How to limit kept text messages in iOS? I'm not an iPhone user, but help support them at work.

We have a user who has a large amount of SMS messages for having the same iPhone for quite a few years. He's trying to delete old SMS messages.

On my Android (Galaxy S3), I'm able to set a Text message limit: 200 messages per conversation, so only the most recent 200 messages are kept for each conversation.

Is there something similar for iOS?

Yes, in iOS 8 you can set a limit to the time period of the messages. So, not an actual amount - like the 200 messages on your Android - but you can limit it through Settings > Messages > Keep Messages menu option where you'll see the following flavors:

Forever
1 Year
30 Days


cannot trash malware NGPlayerSetup.dmg How do I delete this pesky dmg? I never asked for it and never uploaded or downloaded it. When I try to "Empty Trash" it is much to clever and says "it is in use."

Open Terminal
type cd .Trash followed by Return
type rm NGPlayer followed by Tab
the name should now auto-complete
type Return to remove the file
reboot

Please be aware that this will just remove the DMG from your system, it will not cleanout any malware which might already have gotten installed.


How to hide running app from Dock in Yosemite? I want to hide icon of running app in Dock without installing any apps like Dockless. Maybe there is some CLI unix trick.

This Info.plist trick does it but modern Code Signed apps don't work:

Hide a running app from Dock?

The plist edit should work with Signed Apps, you just might need to force a resign. Try the command sudo codesign -f -s - /path_to_app/appname.app, replacing appname with the name of the app you are looking to hide from the dock.

Note that this will also disable menu bar actions, but all keyboard shortcuts should still work.


How can I add mp3 files as podcasts to my iPhone using iTunes? I am using iTunes 12.5 on Windows 10 with an iPhone 5s.

Sometimes I download hour-long .mp3 files that I want to put onto my iPhone as podcasts, so that it automatically remembers where I am in my listening if I have to stop in the middle.  I know how to transfer .mp3 files to my iPhone, where they show up as Music.  I also know that I can right click on any song, choose 'Get Info' and under Options change the media kind to 'Podcast.'  But when I change the file to a podcast, it disappears from iTunes, though it does show up on my device when I open the Podcasts app.

How can I transfer an .mp3 file to my iPhone as a podcast, and still have that podcast show up in iTunes when I look there to see what podcasts are on my device?

First connect your device to your computer and open iTunes.  Go to the iTunes Library.  If you don't see the Library option in iTunes, you can get there by clicking on the 'Done' button in the lower right corner (if it's there).
In Library, click on the File menu, then select Add File to Library...  Browse to the .mp3 file you want to import as a podcast, and choose it.  This file will now show up in iTunes Library under Music.  Right-click on the "song" and choose Get Info or Album Info.  Make sure the file has a "song" title and an album name.  (Optional: change the genre to 'Podcast'. Also optional, add artwork if you want.)  Under the Options tab, change the media kind from Music to Podcast.  Now click OK at the bottom.
The "song" will now have disappeared from Music.  Change the Library over to Podcasts, and you should now see the file there.

The final step is to right click on the (now podcast) file and choose Add to Device (your device is connected, right?) and select your device.  Voilà!  The .mp3 file is now a podcast that shows up both in iTunes for your device, and also in the Podcasts app on your device.


How can I rename Device ID from disk1s5 to disk1s1 My brand new MacBook Pro 16" had "Macintosh HD" at disk1s1 and "Macintosh HD - Data" at disk1s2. I didn't realize the USB-C cable that came with it wasn't Thunderbolt 3 so I killed the Migration Assistant and ordered the cable online. When the cable came I reformatted the disk to start over and for the life of me I can't get the Device ID to match what they were out of the box. I've tried starting with a brand new Partition and installing from Disk Recovery, then running Migration Assistant (using the TB3 cable that came today) but now I'm getting Macintosh HD on disk1s5 (was on s1) and Macintosh HD - Data on disk1s1 (was on s2). I realize this doesn't impact the performance in any way but it's bugging me that I can't get it back to the way it came out of the box.

Device IDs are what the system uses to identify the drive.  They often change depending on when and even where they are detected (Internal vs. USB vs Thunderbolt).
For instance, an old hard drive bootable drive might be identified as disk1s2.  Take it out and put it in a USB enclosure, attach it to another Mac and it  suddenly becomes disk3.
This is not something you need to try and manage and trying to make of “match what came out of the box” does nothing except create a massive amount work on your part.
Now the fact that the data partition went from slice 2 (disk1s2) to slice 5 (disk1s5) tells me that you may not have removed/reformatted the drive properly.  However, this is now moving into a new question so issue the command diskutil apfs list and post it to a new question as to the structure of your partition layout.


Switching input sources quickly no longer shows menu / picker I have "Select the previous input source" bound to ^Space. Until recently, pressing ^Space repeatedly would present me with a menu listing all of my input sources that I could cycle through by continuing to press ^Space again and again. Now no such menu appears and ^Space just toggles between my two most recent input sources. How do I get this menu back?

Unbinding and rebinding the shortcut fixed the issue!


Getting list of running processes on iOS Simulator I am essentially looking for the iOS equivalent of

adb shell ps

On android this returns to me a list of all apps running on my emulator. For iOS things seem to be a bit more complicated as it looks like it is not supported. Some of the solutions listed here suggest installing a cydia package named adv-cmds which has the command i am looking for but I believe cydia is not meant for simulators.

Any ideas?

Command to find list of running apps and their pid for iOS simulator is

xcrun simctl spawn booted launchctl print system


Unable to use external monitor's full resolution using Macbook Pro I recently bought a new 2019 MacBook Pro. It working as expected. I use my HP 22Es for majority of my work. Very unfortunately, my MBP is unable to detect the 1920x1080 resolution of external display.

I did some research and came to know about SwitchResX and some information about EDID data. I tried everything I could. But still there are limitations like Disabling the System Integrity protection etc!!

I wonder if some has a easy to read guide or a blog post! It would be great help.

My configuration is like below:

Mac - MacBook Pro 2019, 13 Inch, TouchBar
OS - MacOS Mojave
External Display - HP 22ES
Display Adapter - Apple's USB Thunderbolt to HDMI converter
I use Belkin's HDMI to HDMI converter

Dude, i can tell you from personal experience; after buying four different usb-c hdmi adapters that the ONLY adapter that enabled me to utilize my external monitor full resolution + high refresh rate without having to hack internal /System/Library code or messing with SwitchResX/other b.s. GUI garbage;
is the belkin usb-c to hdmi adapter (the white version, do not use the old-black version -- its got terrible refresh rates). I also have apple's usb-c dongle (hdmi,usb-c,usb-a)[but it's utter garbage...] (didnt work); neither did the belkin black; nor did some other 'KANEX'-brand crap that i stumbled upon while cruising down a local shopping-mall. MBP 15" latest model i9's and what not (all the bells and whistles...); external monitor is an LG-4K 27" (supports real high res).
hope it helps

https://www.belkin.com/uk/p/P-F2CU038bt/
This one doesn't give you refresh rates higher then 30Hz(despite what it says on the website)

this one does :
https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/product/HKQ22ZM/A/belkin-usb-c-to-hdmi-adapter


Error: could not get license agreement I have macOS Sierra installed and have an SSD and using the following command to avoid conversion to APFS

/Applications/Install\ macOS\ High\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/startosinstall --converttoapfs NO

but I get the following error:

  Error: could not get license agreement

Also if I add the parameter --agreetolicense I get the error

Helper tool crashed...

Anyone having similar issue knows how to tackle that situation or my Installer is corrupt? Anyhow, I am able to run the installer and accept the agreement but that would also automatically convert my file system to APFS.

Ok, the installer was indeed broken, when I ran it directly it would start downloading the setup from the internet without letting me know that it is downloading. Checked that with Activity Monitor > Sort Activities by the Network column. Also, double check the size of the .app file you get from someone. I copied the setup from local area network so something might have gone nuts.

  ^ These are some tips in such a case.

Copy the installer again or download it and the above commands (in the question) will work like a charm.


How to save photos from iCloud to external hardrive My iCloud is full and i would like to move the photos from my icloud on my macbook to my external hardrive. I do not have a desktop or WINDOWS

In OS X Mountain Lion or later

1.Open Photos and select the Shared tab.

2.Double-click a shared stream.

3.Right-click (or Control-click) a photo and choose Import.


How can I write a script to open multiple terminal tabs and execute code in them? I want to be able to open the terminal application and have it either automatically run a script that opens several tabs and run an arbitrary set of commands in each. For example I would like one tab to open, change directories, and run a rails server; have another open, change directories, and tail a log file; etc..

Is there a way to do this either with a shell script or applescript?

I found this question but it seems to hang if I want to open tabs with commands that don't end (like running the rails server).

This is a little bit hacky, but you can achieve this in AppleScript. If there is a predetermined number of tabs you want, and preset commands you wish to run, this isn't difficult.

tell application "Terminal"
    -- Activate it.
    activate

    set targetWindow to 0

    -- Get a window that's not busy.
    -- If there are no open windows, open one.
    if count of windows is greater than 0 then
        repeat with currentWindow in windows
            if currentWindow is not busy then
                set targetWindow to currentWindow
            end if
        end repeat
    else
        do script ""
        set targetWindow to window 1
    end if

    -- Do command 1.
    set firstCommand to "cd ~/Desktop; clear"
    do script firstCommand in targetWindow

    -- Open a new tab.
    tell application "System Events" to tell process "Terminal" to keystroke "t" using command down

    if count of windows is greater than 0 then
        repeat with currentWindow in windows
            if currentWindow is not busy then
                set targetWindow to currentWindow
            end if
        end repeat
    else
        do script ""
        set targetWindow to window 1
    end if

    -- Do command 2.
    set secondCommand to "cd /Applications; clear"
    do script secondCommand in targetWindow

    -- And so on...
end tell

Of course, replace firstCommand with whichever command you actually want to run, and so on. For whatever reason, Terminal doesn't really have an accessible way to create new tabs through AppleScript, so the long, hacky looking line in the middle just tells Terminal to type ⌘T to open that new tab, and then new commands will execute in it.

You can run this AppleScript as is, or use it in Automator to create a new service, which you can then execute from anywhere using a keyboard shortcut if you'd like.

Extras - If you want to fire some script/command in the newly opened terminal session, you can refer this


iPhone text messages are delivered to my work iPad! My iPhone text messages are delivered to my work iPad, what is happening and how can I put it right?

You need to change the iMessage setting on your iPad. Follow these steps:

Go to Settings > Messages
Tap on the Send & Receive
The next window will list all the accounts and/or numbers you can be reached on with the iPad
Uncheck the iPhone mobile phone number listed
Make any other necessary changes
Exit your settings

Hope this helps!


Stop latest upgrade from installing I  downloaded by accident the latest update by Apple, currently running 10.13.1.

I can't upgrade to 10.13.2 due to a problem with the GPU which makes it impossible to boot up.

Right now it's asking to restart in order to install it. Is there a way to stop the installer from running ?

I found the solution here

Can I delete /Library/Updates on EI Capitan

You should be able to force quit the installer. To do this, press the optioncommandESC keys to bring up the Force Quit Applications window. Then select the installer and click on the Force Quit button.

Another option is to make sure the installer is the active app and then hold down the shiftoptioncommandESC keys for at least three seconds to immediately force quit it.


Is there a way to see all iPhone App Store purchases? I'm wondering whether there is a way to see all iPhone App Store purchases in a similar fashion that is available on Mac App Store in Purchased section.

I don't think there is a way to view just iPhone App purchases.
You can view your whole iTunes purchase history. You can see your iPhone app purchases there.

Open iTunes -> Store menu -> View My Account -> Sign in -> Go to Purchase History

Update: This seem to include all your purchases using your Apple ID (iOS App Store, Mac App Store, and iTunes Store)


Limit the use of my Apple ID on my kid's iPod Touch I've had an iPod Touch (4G) for a couple years. Now I have an iPhone 5, so I want to remove all "my" apps/profile info from my iPod Touch and set it up for my children to use.

Right now, both devices use my apple ID, and share some (but not all) applications (mostly free ones). But that means, for instance, when I get an iOS message, it is going to both devices, which I don't want. Both devices sync to my laptop. I have music that I'd like to be able to keep on both devices.

What's the best set-up? Is my best scenario to create a new Apple ID for my kids' use, and reset my old iPod Touch and start over with the new ID? (is there any way to keep the set-up, like if I back-up and then restore? Or should I continue using the same ID for both devices? I'm worried about getting apps/profile info mixed up and accidentally downloading ones I don't want the kids to have to the iPod (e.g., I don't want them to be able to send messages to my contact list, which is mostly business!).

Since you do not want your children to have access to your Address Book (that syncs using iCloud), you should use a new Apple ID. This means you have to turn off and change the current iCloud settings in the iPod Touch.

Since you want to keep the apps you already installed (using your iCloud), you shouldn't  restore the iPod Touch to its original (factory) state as that will delete those apps.

I'll recommend backing up (whether via iCloud or to your Mac) using iTunes just in case you want to use the iPod Touch again in the future.


Bought an unlocked 5c how to activate without SIM card I bought an unlocked 5c for my kid to use without data etc as an iPod to later use as phone when older but it wants a SIM card to activate the phone what do I do

You need a SIM to activate. You can remove the SIM once this is complete. If you are really interested in WHY you will find similar questions.


Installing chrome extension - mac OS I would like to install a 3rd party chrome extension. I don't know how to install it, the extension is not available in chromestore. I've found it on github.

Any light on installing this extension. https://github.com/google/chrome-language-immersion

In Chrome type chrome://extensions/ in the address window.

Enable Developer Mode (slider)

New window will open allowing you to add your Extension

Chrome will prompt you at every browser start if you really want to keep the manually installed extension. This is normal. It is a security feature of Chrome so nobody can install extensions behind your back.


Cheapest mac for latest xcode? I am doing a uni course which is called iPhone Software Engineering and it says that I need a mac that is able to run latest version of 'Xcode' for app developement and current SWIFT and the Apple iOS SDK will be used. So far I have done many programming languages using windows and this is the only course that requires a mac so I need suggestions to buy a cheap mac that will only be good for programming purposes. I don't need any good graphics and all that. Since I am low on budget I would be happy if my mac could fulfill my course requirements.

The least expensive mac is the Mac mini. It comes without a monitor, keyboard, or mouse so you can use the items from your PC. A new Mac Mini sells for $800. If that is still too pricey you could maybe find a used older mac on Ebay or similar sites. Beware because Macs have a high resale value. So always check the price.
If your needing the latest XCode, be sure that the computer can run Mojave or Catalina operating systems. A computer from 2013 or later should be fine. If you are just learning to code then you can maybe get a cheap laptop or the Mac Mini.
You should check the Apple site to confirm what models can run the latest version of Xcode. My 2013 number was just from memory. The actual compatibility list is given below.
MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)
MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or newer)
Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
iMac Pro (2017)
Mac Pro (Late 2013, plus mid-2010 and mid-2012 models with recommended Metal-capable GPU)


Does the country where a credit card is issued affect the content offered in iTunes (with all the restrictions for that country)? I want to create an AppleID account in iTunes/Apple Music.

iTunes forces me to provide a credit card. There is an option to select the country of my credit card. I have two cards issued in different countries and currently reside in third country.

My question is: does Apple consider my country to be the country of my credit card, and will all the restrictions and media of that particular country be applied?

UPD:

Actually Apple asks twice whether I want to change the country. At first on Terms and Conditions step, and the second on the next step with credit card form. When I change the country, credit card form is also changed. Even secret questions are different for different countries.

Terms and Conditions step.

Credit card form step.

UPD 2:

Here is what Apple says if I select a country of my credit card. And if I select other country Apple doesn't show this alert. This is what makes me think that Apple restricts access and contents depending on what country your credit card was issued.

Yes it does.

Think of iTunes Store (and Apple App Store) as having separate instances (stores) for each country that Apple Inc. offers the service for. In every country/region iTunes Store has its own offering, language, regulations, pricing, availability, age restrictions, etc.

Apple recognises users by either method of payment or their billing address and allows usage only of the iTunes Store of the region to which an account belongs.

A given method of payment (credit card or prepaid card) is valid only for the country it is issued for (at least at the moment of registration, it can be changed later).


How can I hide sensitive photos My problem is I've got heaps of photos that I don't want to be found in finder is their any easy way to stop finder from showing them in places like All Files or quicklook.

There are many ways to achieve this.

Exclude such folders in the Spotlight search. Any one else using the Mac can easily find and go through the content.
Create a new Disk Image (preferably encrypt it) in Disk Utility and it is a separate disk which grows and shrinks based on the contents. You could also use apps like Knox to achieve the same.
Try apps like Skedaddle to hide from Finder. Skedaddle protects the files with a password and Spotlight cannot find it. It does not encrypt the data.


sound doesn't work in macbook pro I have a macbook pro and yesterday the sound just stopped working.I was funny cause I turn it off and tried and cool it down cause I thought that it's been so hot. after that it worked but after a few minutes it just stopped working.

Now there is no start up sound. there is no input and output device in system preferences.and No, there is not any red light. I also tried command option R P.

I don't know what to do. help me guys.

I had the same issue several months ago. After many hours of unsuccessful troubleshooting, I brought it to genius bar at apple store and was told to reinstall system software. It solved the problem!


Connecting Raspberry to Apple Time Capsule How to connect a raspberry to Apple Time Capsule? It should be easy but I faced several time consuming issues, I'm posting the solution as Q&A in the hope this can be useful to someone.

So... how to connect your Raspberry to Apple Time Capsule?

I successful connected a raspberry with installed

Linux raspberrypi 4.4.50+ #970 Mon Feb 20 19:12:50 GMT 2017 armv6l GNU/Linux

To Apple Time Capsule.

We need to speak with CIFS, that is a dialect of SMB, so you have be sure that

samba                            SMB/CIFS file, print, and login server for Unix
samba-common                     common files used by both the Samba server and client
samba-common-bin                 Samba common files used by both the server and the client
samba-dsdb-modules               Samba Directory Services Database
samba-libs:armhf                 Samba core libraries
samba-vfs-modules                Samba Virtual FileSystem plugins

are installed on Raspberry. Use this command to install any missing:

sudo apt-get install samba samba-common samba-common-bin samba-dsdb-modules  samba-vfs-modules samba-libs:armhf

Open Utility AirPort and find the IP Addresses of the Time Capsule, in my case I see 10.0.1.1 and 192.168.1.4, I suppose that you connected the raspberry to the Time Capsule device, so the address your Raspberry sees is the IP LAN, in my case is 10.0.1.1.

Now let's check which share are exposed and we can connect to. Issue this command and remember to replace 10.0.1.1 with your IP Address and "bigfoot" with the username for your Time Capsule

smbclient -U bigfoot -L 10.0.1.1
Enter bigfoot's password:

When did it, I got this error:

Server does not support EXTENDED_SECURITY  but 'client use spnego = yes and 'client ntlmv2 auth = yes'

session setup failed: NT_STATUS_ACCESS_DENIED

You can solve this problem changing the file /etc/samba/smb.conf, you have to add

client use spnego = no

into the [global] section in top of the /etc/samba/smb.conf file.
Try again the command smbclient to list the shares:

smbclient -U bigfoot -L 10.0.1.1
Enter bigfoot's password:

Domain=[WORKGROUP] OS=[Apple Base Station] Server=[CIFS 4.32]

    Sharename       Type      Comment
    ---------       ----      -------
    IPC$            IPC
    TimeCapsuleHD   Disk
    750             Disk

Domain=[WORKGROUP] OS=[Apple Base Station] Server=[CIFS 4.32]

    Server               Comment
    ---------            -------

    Workgroup            Master
    ---------            -------

Bingo! Here are the shared exposed, in my case I want to connect to the external drive connected to the Time Capsule's USB port, so my share name is 750.

The command from Raspberry will be:

sudo mkdir /mnt/AppleTimeCapsule
sudo  mount -t cifs  //10.0.1.1/750 /mnt/AppleTimeCapsule -o username=bigfoot,password=addhereyoursecretpassword,rw,uid=1000,iocharset=utf8,sec=ntlm


Lexmark E210 Printer install from .ppd file I am excited at the prospect to enable Lexmark E210 printing from Catalina.
The E210 "Seems to be a relabeled Samsung ML-4500."
PPD file can be downloaded from this link.  PPD instructions link for older versions.
I think the PPD file a set of instructions for the OS to download & install the driver?
I think it belongs in:
/Library/Printers/PPDs/Contents/Resources

Yikes!  The .ppd file throws an error:

Guidance, references, lesson-learned are all appreciated.  I have experience installing Windows drivers, however, this is new territory for me.
Diagnostic Screenshots for Allan:
Maybe there is a permissions obstacle?

I suspect that it is necessary to resole the connection error above in order for the .ppd file to execute.  Until then:

This should work.
The key here is that it uses the gdi driver; though it's no longer maintained by Samsung, it is is community maintained and appears to have current support.  It's also built into Ghostscript, so it should be there.
The short answer is you should be able to manually add the printer using one of the printer models listed on the driver page (link above).
Manually Installing on macOS
The location for the (English) PPD files is /Library/Printers/PPDs/Contents/Resources/en.lproj.  Simply copy your PPD file there.
When you Add your printer, the very last field labeled "Use" will be where you specify your driver.  From the drop down, choose "Select Software" (left image).  A list of printer software will open (right image).  Start typing the name of the driver you copied in the filter box at the top; you should find your printer.

Note:  In my example, I used "localhost" as I currently don't have the printer hooked up to my network, but you would use the IP address of the printer.  As for protocol, use "LPD" for these older printers.
Printer Drivers
One thing you should note is that not all printers are created equal.  It may seem trivial, but depending on engine that drives your printer, you may or may not be able to continue using them.  For example, this printer uses a "Host Based Printing System."

This means that it's the operating system the local computer that actually does all the rendering of the graphics, not the printer itself.  It's a cost saving move for the manufacturer.  The downside is you have a good chance of this becoming a paperweight down the road.  Fortunately, this was based on a processor from Samsung that had continued support (they also sold this one to Fuji/Xerox)
Going Forward...
When purchasing a new printer, be sure to look for a printer that has support for printing languages like PCL and/or Postscript.  If it supports both, it's even better!  If it supports emulations like "HP LaserJet" or "Epson" or even "IBM" you can use those generic drivers as well.  These printers do cost a little more, but they make up for it in longevity.


Connect older Mac Pro (DVI) to newer Apple Display (Mini DisplayPort) I have an older Mac Pro with two DVI outputs. I have access to an Apple Display that has a Mini DisplayPort connector, which I'd like to use as a second monitor. Is there an adapter out there that will let me plug in this Apple Display to my Mac Pro?

Basically, I'm looking for an adapter with a female Mini DisplayPort connector and a male DVI connector, which is the reverse of this adapter that Apple sells.

DVI port cannot output DisplayPort protocols so a simple and cheap adapter (eg the reverse of the one Apple sells as posted in your question) will not work.  The reverse does work (a DisplayPort can output DVI signals), hence the proliferation of cheap adaptors to do this.

A number of manufacturers have build adapter boxes to allow the conversion to occur (there is electronics in these boxes that modify the signal appropriately to ensure it gets output in the DisplayPort protocol).  They are however more expensive that "just a cable adapter".

eg of manufacturers/products include :
Gefen : http://www.amazon.com/Gefen-Mini-DisplayPort-Converter-EXT-DVI-2-MDP/dp/B002QPWBEK
Atlona - http://www.amazon.com/AT-DP400-Dual-MINI-DISPLAY-FORMAT-CONVERTER/dp/B003CWEXWO

Bear in mind that you may need a dual-link DVI adapter box if powering a large screen (eg a 30")


MacBook Pro crashes when plugging in 3 4k screens I have a Late 2013 MacBook Pro with NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 2GB graphics card running macOS High Sierra 10.13.1, and when I attempt to connect 3 4k screens (2 Mini DisplayPort, 1 HDMI) while running the internal screen, all screens go blank, and the system freezes until I hold in the power button to force power off.

Things I've tried:

Using just the 3 4k screens without the internal (this works, but doesn't allow me to use the internal)
Using 3 non-4k screens (1080p + 2k + 2k) and (1080p + 4k + 2k) with the internal (this works)
Using 1080p + 4k + 4k + internal (this crashes the system)
Unplugging one screen after it freezes (system is still frozen)
Checking the logs (couldn't find anything (maybe I'm looking in the wrong place), and there's no kernel panic log)
Plugging in the 3 screens and then opening the laptop to turn on the internal screen (Freezes like before)
Booting with everything plugged in (It just doesn't finish booting)
Booting to recovery with everything plugged in (gets stuck on the apple with progress bar)

My computer has no trouble with the 3 screens without the internal (low CPU, not running slow), so it doesn't seem like it's just getting overloaded.

I know this computer can drive 4k screens and can also drive 3 externals plus the internal, but maybe I'm hitting some undocumented limit here by trying to combine them. Is there anything else I can try or somewhere I can look to see what the error is?

I'm considering getting a 4k compatible USB -> HDMI video adapter to drive the screen I won't use as much, but I'm not sure if that will trigger the same issue, and I'd like to see if there are any other ideas.

Hardware stats:
  Model Name:   MacBook Pro
  Model Identifier: MacBookPro11,3
  Processor Name: Intel Core i7
  Processor Speed: 2.3 GHz
  Number of Processors: 1
  Total Number of Cores: 4
  L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
  L3 Cache: 6 MB
  Memory: 16 GB

When you say you know your MBP can drive 4k screens and can also drive 3 externals plus the internal, on what basis do you say this? In fact, this is well beyond what this model is officially capable of doing.

Your MBP officially supports an HDMI-compatible device, including 4K, while using one Thunderbolt Display. Or, it can  support up to two Thunderbolt displays.

In terms of actual resolution outputted to an external display, it supports up to 3840x2160 pixels at 30Hz or 4096x2160 pixels at 24Hz (HDMI), or up to 3840x2160 pixels at 30Hz on two external displays via Thunderbolt.

Of course the above is the official position. Your testing has shown you that you can exceed this, but what you’re wanting to do is beyond what I’d recommend.

You may find my answer on another question of interest, especially in terms of real life scenarios. The MBP in that question is not the same model as yours, but the overall findings still apply.


Renew apple developer membership after it expires I had an app on the appstore and a few days ago my membership expired. I want to renew it now, but when I click on the renew membership button, it takes me to the apple website with some sort of referral code on top.
How can I proceed to renew my membership?

You need to just wait and try again in an hour or two. The Apple Store is down right now  pending the new products that can be pre-ordered later today (in about an hour).


How to stop mouse from zooming in when trying to scroll down In trying to zoom down, the mouse has taken to zooming in his entire screen. As in, magnifying the entire screen, focusing on where the cursor is.

This happens when quickly scrolling down a few times. Google isn't coming up with anything good so I'm asking here.

I'm not sure but should be
System preferences -> Accessibility -> Zoom -> Use scroll gesture with modifier keys to zoom (or similar, I got it in italian) that should be unchecked.


How to setup remote access on a Mac I need to work remotely and connect to a company network from my Mac over the internet. How do I set this up? I've looked at different software such as OpenVPN and Tunnelblick. I'm not sure how to set up remote access. Any suggestions? Advice?

Additional information:
There is basically no IT department. So I would need to set up the server side solution as well if that is what is needed.

More information:
I basically need to use the database connection from inside the company network.

Who is supporting your network at your company? An "IT" department? You? An outside company/managed service provider (MSP)?

IT Dept - ask them if they can offer a VPN connection for remote access.

MSP - ask them if your firewall supports a VPN connection for remote access. If it does, ask them what is required to set it up (this may be billable).

You - you're probably in over your head. To start with, you need to know what kind of firewall you have.


Disabling a specific system notification? My Macbook Air 13" (macOS 10.13.6) has a USB problem which triggers a warning notification every five minutes:

Looking in the Console, I see lots of "overcurrent detected" warnings; testing the two USB ports shows that the left one seems dead while the right one works. Visually, the left port is fine; no schmutz that might be causing problems.

Clearly I'm going to have to replace the left USB port (actually the I/O board), but in the meantime is there any way to disable this specific notification? (I really don't need both USB ports; if I could stop the messages I would probably skip fixing the hardware.)

Edit: I wasn't clear: these messages appear even when nothing is plugged into either USB port.

Have you tried...

  This applescript will close them for you. Paste it into Script Editor
  and then Save as an application. Then grant access to that application
  in (System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Accessibility) Then you
  can use an application like ControlPlane
  https://www.controlplaneapp.com/ to run the application on wake thus
  closing them all automatically! ** Note: You will need to grant
  Accessibility access to ControlPlane as well.

tell application "System Events"
tell process "NotificationCenter"
    set numwins to (count windows)
    repeat with i from numwins to 1 by -1
        tell window i
            set temp to value of static text 1
        end tell
        if temp contains "USB Accessories Disabled" then
            click button "Close" of window i
        end if
    end repeat
end tell
end tell

From How do I disable this message: "the disk was not ejected properly"?

This will need some tweaking to close the window you are looking for maybe a cron job or something similar but it might be a step in the right direction.


Parrallels 10 and Windows 10 keyboard typing incorrect characters When I type a double quotes on Parallels 10 with Windows 10 I see the following character.

Does anybody have any idea how to fix this?

Somehow Windows 10 set my language input to "English - United Kingdom" instead of "English - United States".

By removing everything besides "English - United States" under "Languages" in Control Panel it fixed the issue.


How do I dual-booting Ubuntu on a Macbook pro? How would you dual-boot Ubuntu 12.04 on a MacBook Pro with the following specs: 13", 750GB hard drive, Intel Core-i7 processor, with 8GB RAM.

rEFIt is the best way to allow dual-booting on a Mac. I use it to boot Ubuntu from a partition on my external drive, and it works perfectly. Be sure to back up your hard drive before proceeding.

  Install rEFIt and make sure it is working (you should get a boot
  chooser on startup) Use Bootcamp or Disk Utility to create a partition
  at the end of the disc. Don’t worry about what format, just make it
  the size you want for Ubuntu and your swap partition. If you you are
  using OS X Lion which comes with Bootcamp 4.0 you will need to use the
  Disk Utility. Boot Camp 4.0 will only allow you to resize if you
  provide a Windows 7 installation disk. Boot the Ubuntu desktop CD, and
  select "Try Ubuntu. Start the partition editor (gparted) under System
  -> Adminstration. Use gparted to delete the partition you just made in OS X. It should be the last partition on the disc and follows after
  the HFS+ partition (OS X). Deleting it will leave an area called
  unallocated. This is free space, and exactly what you want. Use
  gparted to manually partition the space on your drive for Ubuntu.
  First create a SWAP area of about 1GB. Then the rest of the
  unallocated area format as EXT4. Apply changes and take note the label
  of the EXT4 partition such as /dev/sda3.

  Start the Ubuntu Installer from the desktop icon. When prompted,
  choose to manually partition. Select the EXT4 partition and click
  change. Select to use the space as EXT4 and root (/) as the mount
  point. You will also want to check the box to format the partition.
  Reboot when done with the install, and in the rEFIt menu, choose the
  partition tool. It will attempt to sync the partition tables on your
  disk. Then SHUTDOWN the computer (not reboot), and start it again. You
  should be able to boot to Ubuntu now. If it seems to freeze on the tux
  logo, completely shutdown again and try one more time.

This is a summary of a process described by the detailed how-to process here: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MactelSupportTeam/AppleIntelInstallation#Detailed_How-To


Uninstall Adobe Creative Cloud (CC) from macOS Catalina when uninstaller is 32-bit I've upgraded to macOS Catalina and now noticing some long unused apps that I'm purging from my system.  Adobe Creative Cloud being one of them (well, many of them).

I know there is an Creative Cloud Uninstaller but it is 32-bit so won't run on Catalina. I've downloaded the most recent but after running it quits with errors (and doesn't seem to do a thing).

Is there a list of every CC file that Adobe spewed throughout my filesystem so I can delete them manually?

Fully removing Creative Cloud

Basically, you need to look for files in the following folders:

 /Library/Application Support/Adobe
~/Library/Application Support/Adobe
 /Library/LaunchAgents
~/Library/LaunchAgents
~/Library/Preferences

However, removing CC without breaking other Adobe apps is kinda challenge...

The conservative way

If CC annoys you but you have the space for it (a couple of MB) and you are not willing risking to destroy your Adobe environment. I would recommend to simply disable it from being loaded at boot. To do so:

sudo lauchctl unload -w /Library/LaunchAgents/com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist

To be sure it is done, redoing the command above should return:

/Library/LaunchAgents/com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist: Could not find specified service


How to Assign Static IP Address to iPad? I have been having a problem with the wifi connection on my iPad. After much research online, I have narrowed it down to an ip address lease renewal bug. The iPad drops connection when the ip address lease expires.

The suggested fix is to assign a static ip address for the iPad based on its MAC address and to enter the 'necessary values' in this screen on the iPad:

My question is: how do I assign a static ip to the iPad based on its MAC address? And how to I find out what these values are?

I know that I need to pick an ip address above the 'DHCP range', and I know what this range is. But I don't know how to tell the router to assign a static ip to the iPad and get the relevant numbers to fill in on the above screen. If it makes a difference, my router is a BT home hub 3.

I have very little knowledge of networking and would appreciate any help with this.

Firstly you need to do the assigning via your Router. Normally by reserving an IP address within your IP range for a device. Using its MAC address.

*Without knowing what your Router Model is no one is going to be able to tell you in accurate detail. There is also the issue of being able to do this if you router is configured by your provider and if they give you the options to do this or by pass they standard idiot proof settings and go to Advance settings.

Please provide more info.*

To get you wifi Mac address from your iPad.

Go to Settings->General->About.

There you will see the Wi-Fi Address which is the MAC address.


Restore files after changing disk format from NTFS to HFS+ My friend had an external drive with NTFS format. She started using iOS, so she formatted it to HFS+ using iOS Disk Utilities. She had realized her mistake and unplugged the drive just after formatting.
My question is if it is possible to restore at least part of this removed data? If so, what softwware do you recommend? Should I format this drive again to NTFS format before trying to restore it?

No. You're data is well and truly gone. The reformat will have removed all the file tables so that while the data may well be on the drive blocks there is no way of knowing what block belongs to what file, what the files were called and what the directory tree might look like.

Sorry for the bad news.


How to get back the "Login Window..." icon in the menu bar? Once I've upgraded to Lion I had a new icon on my Menu Bar next to Spotlight. It was an outline of a mugshot similar like one of the Guest account.

When I clicked on that icon I was able to select "Login Window..." which basically locked my Mac.

For some reason this icon is gone. I don't use it frequently so I can't clearly say when it went missing but I'd say within last 10 days probably.

How do I get it back? I have no idea where to re-enable it.

It can be enabled via System Preferences > Users & Groups > [Unlock] > Login Options > Show fast user switching menu as...


How to stop Catalina from continually telling me I need to sign in again? Ugraded to Catalina 10.15. The doc shows a little notification icon above the System Preferences App

Opening the System Preferences shows this

So I click continue which gives me this

So I click continue which brings me here

I enter my password. About 7 seconds later the notification disppears

But 5 seconds after that this appears

Everything seems fine but then 15 seconds later the notification at the top appears again. Have repeated 4 times now. This happens on both my Macs

How do I fix this so it stops asking?

If signing in several times doesn’t resolve this and you can’t or won’t wait it out, signing out completely appears to get this prompt to go away.

iCloud Keychain refuses to setup on Catalina

You do of course have to deal with the side effects of signing out like choosing to delete or keep local copies of iCloud data and then setting up your iCloud preferences and settings.

If you have a good backup, you could also try force quitting the system preferences app before you log out of the account.


Can I charge my Samsung Omnia W with MacBook Pro USB port? Currently, I am using a Samsung Omnia W and mostly I am using my 2013 MacBook Pro's USB port for charging it.

Is it fine for charging the battery in the mobile phone? Sometimes, I have received a 'high power consumption' warning (from USB port) on laptop as warning.

What is the power output of the USB port compared to the mobile's input power for the battery?

Apple computers and displays without USB-C ports will strictly adhere to USB standards for all non-Apple hardware, so you will be limited to 5 V at 500 mA for charging your Samsung phone.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4049

Third party chargers or wall adapters will be needed if your device is requesting or using more than 500 mA since Apple will shut USB ports that exceed the spec and are not Apple to Apple.

Also, this USB over-current condition is safe, expected and like a modern circuit breaker, you unplug the device and reset the circuit except for USB on Mac, the reset happens immediately when you unplug the offending device. Unless your device has a sync only setting, you'll need a special USB cable to sync and have to charge it elsewhere than from your Mac.


Is there an application like Connectify for OS X El Capitan? There is a well known app for Windows named Connectify, used to share a Wi-Fi connection between a computer that only has Wi-Fi with other devices which requests that connection from the computer.

This would be useful for example to connect a Chromecast to a hotel's Wi-Fi that has one of those captive password situations through your laptop which has an interface to let you enter the password.

What's the best alternative for this app on OS X El Capitan?

Please provide the whole procedure.

This is not possible with OS X built-in Internet Sharing.

It is not possible without additional (external, peripheral) hardware.

  Your Mac’s physical Wi-Fi interface can either be connected to a Wi-Fi network or host its own network. It can only do one of these things at a time. This means you can’t be both connected to a Wi-Fi network and sharing that Wi-Fi network’s connection over Wi-Fi. Yes, you may sometimes want to do this — for example, when you’re staying in a hotel or other location that only allows you to connect one device to its Wi-Fi network.

from http://www.howtogeek.com/214053/how-to-turn-your-mac-into-a-wi-fi-hotspot/


How to save the sudo password in AppleScript? I need to use tell Terminal ... to do ... sudo ping ... and I need it to repeat in many windows. It asks for the sudo password every time. Is there any way I can ask the user for the password and then make AppleScript enter it every time the sudo password is required?

A correctly-formed ping packet is typically 56 Bytes in size. I need to send larger ping packets (65507 Bytes) which is only allowed as root.

Instead of temporarily storing your password in an application/AppleScript it might be easier to enable password-less sudo access to ping:

Run sudo visudo to open the sudoers file
Add a line %admin ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /sbin/ping to give all users in the admin group password-less access to sudo ping

Afterwards you can just use sudo ping from Terminal or Applescript.

$ sudo ping -s 65000 askdifferent.com
PING askdifferent.com (104.27.182.101): 65000 data bytes
65008 bytes from 104.27.182.101: icmp_seq=0 ttl=56 time=1250.724 ms
65008 bytes from 104.27.182.101: icmp_seq=1 ttl=56 time=4.107 ms
65008 bytes from 104.27.182.101: icmp_seq=2 ttl=56 time=3.943 ms

This works even without enabling the root account.

PS: Never edit /etc/sudoers directly, always use sudo visudo to do so. visudo applies basic sanity checks on the file when saving, you risk to lock yourself out of sudo if you get things wrong by editing the file directly.


Terminal command that is the same as copy paste in Finder? I'm curious. As far as cp and rsync I see all these different options. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you copy + paste in Finder, lets say from one hard drive to another, it should preserve:

All file attributes (access time, modified time etc.)
All Symbolic Links
Recurse through the directory structure
(Can't think of anything else to preserve)?

So in the end, when you copy paste in Finder, everything will be an exact copy, just located in a different parent directory.

What I'm looking for is a command that mimics exactly what Finder does when you copy + paste. That will answer this question...

If it turns out Finder doesn't do what I think it does please explain, and show the command line equivalents for what Finder actually does... it must be calling a command when you use the GUI - right?

If you want to preserve file attributes, symbolic links, and recursive structure, rsync should suffice:

rsync -a ~/somefolder /Volumes/SomeUSB/

The -a (archive) flag is a shortcut for the following rsync options:

  --recursive recurse into directories
  --links copy symlinks as symlinks
  --perms preserve permissions
  --times preserve times
  --group sets the group of the destination file to be the same as the source file
  --owner sets the owner of the destination file to be the same as the source file (if you're copying to a remote system, the remote SSH user will need to have superuser status for this)
  --devices rsync will transfer character and block device files to the remote system.


Do you need to activate an iPhone 5s with the original carrier sim card before you can factory unlock it? I bought an iPhone 5s and gifted it to a friend abroad without opening it and activating it. I was wondering if it's possible for that friend to unlock the iPhone without having to activate it with the original carrier sim card since he doesn't have that sim, and can't get it in his country.

No. A factory unlock feeds the unlock status to the collective database that iTunes or the device polls when it does the activation.

Once the carrier has confirmed unlock status (or Apple feeds the unlock status to the carriers when you buy an iPhone factory unlocked out of the box) - the next restore event will alert you that the device is now unlocked.

In the case of a third party unlock - again, as long as the device sees that it is whitelisted when activation time happens, it doesn't matter who caused your phone's device ID to be cleared - just that it matches perfectly for the unlock to succeed.


How can I hide persistent Facetime audio call on macOS? When I'm on a Facetime audio call, I'm not able to hide or minimize or move that persistent audio call banner. It covers important UI of may apps so I can't click on anything underneath it.

Solved. Enable Do Not Disturb and the banner will disappear even when on the call.
You can enable Do Not Disturb from the Notification Center. You can access the Notification Center by clicking the Notification Center icon at the top right of the screen. Or by sliding two fingers on the trackpad, from right to left but starting from the outside of the trackpad.


Given son-in-laws old imac, it is still registered under his iCloud and need to switch it to mine. How do I switch iCloud accounts on a gifted imac desktop from son-in-laws to mine. It won't update because it says it is registered to another account. Son in law did give me his iCloud signin info. This is the first Mac I have ever owned so a lot out my experience.

You can sign out of his iCloud and then in with yours (or create your free iCloud account if you don't have one). This can all be done in System Preferences.

Open the  (Apple) menu in the top left corn
Open System Preferences
Click on iCloud
If your son-in-law's account is still signed in, click the "Sign Out" button in the bottom left corner

At this point, the iMac should be signed out of his iCloud account. On this same screen, you can sign in with your iCloud account and turn on/off the various services you would like to use.

Like a commenter mentioned above, another option is to start fresh by erasing the hard drive. If that is the route you'd like to take, this Apple reference can help walk you through it:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904


Unlock iPhone via accessibility button press rather than "Slide to Unlock"? I have an old iPhone with a shattered screen. I use it as a dedicated music player.
I can comfortably tap buttons on the screen. But sliding my finger across the screen causes irritation due to the cracked glass. I'm not really using multitouch on this device, so this is mostly fine. I can tap the buttons I need to, and scroll very carefully.
The only time when this is a problem is unlocking the phone. The phone wants me to "slide to unlock" — over the dangerous broken glass.

Is there a way to imitate a "slide to unlock" without actually sliding?
Using only on-screen buttons or hardware buttons to bring up the passcode entry.
Is there an Accessibility setting alternative to "slide to unlock"? In addition to broken-glass or broken-touch-sensor scenarios, an AssistiveTouch option might also be useful for people who have difficulties touching the screen accurately.
Using TouchID possibly solves this. But is there a solution for iPhones without TouchID enabled or without a Home button?

I upgraded the iPhone to iOS 12.4.8.
Now, when I press the Home button on the lock screen, the Passcode entry screen comes up.
If I remove the device's Passcode, clicking the Home button automatically fully unlocks the phone.
This did not work in the previous version of iOS the phone was using earlier today. So it was added sometime in the iOS 10, 11, or 12 timeframe.


Installing Windows 10 to an External Hard Drive SSD I have a 2016 MacBook Pro, with Touch Bar, running macOS Sierra (10.12.2). I am trying to install Windows 10 to a new external SSD using Boot Camp Assistant.

I have read numerous methods detailing how to complete this installation, including this great thread.

Under macOS Sierra, this seems to be different. For example, when I run Boot Camp Assistant in macOS Sierra, the first screen is the standard introduction screen, and the second screen jumps right into the partition screen. I have no ability to download any software, or even to select my target drive.

This is as far as I have gone because I do not want to modify the partition of my internal drive.

Also, here is a screenshot of Disk Utility where you can see my external SSD currently partitioned and ready. I am wanting to install Windows 10 on the 100GB W10 partition (MS-DOS). The drive is plugged in, but Boot Camp Assistant does not recognize it (or allow me to select it as an install destination).

Any ideas?

Update 1:
I tried to get around this problem by trying to ignore Boot Camp Assistant altogether and just installing WindowsToGo on my SSD.
No luck. I eventually thought the problem might be because the SSD is split in 2 partitions, and maybe Mac doesn't like that. So I wiped the whole drive and installed WindowsToGo on the single partition using this guide. Everything appeared to install fine, but the MacBook will not recognize the drive when booting.

Update 2:
I thought I might be doing something wrong, so I tried using AAOMEI Partition Assistant Standard (which automates the WindowsToGo installation). Same problem. Everything on the drive looks fine, but the Mac won't recognize it as a bootable drive.

It seems to be a bug (or feature) in 10.12.2 that macOS will not recognize an external SSD when booting.

I have installed Win10 via WindowsToGo several months ago on an external SSD, when my macOS version is 10.11. Everything was fine when I upgraded to 10.12 and 10.12.1, but at the stage of 10.12.2, the external disk cannot be recognized anymore during booting.

At current no solution is provided by Apple. I suggest that you roll back to 10.12.1 or earlier versions if you are eager to do the installation.

EDIT: I happened to boot the external SSD successfully several times for 10.12.2 by cutting off all the network connections (wireless and ethernet).


I accidentally unmounted the External Hard Drive and now I want to re-mount it back So I had the external 4TB Seagate Expansion Drive, and at one point I end up selecting unmount in Disk Utility when I tried running first aid.

Now I wish to mount it again, I tried pressing the mount button in Disk Utility. No response.

I tried ejecting, unmounting, and re-mounting the backup drive in Terminal through:

diskutil eject /dev/disk3s2
diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk3s2
diskutil mount /dev/disk3s2

The resulting response is:

Volume timed out while waiting to eject
Unmount of all volumes on disk3 was successful
Volume on disk3s2 timed out waiting to mount

Insofar the hardware is blinking so I guess it's functional. I just like to ask if there are any solutions possible, or should I just click the mount button and wait for it, thank you.

Bonus: Here is the Disk Utility for the external drive insofar

There is a 3rd party app named Mountain that lets you control volumes on you mac. The app has a free trial period and costs around $6.  Also available on App Store.


View thumbnail cache in OS X Is it possible to somehow see the cached files by QuickLook?

I have found that some data is stored in

/private/var/folders/xx/xxxxxxx/x/com.apple.QuickLook.thumbnailcache

In here I found a index.sqlite which lists the path of the file (where it was when viewed) and a fs_id which looks like:

/.file/id=1234567.123

And then I got stuck...

Can I find this cache file somehow and view it ?

thumbnail-cache will be random, it will always have the name com.apple.QuickLook.thumbnailcache. So i think you have already found the right location.

There you find the index.sqlite file is a SQLite database-file containing two tables: thumbnails and files.

The files table contains the name, path, file-identifier, and volume-identifier of each file tracked by the database.

The thumbnails table contains information about each thumbnail, including the file to which it relates (as stored in the files table) and the offset of its data, which is stored as a raw bitmap in the thumbnails.data file.

may this will solve your question, because all of the Infos are from this Page.


Switching from a non-admin user to an admin user to run an app I've recently been faced with a challenge at the library I work at that I need to make a small bit of code in MacOS High Sierra that I can't figure out for the life of me! I have some experience coding in Windows but have never used Macs before and I was really hoping someone here could help me, as its really hard to learn what I need to do with no basic knowledge of AppleScript.

Here is what I need this code to do.

Login into an admin user from a non-admin user at a certain time
Run a script in the admin user account
Script reboots into Windows using bootcamp

I know that I can handle the 'certain time' portion by using the calendar app to run the code that actually does the work, and to boot into windows using this code, but I have been trying for hours to figure out switching users when I know someone experienced could do it in less than 15 minutes. Any help would be extremely appreciated!!!

About the only thing you can do in 15 minutes is let the admin account be open to all the non-admin users and have unlocked your library macs to more admins.

Have a look at BootRunner which solves this problem for the entire lab. There is discount pricing and a free trial. Based on what you’re using to manage the lab - your MDM choice may dictate or handle this for you as well.

https://twocanoes.com/products/mac/boot-runner/


Is there a way to "Find My Friends" from the desktop, rather than iPhone? I would like to access "Find My Friends" from the desktop.

Also, is there an API available? I'd like to write code to monitor a person's location over time.

On MacOS 10.10, "Find My Friends" can be accessed by clicking "Details" when viewing a friend in the Messages application.

You can also share screens via "Details" as well, from the desktop Messages app.


wish to change appleid on new iphone whilst keeping original id on old phone I now have two iphones.  both use same email address and apple id.My wife is to use the old one. I wish to have a new appleid on one of them whilst keeping the original on the other. how do I change the appleid on one without changing it also on the other. ? I am worried that when I change it on the new one it will also change it on the old one.

Unless you wish to spend the next year swapping back & forth between IDs every time there's an update to something, best practise would be to treat it as though you were selling it & wipe it completely, then set it up afresh with a new ID.

See What to do before selling or giving away your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

To get back any apps [though not their data] that were previously used on that phone, investigate Family Sharing which will allow any apps or music purchases to be shared between all 'family' members.


How do I retrieve songs hidden in the iCloud with iTunes 11.0.4? My younger sister bought a few pop songs on my mom's computer (which is not an Apple but she has iTunes on it), and because of the iCloud they showed up on my computer as well. I really can't stand her songs (I've always been a major classic rock fan), so I deleted them from my Mac not knowing that they would also delete them from my mom's computer. Then she and my mom got mad that her songs were deleted, so I looked up how to retrieve them. I went to the iTunes store > Account Information > iTunes in the Cloud, but the only thing there was "Manage Devices" and "iTunes Match." There's no option to view hidden songs in between those two options, like it's supposed to. I just updated iTunes so that I have iTunes 11.0.4, but it still doesn't show up. Is there anything else I can do? I really don't want to re-buy her songs.

1) Open iTunes

2) Go to Store

3) Go to Music Tab

4) On the Right Hand Side should be a link "Purchased" - click that.

5) Then "Recent Purchases"

6) Click on the little cloud icon to redownload what you want.

However you should be able to delete from your computer without affecting music on other computers so I am confused by your description of the problem.


How can I solve false duplicate in Mail.app? I recently switched to Mail.app from Outlook 2011 and have been importing some of my archive messages.  The problem is that for many of the messages, Mail.app seems to think they are duplicates so it only shows one of them.  However they are NOT duplicates, they are not even close.  All the messages are there, I can search in spotlight for them, however if i want to scroll through a folder they will not show up.  I can see certain messages have a '8 Duplicates' or similar written on the top right corner, and when you click that all the messages show, but it is only temproary, as soon as you move to a different folder and then come back all the messages are hidden again.

How can I turn this off?  And any ideas why Mail.app thinks the messages are duplicates?  they are on different dates, different subjects, 100% different as far as i can tell.

Sadly enough, I can't help you on why Apple's Mail think your mails are duplicates.

I have two ideas to fix the problem though.

Rebuild your Mailboxes (Select all your mailboxes, then in the Mailbox menu, choose rebuild). Wait the process to end completely (check nothing is being done in the Activity Window), then restart Mail;
If this does not work, you can always disable the option that groups mails that are related (In the preferences, in Viewing, de-select "Include related messages"). This is not ideal as it disable one of the main features of Lion's Mail, but if it's buggy…


Letter 'c' is randomly inputted by dragging mouse on Mac I'm running Windows 8.1 on Parallels 10.4.0 for Mac. My issue is that every time I double click my mouse there is a 'c' character randomly inputted, which is very annoying. There is a solution from this link talking about the same issue, but I am unable to get this to work.

Has anyone ever had the same problem?

[Update] I found that the same issue exists when I use mathematica on OS X. When I drag click and drag the mouse, there will be an 'c' inputted. I doubt that it may be some software from OS X that caused the problem...

This was caused by a dictionary app called Youdao. I solved it by disabling the features named "Screen Translation 屏幕取词" & "Selected Translation 划词翻译" of YoudaoDict.


OS X tool to convert MPEG-TS into MPEG-PS I have a cable tv settop box capable of recording the MPEG-TS bit stream on to a USB-drive similar to what I can do with EyeTV on my Mac.

Unfortunately I have found that XBMC and VLC are the only OS X tools which can cope with these files, and I would like to have something simple which can convert this into a normal MPEG-PS file compatible with QuickTime for further processing.   I am well versed in Terminal.app, and can compile from source.

What should I use for this?

You can probably compile your own ffmpeg then use:

ffmpeg -i input.ts -vcodec copy -acodec copy output.mpg

http://jungels.net/articles/ffmpeg-howto.html


How do I FORCE restart a iPhone 4s with a broken sleep/wake button AND notification area stuck midway! Here are the details

MY iphone 4s have a broken sleep/wake button!

The notification area is stuck midway and I can't do anything!
I have assistive touch
I have iTunes
Phone have no passcode and I can use the Control Center and Siri

I need to force restart!

Please help!

So Siri can open apps, but Notification Center is still there?

I'd guess you could try connecting to iTunes, make a backup, and restore from that backup over iTunes. Or you could use iTunes to install an iOS update if you aren't on the latest software. That'd force a restart but it might be overkill. You could also try draining the battery.

If the sleep button is broken, doesn't that bother you that you have to just wait for the screen to shut when you're finished or want it off? Maybe it's time for an upgrade.


If I turn off my Find My iPhone will it send a notification to the account holder? If I turn off Find My iPhone on my iPhone 5 does it send any notification to the email address attached to the apple id or send a notification of any kind?

Yes, disabling Find My iPhone on a device with an active Find My iPhone activation state will send an email to the email on file for the Apple ID that the iCloud account is tied to.


Reset AFP permissions after uninstalling Mavericks Server? I just uninstalled Mavericks Server by dragging it to the trash and I'm finding that my AFP server no longer has access to serve files from the root of each drive.  Can anyone help restore the default sharing permissions?

You may be able to configure the AFP parameter admin31GetsSp, to allow administrators to mount entire volumes through AFP by performing this Terminal command:

sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.AppleFileServer admin31GetsSp -bool false

It is most likely necessary to stop and start AFP services after making this change.


Use Magic Trackpad 2 with Google Chrome? I was wondering if there's a way to take advantage of the gestures of my new Magic Trackpad 2 while using Google Chrome on OS X El Capitan.

The force touch is completely useless there, and Chrome is the app I use most of the time when I'm at my desk :(

Thanks.

Chromium is working on :

https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=550484

https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=481890

  UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_10_4)
  AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/44.0.2376.0
  Safari/537.36

  Steps to reproduce the problem:
  1. Use a Macbook Pro or Macbook (2015) with an Apple Force Touch Trackpad
  2. Click on a hyperlink, and push down (i.e. to trigger the second link)

  What is the expected behavior? Apple has recently introduced new
  trackpads on their machines that have multiple levels of "click":

  https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT204352

  In Safari, when you click hard (Force Click) on a linked page, a popup
  window will appear, showing a preview of the hyperlinked page.

  When you Force Click on a link image, the image will appear in a
  popup.


Is picture location info retained when I share a photo? When I send a picture to a friend (e.g. via Messages, Mail, or Tweet), is the location information in that photo preserved? In other words, can they see where I took that photo?

What about when I use 3rd party apps such as Facebook?

Yes.
This is a feature usually only offered by professional photo software. Removing metadata (like EXIF or GPS) requires an additional step by the one that wants to share his/her photograph.
Aperture for example offers to export picture as either an original or a version. When you choose to export a version the  meta- and gps-data is removed from the original.
I know from experience that sharing via the following options does not remove these and from pictures:

Mail for OS X
Tweetdeck for OS X
Uploading via a web browser

Here's what the metadata of an export as original look like:

Here's what the metadata of an export as version by Aperture look like. This is an exported version of the same original. The data will differ depending on the export options for a version.


Macports: How can I install ports using only versions from a date in the past? Two years ago, I used Macports to install a copy of Docker Machine onto a computer running OS X 10.9 "Mavericks". All I had to do was type sudo port install Docker-machine, and Macports automatically pulled down and compiled everything I needed.
As of August 2020, this doesn't work on Mavericks due to a bug in the latest versions of Go and/or Macports's Legacy Support framework. Since Mavericks is very old, this breakage is understandable†. However, Docker Machine did work as of two years ago, and I wouldn't mind using an older version.
Using a clean Macports prefix, how can I install ports using only software that existed as of a certain date in the past? I do not want to merely install an older version of Docker Machine‡; I want to install an older version of Docker Machine and every port that Docker Machine depends on, such as Go and Legacy Support.
On Debian, this would be super easy; I'd just edit sources.list to point to a snapshot. How can I do something similar in Macports? The full Macports project history is tracked in Git, so I'm pretty sure it's possible.

† I'm delighted that Macports supports Mavericks at all. With Homebrew I would be completely SOL.
‡ Because I tried that, and it doesn't work. Which isn't particularly surprising given how ports and their dependencies are interconnected. For reference, the procedure for installing an older version of a single package is documented here.

Thank you to Lothar Haeger on the Macports mailing list for giving me the key hint I needed. What I had to do was:

Checkout a local copy of the Macports Port Tree from Github. cd ~; git clone https://github.com/macports/macports-ports

Reset my local port tree to an earlier point in time. cd macports-ports; git reset --hard commit-hash-from-2018

Generate a port index for my local port tree: portindex

Tell Macports to use my local port tree in place of the official online one. To do this, I opened macports's sources.conf (generally in /opt/local/etc/macports/) in a text editor, commented out the default URL at the bottom of the file, and added after it: file:///Users/my-user-name/macports-ports [default]


Problem with ssh agent I'm having a problem using ssh agent to make sure I don't have to enter a password each time a certain program uses my id_rsa private key.

I did ssh-add -K ~/.ssh/id_rsa and it seemed to add an entry to my keychain

But it continues to prompt me.  When I go into keychain under access control, it looks like maybe it's because it's not set

Double check your permissions in those files, if they are not like this, it won’t work:

-rw-------  1 martin  staff   1675 Jul 27  2009 id_rsa
-rw-r--r--  1 martin  staff    403 Jul 27  2009 id_rsa.pub

UPDATE:
If you see that the files have an @, that means they have “extended attributes”.

You can see what they are by issuing:

xattr -l <filename>


How do I permanently keep a network share in my Finder favorites? I added one of my network shares to my favorites. Whenever I lose connection to that share it gets removed from my favorites. How do I prevent this from happening?

If you want to keep a Mac connected to a network drive, even after restarting, the easiest way to do this is to follow two major steps:

First Mounting the Windows Share

When you are in Finder you can click Go and Connect to Server or you can type Command + K to get to the same menu.

In Server Address you will need to put the location of your Windows share with this format smb://server/share where the server is the name or IP address of your Windows machine and share is going to be the folder or drive you to want to mount.

If your Windows share requires authentication it will ask you for that info here.

Now if you have Connected Servers showing on your desktop, it will show up on your desktop and in Finder.

And last, Making the Share Mount at Login

Follow the next step.

Hit the Apple menu, then System Preferences > Users & Groups
From here, select Login Items and click + to add a new item
Find your network drive and click Add, then close the window

In another hand, you can try this too

If it has an IP#, supports AFP and user authentication... maybe try this AppleScript as a start ( Create this with Script Editor ). Replace username, password, and IP with your info:

try

  mount volume "afp://username:password@ip_address/sharename"

end try

Save the script as an application

  File -> Save As -> File Format -> Application

Then go to

Sys Prefs -> Accounts -> Login Items

and add that application to your login items as shared on the first solution with the screenshot.


How to save as into a customized destination on macOS? When I try to saveAs a file on macOS (like in a browser such as Safari or Chrome), the only destinations I see are "devices", "favorites" or "recent places". However, how to save in a different location?
Is there a short key to go inside folders? Or what is the trick?

By default the Save As sheet is in, for the lack of the proper term, compact view. To expand the sheet click the down arrow to the right of the Save As: text box (Export As: in Safari)

Clicking the down arrow, the one the red arrow is pointing to, opens up the sheet showing additional controls, as in the image below


Python 3.4 + installed, python program that requires it still not running? I am trying to run a python program, I installed python, 3.5 but it still says.

requires Python 3.4 or newer.

When ever I try and start it, am I doing something wrong? I installed python via the package downloaded from the python website

The issue is that your $PATH environment variable finds Apple's python 2.7 before the python.org one in /usr/local/bin

One way is to run the script as /usr/local/bin/python

Or run as python3

Another is to alter your path so /usr/local/bin is before /usr/bin . This has bee described in many questions


I deleted my Bootcamp partition but can't resize my OS X partition I didn't realize this would cause issues, but I used Disk Utility to delete my Bootcamp partition and then tried to resize my main partition to fill the disk. This causes an error and I searched for answers only to be told,

  You're going to have to reinstall Mac OS X (that's the only solution).

  You should have removed the Boot Camp partition in the Boot Camp Assistant.

What?? I Didn't see any warning in Disk Utility.

  If you delete this Bootcamp partition you may not be able to boot Windows anymore.

I saw this but figured it was ok -- I didn't want to boot Windows anymore, I wanted to delete it.  So now what am I supposed to do?

Quick fix:  Fake Bootcamp.

"I partitioned the free space (that OS X couldn't use) as MS-DOS, Bootcamp Assistant thought it was Windows, and was able to remove this MS-DOS partition and restore Mac OS to a single partition."

This is the easiest solution, so try that first.

No luck?  Long fix:

In my case, I couldn't get Disk Utility to create the partition.

I tried using gpt to recreate the partition, but it wouldn't write to the GPT while any of the partitions were mounted.  But since it's my boot partition we're talking about, the disk was in use, because one of the partitions (my boot partition!) is mounted.  So we need to boot from not-this-disk, and unmount all the partitions on the disk, and then use gpt.

Internet Recovery

Boot to Internet Recovery  (hold Cmd+Opt+R during startup), so that the disk will not be in use.  If your machine is too old for Internet Recovery, you should be able to boot from another disk (not another partition) and get the same result.  Note: in this case that the disk numbers (/dev/disk0) may be different for you.

Start Internet Recovery, and go to Utilities -> Terminal.

-bash-3.2# gpt show /dev/disk0

This is the space I want to reclaim.

As a sanity check, take the size (second column), multiply it by 512, and divide by a billion.  The result should match the size of your former Bootcamp partition in GB.

Example: 58593759 * 512 / 1,000,000,000 = 30 GB

Take the start position (first column), that's where we'll tell gpt to make the new partition, with

gpt add -b <start position> -t windows /dev/disk0

In my case, you can see that the start position is 431640960.  You can and should select/Copy/Paste in your own Terminal to get this number copied correctly.

Example: -bash-3.2# gpt add -b 431640960 -t windows /dev/disk0

/dev/disk0s4 added

Finally!

If you got an error No such file or directory, read the next section, and then come back here and try again.

Assuming you got the disk added ok, reboot and use Disk Utility to erase the new partition as MS-DOS.  Run Bootcamp assistant and choose Remove Windows 7.

  Bootcamp has been removed and your disk has been restored to a single volume.

And all it took was my whole day.

unable to open device '/dev/disk0': No such file or directory

When you use the gpt add command, you might get the error

  unable to open device '/dev/disk0': No such file or directory

This message is very confusing.  We just read that device earlier with gpt show.
This message really means "device is in use".

OS X Recovery may have mounted it, and you have to unmount it.  Use the mount command to find your mounted partition and umount it.

-bash-3.2# mount

will produce a huge list of partitions:

/dev/disk2s3 on /
devfs on /dev
/dev/disk3 on /Volumes
/dev/disk4 on /private/var/tmp
/dev/disk5 on /private/var/run
/dev/disk6 on /System/Installation
/dev/disk7 on /private/var/db
/dev/disk8 on /private/var/folders
/dev/disk9 on /private/var/root/Library
/dev/disk10 on /Library/ColorSync/Profiles/Displays
/dev/disk11 on /Library/Preferences
/dev/disk12 on /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration
/dev/disk13 on /Library/Keychains
/dev/disk1 /Volumes/Macintosh HD  <--- unmount this /Volumes/<YourDisk>

-bash-3.2# umount /dev/disk1

It will periodically be remounted automatically, so try to hurry or you'll have to unmount it again.


iPad mini won't turn on/charge I have had my iPad mini for a long time, and it's been having issues for the past year. Whenever I let it completely loose power, it takes forever to actually turn back on. When I have it plugged in, it will power back on and show the apple logo on the white screen, and then shut back off. It does this a few times (like 5 or 6 times) before actually powering all the way on. Does anyone know what's going on or how to fix it?

Unless I'm missing something, this is expected behaviour when your iPad battery is extremely low. Basically, the battery will need a certain amount of charge to allow your iPad to switch on, and a certain amount of charge to effectively boot up.

If your iPad mini works fine otherwise, then it's really probably just a case of not letting it get too low before placing it on charge.

Also, you need to ensure that you're connecting it to its original charger, or to a charger providing enough current to charge the iPad effectively. In the absence of doing this you may find the iPad takes a lot longer to charge before being able to boot it up again.

Finally, as you've had your iPad mini for a long time, the battery may have exceeded its expected charge cycle count. When this happens it won't maintain a charge for as long as you're used to and it will take a lot longer before it can reach a state of charge needed to work properly. Eventually, it will die altogether (although if it has enough charge then you can effectively use it while it's connected to a power source - but if it loses that state of charge, then even having it connected to a power source may not suffice).


External SSHD has Mac OS X installed by another mac. Can I use that SSHD on my Mac? There was an external SSHD that had MAC OS X installed on it through Internet Recovery by using another Macintosh with a USB 3.0 to Sata II cable. Is there some sort of serial number that is tied to that installation of Mac OS X on the external SSHD? Or can I actually boot that external SSHD on another Macintosh and it would be fine?

There is no serial number (like a Windows 7/8/10 product key) tied to the OS X installation. If you didn't configure iCloud/iTunes accounts while setting up the system it's almost plain vanilla.

But installing OS X in Internet Recovery Mode will install the system the Mac originally was shipped with. Moving the disk with this system to a newer Mac - which usually relies on a newer OS X version - will probably fail to boot.

Usually newer Mac contain newer or additional hardware. The older system usually doesn't ship with the newer or additional drivers needed.

Example:

The iMac Late 2011 (Mac12,1) was shipped with OS X 10.7.2. The iMac Late 2013 (Mac14,2) was shipped with OS X 10.8.4. Attaching the external disk to the iMac Late 2011 and using IRM's Restore OS X will install 10.7.x on it. The same disk attached to the iMac Late 2013 will probably fail to boot because the system is too old.


iTunes FileSharing Two-Way? I use iTunes File Sharing (on Windows) to share a password file with an iOS app KeePassMini.

I am not sure if this is a one-time thing or if iTunes copies the files whenever it changes.

Ideally, iTunes would copy the file back from the device if it was changed on the device and copy it again to the device if the file was changed on the client.

In case of a conflict either the older file should be overwritten, or the action set that always the device "wins". Or alternatively just ask the user.

The iTunes File Sharing feature was the first option Apple supplied to allow manual transferring of files to installed 3rd party iOS apps, which support that feature.  The main reason was (and still is) to put documents into an app or get them out again.

The handling of uploaded (imported) files is wholly controlled by the app allowing this feature.

As a comparison:

Numbers (by Apple):

Allows files to be uploaded
Uploaded documents will be moved to a place inside the app outside the reach of iTunes File Sharing, but can be placed back for retrieval (e.g. after having worked on them on the go)

TeamSpeak (by TeamSpeak Systems GmbH):

Allows to upload identities to be used with servers you like to connect to
Once placed in there, the file will be read and worked on upon start of the app and removed from the upload location, disallowing any identities to be extracted

Since this feature was not meant to synchronize files from inside the app with versions outside the app (e.g. on the computer), there is no synchronization databank holding records of file information in order to determine which is newer.

Furthermore, iTunes is limited on what one can do with a script to automate processes.  Utilizing the File Sharing feature is not among the scriptable parts of iTunes.

Due to the lack of features, many app developers (including Apple) expanded to use different means to transfer files and even synchronize them.  Many apps, if they do not use SMB, AFP or WebDAV (HTTP), use their own propriety server system to synchronize across devices.

With the introduction of iCloud, Apple allows even 3rd party apps to sync in-app content.  This feature needs to be supported by the app itself to make use of it.


Cannot Connect to Site with Wi-Fi But Can on 3G At some point earlier today, I lost the ability to connect to a site via my wireless network, powered by an Airport Express.

When I try to load the page in Chrome 23 and Safari 6.0.2 on a MacBook Air and an iMac, I get their generic "Chrome Cannot Connect" and "Safari Can't Open the Page" messages.

I get the same errors on an iPad and iPhone when connected to the wireless network. However, if I disable Wi-Fi on my iPhone and try to access the site using the AT&T 3G network.

If I disable Wi-Fi on my iPhone and try to access those sites using the AT&T 3G network.

To try to resolve this, I have shut down and restarted all devices (OS X and iOS) and then unplugged my cable modem and my Airport Express for 20+ plus minutes.

Any other thoughts?

Turns out the issue was indeed not with my system but with my hosting company. I'm not completely clear on how it happened, but my IP address found it's way on a blacklist, the result of a failed SSH login attempt. Though, to the best of my knowledge, I had not tried any sort of SSH login.


Does anyone know what MacBook is that? I found this at eBay. I thought I know all MacBook Air models but never seen one like this. It looks pretty fakey to me.
Am I wrong?

The only MacBook models that hid the IO ports behind a door was the 1st gen MacBook Air design:

MacBookAir1,1, aka MacBook Air (original) (2008, no longer listed on Apple's site)
MacBookAir2,1, aka MacBook Air (Mid 2009) (tech specs)

https://www.macstories.net/mac/the-macbook-air-a-decades-worth-of-legacy/

In 2010, the ports were moved to the side of the laptop:

https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/macbook-air-13in-late-2010


Slow Computer Question I use a Mid-2011 iMac 21.5" (with 4 users on it).

I have noticed that the computer is runs quite slow when I am the only one logged in. The only applications I typically have open at once are Xcode, Safari and occasionally some other applications such as Reminders and notes.

When I checked Activity monitor to see how much RAM it was using, I noticed it said it had used 3.97-3.99 out of the 4 GB of ram that it has (See Screenshot).

here is the cpu graph:

I also ran EtreCheck as requested, however I was not expierencing the slowness as much when I ran it:

https://gist.github.com/Computer-Whiz123/e86e014e239b87b367df

I will upload one when I experience slowness...

I am considering buying extra RAM but I wanted to make sure that this was actually the cause of the problem before investing in $100 RAM chips.

Would upgrading the RAM from 4 GB to maybe 8 or 16 GB fix the issue? If not, what would fix the issue? Is there anything else that needs fixing?

Nothing wrong with your Memory, but if you wish to upgrade do so.

The slow computer has other reason, so we need to see your full activity monitor to help you.

Here is a sample of my memory (at about same levels as yours) without slow computer part.


iOS undo text field clear (x) Seemingly fairly regularly, I find myself clicking on the X in a circle to the right of a text field in an iOS app on my iPad, instead of just placing the cursor next to the final character in the text field. Extremely annoying.

Is there a global undo operation that I just can't find through google, or at least one for the factory provided "Clock" app, which I seem to have the most of this type of problem with?

The global undo guesture is to shake the device.


disable iMessage on one or more devices but not all I have an iMac, iPad, a MacBook Air, and an iPhone.
I want iMessages to work only on the iPhone.  How can that be accomplished?

On the Macs, in Messages.app, go to the menu Messages > Preferences, select the Accounts tab, select your Apple ID in the column on the left (if it is there) and press the '-' button to remove it.

On the iPad, go to Settings, Messages, and turn off the iMessage switch there.


macOS error: The application is not open anymore I'm attempting to launch a macOS application.
When I select the file from Applications, or double-click the app's icon, I get the alert message:

The application "APP_NAME.app" is not open anymore.

I know it's not open... I want to launch the app!
What is the meaning of this error? How can I launch the application?

I encounter this regularly. Usually I can track it down to the application immediately crashing - but Finder/the taskbar do not get notified and no way to remedy.
Unfortunately there is no easy fix.
What usually works is:

In most cases I encounter it is solved by deleting/reinstalling the app.
Quite often it helps to reboot and try again.

I know - both approaches are very disappointing for 2021.
Two rather sophisticated tips - that require some understanding and may leave you with a system that will not work without reboot(!) - and unfortunately rarely help are:

You can try to use "Activity Monitor" to assure the app and related processes are really shut down, and try again after this.
to launch an app from command line works  more often - but if it works it will leave you with a second symbol for the app in the dock - or in case of error might give a little more info what is going on.


search for file extensions with ~ in finder i ran a script to change a tiff image, now it created the new image but kept the original with the file extension ".tif~".  Is there any way to search for all of the files in Finder or in another way with the .tif~ extension to remove them all?

I tried searching for system files and including invisible files in the search.

In Finder hit Cmd+F to open the Spotlight interface (without requiring a string to search for).
Hit the search parameter dropdown (by default "Kind"), select Name.
Select 'matches' in next dropdown.
Type tif~ in the text box.

You could select Kind → Other and insert tif~, but does not work that way.

Additionally,  you could search for it on the Terminal type the following in your home directory:

find . -name "*.tif~"


In Mail.app 6.0, is there a way to drag-select parts of message bodies? In Mail.app 6.0 with 10.8 Mountain Lion, Apple has chosen to make it impossible to drag-select text in a message that has been sent or received. In previous versions, you could do as you can with every other single program that handles user-created text anywhere in the operating system (!!!) and put your cursor anywhere in the message, drag to highlight the text you want, and then, voilà, there'd you have a discrete selection of text that you could, say, copy.

Now, in Mail.app 6.0, when you try this in the body of a sent or received message, you instead get a little mail icon. Mail.app assumes you want to drag the whole message somewhere else! This is highly counterintuitive program behavior.

It is impossible to drag-select text in a sent or received mail message, as far as I can tell with the settings Mail.app currently has. The only approximation is to double-click on a word (which selects it; triple-click will select a sentence), then hold the shift key, then click on the end of the text you want to select, then copy or whatever as you like. But even with this method it is impossible to select just a part of a word.

How can I revert Mail.app 6.0 to the proper drag-select behavior that works absolutely everywhere else on the system? The way Mail.app 6.0 behaves for this is counter to my 24 years of history with the various Mac OSes.

UPDATE: It seems to have resolved itself. I am not sure what did it but now it behaves as it should.

I had the same issue after upgrade to 10.8, had some old emails sitting open that I had minimized, closed all of them and then quit Mail. After restarting the issue went away, had previously tried to quit/restart/change layout with no luck.


Any Thunderbolt docks compatible with 4K at 60Hz? I just got an Asus PB287 4K display.
I was hoping to use it with the Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock.

The display works fine when connected directly to my 2014 rMBP, but with the dock it only gives a 30Hz refresh rate.

I spoke to Belkin and they said this was a known issue and would not work the the newer Thunderbolt 2 Express dock, either.

Is there any Thunderbolt dock that will work with 60Hz refresh and a 4K monitor?

I have an AMH 399U capable of 3840x2160@60Hz with its DisplayPort 1.2 input.

If I connect my AMH 399U to a Thunderbolt port on my Elgato Thunderbolt 2 Dock, with a DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort cable, I can then connect the other Thunderbolt Port on the dock to either my iMac15,1 (Retina iMac) or my MacBookPro11,3 (15" Retina MacBook Pro), and I get 3840x2160@60Hz on the AMH 399U, with either Mac, the same resolution and refresh rate that I get if I connect the Mini DisplayPort end of the cable directly to a Thunderbolt port on either mac.

I bought both the monitor and the dock on Amazon. They can be seen at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PAPMSLE and http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XTVGM7C


Dual boot Ubuntu 14.04 on a MacBook Pro so after a few hours of Google searching and too many headaches with a broken GPT, I've turned here.

I have a 2012 MacBook Pro (9,2) that I want to dualboot OS X 10.9 and Ubuntu 14.04 on. I've read through all the guides, whether they say to use a Hybrid MBR or create several unnecessary partitions or just use rEFIt/rEFInd, and I'm not sure the majority of the steps involved are necessary. From what I understand, Ubuntu/GRUB2 has supported EFI booting for a long time, and the OS X EFI by default allows for booting from any EFI-enabled partition it finds (as can be seen by burning any Linux live USB with the correct bootx64.efi file). My question is, why is it that every guide available says to use things like rEFInd or an unnecessary partitioning scheme? It seems like all I'd need to do is leave some space for Ubuntu, install it with its own efi boot partition (a normal thing regardless of the computer one is installing it on) and just load it like any other OS.

Feel free to call me out on being a moron, or to confirm my theory. Thanks!

Ubuntu has instructions for most macbook pro's.  Depending on which version of the macbook pro you have you may not need rEFInd:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MacBookPro


Time Machine fails shortly after starting to prepare backup I have a problem with the Time Machine backup: 1-2 mins after starting the process (Backup is being prepared), it stops.
Console logs:

Backup failed (304: BACKUP_FAILED_PREFLIGHT_STAGE_SNAPSHOT_DIFFING)
Failed to collect events for "Macintosh SSD - Daten" (device:
/dev/disk1s1 mount: '/System/Volumes/Data' fsUUID:
37BA4BE5-ACF2-37EE-81E7-41B277B3CACE eventDBUUID:
E0435E75-595E-4699-A798-47ADB7F3E85A), error Error
Domain=com.apple.backupd.ErrorDomain Code=304 "(null)"
Failed to enumerate snapshot diffs, error: Error
Domain=NSPOSIXErrorDomain Code=83 "Device error"

I switched already the HDD, it runs for 2-3 weeks and then I get the same error.
Anybody can help?

For others who may read, the following will give you 24 hours of Time Machine logs...
log show --style syslog --last 24h --predicate 'senderImagePath contains[cd] "TimeMachine"' --info

I stumbled across your post because I've gotten the same thing, which is not the first time.  Apple has broken Time Machine in previous OS updates as well.  I'll bet this started when you upgraded to 11.3, as I did.
I see other errors which probably give more info...
localhost backupd[1175]: (TimeMachine) [com.apple.TimeMachine:EventCollection] Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: Macintosh HD - Data ...

and also...
localhost backupd[1175]: (TimeMachine) [com.apple.TimeMachine:EventCollection] Failed to enumerate snapshot diffs, error: Error Domain=NSPOSIXErrorDomain Code=22 "Invalid argument"

localhost backupd[1175]: (TimeMachine) [com.apple.TimeMachine:EventCollection] Failed to collect events for "Macintosh HD - Data" (device: /dev/disk1s2 mount: '/System/Volumes/Data' fsUUID: ... : ...), error Error Domain=com.apple.backupd.ErrorDomain Code=304 "(null)" UserInfo={FailedStrategy=32}

localhost backupd[1175]: (TimeMachine) [com.apple.TimeMachine:General] Backup failed (304: BACKUP_FAILED_PREFLIGHT_STAGE_SNAPSHOT_DIFFING)

I would guess our friends at Apple are learning the hard way as others have done that UUIDs are a bad means of storing a unique ID, because they wind up changing for unknown reasons and then your thing is broken.
In any case, the last in the string of failures for me was an invalid excluded directory...
localhost com.apple.prefs.backup.remoteservice[37280]: (TimeMachine) [com.apple.TimeMachine:General] Failed to size '/Users/robertclayton/VirtualBox VMs', error: -43

I would classify this as a bug as well, since a directory being excluded doesn't need to be "sized," after all I told it to exclude the folder there's no reason for the OS to want to know how big it is.
So if you've restored a backup recently, check and see if you have excluded folders in your Time Machine settings that are no longer present. If you do, on 11.3, apparently that causes the backup process to fail. After I removed the non-existent excluded folder mine started back up again normally.


Catalina 10.15.5 Bluetooth (Keyboard) Connection Not Working MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015)
Catalina 10.15.5 update (last night when I went to bed)
Bluetooth: 7.0.5f6
Firmware Version: v150 c9318 (from About Thus Mac; System
Report;Hardware; Bluetooth).

This morning, 2009  Wireless Keyboard not connecting, not even seen.

Also posted with another user at Apple Communities here.

What have you already tried to fix this? Does the keyboard connect to any other device? Can the MBA connect to any other BT device? Have you performed the usual troubleshooting steps of reboot and/or reset SMC? – fsb Jun 3 at 16:23

Thanks fsb the SMC reset did the trick.


How to download Avi and VLC I downloaded VLC to enable me to open an AVI file.
It didn't work.

So, I have two questions.

Is there another way to open AVI on my mac and how do I trash VLC from my computer?
Please keep it simple because so am I ;)

First off, don't download AVI's of you can help it. Look for MKV's or MP4's.

Depending on the format of the video in the AVI you may be able to play it with the Perian plugin for QuickTime.

VLC is a good player and will play MKV and MP4 files, but if you still want to remove it you can just drag it to the trash. If you want to remove all of its corresponding files then download a free app called AppCleaner and use that to remove it.