Monthly Archives: June 2012

fixed : installing a new hard disk (option 1)

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Here’s a simple 3-step way of replacing a HD in a Mac :

[ in this example a new HD is put into a Mac mini (version mid 2007) ]

1- clone the internal HD directly onto the new HD
These instructions assume you have another Intel-Mac and a USB-enclosure for a SATA-harddisk (that you will afterwards use to turn the old internal HD into an external one) available :
– put the new harddrive into the USB-enclosure
– connect the USB-cable to your other Intel-Mac
– connect the Mac mini to the Intel-Mac using a FireWire-cable
– (temporarily, just during startup) connect a USB-keyboard to your Mac mini
– startup the Mac mini while pressing the T-key on the keyboard (“Target Mode”)
– both the Mac mini and the USB-connected new HD will now show up in your Finder (on the Intel-Mac)
– open Disk Utility
– click on the Erase-tab
– select the USB-connected HD list on the left, and erase it in MacOS Extended (Journaled) format
[ BEWARE : do NOT format your HD in MacOS Extended (“Case-sensitive” Journaled) mode ! As that will prevent some applications to run ! e.g. Adobe Photoshop 10 Editor ]
– click on the Restore-tab
– from the list on the left drag the partition of your Mac mini onto the “Source”-field
– then drag the new partition from your new HD onto the “Destination”-field
– click the Restore-button, and wait

2- replace the HD
– open the instructions on how to replace the HD from the iFixit-website (or print them out) and read them

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing-Mac-mini-Model-A1176-Hard-Drive/1108/1

– get the new HD out of the USB-enclosure
– now gently open the Mac mini enclosure
– blow the dust of the interior using a compressed air blower [ do NOT use a hair dryer ! ] or using a vacuum cleaner with a piece of thin cloth (e.g. a napkin) tightly fit to the suction tube (to prevent anything from actually being sucked in)
– replace the HD (make sure the connectors are clean and fit thight)
– while you’re at it, you might also check the AirPort-card connector
– and finish up (all using the iFixit-instructions)

3- test the new HD
– restart

Note : if you would like an alternative procedure for replacing a hard drive in a Mac, look here :

https://macmanusnl.wordpress.com/2012/06/12/installing-a-new-hard-drive-2/ 

fixed : a (relatively) quick fix for Photoshop not wanting to install on Case-sensitive formatted HD

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Question :

Today, I wanted to install Photoshop on my Mac, but the installer refused because I have my Mac HD formatted in “MacOS Extended (Journaled, Case-sensitive)” format.

How can I easily fix this ?

Answer :

Photoshop (both Photoshop Elements and Photoshop CS) can not be installed on a Mac that has a “MacOS Extended (Journaled, Case-sensitive)” formatted internal HD. It just can’t. There is only one route to fixing this that will help here : you need to reformat your HD.

So here’s the quickest way to reformatting and restoring your Mac’s internal HD without loosing data :

– make a Time Machine backup of your HD
– plug an OSX 10.7 installer (USB-stick or DVDrom) into your Mac

Note : if you don’t have an OSX-installer, here are directions on making one :

– make sure you have a new DVD-writable or a completely empty 4GB USB-stick

– download Lion Disk Maker and follow the instructions that come with it :

http://blog.gete.net/lion-diskmaker-us/

– restart while pressing the ALT-button
– choose the OSX EFI volume to boot from
– open Disk Utility
– click on the Erase tab
– select your internal HD, and “MacOS Extended (Journaled)”
[ and NOT “MacOS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled)” !!! ]
– click Erase (a new name for the HD is not important)
– when the erase (reformat) is finished, exit Disk Utility and go to “restore from Time Machine backup”
– make sure your Mac is connected to the Time Machine disk by a cable connection (either Ethernet/UTP, USB or FireWire)
– select the volume called Data and continue
– select the subvolume that has your previous HD’s name
– click Restore and wait
(restoring can take up to one hour)
– afterwards restart your Mac normally
– do a quick check to see if things work properly
– put in the Adobe Photoshop Elements installer DVDrom and follow the installer instructions
– done !

fixed : quickly share your Mac’s internet connection to your iPad

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Question :

I just got myself a WiFi-only iPad, but I have no WiFi reception in my living room (that’s why my Mac in my living room is connected to my network through an Ethernet/UTP-cable). Is there an easy way to get internet connection on my iPad in my living room ?

Answer :

Yes, there is.

Your Mac can share it’s internet connection from one of it’s internal network-connections to another. So from Ethernet to WiFi in your case.

To get it working is easy :

– turn on your Mac (if your Mac isn’t running, this won’t work)

– go to System Preferences (under the Apple-dropdown menu in the upper left corner of the desktop/Finder-menu)

– in the window that opens, click on “Sharing”

– in the screen that opens, click on “Internet Sharing” in the list on the left

– then, on the right, select your incoming network/internet connection at “Share your connection from:” (so, in this case select “Ethernet” there)

– and then select your outgoing internet connection at “To computers using:” (so, in this case put a check mark at “Wi-Fi”)

– if you want your shared internet to be password protected, click on the “Wi-Fi Options…”-button and choose your preferred network name, the preferred password protection protocol and your preferred password. If you don’t need protection, just leave everything as-is.

– then put a check-mark at “Internet Sharing” in the list on the left and quit System Preferences

– now you will see that your AirPort/WiFi-pie icon in the upper right of the desktop / finder-menu has turned into a new icon with an arrow pointing upward.

– then, on your iPad (or iPhone or any other WiF-connectable device) go to Settings, click on WiFi and select your new local WiFi-network

– done ! enjoy !

Note : you’ve just turned your Mac into a local WiFi-router (also), so remember that your Mac has to be switched on to sustain the WiFi-network connection

fixed : get the WMA-recordings from an Olympus voice recorder into iTunes

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Question :

I have an Olympus VN-88500PC voice memo recorder and I can get the WMA-recordings onto my Mac, but not into iTunes – what can I do ?

Answer :

iTunes for Mac doesn’t import WMA audio files (even though it seems like for some reason iTunes for PC does…).

So you will have to convert the WMA into a file format that iTunes does understand like MP3 or AAC, before you can import the recordings into iTunes.

There are a lot of audio converters available on the Mac, but a lot of them won’t allow you to convert WMA-files. Others might suggest Switch or Tunesify,  but I would recommend Smart Converter, as it’s FREE, it has a simple user interface and it creates small MP3s.

FYI :

my source was a 30MB WMA-file,

Switch (FREE version) turned it into a 225MB MP3-file, even though I was using the “small file” option

Tunesify (the €3 version) turned it into a 180MB MP3-file,

and Smart Converter (FREE version) turned in into an MP3-file of only 45MB (using the “Music” conversion option)

Smart Converter is available in the Mac App Store :

http://itunes.apple.com/nl/app/smart-converter/id447513724?mt=12

…and after the WMA-to-MP3-conversion is done, you can just drag & drop the MP3-file onto the iTunes window to import.