to control Terminal.app in Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Automation, but I can not add Maxima.app (there is no “+” button !) :

A related stackoverflow topic already exists : macOS Mojave, Automator “Not authorized to send Apple events to System Events.”, but no answers solves my problem.

I ran into the same issue, tried the things in the link.  Eventually this is what worked for me:

Open Terminal.app
Navigate to the `Maxima.app/contents/MacOS/ folder:
% cd /Applications/Maxima.app/Contents/MacOS

Run the applet binary:
% ./applet

This finally triggered the pop-up requesting access.  Click to allow access.


Using dd to image a corrupted Windows disk? What is the proper way to use dd (or anything else - asr?) to create an image of a corrupted yet readable Windows disk?

If what I am using (see below) is correct, then is it possible that an image of a disk would not be mountable when the original disk is?

Background info:

The disk's file system is not readable on a Windows system: the disk shows up as "raw" in disk management. It is however readable in macOS (10.14) and I am able to copy individual files from it.

The goal however is to copy the entire disk if possible to a readable image and then work with that image (repair partition table, recover remaining files) rather than with the failing disk that I am afraid can quit at any moment.

Here is the command I've been using to image a 500GB Windows disk that came from a Dell computer and that has a number of bad blocks and apparently a corrupted partition table:

sudo dd if=/dev/rdisk3 of=/Volumes/exFAT_Vol/rdiskX.dmg bs=4M conv=noerror,sync

Copies fast (40MB/s via USB 2.0) but doesn't seem to create a correct (mountable) image: "no mountable file systems" when trying to mount it in Finder.

Some sources (e.g. Recover a dead hard drive using dd from 2005) suggest using bs=512 and it's in progress now - yet copies at around 4MB/s which will take more than a day to complete - and I am not even sure it'll work.

Some of the relevant info on the disk and its partitions:

Volume type : Physical Device
BSD device node : disk3
Connection : USB
Device tree path : IODeviceTree:/PCI0@0/XHC1@14
Writable : No
Is case-sensitive : No
Volume capacity : 500,107,862,016
Available space (Purgeable + Free) : 0
Purgeable space : 0
Free space : 0
Used space : 500,107,862,016
Owners enabled : No
Is encrypted : No
Can be verified : No
Can be repaired : No
Bootable : No
Journaled : No
Disk number : 3
Media name : Generic External Media
Media type : Generic
Ejectable : Yes
Solid state : No
S.M.A.R.T. status : Not Supported

Volume type : Physical Volume
BSD device node : disk3s2
Mount point : /Volumes/Untitled
File system : Windows NT File System (NTFS)
Connection : USB
Device tree path : IODeviceTree:/PCI0@0/XHC1@14
Writable : No
Is case-sensitive : No
File system UUID : AC8CB496-EAD2-47A2-BB36-2A981976BC2B
Volume capacity : 500,064,122,880
Available space (Purgeable + Free) : 373,903,597,568
Purgeable space : 0
Free space : 373,903,597,568
Used space : 126,160,525,312
File count : 176,730
Owners enabled : No
Is encrypted : No
System Integrity Protection supported : No
Can be verified : No
Can be repaired : No
Bootable : No
Journaled : No
Disk number : 3
Partition number : 2
Media name :
Media type : Generic
Ejectable : Yes
Solid state : No
S.M.A.R.T. status : Not Supported
Parent disks : disk3

Based on what I've done so far and the comments I've read on "Recover a dead hard drive using dd":

dd fails to image or clone damaged media to make the result equally mountable or readable, in multiple instances including mine;
there isn't an alternate tool in stock macOS that can do that.

In more detail:

The command I've been using in the question is the "proper" way - yet in many instances of working with damaged media, it does not create an image that like the original one, can be mounted and read. Basically, it fails at its task.
There isn't an alternative within stock macOS (such as ASR) that can clone or image damaged yet readable media. ASR (or its GUI sibling, Disk Utility) will bail out once there is an I/O error such as bad blocks on the media.
Haven't tried other tools that aren't part of macOS (such as ddrescue or dd_rescue mentioned in the linked article) - my answer is only about tools that are part of stock macOS.

The answer is based on multiple comments in "Recover a dead hard drive using dd" that mirror my experience: dd completes yet the image can't be mounted. I.e. dd does not appear to have created a close enough image of the media.

Here is what I have tried:

Use sudo dd if=/dev/rdiskX of=/Volumes/exFAT_Vol/image.dmg bs=4M conv=noerror,sync and sudo dd if=/dev/rdiskXsY of=/Volumes/exFAT_Vol/image.dmg bs=4M conv=noerror,sync to image the media. Neither image can be mounted, with errors such as "the following disks couldn't be opened: no mountable file systems".
Use the resultant image to restore to a (healthy) physical media via sudo dd if=/Volumes/exFAT_Vol/image.dmg of=/dev/rdiskZ bs=4M conv=noerror,sync - with a similar result: the physical media can't be mounted, and unlike the original damaged one, doesn't display the partition information such as "File system : Windows NT File System (NTFS)".
Attempt to use "First Aid" in "Disk Utility" to repair the images or the clones. None worked, with error messages such as:

Fixing damaged partition map. The operation couldn’t be completed. (com.apple.DiskManagement error -69874.) Operation failed….

What I haven't yet tried:

Use dd with a different bs= value such as 512, instead of 4m. Takes too long.
Use dd without the conv=sync option, i.e. just use conv=noerror one. (Just didn't have a chance to try it yet - each attempt takes 4-5 hours.)
use dd with conventional rather than raw devices - e.g. /dev/disk4 rather than /dev/rdisk4.
Cloning directly from the damaged media to a healthy physical one, bypassing the imaging stage.
Any other tools besides dd, Disk Utility, asr.

Hope this helps someone else in the same situation and really hope my answer is wrong: i.e. hope that there is a way to make dd work in this situation, to make mountable images off damaged yet readable / mountable media.


Does the two-fingered secondary click not work in Windows8.1/Bootcamp? I just setup a Windows 8.1 installation on my 2012 MacBook Air using Bootcamp (5.1.5640). I've noticed that the two-fingered secondary click doesn't appear to work even when configured via the Bootcamp Control Panel - however two-fingered secondary tap seems to do it. I've verified that the trackpad doesn't seem to have any hardware issues - the two-fingered click works just find in OSX.

Is this a known issue or have I set this up incorrectly?

I had similar trackpad issues using Windows on my 2012 Macbook Air and fixed it using 3rd party software called Trackpad++. Give it a try.


How do I set my iPhone / iPad to UTC-12 time zone? It seems the latest time zone is UTC-12, as listed on the Wikipedia UTC time offsets article.  But on the iPhone / iPad, I cannot find and choose the time zone of either "Baker Island" or "Howland Island". How could it be done?

It doesn't seem to be possible to set UTC-12 in the Date & Time section in Preferences (see below for more on that).

But I was able to spoof my location with Xcode and a GPS file with these contents:

<gpx>
    <wpt lat="0.194722" lon="-176.479444"></wpt>
</gpx>

as explained in Using Xcode to Test Location Services. The Simulator app thought I was on Baker Island (this is a screenshot of the Maps app showing my current location):

This suggests that you could, with the help of a Mac running Xcode, set your iPhone's time zone to UTC-12. I couldn't test it because I don't have a developer account, and one is needed to sign and run apps on an iPhone.

As for the usual method of setting the time with the Date & Time section in Preferences: as I said above that doesn't seem to be possible.

According the Apple support article Get help with the date and time on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, to manually set the time zone you have to "tap Time Zone and enter a city with the time zone that you need".

But Wikipedia's UTC-12 article tells us that UTC−12 is a nautical time zone and although a number of inhabited islands lie within the longitudinal limits of this time zone, none of them keeps the date and time of UTC−12.

So there are no cities to choose, and none of these names (from obvious to obscure) are recognized:

Baker Island
Howland Island
UTC-12
US Minor Outlying Islands
Anywhere on Earth
AoE
International Date Line West time zone
IDLW

I wonder if turning on "Set Automatically" would properly adjust the time for someone visiting Baker Island...


Re-order Apple TV Home Screen icons? I'm currently running the old version of Apple TV (4.4.4) but I've been considering upgrading, now that the new version has an untethered jailbreak. I use the Apple TV primarily for FireCore's Media Player (files off my NAS) and Netflix.

Now that the new UI just throws a ton of icons out there, is there any way to order them? Or by chance, do they re-order themselves based on usage?

I don't ever use iTunes Movies, TV Shows, or Music, so I'd really hate for the entire first row to always be useless to me. With the current version I can at least use Overflow to hide the menus I don't need.

I don't know that you can reorder them, and they don't reorder themselves, but you can remove unwanted channels, according to this blog entry:
http://imho.nu/iMHo/media-player-position/.
Essentially, you SSH in and rename the file of channels you don't use. The website gives some more detail, so I would check it out.


What does that mean of PgIn[ST3P], RdMeta[ST3UP] when use fs_usage in osx When i use "sudo fs_usage -w -f diskio" in terminal to show disk call status, the call column show something like this: PgIn[ST3P], PgIn[AT3UP], PgIn[S], PgIn[AT1], WrMeta[A], PgIn[AT3U], RdData[ANT3U], RdMeta[ST2], RdMeta[ST3UP], WrData[AT1], ...

What does that mean?

From the fs_usage man page:

  CALL  The name of the network or filesystem related call, page-in, page-out, or physical disk access.

PgIn and PgOut are page-in and page-out.
RdMeta and WrMeta are reading and writing file metadata.
RdData and WrData are reading and writing to the file.


How do I undo this setting on a MacBook? Turns out cats' paws are not a very reliable input method. The cat walked across the keyboard, and now I am stuck in a "secure text field". It looks like this:

How do I get out of here?

[question asked on this person's behalf, since I couldn't find them an answer myself]

You've managed to enable VoiceOver! If your sound had been turned on, you'd also hear your computer speaking the words that appear on screen. VoiceOver is OS X's built-in screen reading software for the vision-impaired. It can speak and display lots of information about the elements on screen, including the currently-active text field.

You can disable/enable it with ⌘+F5 (or ⌘+fn+F5 on newer keyboards). This and more accessibility-related settings and keyboard shortcuts can be found in the Universal Access preferences, and the Universal Access section of the Keyboard preferences.

(In Lion, it seems you get an intro dialog when enabling VoiceOver — perhaps this doesn't happen when the computer is locked, or in previous versions of OS X.)


iPhone 4s shutdown problem I have a iPhone 4s as soon it reaches 30% or Lower it goes off anytime sometime immediately and sometime at 20% what should I do

that's quite simple!! That means you need a new battery...

The % indication is not always most accurate, specially on older batteries.

....when your iPhone automatically shut down yet the usage indicates that you still have about 8 or 11 percent. that means your battery is dead or almost,not to mention your iPhone shut down while it indicated it still have about 20 or 30 percent!!!

I had that experience, I just replace my iPhone 4s battery these days since I found the same problem happened on my phone, it automatically shut down yet it says it still has about 11 percent of battery


New (unformatted) internal Seagate HDD not visible in Disk Utility for iMac 27" Due to an HDD failure, I have purchased and installed a new Seagate BarraCuda 1TB 3.5-Inch SATA III 6 Gb/s Internal Hard Drive (ST1000DM010)(https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01LNJBA2I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1).

The Mac is a 27" iMac EMC 2390.

When I boot using a System Install USB stick and launch Disk Utility, only the USB stick's device and partitions are visible. The unformatted HDD is nowhere to be seen.

The original drive was a 1TB Seagate; I see a slight discrepancy on the power specs, but not sure whether this has an impact.

Anything else I should try? At the moment I don't have any means to independently verify the integrity of the new drive (external Caddy etc).

Update

Based on feedback here, I purchased an HDD caddy, which connected my new HDD to a working laptop via USB. I was able to mount and format the drive, and even proactively installed High Sierra on it. This at least confirmed the issue was not with the drive.

So then I proceeded to do a motherboard removal to get at the SATA cables behind it. I did not find any issues with the cables, but removed them, blew in them to clean them out, and reseated them before reassembly.

Upon reassembly, the computer recognized the drive and booted at once into High Sierra - success!

The process was relatively painless, though not complete free of issues: I snapped a fan housing (when I dropped the fan), which had to be epoxied, and I busted the JST connector for the skin sensor 2-wire cable, which I managed to hardwire upon reassembly. Now, although the Mac works, the fans are on full-speed all of the time, making it sound like an industrial shop vac and pretty much useless in the office environment. Live and learn.

If you place a totally uninitialized drive on macOS - it not only shows in Disk Utility and lets you partition it, but it prompts you to format the drive for use.

Something else is up in terms of firmware, cabling or perhaps settings on the drive itself. If Seagate tech support doesn’t have some obvious things to check - you’ll want to test it in another computer or on an external sled to be sure it’s working before returning it to the vendor.

Chances are it’s a cable that needs reseating on the logic board or on the drive itself. I know reseating the non drive end of the cable is a pain and replacing the internal SATA cable is a big pain - so try to test externally first if you can.

You probably know all the above since you mentioned independently verifying so here are some last ditch things:

Reset the NVRAM on the iMac (command option P R at boot)
Reset the SMC on the iMac (power down - disconect all power for 15 seconds)


Can't login to Mac App store I have an iMac with Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion). When I open the Mac App store, and try to download an App, it asks me for the login. When I enter my Apple ID's email and password and click login, the button become gray for a moment, and then asks me for the credentials again. There is no error message displayed. The email and passwords are correct, since if I try an incorrect password it tells me that it is wrong.

I've solved installing the manual updates for Mountain Lion from here, and then it began to work normally!


Lync alternatives on Mac Is there a Lync alternative on a Mac such that I can still use my Microsoft contacts? Note that I desire to keep all my outlook contacts from Lync but simply using a different service to communicate with them. For example, if I could chat with my outlook contacts via iMessages, that would be ideal. However, if there is a 3rd party messaging service which will allow me to chat with outlook contacts, that will be good too.

I use Adium, there is an extension that lets you connect to Lync servers.

Protocol plugin for Office 365/Lync/OCS

works only with:

  A third-party Pidgin/Adium/Miranda/Telepathy plugin for the extended
  version of SIP/SIMPLE used by various products:

  Skype for Business
  Microsoft Office 365
  Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS)
  Microsoft Lync Server
  Microsoft Office Communications Server (OCS 2007/2007 R2)
  Microsoft Live Communications Server (LCS 2003/2005)

Once you have the Xtra installed, you can add your Lync account as an "Office Communicator" account.


Open Storage Management programatically In macOS Sierra there’s a new Storage Management option. One way to get to it is via /Applications/Utilities/System Information.app (then with the app open) Window → Storage Management.

I’d like to accomplish all that programatically, including closing the System Information.app window.

If there’s a solution it’ll likely involve AppleScript or JXA, but I’m not picky on the method.

Inadvertently found the solution. Storage Management exists as a standalone app after all, but not where one would expect. Seeing as the question has upvotes, meaning other people might be looking for it as well, I’m answering it instead of deleting it. You can find the app in:

/System/Library/CoreServices/Applications/Storage Management.app


What is the best way to backup photos & videos from iPhoto online? I'd love to use Dropbox to back up all my photos and videos, especially from iPhoto.  But I'm not exactly sure the best way to do this is, given that I know that my 2 computers with iPhoto directories will conflict with each other within dropbox.  And my video collection (with 2 little kids) is getting massive.  100 GB from Dropbox won't cut it.

I understand flickr is a good option, in that they integrate directly from iPhoto and have unlimited uploads (how is this possible for only $25/year?).  Can they also automatically synchronize photo/video folders?

First option, there are some excellent services that provide online backup solutions for a reasonable price. Two examples are Mozy and Backblaze. The advantage is that you can set it and forget it, and it will back up all your files (with options for some things you might want to exclude).

Another option is using Dropbox. You can move your iPhoto Library from your Pictures folder to the Dropbox folder and alias it to the original location (drag using ⌘option to make an alias instead of a copy). If you don't alias it, iPhoto should just ask you where the library is stored when you relaunch it anyway.

I don't really think of services like Flickr as backup, they're more of an online photo organizer, but yes they can be used that way too. There is no synchronization, so you have to upload your updated files manually.


DNS resolution broken in El Capitan with Thunderbolt Ethernet Adapter on Offline network After upgrading to El Capitan how do I enable DNS resolution on an offline, internal computer network?

Before upgrading to El Capitan I could connect to my internal network, set my DNS and search domain, and I was good to have DNS resolution happen. There was no gateway on the network or DHCP server, just a switch.

Following the upgrade I was no longer able to resolve DNS names internally on a network physically separate from the internet and not connected in any way to the internet. I could ping the hosts on the network by IP address yet not by DNS name.

I tried the usual, flushing the DNS cache, restarting mDNSResponder, and rebooting. None of that helped.

One weird fact is that my /etc/resolv.conf is now blank whereas before the upgrade it showed the list of resolvers my Mac would use.

I imagine El Capitan must have included an update to the OSX DNS resolution system. Can I go and configure it manually? I have been reduced to adding entries to my /etc/hosts file.

I have tried the suggestions mentioned here.

I should mention that my co-worker's computers that are on Yosemite do not experience any issues at all and the Windows computers on the network still resolve names properly as well.

The DNS server is running BIND9 on Ubuntu 14.04 on the regular port 53.

EDIT:

I tried disabling System Integrity Protection (SIP) according to this set of instructions and that did not help at all.

EDIT 2:

Okay, so I found a fix and I probably didn't need to do a fresh install of El Capitan to do it. This is the WEIRDEST bug I have ever encountered on the Macintosh platform. All I had to do was add a Router in my network settings. I just put an arbitrary value in of 1.0.0.1 even though there is no device in my internal network that acts as a router. The mere presence of a value in the "Router:" input field triggered a write of the resolv.conf file and a restoration of the DNS service.

I had the same problem on El Capitan, and was able to resolve it by adding some values to the DNSResponder file, while SIP was DISABLED.

The steps I followed below:

Reboot.
Press Cmd+R to enter Recovery mode.
Open Utilities->Terminal.
Run the command "csrutil disable".
Reboot. You are back in OS X with SIP disabled.
Make the required changes by running the below commands from the terminal:

sudo launchctl unload /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.mDNSResponder.plist

sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.mDNSResponder.plist AlwaysAppendSearchDomains -bool YES
(This is a single line)

sudo launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.mDNSResponder.plist

Reboot.
Press Cmd+R to enter Recovery mode.
Open Utilities->Terminal.
Run the command csrutil enable.
Reboot.

After I got back into the OS, I added the search domains back into System Pref -> Network -> Advanced -> DNS Tab.

Search Domains now work once again, where I am able to ping the first two bits of my domain name, and the last 3 are added automatically.


Any potential issues logging into an ARD session with a dedicated ARD user? One of the reservations I've had with ARD is that it allows anyone on the same network as you to access your computer, as long as:

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

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

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

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

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

The protection of the ARD is in the fact that you can enable and disable users for this feature.

The brute force protection is that of the user account. You can set it up to lock after 5 failed attempts or what ever you please.

It is strongly advisable NOT to use an Admin account for this, but instead use a normal account to give access to the ARD, and using account switching or admin privilege escalation where and when you need it. Part of the reason being is that you can take over the session of any user currently logged in that way, without the user knowing. So IF you are worried about people breaking in to your account, that is the way to minimise the risk as far as possible.
(Best practice is that nobody is admin on a Mac apart from a dedicated account that can be used for privilege escalation instead)

Hope this helps in your decision making process.

GJ


Network share always mounting in Finder, but never for Time Machine (High Sierra 10.13.4) I have two Macs (MBP 2017 and an older Mac Mini with two internal SSDs) on my local network, both running macOS High Sierra 10.13.4, and I'm encountering strange problems.

One of the Mini's internal SSDs (HFS+) is partitioned. One partition is shared (using File Sharing in System preferences) in order to be used as a Time Machine drive for the MBP.

Two problems:

On the MBP, the Finder will mount the Mini's network share without asking any credentials, even if I forbid access to any user (on the Mini, while keeping the share enabled). Why? And where are the Mini credentials stored on the MBP? I'd like to erase them but I can't find them in the MBP's Keychain utility.
Even if I recreate the share from scratch on the Mini (which recreates users for remote admin access, etc.), Time Machine on the MBP fails to mount the Mini's share. Specifically: I can enable the network share as a TM drive, but TM will complain it can't start the backup because of a credentials problem, even if the share is already mounted by the Finder!…

The problem seems to have appeared with the 10.13.4 update. I had similar setups with previous macOS versions that work flawlessly.

I'm puzzled. Any help really appreciated.

Problem solved. Here's the reason of all this:

Both Macs were configured with the same iCloud account.
For some reason, the admin user on the Mac Mini had an alias that was the email address of the iCloud account.
The MBP's Finder mounted the network share using that iCloud email address (admin alias). That's probably why it didn't ask any credentials.
But something went wrong with the MBP's Time Machine process, that kept trying logging with the Mini's admin user "real" credentials (not the iCloud alias).

What I did:

On the Mini, in the "Users & groups" preference pane, I right-clicked on the admin user and deleted any aliases found in the advanced options. See this for step-by-step instructions: Prevent File Sharing access with Apple ID
On the MBP, I mounted the network share (using the "real" Mini's admin credentials), then I recreated the Time Machine setup.


How do I run diagnostics on an iPad Pro 11 with nonfunctioning screen and touch? I have an 1st generation iPad Pro 11 with a broken screen with no video image and unresponsive to touching. I would like to run some hardware diagnostics on it before committing to replacing the screen.
So far, I've managed to successfully clean and reinstall iPadOS 14.2 by tethering it to my MacBook Pro using a USB cable. I'm able to see the initial iOS setup screen via QuickTime, but can't proceed any further without a functioning touch screen.
Is there an alternative input device I can use? Also, is there any diagnostic mode or software utility available for testing the device's hardware?

AFAIK there's no diagnostic tool.
You could hook up a KB/M as well as your MacBook (for display) using a USB-C dongle, but I'm not sure if it'll work.


Why is my iPhone playing the notification sound but no notification is showing? A few minutes ago I was listening to music on my iPhone and the music faded out and then the notification sound played but no notifcation showed. (it has done this about 10-15 times now) Does anyone know what could possibly be wrong with my iPhone? I have an iPhone 3GS running on iOS 5.0.1.

Sometimes it's an email sound but other times it's the actual notification sound. I have it set up to show the little notification at the top for new emails so it should show a notifcation even when the email sound plays. Most of the time it shows a notification but sometimes it doesn't.

Maybe this is just a bug?

Check if you have the new Gmail app installed.  Every time it gets a new email, it triggers the "iphone Text Message sound".  The sound can be disabled via Settings app > Notifications > Gmail > uncheck Sound.


Downgrading a new mac mini 2012 from Maverick to Mountain Lion I acquired a new mac mini late 2012 with a fusion drive & a 2,6 Ghz cpu. It came with maverick.

The machine already came back last week from a mac repear shop where they changed the mother-card because its power turns off on its own while asleep. This did not do much because it still does it. I should either take it back or call apple to have it changed I suppose, except that now...

Although there were warnings not to try to downgrade i.e. Is it possible to go from pre-installed Mavericks to Mountain Lion on my new Macbook Pro?, I wanted to scrape maverick out & replace it by ML just to use Motion 4. I applied the method described here: http://computers.tutsplus.com/tutorials/the-os-x-recovery-partition-what-it-is-why-its-there-and-how-to-remove-it--mac-31796 & erased the recovery HD & the Mac HD to replace it with ML !

Now it seems I'm in dire straits. Even before I wiped Mac HD, erasing the Recovery disk went wrong. It left a partition named "blank" weighting about 16 Mo (originally 650Mo) that doesnt show up in the partition part of disk utility. This "blank" partition also showed up on the desk.
I've created an ML bootable USB stick with diskmaker but I can't use it, the machine does not want it. I'll spare you the details (blank screen, folder question mark, the globe, asking for the wifi key, error 1005F & s.o.  I also tried the target mode with 2009 mac mini with ML, but I got a message error saying disks were not compatible. Is this because of the fusion drive ? Whatever...

My machine is still under warranty for 2 years & now I'm scared to lose this warranty if I mention my stupid endeavours to apple support. Needless to say, I'm a complete newbee to mac os instal since I rarely change machines. I went into Terminal doing paste & copy just to wipe the recovery hd as mentioned in the method above.

I think I'm in trouble, my videos helps making ends meet. All I can think off is to bring it back as is to the repear shop & ask them to fix the or replace it with ML. I stumbled on a topic mentioning the recovery hd on you site. to

Thanks for your precious help

According to the support article listing minimum versions of OS X per computer, your Mac can run OS X 10.8.1

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1159#Mac_mini

Since you have AppleCare, you can actually call them and ask how to install a specific version of the software and be supported on how to install things.

In a nutshell, you'll have to use Internet Recovery to wipe the drive and get back to the version of OS that shipped with your Mac. From that point, you can download the older OS from the App Store (AppleCare may have to issue you a redemption code for that build if you don't have it for your Apple ID).

From there, you can partition your internal drive and install Mountain Lion on a separate partition or install it onto a USB drive.

At that point, you can restore your data and settings on to Mountain Lion and/or wipe the internal drive booting off the external to finally install Mountain Lion as the only OS on the internal drive.

It's a bit of an exercise, but you can ask here or from Apple for guidance on each step along the way if you get lost.


what happens if I click "delete backup" will I still have all my messages? I currently upgraded but it still shows my other iPhone on iCloud. I don't want to delete it and then my messages erase. I have certain messages I want to keep.

What will happen if I do delete it?

Thank you

You will delete that backup, which has messages on that backup. The messages currently on phone, not in backup will remain in there peaceful state.


I can't force quit an app (Wine)! I installed Wine to open an .exe file on my Mac. I think I did something wrong and when I opened the file it installed to the Applications folder. Now, It doesn't let me force quit. I tried clicking "Force Quit" from the Apple menu and it didn't work. Now I can't turn my Mac off.

How can I force quit the Windows application running under Wine on my Mac?

Use Terminal to kill the Wine process.
From the Wine FAQ

10.2 Crashes and Freezes
10.2.1 My program froze up, how do I close it?
If you ran the program from a terminal window by typing wine
program.exe, you can usually just go back to that terminal window and
press Ctrl+C. If you ran the application some other way, such as from
a launcher shortcut, then you can open up a terminal and forcibly kill
the process:
killall -9 Application.exe

If you want to kill all Wine programs at once, you can run:
wineserver -k

You can also open up a Wine version of the Windows task manager by
running wine taskmgr in a terminal. This will allow you to kill
individual Wine processes.


How to select photos which are not tagged or set face(s) in Photos? In Photos there are not a selector called "Face is empty" or "Tags is not set", so what should I do?

As of April 2016 Photos does not work like that.

Although it sounds like a limitation, it actually makes sense. The program detects "candidate" faces and presents them to you to classify them. After learning about a few of those faces, this opens the door to reassessing pictures that previously would have been deemed without faces.


What is the proper way to save Application Information Before Reformatting My macbook? My mid-2009 17" Macbook running Mavericks is running really slow and constantly freezes. I went to Disk Utility and ran "Repair Disk," but after about 3 minutes it said: "Disk utility can't repair thsi disk, Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files."

I have already ran Time Machine for back-up but I'm afraid that some expensive Applications, specifically Adobe Master Collection CS5, Max/MSP, and Ableton Live will lose their product keys / licenses when I whip my drive? I don't have any of that information written down, so I'd have to find it on my Macbook somewhere.

Will Time Machine back that up, or do I need to find the product keys and serial numbers? If so, where are they stored?

You might lose them. According to this thread on Adobe's forums, other users experienced issues with restoring an entire drive from Time Machine. It looks like, from some cursory research, that the plist files or FlexNet folders don't get restored (even if they are present in the backup), and that Adobe's recommendations are to delicense before restoring and then relicense it after restoring.

You will need to locate your original licenses and identify each manufacturer's process for relicensing after a restoration.


Digital snow on external screens Macbook Pro 15" 2016 + USB-C Adapter I have this new Macbook pro and this is what is going on after a while. Might be actually a heating issue since I run it in a clamshell mode. But since I can screenshot it I can assume this is a software problem.

It happens when two monitors are plugged in and I think especially after I scroll or open many windows.

After you let it idle it goes back to normal I will check the GPU temperature next time. The strange part is I can screenshot the issue. So I guess that might be drivers fault? The OS is the latest one: Sierra 10.12.4 (16E195) with all updates installed.

It is probably not related to the temperature:

And the hardware test did not find any defects.

UPDATE

After observing it, I think I could say that it happens only with external monitors connected through Apple USB-C -> USB/Lightning/HDMI adaptors.

But the problem is not in the adaptors or I wouldn't be able to screenshot it.

Update

This looks like a hardware GPU problem.  You can run diagnostics by booting the machine while holding D.  Instructions here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202731

Since this is a pretty new computer I'm sure it will be repaired under warranty (new logic board).  Schedule a genius bar appointment.


How do I change back from MacPorts Python to system default version? I used MacPorts to install a newer version of Python on my system (10.5.8 PPC), and then used the MacPorts select command to change the default invoked version of Python to the MP version. Now I want to change it back to the system version of Python, but I can't find a command to do so in the documentation.

I know all the MacPorts command did was to change a bunch of links to point at the MP version instead of the system version. Unfortunately I don't know what all the affected files are.

Does anyone know the command to reverse the setting or know the list of affected links that I would have to change?

Macports select can change it back.

The current macports does it using the port select command - older versions had python_select

To see the possible pythons run

port select --list python

From that list choose the one you want and change to it e.g.

sudo port select --set python python25-apple


Are IOS apps able to update in pieces? I remember (perhaps wrongly) an AirBNB update being several megabytes, implying the entire app.  Today's update is only 129 KB.  Are they allowed to just update portions like MacOS updates?

The iOS App Store supports delta updates since iOS 6.

In iOS 6 to 7.0.x, changed files are downloaded when updating an app. Since iOS 7.1, only the changes in each file are downloaded, reducing the update size even further.

https://developer.apple.com/library/content/qa/qa1779/_index.html


Can iPhoto version 9.6 locate where photo was taken? iPhoto 9.6
Can find the location where the photos were taken? I have several photos     of this person. The photos are originals.

If you have taken the photos using an iPhone and location services was enabled for the camera app, then yes you should be able to see the location the photo was taken in iPhoto (as well as the new Photos app that shipped with OS X El Capitan).

To do so just highlight the photo and press CMD + I to bring up the inspector which will tell you the location, as well as a lot of info about the camera used.


On a mid-2011 iMac, how do I use Bluetooth on Windows 8? I installed Windows 8 over a Boot Camp installation of Windows 7 on my mid-2011 iMac. By and large it's worked perfectly, UX issues notwithstanding, apart from the rather critical part of a complete lack of Bluetooth. This means I can't use my Apple Wireless Keyboard.

In Device Manager, I can't see any item that's related to Bluetooth, and in I'm not able to add any devices. I've tried re-installing the latest Boot Camp drivers, but I'm a bit lost at this point.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Boot Camp is currently only meant for Windows 7, and the drivers are only meant for Windows 7. Maybe use Parallels or VirtualBox instead for Windows 8 for now.


Enable Guest Account via Profile Manager I am the sole IT guy in a small school that is all Mac. I have about 40 student MacBooks to manage and about 40 student iMacs as well. I would like to manage them as best I can using Profile Manager. One thing I need to do is enable the Guest Account on the student computers.  Can this be done via Profile Manager, or is this yet another thing that will cause me to go around logging onto and configuring all the student computers?

You can distribute a configuration profile to enable it, courtesy of @gregneagle on GitHub. The following is a stripped down version to just the payload for setting the guest account on.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>PayloadContent</key>
    <array>
        <dict>
            <key>DisableGuestAccount</key>
            <true/>
            <key>EnableGuestAccount</key>
            <false/>
            <key>PayloadDisplayName</key>
            <string>Login Window:  MCX Preferences</string>
            <key>PayloadEnabled</key>
            <true/>
            <key>PayloadIdentifier</key>
            <string>com.github.gregneagle.loginwindow.MCX</string>
            <key>PayloadType</key>
            <string>com.apple.MCX</string>
            <key>PayloadUUID</key>
            <string>497c36d1-422c-b5e0-c23e-b1138b2d490a</string>
            <key>PayloadVersion</key>
            <integer>1</integer>
            <key>SleepDisabled</key>
            <false/>
        </dict>
    </array>
    <key>PayloadDescription</key>
    <string>Loginwindow configuration settings</string>
    <key>PayloadDisplayName</key>
    <string>Loginwindow Configuration</string>
    <key>PayloadIdentifier</key>
    <string>com.github.gregneagle.loginwindow</string>
    <key>PayloadOrganization</key>
    <string></string>
    <key>PayloadRemovalDisallowed</key>
    <true/>
    <key>PayloadScope</key>
    <string>System</string>
    <key>PayloadType</key>
    <string>Configuration</string>
    <key>PayloadUUID</key>
    <string>0dc319a0-c331-0131-eeb5-000c294ab81b</string>
    <key>PayloadVersion</key>
    <integer>1</integer>
</dict>
</plist>


Is an iPhone still carrier activated after factory reset? If I go through the process of erasing all content and settings (performing a factor reset), is the phone still activated/connected through my carrier? That is, can I perform a factory reset and then immediately make a phone call (or send a text message)?

Yes, the factory reset deletes all contents and restores your phone to its newly-bought condition but other than that, you can still call/text whoever you like.


Out of warranty MBP ,Burned Magsafe port and frayed charger cable - repair option and cost? I have a MBP 15" 2011 model and has is the burned magsafe port (leftmost pin melted) which i noticed today.

The connector gets too hot sometimes ( but remains ok when I charge in sleep mode). Sometimes the charging will stop and LED will become green and then I reconnect it to get it in charging mode.

The Frayed cable: very light cut at connector side

and heavily frayed at brick as shown.

So what should I do now and how much would it cost to repair this? Should I buy a new charger?
Also I live at a place where there is no Apple Service Center (nearest one is 300 km away). So, can I use these things as they are for 2 weeks i.e. by charging in sleep mode or when the port doesn't get hot while charging.

The MagSafe board is a very easy repair for someone who has patience and a small amount of training fixing any computer at all. The MacBook Pro aren't as fidgety to repair as the iMac and MacBook Air (where I would say you should be a skilled technician with official training materials available to work on them reliably).

You're looking to replace this with a handful of screws turned.

Go to iFixit.com and look up the repair guide and parts list for the DC in board and you will know if you have the skills to find the right part, the right tools and the right manual to undertake this work. Otherwise, pay a local technician to do the job/source the parts/give you what they feel is a good guarantee. As for the adapter, buy a new or used one on the aftermarket or from Apple. When the cord is crushed and frayed, it is designed to fail in a way that won't cause a fire hazard. I wouldn't mess with that end of things or with repairing the transformer itself.


Are there any disadvantages to pre-ordering the latest iPhone through Apple? I hope to upgrade replace my existing iPhone with the new iPhone by pre-ordering through Apple, but I'm uncertain what effect this will have on my existing data plan.

Are there any advantages to purchasing the phone through my carrier instead? Will I be given different service options, or will different features be available?

If you're specifically asking if you can maintain your current data plan when ordering via Apple, you can do that.  Alternatively, you'll also be able to change your data plan to other plans that are currently offered by your carrier.

Part of the ordering process (when ordering through anyone: Apple, a carrier, Best Buy, etc.) is selecting your plan, and that part of the process contacts your carrier's systems.  On the first day people can preorder, this results in the carriers' systems being crushed due to all the demand.

Once your carrier's system has been contacted, the store you're buying from then knows if you're eligible for subsidized contract pricing or if you'll have to pay unsubsidized pricing.  The store also knows your current plan, and so is able to offer that as an option if you have a grandfathered plan that isn't available to new subscribers.

Ergo, the process for buying an iPhone will be pretty similar no matter where you buy it from.  Pick a store based on whatever criteria you wish: availability of the specific model you want, convenience of store location, store loyalty plan, etc.


Does an iPad consume more battery power when there are multiple applications open? Does an iPad consume more battery power when there are multiple applications open compared to let's say, having only one application resident in memory?

If there are differences between the different versions of iPad, then I am specifically looking for the answer for the new iPad.

Under normal circumstances only one application is in the foreground and actually running. Of course what that app is doing can have a big effect on battery life.
Other applications may be multitasking, but only in very specific circumstances - it's rare. Most apps will actually be doing nothing, so the answer is  conditionally, "no".
When you tap the home button the foreground app receives a set of messages that allow it to prepare for and then enter a background mode. The app doesn't have to terminate completely but it is not running either. By default apps may not continue running in the background in iOS. They may request permission to run for up to ten minutes in the background (for example to complete a download) when they are notified that they are about to lose foreground status. Abusing this would be one way to get an app rejected by Apple.
Fraser Speirs recently wrote a very interesting blog post about this which was widely retweeted by developers, because it is right, and current for iOS 5.x.
Quoting from it:

There are exactly five kinds of apps allowed to run indefinitely in the Background state in iOS 5:

Apps that play audio while in the Background state. A good example is
Instacast while it's playing a podcast.
Apps that track your location in the Background. For example, you
still want voice prompts from your TomTom navigation app, even if
another app is Active.
Apps that listen for incoming VOIP calls. If you use Skype on iOS,
you can receive incoming Skype calls while the app is in the
Background.
Newsstand apps that are downloading new content.
Apps that receive continuous updates from an external accessory in
the Background.

Now if you are running an app that fits into one of the above categories it could be performing background processing. If it is a badly written app it could possibly be doing unnecessary processing. If at the same time you were running a foreground app that is demanding of processing resources then it's possible that killing the background app could make your foreground app go faster.
However! If you look at the categories you will see that these are all things that you would want to do if you were using those apps. You would not want to be able to receive a Skype call only when you brought Skype to the foreground. You would not want TomTom to stop giving you directions just because your passenger started to check email. So terminating apps is almost always a bad idea.
Now a word about the Recent Apps List that you bring up by double-clicking the home button. Notice the name is not "task list" or "multitasking list" or anything like that - it's just a list of recent apps. Some of them may be in the background, suspended and ready to run. Some may be terminated and not running at all - if tapped they would have to start running from scratch. An app from one of the listed categories may even be running in the background. But this list gives no indication of what is running right now. You can remove apps from the list but if the app wasn't running it can't be terminated. Proof: do a hard reset of your phone, letting it boot from the white apple screen. All the icons remain the same. Apps that may have been running are now not running but their icons remain.
Generally speaking there is no need to manually remove an application from the recent apps list.
If you really want to terminate an app that is currently in the foreground without switching to switch away from it before terminating it via the recent apps list, you can hold down the sleep/wake button (top of the device) until slide to power off appears. If you then hold down the home button until the device returns to the springboard, the app is terminated. (If you press Cancel and return to the app instead it is not terminated.) Proof: use an app with state - e.g. do a search in the iTunes Store app. Terminate it in this way, when you reopen the app your state is gone. If you don't terminate it your state remains.
Generally termination of the foreground app is never required - as you may have seen, an app that crashes is terminated by the phone automatically as soon as the watchdog process detects that the app is not responding to system events.
From the iPhone OS 4 press event in 2010:
    Q: How do you close applications when multitasking?
    A: (Scott Forstall) You don't have to. The user just uses things and doesn't ever
 have to worry about it.
    A: (Steve Jobs) It's like we said on the iPad, if you see a stylus, they blew it.
 In multitasking, if you see a task manager... they blew it. Users shouldn't ever have
 to think about it.


Customizing touch bar word predictions Is it possible to change/modify the word prediction engine used by Apple in its touch bar predictions?

For example, can it be replaced by Google's auto-generated suggestions (similar to what's on Google Keyboard) or modified in a way such that I can add words to the dictionary from which words are predicted?

The default touch bar predictions don't seem to learn much from what I type on my keyboard. I personally find Google keyboard suggestions (on smartphones) much better as compared to ones on the touch bar. I am a new macOS user and I am not sure if Apple allows one to do this.

Assuming it to be same as the one in keyboard predictions on iOS, Apple would have put poor Siri's name for this tool too. The best way I found to train it is to use it multiple times. For a persistent error, text replacement to the rescue.

Where does Apple's predictive keyboard get its “contextual” content from?

This question is for iOS, but it's not unreasonable to assume that prediction algorithm can be same in both places.


How to to specify pronunciations for OS X Lion? The text-to-speech function on Mac OS X Lion is quite good, although sometimes it misses the just-right pronunciation of a word.

Is there a way to specify a pronunciation for certain words or phrases in Lion?

For example, let's say my friend's name is "Tony", and the voice for OS X (Alex) pronounces Tony "tooney". Is there a way that I can set Tony to be pronounced the same way Alex pronounces "Toe Nee"?

Open Applications > Services > VoiceOver Utility and go to Speech > Pronunciation. Add a subsitution for "Tony" and tell it to pronounce it as "toe nee".

Interestingly, my computer running 10.7.3 with the Alex voice pronounces Tony correctly. Because of this, I wasn't able to test this solution, so it may not work.


Is it safe to disconnect external Time Machine backup drive, if the encrypting is not finished? I have set up a 4TB external USB drive to use as a backup for my 2TB MacBook Pro. Everything seems to work all right, but the encryption takes forever, and the Time Machine insists on it being performed only when the computer is plugged in into a power outlet.

Since I would like to use my laptop as intended (as a portable computer), what can possibly go wrong, if I disconnect the backup drive, while it is still encrypting its contents?

I am running the latest Sierra on the 2016 MacBook Pro.

After encrypting the drive for a few days (while the drive was disconnected a few times, and then connected again), Time Machine has finally finished with it and now only runs backups. Nothing indicates a problem, so I think it was all right--the encryption would pick up at the same percentage it was when disconnected, and continue, until done.


A Mac OS X VPN client that can import a .VPN file I have a .vpn file that I use on Windows with the Shrew Soft VPN Client that has the connection details (excluding the username and password). Is there an equivalent client for Mac OS X that will allow me to take this .vpn file and import it and connect to the VPN?

I have tried a few, such as Cisco's, to no avail unfortunately.

When I look at it in a text editor, I get this (host intentionally removed):

n:version:2
n:network-ike-port:500
n:network-mtu-size:1380
n:client-addr-auto:1
n:network-natt-port:4500
n:network-natt-rate:15
n:network-frag-size:540
n:network-dpd-enable:1
n:client-banner-enable:0
n:network-notify-enable:1
n:client-wins-used:0
n:client-wins-auto:1
n:client-dns-used:0
n:client-dns-auto:0
n:client-splitdns-used:0
n:client-splitdns-auto:0
n:phase1-dhgroup:2
n:phase1-life-secs:86400
n:phase1-life-kbytes:0
n:vendor-chkpt-enable:1
n:phase2-life-secs:3600
n:phase2-life-kbytes:0
n:policy-nailed:0
n:policy-list-auto:0
n:phase1-keylen:256
n:phase2-keylen:256
s:network-host:80.75.x.x
s:client-auto-mode:disabled
s:client-iface:direct
s:network-natt-mode:enable
s:network-frag-mode:enable
s:auth-method:hybrid-rsa-xauth
s:ident-client-type:ufqdn
s:ident-server-type:any
s:phase1-exchange:main
s:phase1-cipher:auto
s:phase1-hash:auto
s:phase2-transform:auto
s:phase2-hmac:auto
s:ipcomp-transform:disabled
n:phase2-pfsgroup:-1
s:policy-level:auto
s:policy-list-include:172.26.x.x / 255.255.255.0
s:auth-server-cert:crm-gw.cert
b:auth-server-cert-data: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

I know that this is an old post, but I have been trying to read a .vpn file as well and none of the posted solutions worked for me. The recommended software were not able to read the file.

In case other people have the same issue, I got it by installing the shrewsoft-vpn-client. Since it is not that straightforward, I am putting the steps I did.

Install home-brew and run

brew cask install tuntap

Note: To install and/or use tuntap you may need to enable its kernel extension in System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General

Download the file shrewsoft-vpn-client.rb from Github
run

brew install --build-from-source /path_to/shrewsoft-vpn-client.rb --without-gui
sudo /usr/local/sbin/iked

Copy the file file.vpn into .ike/sites without extensions

cp /path_to/file.vpn ~/.ike/sites/file

Then, start the VPN by running

ikec -r file
c

Hope it helps


How to get a specific dictionary to be used to show a word entry in the inital dictionary view that arises from Spotlight? When I type a word into Spotlight (macOS Sierra 10.12.3) and I click on the dictionary (definition), it always comes up using the German dictionary. I have a German-bought Mac but work almost exclusively in English, so this is quite frustrating.

I have tried moving the English dictionaries to the the top of the list in Dictionary preferences, and also tried deselecting the German dictionaries altogether, with no changes.

Great question and it's one that comes up more often than not.

Here is a link to a similar question submitted to AskDifferent a few years ago: How to switch language of OS X dictionary?

You could also try this:

Open the Dictionary app and navigate to Dictionary/Preferences.

In Preferences select or de-select the languages you prefer.

It may be that 'German' is still set as the preferred language, so de-selecting it may then allow you to remove it as you were initially attempting to do.

Also, after making these changes, try restarting your Mac. Sometimes this helps things reboot in proper order and get rid of processes and other 'crud' that may be clogging the Mac's Memory.

'Hope this helps!

~


Missing headers in macOS 10.15 (Catalina) What happened to header files after Catalina update? I am getting the error "assert.h:No such file or directory". In Mojave this issue was solved by using macOS_SDK_headers_for_macOS_10.14.pkg package. Is there any such package for 10.15 or any other solution? Is anyone else facing this issue?

Recently I also updated to Catalina and got the same problem.
As it was mentioned there is no equivalent package macOS_SDK_headers_for_macOS_10.14.pkg for Mac OS 10.15 which solves the problem for Mojave.

There are several things you can do which worked for me.

Always try

xcode-select --install

Some answers recommend to agree with the license. I'm not sure if it's helpful but I did it anyway

sudo xcodebuild -license

and type agree.
Apparently you can find these headers in a /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools/SDKs/MacOSX10.15.sdk/usr/include directory. So you can add it to some environment/build system variable.


Syncing photos to iCloud and deleting them I want to save all my photos to iCloud and then delete them from my iPhone.  How do I delete them from the iPhone while still keeping a copy on iCloud?

iCloud is a syncing system and not a just a backup.

If you delete the pictures on your iPhone (assuming you're logged into the same iCloud account) you're also deleting the pictures in iCloud. This is not what you want to do.

Find a backup solution to keep your photos like Dropbox or Amazon Photos. Those will allow you upload your images without keeping them on your other devices.


Sync two iPods with one iTunes library I have one iTunes account and I have one iPod. My daughter now has an iPod too. How do I get the music from my iTunes library to her iPod?

Regardless of the kind of iPod your daughter has, you can add songs to her iPod by connecting the iPod to your computer and dragging the songs, playlists or library to her iPod. After it is finished syncing, it will be ready to go. If the iPod was previously synced to another computer and not set for "manually manage music", syncing with the new computer will replace the songs on the iPod. If the iPod was set up for manual management,  you can drag songs to it from the libraries on different computers.


iPhone log for actions like deleting text conversations? I recently found one of my long-running text conversations cleared.  I may have deleted it accidentally, but I would like to know when I did.  Is there a system log that logs information at this level?  Maybe in /var/log/ ?

iOS 5 had no such logs that I am aware of. To my knowledge, neither does iOS 6. The system logs record more "important" information regarding system operation and such.


macOS Big Sur Terminal hangs and no prompt appear I have a strange issue on my MacBook Pro (Mid-2017 15" with touch bar; MacBookPro14,3; 11.0 Beta (20A4299v)).
I've just installed macOS Big Sur on an external drive and everything was alright for some time. Terminal app was working perfectly and I still has one window open with it working OK.
The last step I remember doing was downloading and installing iTerm and adding it to the Full Disk Access on Privacy Control Panel before executing it.
After this, every time I open any terminal prompt, with the default app or iTerm, zsh, bash, etc., does not appear, and the window shows login "Terminal - login" and it does not show prompt.
NOTE: I know it refers to a beta OS but this problem has already appeared on other macOS versions. I tried the steps on both of these links but none solved it:

Launching Terminal Freezes the System for 5 Minutes in Mavericks
Terminal login hangs

Any ideas?

Typically this is a dot file causing the shell to hang.

Make a new account and log out of the old one - log in to the new and open the shell. If it hangs, too - you have system level configuration files to blame in most cases. Reinstall the OS if you can’t Seuss that out.
If that works fine, then su - hanguser to confirm it’s that one account.
You can run the shell without the rc dot files as well.

Also, before you try anything shut down the OS and validate it happens after a restart, basically try to avoid needing to go through this laundry list of potential issues:

Terminal login hangs


Running Cron Job w/ Sudo permissions Strictly for learning purposes (possibly maintenance as well) I am trying to have a Cron job empty my trash once a day.

I have opened terminal and entered the command crontab -e to access the VI editor to add the command. I've entered Insert mode and added * * * * * sudo rm -rf ~/.Trash/*, hit the escape key to exit and quit VI with :wq!

This particular script I have running every minute just to see if it works and it is not. I thought it might be an issue with cron not having root access, so I added the same line to the sudo crontab -e file and it doesn't seem to be saving.

Any ideas what could be wrong with this cron job?

If you want to specify the the root user's crontab, you have to use the -u option.

sudo crontab -e -u root

That said, there's a safer way to clean out your trash than just removing the whole directory.  Personally, I like to remove files that are older than a certain number of days.  This way, if I inadvertently delete something today, I have a "buffer" of time in which to recover from.

The following command will delete all files that are older than 15 days.

find ~/.Trash/ -type f -mtime +15 -exec rm {} \;

Now...that said...

cron has been deprecated for launchd.  I would take some time and learn how to create .plist XML files for lauchd and use that service instead of cron


macOS not allowing to change the sequence of partitions from command line! This is the Disk List for my iMac.

I am trying to merge the partitions macOS and macOS 2 using diskutil mergePartitions now the problem is on running this command macOS will keep data on the first partition which is macOS and will erase everything in between the first and last partition (Last partition included), now the last partition is macOS 2.

I want to preserve the last partition which is macOS 2 and delete every other partition so I thought why not include the last partition as the first partition (Which I want to preserve the data on) and include the first partition in the last parameter - which will be deleted.

Here's where the issue occurs macOS doesn't allows me to change the sequence of the partition

So I am stuck with merging partitions from command line

I don't want to use disk utility to merge partitions cause last time when I used it to merge partitions some free spaces were created and were not going away until and unless an entire disk format was performed!

One more thing macOS is the first volume on the disk so removing it from dusk utility using the partition option will not happen

Since the volumes are about the same size, you can use the Disk Utility application to "Restore" the macOS volume from the macOS 2 volume. You basically will then have duplicated macOS 2. You then can delete disk0s4 and expand disk0s2 to recover the free space.

All these operations can be performed using the Disk Utility application.

If you are wish to use the command line, then here is the command to clone the volume labeled "macOS 2".

sudo asr restore --source "/Volumes/macOS 2" --target /Volumes/macOS --erase

  Note: The above command also clones /dev/disk0s5 to /dev/disk0s3.

The command to delete /dev/disk0s4 and expand /dev/disk0s2 is given below.

diskutil mergePartitions FREE "" disk0s2 disk0s4

  Note: The above command also deletes /dev/disk0s5 and relocates /dev/disk0s3 to be below the expanded /dev/disk0s2.

The clone/restore operation could be done while booted from /dev/disk0s5. The merge operation could be done while booted to /dev/disk0s2.


macOS: Safari: Full screen mode: bringing focus to address bar in a new window When we open a new tab in Safari, it automatically brings focus to the address bar. But in full screen mode, after pressing alt-cmd-N(or the private mode counterpart), the new window that opens is completely blank due to my preferences, but neither is the address bar visible. I want to have focus in that by default instead of pressing cmd-L.

Safari 12.0.2 on macOS 10.14.2

In my limited testing this seems to be limitation in most apps when they're full screen. In Chrome when it's full screen it takes you to a new tab but disables the location keyboard shortcut.

I suspect this has to do with how full screen is actually implemented. Full screen is built on top of spaces and so applications can behave quite differently in spaces vs. in the normal view.

This Apple Insider article reiterates this point, titled:How to use Spaces, Apple's mostly ignored macOS Mojave productivity feature:

  Whenever you take an app's window to full screen, your Mac actually
  creates a new Space and puts it in there. Full Screen and Split View
  are productivity features of the Mac that have a lot of rough edges
  and this blurring between them and Spaces doesn't help.

There conclusion in that article is mine as well. I use full screen and spaces sparingly because I find them a confusing mess of behaviors unfortunately.

  The answer to this is to use Spaces but use it sparingly. Don't take
  up all 16 possible Spaces, just have one or two. Try to keep all the
  documents from one app in one space, at least until you're so used to
  moving around that it's second nature.


Is allowing port 80 on Little Snitch safe? In Little Snitch, I allowed port 80 when a "google.com" popup appeared on my screen. I'm wondering if that was a good idea.

If a hacker installed a program on my Mac, and that program sent information to a server,  would it go through "internet" and port 80? Considering this, is it safe to permanently allow port 80 traffic?

On the other hand, if I only accept "google.com on port 80" (instead of all sites on port 80) I get ten or 15 alert dialogs for each advertisement and service, on each website.

No.

If, for all processes.

Pretty much yes.

If, only for web browsing.

As @StuWilson has pointed out, port 80 is for http traffic and port 443 is for https traffic. (http with TLS/SSL encryption).

It's not necessary to allow all traffic of all processes on port 80. But - for the sake of comfortable browsing - I strongly recommend enabling those ports for all traffic of webbrowsers  like Safari or Chrome.

For comparison, this is my setup of Chrome in HandsOff!:

Basic communication

Allow all outgoing network connections on port 443 (https)
Allow all outgoing network connections on port 80 (http)
Allow all domain resolving

Sync

Allow all outgoing network connections to talk.google.com on port 5222

Other (e.g. media)

Allow all outgoing network connections to atracktive.collegehumor.com on port 9090 (websm)
...

Setting up a firewall can be quite a hassle. Generally - when I've expected a certain connection to build up, and know what it's for, I allow it. But you should only interfere network connections when you know what you're doing.

Many system processses regulary build up (local) network connections that are certainly valid. If you don't know how to guard a firewall, you become the first security risk for your own computer. Make sure to educate yourself on network protocols when building your own firewall.