Unable to terminate process by kill -9 I`m unable to terminate process by SIGKILL signal.

$ ps aux | grep -i phps
username 17564   0.0  0.0        0      0   ??  ?E   Sun09AM   0:00.00 (phpstorm)
username 27664   0.0  0.0  2442020    788 s000  S+   11:53AM   0:00.00 grep -i phps
$ sudo kill -9 17564
$ ps aux | grep -i phps
username 17564   0.0  0.0        0      0   ??  ?E   Sun09AM   0:00.00 (phpstorm)
username 27883   0.0  0.0  2423392    312 s000  R+   11:55AM   0:00.00 grep -i phps

What does it mean that process in parentheses?
How to kill it?

I assume that you are trying to kill pis 17564 by kill -9 17564

However it is already dead, shown by ts name being in () in the ps output. (I learnt this as being a zombie process but that seems not to be  correct but the solution is the same) It will go away when the process that started it reads its exit code.

The man page for ps says that state E means that the process is trying to exit. The command shown is actually the ucomm (accounting) keyword as the system can't find the actual arguments.

To remove the process the process that calls it has to read its exit code, however there has probably been a failure and it won't do that, so you have to kill the parent process.

ps -ajx will show the status and parent - note that Apple/BSD changed the parameters of ps in Tiger   and ps -aux does not work ps aux sees a hack as that is what everyone uses. So you need to read the man page.


Is there a limit to how many iOS devices I can synch with iTunes? I've heard about the 5 computer limit.
I'm wondering if iOS devices are included in that or not.

There is no limit to how many iOS devices you can sync with iTunes.

The 5 computer limit is how many computers you can have authorized simultaneously with iTunes.


I found but can't open eclipse.ini (bad parsing) I know the trick with "show package contents" and I've gone to: $ECLIPSE_HOME/Eclipse.app/Contents/MacOS

However, the file in there is 'eclipse', rather than 'eclipse.ini'

Furthermore, when I open this file, sublime suggests that this is an application and shows me the hexadecimal values...
When I switch to UTF-8, I can see SOME English but most of it is still garbled...

How to open this file properly (and why it's not .ini like all of the internet says it is?)?

Well, I've gone crazy and actually searched for the eclipse.ini file. I've actually found it in:
/Eclipse.app/Contents/Eclipse

It's amazing how much advice on the internet (including eclipse.org!) points to:
/Eclipse.app/Contents/MacOS

It must have been true at some point but perhaps with newer versions, this is not necessarily true anymore, which is why I would like to keep this question and this answer despite the basic mistake - in order to inform other people with the same problem.


Where does docker desktop "start on login" option get stored and how to stop Docker from doing this outside of docker desktop? MacOS start applications are controlled through the user and groups settings.
Also you can use cron.
In docker desktop there is a login setting that seems to secretly put some login setting somewhere. WHERE? This should be banned. Secret login triggers are a virus and security threat.
Is it in root and macos doesn't show root?

To disable docker from starting up when you log in:
Click on the docker icon on the menu bar and select preferences:
Disable the checkbox which says "Start Docker Desktop when you log in". Hope that helps.


Accept Incoming Call from iPhone on Mac through AirPods (while Mac connected to iPhone Hotspot)? While I'm on the train using my AirPods with my Mac, how do I accept a call from my iPhone over the AirPods while using my iPhone as a Wi-Fi hotspot?

This isn't currently possible as AirPods connect to one device at a time and your Mac isn't able to accept calls unless it is on the same Wi-Fi network as your phone (Hotspot doesn't count).

Until one of those changes you'll have to ask the caller to "give me a minute to put on my headphones" (common practice) while you open Bluetooth settings on your iPhone (fastest: swipe up control center and choose AirPods in AirPlay) and connect to your AirPods. The call will automatically route to your AirPods once connected!

--

Alternatively you could get a bluetooth device such as the Bose QuietComfort 35 which allows you to connect up to two devices so you could be connected to both your iPhone and Mac and switch easily between them!


Connecting a FireWire 800 external hard drive to MacBook Pro early 2013 through its USB 2 port I need to connect a FireWire 800 external hard drive to a MacBook Pro early 2013 through its USB 3 port.

I would have done so through the Thunderbolt port but the adaptor for that is too expensive for me at the moment.

I bought a connector on eBay but the FireWire end was female when I want a male end, but I've looked and can't find a single male FireWire end with male USB 3 end.

I badly need to restore my new Mac so your help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

The Apple Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter is $29, and I don’t think you’ll find much cheaper that that for adapter cables. However if the external Firewire drive is just a normal drive in a Firewire enclosure then you could pull the drive from it and use either a USB3 hard drive case or even a laptop hard drive SATA to USB3 cable. Those cables and enclosures start at around the $10 mark on big ecommerce sites.


How to save a bookmarklet link when using safari? How can I save the link of a bookmarklet in iPad’s safari? For example any of the bookmarklets in the following website? When I touch and hold, an option to save the link is not offered.

http://joemaller.com/translation_bookmarklets.shtml

Eventually, I would like to bookmark that bookmarklet. What I currently do is to open the above link in Firefox, then I save the link, then I create a bookmark in safari. I am wondering how can I do this without using a second browser.

With only iPad and safari: open the link provided. Now, click on one bookmarklet suitable for you, and open it.

On the new window, in the upper part, there is one square with an up arrow, click on that and from the popup menu opened, choose "Add bookmark" and save it to your choice (a good one is Favorites page).

When need to translate a page, click first on the big " + ", choose the "Google Translate" icon and open it. Then copy/paste the address from your page to Google translate page.

Keep in mind that on Google Translate page, you can choose another "From" or "To" page, by clicking on the respective buttons.


Can I use Time Machine to back up data to a Windows shared drive? How can I do "Time Machine" from my Mac OS X 10.6.4 to my Window share drive? I'd also prefer to encrypt my image, so it's "safe" just in case :-)

In order to create a Time Machine backup to an unsupported drive (pretty much anything that's not formatted HFS+) you need to run the following Terminal command:

defaults write com.apple.systempreferences TMShowUnsupportedNetworkVolumes 1

Your share will now show up as a valid Time Machine destination in the Time Machine Preference Pane.

Time Machine will then create a disk image on that drive that will act just like a HFS+ drive for Time Machines purposes (hard linking, etc.). One advantage of using a disk image over using the entire drive is that you can limit the size it will grow to of the disk image using Disk Utility.

Be sure to check Louis Gerbarg's answer as well for why it's unsupported and you have to jump through a hoop to enable it.


iPhone contacts off by one digit and/or swapped digits A few weeks ago, I erased and reinstalled my iPhone software (iOS 5.1).  I also decided to jailbreak it right around that time.

Since then, I've noticed that several of my contacts have the wrong information in my phone.  Mobile numbers (and in one case an email address) are sometimes off by one digit/character, or two digits are swapped.

For example, if my contact's phone number is 555-0391, I will discover (after sending a few texts to a complete stranger) that her number is actually stored in my phone as 555-0319.  A few days after I've fixed the number and obsessively checked to make sure it's still correct, I notice that it has changed again, this time to 555-8391.

I'm totally willing to accept that this is a case of user error, but I just want to check to make sure this isn't a known issue, being caused by a sync bug or malware, etc.

I think it's most likely user error. I haven't heard of any bugs like this elsewhere, and it would be a particularly odd manifestation of data corruption. Keep an eye on it, but it probably just got incorrectly entered.


How to scan with Canon TS 5150 Printer/Scanner I just purchased my TS5150 printer/scanner. I can print wirelessly just fine. However I cannot SCAN. I cannot scan using either "printers and scanners from the "system Preferences" menu OR from the IJ scan Utilities.
Each time I get a 21345 error "failed to open a connection to the device"..
I have removed and re-installed the entire application.  I have a Macbook Air Catalina 10.15.7.
How can I make it work?

According to the information on Canons website this device is only supported over AirPrint (which doesn't support scanning). It seems to be supported by Vuescan though:

VueScan is compatible with the Canon TS5150 on Windows x86, Windows x64, Windows RT, Windows 10 ARM, Mac OS X and Linux

I'm just a happy customer but IMHO the application is absolutely worth its price. And there is a free trial so you can easily check whether it suits your needs.


MacBook Pro screen freaks out, goes psychedelic — I'm at a loss — suggestions? Been using and taking care of Macs since 1985, and I've never seen this before. Can't find anything online. Anyone? Graphics card going south?

Reboot fixed the problem, but it returned 2x the next day.

Have zapped the PRAM, waiting to see if that helps.

Chances are, it's hardware.

Download and burn a copy of Ultimate Boot CD  Insert the disk and boot your Mac by holding down the "C" key.  It's a Linux OS and will boot up in text mode (not graphics intensive)

There are a number of video related tests you can run.  Since it is outside of OS X,  you are removing the OS from the equation.

Chances are, you are going to run across something hardware wise.

If you don't get errors reported back, it may be a connector or the display itself.  If you have an external monitor, hook that up and see if the problem manifests there.  If it dosen't, then you know it is something between the logic board and display.

If you do see errors, then you know for a fact it's your chip.

Don't dispair.  I have used a service that will replace graphic chips on Apple logic boards and they have been quite reliable.  I can give you the name privately, if you like.  The cost was (give or take) about $100 including shipping.

I have personally used the above techniques and vendor with zero failures thus far.

I hope this helps.


Ensure files on finder show the icon of the default app, not the old deleted app I deleted an app that used to be the default app for a file type, but its icon still remains in Finder windows:

How can I replace those icons for the icon of the current default app?

Things I have already tried:

Globally set the new app as default app for that type of file.
Manually removed things related to the old app (as per this tuto).
Relaunched Finder and rebooted system.

My OS version is 10.11.6 (15G31) (El Capitan).

Any help kindly appreciated!

I think you may need to rebuild the Launch Services Database.
The simplest, non-techy way would be to use Onyx (freeware)


Mac Mail on El Captan malfunctioning One draft window flashes continually on and off the screen even though I have deleted the draft from my menu on the left.

Any ideas on what's causing this and how could I fix it?

I have a workaround in mind that would benefit you more then it would hurt you. You can always use a secondary mail client like CloudMagic, which I used for a while. I haven't used the default mailing client for at least 2 years now. CloudMagic is free on the Mac App Store and for iOS.


Can a developer make an app that can be controlled with Siri? Example: A commute planer app could take a start and destination from you, through Siri, and plan your trip. Would be very useful, especially when you're in a hurry.

As of now, there is no API for Apple developers to use to connect to Siri. That may or may not be changed in the future; see e.g. http://daringfireball.net/2011/10/iphone_4s for discussion.


Are there apps that allow two iPhones to communicate directly without the need of any network? I would like to be able to use 2 iPhones as true walkie talkies in the middle of nowhere where there are no networks available. Is this possible? If so, would it be possible to use 3G for this?

HeyTell works well over 3G. I've used it for years. It's great!

Answer to comment:

Walkie Talkie for iPhone might do the trick. It uses Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The Bluetooth range would only be around 30 feet though. You might be able to use this one over an ad hoc network, but you'd need a PC or Mac to set that up and even then, I don't know if this app uses its own servers to transmit the messages or if they are transmitted directly.

Bluetooth Walkie Talkie also might do the trick but again, its range is limited.

To answer your question in the comment below there is no way to have walkie talkie like functionality over 3G without having 3G signal from a carrier.


How To Open System Directories In Finder Without Opening A New Finder Tab In the finder I made hidden directories visible. The odd thing is that any system directory (IE one whose name starts with a ".") I can't open them by double-clicking on them. Instead I have to right click and and select to open in a new tab. Is there a way to change this behavior?

I'm using Mavericks, not sure if this issue is specific to Mavericks or not.

You can enter those directories from keyboard with ⌘ CMD+↓ Down arrow.
 Or ⇧ SHIFT+⌘ CMD+G and type the name of the directory You want to enter. You can complete directory name with ⇥ TAB button (for example type Down in $USER dir, press ⇥ TAB and it will become Downloads).


SD memory for Time Machine? I am running a MacMini 2013 that has Mac OS X 10.9.3 installed and I want to use SD memory cards with Time Machine.

Can I use the SD flash memory for a backup drive?
What is the maximum size supported?
Is the drive bootable for a recovery option?
Would anyone recommend doing this?

While we don't know how large your SD card is, it is likely not big enough to support a backup. The information and link below provides details on how much space to plan for.

Answer by sameetandpotatoes just here

You probably want to check out this website for the most information, but here is the answer to your question, quoted from the website above:

1. How big a drive do I need for Time Machine?

  A general "rule of thumb" is, to keep a reasonable "depth" of backups,
  Time Machine needs 2 to 4 times as much space as the data it's
  backing-up (not necessarily the entire size of your internal HD).  Be
  sure to add the size of the data on any other drives/partitions you
  want to back up.


How do I restore my .bash_profile? I've accidentally overwritten my ~/.bash_profile file.

Does anyone have a "sample" one I could copy, or know where I might be able to find one?

If your terminal window is still open, you can save the current environment settings to rebuild.  The recovered file will contain more information than you may have defined yourself, so remove the parts you don't need:

Defined vars and functions:

$ declare > .bash_profile.recovered

Aliases:

$ alias >> .bash_profile.recovered


Data being sent to old and new iphone When I bought my iphone 6s the store put the sim card from my 5c into my new phone. I gave my old phone to my granddaughter just for the games that were already on it. When I get info on my new phone the same goes to the 5c as well. This includes photos, text messages, Amber alerts, etc. Can I do something so she can still use the games and take photos of her own (just for fun) and play games but not get my texts?

On your old phone, go to Settings > Messages and disable iMessage.

On your new phone, go to Settings > Messages and check if text message forwarding is enabled; check what devices are selected as recipients and remove the old phone if it is there.

Better yet, reset the old iPhone:

Go to Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings
Set up your iPhone as new.
Create a new Apple ID to your grand child.

She will have her own Apple ID to set up iCloud and other services independently (for instance, saving and migrating game progress with her account).
You will have separate iCloud accounts and passwords; photos and other personal information that may end up mixed is now on different accounts.

The only disadvantage is that she will have to download the games again and start from scratch.

Optional: Set up Family Sharing.

Go to Settings > iCloud.
Tap Set Up Family Sharing, then tap Get Started.
Confirm that you want to be the family organizer and that you're signed in with your personal Apple ID.
Follow the onscreen instructions.

You can then invite her to your Family:

Go to Settings > iCloud > Family > Add Family Member.
Enter your family member's name or email address.
Follow the onscreen instructions.

If she is younger than 13, follow the instructions described here: Family Sharing and Apple ID for your child

Setting up Family Sharing will allow you to share games and other apps with her (you don't have to buy them again).
You can also set up restrictions if you need to.


Mid 2015 Mbp wifi issue by location I have a mid 2015 Macbook Pro.

When at home, WiFi is as good as can be expected, approx 30-40mb down.

I stay away from home at another house during the week and whilst all of my other devices achieve good WiFi (phone, tablet, firestick) my MBP almost grinds to a halt.

Whilst at that location I set up my phone as a hotspot and connected the MBP and that worked as it should, all fine, approx 10mb down. When I then switched back to the in-house WiFi however, it was back to an almost non-existent crawl.

I'm not big on networking issues so not sure where to look for any clues as to what could cause this.

Are there any tests I could run which would allow me to narrow down what the problem is?

EDIT

Ok, really weird behaviour now...

I decided to strip back and not have anything attached to my MBP and run the test again (using speedtest.net). Approx 70mb down. Wtf! Then as I add things back on, one by one, power supply, external monitor (video, not audio), keyboard (usb, music), headphones, usb hub (DAW dongle and external drive) it degrades with each addition, approx 10mb each (including headphones which are passive surely).

Has anyone seen anything like this before?

This is not the perfect answer, but it is an answer...

Move everything away from your MBP that's plugged in to it.

When in location A my set up is different to a more cramped set up B.

My MBP was sat underneath a 43 inch ultra-widescreen monitor, with a usb 3.0 hub containing, amongst other things, my external drive, sat atop it. As soon as I separated them all as far away from each other as possible the speed went back up. Not back up to anything like it was with nothing attached, but acceptable.

Hopefully might help someone in the future. No idea why it's even an issue, I'm guessing everything emits something that clashes (potentially) with something else.


How do I get a song to repeat in the Music App in IOS8.4.1? I can find the repeat button in the Music App for IOS8.4.1, when clicked or highlighted the song does not repeat.  The shuffle button does work.
How do I make this button work?
Is there a work-around that will allow me to repeat a song or a group of songs?

TIA.

At the bottom of the player, there is a repeat button


Connect to Express over Extreme I have an Airport Extreme as my main router in my house and have recently bought an Airport Express to use as an extender.

This is all now set up and working fine, with the Express bouncing on the internet connection for me to use throughout the house. However sometimes my phone will connect to the Express instead of the Extreme, although the Extreme is closer. Is there a way to selectively choose which router to connect to? The problem is that there is a limit to the number of devices that can connect to the Express, and this limit is being reached every now and then.

One way of doing this (like they said in the comments) would be to enable allowed Access control and specifying which devices are allowed to access the express. This is an easy solution if your device's are not going to change a lot :)


Final Cut Pro X: green key I've recorded a video clip with a TV in the background. During the recording, I displayed a green key on the TV. Now, I want to replace the green color with a picture I captured. It's an almost perfect rectangle. The camera is moving a little bit and is zooming in, making the TV (and the picture to display) a little bit bigger.

I figured out how to replace a green key background, but this doesn't do the trick in this case, because the picture I replace the color with is moving and resizing.

Any tips on how to do something like this?

I ended up using Apple Motion, which did the trick fairly well. You can select tracking points which the software tries to follow during the video.


Create an automator/applescript service that opens a file in an external program Just wondering about some automator/applescript help.

Basically: I download a MP3 file from an artist (for example)

It is saved to my Downloads folder.

From there, I want to open it automatically in an external MP3 tag editor such as this one.

Then, I will edit the tags and save the file.

When the file is saved, I want to have the newly edited MP3 moved to a folder (my iTunes "Add Automatically" folder, Macintosh HD ▸ Users ▸ Steve ▸ Music ▸ iTunes ▸ iTunes Media ▸ Add Automatically to iTunes.

Currently I have an Automator workflow that Filter Finder Items and Move Finder Items the mp3 into the iTunes folder, but I want to be able to edit the tags first. Here is a picture of what I have set up right now.

Any ideas?

Use "Open Finder items" and choose a program from the drop-down list.
An example from one of my workflows:


Use iPhone for internet and keep access to home network I have my home network set up through my ISP provided router/modem. I know how to set up the cellular connection with my iPhone. What I want is to combine the bandwidth of that cellular connection and my ISP, and keep access to the other devices on my local network. Is that possible?

In theory, it is possible. Practically, it's not worth the bother for most, if not all, home users.

In order to fully combine the bandwidth (i.e. without having restrictions on single connections), you would need to have a "partner" server on the Internet that you can communicate with trough your local ISP and through your cell connection. That partner proxies all traffic to/from your network - essentially combining the data from both internet connections and sending it on as one.

For that to work you also need a specialized network device on your home network that is placed in between your local network and your router and the cellular connection. It splits up traffic and sends it on to the proxy server (and vice versa for incoming traffic from the proxy server).

All in all, it requires specialized knowledge about networks to set this up, it requires additional equipment on your home network, and it requires a server on the internet. This is usually relatively costly to come by, so it's not really worth it to add a smaller amount of extra bandwidth to a home user connection.

Larger companies (as well as smaller companies specializing in something that requires specialized network access) implement something somewhat similar by the way of BGP routing. This allows having multiple paths to the Internet, and to be reachable through multiple paths at the same time. However, it also requires you to have your own autonomous system number (AS-number). It is free, but takes time to apply for. As well as requiring your to have your own set of routable IP-addresses (usually PI for smaller setups, and PA for larger). These IPs are getting harder to come by. Usually you would need to have at least a /24 (i.e. 256 IP-addresses) in order for this to work at all - probably even more today. If you have a use case where IPv6 only is enough, the requirements are a lot easier to fulfill. However you still need to have corporation from both ISPs in order to make it work.


Can I install Linux and Windows on a Mac to triple boot the hardware? I'm quite the newbie at operating systems etc., so forgive me if my question is dumb. Is it possible to install Linux and Windows on a Mac, to run side by side with OS X? I'm about to start a new study, and I would like the new retina MacBook Pro for it, but for my study I'm definetely going to be programming C# and for that I'll prefer Windows. And I've recently started exploring C++, and I really love Linux and would like to make some apps for it, so that's why I'd like to have Linux on there as well.

Question summary: On a new retina MacBook Pro, is it possible to install Windows and Linux next to Mac OS X so I can choose which OS I want on boot?

It's possible to install them in multiple partitions and multiboot. But the resulting setup will be a little "rigid".

Doing OS X and Windows is easy. Adding Linux to the mix is a little more complicated.

I suggest you do not multiboot and only install OS X as the main OS and then use a virtualization solution, like Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion. With those you can basically run a whole operating system, like Windows or your favorite Linux distribution, as if they were OS X applications.


White prohibitory sign on Startup Have the white prohibitory sign when trying to boot up MBP Retin 13" late 2012 running Yosemite. Have tried resetting PRAM (cmd + alt + p + r) and disk utility has been to no avail so far. Have tried repairing disk permissions, but get message saying that one of them has been modified and cannot be changed.

Really need help, any help would be much appreciated

Connect in target mode to back up any critical files that are not backed up
Boot to recovery and run Disk Utility there to repair the drive.
If that fails, Boot to internet recovery and see about reinstalling the OS.
Boot to internet recovery and wipe the drive and install
Get hardware repair


How to prevent terminal from printing passwords from keychain? I currently use the command-line utility security in a shell script to access a password from keychain. I am surprised that echoing my password variable works and reveals the password in my terminal window.

I used the function get_pw suggested here and then simply assign the password to a variable PASSWORD. Is it possible to make terminal hide the password?

My shell script looks as follows:

ACCOUNT_NAME='MyAccountName'

get_pw() {
   security 2>&1 >/dev/null find-generic-password -ga $ACCOUNT_NAME \
   | ruby -e 'print $1 if STDIN.gets =~ /^password: "(.*)"$/'
}

PASSWORD=$(get_pw)

Then when writing echo $PASSWORD, the password is revealed.

Well,

PASSWORD=$(get_pw)

assigns the password to PASSWORD so it shouldn't be a surprise that

echo "$PASSWORD"

actually prints it on the Terminal.

The idea here is not to print it but to use it in another command to pass it on (as the example in the page you've linked to does). Even then the password is still visible in ps -E though.


How to import an old iPhoto 09 library to iPhoto 11? I have found an old iPhoto 09 library on a back up folder and I want to import its content to my newly purchased iPhoto 11. Is this possible? If yes, how is it done?

By the way: I tried to import it through iPhoto 11 by SHIFT-CMD+I and then navigating to the old library but it was grey and therefore not possible to select.

Open the old library directly by holding down the [option] key while starting iPhoto. iPhoto will then allow you to browse to the library location (use the "Other Library" button) and should update it automatically to iPhoto '11 format. You may want to back it up first

Close iPhoto and restart holding [option] once again, make sure the active library is your current (new) one. Try reimporting the old library now. It might still be greyed out in the file picker but double click it anyway, it should import.


Where are photos stored in the new Photos app after importing from Aperture? I have just upgraded OS X and opened the new Photos app to import my Aperture library. Everything went well (Photos work fine) but I am surprised to see that I didn't loose 100Gb free space on my HDD.

My Aperture library is still there, and takes 100Gb+. When I read information on the new Photos library, it also says 100Gb+. However Daisy Disk shows the following report:

Aperture library: 117 Gb
Photos library: 15 Gb

Are there some "symlinks" involved in the background? Are photos being slowly copied (100% CPU usage for the last 5 hours): I should add that the migration is finished and I can use Photos fine.

I am afraid at what would happen if I decide to delete either one of those libraries. I also wonder what happens if I edit photos in Aperture or Photos. I expect those to be completely separated (duplicated libraries) but apparently it's not the case.

I don't mind HDD usage I have plenty of space.

Photos does not actually move the files or duplicate them when importing from an existing iPhoto or Aperture library. It simply creates hard links to the files in their original location from the new Photos library.

See how Photos saves disk space on Apple's site.

More on hard links from Ars Technica:

  A hard link is simply a reference to some data on disk. Think of a file as a combination of a name and a pointer to some data. Deleting a file really means deleting the name portion of that duo. When there are no more names pointing to a particular piece of data disk, then that disk space can be reused."

You can delete your Aperture library without any problems, however you will no longer be able to use Aperture (unless you set up a new library). Any changes made in your existing Aperture library will not appear in Photos, and vice-versa.

Basically the actual image exists somewhere on the disk, and there are two pointers to the image (one from the old library and one from the new library). So long as at least one of those pointers exists, the data is kept. But when the last pointer is removed (i.e. the old iPhoto library itself is removed, then the image is removed from the Photos library), the data is also removed.


Auto-center mouse cursor on specific display, based on used trackpad I have a MacBook connected to an external display + external keyboard and magic trackpad.

Because the laptop is placed on the table, while multitasking between the two displays (internal and external) I often find it useful to use the built-in keyboard and trackpad from the MacBook when I want to focus on laptop's screen.

When I start typing with the laptop keyboard or using the built-in trackpad, is there way to:
1) Center mouse cursor on laptop display?
2) Make app switcher (CMD+TAB) icons show on laptop display without having to reveal dock on that display first?
3) Do all or some of the above on external display when I switch back to external input device

This might sound crazy, but still curious if it's possible :-)

There are ways to center the cursor in either built-in or external display.

Apple SE: CatchMouse.

So first press a hotkey to switch to the desired display. The cursor is now on that display and app switcher is shown there as well.


How can I restart Finder when it keeps "stopping" an stopped copy process? Every now and then, mostly with USB sticks, Finder decides to copy forever, either at the end of the copy process (i.e. the files are already copied), or at the very beginning.

Stopping the process in the little window will make Finder announce that it is "stopping" and it will do that for a few hours.

I tried just killing and restarting Finder but the old Finder survives as a zombie and the new Finder never finished starting.

Is there another way of recovering from this problem other than restarting the computer?

Since I upgraded to Lion I found that restarts have become more common.

Update: In Mountain Lion it would appear you can't even restart to fix it!

Next time this happens, look at the Finder process using ps: First run this in a terminal:

launchctl list | grep Finder

The output should be just one line, listing com.apple.Finder with a number at the beginning of the line. That number is the process ID (pid) of Finder. Now run

ps up xxx

replacing xxx by the pid found in the first step. Look under the STAT heading. If you see the letter U then the Finder is stuck in an uninterruptible system call, and cannot be killed. You will most likely need to restart your system to recover.

Processes stuck in an uninterruptible system call is often a symptom of a hardware problem. It would bear further investigations to find the cause.


How to disable itunes writing things to my music files? I stored my music collections ( mostly in .m4u extension) in Dropbox folders, while I play these music files in itunes, I fount that Dropbox continuously sync these files.

What does itunes write to these files and how can I disable it?

I would go to apple store in London to ask them see what they say


Is it possible to enable mouse right click via Terminal? Is it possible to enable mouse right click via Terminal?

Try defaults write com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch.mouse MouseButtonMode TwoButton

To undo: defaults write com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch.mouse MouseButtonMode OneButton


Built-in Webcam working only in 1 app and not in others (15'' MBP, non-retina, mid 2012) I have a MBP 15'' (late 2012; bought in June 2013) and I've noticed that the built-in Webcam doesn't work - except with Cisco WebMeeting!!

I had recently opened the laptop to change the HD, so I thought I had touched the camera connection, or something -- but then I found the camera works in one app!!

The issues:

Trying to use the WebCam to get pictures/video from any of the "usual" suspects says "there is no built-in camera available".
I've tried with may applications:

Snag-It ("Capture -> New Image Capture -> Webcam"): The app goes into "capture" mode but nothing happens
Evernote (File -> New FaceTime Camera Note): I get a Black "preview" screen that says "Evernote Couldn't find a Webcam"
FaceTime: I get a black window with a "crossed out" icon of a camera
PhotoBooth: A different window, with the same crossed out icon, and a message "there is no connected camera":

Checking in System Information, I can see the camera listed so it's not a "hardware not connected" problem:

So imagine my shock when mucking about in a Webex, I noticed the "camera" icon and I clicked it, thinking that it wouldn't work, and the result was:

(I've blurred my ugly mug in the picture to protect the sensibility of innocent bystanders!)

So, any hints of what might be the issue??

Just as a follow-up

After a few days (and a reboot, I believe but I'm not sure), the camera started working again for all that didn't, and "stayed" working for the ones that it didn't...

I'm a bit miffed by it, and if I can reproduce again will re-post here.


How can I keep my iPhone / iPods cooler in a hot vehicle? Sometimes I have to leave my phone in a hot car and don't have any other options other than leaving it in a locked car in the summer heat. What are ways to keep the phone cooler and not overheat it or worse cause damage to the batteries, etc.

The other day I got a overheat warning on my iPhone after having to leave it in the car. What are some ways to prevent this?

Place the electronics that contain a lithium based battery in the shade and keep windows open a crack. If possible, place the vehicle in the shade or use light or reflective colored windshield shades to reduce the heat that stays in the car.

Usually the trunk (or a well insulated bag) will lag the passenger compartment many tens of degrees and warm up several hours slower than something in the main cabin.


Restart automatically if the computer freezes There is a new option in the power management system preference to "restart automatically if the computer freezes".

How does this work exactly?

How can the computer check that it is frozen if it is, well, frozen? Is there anything else that it can still do at that point? For example, will there be a log written about this? Can there still be situations when it is so frozen that it cannot restart itself? Is there danger of accidental restarts when it is not really or only temporarily frozen? This does not happen when a single application decides to beach-ball, right?

The Mac models that support this have a secondary processor, independent of the CPU (it's the LOM on Intel Xserves, SMC on regular Macs).  Basically, the secondary processor can have a countdown timer set up, and reset the CPU (forcing a reboot) if the counter hits 0.  Meanwhile, a process running within OS X (originally it was a program called watchdog, but I think launchd handles it now) resets the counter periodically.

If the OS ever gets hosed enough that launchd/watchdog/whatever fails to reset the counter within the time limit, the LOM/SMC/etc takes over and forces a reboot.

BTW, regarding @TJ Luoma's comment on kernel panics: when a panic occurs, the OS is basically dead.  There's no way for launchd to be notified of this, because it's dead along with everything else.  What happens is that some information about the panic gets stuffed into NVRAM (the surviving shreds of the OS can access that without needing drivers, etc, which all went away in the panic).  After reboot, the NVRAM is checked and (if appropriate) its contents are reported in the panic log.


AppleScript click on button (chrome) Here is the HTML tag of the button I would like to click using AppleScript.

<button class="btn btn-primary" autofocus="" ng-click="ok()" tabindex="0">OK </button

Here is my script

tell application "Google Chrome"
    tell tab 2 of window 1 to set clickOnMyButton to execute javascript "document.getElementsByClassName('ng-scope')[0].click();"
end tell

Result:

  missing value

how can I generate a click ?

Update : I found that this is causing the block

 style="z-index: 1050; display: block;"

Full HTML block

 Information

Details

Please provide Purchase data

<button class="btn btn-primary" autofocus="" ng-click="ok()" tabindex="0">OK </button>

If I can't click on the menu, how can I remove this using AppleScript?

It might be generating a click that you aren't capturing.

Inserted your exact markup with Chrome DevTools (to this page)
Added onclick="alert('!');" to the button
Ran your exact script in Script Editor
Got "!" alert dialog


iMac second monitor alternative I would like to have a dual screen setup with my 21" iMac, but I'd like to avoid the expensive 27" official monitor from Apple.

Is there a specific 21" screen that would fit well in size, resolution, disposition and colors with the iMac screen?

My experience is that if you are doing pro level design where color matching is critical you won't be happy with a LCD panel that isn't of equivalent quality and also covered with glass. Look for a IPS LCD panel that has similar wide viewing angles since you won't want to move your head 15 inches sideways to get the same angle when comparing a critical design.

That being said, for casual use the iMac will drive pretty much any old or inexpensive you care to place next to the iMac. Many developers are happy to have a second window for email, chat, tailing server logs, twitter, messaging and don't really care if the second display actually matches the iMac since different content is being displayed on each display.

Sorry to offer a mushy - wiggly answer, but after seeing many years of people that were happy with even an old CRT next to a new iMac and others that go batty with even a really nice perfect LCD match (say by doing the work and finding that Dell sources the same IPS display as Apple for a near perfect match of hardware) and still being irritated that the appearance is different due to a piece of glass used on the iMac.

It comes down to your personal preference. Trust your gut - if you will look at an inexpensive monitor and get to work, glad you have more screen space - save as much money as you can stand. Even if you think you will notice the difference. Imagine a pile of 20 dollar bills (or in your case a pile of Euro notes) sitting there on your desk six months later down the road. Money you don't spend is still yours to spend later.


How can I type the pound/hash (#) symbol on a British keyboard when in Terminal? I have 'Use option key as meta' set in Terminal keyboard settings.

The 3 key makes the British pound symbol (£) when I tap it with SHIFT. This is a cruel joke. I want the real pound symbol (#).

How do type # in Terminal? If there's a way to swap # and £ then I'm in good shape. I use the Terminal for coding, and probably never need to type £ in Terminal.

That is the real pound symbol ;)

The hashtag one # is opt/3 on a British keyboard layout.
If you want the US layout, you'll have to swap to US English.


How to break an audio file into tracks when burning to CD I have a lecture that fills an entire CD when I burn it using iTunes.

The problem is, it isn't broken into tracks, it is a single track and it makes jumping around difficult.

How can I break it out into say 10 minute tracks?

You could use any free audio editor for Mac OS X, e.g., Audacity, to manually break it up into tracks.  Might be a bit more tedious than you were hoping for, though.


Trying to find the board ID for Mac Pro 1,1 (no OS currently installed, can't access terminal) I'm trying to install Mavericks on an old MacPro1,1 (This one), and I need the correct board ID to properly configure the USB install.  I currently do not have any OS installed on the HDD, so I cann't access terminal in order to find the board ID.

Does anybody know the board ID for this model?

For the Mac Pro 1,1 and 2,1 you will need to add
"Mac-F4208DC8","Mac-F4208DA9".
If you are not using a Mac Pro then you will need to get your board ID by entering this
command in terminal: ioreg -lp IOService | grep board-id


Size of text in the new Retina MacBook Pros I saw there is a new version of MacBook Pro is out which has Retina Display. This means there are more pixel per inch. Does this imply that text is smaller?

As you can see on the new MacBook Pro page (under the Retina-feature item), if you use the binoculars on the text, it doesn't look smaller. It just looks much, much, much sharper!

It's the same as the iPhone 4(S) comparing to the iPhone 3G(S). You don't need better glasses to read the text, because it's not smaller. It's just much sharper and easier to read.

Maybe, I can make my point even better with the iPad Retina page. You'll see you can fit as much text on both the Retina screen as the normal screen. It's just sharper!

Before you make a comment, YES, I know it's a screenshot of an iPad and the question is about the new MacBook Pro, but I didn't found any image with this much text on the new MacBook Pro, so hence the iPad Retina screen.


How to change password of the .sparseimage encrypted image on El Capitan? I have an encrypted .sparseimage, and can't change password. Don't see any option in Disk Utility. Is it possible and how to change password of the .sparseimage encrypted image on El Capitan?

Option 1: Disk Utility
In Disk Utility: select the image in the sidebar, then File → Change Password...
(You must unmount the image before you can reset it).
Option 2: Terminal
In Terminal:
hdiutil chpass <image>

More info: man hdiutil


My Spotify app won't open, can't be deleted and won't force quit on macOS ...and yet when I try to, a dialogue box tells me I can't delete it because it's already open.

Any ideas what I can do?

Make sure Spotify isn't in your login items (System Preferences → Users & Groups) so it won't automatically start. Log out, making sure to uncheck ‘Reopen windows when logging back in’, then log back in. Try to delete the app now.


How is my Apache server auto-booting without a LaunchDaemon plist? A few months ago I setup an Apache server on a Mac Mini running Mac OS 10.14.6. It runs great. Each time I reboot the mac, the Apache service also starts, great.

My question is, why? There is no /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.apache.x file. I can't find anything in the users Library as well. This is a clean install of the OS will nothing much else installed (except things like carbon copy cloner, bbedit, pathfinder, etc).

What am I missing?

Thanks,
dave

The standard Apache is started through /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/org.apache.httpd.plist:

<?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>Disabled</key>
    <true/>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>org.apache.httpd</string>
    <key>EnvironmentVariables</key>
    <dict>
        <key>XPC_SERVICES_UNAVAILABLE</key>
        <string>1</string>
        <key>OBJC_DISABLE_INITIALIZE_FORK_SAFETY</key>
        <string>YES</string>
    </dict>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>/usr/sbin/httpd-wrapper</string>
        <string>-D</string>
        <string>FOREGROUND</string>
    </array>
    <key>OnDemand</key>
    <false/>
</dict>
</plist>


How do I connect my Bose QC35 with my MacBook Pro under iOS? My MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018 - OS Version 10.14.1 (18B75)) doesn't connect to my new Bose QC35. On the other hand, it connects without issues to my Pixel 3 XL.

I first connected without issues to my Pixel 3 XL named it Carol and then clicked on pairing other devices. Bose QC35/Carol didn't show up in the device list on the MacBook Pro.

To fix this I reset the device list on the Bose by longpressing on the bluetooth connection button and disabled Bluetooth on the Pixel while I did it. Unfortunately, that didn't help either.

When I boot Windows 10 on the MacBook Windows 10 has no problem connecting with the Bose QC35.

How do I get my Bose QC35 properly connected via Bluetooth with the MacBook Pro under iOS?

After reading Gummibando's suggestion in the comments I resetted the bluetooth module on the MacBook Pro via:

  Hold Shift-Option while clicking on the BT menu bar item > Debug menu > Reset the Bluetooth module

This solved it for me.


Why is a 2.7 GHz iMac slower than a 1.8 GHz MacBook Air? I have a Late 2015 iMac which has a 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5 processor and 8 GB of memory.

I also have a Mid 2012 MacBook Air which has a 1.8 GHz Intel Core i5 processor and 4 GB of memory.

The iMac uses a Apple HDD in contrast to the MacBook Air's Apple SSD.

However, it seems like the iMac is running much slower than MacBook Air from the day it was bought. It would occasionally show the spinning wheel, when opening files and it would take an average of 20 seconds to open applications.

Q1: Is the HDD/SSD the main cause of this? Since all the other configurations are better than MacBook Air.

Q2: Would its speed improve if I switch the HDD to a SSD?

The examples you've used in your question can be explained by the use of the SSD in the MacBook Air.

In March 2014 I installed a hybrid drive (what Apple calls a 'Fusion' drive) into a late 2008 MacBook Pro. The results of doing this compared to the standard HDD that was installed previously were significant!

Now, remember this was just a hybrid drive NOT an SSD. My tests showed that:

bootup time was 16 seconds faster
login time was 6 seconds faster
launching MS Word was 17 seconds faster

I then tested this against a mid-2011 iMac with a traditional 7200rpm drive and the MacBook Pro was faster! Remember again this was just a hybrid drive NOT an SSD in the MacBook Pro.

One thing you should notice on the iMac though is that the first time you launch an application after booting up it will take longer than subsequent launches (unless you've rebooted again).

So yes, the SSD will explain the difference in the examples you gave, but there will be other tasks that your iMac will perform faster because they rely more on processing power rather than disk read/write times.

Whether you should install an SSD is a matter for you. It'll improve speed generally, but how much will depend on what you use your iMac for.

[EDIT]

I found the full results of my testing for the hybrid drive in my late 2008 MacBook Pro. See the table below:

As you can see, the response times also improved by doing a reformat and clean install on the original HDD. However, since you've got a late 2015 iMac I don't imagine you've had enough time to weigh the system down with unnecessary software etc.

The point I guess I'm trying to make is that the answer to your question Is the HDD/SSD the main cause of this? is yes for the examples you gave, but if you have other real life examples that would be good for some context.


Is it possible to access Voice Memos from site icloud.com? I'm using Apple app Voice Memos on my iPhone. In the iPhone settings I have iCloud Drive enabled and as well as Voice Memos. But on the site https://www.icloud.com I can't see my saved voice memos. Should they be there?

No, it's not possible to log into iCloud website and access voice memos. What the setting implies that the iCloud servers are used to backup and store the voice memo recordings, but you'll need the Voice Memos app on iOS/iPadOS or macOS device to access them.


Should there be an Apple logo on the hard drive of a MacBook? I was installing an update on my MacBook Pro mid 2012 when it crashed. Kernel Panic. I brought it to an authorized service center for repair. The following day, I got a call that the center is refusing to repair my laptop because when they opened it, apparently there was no Apple logo on the hard drive. Hence the question.

There should be. Many, if not all, MacBooks have in fact shipped with hard drives with Apple logos on them.


Tool to transform text to all caps or lowercase Is there a system-wide text manipulation app that enables you to select text and convert all letters to upper case or lower case, like a code text editor would?

You can set this up as a right click service in automator as @Matthieu Riegler suggested.

Open up Automator.app and create a “Service” with this workflow.

Pay close attention to the checkbox up top, “Output replaces selected test”.  After the workflow is in place and saved, navigate to “System Preferences-->Keyboard.”  On the left hand side select “Services”.  On the right hand side you will see the Service you created, in the example its saved as “UpperCase”.  Then give it a shortcut by pressing “Add Shortcut” and give it what you would like.  Tested in TestWrangler and TextEdit.

Script used in Automator:

on run {input, parameters}
set upperCaseString to ¬
    (do shell script ("echo " & input & " | tr a-z A-Z;"))
return upperCaseString
end run


macOS 10.14: switch Bluetooth on/off based on location I use the same laptop in 2 locations. In one location I use bluetooth to operate the mouse and keyboard, whereas in the other I don't use bluetooth at all.

Apart from the seemingly defunct ControlPlane and Macro Polo there any way to automatically switch bluetooth on/off based on my location on macos 10.14 (i.e. when I am connected to a specific Wifi), i.e. via the Automator or scripting?

PS: I'm aware that the question has been asked before (Automatically turn bluetooth on or off depending on current network (MBP running Lion)). But the URL in the accepted answer is broken and ControlPlane has numerous issue with macOS Sierra and later, as well as in the developers own words "This project is in need of assistance.". So IMO the accepted answer is no longer a viable solution for macOS. The other answer using Macro Polo has not been supported since Snow Leopard, and ControlPlane is a direct port of it.

This is just one of the many things that you can do with Keyboard Maestro which is $36 but which enables you to do at least 1,000 different things with your Mac. You can have triggers for sleep/wake, or when you are on a certain Wi-Fi network, or at specific times of day, etc.

Those triggers can then run AppleScript events, or execute keyboard commands, or mouse commands, or shell scripts, or a large suite of actions built-in to Keyboard Maestro.

You can download it here for free and try it for ~30 days.

The developer is very responsive to emails, as well as hosting an active discussion forum where the developer is active, but so are many Keyboard Maestro users (including me).


Launch Apple Music radio station directly from command line I'd like the most direct way, on a Mac, to launch an Apple Music "radio" station e.g.

via the command line, without having to manually navigate to the radio tab in iTunes, waiting for it to load, scrolling to find the station etc.
avoid having to load a URL in Safari first, then wait for iTunes to load (annoying there always seems to be a few seconds delay between the webpage loading and iTunes navigating to the stream).

I attempted to do it with AppleScript.

The link to stations (get it via right click and Share Station) is in this format:

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/station/classical/ra.123456789

(I've obfuscated the numeric ID, just in case it's unique to the logged in user).

Whenever I tell iTunes to open the actual URL, instead what it does is open the last "ordinary" (non-Apple) station I played.

[AppleScript]
tell application "iTunes" to open location "https://itunes.apple.com/gb/station/classical/ra.123456789?ign-mscache=1"

Yet if you look at the webpage the http:// URL gives you (the Connecting to the iTunes Store one) there doesn't seem to be anything different/special in the body onload javascript.

You don't need AppleScript - can do it from the commandline directly with the right URI.

open "itmss://itunes.apple.com/us/station/listen-in-apple-music/idra.985499994?cmd=AddStation"

You're calling itmss:// because you need to hit iTunes itself.

Then, replace the code into the idra.XXXXXXXXX bit. I'm in the USA, so it's /us/station, but I suspect /gb/station would work for you, if you're in the UK.

FYI - you can actually just cmd-space and and paste just the URL into Spotlight to have it run it and open the station in iTunes directly.


Which printer software driver should I use? When adding a printer in OS X, and assuming the printer is AirPrint enabled, which driver should I use: 1. the AirPrint driver or 2. the CUPS driver for that specific printer?

My assumption is that while AirPrint is easy to use, it also must be generic enough to support a wide range of printers and a limited number of functions. Thus, while I can easily print with the AirPrint driver, I won't have access to all of the printer's functions and would be better off using the CUPS driver for that specific printer if I intend to print from that printer often or need more control over the printing process.

Anyone have documentation to support/refute my assumptions?

Doesn't matter. I've used both with an Epson multifunction printer/scanner and I have not lacked for any features with AirPrint.


Set up NTP server on iOS device How can I make an iOS device a NTP server ? The reason for this is, the network of devices I have don't have internet connection but are connected via Wifi. So just want to create a device as a server and let others to associate themselves to it.

I'll quote two answers from Stack Overflow with the hope that it will help you figure out what you're trying to do.

There's a small iOS library named ios-ntp. I have used it in one project in the past and it seemed to work reasonably well.

As of mid 2013 the original ios-ntp project has a few missing pieces, so I have mirrored the original svn repository to github. You can checkout out a working version of the code here: https://github.com/jessedc/iOS-ntp

Source

If you're not developing a commercial application, peek at the linux source.

http://packages.ubuntu.com/source/lucid/ntp

Source

Thread source


I had to go in to single-user mode, how I can restore my data back? I had to go in to single-user mode because I couldn't log into my admin account, I made a new account and changed my admin password.

Now, on my first admin account, I can search for my files but everything is like it is factory reset? My wallpaper, and everything. I can only look things up, and once I do, they are on my laptop again. Help? Where are all of my files? How could I solve this?

What's more odd, I only had approximately 7.18 GB before I went into single-user mode. This meaning that my data is still obviously here. Please anyone? I'm clueless.

Let's see if I understood correctly: you had admin account A but you couldn't log in; you created admin account B and logged in with that, and changed account A's password, then you logged back in with account A but you found what seems the default "new account" environment (no data at all); BUT you can search your files and when they're found those icons will actually appear on their respective locations...?
I can't see where "single user mode" (shift pressed at boot time) fits in this description: there's no need for single user mode to create a new admin account (even if you had self-login enabled on your only user account - bad idea! - you could boot with cmd-S and do "/sbin/mount -uw /" and then "rm /var/db/.applesetupdone" and then reboot to create a new admin account).
I think that your SSD is
1. too full,
2. too small, and
3. has a (hopefully) lightly damaged structure...
so boot with cmd-R and use Disk Utility to repair it. If this fails, try using DiskWarrior to rebuild the directory.
Otherwise (if Disk Utility fails and you have no access to DiskWarrior) you could do this:
1. Log in with you B account
2. Download Carbon Copy Cloner (one month trial) and clone the internal SSD on an external disk, then disconnect it (do it now, seriously. Later you'll use it for a Time Machine automated backup).
3. Now you can format the internal SSD and install OS X from scratch, just boot with cmd-R and follow the on screen instructions.
4. Use Migration Assistant to import back your user A account from the external disk
I hope this helps.


Using a MacBook Air in the sun? Will using a MacBook Air out in the sun damage it at all? Will it affect any of the paint, the screen, distort the laptop's form, cause excessive heat, or cause any other damage?

It's a good idea to keep the machine shaded, if only because it's very hard to read any screen in bright sunlight. Also, on my deck in  Carmel Valley California I've had a thermometer placed in direct sunlight read well over 100 deg F (37+ deg C) when the air temp has been around 80 deg F (26 deg C). Your Mac exposed in direct sunlight could well burst through Apple's upper limit even when the ambient temperature is below.


How to restore deleted files from an internal HDD which has just undergone a full disk format? I was recently restoring macOS from one partition to the other during which all files got corrupted.

Since none of the files were opening I did a complete format and reinstalled macOS

Now my question is how can I recover all my files (properly) without the help of any recovering software!

Now my question is how can I recover all my files (properly) without
  the help of any recovery software!

You can't.  Unless you have the skill to read/edit the partition tables as well as search each and every sector for orphaned blocks which you will then rebuild, you must use recovery software.

Additionally, that's predicated on if it's a traditional (spinning) hard disk.  If it's an SSD, the data is gone.

You will also want to review this answer on backups


Any way to completely disable iOS passcode? I have a cart of iPads in my high school classroom. Each iPad is shared by several students in different classes throughout the day. A clever student in one class decided to lock one of them. We have already unlocked it by restoring it, etc., but I'd like to prevent this from happening in the future. I was noodling around with the new Apple Configurator this morning to force no passcode, but I couldn't find such a setting. The best I could come up with is to set my own passcode, device lock to never, and grace period the longest available (4 hours). That would mean, though, unlocking every single iPad for the students with my secret code at least once a day. Ugh.

Does anyone know of a way, official or unofficial, to prevent a user from setting a passcode on an iOS device?

The apple configurator doesn't currently have this option.

The only workaround I've discovered so far is to register an exchange account with the iOS device using SSL.  This forces the user to use a passcode, and disables the option to remove it.  Now go into your exchange account settings on the iOS device, deselect "Use SSL" then go and disable the passlock.  Now go back to exchange settings and re-enable "Use SSL".  You should now find that 1) the passlock is no longer enabled and 2) the setting to turn on the passlock is gone.  You should be able to disable all the sync settings so students don't start using that account for anything. (source)

If you don't have an exchange account you can use for this, set up a free google mail, and register it as the exchange account.

It may depend on the exchange server settings/policy, though, so some experimentation may be required.

Lastly, if you are using Supervised devices then the passcode will be reset when reconnected to the apple configurator.  Still more work than desired, but quicker and more painless than a full refresh.


MacBook Pro 2019 Upgrade to Big Sur left me stuck in a boot loop my MacBook Pro doesn’t start cleanly after Big Sur.
Here are the details:

I have a MBP 2019 (T2 Chip)

I erased the Macintosh HD

I didn't backup the disk.

I un-linked the Apple ID from the MBP (because of the error 1008F in Internet Recovery)

I didn't unlock the bootable USB.

When Internet recovery tries to install macOS (Catalina or Mojave) the installation fails.

I had the Big Sur Beta installed.

I erased the disk and tried to reinstall the OS. Catalina's setup starts, and at 95% (approx.) it resets and starts the Internet Recovery again. Mojave installs and at the Apple logo during boot, it shows a bar, but after 1 second it restarts and if I don’t go to the Internet Recovery it continues in a boot loop.
I'm trying to get my Mac back functional, am I forgetting to do something critical?

Given that you can get to 95% of the install, I'm going on the assumption that you don't have a firmware password nor FileVault enabled.
First thing I would do is go a step further with the erasure of the disk.  More than likely, you've got APFS containers set up and if one of the volumes is corrupt and you're not properly removing it (via the format), this boot loop could be a symptom.  So, let's wipe it clean and put a plain macOS file system on it (not APFS).  When you boot into Recovery, launch Terminal and type the following command:
$ diskutil JHFS+ "Macintosh HD" disk0

Normally on a MacBook laptop, the internal drive is disk0, but to be completely certain, you can do a diskutil list and look for the "internal" drive, similar to what's below:
/dev/disk0 (internal, physical):

Next, once you've done that, reboot your Mac, again into Recovery.  You likely don't have to reboot, but let's start nice and clean.  As for operating systems, you should be able to install Catalina, but if you run into issues, try installing Mojave.
When you go to erase the disk this time using the GUI version of Disk Utility, erase it again, but this time use  APFS format so it can create the necessary volumes in the container.  Then proceed with the install.
This should "get you back to back to zero" - a phrase that means back to where you started.  When you go to install Big Sur, get an external USB 3 drive.  It doesn't have to be large - 64GB should be fine, but I recommend USB 3 for the speed.  Don't install Big Sur (or any beta OS for that matter) on your "work machine."  If things go sideways, like they did here, you'll have trouble getting back.  By installing and booting from a USB drive, you can easily revert back to your original macOS.


Add attachments to Calendar Is it possible to add attachments (like photos) to Calendar events?

For example, I gathered the flyer of an event I want to attend. It is far in September, and having added the event to remember about it, I'd like to attach the picture I've taken of said flyer.

I don't know if the problem is the Italian version of Calendar, but I can't find the "Add Attachment" link - it is missing while editing.

Check this. It appears that attachments can be added to local calendars only. It may also be possible with calendars synced with remote servers, if the server supports it (but that's just a speculation, I don't know if such servers exist)


MacBook Air 2010 OS X 10.6.8 w/Broadcom wifi disconnecting: "Disassociated because station leaving" The wifi on my MacBook Air 2010 keeps dropping the connection at home with a Linksys WRT160N router running DD-WRT v24-sp1 (07/27/08) std. Other devices maintain their connection to the router just fine.

I'm getting these messages in my kernel.log:

air-ethernet kernel[0]: AirPort: Link Down on en0. Reason 8 (Disassociated because station leaving).

Does anyone know the canonical solution to this problem? There are threads on Apple Support Communities that go on for 70 pages, but no high-profile links that have a definitive answer.

I have the same problem and I've also been looking around a lot. The only thing I find is that if you have an Atheros Wi-Fi hardware in your Mac (I just found out that I did, mid-2011-iMac) this will help:

http://rys.pixeltards.com/2011/09/04/osx-lion-wifi.html


Youtube video won't play with Firefox but will with Safari! What can I do to solve this problem ?

On the same iMac, there are several accounts. For one of them, Youtube videos won't play in Firefox, but will with Safari. For the other accounts, Firefox and Safari can play Youtube videos!?

Any hint where I can search to solve the issue ?

EDIT : I'm sorry. I can not flag anything because this long lasting (several months) problem has been solved, and I don't know how! I didn't change anything. This must be a side effect of something I did. Probably on my Admin Account. The mystery stays forever...

If you don't have Adobe Flash plugin installed you need to do so and give it another go.
Do you have by any chance the Firefox "Flashblock" extension installed?!


iPod touch 4th Gen stopped working with iHome iP90 I have an iPod touch 4th generation that I had been using with my iHome iP90 until today.  All of a sudden today I get a message saying that "This accessory is not supported"  Then when I remove my touch the sound no longer works.  When I reboot my sound returns.  Any ideas?  Really confused because all was fine until today.

I stuck it in another older IP90 and it worked fine. So then I blew it and the IP90 out with compressed air and now it works. I'm not convinced it was the air though, we will see if it returns. Thanks.


what is the purpose of MediaCache folder on a Mac What is the purpose of /private/var/folders/zg/jjtx0_k94pdc5p5q6gcvf4900000gn/T/MediaCache folder? It looks like some sort of database. I noticed it gets updated while browsing quite often.

Excerpt from one of files looks like elvish.

ÈÈ+˚Cªå¢jß…ΩˇáOÏ??’¸¯ëor≥Ã=-¥PÊ6°æ¥RÌKlà
¬ÿ/çßˇçf9¥Cë+™ÕôöOÌfÓ€ß3W e5uèOn‘~Ê∞µMp8‚oIîôTôˆJs;ÓëZ⁄Ó‰ì

It seems to be a disk cache for any media files (video, audio) you watch in browser. CachedMedia- seems to be a cached chunk of media data and diskcacherepository.plist is an index file of URL <-> media chunk relations.


OS X Yosemite desktop icon positioning problems I just updated my MacBook Pro 13 inch mid 2012 model to OS X Yosemite, and the icons on my desktop are behaving strangely. When I try to move a file or folder to a specific place to keep my desktop organized, it doesn't let me put them where I want them to go.

Below is a screenshot of my desktop. I tried to move the folder with the red 1 on it into the empty space where the 2 is, but it wouldn't let me, and the folder moved back to where it was. However, if i were to move the folder to the number 3, it would let me do this.

I pressed command-j, changed the font from 12 to 11, changed "sort by" from "snap to grid" to "none", moved my icons where I wanted them, put "snap to grid" back on, then control-click and selected "clean up" to move all the icons back into the alignment of the grid. Since doing this, I have not experienced this problem.


Activity Monitor show no processes With 10.13.  I using Item2 to compile golang (src/all.bash). When cpu is get 100% The Item2 can't response. I have already open Activity Monitor. But I can't force quit the Item2.  Then I quit Activity Monitor and start again.
This time it show nothing.  Other graphic app Chrome and Pycharm work fine.

And I can't open Item2 and Terminal too.

I have Virtual Studio Code installed. And open it's "Integrated Termnial"(which I can have a zsh). I can pwd, But I can't ps and top (this mean it hang on don't return)

I can't open Dr Cleaner too. Something software related process monitor can work.

I also notice when the Item2 is not response. I see a process take a huge virtual memory.

Another things: I try to use Activity Monitor's tool "Running System Diagnostics" but it is always in running status and can't stop.

Did you have htop open? You might be experiencing this issue https://github.com/hishamhm/htop/issues/682


Custom Scheduling of Time Machine backups How can I customize the schedule at which Time Machine performs its backups?

I am annoyed by looking at the number of times I see the Time Machine backing up several MBs every hour and then the cleanup.

Schedule backup for every 4 hours ( 4*60*60 = 14400 )

sudo defaults write /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.backupd-auto StartInterval -int 14400

Default is 1 hour ( Rollback procedure )

sudo defaults write /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.backupd-auto StartInterval -int 3600

Source: http://osxdaily.com/2012/02/02/change-the-time-machine-backup-schedule/


How to mute/unmute MBP sound over HDMI I have a 2017 MacBookPro. When I connect my laptop to HDMI display, audio goes straight to HDMI. I can't control the volume. It is mildly annoying but I can understand there are some benefit in better sound quality.

What really bothers me is that I cannot mute/unmute the sound from my keyboard. Is there a way to let me control the HDMI audio from my laptop, at least mute/unmute?

Check this article out on OSX Daily, worked for me


Tons of mail windows opened because of no preferred outgoing server I don't use mail normally. So today when I open my app, this caught me by surprise

I selected one of the server and then close the mail window, but there are just so many to go through.

My questions:

1) The email are seemingly created based on some of my calendar events. Why they tried to send me emails?

2) How can I efficiently close all these windows in one go, instead of making a selection of outgoing server than close a mail window?

I have tried to quit the mail app from its context menu of the Dock, but it just forces one of the mail window to the foreground.

Trying to send you emails because, email is one of the options for Reminders in Calendar.

To get rid of this for existing events, simplest is just to manually one-by-one change the reminder setting. Alternative would be (1) export the calendar to a file, (2) Make a backup copy for when you mess up step 3 and regret it bitterly at step 4, (3) edit the file to search and replace reminders (4) delete your calendar (5) import the edited events.
To get rid of this for future events, I think you just have to change the reminder setting once; on your one next new event. Then it will remember.

Force-quit with  ⌥⌘esc. If that really really doesn't work, logout.
Worst case, avoid the future annoyance either by telling the Mail app your email details; or open Mail app -> Preferences to tell it what program you actually do use for email.


Will storage space be lost when I update to iOS 10? My iPhone 5S (16GB model) has 1.9 GB available of a total capacity of 12.1 GB. I see that the iOS 10 update requires 1.4 GB. But I am assuming I will get much of that back. Can anyone give me a specific amount?

Edit: My iPhone is currently running iOS 8.1.3.

Compared to iOS 8, iOS 10 seems to need about 300MB to 900MB of additional space. On the other hand, if your iPhone has automatically downloaded the iOS 10 installer, installing it will free up the space it is taking up. On my own iPhone, the installer is about 1.1GB. You may or may not have manually removed the installer (which is possible on iOS 9, I don’t remember whether it was on iOS 8). Depending on that, you will either gain some free space, or might lose quite some of it.

The Ars Technica review article on iOS 9 said:

  With just a handful of exceptions, iOS 9 isn't going to give you space back, but, even when it does consume more space than iOS 8.4, its impact is negligible. You rarely lose more than 100 or 200MB.

And, in comparing with iOS 9, the Ars Technica review article on iOS 10 says:

  Once you convert the numbers to reflect the way iOS 10 reports storage capacity, what looked like an increase in available space is revealed to be a slight decrease. Usually it's somewhere between 200 and 700 megabytes, a drop in the bucket on a 64GB-and-up phone or tablet but a more significant fraction of a 16GB device's precious free space.

So combined, and with some exceptions, iOS 10 needs about 100MB+200MB to 200B+700MB of additional space compared to its two predecessors.

Note that the iOS 10 review article mentions storage is now reported in base 10 rather than base 2, the article explains the details and how this was taken into account when comparing iOS 10 to iOS 9. (I’m afraid the above is mixing and adding base 2 and base 10 numbers, but the numbers are small enough for this not to matter much.)


Disable F3 and F4 shortcuts I'd like to use my F3 and F4 keys for a different purpose, but I can't seem to disable the hotkeys on my Mac. Here's what I've tried so far:

I found the solution here: https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/remap-macs-function-keys-anything-want/
/10char


MacBook Pro Trackpad popped I have an early 2011 MacBook Pro - admittedly this was ageing but still working OK, although it was warning about the battery.

I last used it a few days ago, and just noticed the lid was open which seemed to be because the trackpad had popped up.

The battery was obviously dead, but I managed to boot with a mouse.
The Apple store says they don't have replacement batteries for this model.

I was planning to take the MacBook Pro with me on a trip in a couple of weeks.

What is the best course of action. I rarely need to use on battery, but this model is a lot more portable than my iMac.

---------- Edit
I eventually managed to remove the battery. The Loctite on the screws defeated my normal #00 screwdriver so I purchased a new (expensive) set, which after the application of percussion techniques was able to remove the screws, and the battery is now out. In the meantime the bulging trackpad is now cracked.

With the exception of extracting the screws the removal process was quite simple.

ifixit referred me to their Australian store, which did not have replacement batteries, and informed me the US store is unable to ship batteries internationally.

I will pursue other options; possibly deferring purchase until a future visit to the US. (I mainly use the MacBook when travelling.)

I have a subsidiary question - the battery had a warning NOT to remove; it is possible/safe to operate without a battery?

If you are still happy with the performance of your macbook pro, I would recommend replacing the battery and the trackpad (in case it was bent when it popped). The replacement parts are fairly cheap and easy to install.

Ifixit has repair guides and parts available and are quite a reputable supplier of non-oem replacement parts: (the links are for the 13" model)

battery replacement: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Early+2011+Battery+Replacement/5116

trackpad replacement: https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Mac/MacBook-Pro-13-Inch-Unibody-Mid-2009--Mid-2012-Trackpad/IF163-025-1

p.s. I have no affiliation with ifixt or the links provided above, I simply have happily used their services to fix an aging macbook pro (2010) in the past.


Is my Mac Mini's fan okay? I replaced the HDD with a hybrid HDD/SSD about a week ago, following iFixit's guide for doing so. However, when putting it back together, I stripped one of the connectors on the fan.

My Mini gets really hot, so it makes me think the fan isn't working all the way, if at all. At the same time, my office doesn't have insulation (and it's on the second floor of my apartment) so it gets really hot. I have a fan on now, facing me and the Mini and it feels better, just a bit warm.

I just want to know if I am stressing too much, or if there is reason for concern.

Depending on the model year of the Mac mini, you could run Apples hardware diagnostics if supported.

Shutdown your Mac mini.  Turn back on and press and hold the keys: option + D during the grey screen before the Apple logo.

If asked join a network and let it boot into the Apple hardware test.  This will tell you if the fan is reporting an error along with other hardware tests.


Issue with iPhone to Google Photos backup I typically backup photos from my iPhone (7+, iOS 11.0.1?) to Google Photos. Typically it goes quite well; I connect my phone to wifi, and the photos (all of them), automatically upload to Google Photos.

Recently, I also purchased a Cannon t6 camera. After taking pictures with that camera, I transfer them to my phone. I do not resize them during the transfer. They are all shot in RAW but to my knowledge are changed to JPEG during the transfer.

Here's the problem, all of my other pictures in my camera roll just show up in Google Photos as soon as I open the app. The pictures from the t6 that were not resized do not show up. A quick Google search of this revealed that it could be due to size or formatting, I checked this by emailing one of the images to myself, it was less than 1MB (367KB) and it was JPEG.

I just updated the Google Photos app today and that did not fix the issue. I am in the process of doing an update to iOS 11.0.2. I also tried turning my phone off and back on, that did not fix the issue either.

Has anyone had this happen before? If so, how did you fix it?

The best way to fix that is to use the web for uploading to Google Photos and not the iPhone since the iPhone needs to compress it, then Google Photos compresses it even more.

Use http://photos.google.com and make sure that you are signed in to your account. The quality of those images should also be much better as well.


How to set a refresh rate in a Subscribed Calendar using the ical on the iPhone / iPod Touch / iPad how can I set the refresh rate?

or does it pick the refresh rate that I had set up in the Mac iCal App?

If no refresh rate was given in the Mac iCal App, what is the default refresh rate? 30 minutes?

In "Settings->Mail, Contacts, Calendars->Fetch New Data" you can setup what to do. Depending on the account you can Fetch or Push updates to your iPhone - or choose to do it manually.


iPhone 5S cases compatible with Touch ID Can anyone recommend iPhone 5S cases that work well with the finger-print scanner? I know the cases Apple sells are compatible, but any others would be great. Please suggest with links. Thanks.

I don't see the point why a normal iPhone 5 case not work for you as the physical dimensioning for both of them is same and the TouchID is on the Home Button and no Case in general covers that, So all the cases compatible with iPhone 5 will be compatible with iPhone 5S.


How are the three modes of the MacBook Pro usb-c charger being used? I'm trying to figure out what usb-c charging hubs would be useful to charge my MacBook Pro. The specs for the charger that is included (61W) says: Output: 20.3V - 3A (USB PD) or 9V - 3A (USP PD) or 5.2V - 2.4A.

How are these different charging-modes being used? I'm mostly interested in the 20.3V - 3A one.

The charging mode used depends on what is being charged. When you plug-in the charger to a device, the charger and the device will communicate with each other and determine the correct charging mode.

For non USB PD (Power Delivery) devices, it will default to the old USB standard, which is the ~5 volts.

For USB PD (Power Delivery) compatible devices the charger will support either 5, 9 or 20 volts according to what the device wants. The USB PD standard (rev. 3) defines four standard power levels that a charger can support: 5V, 9V, 15V and 20V.

Further explanation on Wikipedia:

USB Power Delivery


Is it possible to switch parts between Verizon and AT&T iPhone 5? I have a water damaged iPhone 5 from Verizon that doesn't work. My cellular plan is also with Verizon. I just purchased an AT&T iPhone 5 from a friend, not knowing that Verizon and AT&T iPhones aren't compatible (beyond incredibly frustrating).

I've opened up my water damaged iPhone and it seemed like the battery was screwed (air bubbles around the battery's lining), not necessarily any of the chips. Although I'm no expert and most of the chips have metal casings covering them. There was a small amount of a white-teal miss-coloration, probably from corrosion, around the battery's connectors but I cleaned that off with 100% isopropyl alcohol.

Can I take the battery from the recently purchased AT&T iPhone 5 and put it in the Verizon iPhone 5? If not, can I take the CDMA+GSM Verizon chip and switch it with the GSM only AT&T chip? Can I take any working parts from the AT&T phone and try them in the Verizon phone, preferably without damaging said parts?

I don't want my friend to give me my money back. He only wanted 20 dollars and I'd rather not insult his generosity. I just want to get one of these iPhones working.

You can use the battery from the phone that is not from your provider, but not switch radios. Batteries between models, e.g., iPhone 5, are the same even when the radios are not. Even when radio types are the same, e.g., GSM vs GSM, the operating frequencies, etc., often aren't.

Other pieces, such as screen glass, case, screen layers and the like are also interchangeable. Basically, it's the radio-oriented stuff that you can't swap.


Why does "if exists" fail with a false positive? The file, "Test.file" in the below code does not exist, yet the script returns true. Why? What am I doing wrong?

set thePath to (path to application support folder from user domain)

if exists thePath & "Test.file" then
display dialog "The file was found!" buttons {"OK"} default button 1
else
display dialog "The was file wasn't found." buttons {"OK"} default button 1
end if

You need to reference a file for the test to function properly.

set thePath to path to application support folder from user domain
tell application "System Events" to exists file ((thePath as text) & "Test.file")

With the conditional:

set thePath to path to application support folder from user domain
tell application "System Events" to exists file ((thePath as text) & "Test.file")
if the result then
    display dialog "The file was found!" buttons {"OK"} default button 1
else
    display dialog "The was file wasn't found." buttons {"OK"} default button 1
end if


Can't install Windows 8? Okay, so this is the first time ever that I install a non-Mac operating system. But it went like this:
First, I downloaded the drivers to a 4GB USB stick. Then, I created a 300GB partition on my hard drive. I put my SuperDrive with my Windows 8 installation CD into my computer and booted, I went through the installation process and then it said that something was wrong with my hard drive format.
I then formated it into a NTSF and booted again, upon which it complained about that my hard drive is MBR and that it needs to be GPT, so I just decided I will continue tomorrow and format my drive again through the installation CD.
So, today I tried booting my computer today again, but on the first step the installation program just said that it can't find my drivers, so I restarted into OS X and redownloaded the drivers and tried again, same thing. I tried changing my USB and SuperDrive from USB-2 to USB-3 but it didn't work either.
Now when I boot, it just says:

non system disk
press any key to reboot

And I have tried to reboot 3 times but I still just get that message. Is it supposed to be this complicated to install Windows? What can I do? I just want to play a game.

The Bootcamp app will walk you through creating the install media from your ISO and the proper partitioning. No need to create one manually.

I would delete that partition you made, expand your Mac volume back into the open space and then recreate the USB stick using BootCamp. It should ask for an ISO of the Windows install media and use the drivers in the App to slipstream the driver files into the installation media. You'll need a 4GB USB stick (minimum, bigger is fine). Creating the install USB stick takes a while (30-40 minutes in some cases) then run bootcamp and follow the prompts.

It will give you a GUI for resizing your Mac partition. It will then properly format it and put the necessary Windows boot files on the drive and then boot you into the Windows installer.

If you follow those instructions it should all work for you fine, unless there is already a non-standard partition arrangement on the drive.


Is there a way to hide, stack or collapse menubar icons? Right now I have far too many icons on my menubar. I know I can command drag them off of there. But I do need to use them on occasion. Is there any app that will combine menubar items into one such that I can click to drop down if I need to use any of those?

One example is my address book -> gmail address book sync. I don't actually need it in my menubar (it syncs periodically on its own). But when I remove it from the menubar, it stops syncing.

I'd even be happy with an app/script/tool that would leave it there but just hide it from me.

Mac Bartender

I've been struggling with this problem for quite some time as well and I think I've finally found a good solution.

I'm using Mac Bartender which is in free beta at the time of writing. The app has a lot of useful features for cleaning up an overflowing menubar.

For each menubar icon you can choose to:

Display it normally
Completely hide it
Display it in the menubar when Mac Bartender is activated
Display it in the Bartender Bar when Mac Bartender is activated

One thing to note is that it doesn't let you manage the built-in OSX 'menulets' (wifi, sound, spotlight, etc) yet, but that feature is coming according to their FAQ.

Messy Menubar

Clean Menubar

Bartender Bar

From the official site

  Take control of your Menu Bar

  With Bartender you can choose which apps stay in the Menu Bar, are
  displayed in Bartenders Bar or Hidden completely.

  Bartenders Bar

  Can be displayed and hidden as you want, by clicking on the Bartender
  Icon or via a hot key.

  Minimalism

  If you want a really clean look and privacy, Bartender can also be
  hidden.

  Menu Bar Apps still work the same

  Apps still work the same when they are in Bartenders Bar allowing you
  quick access to them when needed, but keep them out of sight when not.

  Bartenders Bar can be placed where you want

  Bartenders Bar can be moved at any time to any horizontal position
  immediately under the Menu Bar. Or it can open under the Bartender
  Menu Bar Icon.

  Show an App in the Menu Bar for 5 seconds when it updates

  Set up your Apps to be displayed in the Menu Bar for 5 seconds when
  they update.

  Hide Menu from left of Menu Bar to display maximum Menu Bar Apps

  Bartender can remove the left hand side Menu temporarily to display
  the maximum possible Menu Bar Apps in the Menu Bar.


Mac does not sleep automatically in Lion! My Macbook Pro will not sleep even though it is set in System Preferences → Energy Saver.

I do not have any sharing options enabled (System Preferences → Sharing).
I do not have "Wake for network access" enabled (System Preferences → Energy Saver).
It does not matter if the Mac is connected to a power source.
I've reset the SMC and the PRAM, but this did not help.

I'm running OS X 10.7.3.

Another safe boot revealed that the auto sleep mode actually is working. I believe that it would probably have worked the last time I've tried it as well  - but, since the sleep occurs several minutes later than the time defined in the Energy Saver settings, I did not notice this.

What about the 'normal' boot?

I've basically tested the auto sleep with all my menu extras enabled one by one, because the iotop command mentioned by @StuWilson didn't show anything helpful to me. As it turns out the menu extra Stack Exchange Notifier caused insomnia.


Download free app updates without prompting to enter Apple ID password on iOS 6 I read somewhere in iOS 6 you don't need to enter your Apple ID password for downloading free apps and updates to already installed apps. However I see that I am still being prompted for my Apple ID password. Is there any solution for this? Is this expected behavior?

No password is required for app updates in iOS 6, but you still have to enter your password to buy apps, even free ones.


SMS still sends to group via iMessage after disabling I recently switched from my iPhone to an Android. Before removing my SIM card, I disabled iMessage in settings. My Macbook Messages app shows it as disabled, and the online service to disable a number does as well. When iOS users send me a message directly, it is sent as SMS. However, when I am added to a group iMessage it doesn't change to MMS. Any ideas?

EDIT:

I found out that deleting the conversation history and starting a new one caused it to use MMS. Still hoping there's a general solution to telling everyone to delete their history.

A little trick: change your iCloud password. Then all of apple services can NOT work properly.
See the relevant-support here: How to completely disassociate iMessage from my device?


App crash after a long time loading iOS12? Normally, I can launch these apps. But after a point of time, all of the apps will crash after a long time loading.

I have tried to restart my phone, and clear all recent apps. But still not working.

My environment iPhone 7, iOS 12 with all apps update to latest version which compatible with iOS 12.

I have recorded a video here.

I had the same problem a few days ago. What fixed it was uninstalling the app and reinstalling it.

Make sure that you save all your data first.

From this article:

  Press and hold the Top (or Side) button until the slider appears.

  Drag the slider to turn your device completely off.

  After your device turns off, press and hold the Top (or Side) button
  again until you see the Apple logo.


How do I reset the scrollback in the terminal via a shell command? When using Terminal.app, you can clear the screen by using the shell builtin clear or by pressing ^+L (Control-L).

However, all this does is push the current screen content back one screen height and reset the cursor/input at the first line. Meaning you can still scroll back and see it.

What you are also able to do, is reset your entire scrollback by pressing ⌘+K (Command-K).

After you've done this, you cannot scroll back at all.

In certain situations (notably, before running screen or vim), I'd like to reset the scroll back before the command actually executes.

Is there a command (like clear) that is implemented in OS X that allows me to do this? Given the existence of pbcopy and pbpaste, I'm thinking something similar might exist that will allow me to do this.

Terminal supports an extension of the ED (Erase in Display) escape sequence to erase the scroll-back. It is also supported by xterm. The ED command, described in the VT100 manual, accepts these values for the Ps parameter:

ESC [ Ps J

Parameter   Parameter Meaning

0           Erase from the active position to the end of the screen
1           Erase from start of the screen to the active position
2           Erase all of the display

Terminal (and xterm) adds:

3           Erase the scroll-back (aka “Saved Lines”)

Note that this only erases the scroll-back, not the screen. This allows you to erase one or the other, or both by sending two escape sequences.

For example, you can clear the screen and the scroll-back with the following shell command: clear && printf '\e[3J'

(The clear command looks up the appropriate sequence for clearing the screen for the current terminal, but the “erase scroll-back” escape sequence is custom and must be hard-coded. If you put this in a shell script that you don’t know for certain will only ever be run with Terminal, you should check that $TERM_PROGRAM is Apple_Terminal before sending it.)


Desktop Safari: Disable "This webpage was reloaded because it was using significant memory" My computer has 20 GB of memory, but Safari insists on forcibly reloading Slack for using a few hundred megabytes.

Is there a defaults write command, or some other type of tweak, that can disable or at least raise this threshold?

defaults read will tell you what options you can set.

It does not appear that there is a defaults write command available as far as I can tell. It's possible to get a list of the commands with defaults read com.apple.safari and there's quite a few that are cryptic, so I could be wrong though (and would love to be corrected on this as I have this problem too with something that uploads and processes data resulting in losses occurring).

There doesn't seem to be an option in the 'Develop' menu to control this. There is an option to 'Get Safari Technology Preview' that might help if this is changed in an experimental version but that's pure speculation.

Safari 11.2.1 on MacOS 10.13.6 - options will be different on newer/older versions.


How would I find out if an application installed the wavtap.kext as part of its package? I'm experiencing many audiocore errors and am trying to narrow down the cause.

A Google search has revealed that WavTap could potentially be the cause of these errors.

WavTap is listed in my Audio Midi Setup despite my not having that application installed.

I would like to know if it was installed by some other audio application I have as a tool that this secondary application relies upon to function completely/properly or whether I simply installed WavTap, myself, at some point in the past and missed the .kext when uninstalling. So, how might I go about finding out whether or not another application I have installed has a dependency upon WavTap.kext?

thanks

So, it turns out that WavTap.kext was installed as a part of the Spotydl package, an application that I had uninstalled nearly immediately and erased most traces of. Removing the WavTap.kext and the Spotydl .plist and .bom appears to have resolved some of the coreaudio errors, though, a reboot will be required to see if the component errors are still present and it seems unlikely that this issue was the cause of those.

If anyone is aware of a simple uninstaller which parses the InstallHistory.plist, please, let me know about it. Thanks


What would the downside be of excluding "Saved Application State" from Time Machine? I've noticed using BackupLoupe that stuff under ~/Library/Saved Application State/ pops up in my Time Machine backups. I can't find that much about this folder online, but one site describes it as "where the information regarding files that should be re-opened on startup is stored." This doesn't sound to me like it needs to be covered by Time Machine backups. Is there a good reason why this folder needs to be backed up?

The folder is small, but if it changes frequently then its footprint in Time Machine could be large.

There's no reason to backup this directory.

The contents changes so frequently that any backup is outdated by the time the backup's finished. This is no exaggeration; simply the act of making a backup will change the contents of this folder.
If you're relying on an unsaved document being there next time you open an app based on Restore, you're doing something wrong. Providing you save documents, the data in that folder will be saved to the appropriate location in the file anyway.
The saved application state stores a bunch of useless information anyway. When you're restoring a full Time Machine backup, the lack of cached data makes any app restore a strenuous task and the saved application state won't help.

Also, for what it's worth, this directory used to be (and still is on most installations) part of the standard exclusions list for Time Machine backups.


Deleted file on MacOS still occupying space I download a large file, a 20GB DMG.
Soon after, I ran out of space, I used the system information app to delete large files, including the 20 GB DMG.
The System Information app crashed during this process, and I had to restart my laptop.
Ever since, the System Manager still shows the DMG as occupying 20GB of space, but I cannot "open in Finder" or delete. Both the buttons do nothing.
I tried searching for the said file, but found nothing.
I have verified that the trash is empty.

I want to reclaim the 20GB of space that has been locked out, without having to format my disk again.

Selecting Dota 2 and clicking on "Show in Finder" does nothing.
Looking for the file via ls -la does not show the file.

Applications folder does not show the file

Trash is empty

File type has changed to APPS_APPLS after updating to Big Sur, but no resolution to the problem.

You need to empty your Trash. When you delete a file that just moves it to the trash. To free up space you must empty the trash.
Then you have to suspect that your spotlight process that feeds these displays is stuck. Log out of your account and then restart the mac.
See if you can reveal in finder the app below the one in question.
If the app in question is stuck, rebooting to recovery and then running disk utility to check / repair the filesystem would be prudent. Making a backup also would be prudent if this is a sign of directory damage. You can fix that easily with an erase / install - then load back the apps from backup.