Monthly Archives: April 2020

fixed : Sony miniDV cam “for InfoLithium battery only” error

Posted on by
Reply

Question :

I was planning to review some old miniDV videotapes to see if there was anything interesting on them that I might want to import into my Mac and edit it. However, when I plugged the battery onto my Sony PC1E miniDV camera, I immediately got a blue screen and an error saying “For InfoLITHIUM Battery only”, which is weird because the battery is an original Sony InfoLithium one…

So I plugged in the power cable and connected the power adapter to my Sony miniDV cam… but now I got even weirder : again, I can into the “For InfoLITHIUM Battery only” error… that’s impossible !?! this time it isn’t even a battery that’s connected, it’s the original power cable…

Is my Sony miniDV cam broken  ? (beyond repair maybe ?) Is it possible to fix this ?

 

Answer :

Even though your first reaction might be that your battery or maybe even your Sony miniDV cam is broken beyond repair… you are probably in luck if you haven’t used your Sony miniDV cam for a while and you get the “For InfoLITHIUM Battery only” error message… in that case, the solution is simple most of the time :

you probably got this error message because of the battery contact surface of your cam, your battery or your power adapter is greased or slightly corroded… so just clean it with a cleaning foam or cleaning fluid that is suited for use on electronic devices :

a good option is Multi Foam cleaning foamer by C-Inco, but others that are suited for use on computers and electronics should do as well :

D.RECT Cleaning Foam 400ml   buy it on Amazon UK / Amazon DE

CRC 1 VisiClear Foam Cleaner 6.9oz buy it on Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon DE

LogiLink RP0012 Foam Cleaner 400ml   buy it on Amazon DE

Weicon Cleaning Foam 400ml   buy it on Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon DE

Directions for use :

  • unplug the power adapter from the wall power
  • take the bottle of foam cleaner and shake well
  • then, spay foam on the contact area of the battery on the cam
  • then, spray foam on the contact area of the battery itself
  • then, spray foam onto the contact area of the power adapter
  • then leave it to dry
  • when all foam has dried, reconnect the battery or power adapter
  • then switch on your camera

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

Advertisement

fixed : USB-C memorystick for iPad Pro

Posted on by
Reply

Question :

I have an iPad Pro 2018 with a USB-C port, and I found out that I can connect a regular USB-stick using a USB-to-USB-C-adapter and then browse and use all files on the USB-stick from within the Folders.app on my iPad Pro. That’s great !

Now, since I only have USB-C ports on both my MacBook Pro and my iPad Pro,  I was wondering : are there any good USB-C memory sticks available for an affordable price ?

 

Answer :

The answer is simple : Yes, there are USB-C memorysticks that work great.

We have tested this one, that is both USB-C and USB compatible, that makes it even more versatile :

Topesel USB-C Memory Stick : buy it on Amazon UK / Amazon DE

And there are several alternatives (that we didn’t test) :

SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive Go USB-C : buy it on Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon DE

Verbatim Store&Go USB-C Flash Drive : buy it on Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon DE

Kenix on-the-go USB-C Memory Stick : buy it on Amazon UK / Amazon DE

Kootion USB-C Memory Stick : buy it on Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon DE

Meco Eleverde USB-C Memory Stick : buy it on Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon DE

Meco Eleverde 2-in-1 USB-C Memory Stick : buy it on Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon DE

enjoy 😉

fixed : use old iPad as an extra screen for your Mac (or PC)

Posted on by
Reply

Question :

Since we are working from home a lot (and the children are home schooling), and we have several old iPads and iPhones lying around gathering dust, we were wondering if it would be possible to use them as second screens on our Macs and Windows PCs to make our work and homework easier by being able to do this (and more) :

  • manage our music playlist (iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify) on our old iPad/iPhone whilst running  MS Office on our Mac/PC without switching apps
  • use our old iPad/iPhone’s touchscreen to put a signature under a PDF-document whilst typing it on our Mac/PC
  • use our old iPad/iPhone as a drawing tablet for our Mac/PC
  • videochat or view an online presentation onour Mac/PC whilst making notes on our old iPad/iPhone using a full-size keyboard (and easily swapping the two around when needed)

We noticed Apple has introduced this great feature called Sidecar that enables you to use your iPad (or iPhone) as a second screen for your Mac. But when I looked at the Sidecar requirements on the Apple website, I found that our older iPads/iPhones aren’t supported.

Is there any way to use Sidecar (or something similar) on our old iPads/iPhones ?

 

Answer :

Yes, even though you cannot use Sidecar on any unsupported iPad, iPhone or Mac, there is an alternative that works just as great for any old iPad (or iPhone) and is not limited to a Mac, but does support Windows PCs also… and best of all : it’s FREE.

This is ideal for working from home and home schooling since you can do all this (and more) :

  • manage your music playlist (iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify) on your iPad whilst running  MS Office on your Mac/PC without switching apps
  • use your iPad/iPhone’s touchscreen to put a signature under a PDF-document whilst typing it on your Mac/PC
  • use your iPad/iPhone as a drawing tablet for your Mac/PC
  • videochat or view an online presentation on my Mac/PC whilst making notes on my iPad/iPhone using a full-size keyboard (and easily swapping the two around when needed)

This FREE alternative for Apple Sidecar is Splashtop Wired XDisplay. It enables you to use any iPad/iPhone running iOS 7 or newer as a second or third (touch)screen for any Mac running OSX 10.9 Mavericks (or PC running Windows 7) or newer.

This means that all these iPhone / iPad / Mac models are supported :

  • iPhone 4 or newer
  • iPad 2 or newer
  • any iPad mini
  • any iPad Air
  • any iPad Pro
  • any aluminum iMac (iMac “Mid 2007” or newer)
  • any iMac Pro
  • Mac mini “Early 2009” or newer
  • Mac Pro “Early 2008” or newer
  • white MacBook “Early 2009” or newer
  • any aluminum MacBook
  • MacBook Air “Late 2008” or newer (2nd gen MacBook Air or newer)
  • MacBook Pro “Mid 2007” or newer

To install, do this :

  • install the Splashtop Wired XDisplay app on you Mac/PC
    • you can download Splashtop Wired XDisplay for Mac or Windows here
  • install iTunes on your PC if you have done so yet
    • you can download iTunes for Windows here
    • on a Mac you don’t need additional software for your iPad/iPhone to be recognized
  • install Splashtop Wired XDisplay on your iPad/iPhone
    • you can download Splashtop Wired XDisplay for iPhone here
    • you can download Splashtop Wired XDisplay for iPad here
  • then, plug your iPad/iPhone’s USB-cable into your Mac/PC
  • then run the Splashtop Wired XDisplay app on your Mac/PC
  • then run the Splashtop Wired XDisplay app on your iPad/iPhone
  • then goto the Settings on your Mac/PC, find the Screen Settings and arrange your screens the way you like
    • you can choose “Mirror Screen” to see exactly the same on your MAc/PC and your iPad/iPhone
    • you can choose “Extend Screen” to arrange the iPad/iPhone as an add-on for your desktop
    • if you already have a second screen attached to your Mac/PC, you can use your iPad/iPhone as an additional third screen also

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : charge and use headphones at the same time on USB-C iPad Pro

Posted on by
Reply

Question :

My 2018 iPad Pro is great. I can use it for most of the office work I previously did on my MacBook. I have also started to use my iPad Pro for conference calls. For that I would like to wear my favorite over-ear headphones, which have a 3.5mm mini-jack and noise canceling. I got an official Apple USB-C-to-minijack adapter for that, but then I run into the problem that I cannot charge my iPad Pro at the same time. I have seen that there are various docking stations and port-multipliers that work with the USB-C iPad Pro, but those are very expensive…

Isn’t there a simpler solution ?

 

Answer :

Yes there is, but your choices are very limited : there are various splitters available that split the USB-C port into a USB-port and an audio-port… but : BEWARE ! nearly every single one of them does NOT work with the iPad Pro !!! (most of them only work on Android devices)

There is only one of the simple (and very affordable) splitters that is tested to work with the 2018 iPad Pro :

ESR 2-in-1 USB-C PD Headphone Jack Adapter ( buy it on Amazon UK / Amazon DE )

Note 1 : this splitter’s USB-C port is only capable of charging, not for a USB-(data)stick or a USB-keyboard or anything other than a USB-C charger

Note 2 : this splitter’s audio mini-jack does support both audio-out and audio-in, so when using headphones with a microphone (like gaming headsets) that microphone is used, but when using a regular headphone, the iPad Pro’s built-in microphone will be used

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : where can I get an Ancient Greek keyboard ?

Posted on by
Reply

Question :

I am learning Classical Greek (a.k.a. Ancient Greek) in school, and since I am home-schooling now, I would like to have a Greek keyboard.

Where can I get one ?

 

Answer :

For Ancient Greek, you would preferably use the so called “Greek Polytonic Keyboard” setting on your computer, which is slightly different from a regular / modern Greek keyboard layout.

To enable the “Greek Polytonic Keyboard” on your Mac or PC, see this post :

https://macmanus.nl/2019/02/14/typing-ancient-greek-text-on-mac-or-pc/

However, you are asking for a piece of hardware, a physical keyboard. If you want to buy an actual Greek Polytonic Keyboard, your options are extremely limited and really expensive, especially if you want a real Mac-keyboard (not a Windows-keyboard). You could of course use a modern-day Greek Keyboard instead, but getting yourself one if you’re not living in Greece is rather difficult (and expensive). So I would suggest one of these :

  • …or you can make some stickers yourself, using small round 12mm multi-color stickers and a marker (that you can get in most supermarkets and bookstores)

…and stick those onto an old USB- or Bluetooth-keyboard that you are not currently using. Here’s an example of the layout (yellow & blue are regular keys, white are shift-keys)

If you need an affordable new keyboard, buy the Logitech K120 keyboard (or something alike). Even if you are using a Mac, this Windows keyboard will do since you will be stickering the keys :

 

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : installing macOS 10.15 Catalina on an unsupported Mac

Posted on by
2

Question :

I would like to get all Macs in my network on macOS 10.15 Catalina. I have some older models (like a MacBook Pro 13″ Late 2011, a white MacBook 13″ Late 2008 and a Mac mini Mid 2007) that are officially unsupported.

Is there any option to get macOS 10.15 Catalina running on unsupported Macs ?

 

Answer :

Yes, there is.

It is possible to install macOS 10.15 Catalina on various officially unsupported Macs using the Catalina Patcher by dosdude1.com :

http://dosdude1.com/catalina/

But before you do so, make sure that you :

  1. do not do this on your primary Mac !! as this is unsupported by Apple, do not do this on any Mac that is vital to you for your work or study !! using this software is not entirely hassle-free, only do this on Macs that are your secondary computer !!
  2. have a 16GB USB-stick that you can reformat for this
  3. have a stable internet connection (preferably an Ethernet-cable network connection to an internet modem with a high-speed internet connection)
  4. read this post : fixed : installer error 16GB USB-stick not large enough for 10GB Catalina Patcher
  5. and read this post : fixed : “Convert to APFS” option greyed out in Disk Utility (in Catalina Patcher)
  6. read the additional info on dosdude1.com
  7. follow the instruction video by dosdude1.com
  8. see if your Mac is listed as a ‘Catalina Patcher supported’ Mac before you even consider doing this

Shortlist of ‘Catalina Patcher supported’ Macs (see sosdude1.com for in-depth specs) :

  • any Mac released since 2009 ( iMac / Mac mini / Mac Pro / Xserve / MacBook / MacBook Air / MacBook Pro)
  • all desktop-Macs released in 2008 ( iMac / Mac Pro / Xserve )
  • most laptop-Macs released in 2008 :
    • all MacBook Pro models 2008 and newer
    • any aluminum-MacBook
    • nearly every MacBook Air ( any MacBook Air, except the ‘1st Generation’ / ‘Early 2008’ )
    • only the last generation white-MacBook ( Early 2009 )

…so, in your case :

  • yes, this Catalina Patcher can be used on a Late 2011 MacBook Pro
  • no, this Catalina Patcher cannot be used on a white-MacBook 13″ Late 2008, only on newer white-MacBook models
  • no, this Catalina Patcher cannot be used on a Mid 2007 Mac mini, only on newer Mac mini models

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

 

fixed : “Convert to APFS” option greyed out in Disk Utility (in Catalina Patcher)

Posted on by
3

Question :

I am trying to install macOS 10.15 Catalina on an unsupported MacBook Pro that I have lying around. I downloaded the Catalina Patcher from dodsude1.com and watched the instruction video. I am following the instruction video to the letter and everything seemed to work okay so far, but now I have to reformat my internal HD to APFS, using Disk Utility, I can’t do so because the “Convert to APFS” is greyed out…

What am I doing wrong ?

 

Answer :

Nothing maybe… is your MacBook (Pro/Air) already running macOS 10.13 High_Sierra ?

If your Mac is running macOS 10.13 High_Sierra, your disk format may already be APFS !

To check, in Disk Utility, select your internal disk in the list on the left and if in the middle, under the disk’s name, it says “APFS Volume • APFS”, your disk is already formatted as APFS… so in that case you can skip the ‘APFS formatting’ step and proceed with the next step of the instruction video…

If it doesn’t say “APFS Volume • APFS”, try the options lined out here :

https://iboysoft.com/mac-data-recovery/convert-to-apfs-option-not-available-or-greyed-out.html

 

That’s it !

enjoy 😉