This copy of the Install OS X El Capitan application can't be verified. It may have been corrupted or tampered with during downloading Macbook Pro 13" 2015 with OS X Yosemite on board. I've been trying to install OS X El Capitan, but always get the following message:
"This copy of the Install OS X El Capitan application can't be verified. It may have been corrupted or tampered with during downloading."

By the way this is not a date time issue, date is correct on my computer.

How can I fix this? Who knows the solution, please help.

Follow this tutorial. This applies to the reply from @Cazuma Nii Cavalcanti. In short once you are at the first install page go to tools in the nav bar and open the terminal, in the terminal type date MMDDHHmmYY replacing the letters as follows.

MM - 2 digit month  01 - 12
DD - 2 digit date   01 - 31
HH - 2 digit hour   01 - 24
mm - 2 digit minute 01 - 59
YY - 2 digit year   > 15

once that is done go through the install normally. I just tried it and it worked with a USB install of OS X (10.11 - El Capitan) and it worked like a charm!

If setting to correct date doesn't work. Set to a date just after the os release.


How to download macOS Sierra again from the App Store? I need to download the macOS Sierra installer again (latest version, 10.12.6) as my latest installer seems to be corrupted. But going into the Purchased tab in the App Store does not show Download (obviously), but Open.
Even if I move out the current installer, I never get the Download button ... how can I proceed?

You will need to delete the current installer. OS X applications are usually very good about keeping track of files, even when they get moved (see How does Mac OS keep track of moved files?). In this case, the AppStore is likely keeping track of the application bundle (which you would normally want it to do) when you move it.


Can I reverse the two-finger scrolling direction in OS X Lion (10.7)? I just got 10.7. The two-finger scrolling direction seems wrong to me, although it says "direction - natural." I couldn't see a way to reverse it. Does anyone have a way yet?

Uncheck the box:

I found it unnatural, too, since they flipped it. I think they're going for consistency between iPads and mice.


Can a Mac Mini have 3 external monitors connected to it? Thinking of getting a mac mini for work.

Can I connect three monitors to it? If so, how?

Yes, a mac mini can have multiple monitors connected to it. There are now very good USB to Video solutions on the market that will correct this limitation.

Steps:

Choose a good Mac compatible USB to DVI or USB to VGA adapter. There
are many available from different manufacturers. Look for adapters
that contain the DisplayLink chip as these are Intel-Mac compatible.
Make sure you've downloaded the latest DisplayLink Mac Drivers, like
these: http://sewelldirect.com/Drivers/DisplayLink-OSx-1.1.zip
Install the drivers through the guided setup by first selecting the
image file (.dmg) and opening it, accept the license agreement,
select which drive to install the driver on (Macintosh HD), press the
install button, and restart your computer.
Plug your USB to Video adapter into your computer's USB port and
attach your monitor's cable to the adapter. You can do this while
your computer is on and it will recognize the device in the same way
it recognizes most plug-n-play devices.
Once your computer recognizes the adapter, it should automatically
extend your desktop. If you prefer that it mirror the original
monitor instead, or if you want to change any of the resolution
settings, go to the Systems Preferences area and select "Displays".

When setting up multiple monitors choosing two of the same size is recommended.

Source.


2015 MacBook Air fan constantly turns on after upgrading to OS X El Capitan Fan constantly turns on after installing El Capitan and opening a few applications. Any fixes for this or should I roll back the OS.

Check whether any applications are constantly running and burning CPU by using Activity Monitor (Located in /Applications/Utilities).

If there are no applications burning CPU, try resetting the SMC:

Shut down the computer.
Plug in the MagSafe or USB-C power adapter to a power source and to your computer.
On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
Press the power button to turn on the computer.

Source: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295


Wireless transfer speeds between macs in a home network I have a home network with the following components and network capabilities.

AirPort Express (A1264): 802.11a/b/g/Draft N = ?
Mac Mini 2011: 802.11n = 54-600 Mbit/s
MacBook Air 2014: 802.11ac = < 1 Gbit/s

When copying files between the Mini and the Air (using rsync over ssh) I get maximum transfer speeds of about 1 MByte/s, which is a major disappointment.

Actually, I get better download speeds from the Internet (2.5 MByte/s, limited by my type of broadband subscription) than between the two Macs.

I assume the Express is the major bottleneck, however my questions around this are as follows:

What could possibly explain the ridiculously slow transfer speed of 1 MByte/s?
Can the speed be improved by software adjustments? (I have the latest firmware)
What is the maximum speed of the Express, given the "Draft N" specification?
If I buy the newest Express with 802.11ac, what kind of speed can I expect?
If I also buy the newest Mini with 802.11ac, what kind of speed can I expect?
Is there anything else non-evident that would get in the way of optimal speeds?

If working to transfer between two Apple machines, you should know that other connections can be used: you can simply use a Ethernet LAN cable, and plug directly into the network port on both machines (using dongle if necessary). You do not need to use a 'patch' cable, as the network ports will self-configure properly. You can also use USB-C, Firewire or Thunderbolt as network connections. All of these options are far faster than using pretty much any WiFi.

For using other cables, its best to use Apple's Migration Assistant. You can also use Target Disk Mode, which allows you to simply mount the other Mac hard drive on your new Mac.


Multiple games on ipad we are 4 friends and all have games on their iPads that are the same games. How do I get the accounts squared away so they are no playing each others game? For example, everyone has "Clash of the clans" on their iPads and they all play the same game. How can we get it so each person can create their own world in the game and not interfere with each others' game?

Each person needs their own Game Center Account (and thus each needs a unique Apple ID).


Difference between unlocked iPhone 6 from T-Mobile vs. regular unlocked iPhone 6? I'm trying to understand what is the difference between buying an unlocked iPhone 6 with T-Mobile SIM versus just a regular unlocked iPhone 6? They seem to be the same price:
http://store.apple.com/us/buy-iphone/iphone6/4.7-inch-display-64gb-silver

Apple's info page states this:

  Purchasing an unlocked iPhone means you will not qualify for the lower
  iPhone price associated with a contract or a carrier installment plan.
  The unlocked iPhone 6 model is A1586. The unlocked iPhone 6 Plus model
  is A1524. The T-Mobile iPhone 6 model is A1549. The T-Mobile iPhone 6
  Plus model is A1522. For details on LTE network support, please see
  www.apple.com/iphone/LTE.

Can someone translate it?

If you look closely at http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/, the SIM-Free unlocked models (A1586, A1524) supports ALL of the LTE bands of the T-Mobile unlocked phones (A1549,A1522), PLUS some additional networks.

Here is the exact verbiage on the page (easy to overlook): "Models A1586 and A1524 also support LTE networks listed for models A1549 and A1522." which basically means "same as the T-Mobile phone ... and then some..."

I picked up a 6 and 6plus sim-free earlier this year to be used on our mobile share value AT&T plan in the US; the Apple Store employee essentially pushed me out the door with the SIM-free model. Said it had additional bands, potentially better resale value, etc...

Hope this helps clear it up.


Why does my iPhone select a random song when I connect my headphones? Like many other people, I listen to music on my iPhone (6S, iOS 10.0.2) on my way to work. Since the update to iOS 10, I have noticed the following annoying behavior:

When I plug my headphones into my phone, the "Music" app selects a random song from my collection and wants to play that. It doesn't start playing it, but shows the song in the lock screen, waiting for me to press the Play button. I find this really annoying because I would expect to still be at the song that I was listening to last.

Is there a way to change this behavior to my expected behavior (the song I last listened to is selected when I insert my headphones)? From what I remember, that was the default behavior in iOS 9.

This bug was introduced in iOS 10, and the same thing happens when you ask Siri to “play music,” or even if you pull up the Control Center’s playback controls.

If you Pause, then Resume only a short while later, the app remembers where you were. But leave it be for an hour or two, and it will forget. At that point it will try to shuffle your entire library when you start music playback.

If you open the Music app, it will suddenly remember which song or playlist you were playing last, and you can Play from there.

Until Apple fixes it, I’m afraid that’s the only workaround.

Edit: I haven’t encountered this issue since iOS 10.1.1.


Is there a way to not require a password for login when I am at home but still require one everywhere else I am looking for a way to automatically login to my computer when waking from sleep/startup when I am at my home/connected to my home wifi; but when for example I am at school or not connected to my home wifi require a password.

I am running El Capitan 10.11 Beta (15A278b) on a MacBook Pro (Retina 15 inch mid-2015)

I’ve configured my system to do something similar to what you are trying to do. While I personally never disable my login password (I never recommend doing it for several reasons) I do change some of my security settings for my local home network vs. when I’m away from home.

First, you will  want to get and install ControlPlane (which I have NOT tested with El Capitan). This add-on will let you change a bunch of settings on your Mac based on the location information that it can glean from "evidence sources”.  It also has a bunch of built in functions, is AppleScriptable, and open source.

Once you have ControlPlane installed you will need to create an AppleScript that will let you disable or enable password login based on the location information.

The AppleScript you create may be different depend on which Mac OS you are running (in your case El Capitan). But it will be similar to the script I created on OS X 10.9.5 to do what you want.

NOTE 1: This scrip only toggles the settings found on the Security & Privacy Page, it does NOT have any understanding of the location information. You will probably want to create a version of this AppleScript for each location that ControlPlane identifies, and have it change the settings accordingly.

NOTE 2: This script require the user to enter their administrative password twice when disabling the password login and screensaver settings. I don’t know of a way around this unless you want to drop down and do shell scripting from ControlPlane, or add your password into the AppleScript and have it type it in for you.
I DO NOT GUARANTEE OR WARRANTY THIS SCRIPT! USE AT YOUR OWN RISK AS I HAVE NOT TESTED WITH EL CAPITAN.

-- !!! USE THIS SCRIPT AT YOUR OWN RISK !!!
-- !!! NO IMPLIED OR EXPLICIT GUARANTEES OR WARRANTIES ARE MADE !!!
-- USE OF THIS SCRIPT IS NOT GUARANTEED TO WORK ON ALL OS VERSIONS!

-- An AppleScript to Disable and Enable automatic login and sleep/screen saver password request.
-- This script may require the user to enter their administrative password twice when disabling.
-- This script ONLY toggles the settings found on the Security & Privacy page.

tell application "System Preferences"
    activate
    set current pane to pane id "com.apple.preference.security"
    delay 1
    tell application "System Events"
        tell process "System Preferences"
            click menu item "Security & Privacy" of menu "View" of menu bar 1
            delay 0.5

            -- Check to see if the System Prefs are locked and editing is disabled.
            if title of checkbox 1 of window 1 is "Click the lock to make changes." then
                click checkbox 1 of window 1
                repeat until checkbox "Click the lock to prevent further changes." of window 1 exists
                    delay 0.1
                end repeat
            end if

            -- This should enable or disable "Disable automatic login"
            click checkbox "Disable automatic login" of tab group 1 of window 1
            repeat until not (exists sheet 1 of window 1)
                delay 0.1
            end repeat
            delay 0.5

            -- This should enable or disable "Require password after sleep or screen saver begins"
            click checkbox 1 of tab group 1 of window 1
            delay 0.25
            repeat until not (exists sheet 1 of window 1)
                click button "Turn Off Screen Lock" of sheet 1 of window 1
            end repeat
            delay 0.25
            -- BE CARFULE IF YOU CHANGE THIS AS IT COULD MODIFY YOUR KEYCHAIN!!!
            repeat until not (exists sheet 1 of window 1)
                click button "Keep Using Keychain" of sheet 1 of window 1
            end repeat

        end tell
    end tell
    tell application "System Preferences" to quit
end tell

If you use this scrip as an AppleScript app MAKE SURE that your Accessibility settings are enabled, otherwise it won’t work.


Is there an equivalent to copernic pro desktop search engine available for mac? Is there an equivalent  to copernic pro desktop search engine available for mac? I mean something serious not spotlight or found! Something that is able to search terabytes of data and index millions of keywords and search inside pdfs and all sorts of data. I have searched and so far haven't found anything as good as copernic pro for mac.

Two that come to mind are :

EasyFind -- which is in the Mac App store

and

Docfetcher which is a java application

http://docfetcher.sourceforge.net/en/index.html


Identify keyboard localization What keyboard localization is present on this MacBook?

It very closely resembles French keyboard localization as per Apple support document, How to identify keyboard localizations.

The keyboard has French localization. The keys have been manually swapped to change the layout.

However, the layout on your keyboard is QWERTY while Apple support document illustrates AZERTY layout.

As mentioned by Tetsujin:

  It looks like some kind of hybrid; it's a French layout but with what looks like a standard UK or International English qwerty inset. The letters match qwerty, including where the azerty layout has to 'move' keys elsewhere

In order to have output match the keys, you could create a custom layout with Ukelele or Karabiner.


Should I install Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server? I will be using Mac OS X Server to hold an email server, web hosting, DNS and iOS and Mac development and I was wondering if you guys think Mac OS X Snow Leopard would do me just fine or if Server would be the best bet. So far, when setting up server tools on Snow Leopard it seems to be tedious but from the overview page on Apple's website, Server seems to be able to perform tasks with ease. Should I just use Snow Leopard or go for the Server?

It depends on how good you are at configuring the relevant services in Unix-land. All the services you mentioned can be run from the non-server version, but OS X Server has that sort of thing pre-configured and maybe even a nice GUI for management purposes.


How to Automatic Backups of a MySQL Database I am using the version of MySQL that came with Snow Leopard Server. I am running Time Machine on that server, but I know that it's not backing up the MySQL databases due to strict permissions issues.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a non-commandline, easy, clean method for automated backups of MySQL data?

Its not exactly what your looking for, but we used automator to create a launchable application that runs a commandline to export the sql database. We then used crontab to schedule the app to run at certain intervals.

In automator add the "Run Shell Script" action. Set the shell to "/bin/bash" and add the command

  /usr/local/mysql/bin/mysqldump --opt -h localhost -uMySQLUSERNAME -pMySQLPASSWORD DatabaseName --single-transaction  > "/path/to/export/exportname"

Save the workflow as an application, then use crontab to schedule the application (or you can use Cronnix - GUI for crontab)

This is also a good method beacause you can put the application on the dock and anyone can run the backup on-demand. We have software monitor the folder where we export the databse to and when it detects changes it uploads the new file to our backup server. Works a treat

Not as simple to set up as your probably looking for, but it works well once its set up!


Clear Output Screen from C program I am using a Macbook Air. I used system("cls"); and system("clear").

That would not work. It displays on the output screen (xcode output screen) that the command cannot be found. I am using the C compiler, not C++.

How do I clear the output screen on Xcode? Please guide me through the steps in doing this.

I'm not sure I entirely follow you, however; if you are using X-Code to compile and run C programs, output (e.g. any printf statements) should automatically be sent to the console, like so:

int main(int argc, const char * argv[])
{
   printf("Test program\n");
   getchar();
   return 0;
}

Is this the 'screen' you want to clear? If so, simply building and running any program which has no console output will do so (although I'd be interested to know why you need this.)

In the example above, comment out the line with the printf statement and build and run. You'll get a clear console.


AppleCare package and MacBook It has been a week since I purchased my MacBook, and I don't have any money at the moment to purchase the AppleCare package.

Is there any possibility for me to purchase it in 8 months? Will I then get the 3 year warranty from the original date I purchased the MacBook, or from the date I purchased the AppleCare package?

Apple provides a standard warranty of one year on all the products they sell. You may purchase AppleCare any time within that one year period to extend your coverage, which for Macs is two additional years, for a total of three. The total coverage period begins from the date of purchase of your MacBook.

Waiting to buy it means you have money in your pocket, but go without phone support once your 90 day complimentary support expires. Your coverage is pinned to the date of purchase of the Mac - not of the plan. Also, Apple offers a pro-rated refund if you wish to cancel the plan before it's term is due. This is handy when you sell and the buyer doesn't want that protection or something like a loss or uncovered accident means you don't want to repair the out of warranty issues to benefit from the plan going forward.

This is the route I tend to do, as I never need phone support, and the cost of AppleCare is usually around $200 more. Of course, you run the risk of forgetting and not getting it, as I have done on more than one occasion.


Can OS X be remotely accessed using the GUI but securely to hide what is displayed locally? The remote screen sharing feature of OS X is extremely convenient.  I can access my office machine from home when I need some software that can only be installed on on-campus computers.

However, I noticed that if I log in to the office machine through screen sharing, everything I see on the shared screen is also mirrored on the machine's physical screen. Logging in using screen sharing unlocks the machine's physical keyboard and mouse as well.

Is it possible to avoid this security risk if someone can see or manipulate my Mac while I am not in the office?

Is it possible to access a remote computer through a graphical interface (not terminal) without exposing directly that machine to anyone who is in the office at that time? Of course they could steal the machine, but I don't want them snooping on grades or email or whatever when I unlock the screen remotely to access the Mac.

Yes - there are several ways around this.

The free, but less elegant solution is to make a second account on the Mac you wish to keep private. Set the machine to boot to that user and use Fast User switching to switch to your account.

Then when you log in - it will ask if you want to share the dummy account's screen or make a second virtual (and not drawn on the monitor) screen.

Alternatively, buy Apple Remote Desktop and use the "curtain mode" where it obscures the screen to hide what the remote operator is doing.


How can I set a web server in a specific directory in OSX Mavericks? I am running a web server in OSX Mavericks using the default directory location ($HOME/Sites). How can I add sites from distinct arbitrary directories ?

I have found instructions about how to change the root folder of the apache server, but I do not want to override the default location (I have things there) but to add new folders.

This might be overkill, or answering a slightly different question than you asked, but if you have npm, you can

npm install http-server

and then just

http-server

from the directory you want to host. http-server will reply with the path hosted and the port it is hosted on e.g.:

Starting up http-server, serving ./foo on port: 8080
Hit CTRL-C to stop the server

If you launch multiple instances it will increment the port.


Migrating Bootcamp to new SSD I bought a Mac Pro (Late 2013) about a year ago. I recently ran out of space on the built-in 250gb SSD (Windows was the culprit of that), so I bought a 1tb ssd replacement from eBay. I just installed it today, and I want to move all of my data over to the new SSD.

I've already got all of the Mac content copying over, as that is really easy, but I also want to put the Bootcamp partition back on the new SSD too. I created a 500GB partition for it, but I don't know how to move the bootable partition over there. I created a DMG from it in Disk Utility before I swapped out the SSDs, and I have that, but Disk Utility won't let me restore it to the new partition I created. It gives me an invalid argument error.

How can I migrate my bootcamp DMG to a partition on my new SSD without having to reinstall it completely?

You'll need to create an image of the Boot Camp partition of the old SSD using Winclone and restore it to the new SSD.


Alt-keys (option-keys) in emacs emulation (jetBrains PyCharm) I suspect this is a general issue with the Mac as opposed to anything specific to the app I'm struggling with now, which happens to be PyCharm from jetBrains.  The reason I suspect this is a general problem is that I've struggled with it before with other apps, namely emacs itself and perhaps some other apps that have emacs keybinding emulation, but not sufficiently often (once a year or so) that I can remember the solution.  What I do remember is that the solution was really obscure and perhaps not something we had to do to the app directly, but to the environment or context.

The problem is that alt keys don't work as expected as modifier keys, but instead input glyphs. For example, we want Alt-D to perform the editor function "Kill-to-end-of-word," but, instead, it inputs ∂; we want Alt-B to perform the editor function "Move-caret-to-previous-word," but, instead, in inputs ∫.  Oddly, Alt-F works as expected to perform "Move-caret-to-next-word" instead of inputting ƒ.

Here are some more details:

Mac OSX yosemite, PyCharm CE 4.5.3, emacs key bindings
(command-, / Preferences; Keymap; Emacs)

I check the key bindings on the right hand side, the spyglass-with-cannonball icon says "Find Actions by Shortcut" on hover, I click that, enter "Alt-B" and it finds "Move Caret to Previous Word." However, when I go back to the editor window and press "Alt-B" I get ∫. Likewise, when I search keymap for Alt-D, I get "Kill to End of Word" (just what I want), but in the editor window, it prints as the curly derivative sign ∂.

You need a replacement layout to allow M- key bindings. This forum post offers a downloadable keylayout file that can be copied to /Library/Keyboard\ Layouts/. I also made a dvorak-shaped map here.


Does a MacBook Pro need a power adapter to work in the Bahamas? A classmate asked me if the US MacBook Pro adapters are usable in the Bahamas. It boils down to the type of electricity and outlets there, but being that I have no clue, I'm asking here.

Does a USA compatible MacBook Pro adapter require an adapter for the Bahamas?

According to these guys, anything that works in the US should work in the Bahamas.

  Voltage: 110-120 Volts (Same as U.S./Canada, most other areas are
  220-240 Volts)

  Primary Socket Types: North American Non-Grounded , North American
  Grounded


How to download iTunes song (via iTunes Match) using AppleScript I'm trying to figure how to download the file for iTunes songs which are are not yet downloaded to my local machine (and reside in the iTunes Match Cloud) using AppleScript or any other library.

My goal is to have a script running locally on a cron that downloads any 5 star rated song. As I stream most of my music via iTunes Match, I want an automated way to download those high rated songs.

I looked around and figured something like this would work:

tell application "iTunes"
    activate
    set results to (every file track of playlist "Library" whose rating is 100)
    repeat with t in results
        download t
    end repeat
end tell

Although it just blows up:

error "iTunes got an error: item 1 of
  {file track id 86657 of library playlist id 61224 of source id 66, .... }
  doesn’t understand the “download” message."

Any help would be appreciated.

tell application "iTunes"
  set matchedSongs to tracks of library playlist 1 whose rating is 100 and cloud status is matched
  set uploadedSongs to tracks of library playlist 1 whose rating is 100 and cloud status is uploaded

  set results to matchedSongs & uploadedSongs

  repeat with aTrack in results
    if class of aTrack is shared track then
      try
        download aTrack
      end try
    end if
  end repeat
end tell

This does the job!

I couldn't figure how to do a nested condition on the whose so I simply acquire both set of searches for matched and uploaded songs and combined them.

The try and if just ensure we download the valid tracks if they don't exist locally.


Why doesn't my MacBook Air turn off? I have a MacBook Air that the lid I left open. The screen was still on when I left it. In System Preferences, I set it to turn off the display and sleep after 10 minutes. But it didn't turn off. I know that because the next morning, all the battery ran out. Why didn't it sleep like the MacBook Air is supposed to?

EDIT: This is the result of the pmset- g command in Terminal.

Active Profiles:
Battery Power -1
AC Power 2*

Currently in use:

standbydelay 4200

standby 1

womp 1

halfdim 1

hibernatefile /var/vm/sleepimage

darkwakes 1

networkoversleep 0

disksleep 10

sleep 10 (sleep prevented by coreaudiod)

hibernatemode 3

ttyskeepawake 1

displaysleep 10

acwake 0

lidwake 1 –

If you run following command in the Terminal app it will show you what keep it from sleeping.

pmset -g assertions

Then based on the result you can take a action.

Here is a example:

pid 251(coreaudiod): [0x0000000100000d01] 00:17:27 NoIdleSleepAssertion named: "com.apple.audio.'AppleHDAEngineOutput:1B,0,1,1:0'.noidlesleep"
pid 251(coreaudiod): [0x0000000100000929] 01:11:47 NoIdleSleepAssertion named: "com.apple.audio.'BoomEngine:0'.noidlesleep"

In this case it was the "BoomEngine app" preventing the sleep.

In your case:

You have the "magicwake" which is keeping it from sleeping.

That could be a Bluetoot coming from headset or external keyboard(track pad), or the battery is low.

It could be also a app that you installed that would wake up on network access.


Can't install port that is visible on macports.org [Macports] I've been trying to get some of my packages from Homebrew moved to Macports recently. One such package was the Crystal programming language. Unfortunately, sudo port install crystal doesn't work:

$ sudo port install crystal
Error: Port crystal not found

Likewise, port info and port search yield no info about the Crystal language:

$ port info crystal
Error: Port crystal not found
$ port search crystal
crystfel @0.6.1_6 (science)
    A suite of programs for processing serial crystallography data

gnome-chemistry-utils @0.14.17 (gnome, science, chemistry)
    This package provides a set of Gtk3-based applications for drawing and viewing molecules, crystals and spectra.

gpp4 @1.3.1_1 (science)
    macromolecular crystallography library

xcrysden @1.5.60_2 (science)
    X-windows CRYstalline Structures and DENsities

Found 4 ports.

Yet, when I search macports.org for crystal, I see it:

Here's the search URL.

What's going on? Why can't I install Crystal, yet I can see it on the website?

Try updating Mac Ports using the command sudo port selfupdate. You can read more about updating and installing Mac Ports here.


Block access to folder or file in Mac OS X Is there any way to block access to some particular file or folder in MacOS X, so that it can be protected by password?

Not directly - you have to use an app that accesses the file (e.g. a secure note in 1password or a program like gpg or your own app that encrypts/decrypts a file ) or put the file on an encrypted file system (create using Disk Utility or TrueCrypt etc.) See this question for some ways of encrypting.


What is the most powerful Mac capable of running Mac OS 9? I know that there was a period of time after Mac OS X came out that new Macs still shipped with Mac OS 9 for a number of reasons (OS X was buggy, better compatibility with Classic apps, etc). This is more of a curiosity than anything, but I'm wondering what the most powerful Mac capable of running Mac OS 9 is, and what the maximum specs are.

According to Wikipedia, the Power Mac G4 (Mirrored Drive Doors 2003) is the newest and most powerful computer that can run Mac OS 9.

1.25 GHz PowerPC G4 (7455/7455B); can hold up to 2 GB memory (although OS 9 might not recognize all 2 GB).


Install Apple Symbol font on Mac OS X I use MacBook Pro Retina ME864 with Mac OSX 10.9.4 ,
Recently I download a Word file from internet which use Apple Symbol font and because I don't have this font on my system the characters shows wrong.

How can I install Apple Symbol font ?

Download the font from below, then drag and drop that file into Font Book.app

https://gitorious.org/deblock/iphone/raw/ce72bc0d9bc69ffcaef4320450aeb5a38003d663:Resources/Fonts/Apple%20Symbols.ttf


Welcome to macOS High Sierra message keeps appearing At every start I get the message "Welcome to macOS High Sierra". Whatever I click - Show/Later(remind me, don't remind me) it appears on the next start.

I was using the beta version so it could be the cause of the problem still I don't see any solution in the internet and it gets annoying. Can anyone help?

This seems to be fixed in High Sierra 13.1


charging in power off I am using ipad 1 and I have some charging problem in it so,I want to ask that is there any problem if I charge my ipad in power off mode.
If yes yes what can be the problems that can be seen in my ipad

Can I use Chinese chargers for charging it.

You can charge your iPad 1 while in power off mode.

With regard to using a Chinese non-Apple branded charger, this is possible. However you should be aware that Apple's chargers are recommended. The price difference between a non-Apple branded charger and Apple's own charger is significant; that difference is because of Apple's design costs and additional safety features.

Ken Shirriff's article showing the inside of an Apple iPhone charger demonstrates why the price difference exists.


What orthodox file manager for OS X could I use? I'm looking for a graphical file manager fro OS X, for console Midnight Commander is ok.

I need two panels, function keys operations and preferably FTP and SCP support.

Also, it would be great to be free.

muCommander (free)

muCommander has classic orthodox file manager keybindings. Sadly MC is not very mac'ish and lacks multiple tabs.


What are the advantages of Emacs for Mac OS X users? Over the past year or so I've seen a movement towards switching to Emacs on Mac OS X, often away from TextMate. While I understand the motivation for switching away from TextMate (TM2 is more or less vaporware), I don't really understand the appeal of Emacs. I recognize that it's an extremely powerful editor, but it does not integrate with the operating system very well, uses different key commands than most other applications, and has a heck of a learning curve.

With a preponderance of other programmer's text editors on Mac OS X (BBEdit, Sublime Text, Xcode) and some promising upcoming ones (Chocolat, Kod) what is the appeal of Emacs to someone that does not live in a terminal and does not have the muscle memory for it (yet)?

You can use a OSX GUI Emacs in the form of Aquamacs which is configured to be more OSX like it its key commands and menus and integrates with the OS.

One appeal of emacs is because emacs is mainly written in the language (e-lisp) that users can use to extend it there are a lot of scripts that add all sorts of functionality to the editor making it nearly as powerful as an ide. Even configuration is written in the same language so once you learn it you can modify anything you want.

The other reason I use emacs is that it runs on several OSs (Windows, Linux, Solaris and OSX ) and so I don't need a different editor for each one as I would if I used BBEdit etc.


What is the function of Plus button (﹢) in Apple Podcasts app for iOS? I am using the Apple Podcasts app on my iPhone. Say I subscribe to a podcast and it's status changes from Subscribe to Subscribed.

Now when I go to browse the list of all the episodes for the podcast, they appear with a Plus button (﹢) shown to the right which looks like this:

Tapping the Plus button (﹢) changes it to a download button which looks like this:

Tapping which the episode gets downloaded for offline access and the button icon disappears.

Taping anywhere else on the episode item without tapping on the Plus button (﹢) streams it over the Internet.

So I am curious to know what function does the Plus button (﹢) serve here?

Apple's support document, Listen with Apple Podcasts mentions only this:

  How to download episodes

  Find an episode in your library, or browse or search for an episode.
  Tap or click the download button  next to the episode's name. Or, if you see the add button , tap or click it, then tap or click the download button .

The Plus button (﹢) is used to add an individual episode to the Library. Once added the episode becomes available under the Library and the Listen Now tab.


Should I buy Ram memory DDR3 1066MHz for Mac mini (Mid 2011)? I got a Mac mini last year and now I want to update the ram memory. I was looking for it and I just found this (spanish). The guy is selling  what you see on the picture and I'm worried if I get those memories my Mac won't run ok. The guy says it works without problem on Mac Mini (Mid 2011) but I'm not sure because the image says "Laptop memory".

This info is about my mac:

2.3 GHz Intel Core i5
2 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
And running OS X Lion.

Would you suggest to buy that memory? Or the should be X GB 1333 MHz DDR3?

Thanks in advance!

To be sure you are getting something that will work I suggest shopping with a specialist Mac dealer like OWC, where you will be asked what machine you have and then you can choose from the memory they offer that fits it. They ship to Australia so Spain should be no trouble. Sure you can work it out and get something cheaper but I don't have time for that generally, don't mind supporting a dealer who supports my machine better and if it goes wrong I can say "but you said it would work!" (haven't needed to yet)

Besides I like having as much memory as possible and they offer a 16GB kit. With Xcode, Safari and Pixelmator open I often see more than 8GB in use.

I have only once kept the memory in a Mac when upgrading and in a mini with two memory slots you almost certainly won't. You will want to have two identical memory modules. The nice thing about the mini is that upgrading is so easy, you can get to the memory as soon as you take the bottom cover off.

For your Mac they offer 1333Mhz memory. Looks like it is what it came with also. I would personally not buy 1066MHz because even if it works perfectly it is possibly going to cause the memory bus to run a little slower than it could. RAM is so cheap right now and the wrong RAM can be a really big frustration, why take a chance?


upgrade this old MacBook Pro to mountain lion? I have an "old" MacBook Pro with the following specs:

Modelname: MacBook Pro
Modell-Identification: MacBookPro5,4
Processor type: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor speed: 2.53 GHz
processer count: 1
core count: 2
L2-Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus speed: 1.07 GHz
Boot-ROM-Version: MBP53.00AC.B03
SMC-Version (System): 1.49f2

It currently runs OS X 10.5.8 and seems a bit laggy from time to time, which might (also) be due to the loads of crapware on it.

I have a two part question now:

What would be the recommended maximum OS X version I should upgrade this machine to, so that it still runs nice and smooth? Is mountain lion safe?
How do I do a clean (full wipe) install of the system, since the latest versions of OS X do not come with a bootable disc anymore?

The second part is trivial, install Lion or Mountain Lion and let it upgrade everything. That will create a recovery HD where you can then reboot and erase the main volume. If you save the installer after the first download, you can avoid the download the second time.

My experience is that the performance of older computers is as good as or better than the old OS - especially when you are erasing things and migrating files over later (or by hand) as much support for older systems was dropped making Mountain Lion fairly streamlined and responsive.


Find date of upgrade from Mojave to Catalina I always update my 2017 Macbook pro as soon as an OS update comes out. I guess I learned my lesson of not installing the .0 version of any Mac OS update. I finally gave up on fixing various issues with Catalina and got a new loaner from my employer with Mojave on it. Now trying to copy data over to Mojave.

Is it possible to find the date when I upgraded my Macbook pro from Mojave to Catalina? I need to find the time machine backup that was from Mojave so I can restore from that TM backup. Maybe, there is a file somewhere in the filesystem which contains the name of the release?

These are the steps to follow:

Go to applications
Click utilities
Go to System Information
On the left scroll down to software
Click system installations and sort by software name
Look for the update and when it was installed, an example as follows:


Edit Icons for MacOs Startup Manager (Windows, Linux & Macos) After successfully installed Linux and Windows along with macOS High Sierra on my Macbook Pro 2013 13" with help from Mr. David Anderson (a great contributor here). Now I wonder how to change the icons for my Windows (installed on a separate internal SSD) and give MacOs Partition Icon of MacOs so that the startup manager will be beautifully labeled and easy to see. Thank you for the help in advance!

Current startup manager conditions:

My diskutil list:

/dev/disk0 (internal, physical):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *250.1 GB   disk0
   1:       Microsoft Basic Data BOOTCAMP                250.1 GB   disk0s1

/dev/disk1 (internal, physical):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *240.1 GB   disk1
   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk1s1
   2:                 Apple_APFS Container disk2         151.8 GB   disk1s2
   3:       Microsoft Basic Data                         7.9 GB     disk1s3
   4:       Microsoft Basic Data                         79.9 GB    disk1s4

/dev/disk2 (synthesized):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      APFS Container Scheme -                      +151.8 GB   disk2
                                 Physical Store disk1s2
   1:                APFS Volume MacOsX                  14.6 GB    disk2s1
   2:                APFS Volume Preboot                 24.5 MB    disk2s2
   3:                APFS Volume Recovery                512.1 MB   disk2s3
   4:                APFS Volume VM                      4.3 GB     disk2s4

For MacOS

The .VolumeIcon.icns file should be placed in the root folder of the APFS Volume named Preboot. Follow the steps given below.

Enter the command below to mount the Preboot volume.

diskutil mount disk2s2

Use the Finder to navigate to the root folder of the Preboot volume. In the sidebar of a Finder window, highlight the MacOsX volume. If this volume is not shown, then make sure Hard disks is checked off under Sidebar in Finder Preferences. Next, if the Volumes folder does not appear, then press the key combination ⌘+shift+. to show hidden files. Navigate to MacOsX > Volumes > Preboot. This is the root folder of Preboot volume.
Use the Finder to copy the .icns file to the root of the PreBoot volume.
Rename the .icns file to .VolumeIcon.icns.
Press the key combination ⌘+shift+., so hidden files will not appear in the Finder window.
Enter the command below to unmount the Preboot volume.

diskutil unmount disk2s2

For Windows

You have a BIOS booting Windows. This is the correct installation of Windows for your model/year Mac. I suppose the Windows logo icon should go in the Windows partition. However, doing so should not work, because the firmware cannot read NTFS formatted volumes. So there probably is no way to change the icon displayed in the Startup Manager, when you have a BIOS booting Windows.


How can you search in the trash, and sort deleted files by date of deletion? In Snow-Leopard: Is it possible to search in the Trash, and sort deleted files by date of deletion?

If you open up your trashcan into a Finder window. Then right click on empty space in that window go to "arrange by" and then down to date added. This is at least true in Lion I don't know what you are running or if it is true with other versions. Good luck!


No GPS Exif data on iPhone XS In the past, with my iPhone 6s I was able to take a picture and then, on Windows, view the gps data. Now with my new iPhone XS, the GPS information is no longer there as well as a lot of other data is missing such as the Camera Make/Model, ISO speed etc. I have checked to ensure that location is allowed for the camera app. Any ideas?

Can you try to check EXIF Data on iPhone using Third party apps like
EXIF Viewer by Fluntro or any other EXIF Apps you can get for free on Appstore.

Chances are high that, EXIF informations are stripped while you transferred photo from iPhone to Windows. Normally, iPhone to Mac photo transfer over airdrop doesn't strip EXIF Metadata. But since I am not sure how you transferred photos to Windows Machine, I can't comment

Attaching screenshot with EXIF of photo took on iPhone XS Max, Apple's Camera app does record EXIF details including Camera Model, Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO etc.

Disclaimer: I have developed the EXIF Viewer by Fluntro App


Location of login/autostart apps setting file in macOS Under System Preferences → Users & Groups → Current User → Login items, a list of applications is maintained that will open automatically upon login:

I would like to share these settings across two different Macs. Where are these stored exactly in macOS filesystem?

Part of the list is stored in ~/Library/Preferences/loginwindow.plist under the LoginHook key.

Also you'll find a set of LaunchAgents stored in this folder:

~/Library/LaunchAgents/

Each of the files in there detail a program that is started when your user account logs in.

There's also a similar list in /Library/LaunchAgents and /System/Library/LaunchAgents that are run when any user logs in, so they're not specific to your user.

In earlier versions of macOS it was also usual to place startup items in /Library/StartupItems and /System/Library/StartupItems. But they're usually not in use anymore.


How can I get my headphones to work with my iPhone? Am I doing something wrong, or do 1st generation iPhones require particular headphones? My white iPod headphones work, but most of my other ones wont fit? Is the standard solution to purchase an adapter?

Do you have an original (aluminum backed) iPhone? If so then yes, unfortunately Apple recessed the headphone jack and you do need an extender. If you have an iPhone 3G, 3GS, or 4, then you shouldn't need to, as the headphone jack is flush with the device.


After Catalina Update Bluetooth Headphones Turn Off Randomly I use my Bose bluetooth headphone daily.  Never had a problem on my macbook pro or iMac.

I updated to Catalina 10.15.1.  Now randomly the computer switches from headphones to internal speakers.  It isn't clear if the headphones are disconnected, they still show connected under the bluetooth list.  In the sound preferences I can select the headphones, but it doesn't affect the sound, and if I close and open the sound preferences the internal speakers are selected. I have to disconnect and reconnect the headphones to get it to switch back to the headphones.

I have restarted a bunch of times.

I have disconnected and reconnected.

I have removed and added the headphones as a bluetooth device.

I have deleted the bluetooth plist files in the library (/Library/Preferences + ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost ). and restarted.

I ran Apple Diagnostics, it showed nothing.

I reset NVRAM (per Udhy), still have the problem.

Any other suggestions? Thanks.

I had the same problem.

I did everything that I found within the different communities and blogs, finally, I find out that there is something between Whatsapp and Bluetooth. I uninstall WhatsApp and never use WhatsApp web again and problem solved.

I hope it can help in your case too until Apple figures out how to fix it.


Why does OS X format MS-DOS filesystems so much faster than Windows does? When I format a MS-DOS filesystem using Disk Utility in Mac OS X it takes only a few seconds, but when I format a FAT32 filesystem in Windows it takes several minutes.

What is OS X doing differently?

The format process can be handled differently depending on what the OS actually accomplish by during the format.

Formatting should leave a clean and cleared file system. This can be done very fast by only clearing the file allocation table (FAT). This means writing to a very limited blocks /sectors on the disk.

Alternatively formatting may include clearing all the data previously on the disk/drive. This obviously involves writing to ALL of the disk and is a lot more time consuming.

Windows have the "fast" option and Mac OS X also has the "slow" option - OS X even has options to multi-wipe data with random garbage data (this usually takes forever).


How do I mass delete photos from my iPhone in Yosemite / iOS 8? I previously used Image Capture (ie. this solution: How to mass delete your photos in your iPhone?). It seems like the delete functionality was removed in Yosemite. Now what? I have 800+ photos and I don't want to select them one by one.

When I connect to iTunes, it says "iCloud Photos is On" - and does not allow me to sync through iTunes.

Turning off iCloud Photos Beta and restarting my iPhone worked, then the option returned in Image Capture.  Seems to be a bug in iCloud Photos Beta


My iPad Air has a charging problem. it says its charging but it's not! My iPad Air says it is charging but it isn't and if I take the charger out and put it back in, it won't charge at all. What's happening?

What I would do is make sure that it is in fact the iPad that's at fault and not a power adapter, as if you use an iPhone power adapter with an iPad, it will work, but will charge it slower. NEVER use a 3rd-party charger with any Apple device, if you are, that could be the problem. If you are using the official charger that came with your iPad, it simply could be broken. So try charging your iPad with different chargers.

If your iPad is at fault, restart your iPad by holding the power button and home button together until you see an Apple logo. Try charging it again when it comes back on in a few seconds.

If that still doesn't work, make sure that your iPad Air is running the current (as of today, 11/26/15) iOS 9.1 (update: 9.2 is current now, 12/13/15). Go to Settings> General> Software Update and update it if you need to, as the charging problem could be a rare bug in an older version iOS.

If your iPad is up to date, or after you update it, if your iPad still won't charge, back it up with iTunes (see this Apple Support link, also make sure that "Encrypt Backup" is checked and set the password as your iCloud password, also be sure to back up your iPad two or three times just to be safe) and then click "Restore" (erase) your iPad in iTunes. When your iPad is restored, connect it to iTunes again and click "Restore Backup" and select the backup you made. As long as you do these steps properly, none of your data will be lost, but a clean install might just fix your charging issue.

If it still won't work after a clean install, either the dock assembly or battery is no good and will need to be replaced. If it is under warranty, call AppleCare support and see about getting your iPad fixed for free. If not, you could still go with Applecare or go with a local repair shop for a cheaper price.


Photos: Export all images without downloading them? I just started using iCloud Photo Library. I uploaded all images using Photos for Mac. Now, I enabled the "Optimize Mac Storage" option, so the full-resolution files are not stored on my Mac. However, I'd like to keep a local backup of all photos stored in iCloud Photo Library (and therefore in Photos for Mac) on my NAS. There is an option to export images.

Is it possible to export all images without downloading them first?
I'd like Photos for Mac to download all images from iCloud Photo Library directly to my NAS, so that they are at not downloaded/stored on my Mac during the export process.

You can do this in a web browser by logging in to iCloud.com and accessing your photos there. Photos get downloaded to your default download location (which usually is ~/Downloads), so change this in Safari Settings first to point to the NAS.


How to read the backups history of my iPhone? I am regularly making backups of my iPhone otarie on a Mac through an USB cable.

Versions of the OS used:

iOS   11.1
MacOS 10.13.5

I am not using iCloud.

Within iTunes I often see many backups apparently started (or terminated)
at the same date and hour:

What are all these backups?

What are the dates on left and right columns?

Which of these backups are partial or full?

iTunes only saves 1 active-backup from your iPhone. Each time you back it up, it is archiving the data that was on the device at the time, this is where the dating of the previous backup comes into play.

The dated backups are typically those that have been used for a restore. When you do this the restored backup is archived with the date of the restore and a new rolling backup is created. With iTunes for Mac, you can also trigger the archive process manually. You can select and delete older backup as you chose, though I would suggest you keep one or two.

This "archiving" is Apple's way of "copying or duplicating" an iTunes backup file without the user having to physically rename that backup file or physically moving the backup file into another location.

It's similar to how Time Machine on a Mac performs when archiving files.


Copy file from Debian to Mac OS X or Windows I'm new to Linux. How can I copy a file or directory from the Debian OS to Mac or Windows?

You can share filesystems across these platforms but this requires some basic network/sharing configuration on all involved systems.

Sharing via Filesystems

On OS X you can enable File Sharing in System Preferences -> Sharing

By default only AFP sharing is enabled which may not be available in a standard Linux setup (and definitively is not available on Windows). To also enable Samba/Windows sharing, click on "Options..." and enable Samba sharing there.

Sharing via Syncing solution

An alternative and rather easy approach would be to install either Dropbox or BitTorrent Sync on all systems and use this to copy data over.

Copying with scp

In case you only want to copy some files you might also be able to use scp to copy files from/to a remote system over a network. Basic syntax is

scp local-file remote-user@remote-host:

and you will be prompted to enter the password of remote-user.


Time Machine not fully encrypted. Is it safe to use? I'm going to format my iMac today and I've just backed up to an external drive using Time Machine.

But I am using encrypted backup, so Time Machine needs to encrypt the whole drive (after it has backed up). Right now, it says "Encrypting.... 35%". So it will take a long time.

Can I safely format now and still use the Time Machine backup, even though it's not fully encrypted? I mean, will it work the same way as if it was encrypted?

Ideally, the CoreStorage encryption should continue after you reconnect the Time Machine drive after your format. But practically, it's a risk that you shouldn't take unless you have other backups to recover from (like a SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner bootable clone).


error code -1407 Mac OS X 10.6.7 Out of the blue, I can't send any files to the trash bin. "The operation can't be completed because an unexpected error occurred (error code -1407)

Any ideas for me?

Finder’s trash can is an amalgam of several different directories:

~/.Trash/
/.Trashes/<uid>/ on each volume (including the startup volume)
e.g. /Volumes/Big Media Volume/.Trashes/501/

Most trash operations will move the trashed item to the directory under your home directory. If you trash something on an separate volume, however, Finder will move the item into the volume’s /.Trashes/<uid>/ directory instead (because moving a file to a location on the same volume is very fast, but copying a file from some other volume to your home directory’s trash directory could be quite slow).

Try checking your main trash directory (in a Terminal window):

ls -ld ~/.Trash

If the result does not look like start with drwx------ and show your user’s “short name” twice (the second is actually a group name), then your personal trash directory has probably been fouled. You can move it aside then logout and login again:

cd ~ && mv .Trash .Trash.old
# now logout and re-login

This should create a new ~/.Trash directory for you. You may want to investigate the contents of the .Trash.old file/directory to try to determine its origin.

If the problem is with a per-volume trash directory, you should be able to use the same idea: move it aside, eject it, then remount it (disconnect and reconnect an external disk, reopen a disk image, use Disk Utility to remount an internal volume):

cd '/Volume/whereever' && mv .Trashes .Trashes.old
# then eject and remount

You may need … && sudo mv … if the volume has “Owners Enabled”.


Is it possible to update iPhone running iOS 13.5.1 to 13.7 not 14.4? On macOS, Apple pushes security updates to older versions such as Catalina... we don't have to upgrade to Big Sur.
Is the same possible on iOS? I am aware of recent zero day patches but would like to avoid upgrading to iOS 14.
According to https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210393#137, I see many versions were pushed since 13.5.1, but somehow, I can only upgrade to 14.4 on my iPhone SE (2020).

The short answer is, NO.
After Apple stops signing an older build, there's no way to "easily, as a normal user" update to any other version than the newest.


How to get lldb to work on M1 Big Sur? This is on an M1 mini, running 11.1 with an updated Xcode.  (All pending updates have been applied.)  SIP has not been disabled (if it can even be, on the M1).
We have a program we're using to test an mmap() failure in our application being ported.  We build the test program like this:
cc -v -arch arm64 -m64 -Wl,-no_adhoc_codesign -o mapfail mapfail.c

Then, we sign it.  It appears to be correctly signed:
@macarm[git:master]$ codesign -vvv mapfail
mapfail: valid on disk
mapfail: satisfies its Designated Requirement
@macarm[git:master]$

We have enabled developer mode on the system.  We also added my user to the _developer group.  My user is not an administrator, but I tried it as one and got the same thing.
When we run the program it gets a segmentation fault (SIGSEGV), so we want to debug it with lldb, but this happens:
@macarm[git:master]$ lldb mapfail
(lldb) target create "mapfail"
Current executable set to '/Users/layer/mapfail' (arm64).
(lldb) run
error: process exited with status -1 (attach failed ((os/kern) invalid argument))
(lldb)

Searches for this have yielded no information, even on the Apple developer forums.
More info.  I tried an entitlement added at codesign time, but that did not work.  Here's the entitlement I used:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
         <key>com.apple.security.get-task-allow</key>
         <true/>
</dict>
</plist>

Anyone see a problem with this XML?

Here's the relevant answer from Apple on the entitlements needed to attach the llvm debugger to a process:

https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/132797

The entitlement needed on macOS is com.apple.security.get-task-allow and I know how to add that in Xcode, but not yet from the command line compiler. You can verify the same on your Mac using console app to show the logs and then reproduce the error. Then search for debugserver in console and you will see the debugger starting and then failing to attach.
Here's a different error if you try to start Calculator.app in the debugger - it's hardened and doesn't have the entitlement so that fails just like your app - it's not about notarization or code signing, but about the debugging entitlement on the binary.
default 19:30:23.088087-0600    debugserver debugserver will use os_log for internal logging.
default 19:30:23.088429-0600    debugserver debugserver-@(#)PROGRAM:LLDB  PROJECT:lldb-1200.0.44
 for arm64.
default 19:30:23.088489-0600    debugserver Got a connection, waiting for process information for launching or attaching.
error   19:30:23.090348-0600    debugserver error: MachTask::TaskPortForProcessID task_for_pid failed: ::task_for_pid ( target_tport = 0x0103, pid = 17889, &task ) => err = 0x00000005 ((os/kern) failure)
default 19:30:23.090378-0600    debugserver 1 +0.000000 sec [45e2/0303]: error: ::task_for_pid ( target_tport = 0x0103, pid = 17889, &task ) => err = 0x00000005 ((os/kern) failure) err = ::task_for_pid ( target_tport = 0x0103, pid = 17889, &task ) => err = 0x00000005 ((os/kern) failure) (0x00000005
default 19:30:23.090329-0600    kernel  macOSTaskPolicy: (com.apple.debugserver) may not get the taskport of (Calculator) (pid: 17889): (Calculator) is hardened, (Calculator) doesn't have get-task-allow, (com.apple.debugserver) is a declared debugger


mac fails to reconnect to SMB share after coming back from suspend I've got a mac (OS X 10.8.2) that's accessing files on an Win7 SMB share. About half the time the Mac comes back from suspend it can't connect to the SMB share. The Win7 machine is on and the password hasn't changed. But when I try to connect to the SMB server it asks for the username/password. When I type it in, I get told it's wrong. Then I restart the machine (Mac) and it can connect to the SMB server fine.

It's an annoyance really, especially when I've got 8 different terminal windows open and they're all named the way I like etc.

Anyone got a suggestion/tips for re-connecting to an SMB drive after suspend?

Mounting an SMB share as a local folder seems more reliable than using the Finder sidebar or even COMM-K to connect. It shouldn't be, right, but it is for me. Half the time, the Finder sidebar option won't connect even though I can still access the networked folder. Here's an example of using mount_smbfs:
mount_smbfs //Guest@10.0.1.1/myshare /Users/user/Downloads/networkfolder
Also, I had to disable sleep completely because the video crashes reliably on wake. 2018 mini with BigSûr. It fixed the problem.


Blurry Text on Apple iMac OS X 21.5" I recently purchased a new iMac which I love except for one sort of big issue - the text is blurry on several programs. At first I thought it was a browser issue when I noticed it in Gmail (using Chrome then Safari) and now I notice it's in other programs/applications on the computer as well. I have tried changing the display settings and nothing seems to help. After doing some searches on this it seems like this is a common issue with Apple. Is this something that Apple users just learn to deal with? It is night and day from my PC where the text was as crisp as can be...I was really looking forward to making this switch but this would be a deal breaker I think.

Here are some screenshots that I captured:

Both screenshots look normal, but subpixel rendering is disabled in the Pixelmator dialog.

There is a hidden preference for using a lighter text rendering style:

defaults write -g AppleFontSmoothing -int 1
sudo defaults write -g AppleFontSmoothing -int 1

The second command affects the force quit window and login screen. You have to quit and reopen applications to apply the changes.

Other than that, you can't really change the way text is rendered.


Where does Command-Shift-3 or Command-Shift-4 (for taking screen captures) originate from? I know that on Mac OS X, you can take a screen capture of the entire screen with Command+Shift+3 and you can take a screen capture of just a selection (or a window) with Command+Shift+4. Is there a rationale for this keyboard combination? What is the history of that command? Where does Command+Shift number originate from?

What’s an FKEY?
FKEY’s (Function Keys) are resources containing executable code that are called upon by hitting the keys Command-Shift-# (any number 0-9) at the same time. In the standard System file there are two FKEY’s; with an ID#3 and #4 that are used to dump the current screen or window onto disk or printer.1

So far as I can remember/find, screenshot commands were first added to the OS itself in System 6.2

1 Text and image from FKEY that runs other FKEYs!   by John Holder (MacTech magazine, 1988)
2 Further reading/references: Mel's Macintosh Universe: Macintosh Plus and a forum posting from 2003, How do I take a screen shot (the latter of which features some guy named Chealion).


Use iPhone as display for computer? Is there a way to use an iPhone as an external monitor for a computer?

I'm particularly interested in the potential of using an iPhone with Google Cardboard as a VR device.  But instead of using it just with iPhone apps, I'd like to be able to use it with programs that run on my computer.

I've never seen anything that allows an iPhone to be an external display, but that's what I'm looking for.

Assuming I understand your question correctly, you want to use a device such as an iPhone as an extra display for your desktop computer. If so, you will need to use 3rd party software to do this, such as Duet Display.

I have used this app to set an iPad up as an external monitor for an iMac and it works well for some workflows. How well it works for you will depend on what you're trying to do and the hardware you're using.

In any case, I know that Duet Display works with both iPads and iPhones and works with both Mac and Windows. However, I can not share any personal experience in using with an iPhone or Windows.

Hope this helps.


Updating a Jail-Broken iPhone I've jail-broken my iPhone 4 (iOS 4.3.3). I cannot restore it cause I don't have access to the computer that I used for jail-breaking my iPhone. Now I want to update my iPhone to iOS 5. Does it break the iPhone? or It'll work fine?

You may run into some problems if you restore your iPhone from a backup, after upgrading. If you do a fresh install of iOS 5, you should not run into any problems.


How do I search for recipients in Apple Mail? There are some messages in folders On My Mac in Apple Mail that are from a listserv, so the "to:" field shows "to:list@thislist.com" or whatever. I know that in the headers of the messages, one of them will show my actual e-mail address like this:

Received: by nz-out-0304.google.com with SMTP id h74so2095083nzf for <myemailaddress@mydomain.com>;

But for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to enter a search string in Mail that will return all the messages that have myemailaddress@mydomain.com in the Received: field in the headers. Can someone please enlighten me how I can search that (or any other) header field in Mail? This is driving me nuts!

I would start with making a smart mailbox to see if this is seen as a recipient.

Here's what my attempt looked like:

From there you can widen the search to Entire message if needed. Since it's not really "To:" you, the normal search keys in the Mail search like from:xyz or to:xyz won't be of use.


Homebrew precompiled binaries for macOS 10.15 Catalina. When they will be available? When will the Homebrew precompiled binaries for macOS 10.15 Catalina be available?

Homebrew waits until Catalina’s official public release.

  as all bottled builds are generated only for supported macOS versions

https://docs.brew.sh/FAQ#why-do-you-compile-everything


Is my keyboard faulty or are my settings screwed? Something is wrong with my keyboard or Mac settings for key repeat rate and delay.

My Keyboard settings are as follows:

Yet when I hold down my keys one of two things happens.
  A) The character only appears once or
  B) I get foreign character options such as:

I tried the terminal commands from How to increase keyboard key repeat rate on OS X? to no avail.

I tried resetting the NVRAM to no avail.

I tried rebooting my Mac to no avail.

What does work is I can use the Keyboard Viewer and if I click on a character (such as ’S’) I do get sssssssssssssssss, but if I press the physical S key the Keyboard Viewer shows the keypress but I only get the same foreign character options again.

So, is this a physical fault on my keyboard or what??

No, your keyboard is almost certainly not faulty. In fact, if you hold down some keys, such as the full stop . or space keys you should see that they repeat just fine.

Assuming that’s the case, you have one of two options:

keep your Mac as it currently is and use the Keyboard Viewer with your mouse if/when you need to repeat other characters, or
totally change the default behaviour so that you don’t get the popup with special characters.

If you opt for the 2nd option, then you’ll need to do the following:

Run the following command in terminal:

defaults write -g ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool false

Restart your Mac

Now you’ll have your keys repeat the way you want.


Unable to move Mouse VirtualBox Snow Leopard Server Install I am trying to install Snow Leopard Server in a virtual machine, but I can't seem to get the mouse to work properly.

If you exit out of the keyboard pop up and let the mouse pop up display you can successfully control the mouse after the boot screen appears.


How can I make my own custom OSX keyboard with autocorrect relying off a personalized dictionary? I really want to do this to support a minority language (Kouri-vini) that currently has zero input support but an existing digitized dictionary. I also have zero coding experience but I don't care if this takes me 10 years, I'll find a way to do it.

Custom Keyboards are commonly made with the Ukelele app.  For input to work right you really need a Unicode font for the language.  Spellcheck, etc is not connected to either the keyboard or the font, but requires .dic and .aff dictionary files.  Info on how these can be made is available at

http://www.openoffice.org/lingucomponent/

Whether a custom spellcheck dictionary will also do autocorrect I don't know.

For Kouri-Vini you don't need a special keyboard or font, just the dictionary.


Should I jailbreak my iPad? I just got an iPad a couple of weeks ago. I had a co-worker pull out his iPad out and immediately start talking about jailbreaking it. I have no fear of doing it, but I do realize that sometimes going beyond what the manufacturer intended ends up making your device less stable.

What I'd like to get from you guys is your favorite pros and cons for jailbreaking an iPad specifically. Will I have upgrade issues when they ship iOS 4 for it? Will it crash? What are the killer features if I do go for it?

Pros:

ability to install apps not found in Apple's App Store
ability to customize the OS, UI, etc. to remove minor annoyances and trick out your iPad

Cons:

you will definitely be unable to upgrade to new versions of the OS without having to re-jailbreak
your iPad may be less stable
you can't bring your iPad in for warranty service without undoing the jailbreak
time & energy: researching and performing the jailbreak, finding/installing non-App Store apps, keeping abreast of the latest jailbreak status in the face of updates, etc.

I've gone both ways depending on my needs -- my iPhone is jailbroken, my iPad is not.


Yosemite Grey Screen with 3d Party SSD not a trim issue I have a MacBook 7,1 which i recently installed a PNY 250 SSD and added some RAM. The laptop was running awesome with OSX 10.6.8, lightning fast.

Then I installed Yosemite. There was a bit of hang during the install, but Yosemite came up no issue when I rebooted. Here is the problem:

Every other time I boot the MacBook it hangs at a grey screen with the prohibitory sign. Verbose reveals a "still waiting for root device" error. Now if I reboot from that hang, it boots fine, but then will hang again the next time. It keeps alternating like this. Any ideas??

I am not running any third party trim software, so that's not the issue.

try resetting your PRAM and SMC, this may resolve your issue,

http://osxdaily.com/2010/11/15/reset-pram-mac/

http://osxdaily.com/2010/03/24/when-and-how-to-reset-your-mac-system-management-controller-smc/

otherwise it could be bad RAM... take your Macbook in to apple and have them test the RAM.


How can I select a password for a website with my keyboard? I store passwords for websites in my safari keychain and when I visit a website there is the key icon in the username field.  I can click on this key and autofill the username and password, but I hate touching my mouse.  Can I use a keyboard shortcut to click on that key icon?

You should be able to have Safari AutoFill the credentials when you tick the AutoFill user names and passwords checkbox in the Preferences sheet below:


Macbook 15,1 frequently crashes during video chat. How can I debug this? Frequently, and for no apparent reason, my Macbook Pro 15,1 (15-inch, 2019) with macOS 10.14.6 freezes, then hard-crashes during video chats (hangouts, slack, FaceTime). I have not seen this problem during regular video playback (Youtube, VLC). The error report is attached at the bottom.
I had hoped it has to do with integrated graphics switching, but turning it off didn't prevent it from happening.
Can someone parse some useful info from this crash report?
https://pastebin.com/raw/9zTnntxv (too large to paste here, unfortunately).

The most useful info from the crash report is simply that it is not your main macOS system that crashed. It is the bridgeOS running on your T2 chip that has crashed. The T2 on your system is, amongst other things, responsible for image processing for the integrated camera.

Therefore it does not seem that looking into the GPU, integrated graphics switching or similar will have an effect on the problem. This seems very likely to be an Apple bug, which will be hard to avoid triggering. In other words - you'll need to downgrade/upgrade the OS on the T2 to get this fixed.

I would advise reaching out to Apple to report the matter, and hope for a speedy upgrade from them that fixes this.


How to check if iPhone has been backed to iCloud? A relative of mine has unresponsive iPhone that contains some important data. The phone has not been backed up in iTunes. Is it possible to check whether it was backed up to iTunes, and when?

icloud.com doesn't seem to provide that information. iTunes normally provides that information, but requires unlocking iPhone which is impossible because of unresponsive screen. Is there any other option?

I'm sorry to hear about the broken phone.

Checking for iCloud backups:

iCloud.com will at least show you if there are any backups, but yes unfortunately no info about the date. The existence would be under Account Settings, and then seeing space taken by Backup.

If someone has a Mac, you can create a separate user account on that computer, and then set it up as your relative, using their iCloud credentials. (Just be sure to use a password they know AND delete the account/sign them out/remove the device from their iCloud after you're done so it doesn't become a source for a secondary password for them to set up iCloud later.) Once you have the macOS account, you can see the backups in the manage iCloud storage section of system preferences. https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/manage-icloud-storage-mh36833/10.15/mac/10.15

Checking for iTunes/local backups:

Open iTunes, and select Edit > Preferences (Windows) or iTunes > Preferences (macOS). Under the devices tab, you'll see a list of the backups.
On macOS Catalina, connect any iPhone/iPad, just so you can get a Finder window and select a phone. Then click manage backups, and you'll see a list of backups on that Mac.


El Capitan - Login problems with SIP enabled I just upgraded from Mavericks to El-Capitan. Upon attempting to log in to my profile, the login process gets stuck at the spinning load graphic, until I am forced to shut down. It appears that disabling SIP has fixed the issue, and the login took less than 5 seconds.

Why is this?

I suspect some kernel extension doing this, so I searched with sudo kextstat | grep -v com.apple to see the non-apple kexts. Here is a list:

Index Refs Address            Size       Wired      Name (Version) UUID <Linked Against>
  142    3 0xffffff7f83017000 0x5f000    0x5f000    org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxDrv (5.0.6) FB8B8CAC-638F-3853-9CF3-5A0229B47B68 <7 5 4 3 1>
  143    0 0xffffff7f83076000 0x14000    0x14000    com.intel.kext.intelhaxm (6.0.1) 8FF2C637-0A5E-367E-B007-5B08655B1E8A <7 5 4 3 1>
  144    0 0xffffff7f8308a000 0x9000     0x9000     net.telestream.driver.TelestreamAudio (1.1.0) EEF9313A-72D9-F5C7-7408-F1F8F3E37A2C <104 5 4 3 1>
  150    0 0xffffff7f82467000 0x6000     0x6000     com.logmein.hamachi (1.0) 57549AD3-8860-C370-448E-68D7E6EBC0DA <7 5 4 1>
  152    0 0xffffff7f83093000 0x8000     0x8000     org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxUSB (5.0.6) 0585ED0B-8D0D-3F96-8BF9-EA50FB281D2A <151 142 41 7 5 4 3 1>
  153    0 0xffffff7f8309b000 0x5000     0x5000     org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxNetFlt (5.0.6) C5D7E667-CAFE-3B85-AE60-441006FB2BC0 <142 7 5 4 3 1>
  154    0 0xffffff7f830a0000 0x6000     0x6000     org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxNetAdp (5.0.6) 1A232B48-34B8-3B06-8963-662FD1DE7542 <142 5 4 1>

VirtualBox is not compatible with El Capitan. From the VirtualBox build instructions page:

  Prerequisites on Mac OS X: 10.6.x (Snow Leopard), 10.7.x (Lion),
  10.8.x (Mt. Lion), 10.9.x (Mavericks) or 10.10.x (Yosemite) running on Intel hardware.


Disk will not mount, but shows up on System Profiler My internal 250GB failed on me the other day, so I replaced it with a new SSD and HDD combo. I have the failed disk connected via USB/SATA, but it will not mount. However, it shows up under System Profiler.

The following is from System Profiler:

USB to S-ATA:

Capacity: 250.06 GB (250,059,347,968 bytes)
Removable Media:  Yes
Detachable Drive: Yes
BSD Name: disk4
Product ID:   0x0731
Vendor ID:   0x05e3  (Genesys Logic, Inc.)
Version: 90.94
Serial Number:   37007
Speed:   Up to 480 Mb/sec
Manufacturer:    Genesyslogic
Location ID: 0x24130000 / 4
Current Available (mA):  500
Current Required (mA):   192
Partition Map Type:  GPT (GUID Partition Table)
S.M.A.R.T. status:   Not Supported
Volumes:

disk4s1:

Capacity:  209.7 MB (209,715,200 bytes)
BSD Name:  disk4s1
Content:   EFI

Macintosh HD:

Capacity:  184.48 GB (184,484,454,400 bytes)
BSD Name:  disk4s2

Unknown:
Unknown:

By SSD and HDD combo do you mean something like a Seagate Momentus?

I'm really confused by you saying that the disk failed (how did it fail?) but then you have connected it by USB and you expect it to work?

The report you posted doesn't show a

Content:    Apple_HFS

as you might expect to see under Volumes, so it appears to have been corrupted.

If data on this volume is vital and you don't mind spending money to get it back then unplug it right away and take it to a professional recovery service.

If it would be just "nice to have back" then you could try using the First Aid tab of Disk Utility, and see if it can recover the partition(s).


Plain text paste on Firefox on OSX ctrl + shift + V does plain text paste on Chrome and Firefox on Linux and Windows (removes all HTML formatting from WYSIWYG pasted text).

I think Chrome honours cmd + shift + V, but this doesn't seem to work in Firefox 6.

Is there a shortcut to paste as plain text on Firefox?

If Firefox doesn't support this, you can use Plain Clip as a workaround.


Xcode organizer shows crash reports of unsupported device We launched our iOS camera app only for iPhones and we do not support any other apple devices. We have telephony in  UIRequiredDeviceCapabilities which iPads don't support.(Check here)

But in Xcode -> Organizer -> Crashes we are receiving crash logs from iPads.

In iTunes connect analytics, the number of app units vs device shows 100% iPhone. So where are we getting these iPad crash logs from? How can someone download the app on iPad if we are not supporting it?

PS: The logs have correct info i.e., if we test our app on iPad the crash log we get matches the crash log in Xcode Organizer.

iPhone-only apps can be downloaded from the App Store to an iPad regardless of whether or not you support using it the iPad.  This is different than iPad-only apps because those can't be installed on an iPhone (non-jailbreak).

A user simply has to select to download the iPhone version to their iPad and they can download it.  The app will display on their iPad in 'compatibility mode', that's as a smaller (screen size) app or magnified to fit the iPad screen.

Just because people are using iPads doesn't mean you have to provide them support.  You can always refuse support to someone if they've used your app on an 'unsupported device'.  Just be sure to clearly call out that it's not designed to run on iPads in your app description.

In iTunesConnect, you're only seeing users who have approved to share analytics and logs with both Apple and the app's developer.  That audience might only contain people with iPhones that agreed to share the logs so you're only going to see iPhones in the logs (this is why I use a 3rd-party analytics tool in addition to the regular ones from Apple).


How do I increase rendering speed on Final Cut Express? How do I increase render speed on FCE? I have several overlaid HD video tracks, and it is SLOW.

EDIT: I am on a MBP 13", 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5, 4GB 1333 MHz DDR3. The render disk is an external USB drive.

EDIT: I found out that FCP has a feature that allow you to only render video to a certain quality (or bit rate...something like that). Does FCE have a feature that does this same thing?

EDIT: Oh, and...if I upgrade to FCE 4, will rendering be faster?

EDIT: I am on FCE 4.

I imagine the USB disk is probably a source of the bottleneck.  Try using a Firewire 800 disk.


Can I lock my screen with a keyboard shortcut? Possible Duplicate:
  Is there a quick way to lock my Mac?

I'm running OS X 10.7.3

Currently I've found what looks like 2 possible solutions:

Hot corner(s) setup in the "Desktop & Screen Savers" preferences
Create a service with Automator then map a keyboard shortcut in "Keyboard" preferences

I don't like 1 because it requires the mouse, and 2 seems like a bit of a hack. Is there a built in way to do this? Or should I settle for the workarounds?

Thanks
L

Does control+shift+eject  (    sleep displays ) solve your problem?    (if you set authentication for login)

Or you can use Option+Command+eject    Put the computer to sleep.


How to disable com.apple.quarantine on Catalina I am constantly downloading files from our servers and they get marked with the com.apple.quarantine attribute.

How can I forever (and ever, until the universe collapses) prevent the OS from setting this attribute?

I know why it is there
I know how to remove it
There are other answers, that don't work on Catalina, regarding this, like Disable the use of the "com.apple.quarantine" extended attribute on Mojave so it is not a duplicate

It looks like on Catalina the 'defaults write com.apple.LaunchServices LSQuarantine -bool NO' solution doesn't work.

As a workaround, I'd create a Automator Folder Action, attached to the Downloads folder, with a Run AppleScript action, setting Shell: /bin/bash and  Pass input: as arguments, using the example bash code below,  until a more permanent answer comes about.

for f in "$@"
do
    [ ! -d "${f}.download" ] || continue
    xattr -d com.apple.quarantine "$f"
done

Note: The example bash code contains limited error handling. The onus is upon the user to add any error handling as may be appropriate, needed or wanted.


In Boot Camp Assistant, how to select a previous Windows version to install? I am trying to install Windows via Boot Camp Assistant on my Mid-2014 MacBook Pro Retina, but it's only giving me the option to install Windows 10. It assumes I want Windows 10 and doesn't give me any other options.

I don't have anything against Windows 10, in fact, I was planning on installing it, but apparently I need to have 50GB of free space on my SSD before Boot Camp Assistant can even begin doing its thing.

50GB is simply too much to have free on a 128GB SSD. I was planning on having a 30GB partition for Windows.

So I talked to a friend who has Windows on his MacBook Air, and he told me that he has a 30GB partition and that Boot Camp Assistant never asked for more than this, but he installed it a long time ago (probably on Lion, or Mountain Lion) and he uses Windows 7.

I then decided I would be using Windows 7 as well since it apparently requires less storage space, but Boot Camp Assistant seems to have forgotten that any Windows other than 10 has ever existed.

TL;DR How to install Windows 7 (and not Windows 10) using Boot Camp Assistant on my MacBook using the newest Boot Camp Assistant version and the current macOS Sierra?

Is there a trick I'm missing?

Apple has recently dropped support for windows versions less than 10 on macOS sierra. I believe select macs can be "tricked" into booting, but I am stuck a bit as well. I did find these online posts that could help. I posted a similar question in case this gets figured out and you can then see the answer there.

Install Windows 7 on mid-2017 imac

My post (in case it eventually gets answered)

Tricking bootcamp on el capitan  (I believe they changed the plist file structure on macOS sierra despite it looking similar)

From what I can tell, I believe the process is as follows:

Partition hard drive using disk utility and have a 60gb minimum sized partition named "BOOTCAMP" as FAT to install windows to
Boot to windows 7 usb (or disk if your mac is before 2011) using mbr boot (not efi because the bootcamp software is expecting an MBR install). Some drivers also don't work for EFI windows installs yet, especially graphics.
Using the windows installer, format the BOOTCAMP partition as NTFS
Install and then after it reboots, hold option to boot into the windows partition again to finish installing
Boot into mac os and download the windows 7 bootcamp package FOR YOUR DEVICE (if there isn't one, you may not be able to have backlight, keyboard / mouse support like mac os does - but should have basic drivers). Other devices may not show up correctly, such as the "coprocessor" and other apple unique devices.
Install this software when booted into windows. You may need to modify a config file or trick the MSI installer to run. There may be a "NOCHECK" command line parameter to pass to the MSI. This link says more: Bootcamp support software on unsupported hardware
Reboot into mac
Use the startup option in the mac settings to choose the default startup volume

This is all I've been able to find, but I'm currently stuck at booting the windows 7 install.

I was able to install windows 7 into the partition, but had to use VirtualBox to boot to the disc using mbr and avoid the freezing issue.

The steps I did were:

Created a windows 7 VM with 1gb ram, with NO hard disk.
Created a raw vmdk file manually using the following commands in mac terminal (this points to a physical disk, so use CAUTION):

diskutil list (to find your drive/partition id)

diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk0s4 (use your drive/partition id found above)

chmod 777 /dev/disk0s4(use your drive/partition id found above)

VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename win7destinationPartition.vmdk -rawdisk /dev/disk0s4 (use your drive/partition id found above)

chmod 777 win7destinationPartition.vmdk
Then I went to the settings for the vm I created and went to the storage tab. I enabled the "use host I/O cache on the SATA controller" option (otherwise it throws an error).
Then I added a hard drive under the sata controller and selected my "win7destinationPartition" vmdk file.
Then I "inserted" the iso into the virtual optical drive
Closed the settings, and powered on the VM. It was able to boot into mbr with the destination being my partition. I then proceed with the windows install.

My next steps are to fix the partition / boot info on the physical drive, so it sees my windows partition on the "option" menu at boot up and as a startup volume. I'll update with any progress I make.


My USB Apple Keyboard stopped working after upgrading to Sierra I have an iMac (late 2015), which I use with a wired USB Apple keyboard. The keyboard was working perfectly until I upgraded to Sierra, at which point it stopped working.

An SMC reset fixes the problem, until I shut down the machine, or unplug and replug the keyboard. At which point, I have to reset the SMC again.
A PRAM reset doesn't fix the problem.
The keyboard doesn't work in recovery mode or safe mode, either.
The keyboard doesn't appear in System Information, in the USB section.
Installing macOS on an external disk doesn't help.
Reinstalling macOS on the internal disk didn't help.
Other keyboards (Microsoft USB keyboard, Apple "Magic" keyboard) work perfectly.
The same keyboard works when plugged into a Windows laptop.
Deleting /Library/Caches and ~/Library/Caches doesn't help.
Replacing the logic board didn't help.

I know this is a problem with macOS since the keyboard was working perfectly with El Capitan, and the problem started immediately after the "upgrade".

What are some other troubleshooting steps I can take?

Based on the Apple forums, people have had this similar problem since Yosemite up to Sierra. While there has been no official reason by Apple and many comments have went unanswered on Apple's website.

Here is what people have reported to have work. (whether it makes sense or not, this is in fact what people have confirmed to be working. (same situation identically for some, other keyboards work but not the USB Apple Keyboard.

These are 2 things that have been confirmed to work on iMac 2015 models.

  1) Plugging the keyboard into a USB hub, then the hub into the iMac.

  2) Plugging the keyboard into any USB extension cable, then the cable
  into the iMac.

Referrence: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7501433?tstart=0


Friend bought Android phone, but my iPhone keeps trying to send them iMessages. Any fix? He's de-registered his phone number from iMessage and I've reset and restarted iMessage on my phone (iPhone 8). But I still can't send him messages.

Anyone know of a fix?

You can ask your friend to Deregister iMessage. It can be done both on the iPhone or if they no longer have access to the iPhone, on the Web.

See the linked Apple Support article to learn more:

Deregister iMessage on your iPhone or online

Since your friend has already moved to an Android phone, it would be easier for them to deregister online. Here's the webpage that can be used to deregister iMessage:

Deregister and Turn Off iMessage - Apple Support


How can I scroll using my fingers when my iPad is being used as Sidecar? I can't scroll using finger touches. I can only scroll using my Mac's trackpad.
Seeing from their own guides, it should be allowed:

Use standard gestures on iPad: Use your fingers to tap, touch and hold, swipe, scroll, and zoom.

Is my understanding of the feature correct? Can anyone get this to work?
Does anyone if there's something else required to enable touches during Sidecar?

Scroll with two fingers on the iPad screen, like you do on a trackpad, with your fingers within the area to be scrolled.


Remove Mac App Store notification badge from the Dock # "Usernoted" seems to be the "user notifications daemon", so get it's PID.
pid=$(ps aux | grep -i [u]sernoted | awk '{print $2}')

# Find the sqlite3 database that this program has open. It's in a "private" folder (app sandboxing).
db="$(lsof -p $pid | grep com.apple.notificationcenter/db/db\$ | awk '{print $9}')"

# I got the bundleid from Spotify.app/Contents/Info.plist
bundleid="com.spotify.client"

# I use 0 as the flags because you can change all the settings in System Preferences
# 5 seems to be the default for show_count
# Grab the next-highest sort order
sql="INSERT INTO app_info (bundleid, flags, show_count, sort_order) VALUES ( '$bundleid', 0, 5, (SELECT MAX(sort_order) + 1 FROM app_info) );"

# Run the command
sqlite3 "$db" "$sql"

# Restart usernoted to make the changes take effect
killall usernoted

How to apply such a script for the Mac App Store so that it will appear in Notification Center Settings? I don't have a clue on how to change the script above to work with the App Store :( I want to avoid system updates and I would like to get rid of the numbered badge on the icon in the Dock. Thank you in advance!

Just a Workaround (tested with 10.11.3):

Open ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.dock.plist with en Plist-Editor of choice (e.g. Xcode).
Open the property(array) with name "persistent-apps".
In this array is an item for each persistent application(the ones that stay if you close the app) in your Dock. The Finder in first position of Dock is NOT in this list! The first application after the Finder is in "Item 0", the second in "Item 1" and so forth. Find the item number in the array where you have the App Store and open the item to see the sub properties.
Open property "tile-data" as well. Now you should see a sub property "dock-extra" of type BOOLEAN.
In the property "file-data/_CFURLString" or the property "bundle-identifier" you can check if you really found the correct item number for the App Store.
Change the value of from "dock-extra" from YES to NO and than save and close the plist.
Restart your Dock at a terminal with command "killall Dock" or reboot your system.

I create a small shell script that does the same job. It uses the terminal tool "PlistBuddy" that comes together with Xcode.

#!/bin/bash
/usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "set persistent-apps:7:tile-data:dock-extra false" ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.dock.plist
sync
killall Dock

The "7" in the script stands for the array position of the app store in the dock as explained in step 3 above (and needs to be adjusted to your configuration).

This method has still problems:

The red notification badge of App Store is only gone as long as the App Store is closed. As long as you open the App Store you see the red notification badge anyway.
When you move the position of App Store in your Dock (maybe because you add a new application to it) the "dock-extra" value is automatically reset to "YES" and you will see the red notification badge again. Than you need to repeat the process for the new Item position of the App Store in your Dock.


Find a list of recent iCloud backups I want to see the list of the recent iCloud backups my phone has made. By going into Settings->iCloud->Backups I can see that my most recent backup was at 1:04am, but I would like to see all of my recent backups! This can't be seen on iCloud.com, nor on my iPhone.

The only place I know I can see all the backups listed is after a factory reset, as in the image below, but I really would not like to do a factory reset.

You basically can't. There's no way to view this either on an iPhone/iPad or over at iCloud.com. If you ever need to access a list of backups, contact apple at https://getsupport.apple.com.


Cause of this kernel panic IOVideoPocketCamDevice::terminate When I started my iMac 27-inch, it shows the message "your computer has been restarted because of an error".

I searched on the internet and Apple's site said that it might be a software issue so I reinstalled macOS, but even after that the same error is showing after boot up within ~20seconds

Could anyone help by reading the following log report, whether it's software or hardware issue? and which apps should I delete in safe mode? Also when I boot up in safe mode the screen would transition slowly in horizontal lines(is this normal?)

Seems /Library/Extensions/IOVideoPocketCam.kext hasn't been updated for High Sierra. Remove this kext and reboot the machine.

Boot into Safe Mode (hold ⇧ whilst turning Mac on until Apple logo) and log in as usual.
Safe Mode disables all third-party extensions so this problematic kext won't be loaded.
Open Finder, press ⇧⌘G and enter /Library/Extensions.
Find IOVideoPocketCam.kext and delete the file (move to Trash).
Reboot as normal.


Why does OS X require admin privileges to unmount a drive from the terminal using `umount` but not when using Finder? Anyone can unmount a usb drive from Finder by clicking on the "eject" icon next to it.  However, only a user with administrative privileges can unmount a drive from the terminal using umount.

Are umount and "eject" different in some way that requires more security for umount from the terminal?

Note I am running OS X 10.8.2

umount is a UNIX command that adheres to the traditional UNIX perspective that unmounting a filesystem is a system administration task.

The rationale behind is that unmounting a filesystem, if poorly planned or executed, could be disruptive, even destructive, especially on a multiuser system. So regular users are protected from this potentially dangerous command and only root or a privileged user is allowed to execute it.

This makes a lot of sense when UNIX is used as a server operating system, but a UNIX-based desktop OS (for example, OS X or Ubuntu) has other needs: any user should be able to unmount flash drives, removable harddrives, etc.

The Finder and diskutil (see man diskutil for more information) work this way. For example, I can open Terminal and successfully run:

$ diskutil unmount /Volumes/Untitled
Volume Untitled on disk2s2 unmounted

whereas umount fails:

$ umount /Volumes/Untitled
umount: unmount(/Volumes/Untitled): Operation not permitted

What is the Finder or diskutil doing differently? Behind the scenes, they send a request to a daemon called com.apple.SecurityServer (see man page for more information), which grants the right to unmount the filesystem:

$ tail -f /var/log/system.log
Feb  6 16:57:37 avallone.local com.apple.SecurityServer[17]: Succeeded authorizing right 'system.volume.removable.unmount' by client '/System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app' [171] for authorization created by '/System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app' [171] (100013,0)
Feb  6 16:57:37 avallone.local com.apple.SecurityServer[17]: Succeeded authorizing right 'system.volume.removable.unmount' by client '/usr/sbin/diskarbitrationd' [18] for authorization created by '/System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app' [171] (100002,0)
Feb  6 17:01:46 avallone.local com.apple.SecurityServer[17]: Succeeded authorizing right 'system.volume.removable.unmount' by client '/usr/sbin/diskutil' [646] for authorization created by '/usr/sbin/diskutil' [646] (100013,0)
Feb  6 17:01:46 avallone.local com.apple.SecurityServer[17]: Succeeded authorizing right 'system.volume.removable.unmount' by client '/usr/sbin/diskarbitrationd' [18] for authorization created by '/usr/sbin/diskutil' [646] (100002,0)

This allows any user to unmount a drive without requiring additional authentication. (Ubuntu has a similar philosophy. If you are interested, take a look at this answer on AskUbuntu.)

To support the behavior explained above the Finder and diskutil use several Apple frameworks:

$ otool -L $(which diskutil) | grep Disk
/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/DiskManagement.framework/Versions/A/DiskManagement (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 1.0.0)
/System/Library/Frameworks/DiskArbitration.framework/Versions/A/DiskArbitration (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 1.0.0)
$ otool -L /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/MacOS/Finder | grep Disk
/System/Library/Frameworks/DiskArbitration.framework/Versions/A/DiskArbitration (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 1.0.0)
/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/DiskImages.framework/Versions/A/DiskImages (compatibility version 1.0.8, current version 344.0.0)
/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/DiskManagement.framework/Versions/A/DiskManagement (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 1.0.0)

umount, on the other side, is only linked to this dynamic library:

$ otool -L $(which umount)
/sbin/umount:
    /usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 169.3.0)

(/usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib uses several other libraries, but isn't linked to any framework.)