How to mount and name a volume if it's not already mounted with a startup script I'm trying to do something I thought would be simple, but after researching it I feel like I'm half way towards shaving a yak, so I'm asking for advice. I want to create a script that lets me and my colleagues do normal spolight searches on a shared drive, which from research seems to not be easy and is best solved with a script that:

Runs on startup (it sounds like the simplest way to do this is to make shell scripts launch on startup using Automator)
Checks if a volume of a certain name is mounted (a directory on an smb shared drive on an active directory Windows-based shared company drive)
If it's not, mounts it to that specific name
Then, index it in spotlight, using its volume name. I think I've got this part covered: mdutil /Volumes/name -i on, apparently

The bolded parts are the parts I'm having trouble with.

Particular problems I'm having:

I've found an AppleScript way to mount a drive if it's not already mounted - check name of every disk then mount volume "path://to/volume" - but it doesn't allow me to specify the name, and I'm cautious about how consistent the Mac will auto-name a path on a non-Mac shared drive. I want to set the volume name so I can refer to it when telling Spotlight which volume to index, which seems to be impossible in AppleScript?
I've found a shell script way to mount a drive to a specific volume, but I read (can't find the source now, am looking for it) that the volume has to already exist, which confuses me (do I need to create an empty volume? I don't quite understand what an empty volume would be); and I can't see how to check that it hasn't already auto-mounted.

My level of knowledge of Mac volumes etc is quite low, so I'm aware I may have misunderstood any of the above.

OS X follows these steps when mounting a drive: It creates a raw device in /dev/ (for local disks only), it creates a folder in /Volumes/, then it mounts the drive to that folder it just created. That folder creation step is probably what you read. The shell script you linked is missing the following command:

mkdir /Volumes/somenetworkdir

Then the command you linked will work, with the proper parameters

mount -t smbfs -o username=RemoteUser //REMOTEHOST/directory /Volumes/somenetworkdir


MacBook Pro 2017 - suspicious network settings I don't understand I've been looking at my network preferences and I am concerned that these settings mean someone may be spying on me.

Can someone explain what proxies are and what does bypass proxy mean? And, should I be concerned about the Passive FTP Mode that is enabled?

I don't know what to look for or what are red flag as far as the entries for hosts and domains.

Your screenshot doesn't indicate anything suspicious.

Most Macs will, by default, have the Use Passive FTP Mode (PASV) checkbox selected, so you need not be concerned about this.

In addition, most Macs will also have entries like yours in the Bypass proxy settings for these Hosts & Domains field.

In a nutshell, if your computer is connected to a network that has a firewall1 in place, you may need to specify proxy servers2 and/or select the Use Passive FTP Mode (PASV) checkbox to access some Internet sites.

1 A 'firewall' is designed to protect computers from unwanted/unauthorised network/Internet connections

2 A proxy server is a computer on a local network that serves as a 'middle man' between users and the Internet. It is designed to increase security and provide other administrative functions.


How to merge two partitions on external hard drive when the "partition" option is greyed out? I have an external hard drive that is connected to my computer by a SATA/eSATA cable. Diskutility recognizes the hard drive as two separate drives as shown in the following two images:

I can't seem to merge the two partitions (MacBackup & MacBackup2) together because the "Partition" option is greyed out. How do I fix this?

To elaborate the answer by @klanomath this is what you must do step-by-step:

get the disk identifier for both disks you want to merge by "diskutil list [disk name]". Choose any of the two disk names, like:

 diskutil list MacBackup

This returns something like

   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:     FDisk_partition_scheme                        *320.1 GB   disk3
   1:                 DOS_FAT_32 MULTIMEDIA              160.0 GB   disk3s1
   2:                  Apple_HFS TIMEMACHINE             160.0 GB   disk3s2

In the IDENTIFIER column, get the disk identifiers for both disks, here: disk3s1 and disk3s2

merge the two disk partitions by "mergePartitions  [format] [new disk name][disk identifier 1]  [disk identifier 2]". If you want to use the "MacBackup3", you would then enter:

diskutil mergePartitions JHFS+ MyMedia disk3s1 disk3s2

The first disk [disk identifier 1] is the only one that diskutil tries to preserve the data for. If it can't because the disk has no resizable data format, it will give a warning message:

The chosen disk does not support resizing.
Do you wish to format instead? (y/N)

Caution! If you enter "y", your data on [disk identifier 1] will be deleted. This is the last chance to abort by "N". If you have backed up the data, you can go on with "y" - your disk partitions will be merged.


How do I set it up so when my child uses iMessage I can see the messages? My daughter has an iPod and I have an iPad.  We both have separate Apple IDs.  How can I see her text message history on my iPad along with my own message history? If I change the Apple ID on my iPad between my ID and my child's, will the iMessage history show up each time I switch IDs on my iPad?

On your iPad, go to Settings > Messages > Send and Receive > Add Another Email and enter her email address. This will generate a confirmation email to your daughter's address, if her email hasn't been used with this Apple ID before. She needs to click the link in that email for you to see her messages.


High Sierra- Partition error I have boot camped the Mac to have windows. I had an issue so deleted windows during setup to reinstall on the partition. In this process I think I have lost my recovery for Mac as its just all fallen apart from there.

So gone into disk utility to delete the partition to restart it now I am not seeing the partition at all and when I try to resize the Mac one its not allowing me too as it comes with an error that it cannot find the other partition that windows was on.

Now I tried to do a full reset using command R and do the internet one but I get stuck on the apple sign after that so have to restart. If I was to boot the Mac to single mode using command s it takes me to the black screen no bootable device found please insert disk well something like that. Even tried to do clean install of windows but it gets to partition bit it says that partition is formatted in a different way it won't work on it.

When I open finder under devices I have remove disc so I am assuming this is the partition that I've screwed up. I may have overlooked something but guys what can I do?

Have you tried all startup commands to try to get to the recovery screen? One of these should get you out of the black screen.

Command+R

Command+Option+R

Command+Shift+Option+R

Or

Just the option Key

Hopefully you will get into recovery mode to use terminal.
- Open Terminal and type the following command (without quotes) “diskutil list”

-Terminal should give you a breakdown of the disks and volumes that are currently on your Mac that you may not see in disk utility.

Anyway you can post the picture of diskutil list?

Also what Mac version do you have?


I am using Yosemite - but my Mail is v 8 - how can I upgrade Mail? I want to use an auto configure for my new email address - but it says it can't do it automatically because my email program isn't a v10+.  What is the problem - is there a Mail upgrade??

There is no higher version than 8 for Apple's Mail app.

Maybe is your auto configure talking about Microsoft Outlook version which is higher than 10.


How to change size of ALL icons/folders in Finder? I only know about this:

defaults write com.apple.finder DesktopViewOptions -dict IconSize -integer 188x188px.; killall Finder’

But it’s only for the Desktop…

Open a Finder window in Icon mode (⌘1), then click Show View Options (in the View menu, or ⌘J). Make the changes you want, then click the Use as Defaults button at the bottom of the panel to make it stick for all folders.


Selecting correct offline update file for iPad 2 I can't download from the update of my iPad 2 through iTunes. My internet connection is unstable. iTunes is giving me a hard time.

So, I googled around a bit and stumbled on this website, iClarified which allows me to download the *.ipsw files, with resume capability. Ok, found it.

Please let make some noise if I shouldn't download form this website.

Now, the issue is there are several updates for my iPad2.For the latest 5.1, I have 4 updates files to choose from,

5.1.0 (iPad 2 Wi-Fi): iPad2,1_5.1_9B176_Restore.ipsw
5.1.0 (iPad 2 GSM): iPad2,2_5.1_9B176_Restore.ipsw
5.1.0 (iPad 2 CDMA): iPad2,3_5.1_9B176_Restore.ipsw
5.1.0 (iPad 2 Unknown): iPad2,4_5.1_9B176_Restore.ipsw

Now, I am not sure, which one is for me.

My iPad is with Wifi and I am under GSM network. So, with this, either update #1 or update #2 is for me. As every iPad comes with wifi, so I am assuming the update #2 is correct for my phone.

Is all my deduction correct? I really want to think twice before messing with it.

iClarified just links to IPSW files hosted by Apple (note the apple.com URLs), so it's a reasonable place to find links to download these files.

Yes, #2 sounds like the correct choice for you. (Note that if you choose the wrong IPSW, iTunes will just give you an error message and not restore the device to it. And even if you could theoretically restore to the wrong IPSW, you can always start over and restore it again.)


Bash: Elegant ways to use multiple variables for shortening long strings? I am aware of dockutil in homebrew but, I am trying to run a bash script that automatically adds dock icons to the dock on a fresh user account. dockutil has been uncooperative on fresh out of the box installs:

#!/bin/bash
#add items to dock
x="defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps -array-add "
y='"<dict><key>tile-data</key><dict><key>file-data</key<dict><key>_CFURLString</key><string>/Applications/'
z='</string><key>_CFURLStringType</key><integer>0</integer></dict></dict></dict>"'
f="$x"$y
eval $f\Google Chrome.app$z;
eval $f\Safari.app$z;
eval $f\Firefox.app$z;
eval $f\Messages.app$z;
eval $f\Slack.app$z;
eval $f\Microsoft Outlook.app$z;
eval $f\Microsoft Word.app$z;
eval $f\Microsoft Excel.app$z;
eval $f\App Store.app$z;
eval $f\System Preferences.app$z;
eval $f\zoom.us.app$z;
echo "DOCK ICON REORGANIZATION COMPLETE...";
killall Dock; sleep 1;
eval clear;
exit 0

The script is fine, but I am wondering if there is a more elegant solution to concatenating the x and y variables together into 'f', or if there is a way to combine all three, x,y, and z, into one variable that will allow me to input 'AnyApp.app' in the middle. Input appreciated, thanks!

Storing parts of commands in variables and/or using eval is a good way to get weird parsing problems. I'd use a shell function instead:

addDockApp() {
    defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps -array-add \
        "<dict><key>tile-data</key><dict><key>file-data</key<dict><key>_CFURLString</key><string>/Applications/$1</string><key>_CFURLStringType</key><integer>0</integer></dict></dict></dict>"
}

addDockApp "Google Chrome.app"
addDockApp "Safari.app"
...etc

Alternately, you could write it as a loop, and iterate over the list of apps to add:

for app in "Google Chrome.app" "Safari.app" "Firefox.app" "Messages.app" \
    "Slack.app" "Microsoft Outlook.app" "Microsoft Word.app" "Microsoft Excel.app" \
    "App Store.app" "System Preferences.app" "zoom.us.app"
do
    defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps -array-add \
        "<dict><key>tile-data</key><dict><key>file-data</key<dict><key>_CFURLString</key><string>/Applications/$app</string><key>_CFURLStringType</key><integer>0</integer></dict></dict></dict>"
done


Chrome doesn’t start on Mac OS I successfully installed Chrome on my Mac. However, when I'm trying to start it the browser icon just bounces in the dock once and disappears. Reinstalling, rebooting Mac and other options found on forums didn't help at all. How to fix this problem?

After a lot of investigation, I've finally found the solution (so I decided to put it as an answer here).
You need to open Terminal (Spotlight search - type "terminal") and run the following command:
sudo rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Google/Chrome

It will remove Chrome user data so use it at your own risk, but at least it helped me to run Chrome on macOS. Other approaches that seemed safer didn't work for me. You need to back up the Chrome folder beforehand if you're worried about losing your data.


How do I enable "Network Trash" on a file server? I have a Synology SAN/file server. One of the reasons I bought my Synology was that the reviews said it supported "Network Trash" for the Mac, so I can drag files to the trash and then drag them out without having the annoying message that files are deleted immediately. I can't find instructions on how to set this up.

Can somebody tell me how to set this up?

Is it specific to the Synology, or can any remote file server be made to do trash properly?

The Synology NAS supports a Network Recycle bin, but only for SMB volumes. Therefore if you want to make use of it from your Mac, you need to access the share via SMB and not AFP. This can be enabled from the Control Panel under Win/Mac/NFS.

The Synology by itself fully supports Time Machine, and can act as a Time Capsule. Most of the documentation on the Internet mention the Network Trash and Time Capsule option in the same place, but as an Windows/Mac comparison type description. The manual for DSM does not mention Network Trash for Mac either, only for Samba.

I am not entirely sure where you read that the Synology supports this feature for OSX, since I couldn't find any reference to it in the way you described.

OSX, unlike the previous OS 9, does not support a Network Trash of any kind, and I am not aware of any plans to bring this feature to OSX. Therefore it also can't be activated from the OS layer.

I suspect the naming was changed from Network Trash to CIFS Recycle Bin in the new DSM by Synology because of the confusion it has caused.


Safari Extension to Manage Tabs? I'm looking for a more efficient way to manage my tabs in Safari. Specifically something that allows me to move multiple tabs at once to a new window.

I often find myself following a link for a new subject/idea, then another, and so on and so on, until I find myself with a dozen tabs that should really be in their own window, but it's a pain to manually find and drag each one. I'd love to be able to do it in one fell swoop. Any suggestions?

Poor mans answer - I use XMarks and do any management I need in their web interface. However Safari is close to getting the boot on my mac since I can only see 13 open tabs.


MacOS Messages App Won't Send to Non-Apple Phones On my mac I used to be able to send to other mobile devices from my iMessage but now it won't send to phone numbers. It sends to iMessages and emails but not non-iOS phone numbers.

I've tried to delete the iCloud account from my Mac and re-enable it.

I've also done the same on my phone.

Still getting the name highlighted in red

I just toggle the switch in my iPhone's iMessage settings, iMessage


Make the Menu Bar never show while in Full Screen Pretty much every application I use in full-screen (including Firefox, MacVim and the Terminal) have tabs on the top of the screen.

The problem is, when I move my mouse to reach the tabs I'll often accidentally touch the top of the screen, bringing in the OS menu OVER the tabs:

Is there any way to change this behavior? I'd prefer it if the menu bar would stay hidden when I'm using a full-screen app, even if my mouse does touch the top of the screen.

Save the following AppleScript to a file named fullscreen.scpt:

use framework "AppKit"
use scripting additions

repeat with runningApp in current application's NSWorkspace's sharedWorkspace's runningApplications()
    if runningApp's isActive()
        set frontApp to (localizedName of runningApp) as text
        exit repeat
    end if
end repeat

tell application "System Events"
    tell process frontApp to set isFullScreen to value of attribute "AXFullScreen" of first window
    if frontApp = "Finder"
        tell process frontApp to set value of attribute "AXFullScreen" of first window to not isFullScreen
    else if isFullScreen
        do shell script "lsappinfo setinfo -app " & quoted form of frontApp & " ApplicationType=Foreground"
        tell process frontApp to set value of attribute "AXFullScreen" of first window to false

        (*fix to make sure the menu bar is not stuck*)
        delay 0.42
        tell application "Finder" to activate
        tell process frontApp to set frontmost to true
    else
        do shell script "lsappinfo setinfo -app " & quoted form of frontApp & " ApplicationType=UIElement"
        tell process frontApp to set value of attribute "AXFullScreen" of first window to true
    end if
end tell

From terminal, compile it to an application with the following command:

osacompile -o "/Applications/Full Screen.app" fullscreen.scpt

Open the Full Screen.app's Info.plist (e.g. vim '/Applications/Full Screen.app/Contents/Info.plist') and add the following to the dict:

    <key>NSUIElement</key>
    <true/>

Add Full Screen.app as an exception in System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Accessibility.
Launch Automator and create a new Service.
Change "Service receives" to "no input in any application".
Add a Library > Utilities > Launch Application action.
Configure the action to launch the previously created Full Screen application.
Save the service as Full Screen and close Automator.
On System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > Services, scroll down to the bottom of the list and the just created Full Screen service should be listed there. Associate an unique Command shortcut for it, like Shift+Command+\ or Command+F11 for example.

This creates a shortcut to cause an application to enter full screen while removing the menu bar, or to exit full screen bringing the menu bar back. It provides an alternative full screen shortcut!

For application-specific full screen launchers, check my other answer.

Caveats

There may be some disadvantages and/or misbehavior using this approach:

It works by setting ApplicationType=UIElement, which causes the application icon not be added/highlighted in the Dock and make the application inaccessible via Command+Tab. The Command+Tab issue was reported in comments, I didn't notice it since I mostly use the Mission Control overview to change between full screen applications.
It may not behave as expected for some specific applications, I've noticed issues with the Activity Monitor application (which is generally not used full screen anyway) and there's a report on Chrome, which I didn't try since I use Firefox and it works great.


How can I remotely view my Apple TV from my computer? I would like to be able to view my Apple TV from my computer remotely (similar to Smart View app by Samsung, but in reverse) so I can use an automation tool. What tools are available that allow me to accomplish this?

If you can Jailbreak it (basically atv2 at the time of writing) I believe you can install the Veency package and connect via VNC


View as Icon in Mac Mail I upgraded to High Sierra and now the "View as Icon" option in Mail is no longer there. Is there a workaround?  How do we get this problem fixed?

Right-click on the attachment.
If the attachment displays, the contextual menu will offer "View as Icon."
If the attachment shows as an icon, the contextual menu will offer "View in place."


Safari search bar doesn't lose focus on Enter When I'm searching something using Safari's search bar, the search bar doesn't lose the focus when I hit Enter, so the suggestions shows up again.

Has someone else had this problem? Is there a way to fix this?
I'm using Safari 10 on macOS Sierra.

Unfortunately this is one of the small unnoticed things that I accepted to live with. This issue has been going on for years.

I tried to bypass the issue by installing an extension from the safari extension gallery that performs searches and those work for some time and the issues ultimately comes back again.

Edit:

As of Safari 13.0.1 in macOS Catalina, I don't experience that bug anymore, seems good so far


Screen captures of windows larger than screen Is there a way to capture a screenshot of a browser window / webpage which is larger than the MacBook Air (1366x768) screen it's displayed on?

I need to have captures of how a site displays in a 1280x1024 window. I can use Moom to resize the browser window, but not sure how to get the snap.

You can take screenshots of entire windows, even those that extend beyond the bounds of the screen, by pressing ⌘⇧4, then space, then clicking the window.


Time Machine error message "Disk is nearly full", but it's not When I use Finder to look at the time machine, on a 6 TB disk, it reports 480 GB for one of the computers being backed up there, and 570 GB for the other one (where I saw the error), and 4.1 TB available. Both of these make sense, based on the contents of the computers they are backups of.

However, I receive the error message Disk is nearly full.

Any ideas?

MacBook Pro, macOS 10.12.4
Time Machine connects to a Time Capsule that is on the network

There is a discrepancy of what is informed as available space and what actually is available for recording. This is discovered by Time Machine when it tries to save data, so the short answer is corrupted data (in this case, data about how data is stored). Time Machine does a complex kind of backup that is not just a copy, so my suggestion is...

Make a copy (better a clone) of the backup and erase the Time Capsule disk - format the volume.
Restore the data. Make sure the copy got the "real" size, or the backup might be corrupted as well.
To monitor the process once started, it has to end within one hour, or the problem might come back.

In my experience, it was taking longer than one hour, so Time Machine started the second backup before ending the first one, leading to a mess! There is third-part solutions to change the Time Machine frequency (two hours or more).


How to capture the visible page screenshot in one step in Safari or another browser? I have a large series of web pages to capture for documentation. Unfortunately it is mostly an interactive process, but can be repeated rather quickly.

At the moment I am using the dreaded "Awesome Screenshot" extension because it has had the shortest path to the desired result so far, but yet it still has an extra step that I would like to eliminate.

Presently when I click the "Awesome Screenshot" button in my toolbar I get an annotation page with the screenshot (this is the step I'd like to eliminate) and then upon clicking Done, I then get a draggable image.

Essentially I want to be able to initiate a shortcut (either by keypress or button click) and then immediately have an image to paste or drag into a document (e.g., in my case I want to paste it into PDFPen Pro to add it to the sequence).

Is there a way to shortcut this process in Safari, or any other browser on macOS for that matter, that will allow me to capture the visible portion of a webpage immediately to the pasteboard or to a draggable image so that capturing becomes a 1 step process?

So after a bit of playing with various options, I've come up with a pretty efficient solution:

I've found that even though it's older, using Paparazzi is the most efficient solution.  I was able to set some sane defaults for the file naming (using YYYY-MM-DD as a base) and the output resolution (around 1020 (width) x1320 (height) for ~120ppi (kept font size output for my monitor resolution at about the same size) letter (8.5"x11") gives me a nice ordered image output that I can then import into PDFPen or Preview, etc. to generate a nice sequential PDF from the output.

This leads to a simple navigation from page to page and a quick cmd-s + <ENTER> to save the image rapidly.


Is it possible to boot OS X 10.6 from a USB drive with VMWare Fusion 3.1.3? I have USB drive with a partition containing OS X 10.6. I boot from this drive to use an app which doesn't run in Lion (Xcode 3.2.5). Rebooting is annoying.

Is it possible to boot a VMWare Fusion virtual machine directly from the USB drive (i.e. not 'forking' a virtual machine from it)? I have tried Booting Operating System from USB Drive in VMware Fusion 3.x but it doesn't work for OS X (I changed the settings to OS X 10.6 Server instead of Windows 7). I have VMWare Fusion 3.1.3.

You need 10.6 Server. It does not help to change the settings to 10.6 Server, you have to use 10.6 Server as operating system on the USB-Stick… or you can try some hacks, e.g. Hackintosh (search for it in Google) in a virtual environment but that's a little bit more complicated you can check

http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.php/Installation_Guides#VMware_Install_Guides

for this.


Show/hide Accessibility Keyboard with a keyboard shortcut in MacOS Catalina? I would like to display and hide the Accessibility Keyboard in MacOS Catalina using a shortcut.

The old solution from thread How to show or hide Keyboard Viewer with a keyboard shortcut? is not working since the update to MacOS Catalina. KeyboardViewer.app is not anymore in /System/Library/Input Methods/

A workaround I found was to use "hot corners" to toggle the visibility of the virtual keyboard. Unfortunately this does require using the mouse, just moving it to a screen corner to activate a command.

You can access the hot corners tab from the accessibility keyboard settings (gear icon -> Preferences).

The "Hide/Show Home Panel" is the default and correct option. I like to unselect the "Panel follows Hide/Show Home Panel" so the Panel doesn't move around.

Note that this will only work if the accessibility keyboard is activated. This is definitely not ideal (a bit ironic too), but it's the least painful alternative I could find. Hope it helps!


How use function keys in iPad with Apple keyboard? I'm trying to use the Apple Wireless keyboard for coding in a terminal (with nano, vim, etc) using a app to access by SSH them in a remote server, and discover that all the function keys (Esc, F1, f2....) are not working.

I have tried with Prompt2, but this will happen with any app because the F1 through F12 keys by default in the iPad are tied to special functions like control brightens.

Is possible to change this?

If not:

Exist any terminal app that can remap the keys?
Or exist a code editor with internal ssh terminal that work for remote coding?

When using the Apple Wireless Keyboard with an iPad device, not all function keys work. From Apple's Support Article:  Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Keyboard compatibility with iOS devices:

Since the Fn keys don't work per Apple, it's a safe bet that you won't be able to remap them.  You have to recognize them in order to reassign their function.

This is most likely the reason that you will need to utilize the softkeys provided for by the App.

What you can try is using the Escape sequence: Esc #  combination where # is the number of the Fn key you are trying to press (i.e. Esc2 for F2)


My account is hidden from start login screen after migrating it to a new Macbook I migrated an account from one Macbook to another (both Mountain Lion) using the account migration assistant. When starting the new macbook the account doesn't appear with the others on the login screen when starting up. I have to login to another account, logout and then it appears on the login screen. The login screen background also changes from white to textured grey/black background.

From OS X: About FileVault 2:

  Users not enabled for FileVault unlock will only be able to log in to that Mac after an unlock-enabled user has started or unlocked the drive. Once unlocked, the drive remains unlocked and available to all users, until the computer is shut down.

In order to enable the migrated user for FileVault:

Log in with the account which works
Run Preferences, go to "Security & Privacy" and then the "FileVault" tab
Check for any user accounts which are not enabled yet and log them in (once)


Restoring a Time Machine backup on Yosemite's clean install If I want to perform a clean install of OS X Yosemite, can I restore my Mac with a Mavericks Time Machine backup after the Yosemite installer finishes?

Restoring an entire Time Machine backup is certainly possible after cleanly installing Yosemite. Just boot to the Recovery HD and choose restore from backup.


.tar files on OS X Lion How am I supposed to deal with .tar files with OS X Lion? I'm trying to install Ruby Version Manager, but Lion is throwing a fit about not being able to expand the tar file. This isn't the first time this has happened either.

Any tar command gives me this error:

  Launch of "tar" failed: the PowerPC architecture is no longer
  supported.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Update:

  which tar

outputs

  /usr/bin/tar

tar is installed as part of the system utilities, the only way it can be still an old version is if you upgraded your OS in place since before Intel days, or if you have an old version of tar sitting in your PATH that is being invoked before the system one is.

First, run which tar in shell. If it says anything other than /usr/bin/tar, it's not the system-native version of tar, and you should just remove it because it's not working anyway.

If it does say /usr/bin/tar, try running lipo -info /usr/bin/tar. The output should look something like

$ lipo -info /usr/bin/tar
Architectures in the fat file: /usr/bin/tar are: x86_64 i386 ppc7400

If the architecture list does not include x86_64 and i386, then you definitely have old versions of system utilities which are not compatible with Lion and
should be reinstalled. Probably the easiest thing to do at that point is to run a full backup of the system, and do a clean reinstall, because this situation should never occur and if it is happening, there's no telling what other system utilities are broken.


Can I hide the sync icon in the menu bar on Lion? This menu bar icon is useless and takes up space.

I use iCloud on Mac OS X Lion to sync contacts, calendars, and the like. On Snow Leopard I could use an option in the iSync preferences to remove this icon from my menu bar, but iSync isn't around anymore. Is there any way to get rid of it?

Just ⌘ Command-Drag & Drop it away from the menu bar, this way you can also re-arrange your icons. This trick will only work for OSX icons (e.g. Time Machine or WiFi), for non OSX native icons (e.g. Dropbox or GeekTool) you need a third party app like Bartender or Menu Bar Rearranger.


How do I make Firefox use Chrome's built-in Flash plugin? How do I make Firefox use Chrome's built-in Flash plugin?

I assume I can simply symlink Chrome's Flash plugin in Firefox' plugin directory—which directories do Chrome and Firefox use to store their plugins?

Chrome keeps the plugin in:

/Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/Versions/{current_version}/Google Chrome Framework.framework/Internet Plug-Ins/Flash Player Plugin for Chrome.plugin/Contents/MacOS/

For me current_version is 16.0.912.63

Firefox uses Adobe mainstream version of Flash player, which is installed in:

/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/Flash Player.plugin/Contents/PlugIns/FlashPlayer-10.6.plugin/Contents/MacOS

The size difference is quite big (35MB mainstream against 16MB Chrome version). I actually tried to make such trick by making symbolic link to chrome version in place of mainstream version, but Firefox didn't like that (did not show any content where flash should be).

Looks like it's not that simple as it is in Linux.

EDIT:

It turns out that it actually is that simple:

  Copy Chrome's Flash plugin,

/Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/Versions/16.0.912.63/Google Chrome Framework.framework/Internet Plug-Ins/Flash Player Plugin for Chrome.plugin

  to

/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/Flash Player Plugin for Chrome.plugin

  and they both work.


Connecting an old Mac to home entertainment system I have an old MacBook Pro, with DVI-out video, analog audio (earphone and speaker ports), and of course USB. I'm using it to manage my iTunes library, but the only way to play iTunes content on my home entertainment system is via Wi-Fi to an Apple TV box.

My question: Is there a viable way to connect the Mac to an open HDMI port on my home system? I know that DVI-to-HDMI is video only, so I'd have to find out how to add the audio -- which is the whole point of the exercise! (Is there any such thing as an analog-to-HDMI or USB-to-HDMI audio adapter?)

Thanks!

Yes.  It's very easy.  You need to get a "DVI to HDMI with audio" adapter.  The way it works is that it takes the two separate signals, digital video and audio, and combines them on the HDMI signal which supports the audio.

Here's one from Startech that worked really well for me.

If you notice, the DVI and RCA Audio is on the Input side and the HDMI is on the Output side.  These are not bidirectional; meaning it will not work in reverse.  So, it will take a DVI and audio and convert to HDMI.  It won't "break out" HDMI to DVI and audio.


How to switch to other apps/spaces when running full-screen game I did not noticed such problems with anything except some games. For example, i'm runnin Pillars Of Eternity atm, and if it's running fullscreen mode, i cannot switch to any other apps (i've tried alt-tab, cmd-tab, cmd-arrow, f11, custom spaces-switching shortcuts, touchpad gestures)

Also, in window mode, i can only switch using alt-tab (switching between apps within the same space) if i have other apps running in the same space. Other shortcuts are working only if i'm clicking outside the game.

El Capitan 10.11.6

Have you tried using ctrl-arrow keys? This will move you between the left and right spaces.

A similar question is also here:

How to switch between fullscreen applications in OSX (Mavericks)


To show videos in some CHM viewer CHM is an extension for the Compiled HTML file format.
There are many viewers with different quality.
xCHM has been my choice because of robust search, here their homepage.
I however just noticed that some files are incorporated with videos but my viewer cannot show them.

How can you view CHM videos in OSX?
Any good option for this.

Since I cannot comment your question for lack of rep, I'd suggest you try iChm 1.4.3 or 1.5.0. Latter was recently released, so if video doesn't work (a feature I didn't know about in CHM, by the way), I'd suggest you open an issue in the tracker.


2017 iPad Pro reboots every few minutes after ios 12.4.1 update - how to fix My 2017 iPad Pro was updated 2 days ago to iOS 12.4.1. Since then, it has been almost continuously rebooting whenever I try to power it up. I have managed to shut down all open apps, have hard rebooted several times. Cannot get it to stay on long enough to do other diagnostic checks on battery life, remove apps etc. How do I fix this?

It is likely you will have to put the iPad into Recovery Mode. THat will restore the iPad to it's clean factory state. EG anything on the iPad will be wiped out, so I hope you have a backup.

The iPad pro is a bit of a three finger salute to get it into recovery mode:

Hold the Sleep/Wake button, the volume up or volume down button (at the same time) until you see power-off. Use the power-off slider to turn off your iPad. Then connect your iPad to your computer while holding down the Sleep/Wake button. iTunes will ten prompt you to restore the iPad.

That is assuming there is nothing else wrong with it. If that works, then restore the iPad from your backup once it has been factory restored and you should be good to go.

If that fails let us know, but it may be time to take it to an Apple store or Apple repair shop.


How to run unix script in login screen before user logs in? I would like to have unix script run when the login screen appears when booting. It should run immediately and not when user enters username and password and logs in.

Is there any way to accomplish this?

Launchd and LoginWindow

You can use launchd to run your script when the Login Window appears. Within your launchd job ticket, include the key pair:

<key>LimitLoadToSessionType</key>
<string>LoginWindow</string>

Save your launchd job ticket, .plist, file in the folder: /Library/LaunchAgents/.


Compression / archival utility which stores the most metadata? I recently did a backup of a FAT32 disk which contained a lot of diverse data. It contains many media files, many big binary files, and as usual with FAT32, it has all kinds of odd (but potentially important) permissions for all of these different files. The whole directory of this backup weighs in at a few hundred GB. I would like to have a compressed archive of this backup, but I have a few requirements from whatever archival utility that I use:

It needs to preserve extended attributes
It needs to preserve timestamps
It needs to preserve permissions
I would like for it to preserve as much metadata as possible

I know that there are many different archiving utilities which fit at least some of my needs, but I would like to know of one which fits them all. I.e., which one can maintain the most metadata and also (preferably) has a good compression ratio for a diverse data set.

If it's FAT32, use 7zip. Turn on the "slower but more effective" options, which use a larger dictionary. The results can be spectacular; I use it to move database backups around machines and I often get 96% compression.


How do you enable retina display support on Firefox? Firefox 16 does not have retina display support out of the box.

Is there a way to enable it?

Launch firefox.
Type about:config in the URL bar
Type layers.acceleration.disabled in the Search field that shows up and hit enter
Change the value to true and restart


Why does only half my monitor light up sometimes Sometimes when I wake my MacBook Pro (late 2013) from sleep I only get the right half of the screen lighting up while the left is dark with a hard line dividing the halves (see image below). I can fix this by power-cycling the monitor but its annoying. Can anyone tell me what is happening and how I might fix it? My monitor is a 32 inch Samsung and I have a dual HDMI cable connecting it to my MacBook.

There are three possible causes in a situation like this:

An issue with the MacBook Pro
An issue with the monitor
A faulty cable

Trying to identify the problem involves a process of elimination and some patience.

1. MacBook Pro

As a starting point I would reset both the SMC and NVRAM of your MacBook Pro.

RESET SMC

Shut down your computer
Keep the power cable plugged in.
Press at the same time shiftoptioncontrol (on the left side of the keyboard) and the power button
Let go
Turn your computer back on with the power button.

RESET NVRAM

Shut down your computer.
Press the power button and then press the commandoptionpr keys. You have to make sure you press these keys before the gray screen appears.
Hold those keys down until your Mac reboots again and you here the startup chime.
Let go of the keys and let your Mac reboot normally.

Note: When you log back in you may need to readjust some of your system preferences (e.g. speaker volume, screen resolution, startup disk selection, time zone information, etc).

There may be other things to try (e.g. changing screen resolution, changing mode, etc) but I'd reset the SMC and NVRAM first and try using the monitor as usual to see if that resolves the issue.

2. Monitor

You don't specify your exact model of Samsung monitor, but regardless of model you will be able to reset the monitor. The instructions for doing so will be in your manual.

Most recent Samsung monitors can be reset by holding down the Source button for about 20 seconds, while older models will have specific instructions. If you don't have your manual, accessing the monitor's Menu and browsing the options should provide a reset option. In some cases you may need to do multiple resets (e.g. Geometry reset, Colour reset, etc).

You can also try changing some of the monitor's other settings to determine what difference this makes.

3. Cable

Testing for a faulty cable is straightforward as it simply involves trying another cable. However, unless you happen to have access to a spare cable, I would try the above steps for your MacBook Pro and monitor first.


How to make command run in terminal? Command not found I've installed couchbase on my Macbook and now I'm struggling to import data from the csv file.
If I go to

  /Applications/Couchbase
  Server.app/Contents/Resources/couchbase-core/bin

where I installed Couchbase - in terminal and run cbtransfer command I have the response "Command not found".

I tried to add this path to the $PATH. No result.

I tried to create a symbolic link and use it. No result.

I spent several hours and started to hate my Mac. Please help.

Since the directory above has a space included, you'll need to enclose the directory in quotes for it to work properly:

PATH=$PATH:"/Applications/Couchbase Server.app/Contents/Resources/couchbase-core/bin"

In order to load the new PATH after you add the above line to your .bash_profile (you can create this file if necessary. in your home folder), you should either open a new Terminal window, or type:

source ~/.bash_profile

You can check to see if it is correct by typing:

echo $PATH

It should show the directory you've added.

Also, any time an executable is not in the PATH you need to give a proper (absolute or relative) path to the executable in order for it to run. The relative path to the PWD (present working directory) is ./, e.g. ./cbtransfer.

It is possible that your default shell is not BASH, type

echo $SHELL

to check this.

The benefit of adjusting your path in this fashion is that the change will persist across terminal sessions and reboots. You can alternately use an export command to set your path for a current terminal session.


Virtualbox complete fullscreen I am running Windows via Virtualbox on my Macbook. It works fine. When I switch to fullscreen to screen the screen is actually full, but the windows windows does not spread out to the full extent. How can I fix that?

I would guess that you have not installed the guest additions in your guest system.

Quoting from the manual:

  In the "Devices" menu in the virtual machine's menu bar, VirtualBox
  has a handy menu item named "Install guest additions", which mounts
  the Guest Additions ISO file inside your virtual machine. A Windows
  guest should then automatically start the Guest Additions installer,
  which installs the Guest Additions into your Windows guest. Other
  guest operating systems (or if automatic start of software on CD is
  disabled) need manual start of the installer.


Stop sign at boot - new SSD I've got a mid 2012 MBP 13" in which I inserted a brand new MX100 in the place of the old HDD. I've put the old HDD in a case in the superdrive place and tried to install 10.10 but the install failed.

I then tried with th SSD in an USB case, managed to install & boot 10.10. Then I put the SSD back in the Mac and got the stop sign at boot.

At first I thought it was the Firevault on the HDD which was causing the issue but even after turning it off, the mac didn't want to boot...

Which brings me 2 questions:

Why does it boot when plugged in an USB case and not from inside?
How can I fix this thing?

To solve the problems we have to place the HDD on the original place. Then we place the SSD to the SuperDrive place.
Just install Yosemite as usual and everything is working now.


How to disable sparkle.framework updates for specific app? I need to disable auto updates for one of the apps installed in my Mac (OS X 10.11.4). The developer keeps releasing new versions but I want to stay at a specific version that works just as I need.

This is not a store app, I downloaded it from the developer's site.
I know this app uses the Sparkle.framework for autoupdating.
The application does not offer any options/preferences to control automatic updates. They just happen.

Every couple of days the application updates itself and I have to manually downgrade to the version I want to keep.

Is there anything I can do so the application doesn't update automatically? I'm confortable with the command line and editing low level stuff, but I am not familiar with the sparkle update process.

You can try steps listed below - it worked in case of All2MP3 app, that was taken by rogue developer and changed into malware deployment platform.

Make backup of your original old app version!
Right click on the app and choose Show Package Contents.
Open info.plist file in your preferred text editor (I use TextWrangler)
Search for SUEnableAutomaticCheck
In the line below change YES to NO
Save file. Your app should stop updating automatically.


i cut my iphone 4 jailbroken with evasi0n off and after i powered my phone back on i lost my apps. what can i do to get them back? note: it says that my storage is almost full, leading me to believe they are still there. just somewhere else, please help!

Also, I have tried looking at other people with similar or the same problems but I couldn't find anyone, this is very important to me for my phone is all I have left. please help.

It sounds like you had a tethered jailbreak. If this is so you will need to run it by your jailbreaking program again on your PC/Mac and then it should be working again.

This issue does not happen when you do untethered jailbreaks.


Can I run the OS X installer even after I delete main disk I'm trying to reinstall OS X on my girlfriend's Mac and when I go to recovery menu and select to install OS X from the menu, the system proceeds to start download components, which fails.

I've thought about using disk utility to delete the main drive and then mount a new one and try the OS X installation from the recovery menu again in hopes it just fails because there isn't enough space for the components. But I am afraid to try it because I worry the recovery image will be deleted as well and I won't be able to run the OS X reinstallation after I have deleted and recreated the main disk.

Is this a real risk or should I go ahead at try it? Components seems to be a lot to download so I'm thinking it probably is the OS image so me clearing the drive completely shouldn't be an issue, but I have no experience with anything Apple so prefer to have people to blame after my girlfriend asks why did I brick her Mac.

If you can boot normally into OS X then create an OS X USB Installer. See, Create a bootable installer for OS X (quoted below) or if not see, How to reinstall OS X.

  Use the 'createinstallmedia' command in Terminal

  Download the OS X installer from the Mac App Store. Quit the installer if it opens automatically after downloading. The installer
  will be in your Applications folder.
  Mount your USB flash drive or other volume. You could also use a secondary internal partition.
  Open the Terminal app, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
  Use the createinstallmedia command in Terminal to create the bootable installer. Examples of this command are in the next section.
  For detailed usage instructions, make sure that the appropriate
  Install OS X app is in your Applications folder, then enter one of the
  following paths in Terminal:

  Path for El Capitan:

/Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia

  Path for Yosemite:

/Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia

  Path for Mavericks:

/Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia

  Examples

  This is the basic syntax of the command. Replace volumepath with the
  path to your USB flash drive or other volume, and replace
  installerpath with the path to the Install OS X app.

createinstallmedia --volume volumepath --applicationpath installerpath

  The following examples assume that the OS X installer is in your
  Applications folder and the name of your USB flash drive or other
  volume is MyVolume:

  Example for El Capitan:

sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume

  /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\
  Capitan.app

  Example for Yosemite:

sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume

  /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\
  Yosemite.app

  Example for Mavericks:

sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume

  /Volumes/MyVolume --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\
  Mavericks.app


Why is it called Desktop Picture or Background in macOS and wallpaper in iOS? Is there a technical difference? macOS calls it Desktop Picture while iOS uses wallpaper. I haven't found any information about it so I wonder if someone has a piece of information that may help.

macOS
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207703

iOS
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT200285

Mac continues the use of the decades-old analogy of the computer screen being your desktop.  The first GUI used in a mainstream computer, and almost every computer after that, was primarily for work use so that way of describing the screen, like a desktop with a large writing pad or family pictures, was the best way to describe the image.

PluckyVintage

iOS isn't a desktop computer, it's much more personal.  When iOS debuted, it was first on a small handheld phone.  You couldn't get much further away from a 'desktop' than an individual device you could customize.  There needed to be a way to refer to the background.  Because it could be customized and changed for each person's preference and tastes, the team at Apple decided on wallpaper.

I can't find anything that definitively states why Apple decided to use that term but it fits their goal of a personal device.

genius.com

This is the way I've always viewed these two; I don't have any special insight or knowledge to say this way of explaining is the most accurate or better than anyone else's. We might not ever know why these decisions were made the way they were.


Why does Xcode 4.1 Installer ask me to quit iTunes if iTunes isn't running? Xcode 4.1 Installer downloaded from the App Store, I have no applications running except the installer and the Finder. The dialog that pops up says that iTunes needs to be quit in order for installation of Xcode to continue.

How do I make Xcode installer realize that iTunes isn't running?

This is a widely-reported bug in some App Store installers. It sees the iTunesHelper process and displays this error, even though that process is not controlled by the user.

You can open Activity Monitor (in /Applications/Utilities), find the process and kill it with the Quit Process button in the top-left corner.

You can also instead open Terminal (also in /Applications/Utilities), enter the following line and press enter to kill it.

killall iTunesHelper


Why is Time Machine showing a "Preparing disk for decryption" progress bar? I had an existing USB drive which was already encrypted (at the file-system level) and then I opened Time Machine and also selected "Encrypt backups" when choosing the disk and now I have a very slow progress bar showing "Preparing disk for decryption". I can't cancel it. Why would it be decrypting anything?

Time Machine prepares the drive for storing backups when you set it up. This means, disrupting filesystem-level encryption that wasn't made by Time Machine. If you want encryption on top of Time Machine encryption, it has to be below the filesystem level, or you'll surely lose it in favor of Time Machine. If you want encrypted Time Machine backups, simply enable encrypted backups when setting up Time Machine instead of encrypting in Disk Utility.


Error when sending POSIX file as attachment with iMessage So I have this applescript that tries to grab all images from a folder and sends them to a friend through iMessage.

The folder is structure like so:

Desktop
  my-folder
    image-1
    image-2
    image-2

The problem is that when I read all files to a variable as a string and then try to set them to a POSIX file I get the error:

  Messages got an error: Can’t get POSIX file
  "/Users/user/Desktop/my-folder/image-name".

do shell script "rm -f ~/Desktop/my-folder/.DS_Store"

tell application "System Events"
    set imgs to POSIX path of disk items of folder "~/Desktop/my-folder"
end tell

tell application "Messages"
    set targetServiceId to id of 1st service whose service type = iMessage
    set theBuddy to buddy "redacted phone#" of service id targetServiceId

    repeat with img in imgs
        set imageAttachment to POSIX file img # errors
        send imageAttachment to theBuddy
    end repeat
end tell

How can I set imageAttachment correctly to a POSIX file so that I can send it with iMessage?

You are running into AppleScript sandboxing. The Messages application does not have access to open that file.  The trick is to turn the paths to POSIX files outside of the tell blocks. This will let the entitlement engine pass the entitlement into the tell block so the application can open it.

This code works:

tell application "System Events"
    set paths to POSIX path of disk items of folder "~/Desktop/my-folder"
end tell

set imgs to {}
repeat with f in paths
    set imgs to imgs & (POSIX file f)
end repeat

tell application "Messages"
    set targetServiceId to id of 1st service whose service type = iMessage
    set theBuddy to buddy "redacted" of service id targetServiceId
    repeat with img in imgs
        send img to theBuddy
    end repeat
end tell


Need to print out iPhone text messages I have a court case and have text messages on my iPhone I need to transfer to my iPad email for evidence.  Every time I try it doesn't work, it will send them to my iMessage but not my email.  I need to print them out How do I do this?

Okay, I think I see what's happening:

As it sounds like you may have already figured out, you can forward multiple texts by:

Holding an individual text until the "copy/more" dialog pops up.
Picking "More"
Clicking the circle next to the left of each text you want to forward.
Clicking the "share" arrow on the lower right
Picking who you want to send them to

But, there are two possible problems:

The "recipient" you're picking in step 5 above is the recipient for a
text or iMessage; there's no way to select email instead.
The forwarded texts lose the "speaker" indicator, so with multiple texts, it's a little hard to see who said what.

If you only care about getting the messages into an email (and don't need the speaker) first issue, the easiest solution is this:

Go to the text you forwarded yourself with all the texts lumped
together (that you got by following the 5 steps above)
Hold your finger on it until "Copy/More" appears
Pick copy
Copy it into an email, and send it to yourself, print it, etc.

If you need to print something that indicates who was speaking, your best bet may be this:

Go to the beginning of the dialogue you want in your texts.
Hold the Home button, and press the power button without letting go of home.
You'll see a white flash, indicating that the hone took a screen capture.
If all the messages you needed didn't fit on one screen, scroll to the next set, and repeat.
Once you have done this for all the messages you need, go to the "Photos" app, and open "Camera Roll" - you'll see those screen captures as the most recent images.
Click "select" in the upper right corner, then select all the pics you need.
Hit the "share" button in the lower left corner, then pic "Mail"

That will let you email yourself (or anyone else) printable images of the text conversation.  Note that they'll be pics, so you can't edit the text, etc.


Can a Netgear ReadyNAS be used as a Time Machine Backup Destination? We have a NAS (a Netgear ReadyNAS NV+) in our office with tons of free space that we'd like to connect to our Mac Mini Server, mount as a disk and then use as a Time Machine Backup Destination.

This way the clients back up to the Mac Mini, while the data is actually saved to the NAS behind the scenes.

Problem is that I can't figure out how to make Server.app show anything other than the two built in drives.

I've tried mounting a share from the NAS with both SMB and AFP (it shows up fine in Finder). Maybe there's a way to use a "local" destination and NFS that directory?

Or is this not even possible?

To use the Time Machine Server function in Lion Server, you'll need to use a built in drive. As long as the NAS is able to be seen on your network, you should be able to use it as a Time Machine backup destination on each client Mac. While you won't be able to configure this for all machines at once in WorkGroup Manager, you should still be able to set up each client Mac to back up to the NAS.


Why is My Mac Running So Slowly? It's a Mac Mini, Late 2012, 2.4 GHz Intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM and an internal fusion drive of 1 TB, running macOS High Sierra 10.13.3.

The issue is that it's running so slowly that there I can move the mouse and it takes up to sixty seconds (on one memorable occasion, eighteen minutes) for the cursor to move on the screen.  I launch an application and it's two or three minutes before it's available.  I say available, but it's not really available unless I'm prepared to move the mouse and then go for a coffee whilst it acknowledges the action.

I ran top command:

Load Avg: 58.82, 38.48, 36.87

It's a relatively new installation - about a month old.  There are four USB drives hanging off a powered hub, but disconnecting them does nothing to speed up the system.  I launch ActivityMonitor and watch it for a while.  The CPU usage is about 98.8% idle. Once I start to use the Mac, I see 'kernel process' which can run up to 1600% of CPU. The fan is on constantly and is extremely loud.

The applications that I can see running (in the Dock as opposed to in the background or via a terminal) are Safari, Mail.app, WhatsApp, iTerm2 (with eight tabs), Gedit and of course, Activity Monitor.  Quitting them all doesn't eliminate the 'kernal task', although if I don't touch the Mac, that will disappear after about half an hour.

Here is the output of top at the moment, when things are relatively calm:

Processes: 289 total, 2 running, 287 sleeping, 1053 threads                15:17:07
Load Avg: 1.56, 2.67, 4.64  CPU usage: 2.78% user, 2.17% sys, 95.3% idle   SharedLibs: 316M resident, 63M data, 50M linkedit. MemRegions: 36312 total, 2305M resident, 166M private, 565M shared.
PhysMem: 7084M used (1815M wired), 9298M unused. VM: 1277G vsize, 1100M framework vsize, 0(0) swapins, 0(0) swapouts. Networks: packets: 355317/388M in, 229733/35M out.
Disks: 390366/11G read, 226405/11G written.

In the menu bar, I previously had stuff such Adobe CC, JumpCut and Skitch.  I have killed those, and restarted after removing them from 'startup'. I've also tried the usual stuff like repairing disk permissions etc.

I don't know what to do at this point, and am tearing my hair out in frustration. All advice gratefully received.

In my experience, unusually slow Macs are usually slow due to hard drive failure, or Malware installation (or in the case of MacBook Pros, a bad hard drive cable). Those are the common causes these days.

Step one: Download SMART Utility and see what it says about your physical drives. If your HDD is failing, it will tell you right away.
(Note: it can't check the SMART status of most external drives, leave your externals disconnected through this whole process, and until the Mac is running normally again)

Step two: Download and run MalwareBytes for Mac, and run it. The free version is all you need. Remove anything it finds.

If none of these end up being the cause, then you have something much less common going on on your machine.


Is it possible to create a paid application which makes use of an Automator service? The functionality of my application is as follows:

Get highlighted text from any application in macOS.
Do some processing on it, including interaction with a server.
Show output as a dialog on macOS.

I know that we can read the highlighted text from any application if we use a Mac Automator service. This pretty much works for me with only one caveat. The Automator service can be read and modified by anyone. I would like to distribute this as a paid application. Hence, I would prefer that my application not be modified or even read by anyone.
Is it possible to do so?
I'm fine with using something other than an Automator if the functionality written above is satisfied.

Yes, it is definitely possible.
I don't think the logic that it is necessary that a paid application is opaque and static is true. It is entirely possible to sell software while providing access to the source code and letting the customer modify it. Software has been sold that way by large and small companies for decades.
If you really want a technical solution, you can use obfuscation to hide the plain text of scripting languages such as AppleScript. Some languages have an eval-like functionality enabling you to deobfuscate source code and run it directly, whereas for AppleScript you probably want to store it in a seperate object file and run it - or employ OSAKit to be able to run the source directly.
Most programmers in closed-souce, commercial software would probably not employ such "tricks", but rather go for a compilable language such as Swift, Objective-C, C++ or similar to get an executeable that is not immediately "readable" by humans.
Note that all software that can be run can also be reverse-engineered.


I have an iphone 4s and it wont unlock I have an iphone 4s, and it will not unlock, using my normal pin. I took it to a computer store, but they want 60$/hr for a 4hour minimum of work. This is more than I can afford.

Is there any other way to get this phone unlocked? I do not want to do a factory reset, there are pictures, and phone numbers, that I do not want to loose. I looked around on other sites, and those sites look sketchy.

I don't want to jail-brake the phone, I just want to get my files, and be able to use it again.

There is no other way to unlock your phone other than to do a factory reset / restore backup.

You can have your local Apple Store employees help you, or if you change your mind, you can follow one of these two Apple support pages on factory resetting / restoring a backup of your phone.

Erase and reset your phone to factory settings
Restore a backup of your iPhone

Good luck!


Fastest means to copy many drives to one drive I have data on 16 drives that I want to consolidate to one drive. The 16 drives are external with a firewire connection. Currently I have the one drive connected as an external drive on firewire. I can mount the target drive internally in my MacPro as an option. The total amount of data on the 16 drives is about 3TB. Four of the drives are 400GB the rest are smaller. Appreciate any help. I am in the process of copying one of the 400GB using Finder and it is estimating 15 hours and after 3 hours of copying, it looks like a fairly accurate estimate. Thanks for any help.

Doing the math, you want an interruptible tool so use rsync over Finder unless you really don't mind losing a day of transfer if finder chokes or a cable gets disconnected.

Safest way to copy files to AirPort Disk from the command-line?

Barring the ability or inclination to command line - get a tool like Transmit or Kaleidoscope to sync the two folders. You'll lose far more time mounting drives than just connecting them and going. He limiting factor is probably not iops and instead drive throughput and not CPU or adapter speed.


Odd cputype in /bin/ls binary I just started with Charlie Miller and Dino Dai Zovi's Mac Hacker's Handbook and was doing the tutorials. This includes getting to know things like 'otool'

otool -f \bin\ls
Fat headers
fat_magic 0xcafebabe
nfat_arch 2
architecture 0
    cputype 16777223
    cpusubtype 3
    capabilities 0x80
    offset 4096
    size 39600
    align 2^12 (4096)
architecture 1
    cputype 7
    cpusubtype 3
    capabilities 0x0
    offset 45056
    size 35632
    align 2^12 (4096)

I tried to find something about that first cputype in /usr/include/mach/machine.h, but found nothing. Clearly I am missing something.

cputype 16777223 is “x86 64” (64 bit mode); 7 is “i386” (32 bit mode). Incidentally, 16777223 == 0x1000007, so bit 24 means “64 bit”.

Looking in /usr/include/mach/machine.h (pointed out by …/mach-o/fat.h, which seems like a reasonable place to start), we find the following:

⋮
typedef integer_t       cpu_type_t;
⋮
#define CPU_ARCH_ABI64  0x01000000              /* 64 bit ABI */
⋮
#define CPU_TYPE_X86            ((cpu_type_t) 7)
#define CPU_TYPE_I386           CPU_TYPE_X86            /* compatibility */
#define CPU_TYPE_X86_64         (CPU_TYPE_X86 | CPU_ARCH_ABI64)
⋮
#define CPU_TYPE_POWERPC                ((cpu_type_t) 18)
#define CPU_TYPE_POWERPC64              (CPU_TYPE_POWERPC | CPU_ARCH_ABI64)
⋮

Of course, you can also just add the -v option to your otool command to have it show the symbolic values:

% otool -vf /bin/ls
Fat headers
fat_magic FAT_MAGIC
nfat_arch 2
architecture x86_64
    cputype CPU_TYPE_X86_64
    cpusubtype CPU_SUBTYPE_X86_64_ALL
    capabilities CPU_SUBTYPE_LIB64
    offset 4096
    size 39600
    align 2^12 (4096)
architecture i386
    cputype CPU_TYPE_I386
    cpusubtype CPU_SUBTYPE_I386_ALL
    capabilities 0x0
    offset 45056
    size 35632
    align 2^12 (4096)


Synology NAS (DS218+) and Full Disk Encryption (FileVault2)? I’m wondering, if there is a way to enable Whole Disk Encryption on a Synology NAS (in my case DS218+).

Every topic regarding encryption on a Synology NAS addresses “Folder Encryption” rather than encrypting the whole disk. Since I am going to put all my personal stuff - including sensitive information - on the NAS to keep my Desktop and Laptop (Apple OS X) in sync, I need to encrypt it.

As I see it, the easiest way would be to encrypt the whole disk using Apples File Vault2. Is it possible or will I have to find another solution rather than using a (Synology) NAS?

Appreciate your help!

Every topic regarding encryption on a Synology NAS addresses “Folder
  Encryption” rather than encrypting the whole disk....As I see it, the easiest way would be to encrypt the whole disk using Apples File Vault2.

You can't use Apple's "whole disk" encryption on any NAS device because if you were actually able to, the NAS won't be able to access it.

When you are connecting to a NAS, you are mounting a shared volume (not a disk); even if that volume happens to spans the whole disk.  Synology's built in folder encryption is designed specifically to address this.


Why does Skype want to use a "Xcode Server Builder Identity" key? While examining some features of XCode, I briefly enabled the XCode Continuous Integration Server. The following dialog box now pops up:

Skype wants to sign using key "Xcode Server Builder Identity" in your keychain.
To allow this, enter the "login" keychain password.

If I choose "Allow" or "Deny", the dialog box will pop back up roughly a half dozen times in succession. Using Keychain Access, I find no item named "Xcode Server Builder Identity" in the login keychain or otherwise (the only item mentioning "XCode" in the login keychain predates any of this), nor in the server certificates for the system Apache server (which the XCode server seemed to want to use).
Why is Skype trying to use this key? Where is it stored? How can I stop the prompts (short of always allowing access)?

An identity is a certificate with a private key. It's possibly Skype checks the keychain for identities so it can authenticate itself with a server when setting up a secure connection (server authentication is mandatory with secure connections; client authentication is optional).

Where is it stored?

As not all items stored in a keychain are shown in Keychain Access, the security utility can (must?) be used to show them instead. The message mentions an identity; the find-identity security subcommand can be used. The options to find-security are limited, and don't include options to filter based on name, label, description, creator or many of the other filters other subcommands take. Fortunately, there are likely far fewer identities on the keychain than there are of other types.

$ security find-identity
Policy: X.509 Basic
  Matching identities
  1) 123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF012345678 "iOS Dev" (CSSMERR_TP_NOT_TRUSTED)
  2) 123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF012345678 "iPhone Configuration Utility (DEADBEEF-1234-5678-9ABC-EF0123456789)" (CSSMERR_TP_CERT_EXPIRED)
  3) 123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF012345678 "com.apple.idms.appleid.prd.defaced2feelbad2feedfacedeadbeefcafef00dd00dc0de" (CSSMERR_TP_CERT_EXPIRED)
  4) 123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF012345678 "com.apple.idms.appleid.prd.defaced2feelbad2feedfacedeadbeefcafef00dd00dc0de" (CSSMERR_TP_CERT_EXPIRED)
  5) 123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF012345678 "com.apple.idms.appleid.prd.defaced2feelbad2feedfacedeadbeefcafef00dd00dc0de" (CSSMERR_TP_CERT_EXPIRED)
  6) 123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF012345678 "member: DEADBEEF-1234-5678-9ABC-EF0123456789 DEADBEEF-1234-5678-9ABC-EF0123456789" (CSSMERR_TP_NOT_TRUSTED)
  7) 123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF012345678 "Xcode Server Builder (3/26/21, 12:32:33 PM)" (CSSMERR_TP_NOT_TRUSTED)
     7 identities found

  Valid identities only
  1) 123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF012345678 "iOS Dev" (CSSMERR_TP_NOT_TRUSTED)
     1 valid identities found

In the example, note Item 7 in the output is the Xcode Server Builder identity.


Ergonomic Keyboard for OS Sierra I recently switched from PC (many years, many Dells) to an iMac. I'm learning to love it. I do not have any issues with my wrists, etc., but I am a very fast typist and am used to an ergonomic keyboard (formerly used one from Microsoft).

I absolutely despise the Apple Magic Keyboard, however I cannot find an ergonomic keyboard that's compatible with OS Sierra 10.12.6. Wireless or wired, I'll take ANYTHING ergonomic.

Has anyone found one anywhere? I'm weary from 3 months of searching.

I know of and can recommend two different ones because I had two employees that, due to medical issues needed these keyboards.  One was a photographer and the other was a programmer.  Both swore by them.

Goldtouch Ergonomic Keyboard for Mac
Kenisis Freestyle Keyboard

A simple Internet search yields a number of results.

That said, the Microsoft ergonomic keyboard works just fine under on a Mac.  In fact, I have both the Apple keyboard and a Logitech K380 (Windows) keyboard hooked up simultaneously and both work just fine.

You just have to be aware that the Windows key functions as the Command key.


How to get rid of system is low in storage space notification (MacOS High Sierra 10.13.6) The solutions posted here at: Silencing "Your disk is almost full" notification
don't seem to work anymore, for me.

In particular, when I do

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/StorageManagement.framework/Versions/A/Resources/diskspaced help

I get

2018-08-24 15:57:33.461 diskspaced[8330:542479] Domain: com.apple.diskspaced
Supported keys:
2018-08-24 15:57:33.463 diskspaced[8330:542479] debugLog (BOOL) - log additional debug information. Default: NO
2018-08-24 15:57:33.463 diskspaced[8330:542479] checkAllVolumes (BOOL) - check all volumes. Default: NO
2018-08-24 15:57:33.464 diskspaced[8330:542479] minDiskSize (int) - minimal disk size in GB. Default: 128
2018-08-24 15:57:33.464 diskspaced[8330:542479] minFreeSpace (int) - minimal free size in GB. Default: 20
2018-08-24 15:57:33.464 diskspaced[8330:542479] minPurgeableSpace (int) - minimal purgeabe space size in GB. Default: 20
2018-08-24 15:57:33.464 diskspaced[8330:542479] ---
2018-08-24 15:57:33.464 diskspaced[8330:542479] Commands:
removeAllNotifications - Removes all scheduled and delivered user notificiations.

which seems to be different from the properties that one of the answers suggested to change.

How can I disable the low storage space notifications?

I am using (MacOS High Sierra 10.13.6).

Since macOS Mojave, you can no longer stop this Agent with launchctl, nor can you edit the plist file. However, you can add an override to prevent it starting by following these steps:

Restart your Mac, and hold down Cmd+R to enter recovery mode
At the recovery mode screen after it loads, select Utilities > Terminal
Execute the command "csrutil disable"
Reboot your Mac, and launch Terminal
Edit the file /var/db/launchd.db/com.apple.launchd/overrides.plist using any text editor (I use vi). You will need to sudo this!
Add the following text

<key>com.apple.diskspaced</key>
<dict>
        <key>Disabled</key>
        <true/>
</dict>

Reboot your Mac again, and once again go into Recovery mode. This time, launch Terminal and enter the command "csrutil enable" before rebooting.

diskspaced will now no longer start, as launchd will see an override that forcibly disables it. Voila.


Why I'm getting four hard drives? I have one HD, after some issues I reinstalled macOS, now I'm getting this,

Can I format/delete them?

Your internal SSD is formatted to APFS. This means your SSD contains two partitions in the default partition scheme:

EFI
APFS container

The APFS container itself contains four logical drives (volumes) - some of them with a specific role:

Preboot
Macintosh HD (your main volume with the system files and your data/apps)
Recovery (recovery system)
VM (virtual memory)

In the default scheme the four volumes share the whole space of the container - the reason why all show 250.79 GB in your screenshot.

In fact each volume is smaller but may be expanded dynamically.

You can get their real sizes by entering diskutil ap list in Terminal.app.

At least three of the four volumes are required to boot/run your Mac. The Recovery volume isn't really needed if your main volume isn't encrypted - but it's recommended to keep it.

So don't delete them! Or only delete them if you have a known good backup of your Mac!


Can I install the preinstalled Mac OS X Mountain Lion on other Macs? I just ordered a Mac that will be shipped with Mountain Lion. Is it possible to install Mountain Lion on my other Macs? Or do I have to buy an upgrade in the App Store?

No. The preinstalled copy of Mountain Lion is not licensed to be installed on additional machines.

From the Software License Agreement (2.A.):

  Preinstalled and Single-Copy Apple Software License. Subject to the terms and conditions of this License, unless you obtained the Apple Software from the Mac App Store or under a volume license, maintenance or other written agreement from Apple, you are granted a limited, non-exclusive license to install, use and run one (1) copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-branded computer at any one time. For example, these single-copy license terms apply to you if you obtained the Apple Software
  ￼￼￼preinstalled on Apple-branded hardware.

(emphasis added)

You will have to buy an upgrade in the App Store for your other Macs, however for non-commercial use you can install a single App Store purchase on multiple machines, given all the computers are in your control.


Can a SSH session be wrapped to appear as a distinct App? Fluid can create a .app wrapper around a webkit instance to turn any web page into an OSX Application. This script can do a less thorough job with Chrome. Is there anything that can do this for a ssh session, possibly through a Terminal or iTerm2 profile, or a standalone SSH client?

To elaborate:

I open Safari, then open a second Safari window for a particular website. Now cmd+tab and force quit and mission control and the dock and many other OSX features treat those two windows as part of the same app.

Instead, after opening Safari, I can open my created-with-Fluid custom .app for the particular website. This gives me all the OS-native features of having two separate apps running.

Analogously, in Terminal or iTerm2 or a standalone SSH client (e.g. CyberDuck or SecureCRT) I can open a second window with a particular profile loaded that will ssh to a certain server. That window will, again, be treated by the OS as part of the single running app.

I am hoping for something like Fluid that will create a .app wrapper around any method of opening an SSH session to a particular server, which will then stand alone from any other SSHing I'm doing in my normal usage.

The only way to run multiple, separate instances of Terminal is by launching them with the command line open -n -a "Terminal" -- understand that this isn't a great way to run things that aren't meant to be run like this. There are shared preferences and plist files being used by these instances so you may run in to trouble.

The reason Fluid works so well is each app is a separate WebKit browser instance, with a unique preference namespace, and without the normal browser window decorations. It's a heavy hack to say the least.

You can script Terminal with AppleScript and then save the AppleScript as an application. This script forces a new instance of Terminal to the foreground and then runs an ssh command in it:

do shell script "open -n -a Terminal"
tell application "Terminal"
   set currentTab to do script ("ssh user@server;")
   # Additional commands can be sent using...
   # delay 6
   # do script ("do something remote") in currentTab
end tell

Enter that in to the AppleScript Editor, customize it as suits your needs, and then select File > Save... and where it says Type: in the Save dialog select Application.

This will create an unsigned .app file you can distribute as an Application to start ssh sessions. If you have a developer certificate and want to code sign the .app so users don't get a warning about running untrusted code use the File > Export... menu option, select Application for the Type and make sure the Code Sign: option in the dialog pointing to a developer certificate instead of Don't Code Sign.

It is preferred to code sign the app if you're going to give the app to other users.

If you run that, you'll get entirely new Terminals started, independent of each other, that you can Cmd-Q quit without quitting the other instances. Replace Terminal in the script with iTerm if you prefer it for your command line work.


CMD + arrow goes to beginning of line , conflicts with Sublime I am trying to use cmd+left/right to do "focus to group" in Sublime, but my cursor goes to the beginning/end of line instead.

Note that I'm using a PC keyboard.. and I've remapped the modifiers (Super=CMD,CTRL=CMD).

Command   +  Arrow  is the system standard for 'beginning/end of line'.

This gives a good way to remap key bindings... Remap "Home" and "End" to beginning and end of line


Disable App Update Notifications on OSX? When I have apps that need updating in OSX I get a notification on the top-right corner of my screen that does not go away until I click it (which opens the app-store). Is there a way to turn these notifications off?

If the App store doesn't know about updates it should not be able to notify you - so within System Preferences go into the "App Store" preference pane and deactivate the option to search for updates automatically.


Is there an iOS app or jailbreak modification that can activate true caps lock? I'm using jailbroken iOS 5.1.1 and am looking for an app or setting that enables true caps lock.  Meaning, once activated, caps lock behaves like it does on a PC and stays enabled when you switch to numbers or even between apps.

As it is right now, caps lock is disabled when you go to the home page, switch apps, or even switch to number input.

If necessary, I'm willing to manually configure a custom keyboard to have capital letters in place of the default ones.  I'm even willing to downgrade the operating system for this.

Does something like this exist in jailbreak land or is there a hidden setting of some sort?

To enable caps lock in iOS 5 double tap the shift key. The shift key will become blue signifying caps lock is enabled.

Caps lock will be disabled if switching to other input keyboards (switching to type numbers/special characters) or applications.

Source for answer is from a TUAW article.


external hard drive still shows in disk utility after it was removed I unmounted and removed my backup disk called TimeMachine, but it still shows up in the disk utility app.

I tried running

$ diskutil unmount /dev/disk3s2

and

$ diskutil unmountdisk /dev/disk3

but it didn't help.

How can I make it stop showing in the disk utility?

￼￼

The correct command is given below.

diskutil eject disk3

You can also use the Finder and Disk Utility applications to eject a drive.

Occasionally, you may be using a drive that is not fully Mac compatible where the above command does not work. For example, I have an mp3 player that is not Mac compatible. When diskutil eject command is used, the player ejects only to remount a few seconds later. So, before removing the player from the USB port, I have to log out of my account to make sure all files are closed. In your case, you may have to shutdown the Mac before removing the drive.


Can I replace RAM or processor in new Mac mini? Is it possible from technical point of view to replace/upgrade on my own RAM or processor in new Mac mini released today (assuming that I'll use compatible replacement)?

No RAM or processor replacement in the Mac Mini 2014
An iFixit teardown reveals this. And @Pol posted a link to macminicolo.net were you can read about the soldered RAM.
The processor and the RAM is soldered onto the motherboard. Even in a clean room, a soldering iron and a steady hand, it would be nearly impossible. You are not allowed to do this on your own, your warranty will expire on this one.
You can replace your RAM yourself, Apple has even provided a guide on how to do it on similar hardware (2012 model). Here you can find the guide: "Mac mini: How to remove or install memory". No problems with your warranty.


MacBook Pro mid-2008 freezes or causes file system problem I have an old MacBook Pro (mid-2008, 15 inch). Apple replaced the main board and I upgraded RAM and replaced HDD.

When I use OSX on it, it freezes randomly and I have to reboot it.

I installed Ubuntu on it, it never freezes but sometimes it hangs for a while. And the other day, I copied many files to it over from network and the files are set read-only mode. I can't delete them even with sudo.

When I use the MacBook, usually it's very hot.

It might be too old to be useful now. However, I like it very much especially the keyboard (the metal one).

What do you think cause the problem? Is there a cheap way to diagnose it to find the problem part? I wouldn't mind spending 100 bucks to revive it.

It sounds like you might have faulty RAM. your macbook is not too old. I still use my white macbook from early 2008 with a hacked version of ML (not supported by hardware) with no issues. Try Memtest http://memtestosx.org/


How to enable scrolling with the mouse wheel in Google Chrome? I am currently running OSX 10.9.3 and Google Chrome Version 35.0.1916.114. When using Mozilla Firefox, I am able to scroll using the mouse wheel just fine. But with Google Chrome, it does not work. How am I able to enable this feature?

You must install a Google Chrome extension called AutoScroll. Make sure to refresh the pages you are currently on after the installation is complete.


What is the 'microcontroler' setting under 'networks? I was looking through the network settings on my 2015MBP and I came across this.

What is the microcontroler? It looks like it can be used to make telephone calls from the Mac as shown here

What is this, how does it work and how do you set it up?

Thanks

Edit

Here is the output from the commands that Rogiersuggested

network services output

(1) Microcontroller
(Hardware Port: Modem (usbmodem1422), Device: usbmodem1422)

(2) Bluetooth DUN
(Hardware Port: Bluetooth DUN, Device: Bluetooth-Modem)

(3) Wi-Fi
(Hardware Port: Wi-Fi, Device: en0)

(4) Bluetooth PAN
(Hardware Port: Bluetooth PAN, Device: en3)

(5) Thunderbolt Bridge
(Hardware Port: Thunderbolt Bridge, Device: bridge0)

Hardware Ports output

Hardware Port: Wi-Fi
Device: en0
Ethernet Address: 00:00:00:00:00:00

Hardware Port: Bluetooth PAN
Device: en3
Ethernet Address: 00:00:00:00:00:00

Hardware Port: Thunderbolt 1
Device: en1
Ethernet Address: 00:00:00:00:00:00

Hardware Port: Thunderbolt 2
Device: en2
Ethernet Address: 00:00:00:00:00:00

Hardware Port: Thunderbolt Bridge
Device: bridge0
Ethernet Address: N/A

VLAN Configurations
===================

Note:
I have changed the MAC addresses to 00:00:00:00:00:00 for security reasons since they can be spoofed.

If it helps I remembered I created an Wi-Fi hotspot on my Mac by clicking on the Wi-Fi menu and clicking on create network

The 'grep' command did not display anything. (used usbmodem1422 as the argument.

The icon indicates its probably a serial device (i.e. a virtual com port).

Normally you need to click the + sign below (your first screenshot), then select a interface, a default name will be presented (in your case Microcontroller). You could rename the service afterwards.

The problem is once the device is added its hard to see which port its connected to. Now if you goto the Terminal and type:

# list all h/w ports
networksetup -listallhardwareports

# list Services and their connected port
networksetup -listnetworkserviceorder

The last command should show you something like:

(1) Ethernet 1
(Hardware Port: Ethernet 1, Device: en0)

(2) Ethernet 2
(Hardware Port: Ethernet 2, Device: en1)

(x) Microcontroller
(Hardware Port: xxxx, Device: YYYY)

The device name (YYYY) you should find in your /etc folder (if connected).

So, if the device is connected you should find it in that /dev folder. You can check this by going to the terminal and type:

ls -l /dev | grep <the name of the h/w port>

If you then disconnect the device and they the command (above) again, and it disappears your sure.

To answer your question: how it works and how you set it up depends on what type of device it is. And its hard to say just based on this information.

Apparently this device got somehow added. As Ashely states, it could be a Raspberry PI, or some other USB device (with serial port).


How to unlock or restore Safari One day my Safari got blocked. I doesn't allow me to close it, or even to change the URL, neither interact with the website. As you can see in the image bellow most of the menu options appear disabled.

I tried to force quit with the Activity Monitor, but when reopening Safari, is on the same state.

Is there a way to reset/reinstall Safari different to reinstall the system?

For more information, I'm using Mojave and Safari has no extensions installed.

Try Force Quitting Safari (either Activity Monitor or  (Apple) > Force Quit) and then hold Shift and click on the dock icon to open Safari. This should fix your issue.


What free or open source software can I use with Mac hardware to verify integrity of every block of a disk where Core Storage is used? Verification should be nondestructive.

For Mac hardware

There's a possible answer in Super User, but it predates Lion so:

I don't know whether badblocks run from a live CD is applicable where Apple_CoreStorage is amongst the types on the device to be checked.

If not applicable from a live CD, then one answer to this question might involve:

libfvde with an installation of any compatible OS that can run bad blocks.

Less exotically, I'll offer two answers that do not involve libfvde.

Background

Whilst I mention troublesome disks below, I don't seek help with those disks.

This question seeks answers that may be generalised to anyone who would like to check a disk.

Without Mac hardware

I typically use Ultimate Boot CD (UBCD) 5.1.1 to run HDAT2 4.5.3.

With Mac hardware

UBCD

Good for some purposes, but not for what I want from HDAT2.

If you know of a way to make HDAT2 run with, say, a MacBookPro5,2: that'll make a great answer.

ZEVO

Giving disks to ZFS instead of HFS Plus simplifies discovery of errors in space that is used, without attention to unused space. On at least two of my disks, a scrub following a Time Machine backup to ZFS has revealed what OS X alone can not: errors affecting bands within the sparse bundle disk image used by Time Machine.

S.M.A.R.T.

OS X SAT SMART Driver is useful, but not applicable to all types of external drive.

For an external drive where S.M.A.R.T. status is verified, according to Disk Utility, scrub finds errors … and so on.

For this question

Prefer a nondestructive check of all space (all blocks of a disk)
without a change of file system.

Related

In the ZEVO support forum:

badblocks(8) with ZFS, with and without CoreStorage

Install badblocks on Mac OS X (Leopard or less)

Mac OS X Ext2 Filesystem includes a badblocks that can be used with Mac OS X.

Credit: doctormac: How to check for bad blocks on a mac with Mac OS X? (2011) reference to Bad blocks? badblocks! | Terminal (2007)


iCloud is re-creating empty folders for old iOS Apps I recently navigated to:

Users/gruberbastian/Library/Mobile Documents

There I saw tons of old iOS Apps I installed on my iPad over a year ago. Those folders are empty, but no matter how often I try to delete them (rm -r 'foldername'), they re-create themselves.

I even cannot find them under the

  System Preferences > iCloud > iCloud Drive

So for example I find a folder called

iCloud~com~FireproofStudios~TheRoom3

I type this in the command line:

rm -r iCloud~com~FireproofStudios~TheRoom3

Now the folder is gone, but after a few seconds, it reappears again.

  How can I permanently delete old iCloud Apps and data?

UPDATE
This is the Library/Mobile Documents folder

Apps like readdle~scanner~pdf (and many more) are not part of the iCloud Drive overview:

It would help if you would explain why you would like to do this. For example, do you just want to clear up the clutter on your disk? Do you want to erase every trace of deleted apps?

If you just want to save space, the relevant command is brctl which is part of bird. (brctl for "bird control", as Apple uses the metaphor of the bird flying through the iCloud). At least according to the official documentation, the closest command to what you would be looking for would be brctl evict, but this doesn't remove the folder, but instead remove the local copy. In your example, you would type:

cd ~/Library/Mobile\ Documents
brctl evict iCloud~com~FireproofStudios~TheRoom3

I would keep an eye on the brctl man page to see if they add that additional functionality for the future for getting rid of these folders entirely.


My Mac crashes when it runs out of RAM I have a perplexing problem with my Macbook Pro (16GB RAM, OS X 10.8.4). If I use up all my main memory, the computer crashes. The screen freezes on whatever window it was on (not a kernel panic), and is totally unresponsive.

I have also noticed that the "wired" memory usage in Activity Monitor seems to get very high - most of my RAM usage is "wired". And even upon boot, there is a kernel_task process that uses 1.5GB + of memory which seems somewhat high. These points may or may not be relevant.

I know I have needed virtual memory in the past and had no problems, so I have no idea what is wrong. It seems as if the computer just flat-out refuses to use virtual memory - that would certainly explain the crash. In fact, my /private/var/vm/ folder does not even exist.

Turns out the simple solution sometimes is the proper one after all! It seems /private/var/vm/ should always exist (even if it is empty, ie on restart), so however it got deleted the answer was to just sudo mkdir /private/var/vm/. Seemingly non-robust coding on Apple's part, but at least it's fixed. Never mind!


What is Notes.app's iCloud notes database location(s) for recovery (El Capitan)? I lost a note from the Notes.app and need to recover it. I have the entire content of my HD backed up (both online and with TimeMachine) so I thought it'd be easy. However, I can't find up-to-date information on where notes are stored on current installations of El Capitan.

It seems that notes are no longer stored in either
/Users/yourUserName/Library/Containers/com.apple.Notes or
/Users/yourUserName/Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.notes
which is what other threads on this site and elsewhere claim. (See here. I also tried the solution suggested here but it did not work for me.) Maybe this behavior changed in the meanwhile.
I have checked the versioning entries of the databases in both of these locations an they all didn't get updated since May.

Anyone out there who knows where notes are stored on current installations of El Capitan?  What folder to replace to get them back?

Any help much appreciated!

Note:
– I am referring to an "iCloud" note that I need to recover, not the "On My Mac" note.  I do not use "On My Mac" notes.
– My iCloud notes get synced with my iPad too, but it is not available anymore under "recently deleted notes".  I also looked on icloud.com but to no avail.
– When I opened the Notes.app on the iPad that particular note was still visible on the screen as I had been working on it (I had not opened the app on the iPad for a month). After it refreshed the note was gone.

EDIT  (after a few more unsuccessful attempts):
Since it seems that when iCloud is disabled Notes won't read any "iCloud" notes (which is logical ...) the best strategy would be to close the Notes.app, then download a past version of whatever that magic folder is that holds the current iCloud notes, cap the Internet connection, replace the current notes folder with the backup and then start Notes again, copy the missing note somewhere else, and then reestablish the Internet connection.
But I'd need to know what that magic folder is on El Capitan ... anyone any ideas?

EDIT2:
Could it be that Notes stores "iCloud" and "On my Mac" notes in different places? Via this script I was able to extract the content from the backup of the NotesV6.storedata database within com.apple.Notes, but the missing note did not show up. It seems the notes contained in that database were either even older than May, or they were "On my mac" notes, from some time before. I had moved all my notes to iCloud earlier this year (but before May) so I think the NotesV6.storedata database in com.apple.Notes might contain the on my mac notes.
Now group.com.apple.Notes was also changed last time in May but I have a slight hope that if those are the iCloud notes, some version of that note was already there.  But the data there seems to be stored in a different format, there is no NotesV6.storedata file, and so the script mentioned also did not work.  Any ideas?

I'd highly appreciate any hints what I might try and where I might look!

This is not a direct answer to the question "What is Notes.app's iCloud notes database location(s)" but it might be useful information for others who need to recover an iCloud-synchronized note.

Given my lack of success with everything I tried I called Apple support. They were very helpful and after a few unsuccessful attempts replacing folders they looked into my iCloud account and found that on their end there was "one recoverable item" that showed up. After verifying my identity they could then "recover" that item and, voila, the missing note popped up in the notes app under Recently deleted items. It had been deleted beginning of September. Had I only known it was that easy ...

So it seems that deleted iCloud notes are not permanently deleted after 30 days and still recoverable by Apple. I forgot to ask if forever, or for how long ...

In any case, while I've resolved my problem I'd still be interested in the actual location of the iCloud-notes database. So if anyone comes across this at some point and finds the answer it'd be highly appreciated.


What is 'Other Volumes'? In my Disk Utility, I see Other Volumes. It happened without me knowing and I have no idea how to check what that is.

Could you tell me what that is and if I can remove it using Terminal? Or without having to install other programs?

A standard macOS startup APFS container does contain additional volumes to the volume with macOS installed on it. You can list these with diskutil apfs list. The standard configuration of such a container is as follows:

disk1s1, the volume you boot from, mounted at /, shown in Disk Utility as Macintosh HD
disk1s2, ‘Preboot’, not mounted, hidden
disk1s3, ‘Recovery’, not mounted, hidden
disk1s4, ‘VM’, mounted at /private/var/vm, hidden

The last 3 are grouped as Other Volumes in Disk Utility. They're required by macOS and shouldn't be removed.


How to prioritize what access point my wifi connects to? In my office we have two Airport Express routers both acting as access points (no DHCP). They both broadcast the same wifi network (same name).

Now, the one I'm sitting right next to was setup later than the first one, due to bad reception from the first one.

Now my problem is, that even though I'm sitting right next to the new one, my computer keeps connecting to the first one with the bad reception. I have tried removing the network and re-add it again, but it still connects to the one with bad reception.

How can this be, and how do I solve it, without changing the network names and manually choosing which one I want to connect to.

My question is btw. somehow similar to this I think: Connect Mac to closer Access Point

With your setup of multiple access points sharing the same SSID (network name), your wifi client will use its built-in roaming algorithm to switch. But even if you have a marginal signal (i.e. one bar) on the one that's farther away, most times, the wifi client will stick to that access point, simply because it was the first one configured. To get around this you have two options...

Use different SSID's, and in the Advanced section in Network Preferences/Wi-Fi, drag/drop them in the preferred order. The good thing about this is the ability to quickly see which one you're connected to at any time and explicitly switch over whenever you want.
If you must have the same SSID... Change the SSID for the closer (desired) access point to a new name (e.g. "NewName"), re-associate your computer to that access point with the new name, then change SSID for the older access point to the same new name.