Define additional shortkey with the same effect like RETURN in Safari.app I'm working with MacOS X 10.6.

I'd like to define a keyboard shortcut Ctrl-m, which does the same thing like RETURN does, without deactivating RETURN.

How can I do that in MacOS X 10.6. In the keyboard control panel, I can only assign menu commands to shortcuts, but RETURN is not a menu command, but a key that does different things in different locations.

How can I do that?

Remark:

I would prefer a built-in or at least free solution. I'm using Quicksilver already, so if it would be able to define such a key/trigger, that would also be helpful.
If you wonder, why I want to do it, you'll find the explanation here: https://emacs.stackexchange.com/questions/3544/is-there-a-more-convenient-key-binding-for-return


How to fix failing Open Directory (database "cn=authdata" cannot be opened, err 12) after hang A Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5 server running Open Directory hung. SSH was still possible but the sudo reboot command didn't restart the server within 15 minutes. That is why a power cycle was issued. After the power cycle Open Directory would no longer start and the System log is filled with a new message every 10 seconds:

com.apple.launchd[1] (org.openldap.slapd[1153]): Exited with code: 1
com.apple.launchd[1] (org.openldap.slapd): Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds

Repairing disk permission, neither another reboot doesn't solve the issue.

Slapd in Tool mode outputs:

$ sudo /usr/libexec/slapd -Tt
bdb(dc=nl2,dc=probackup,dc=nl): unable to allocate memory for mutex; resize mutex region
bdb_db_open: database "dc=nl2,dc=probackup,dc=nl" cannot be opened, err 12. Restore from backup!
backend_startup_one (type=bdb, suffix="dc=nl2,dc=probackup,dc=nl"): bi_db_open failed! (12)
slap_startup failed (test would succeed using the -u switch)

How to fix this?

Check if the OD database is the problem

$ sudo /usr/libexec/slapd -Tt

No further action is needed if the output tells something like:

...
bdb_db_open: database "dc=hostname,dc=domainname,dc=tldname": recovery skipped in read-only mode. Run manual recovery if errors are encountered.
...

Try repair

To repair the Open Directory authdata database:

$ sudo launchctl unload /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/org.openldap.slapd.plist

Now start the database recovery using the command below that matches your OS version.

$ sudo db_recover -h /var/db/openldap/authdata/ # Mac OS X 10.7
$ sudo db_recover -h /var/db/openldap/openldap-data/ # Mac OS X 10.6

Now slapd in tool mode outputs:

$ sudo /usr/libexec/slapd -Tt
bdb_db_open: database "dc=nl2,dc=probackup,dc=nl": unclean shutdown detected; attempting recovery.
bdb_db_open: database "dc=nl2,dc=probackup,dc=nl": recovery skipped in read-only mode. Run manual recovery if errors are encountered.
bdb_monitor_db_open: monitoring disabled; configure monitor database to enable
config file testing succeeded

Now turn back on Open Directory:

$ sudo launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/org.openldap.slapd.plist

And issue another restart to be better safe than sorry:

$ sudo reboot

Open Directory should now be up and running again. In case it isn't running, try below.

Try Time Machine restore

First have a look at the available back-upped versions:

$ ls /Volumes/Time\ Machine/Backups.backupdb/*/

Pick the most recent version when Open Directory was still running correctly, for example 2018-07-22-091106.

Start again with unloading the daemon.

$ sudo launchctl unload /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/org.openldap.slapd.plist

Then remove (or rename) the database directory (when it is available Time Machine won't restore correctly) and start restore:

$ sudo rm -rf /var/db/openldap/ && sudo tmutil restore -v /Volumes/Time\ Machine/Backups.backupdb/*/2018-07-22-091106/Macintosh\ HD/var/db/openldap/ /var/db/

Force repair the database:

$ sudo db_recover -cv -h /var/db/openldap/openldap-data/

Repair permissions and reboot:

$ sudo diskutil repairPermissions / && sudo reboot


How can I check my line-in does work (MBP late 2010)? How can I check my line-in does work?

I'm interesting what software should I use and how.

It is MBP, late 2010. I do have an external working mic.

Launch System Preferences… from the Apple menu.
Click on Speech.
The left tab is marked Speech Recognition.
Set the Microphone from the default "Internal microphone" to "Line In".
Click on the Calibrate button. Then speak the phrases on the left e.g. "What Time Is It?"

If your Mac detects your line-in, you'll see the blue-green-red indicator respond to the volume of your voice from the line-in.

Have fun, and don't forget to mark the question as answered when you're done. Cheers.


Updated mid-2009 MacBook Pro to Mavericks, now it shuts down while not in use I just updated my mid-2009 Macbook Pro to Mavericks and now it regularly shuts down while it is asleep or closed. I have to restart it and receive a message that it "shut down because of a problem." Does anyone have any insight into what is going on?

Below is the most recent crash report:

Process:         gutenprint.5.2 [430]
Path:            /usr/libexec/cups/driver/gutenprint.5.2
Identifier:      gutenprint.5.2
Version:         ???
Code Type:       X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process:  cups-driverd [429]
Responsible:     cupsd [117]
User ID:         26

Date/Time:       2013-11-16 22:55:10.286 +0000
OS Version:      Mac OS X 10.9 (13A603)
Report Version:  11
Anonymous UUID:  E6CABB17-89D1-A8A9-DA33-CB8AE24BB654

Crashed Thread:  0

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

Application Specific Information:
dyld: launch, loading dependent libraries

Dyld Error Message:
  Library not loaded: /usr/lib/libgutenprint.2.dylib
  Referenced from: /usr/libexec/cups/driver/gutenprint.5.2
  Reason: image not found

Binary Images:
    0x7fff61ea3000 -     0x7fff61ed6817  dyld (239.3) <D1DFCF3F-0B0C-332A-BCC0-87A851B570FF> /usr/lib/dyld
    0x7fff85b23000 -     0x7fff85b24ff7  libSystem.B.dylib (1197.1.1) <BFC0DC97-46C6-3BE0-9983-54A98734897A> /usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib
    0x7fff87a71000 -     0x7fff87a8dfff  libresolv.9.dylib (54) <11C2C826-F1C6-39C6-B4E8-6E0C41D4FA95> /usr/lib/libresolv.9.dylib
    0x7fff88c42000 -     0x7fff88e9aff1  com.apple.security (7.0 - 55471) <233831C5-C457-3AD5-AFE7-E3E2DE6929C9> /System/Library/Frameworks/Security.framework/Versions/A/Security
    0x7fff89234000 -     0x7fff89325ff9  libiconv.2.dylib (41) <BB44B115-AC32-3877-A0ED-AEC6232A4563> /usr/lib/libiconv.2.dylib
    0x7fff8c07c000 -     0x7fff8c0c3ff7  libcups.2.dylib (372) <348EED62-6C20-35D6-8EFB-E80943965100> /usr/lib/libcups.2.dylib
    0x7fff8d63b000 -     0x7fff8d820ff7  com.apple.CoreFoundation (6.9 - 855.11) <E22C6A1F-8996-349C-905E-96C3BBE07C2F> /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreFoundation.framework/Versions/A/CoreFoundation
    0x7fff90124000 -     0x7fff9013dff7  com.apple.Kerberos (3.0 - 1) <F108AFEB-198A-3BAF-BCA5-9DFCE55EFF92> /System/Library/Frameworks/Kerberos.framework/Versions/A/Kerberos
    0x7fff91be2000 -     0x7fff91c45ff7  com.apple.SystemConfiguration (1.13 - 1.13) <F05F4149-981B-380B-8F50-51CE804BBB89> /System/Library/Frameworks/SystemConfiguration.framework/Versions/A/SystemConfiguration
    0x7fff92b7a000 -     0x7fff92b8bff7  libz.1.dylib (53) <42E0C8C6-CA38-3CA4-8619-D24ED5DD492E> /usr/lib/libz.1.dylib

System Profile:
Model: MacBookPro5,5, BootROM MBP55.00AC.B03, 2 processors, Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.26 GHz, 4 GB, SMC 1.47f2
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, PCI, 256 MB
Memory Module: BANK 0/DIMM0, 2 GB, DDR3, 1067 MHz, 0x802C, 0x31364A53463235363634485A2D3147314631
Memory Module: BANK 1/DIMM0, 2 GB, DDR3, 1067 MHz, 0x802C, 0x31364A53463235363634485A2D3147314631
AirPort: spairport_wireless_card_type_airport_extreme (0x14E4, 0x8D), Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (5.106.98.100.22)
Bluetooth: Version 4.2.0f6 12982, 3 services, 15 devices, 1 incoming serial ports
Network Service: AirPort, AirPort, en1
Serial ATA Device: ST9160314ASG, 160.04 GB
Serial ATA Device: MATSHITADVD-R   UJ-868
USB Device: iPhone
USB Device: Built-in iSight
USB Device: Internal Memory Card Reader
USB Device: Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
USB Device: IR Receiver
USB Device: BRCM2046 Hub
USB Device: Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Thunderbolt Bus:

Well that crash report just says that a printer driver is improperly installed and that is causing some issues. However it's not likely crashing your whole computer. The kernel logs are the more likely place to find that info.


How to develop an an automator for looking up words in Google dictionary If you type the following address in your browser's address bar, google will give you a dictionary for looking up words:

https://www.google.com/search?sa=X&biw=1440&bih=737&q=Dictionary#dobs=

If you add a new word like "hi" right after the equal sign at the end of the above link, it will give you a definition for it.

I am just thinking if I could make an apple automator app with an interface which asks for the new word, and retrieves the definition from the oxford dictionary presented by google. Any ideas how I might approach the above scenario? Is it possible to do it with Apple automator at all?

Solution A: It's already built into macOS. Select any text using right click (ctrl) and Choose "Look up Hi".

Solution B: If you are looking for a custom Automator workflow to set a search url, take a look at codesnik answer here

Solution C: You can easily create your search hotkeys, using third party tool Alfred


Location info on a rw DMG I am following a tutorial on how to create a DMG on the command line there is an applescript which you can find here which sorts the layout of the DMG. The problem is that I can't get it to work the way I want it and position the apps and choose the window size within the DMG properly but I can do it manually on a rw DMG and then make it read only. Is there anyway to export these positions so I do not have to do it manually? Thank you.

I struggled a lot with building my DMG just the way I want it, then I've found dmgbuild. It basically lets you configure every possible setting with ease.

dmgbuild is a command line tool to create Mac OS X disk images (aka .dmg files). While it is possible to create disk images easily enough from the command line using the hdiutil program that ships with Mac OS X, there is no easy way to configure the appearance of the resulting disk image when the user opens it. Some people have used AppleScript to automate Finder to adjust the appearance, but since Finder saves its .DS_Store files asynchronously, it is hard to guarantee that the changes will actually be saved when you want them to be. It also means that you need a GUI session, with Finder running, in order to build your disk image.
dmgbuild does not rely on Finder; nor does it rely on deprecated APIs (like the Alias Manager functions). Instead, it uses the ds_store and mac_alias Python modules, which know how to construct the relevant data in Python code.


How to make the Backspace key to take me to the previous page in Safari 6? Backspace/Delete ⌫ no longer works as a back button in Safari 6.

How to make the Backspace key to take me to the previous page in Safari 6?

I actually asked a similar question (but more broad so this isn't a duplicate). I got this as an answer (it works, I tested it):

Write the below line in terminal:

  defaults write com.apple.Safari com.apple.Safari.ContentPageGroupIdentifier.WebKit2BackspaceKeyNavigationEnabled -bool YES

Then restart Safari.

Hope this helps!


Macbook pro late 2011 can support 16GB 1600Mhz RAM I want to upgrade my MacBook Pro to 16GB 1600Mhz of RAM. I want to know if it is possible before buying something incorrectly. My macbook model is MD322LL/A A1286.

Apple MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.4 15" Late 2011

Standard RAM:   4 GB    Maximum RAM:    16 GB*

Details:    4 GB of RAM is installed as two 2 GB modules, no slots free.

*Apple officially supports a maximum of 8 GB of RAM, but third-parties have determined that this model actually is capable of using up to 16 GB of RAM with two 8 GB memory modules.

Speed:  1333 MHz

Details:    Supports 1333 MHz PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM.

So buying 1600Mhz wont do much, just waist of money.

Shop here: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Apple_MacBook_MacBook_Pro/Upgrade/DDR3_1333MHz_SDRAM

Learn how to here (video): http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook_pro/macbook-pro-unibody-faq/macbook-pro-13-15-17-mid-2009-how-to-upgrade-ram-memory.html


Anyone got Logic 8 working with Lion? I know officially Logic 8 isn't compatible with Lion.

However, I know you can edit the plist (inside the package), or open it with terminal, to make it open under Lion. And it launches. (See this thread on the apple discussion forums).

The question is, is it buggy, and do plug-ins work etc? - It would be great if someone who has tried this could post here!

Logic Pro 8 uses some Carbon libraries. Carbon is no longer supported in Lion. That's why Logic Pro 8 is unstable running on OS X 10.7 Lion.


My computer name keeps changing when I plug it into a Thunderbolt display Every day I come into the office and plug my mac into my Thunderbolt display. It says the name "yourcomputer" is in use and renames it "yourcomputer-2" (or -3 or -4 ...). How do I make it stop?

Try making your hostname permanent by typing this command into the Terminal:

sudo scutil --set HostName yourcomputer

My hostname kept changing when I connected to the network because the router was broadcasting a different hostname, and this fixed it.


Are there silicon wireless keyboards for apple machines? I have a macbook-pro & mac-mini. Typing is easy on macbook since the keyboard is silicon. That's not the case with apple wireless keyboard which is connected to the mac-mini, keys are slippery. Speed typing is not easy like on macbook.

My Question is,
Are there keyboards with silicon keys for apple computers ? Where can I buy them ?

Or Can I replace keys on Wireless Keyboard with keys on macbook keyboard ?

You can purchase a Moshi ClearGuard keyboard protector directly from Apple and use it on your wireless keyboard. I have one in use at home in the kitchen/family room for our AppleTV 3rd gen. Comes in handy when I'm cooking and want to use the keyboard as a remote without having to wash my hands!

BTW/ Silicon is an element (#14 on the Periodic table.) Silicone is a flexible synthetic polymer used for adhesives, lubricants, cook-wear, insulation, and water-proofing.


iPhone 4s can't use office internet (Squid Proxy) I've configured iPhone 4s to use our office wifi and specified a squid proxy and its authentication data (tested and working on computers and my colleague android phone) but when I connect to office's wifi a "Login" completely white screen appears.
How can I solve this?

On the phone, go to advanced WiFi network settings and put the HTTP Proxy settings there.

It can happen quite often for the iOS to not be able to detect the proxy.


Possible to link mouse buttons to macOS functions I've just taken delivery of a new mechanical keyboard and laser mouse as I wanted to switch off the Bluetooth on my MacBook Pro (early 2013 Retina, running High Sierra).

All is working nicely with the Mac except I've lost the gesture control which I use a lot to switch between VMware virtual machines.

The laser mouse is a gaming mouse (HyperX Puslefire FPS) with a couple of extra buttons and I'd like to assign these buttons to switch desktops.

Does anyone know how I can do this, ideally without 3rd party software, using automation or similar?

It's no doubt possible to map your mouse buttons to Keyboards keys, but considering the generic nature of your mouse, I'm doubtful you'd be able to do it without 3rd party software.

While I haven’t used these to map buttons to a HyperX Pulsefire FPS gaming mouse, I have used these to map the buttons from a variety of other controllers:

USB Overdrive
ControllerMate

I’d start with USB Overdrive as it offers a much simpler interface. ControllerMate provides a lot more advanced functionality, but also takes quite some time to suss out.

Now, I haven't used SensibleSideButtons, but that may work in your scenario if the extra buttons are side buttons. Nor have I used Steer Mouse, but I know of people who swear by it.


Understanding macOS's Keyboard Shortcuts I was looking at some of the built-in keyboard shortcuts in macOS, and some of them are totally incomprehensible to me. I tried to do some research, but couldn't find any useful answers. All of them can be found under this window:

I would like to have, please, an explanation of the following shortcuts:

"Move focus to active or next window". If I have multiple windows running, what's the "active" or "next" one?
"Move focus to the window toolbar". What's the window toolbar?
"Move focus to the floating window". What is the floating window?
"Move focus to next window". What's the next window? And how does this shortcut differs from the first one in this list?
"Move focus to the window drawer". What's the window drawer?
"Move focus to status menus". What are the status menus?

Thank you!

"Move focus to active or next window". If I have multiple windows running, what's the "active" or "next" one?

This will put the focus on the topmost window of the currently active application ( which itself can be toggled by super+tab / Command+Tab ). This allows you to input keyboard commands to that window even if it somehow lost focus.

If the topmost window already has focus, it will rotate to the next-topmost window, regardless of which application it belongs to. This might cycle through a mixed set of Finder windows and Chrome windows based on this 'z-index'. This is the order they visually appear in, such as which was most recently clicked or opened.

  "Move focus to the window toolbar". What's the window toolbar?

This is a kind of control that some OS X native applications use. In Finder you can see it is used to select the kind of file view to display (icons/list/etc). Not many applications seem to have bothered with this.

  "Move focus to the floating window". What is the floating window?

This is a kind of special window that some OS X native applications use. It remains on top. Not many applications seem to have bothered with this.

  "Move focus to next window". What's the next window? And how does this shortcut differs from the first one in this list?

This will move the focus to the next window of the currently active application. Switching between multiple Chrome windows, for instance. It will not, unlike the "Move focus to active or next window" function, select windows belonging to a different application.

  "Move focus to the window drawer". What's the window drawer?

This is a kind of control that certain OS X native applications have in their interface. Not many applications seem to have bothered with this.

  "Move focus to status menus". What are the status menus?

The status menus are the items in the top right corner on default settings. This include the clock and your username (the logout/shutdown menu),  as well as any icons added by applications.

They really could have been named better, or have tooltips, but a lot of the descriptions would likely be oxymoronic as they aren't easy to explain in a vacuum. Some of the issues appear to be the legacy features in OS X that were intended for use by app developers that didn't become very well known or popular.

Corrections or additional examples are are welcomed in the comments.


iTunes Match restarts on step 3 when trying to upload files When I add new songs to iTunes and Match needs to upload them (on step 3), it restarts back to step 1. So it gets stuck in an infinite loop by reaching step 3, trying to upload but failing, then resetting back to step 1.

How can I fix this? I already tried the simple things like restarting my computer and turning off and on iTunes Match, and deleting and re-adding the songs back to iTunes.

I encountered this problem, and it turned out that it was due to my ISP's traffic shaping. Uploading my music was saturating my upload bandwidth, and after about 5 minutes of that, my ISP would cut my connection to Apple's servers for a few minutes, causing step 3 to time out and the whole thing to restart.

I fixed the problem by setting up bandwidth throttling on my router while I was uploading my library. Setting it to about 80% of my maximum bandwidth worked well.


Fixing Water Damaged iPhone My iPhone screen started blinking white is now completely white. Can someone tell me if this is fixable?

Before you continue, make sure you read all of the links I have posted in this answer below. The most important link is this one, which indicates that:

If an iPhone or iPod has been damaged by liquid (for example, coffee
or a soft drink), the service for such liquid damage is not covered by
the Apple one year limited warranty or an AppleCare Protection Plan
(APP). iPhone and most iPod devices that were built after 2006 have
built-in Liquid Contact Indicators that will show (as described below)
whether the device has been in contact with water or a liquid
containing water.

The Solution Everyone Does
Everyone that I hear who drops their phone into water (either submerged into the toilet or onto their screen) does something like this:

I immediately but the phone in a bag of rice for 4 days. When I took
it out I tried to turn it on but nothing. Then I tried plugging it
into my computer and nothing happened as well. I left the phone plugged
into the computer for about half an hour then all of a sudden the
computer recognized my phone. I then plugged my phone into an outlet
and it made the charging sound. I thought my phone was going to be
okay but then suddenly I realized that my screen was not coming on.
You have to turn the phone at a certain angle to see a part of
the screen. The strange part is the touchscreen still works.

Bottom line is, there is a 95% chance you won't be able to fix it. But try this, and you may be able to get it working at least partially. Make sure you take it an Apple Store first for advice. They may be able to let you replace it or at least charge a (somewhat) small fee.
Other Important Information Regarding Water Sensors
Apple has water damage sensors in their phone and if it is completely submerged, they will not replace your phone (probably). Submerging it into alcohol (see below) WILL trigger these sensors. Also, if your phone was completely submerged, the sensors would have already triggered. See this for complete information.
Risky Solutions
I'm going to list some solutions you can try (at your own risk). These are from people who have had similar issues as yours.

The water probably has left some minerals behind that is stuck in
crevices, causing the instability. You'll want to wash out the
residue. Get isopropyl alcohol, nothing below 95%, if you can even get
99% it would be best. Simply set your device into it completely
submerged for 15 minutes. Set back into rice for a night or two. The
alcohol will wash and push out the minerals left behind and the rice
will facilitate by absorbing it out.

Source: iPhone Water Damaged Screen


Safari: Picture in Picture stopped working with no reason I've got used iPad mini 2 in good condition, fully erased.

After setting up the device, youtube had minimized into small window on clicking home button, which I could move.

It worked for me for 2-3 hours, now it does not. iOS is 12.1.1 and I did not updated it, I hadn't changed any settings which could potentially affect that feature, also I hadn't done any mindless clicking.

What could I do to solve this problem? I am considering returning this iPad now

YouTube doesn’t offer Picture in Picture unless you have a YouTube Red subscription. The fact you could do it before was possible a glitch.

How can I run a YouTube video in Picture in Picture mode on iOS? on how to do Picture in Picture for free.


Can I configure a fixed IP address on my iPhone? Hi is it possible to configure a fixed IP on my iPhone? I'm interesting in something like the location provided my the "apple" menu in OS X.

It's in the network settings:

Wi-Fi
join your network if needed
tap the blue right arrow
Select Static instead of DHCP/BootP and enter in the fixed IP you prefer

Visit http://help.apple.com/iphone/ if you want pictures to guide you to the network settings part of the settings app.

This only works on Wi-Fi since your carrier issues you an IP address. You could also use a VPN profile to tunnel all traffic to a fixed IP if you had a router / server set up to provide that sort of IP / DHCP to iOS devices.


Is there an external battery available that is compatible with iPhone 4s and 5s? The company I work for is developing an app that uses geolocation and drains battery very quickly which is obviously a problem.

The customers will have both iPhone 4 and 5s so it would be great if such an external battery exists

Yes.  Most external batteries that are USB can be hooked up to both the 4S's 30-pin port and 5s's lightning port.  As long as one end of the connecting cable is USB and the other end is the corresponding type for the iPhone in question.  One example is:

http://www.mophie.com/shop/iphone-4s-4/powerstation-smart-phones-tablets


External USB3.0 4TB HDD is not recognized by Mac OS X I've bought an external 4TB HDD. It is this this one. The problem is that my Macbook Air 11" 2013 (with Mac OS X 10.9.2) does not recognize it.

The device is ok. I can use it from other computers with GNU/Linux. But I don't know what happens with my Mac. Disk utils app does not show it in the volumes list, diskutil command either.

I had this problem where I couldn't see my external usb hdd with ntfs format in mac os and I tried DiskUtil where it stuck at loading.

None of above worked for me. But I found this piece of command which miraculously made my hdd drive visible in mac:

set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1

Got it from here:

https://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/external-hard-drive-not-recognized/


Macbook Pro Battery 0% and wrong date Model: MacBook Pro Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015
While I was working, I didn't realize that the battery was low and as a result, my MacBook Pro shut down when the battery had no power. So, then I plugged in the charger and powered it on. This time I noticed something was strange. The battery was stuck in 0% for like around 10 minutes and the date got reset to 1st January 2017. I tried resetting NVRAM. Nothing happened. So, then I ran diagnostics and I got this as a result:

Here's the battery information:

Here's a screenshot from Battery Health:

Now it is pretty obvious that you might ask me to change the battery because the screenshots say so, but I want a final opinion from you guys what to do next. Everything was working fine and all of a sudden this happens. I feel if I plugged the charger in time, I wouldn't have to see all this. And also a new battery isn't exactly affordable for me at the moment. And it is also important to note that while the charger is on, it shows orange LED. So, what should I do?

Your battery is dead.
You need to replace the battery.   Granted, it's a bit young at just under two years and 820 cycles, but it's not uncommon nor unheard of.  Unfortunately, batteries die for any number of factors.
With your specific battery, it appears that it won't take a charge, thus it cannot hold one.

Everything was working fine and all of a sudden this happens. I feel
if I plugged the charger in time, I wouldn't have to see all this.

There are a number of factors that contribute to premature battery death - it could have been defective from the factory or you could have subjected it to extreme conditions.  Perhaps something in between.  The point is, it happens.  There is nothing you could have done to prevent your battery from degrading.

...also a new battery isn't exactly affordable for me at the moment.
And it is also important to note that while the charger is on, it
shows orange LED. So, what should I do?

First off, the orange LED means it's sending voltage to the charging circuit or "charging" for short.   It doesn't mean it's "successfully charging" the battery.
Getting an Apple Store to change out your battery will be very expensive (minimum $500).  However, a replacement battery alone is fairly inexpensive (around $70 USD) if you are willing to change it out yourself.  ifixit.com has an excellent step-by-step guide to walk you through it.  They rank it as difficult, not because it's complex (it actually quite simple) but because the battery is glued in and you have to be careful.


Unable to enter directories in Finder after moving directories to NAS I have a NAS, which I use for storing my old photos. When moving the remainder of my 2016 photos, the following problem occurred, but without any error message during the move operation. The move operation was done by holding the cmd-button while dragging and dropping in Finder.
In Finder on OS X version 10.11.6, the directory looks like this:

Using Finder, I can enter directories like 2016-10-15, but not the ones with different icons. 2016-11-27 is a directory, and 2016-12-01 should not be shown twice, but is a result of the erroneous move operation.

I have researched online to figure this out, but have not yet found a solution. One of the possible explanations was extended attributes. I ran a xattr -c * to clear all of the attributes. This did remove the attributes, but didn't solve the problem.

I can enter the directories using Terminal.

machinename:2016 user$ ls -al 2016-11-27
total 34600
drwxr-xr-x  1 user  staff       264 24 Jan 21:18 .
drwxrwxr-x  1 user  staff      7606 16 Mar 20:14 ..
-rw-r--r--  1 user  staff   1339112 24 Jan 21:05 2016-11-27 08.47.29.jpg
-rwxrwxrwx  1 user  staff  12069896 27 Nov 16:58 DSC_0151.JPG

Any other ideas on how to fix this?

From the symptoms you describe I suspect a damaged .DS_Store file in the parent folder.

Try deleting it while the folder is closed in the Finder. Close all open windows in the Finder, then in Terminal rm .DS_Store while in the directory. This should be the same directory you were in when you ran the command in your question. Now open . will open the directory in the Finder and all should be OK. If that doesn't work you could also try deleting the .DS_Store in the directory above.

If neither of those work then I would try copying the entire folder tree in Terminal using the cp command.


How to change the Mail "Archive" folder for email account/s? On OS X 10.8.3, in Mail, is there a way  to change the account folder that the "Archive" button sends the mail messages to?
For example, on GMail it should go into "All Mail".

I found the answer here.

Close Mail;
Go to /Users/<username>/Library/Mail/V2/MailData/;
Edit Accounts.plist (make a backup just in case);
Find the key-string pair:
<key>ArchiveMailboxName</key>
<string>Archive</string>
Change the <string> tag value to your desired archive folder name, e.g. [Gmail]/All Mail or All Mail depending on your account folder naming scheme.
Save the file;
Reopen Mail

The Archive folder(s) will now apear with their own icon on the left pane and not as regular folders.

You can also add an archive button to the toolbar.


Change display arrangement in OS X/macOS programmatically I periodically have to move my display around (physically1) and this requires also rearranging my display arrangement in System Preferences.  Manually doing this all the time is a pain in the neck.  Is there any way to do it programmatically?

1 I work on one side of a table when I'm working solo, but when I want to pair with someone I flip to the other side of the table because it has more unused space available for a second person.  Flipping the display around to face the other side of the table means the display goes from being to the right of my laptop to being to the left, since the laptop goes on a stand either way.

Sorry for the late answer. You can use displayplacer to set profiles for both of your arrangements. Save the profiles in a script or use something like BetterTouchTool for a hotkey to change your monitor layout.

https://github.com/jakehilborn/displayplacer


Change font size for PDF Text comments in Preview I would like to change the font size for PDF Text comments in Preview? I am aware that acrobat allows you to do this. I am looking for
a  solution in Preview (Version 8.1 (877.7))

This is a variation of this post, or that post which apply respectively to text font size or comments in MS Word.

Here I want to change the font in
the comments of Preview.

Even if I copy a bigger text font inside it, it is made smaller once the note is closed. As this example shows, the comment font is too small for my eyes :-)

This might be relevant?
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20070304081248710

Attempt

When I type

defaults read com.apple.Preview | grep PVAnnotationFontSize_5

I get

   "PVAnnotationFontSize_5" = 9;

So I tried

defaults write com.apple.Preview PVAnnotationFontSize_5 12

But it doe not seem to do the trick (even after login out and in again).

It did change the value though as can be seen via the Property list editor

found in ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Preview/Data/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Preview.plist as suggested by @ankiiiiiii

You have to use defaults write in a slightly differently way with Preview and other sandboxed apps.

Using defaults write com.apple.Preview ... modifies (or creates) a plist file in ~/Library/Preferences.

As pointed out, that's not where Preview saves (or looks for) its preference file, which is in a nested subfolder of ~/Library/Containers instead.

To modify the correct plist, use: defaults write -app Preview ...

You'll need to make sure you have the correct key, too. I have the following keys in my Preview plist:

"PVAnnotationFontSize_12" = 10;
"PVAnnotationFontSize_17" = 10;
"PVAnnotationFontSize_5" = "11.99199";
"PVAnnotationFontSize_6" = 10;

However, modifying those does not change the text size for either Annotations or Notes. Annotations seem to keep the last settings used. Notes don't seem to be editable in the UI.

Also, note that you don't need to use grep to read a specific plist key. E.g. defaults read com.apple.Preview PVAnnotationFontSize_5

EDIT: Having probed into the plist data and the text strings within the Preview app itself, I'm not convinced that there is an editable key for the font size or style in Preview's Notes.


Using time capsule as a shared iTunes library Is it possible to use a time capsule as a shared iTunes library?

To be clear, by shared library I mean a library that all the computers running iTunes in the network would recognise as a shared library and not merely a shared location to be configured in iTunes.

No, the Time Capsule doesn't have the software to run an iTunes library.

It can be used as external storage as you mentioned configuring it as a shared location. In this case iTunes would be running on another computer rather than on the Time Capsule.


How to find a cause of a Kernel Panic message, or BSoD? How to understand why Beautiful Screen of Death1 appeared?

When I tried to find what happened using "Console" I couldn't find anything useful in logs? There's no 'panic' or 'SIG*' in logs, so what should I look for?

Where does OSX writes the cause of it's death?

1 I'm not sure that it's called BSoD on OSX, but it doesn't look like kernel panic screen (black screen in text mode) either.

The kernel panic text is added to the log after you restart the computer, assuming that you did not reset PRAM (the kernel panic text is stored in PRAM until you restart). In Mac OS X v10.6, the logs are located in in /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports. In Mac OS X v10.5, the logs are located in /Library/Logs/PanicReporter (source)

If you cannot find these files, or they contain no information on the kernel panic, then there is likely something wrong with the hardware of the computer.  Running a system diagnostic or visiting the genius bar is probably your next step.

If you are really interested in attempting to resolve the issue yourself, you might find this guide to resolving OS X kernel panics helpful.


iPad and MacBook Pro won't both connect to my wifi My MacBook Pro and my iPad wont both connect to my wifi at the same time. Right now I'm on my iPad and my MacBook has the "no Internet connection" alert...Although there's a check mark by my network name on the drop down list.

Last night when I was on my laptop my iPad wouldn't connect.

I have no idea how to fix this problem.  I've tried unplugging/restarting my router as well as manually joining my network.

The router IP might not be http://192.168.0.1

On your Mac go into System Preferences and select Network then Wi-Fi in the left hand list.

Just under the Status: line it should tell you your current IP address, make a note of it.

At the bottom right click on Advanced. Now select TCP/IP and Configure IPv4: should be set to Use DHCP. This pane will also tell you your router address a little further down.

Now you can point your browser to the correct IP address for your router and see what it is saying.

You can also open up Settings on your iPad and go to Wi-Fi then click on the little 'i' in a circle icon and it will tell you the IP address it is using and the address of the router.

If the IP address being used by both is the same then there's your problem.


Which permission for pictures? 644? In order to avoid some non wanted modifications or corruption of pictures files, one possibility is to change the permissions of the files (in ~/Pictures).

Do you think that this idea is a good one? And which permissions? 644 on files and 755 on directories?

0644 is good for pictures. 0755 is only needed for executable files and directories (thanks, Mateusz).

Note that 0644 grants read access to all users. If you want to deny read access to other users, then you might consider 0600 instead.

More info: man 1 chmod.


iOS simulator always saves images on desktop When pressed Command-S, the iOS simulator always saves screenshots on Desktop. How can I tell it to save it somewhere else?

[Edit to add Automator steps]

You can't change the location, but I often use a little script like this to keep things tidy:

#!/usr/bin/env bash

destination=~/screenshots

while [ true ]; do
    if [ -n "$(shopt -s nullglob; echo ~/Desktop/Simulator\ Screen\ Shot*.png)" ]; then
        mv -v ~/Desktop/Simulator\ Screen\ Shot*.png "$destination";
    fi
    sleep 5
done

Since you're using the iOS simulator you probably know how to create this as an executable script already, so I'll avoid giving those instructions.

If not, I might use Automator.

Create folder screenshots in your home directory
Start Automator and create a new Document of type Application
Find the Run Shell Script action and drag it from the actions on the left to the workspace on the right
Paste the shell script without the first line with #! stuff
Save it and run it from applications
You should see the screen shot files be moved.
Here's a visual. http://www.screencast.com/t/KEbAFifHCTcc


How do I remove the recently added section in Music? I recently updated my old iPhone 5 to iOS 9.

One of the things I don't like about the new music player is that when I start it up after I turned on my iPhone, half the screen is taken up by useless stuff, the main offender is the "recently added" section.

Is there a way I can get rid of this recently added section?

No, that section can't be removed.  Many people, including me, would like to be able to customize the start screen like this but I haven't been able to find any credible info on how to do this.


Why can I not use `sudo` as a `Standard` user in macOS? I do most of the "work" I do on my Mac as a Standard user (Apple parlance for an unprivileged user). I also frequently use the CLI (zsh mostly now) via the Terminal app. I use MacPorts as a package manager, and various utilities such as find, rsync, launchctl, ip, mount, log, softwareupdate, etc etc etc. As it frequently happens, something I am trying to do from the CLI requires privilege elevation via the sudo command.
However: According to this document, it seems that Apple does not support the use of sudo by Standard users:

Only administrator users can use sudo. If you’re not logged in as an administrator, you can do so by entering the following command, where adminUsername is the name of an administrator user:

% su adminUsername

This seems clumsy and inconvenient: su and then sudo. It is also at odds with the way sudo works on other platforms I use. Of course macOS requires Admin user authentication to perform some tasks in the GUI, but this is generally not the way that sudo operates; i.e. any user may be granted privileges to perform specified tasks by the Admin user for the system.
I won't ask "why" Apple does it this way as that can only be an opinion here, but I will ask if there is a work-around - can sudo on macOS be made to work as it does on other platforms?

sudo on macOS does work as it does on other platforms - at least through macOS 10.15.6:
If you, as a "Standard" user, want or need privileges to perform certain tasks, those privileges may be granted by the Admin user in the sudoers file. If you are both the Admin user, and the unprivileged StandardJoe user, this becomes a bit trite, but here's how it works:
% su AdminUser
# authentication, and then:
Adminuser %

Now, as Adminuser, use the visudo command to edit the sudoers file:
Adminuser % sudo visudo

This will open the sudoers file in an editor (perhaps pico). This next step is not the way things would be done on a multi-user system, but in this case as there's only one user, and we're trying to make a point, we'll abandon convention & 'throw caution to the wind' :)
Add the following line to the sudoers file:
StandardJoeUser ALL = (ALL) /usr/sbin/visudo

Save the file, and exit the editor. Then exit the Admin user's shell:
Adminuser % exit
%

What have we just done? We have given your StandardJoeUser user permission to make any changes he wishes to the sudoers file. With that permission, you - as StandardJoeUser - can add the privileges you need - or ALL the privileges available to the Admin user if you choose.
To continue as StandardJoeUser, we'll now grant him the same privileges under sudo as the Admin user has:
% sudo visudo
# authenticate with StandardJoeUser's password

Again, the sudoers file is opened in the editor. This time, add the following line just below the one added previously:
StandardJoeUser ALL = (ALL) ALL

Once again, save & exit. Now - StandardJoeUser can sudo anything - same as the Admin user. There is no need to change to the Admin user (su); you may sudo under your Standard user's credentials.
Debating the wisdom of this change could be classified as opinion under SE rules, so I'll stop here. The answer to the question should be clear enough now: Yes, sudo on macOS does work the same as on other platforms; it seems the document you referenced could be classified as inaccurate under some definition of the word.


Don't see the option to select my mobile number in 'Send & Receive' option of iMessage [iOS 13.3 iPhone 11] I recently got a new iPhone 11 and have inserted the sim as part of the setup. Whenever I send text messages to a person, they see my email ID instead of my phone number.

I went to Settings > iMessage > Send & Receive but I do not see my phone number there and just see my apple Id. Same for my FaceTime settings. No one is able to FaceTime me using my number and they can do it through only email Id.
I have also verified my phone number under Settings > iCloud > Name, Phone Numbers & Email and I do see my phone number added there.

I checked this similar question but as the answer suggests, I have already waited for more than 24 hours. Also checked Apple's support article but still no luck: https://support.apple.com/en-nz/HT201422

I can see that a good number of people have faced this issue and can see posts across the internet but nothing seems to be working for me. I have also verified that my carrier does let me send and receive SMS.

Turns out that for activating iMessage and FaceTime, Apple sends a text message to an international number and my phone plan did not not include international texts. I had to call my cellular service to get international texts activated. iMessage/FaceTime got activated few seconds later.


not optimum mode message on samsung monitor when I close the lid For some reason, my samsung monitor started giving me some problems when I use it with my mac pro. It works perfectly on PC, and it used to work perfectly on my mac too, but recently when I connect it to my mac pro, it started showing the screen with wrong resolution when the lid is open, but when I close the lid it gives "not optimum mode" message. I need help.

Normally if you look in the About this Mac, then look how is it identifying the monitor. What does it say about it.

Usually that information will tell you that something is wrong (mostly the cable).


Waiting until a window exists in Applescript? I'm trying to work with the script below and the repeat until exists window "Print"loop never returns true (I never hear the beep 3). Is this the correct way to wait for a window to appear?

I am using the Accessibility Inspector and this is the correct name of the print dialog window.

# Saves current document open in EverNote as PDF
#
activate application "Evernote"
tell application "System Events"
    tell process "EverNote"
        # Open the print dialog
        beep 1
        keystroke "p" using command down

        # Wait until the Print dialog opens before proceeding
        repeat until exists window "Print"
        end repeat

        # Expand the "PDF" menu button (must be expanded before the menu is referencable)
        beep 3

        click menu button "PDF" of window "Print"
        # Wait until the Menu button menu is created before proceeding
        repeat until exists menu item "Save as PDF…" of menu 1 of menu button "PDF" of window "Print"
        end repeat
        # Select the "Save as PDF" menu item
        click menu item "Save as PDF…" of menu 1 of menu button "PDF" of window "Print"

        # Wait until the Save dialog opens before proceeding
        repeat until exists window "Save"
        end repeat

        # Paste the contents of the clipboard in and Save
        # This is sorta hack; Probably best to leave the 'Save As" dialog open and let the user finish it off but I have a special purpose
        if (get (the clipboard) is not "") then
            set value of text field 1 of window "Save" to get (the clipboard) & ".pdf"
        end if
        click button "Save" of window "Save"

    end tell
end tell

I seem to have fixed the main problem of the "waiting for window" issue. Apparently nested "tells" are not so good - so I solved this by specifying the process which owns a particular UI element:

repeat until window "Print" of process "Evernote" exists

Haven't solved putting the current date into the filename field of the "Save" sheet yet but tomorrow is another day! Here's the full script:

activate application "Evernote"
tell application "System Events"

    # Open the print dialog
    keystroke "p" using command down

    # Wait until the Print dialog opens before proceeding
    repeat until window "Print" of process "Evernote" exists
    end repeat

    click menu button "PDF" of window "Print" of process "Evernote"

    # Wait until the Menu button menu is created before proceeding
    repeat until exists menu item "Save as PDF…" of menu 1 of menu button "PDF" of window "Print" of process "Evernote"
    end repeat

    # Select the "Save as PDF" menu item
    click menu item "Save as PDF…" of menu 1 of menu button "PDF" of window "Print" of process "Evernote"

    # Wait until the Save dialog opens before proceeding
    repeat until exists window "Save" of process "Evernote"
    end repeat

    set theDate to current date

    #tell (current date) to get (it's month as integer) & "-" & day & "-" & (it's year as integer)
    #set the clipboard to result as text

    #set myDate to result as text
    #set the clipboard to "dog" as text
    #if (get (the clipboard) is not "") then
    #set value of text field 1 of sheet "Save" of process "Evernote" to get (the clipboard) & ".pdf"
    #end if

    set value of text field of sheet "Save" of process "Evernote" to "dog" & ".pdf"
    # Paste the contents of the clipboard in and Save
    # This is sorta hack; Probably best to leave the 'Save As" dialog open and let the user finish it off but I have a special purpose

    # click button "Save" of window "Save" of process "Evernote"

end tell


Linking my mac to a monitor but my backlight has gone The back light on my mac screen has failed and I have the correct cables/connections to link to a monitor. The signal is coming through fine as I can see my wall paper. All my icons and files are to the "left" of the monitor screen, off screen but there. I can not get into system preferences to make the necessary changes as it is off screen.
Does anyone know how I might be able to get round this problem. Thanks. Scott

A keyboard shortcut used to be cmd-F1. You may also try fn-cmd-F1.

Check this thread. It is rather old but has had recent updates.


Macintosh HD not using entire drive I have a 2016 15" macbook pro with a 256gb ssd. Only 122gb are used by MacOS. How do I get MacOS to use the entire drive? I believe this happened because of a botched bootcamp uninstall. Disk utility shows the following:

Here's the output from diskutil list

/dev/disk0 (internal):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                         251.0 GB   disk0
   1:                        EFI EFI                     314.6 MB   disk0s1
   2:                 Apple_APFS Container disk1         122.0 GB   disk0s2

/dev/disk1 (synthesized):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      APFS Container Scheme -                      +122.0 GB   disk1
                                 Physical Store disk0s2
   1:                APFS Volume Macintosh HD            104.0 GB   disk1s1
   2:                APFS Volume Preboot                 44.7 MB    disk1s2
   3:                APFS Volume Recovery                510.4 MB   disk1s3
   4:                APFS Volume VM                      1.1 GB     disk1s4

Thanks!

I just needed to resize the container (because apparently that's a simple thing to do). I first had to restart into recovery mode and run firstaid on the container. I ran it on all 3 of the drive, the container, and the volume to be safe, but I'm certain only the run on the container did anything. Then I restarted and logged in and in a terminal ran the following:

diskutil apfs resizeContainer /dev/disk1 0


In Finder, directory size is not shown I linked Mail.app to my Gmail account and to my surprise it downloaded all of the 300000+ (!) messages that are on it (I looked in the Preferences for a way to limit the amount of messages downloaded but to no avail, if anybody has any directions on that please post them in a comment).

Since Mail.app refused to delete the messages in the mailbox I did not need, I wanted to check how much space on my disk all of those messages take.
I located the folder containing all my emails at /Users/gabriele/Library/Mail/V2/IMAP-*****/*****.mbox/*****.im.mbox which contains another folder with all of the messages I don't want but I'm forced to keep.

I showed the information for this folder but instead of the file size, it only said --:

At first I thought it might mean that it's still calculating so I let it sit, but it's been there for about 10 minutes now and it's still just two dashes.

What does it mean? How can I show the size of this folder?

In Finder press Cmd-J to access display options:

The option is set individually per folder. If you want it applied by default, click the button at the bottom. Calculation folder sizes make take a long time though for big folders.

Alternatively you can open Terminal.app, type du -sm (followed by a Space), drag the folder you want to know to size of into the Terminal window and press Enter. Takes some time as well and gives you the size in Megabytes.


Is there any stable Adobe Reader for OSX? I have version 11.0.06 which is very unstable.
Its average crash-time is about 5 minutes in 10.9.2 OSX.
I cannot handle long documents at all.
Those which I type in LaTeX for instance.
Works well in Preview but not in Adobe Reader.
Adobe Reader goes very easily into overflow.

The same problem is happening in many new installations.
It is not in hardware, but in their software the problem.

Is there any stable version of Adobe Reader for OSX?

I also have the AR XI on my MBA 10.9.2.

  Architecture: i386

  Build: 11.0.06.70

  AGM: 4.28.134

  CoolType: 5.11.135

  JP2K: 2.0.0.32097

So far no crashes here with any kind of PDF, online or of line, in German and English with > 70 pages long ect..

Maybe you should look in your Console after a crash to see what is doing it.

Additionally some more information:

The Adobe Reader is not recommendable when editing LaTeX documents because it is uncomfortable regarding forward and inverse search between source code and PDF output. It does not support SyncTeX and therefore is only usable for viewing (and perhaps printing) the finalized document.


how do I get homebrew build a package (clisp) with the debug flag set Is there a brew --with-debug-flag-set package style command available to get brew to build a package that includes debug information.

Specifically, I would like clisp to be built this way so that disassemble works in the repl.

I imagine something along the lines of:

brew install clisp --with-debug

or somesuch.

According to Mike McQuaid (Lead maintainer of Homebrew) this is not possible.


Is there a way to make `open -a` pass command line arguments to the app it launches? I'd like to run OpenSCAD from the command line with some arguments.

$ open -a openscad myfile.scad

works as I expect.

$ open -a openscad --args --help

reports

LSOpenURLsWithRole() failed for the application /Applications/OpenSCAD.app with error -10810.

when OpenSCAD is not already running.  When OpenSCAD is already running, then open -a openscad --args --help simply brings OpenSCAD to the foreground.

What I really need is for this to work:

$ open -a openscad --args -o myfile.stl myfile.scad

which works just like my previous example.  What should I do to launch OpenSCAD with command line arguments?

Before hitting submit I reproduced my questions for pasting here, and I found a solution that more-or-less works.  All of these seem to do what I expect, even if OpenSCAD is not already running.

$ /Applications/OpenSCAD.app/Contents/MacOS/OpenSCAD --help
$ /Applications/OpenSCAD.app/Contents/MacOS/OpenSCAD --args --help
$ /Applications/OpenSCAD.app/Contents/MacOS/OpenSCAD -o ball.stl ball.scad
$ /Applications/OpenSCAD.app/Contents/MacOS/OpenSCAD --args -o ball.stl ball.scad

Still, is there a way to make open -a pass command line arguments to the app it launches?

The only thing I can get to work is opening a file. It seems that the App is not made to accept the args this way.

open -a openscad --args '/path/to/foo.scad'

The App does have an Applescript scripting definition but it only has reload defined.


Finder shows the wrong file size compared to Terminal or e.g. Gmail (not the base-10 vs base-2 problem) Finder shows different sizes for my files as compared to Terminal

-rw-r--r--@ 1 yuku  staff   4576265 Aug  6  2014 af-afr.yet
-rw-r--r--@ 1 yuku  staff   1804227 Aug 11  2014 alp-alune5.yet
-rw-r--r--@ 1 yuku  staff   8348051 Jul 24  2015 ar-nav.yet
-rw-r--r--@ 1 yuku  wheel   4683564 May  8  2015 ar-vandyke.yet
-rw-r--r--@ 1 yuku  staff   1169397 Aug  6  2014 arc-pst.yet
-rw-r--r--@ 1 yuku  staff   2545947 Aug  6  2014 awa-awbtc.yet

You can see the difference is very significant (e.g. 6 MB vs 4576265 bytes). The one at Terminal is the correct one, since if I open the files with Sublime Text and count the bytes, or attach the files in Gmail, they will show the same sizes as the Terminal ones.

If I open the file Info window, it shows the wrong size as well.

This has been months, even after rebooting. I am using macOS 10.13 High Sierra. Do you know what is the source of this error and how to fix it?

Actually, the answer is in your "Get Info" window:

You've got compression enabled on that drive. The file does have 6MB data in it, and when you copy it elsewhere, that's what it takes up.

However, with compression enabled on that drive, the file only takes up 2.9MB on the disk because it has been compressed.


Is there a way to split the Cmd-Tab app list onto multiple rows? Is there an app/program for OS X that will "split" the list of open apps that appears when you hit ⌘-tab into multiple rows?

This is the default behaviour for Windows 7 and it's really quite useful when you have lots of windows open, navigating with the arrow keys.

How about something like Witch? It may not be 100% what you're after, but I find it nicer than the built-in application switching.


If I update to Mavericks, will I be able to boot from USB? running a late 2009 (5,5) Macbook Pro. I am currently unable to boot from liveUSB disks, but would really like to. I know that newer macs can do this (Macbook Air, new MBPs), but is it a hardware or a software thing? If I update to Mavericks, would I be able to do this on my machine?

It has nothing to do with the operating system. The update will not change your ability or inability to boot in any particular way.

The stage of the boot process you're talking about is handled by the firmware, not by the operating system.


iPhone wifi is half the speed of Mac when using an Airport Express My internet account with Comcast is 75 Mbps down and 10 Mbps up. To verify my internet speeds, I used SpeedOf.Me in Safari on my 2011 iMac and 2014 Macbook Pro which gave me 75-80 Mbps down and 10-15 Mbps up on both computers. To make sure I was getting similar speeds on my mobile devices, I installed the Ookla Speedtest app on my iPhone 5 and iPhone 6 which gave me 32-35 Mbps down and 12-15 Mbps up. Both iPhones are running the latest version of iOS 8.4.

My internet equipment and settings are as follows:

Motorola Surfboard SB6121 cable modem

Docsys 3.0
latest firmware
IPv6 only

Airport Express wifi router

802.11n at 5GHz
WPA2 Personal
latest firmware

I tried reseting the Network Settings on the iPhones but that had no affect on the wifi speed. I tried restarting the Airport Express several times, one of which gave me 72 Mbps down on the iPhones but a few minutes later the wifi speed decreased back to around 34 Mbps on the iPhones.

Why is the wifi on my iPhone about half the speed of my Mac and how can I fix this?

Start off by eliminating variables. Test using speedtest.net in your Mac, and explicitly select the server. Do the same on your phone. Or test using speedof.me on the phone. Otherwise you're comparing apples to oranges - they use different servers.


Recommended way to back up a Macbook before upgrading its OS? I'm planning on upgrading a friend's Macbook from OS X Leopard to OS X Snow Leopard. I think it's a good idea to backup all the data before upgrading the OS, in case something goes wrong. The problem is that the important data is not clearly stored in a single location — e.g. it may be scattered all throughout the system since my friend doesn't store all his data in one location, so it's very difficult to know which files/folders I should or shouldn't back up.

Is there any recommended procedure I should follow or a built-in (preferred) or 3rd-party tool I should use to back up the data before an OS upgrade?

Hard to answer, not because of technical difficulty - but psychology. ;) So I will take the answer a bit easy...

A. The simple way

Make a Time Machine backup (if you do 1st times will get a full backup) so you will be able to restore anything that you created on the Mac. For this, you will need:

one external HDD (big enough), connect it
go to System Preferences
use this external HDD as Backup disk for the Time Machine

B. As A. but with a bootable Time Machine HDD

For this, you will need:

one external HDD (big enough)
your OS X install DVD
turn off Time Machine, if you have it on
connect HDD
insert install DVD
start /Applications/Utilities/DiskUtility.app
select your external HDD
go to "Restore" Tab
into "Source field", drag your Install DVD
into "Destination", drag your external HDD
triple check (so DON'T ERASE YOUR INTERNAL HDD!)
press Restore and go to have a lunch
after the restore, exit Disk Utility
eject Install DVD
go to System Preferences and enable Time machine
select your external HDD as BackupDrive
Make a full Time Machine backup

With the above, you get a BOOTABLE Time Machine HDD. When things go wrong, you can hold down Alt when your Mac is booting and select this HDD for BOOT and restore from it without needing the install DVD (faster restore).

C. Want even more?

Make working copies of your HDD. Like above, you will got a BOOTABLE external HDD, but not for install purpose, but for working from it. So, you can boot it and continue work as from your internal HDD.

For this you can:

get a donationware: CarbonCopyCloner, or
make a normal install into external HDD, boot it, and use the MigrationAssistant.app to migrate data from the internal HDD to freshly installed external HDD

Do you know that paranoia is the right state of the system administrator's mind?

Do B and C - So you will need two external HDD's. It is the best, because you can drop your backup HDD from the table, and after this crash-test, the drive will be probably unusable (broken). :) Anyway, for this solution, you need to not crash-test both drives.

With this, you will be able to WORK immediately (from the external drive) and restore from the Time Machine (from the second external HDD).

Know Murphy?

Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. (Hang up Murphy!)
Your upgrade will fail (but usually it doesn't)
Your backup will fail too (but usually you don't need it)
so... take it easy ;)

Ps:

Here are more ways, e.g.: over the network from the command line with rsync command, etc. etc...

YOU REALLY WANT TO READ

This, especially
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1553
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1177


iCloud Drive in Finder sidebar shows incomplete circle segment The iCloud Drive title in my Mac's Finder window, shows a cloud symbol on the left side, and a circle on the right side with a segment not completed.  I am having problems uploading Pages documents on my Mac to iCloud that can be read on my iPads.  I can use Pages on the iPads, and the documents show on all my devices, but when I write them on my Mac, they don't always show on the iPads.  I have made sure I am signed in to iCloud from each device.  Any thoughts?

This sounds like an iCloud sync issue on the Mac end, not the iOS end. I know you said that you are signed into iCloud on each device, but make sure you are signed in with the same Apple ID. If you are signed in with the same Apple ID, then go to System Preferences -> iCloud -> iCloud Drive, and make sure Pages is selected on your Mac. For more information, see this help article from Apple.


bash prompt acting weird when I click UP key and then down KEY So my bash prompt looks like this [parth:~]$ and if I go cd to Desktop, it looks like this [parth:Desktop]$. I only want to see the current directory, next to my username so if I go to a folder, in Desktop, it would replace Desktop with the current directory name.

This is what I have in my ~/.bash_profile to make it look like this: export PS1='[\033[01;32m\]\u\[\033[00m\]:\[\033[01;34m\]\W\[\033[00m\]]\$ '

This PS1 also follows the color highlighting of my terminal theme.

The problem is that when I click the up arrow key a few times (for the previous commands) and then click the down arrow key, the prompt gets messed up. It appends a part of the previous command to my prompt and I have to enter CTRL + C to reset it. Also when my command reaches the end of the line, instead of going to the new line, it wraps around the same line.

How do I fix this?

As far as I have been able to tell, this is caused by a bug in iTerm2, where actions such as ctrl+a make it act as though the colour-specifying characters in PS1 are treated as though they have a length.

The best solution I have found is to not specify colours in your .bashrc, and instead use triggers to generate the colours.


iPad 2 company installed monitoring malware A company I used to work for installed tracking malware on my iPad 2. It monitors my emails, Facebook, changes my passwords, etc. I did a complete reset at an Apple Store, it is still there. The Apple tech support told me I would have to go back to the company to have it removed? My wife works there, and it will create problems for her. Any suggestions?

Apple allows end users to remove any MDM profiles that could be seen as Malware if you didn't agree to enroll the device in the first place.

Apple ensures pretty well that a company cannot push these settings to any device except ones they strictly own.
If you enroll a BYOD iPad into their MDM - you are prompted to agree to enroll the device and you can inspect what sort of data collection and control you are yielding to the company.
At any time, you can remove the restrictions/monitoring - but you will then lose the Apps that are provisioned from the company, company data that is stored in company apps as well as loss of email accounts. This removal is surgical - only the items that "belong" to the company get deleted - all content remains unless it came in after the profile and under the profile's control.
If you don't trust the surgical remove option - power off the device and restore it from iTunes.

I wouldn't call any of this malware since it was designed in by Apple and intended to be used in the way it is used. Hopefully you weren't surprised by what you agreed to when you enrolled the device or handed it over to IT. If you received it from IT - you may have missed all the prompts.

Best of luck - and you'll know to carefully inspect all profiles going forward so you've comfortable with the control you cede to anyone else running a MDM.


How to disable long touch = click on MacBook Air touchpad? If I leave my mouse in one spot for several seconds with my finger on the touch pad, it interprets it as a downclick.  So if I hover over a file while thinking about something and then move my cursor, it will try to drag the file, if I hover over text and then move the cursor it will select text, and so on.

I have gone into the System Settings and unchecked "Tap to Click" already, but that doesn't seem to do it. Is there another way to disable this feature?

Did you put more than one finger on your pad ? Precisely, did you put exactly three fingers ? That may be your problem, and therefore your solution. In the preference menu, you can disable the "Three finger drag".


Automate change in settings upon plugging mouse in I am using a MacBook Air running Sierra.

I like to use different mouse settings with my touchpad, and my USB mouse. To facilitate this, every time I plug my mouse in, I have to go to System Preferences and change the mouse settings (reverse scroll direction and adjust sensitivity). Is there any way by which I can automate this change (maybe using automator) in settings to occur automatically every time I plug in the USB mouse?

Under macOS Sierra, if you have only a normal USB mouse, not one that comes with it's own software and is multi-function with additional buttons, etc., then in System Preferences > Mouse, you have the following settings that can be changed:

Scroll direction: natural checkbox
Tracking speed slider
Scrolling Speed slider
Double-Click speed slider

And two additional settings under Mouse that will not be addressed, for two reasons, the Primary mouse button: radio buttons, if other then the default of Left, is in all likelihood already set and wouldn't necessarily change because one wants to change the Scroll direction: natural checkbox, and since the OP stated USB mouse, I'll assume is not using Bluetooth and can ignore the Setup Bluetooth Mouse... button.

This answer is going to use AppleScript to get the before and after settings for the value of the aforementioned listed sliders to be used in the AppleScript code that follows after this code.

Open Script Editor and create a new document, then add the following code:

tell application "System Preferences"
    set current pane to pane id "com.apple.preference.mouse"
    --delay 0.5 -- # If necessary, uncomment 'delay' command and set its value in seconds and or decimal fractions there of.
    tell application "System Events"
        log "Scrolling speed is set to: " & value in (get properties of slider 1 of front window of application process "System Preferences")
        log "Double-Click speed is set to: " & value in (get properties of slider 2 of front window of application process "System Preferences")
        log "Tracking speed is set to: " & value in (get properties of slider 3 of front window of application process "System Preferences")
    end tell
end tell

There will be two difference states of the Scroll direction: natural checkbox in System Preferences > Mouse, checked and unchecked and the change in slider settings between the two states.

The code above will be run once to get the current value settings of the sliders. Then make the setting changes that you want to the sliders for the opposite state of what it was when you gathered the values of the first settings for the first state. Then run the code again to get the differential settings.

You will then plug in the values, gathered above, in the code below. You can comment out or remove any slider that's not going to be changed by the code below.

The comments in the code below should be adequate, however, don't hesitate to ask it you need anything explained.

I saved the following AppleScript code in Script Editor as an application named Toggle Mouse Settings in the Applications folder.

When run, it toggles the state of the Scroll direction: natural checkbox between checked and unchecked along with the slider settings under each state.

AppleScript code for the Toggle Mouse Settings app:

on run
    try
        tell application "System Preferences"
            set current pane to pane id "com.apple.preference.mouse"
            -- delay 0.5    -- # If necessary, uncomment 'delay' command and set its value in seconds and or decimal fractions there of.
            tell application "System Events"
                set isChecked to get value of checkbox 1 of front window of application process "System Preferences" as boolean
                if isChecked then
                    --  # The 'Scroll direction: Natural' checkbox is checked, uncheck it.
                    set cbValue to value of (click checkbox 1 of front window of application process "System Preferences") as boolean
                    --  # Scrolling Speed - Valid Values: 0.0 to 8.0
                    set value of slider 1 of front window of application process "System Preferences" to 6.0
                    --  # Double-Click Speed - Valid Values: 0.0 to 10.0
                    set value of slider 2 of front window of application process "System Preferences" to 8.0
                    --  # Tracking Speed - Valid Values: 0.0 to 9.0
                    set value of slider 3 of front window of application process "System Preferences" to 6.0
                else
                    --  # The 'Scroll direction: Natural' checkbox is not checked, check it.
                    set cbValue to value of (click checkbox 1 of front window of application process "System Preferences") as boolean
                    --  # Scrolling Speed - Valid Values: 0.0 to 8.0
                    set value of slider 1 of front window of application process "System Preferences" to 4.5
                    --  # Double-Click Speed - Valid Values: 0.0 to 10.0
                    set value of slider 2 of front window of application process "System Preferences" to 8.0
                    --  # Tracking Speed - Valid Values: 0.0 to 9.0
                    set value of slider 3 of front window of application process "System Preferences" to 4.0
                end if
            end tell
            tell me
                if cbValue then
                    display notification "Natural scrolling is now active." with title (name of me)
                else
                    display notification "Natural scrolling is no longer active." with title (name of me)
                end if
            end tell
            quit
        end tell
    on error eStr number eNum
        activate
        display dialog eStr & " number " & eNum buttons {"OK"} default button 1 with title "Toggle Mouse Settings" with icon caution
        tell application "System Preferences" to quit
        return
    end try
end run

Note: Before running the Toggle Mouse Settings app, you'll need to add it to: System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Accessibility

There is an app called EventScripts that could be used to trigger when a USB device is plugged in and or removed. I have not used it before, just aware it exists.

There is also an app called Scroll Reverser. I have not used it before, just aware it exists.


New Airport Time capsule on dorm network This week I purchased an AirPort Time Capsule and attempted to set up my own network in my dorm apartment. The network at my school has two options, one requires me to login with my school ID and password every time I get on the internet and the other is password protected WPA2 which asks for the same information (ID and password) but logs me in without having to type my info in every time.

I plugged my Time Capsule into the Ethernet port on the wall and set it up. When I did, the school had me register an IP address to it, I started using it and everything seemed to be fine, but then I got my older Mac and my new MacBook Pro Retina connected to my Time Capsule network and the new MacBook would disconnect every few minutes and sometimes it would reconnect, sometimes it would give me an "!" in the WiFi sign. Also I tried connecting my Apple TV to it, it said it was connected, with an IP address and everything but, it wouldn't let me use any content—no YouTube, it wouldn't sign into iTunes etc. I have no clue what to do.

Since you only have 1 IP address from the school, you need to make sure that your airport is setup in NAT mode, and not in bridged mode.  You'll need to make sure it's giving out DHCP addresses as well, and you may want to make sure it's not in a range used elsewhere on campus so that you don't run afoul of weird routing issues.

I suggest the 172.16 range since it's rarely used by institutions in my experience, YMMV.

Let me know if this is helpful!


Personal information in sysdiagnose dumps on OS X Sometimes after I've sent bug reports to Apple, they ask for a sysdiagnose dump, which contains a bunch of files with information about my system.

While it's very useful for Apple to get this information to reproduce the problem and debug their code, I noticed that at least some semi-personal information is stored in these files.

Stuff like recently opened files, various file paths and other things that expose the system owner to some extent, and are irrelevant for the debugging purpose.

I'd like to help Apple improve their products without revealing unnecessary details about my system, at least file paths to personal files, cache data of viewed documents, etc.

But what to do?

My current best approach is to grep the file tree for file paths and replace them with wildcards, but this is cumbersome at best, and there may be a lot more to it that I don't know about.

Is Apple likely to improve their sysdiagnose to be more considerate for privacy if asked?

Let Apple Know

While no-one here can speak for Apple, you should provide feedback directly to Apple via their feedback page. The more people who offer feedback with this concern, the more likely they will be to improve and refine the reporting tools.

Delicate Balance

To fully debug a problem, it is likely some amount of personal information will be needed. If only to recreate the problems caused by unexpected paths, file, and folder names. This is a delicate balance and one where Apple needs to demonstrate to its customers that privacy is taken seriously.

As of OS X 10.11, Apple's system_profiler tool does include flags that explicitly exclude personal information.

As an anecdote, I have previously reported bugs to Apple that involved HP hardware. Apple contacted me asking for permission to pass on my Mac's diagnostic information to HP; that request acknowledged the private information embedded in the bug report. It is difficult to know if this was a single engineer's concern or something driven by an internal company policy.


AirPort Extreme Drops Out Periodically (Every 2-3 Days) Requiring Unplug/Replug to Restart I have an AirPort Extreme that drops connection every two to three days.  When my client indicates no signal/SSID present, it searches and does show my AirPort Extreme SSID.  However, selecting it results in a timeout error.  Unplugging and replugging the AE and allowing it to reboot does fix the problem until the next 2-3 days dropout.

Fimware is 5.7.  I am using WPA2 Personal encryption, automatic channel selection, 802.11b/g combined mode, multicast of 2Mbps, transmit power 100%, and WPA Group Key timeout of 1 hour.  I am not using closed network or interface robustness suppression or MAC access control.

Everything else is pretty straightforward; using DHCP, DHCP leases for 4 hours, etc.  At any give time, I probably have 4-6 clients connected to the router.

I obviously can't access the log when the event occurs since I can't connect to the router even through AirPort Utility.  I guess I could try a LAN connection to read the log.

Any similar experiences or suggestions?

Make sure you don't have any 2.4Ghz cordless phones near your Airport Extreme. Some of this phone will tend to do what you describe when they interfere with your Airport Extreme, at least that used to happen to me with an Airport Express I had.


Deleting completed reminders Over time I end up with a lot of completed reminders, and I haven't found an easy way to delete them out. Right now I have to go into each reminder and delete it - something that is particularly cumbersome on the iPad, but easier on the iPhone.

Is there an easy way to delete completed reminders, or have it do that automatically?

There is an option in Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars

You can set it to only Sync Reminders 2 Weeks Back

That's the lowest value you can set.


Lost my Downloads folder both from Dock and Finder I did something stupid apparently and lost my Downloads folder both from Dock and then when I opened Finder to drag it down to the Dock it somehow got deleted in the desktop.

Now although I can see the folder exists (e.g. by searching in Spotlight) I do not know how to restore it in the Dock and in Finder as well.
Any help please?

It sounds like when you dragged the downloads folder out of the finder sidebar it vanished before it got to the dock.
if that is correct it is pretty easy to get it back:

Open a Finder window and go to your user folder
In the user folder you should see the downloads folder
Drag the downloads folder to the place you want it in the sidebar
Drag the Downloads folder to the right side of the vertical bar in the Dock

The folder icons in the Finder sidebar and Dock are only pointers to the original. Kind of like Aliases, if you will. Generally OS X will prevent you from deleting the actual folder Downloads along with any of the other top level folders under your user account. But it will not prevent you from removing these aliases in the Dock and sidebar, as you have discovered.
A useful shortcut if you can't find your user folder is Command-Shift-H


Can't open some ePub books in Books.app on macOS Mojave Two ePub books that I've bought won't open in Books.app in macOS Mojave 10.14. The books have social DRM (personal information added to the content of the book), and I don't think this should be a problem for Books.app. If I rename the epub extension to zip, then I can unzip the file using the unzip command. Using the Finder doesn't work somehow. Other books open normally.

Looking at the contents, I see that it uses XHTML inside an OEBPS folder, while other books use HTML in an OPS folder.

What is the reason that Books.app doesn't open these ePub files?  I can read them OK with Calibre.

If your ebook indeed is unencrypted, you can try to open the ePub with the free Sigil.app (an ePub creator/editor) and write another copy to disk.

Sigil is able to repair a lot of structural problems. You can get a precompiled dmg as well as the full source code here.

I agree the "social DRM" should not pose any obstacle for using these eBooks with Books.app. But I suspect the "patching personal data into the eBooks" is done by an automated process, which simply went awry in your case. Maybe you even have some special characters in your identifying information (quotes, accents, ampersand, general unicode characters).


Are there any differences, feature-wise, between Safari for Mac and Safari for Windows? I know that Chrome for Windows and Chrome for Mac are extremely similar. So similar that I only notice one difference for the Mac version: the green + button doesn't maximize. However, that can be remedied: http://maximizechrome.com. According to Google - I'm not sure where - there's only one difference: dragging highlighted text. I didn't notice this, but I don't usually drag highlighted text.

I don't use Safari very often, but one thing I do appreciate is when an app behaves the same no matter your OS. I might even switch to Safari if it does this. Thus, the question: Are there any differences, feature-wise, between Safari for Mac and Safari for Windows?

I mean real differences, not just things like the dropdown box styling provided by the OS.

Anything involving the multi-touch track pad is going to be different, since that is an OS X feature. Including the double finger gesture to scroll back or forward.

In fact that feature works so seamlessly in Safari for Mac that that's one of the reasons I might switch to Safari from Chrome. It integrates beautifully with all the latest features of OS X.


Why are two identical external monitors displaying at different resolutions? I have a MacBook Pro (Retina, Md 2012) running OS X El Capitan 10.11.3.

I purchased 1x DisplayPort to VGA and 1x DisplayPort to DVI.

I plugged these two into the 2x DisplayPorts on the MacBook Retina.

When I view the screens, however, one of them shows up fine but the other is at a low resolution (800x600).

I've seen some related posts, but nothing addressing this situation specifically. Most seem to be dealing with daisy chaining two external displays off of a single DisplayPort, but this MacBook Pro has two ports, so no daisy chaining.

Any thoughts on why the two different resolutions?

My guess is that it's in the DisplayPort to VGA not supporting a high enough resolution–although 800x600 is rather low, there's not a hard rule for VGA. Have you tried switching which monitor uses VGA and seen if the resolution tracks?


I downloaded something from safari called blue stacks it doesn't go away the blue stacks app didn't end up working instead there's this bar that says "Verifying blue stacks installer" Nothing I do gets rid of it. I can't 'x' it out I can only minimize it.

It's fine, you can reboot normally and if the disk to the BlueStacks is still mounted you can them unmount it in Finder and remove the .dmg file from your downloads. This sometimes happens, might be a bug, I generally just restart the Finder process but I wouldn't recommend that to everyone, so rebooting is the way.
(If you already installed it and want to remove the app and any files associated you should consider AppCleaner, it's totally free)


Photo app is unable to handle a photo and shows '1 item' in a summary. How to identify and remove it? In the iCloude Manage storage dialog, I can see

However in the photo app, it shows

Obviously a photo is misclassified as an item. Maybe it is corrupted.

How can I identify this 'Item'?

I used an Investigator app on my iPad and discovered there was a pdf file in there. Then I used the Photos app on my Mac and searched for the term ‘pdf’ and the offending file was revealed. Then I just deleted it.


Decrypt an external hardrive FileVault Recently, I had an accident with my Macbook Pro. I dropped water on it and the motherboard is now dead, which means my Macbook Pro is also dead. Hopefully, the hard drive isn't damaged. When I plugged the hard drive of my Macbook Pro into another computer (a Windows PC) with a USB, I realized that it couldn't be opened because my hard drive was encrypted with FileVault 2 (Core Storage). I now have several questions.

Can I decrypt the external hard drive FileVault directly on a Windows PC ? I found some programs like Passware Kit Forensic which claims they can do it ! Is there any other program?
If I plug the external hard drive into another Mac with a USB, can I decrypt the FileVault directly on it so I can open it later on a Windows PC? I have some friends with a Mac, but I want to be sure I can disable FileVault on their Mac before asking them!

There is no need to decrypt the FileVault password with a 3rd-party tool like Passware Kit Forensic. You just have to unlock it with the hopefully known password/passphrase.

You may either:

Plug the external case containing the hard drive into another Mac and try to boot from it. Then revert the encryption in System Preferences > Security.
Plug the external case containing the hard drive into another Mac and try to revert the encryption by entering the following Terminal commands:

diskutil corestorage list
diskutil cs unlockVolume lvUUID #UUID of the encrypted logical volume
diskutil cs revert lvUUID #UUID of the encrypted logical volume

Consider that the Mac may also have a CoreStorage Volume Group.

Requirements:

The Mac has to be bootable with the "FileVaulted" system (i.e you can't use a PowerBook or an old iMac).

If you want to further process the data of the now decrypted drive with a PC, you have to install a software/driver in Windows capable of at least reading HFS+ volumes.


This copy of the Install OS X Yosemite application can’t be verified. It may have been corrupted or tampered with during downloading Sorry if my question is easy because I am new to Mac.

OS X Yosemite on my friend's  Macbook Air was removed. Now when we start his Mac it has just Windows.

For installing Os x, I got the the installation file (13 Zip file) from third party web site and extracted that and it produced dmg file.

Now I have tried to made a bootable USB of OS X Yosemite with my Mac by using Disk Maker App.

Now when we turn on Mac of my friend while pressing Alt , I can see the icon to install Yosemite. So I click on that and continue first steps like language without error, but after 2 or 3 steps I received error

" This copy of the Install OS X Yosemite application can’t be verified. It may have been corrupted or tampered with during downloading."

Please help what is the problem and how i can solve that.

Your installation file for Yosemite has had its digital certificate expire. Which means after a certain date it will no longer work. To work around this issue you open the Date & Time preferences pane, uncheck the box for "Set date & time automatically" & set the date back to just after the time Yosemite was initially released (October 16, 2014) then run the installer.


How to know what's my iphone 4s carrier using IMEI? I have an iphone 4s ios 6.1.3 my cousin bought it from U.S.A or so he says. He says the carrier is Verizon CDMA. However in the settings I see carrier: virgin 14.0

I am outside the USA so i need a sim unlock, I contacted virgin USA, they said that the IMEI is not registered in the system, i need to contact apple they will unlock it.

I contacted apple USA on the phone, they said they don't unlock phones, they only help with hardware issues, I need to contact virgin to unlock it!

I contacted a local apple store, I asked them how to know whats my carrier? They said virgin 14.0 is nothing, not important, it doesn't mean that my iphone is virgin
I gave them the IMEI and they are trying to see if it can be unlocked.

I have some questions:

How to know what's the carrier using IMEI? My IMEI is 99 000266 076389 5 I tried to use an online IMEI checker, it only says service expired
How to know in which country it was registered? As you know virgin and other carriers are available in many countries, I want to know what support team I should contact.
Since the phone seems to be locked to the carrier, is there a way to know what's the iphone phone number was using IMEI?

Indeed, Apple cannot provide you such information and they do not either unlock iPhones. This can be done only through the Mobile Network in which your iPhone is locked to, and you need to meet some criteria (I think they are different to every carrier). The number one requirement is to have paid all the monthly fees and you are the owner of that iPhone (That was very obvious).
Now, in order to find out the Network that blocks your iPhone, you will have to find an online IMEI Checker, like the one it is mentioned in a previous answer. The free imei checker (unfortunately), are not always accurate (I have checked many times the same imei number, and in some cases [very few] the results were changing). There are some paid IMEI checker services, which are very cheap and in case of false results they will fully refund you. You can check the IMEI Checker I have used, and their results (Until now) are very accurate.
I highly recommend to everyone to make those kind of checks before buying an iPhone from an online store. Unfortunately I learn it the hard way, so always double check what you are going to buy! :S


Random sale ad in Calendar This morning when I opened by computer, I saw a notification for an event that I never created.

I have not linked my email address on macbook and I'm not even from US. So why is there an event with some random website in my calendar? I checked which apps have access to calendar, and it came up empty. So is it just some harmless ad pushed by Apple or something malicious?

Seeing the event is unnerving but, thankfully, it is unlikely to be a virus or current problem with your MacBook.
Instead it is possible this event came from an unwanted e-mail; Mail.app on macOS and on iOS has the ability to add events discovered in your e-mails.
You can disable this feature using the steps from How to disable suggested events in Calendar on iOS and Mac:

How to disable Mail event suggestions on OS X
Do the following on your Mac with OS X 10.11 El Capitan or later:

Launch Mail.
Choose Preferences from the Mail menu.
Click the General tab.
Select Never in the drop-down menu labeled “Add invitations to Calendar”.


Automator > modifying an URL before downloading it? I'm trying to automate a download process for images on multiple webpages.

So far, my actions are :

"Ask for text" > i paste multiple URLs
"Extract URLs from Text"
"Get Image URLs from Webpage" (I get all images)
"Filter URLs" (I filter the one i want, for instance the ones ending with "_small.jpg")
"Download URLs".

It works fine, but I'd like to download the images ending with "_large.jpg", which are not present on the webpages I submit in 1).

So how would I go from 4) to 5) while changing the URL, i.e. replacing "_small.jpg" by "_large.jpg" ?

Thank you

Using shell scripting, you could do something like this:

wget $(curl $(<urls.txt) | grep -o 'http[^"]*_small.jpg' | sed 's/_small/_large/')


Is the camera in the new iPad using "4S optics"? Apple's website merely identifies it as a "5 megapixel iSight" camera. MacRumors claims that Apple is reusing older parts. I recall reading that the new iPad has a better camera than prior models, so I'm confused. Which one is it? Advanced optics or not?

No, the iPhone 4S has an 8mp camera.

The prior iPhone 4 had a 5mp camera though.

But, yes, the older iPad had a much worse camera - less than 1mp.

This would seem to show it's from the iPhone 4: The new iPad camera: we've seen it somewhere before

Megapixels aren't everything - but the new iPad certainly has the best camera in an iPad so far. The front facing camera isn't that great though, even with the rear one hugely improved.


MacBook Pro screen glitches after fall My mid-2009 MacBook Pro just had a high speed meeting with my floor. (I thought those magsafe cables were supposed to disconnect when you tripped over them... sigh)

Now I get strange glitches and flickers on my screen. Strangely, these occur only at high brightness settings. They start to show up when I'm three brightness levels away from the maximum.

Another apple.SE question suggests that the glitches could either be due to a short circuit on the display cable, or a defective inverter board.

Is one of those two issues at play here? Which one?  More generally, what's my problem and how do I fix it?

I'm not covered by applecare, so, if possible, I'd prefer to do the repair myself.

I wouldn't imagine an inverter board would be relevant here, its sole purpose is to control power flow to the backlight.  If the screen flickered black or the brightness seemed to flicker then you might look at the inverter board but I highly doubt it could cause graphic anomalies similar to yours.

Your examples look more video related, which would point to either the logic board, LVDS (display) cable and/or LCD panel itself.  You can narrow it down using the following diagnostic steps...

Take a screenshot (commandshift3), do the video anomalies appear in the resulting screenshot picture?  If so then it's likely a failure with the video card/logic board or possibly RAM.  If not then it's possibly the LVDS cable and/or LCD panel.
Connect your Mac to an external display, do the video anomalies appear on the external display?  If so then it's likely a failure with the video card/logic board.  If not then it's possibly the LVDS cable and/or LCD panel.
Does the issue change at all when the display is tilted forward/backward?  If so then it's likely a loose or damaged LVDS cable and/or LCD panel.  I should specify, the LCD itself is probably ok but it's built in controller board could be damaged.  They ARE replaceable but it's likely a lot easier to replace the LCD itself, though thats still quite a task with the unibody MacBook Pros.
Remove and re-seat the RAM (iFixit has a handy guide), does the issue persist?  If so then I would doubt, but not rule out, that RAM is the culprit.
Run Apple Hardware Test (Insert the gray "Disc 2" that came with your Mac and hold D while powering on) and note any failures.
Try re-seating the LVDS (display data) cable as shown in step 8 of iFixits display guide.

Hopefully that helps and at least points you in the right direction, good luck!


After i downloaded the new iOS 5 for my iPhone 4 safari isn't any different? i downloaded the new iOS 5 for my iPhone 4 and safari is the same as it was and i was under the assumption that it would be somewhat different?

There are some under-the-hood improvements to performance, and also some changes to the settings (such as a private browsing option), but there aren't any major changes to the Mobile Safari interface on the iPhone. The iPad version now has tabbed browsing instead of the window-switcher, but the iPhone is too small for such a thing to work.

The two features you may notice are Reading List and Reader. Reading List is essentially a  bookmarks folder that can sync with desktop Safari. You can add items to it from the Share item (centre button on the bottom toolbar). Reader will reformat some webpages (long articles) to make them more readable, removing ads and menus so that you've just got the text. You can access it from the grey Reader button in the address bar once the site loads (note that it's not available on all sites, just those that Safari can competently reformat).


Shutdown "no tty present and no askpass program specified"? I'm trying to run a shutdown script remotely on multiple Macs. The command I use to start it over ssh is:

ssh ADMIN@mac123 'bash -s' sudo < ./documents/ShutdownUPTIME.sh

Of course it asks me for an sudo password, which I type in correctly. The only message after that is: sudo: no tty present and no askpass program specified

Any ideas how I can fix this?
My user is definitely a super-user

The error message appears when you try to run a command inside your bash call with sudo and, although the user ADMIN on the destination system mac123 has permissions to run commands with sudo, the option NOPASSWD is not specified for this particular user (in /etc/sudoers).

System would have to prompt user and wait for the password to be provided from the keyboard, however as no terminal is attached, the prompt would hang forever.

As a measure against such situation, system fails with the error message you got.

If you took time to understand my yesterday's answer:

  provided ADMIN has passwordless sudo permissions for shutdown or all commands on macxxx machine)

You wouldn't run into this problem.

You should modify your script:

...
if [ $DAYS_UP -ge ${MAX_UPDAYS} ];then
    echo Mac is going to shutdown
    sudo shutdown -h now
else
...

And edit the sudoers file on mac123, so that it contains, for example (it must match the command in the script):

ADMIN ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /sbin/shutdown -h now

Bear in mind that you must do it using visudo program, otherwise you will likely break your system completely.

Alternatively you can use SUDO_ASKPASS environment variable and point it to a script providing the password (the second part of the error message). I do not recommend this method.


Note taking for school I'm considering getting a Macbook or a Macbook Pro (I use Windows on my desktop computer), and I'm thinking about how note taking could be done.

Most I'm thinking would use Microsoft Word/Pages, but OneNote seems to be loved a lot of people, especially for education purposes, and it's mandatory for use for people in Years 9 and 10 in my school thanks to the NSW Digital Education Revolution.

But OneNote isn't in Office 2008, nor is it in Office 2011. So what I'm asking is that if I take the plunge, will there be any alternatives, apart from the obvious of virtualisation, Wine or CrossOver? I'm fine with using Wine/CrossOver, it's just that I would be expecting a native experience to be better.

According to a friend of mine, Word has a notebook feature, although I can't find anything about it through Google.

Check out Evernote. There are Windows, Mac, iPhone, and web versions, and all your notes are synchronized to all your devices. You can even take pictures, include them in notes, and then search any text that was in the pictures.