Category Archives: macOS (OS X, MacOS X, MacOS, System)

software running on Apple Macintosh computers with various versions of the Macintosh Operating System :
System 1.0 – 7.5
MacOS 7.6 – 9.2
MacOS X 10.0 – 10.7
OS X 10.8 – 10.11
macOS 10.12 and newer

fixed : macOS Sierra downloaded but installer won’t run

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Question :

Since the latest version of OSX (entitled “macOS Sierra) has been yesterday, I wanted to install it on my Mac. I clicked on “download” in the Mac AppStore and  the download started ; on the dedicated product page I could see the status bar filling up and finally stating “downloaded”… but then, nothing happened…

The download wouldn’t install…

I re-checked if macOS Sierra does support my Mac, it does. So I tried restarting the AppStore-app, I tried logging out my iCloud/AppStore-account & than logging back in, I tried rebooting my Mac, I tried rebooting in SafeMode, I tried FirstAid in the Disk Utility app, I tried clicking 10 times on the “downloaded” button repeatedly, I tried installing the DeBug-menus & cleaning the AppStore cache, I tried deleting the hidden AppStore downloads folder… and I tried various command line solutions found online in the Terminal app… nothing helped… I am still stuck with the button under the macOS Sierra icon saying “downloaded”… and nothing happens…

What can I do ?

 

Answer :

You are probably not (really) going to like this answer, because this will set you back hours & hours, in which you can’t use your Mac ; but it’s the only way known to solve this, and you need to have a recent TimeMachine backup (or alike) for it :

  1. shut down your Mac
  2. disconnect all cables  from your Mac (except your keyboard & mouse if you haven’t got a MacBook)
  3. restart your Mac, and be quick to press the [CMD]+[R] key-combo during startup (your Mac will now start up in Recovery Mode)
  4. in the “OS X Utilities” window that appears, select Restore From TimeMachine Backup and click Continue
  5. in the next “Restore Your System” window, click Continue
  6. now first make sure that your Mac can connect to your TimeMachine-harddisk by plugging in it’s USB-cable, plugging in your Ethernet-network-cable or connect to your WiFi router
  7. then select the hard drive that has your TimeMachine backups on it and click Continue
  8. in the next window, make sure you select the most recent backup that is from before you tried to download macOS Sierra ; only if you’re sure you’ve selected the right backup, proceed and click Continue
  9. now wait (or do something more useful in the mean time) and wait and wait ; this is going to take hours and hours ; putting back a TimeMachine backup this way will go a a speed of about 30BG per hour, so if your hard drive is 500GB it may take you about 15 hours (yes, an entire night and an entire morning…)
  10. finally, once the TimeMachine backup-reinstall is done, your Mac will restart… just let it
  11. then, when logged in, open the Mac AppStore-app and notice that the button under the macOS Sierra now says “download” ; click on it
  12. after the download has completed, you should now see the installer window popup on your screen… proceed from there…

that’s it… it’s simple, but very time-consuming…

enjoy !

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fixed : trackpad not responding when clicking

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Question :

I had left my MacBook Pro (Late 2008 running OSX 10.11 El_Capitan) running and had forgotten all about it… after completely recharging everything seemed to be okay on first sight, but it turned out that even though I could use the (internal) trackpad to move the cursor, I wasn’t responding at all to any clicking on it. I therefore had to connect a USB-mouse. Even after restarting, the trackpad was responsive to moving the cursor, but not to clicking…

Is my MacBook’s trackpad broken ? Or is there a software solution I could try ?

 

Answer :

Even tough it’s not possible to completely rule out the scenario that your trackpad is broken, chances are you will be able to get it working properly again by an action that is normally referred to as “Resetting the PRAM”. Here’s how to do that :

  1. shut down your MacBook
  2. take out all cables and USB-sticks (this is just to rule out complications)
  3. restart your MacBook using the POWER-button
  4. immediately press and hold the key-combo [CDM]+[ALT]+[P]+[R]
  5. make sure you do so while the screen is still black
  6. when the screen lights up in light grey, you’ll hear the startup-chime
  7. now release all your fingers from the keyboard before the Apple-logo appears
  8. let your MacBook startup fully, then test if all works as expected
  9. then reconnect any cables and USB-sticks needed

Note : no worries if you act too slowly or too quickly ; if you are too late to press the key-combo, just let your MacBook startup, then shut down and try again ; if you keep pressing the key-combo for too long, you will hear the startup-chime multiple times (you will have reset your PRAM multiple times, but that’s no problem) so just release the keyboard, and just let your MacBook startup and you’re done… 😉

If the problem persists, you might have an ‘exploded battery’ problem. To check this, see if your trackpad is appearing to bulb out of it’s bezel/housing. If that is the case, you probably need to replace the battery to fix this problem. For most MacBooks and MacBook Pro’s from 2012 and older this is something you can do yourself. Some of these models have a battery-lid that can easily be opened, some models need a little unscrewing. (note : MacBook Airs and more recent MacBooks and MacBook Pros have batteries that are really hard to replace, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done in most cases.) The main problem will be that you need to find the right replacement battery. Amazon has replacement batteries available for most MacBooks and MacBook Pros, don’t mind if it’s not an official Apple battery, read the reviews to make your final choice, because often the imitation batteries are better than the refurbished ones. Here’s a link to one of the most common of these batteries :

replacement battery for 13″ MacBook Pro versions ‘Mid 2009’ to ‘Mid 2012’

enjoy !

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fixed : Scanmarker app icon is very pixelated

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UPDATE : an updated version of this post can be found here ; it features an all-new custom made icon !

 

Question :

I have recently bought an Scanmarker Air scanner-pen. Seems like a great device. I’ve also installed the OSX-app. Strange thing is that the app’s icon is very pixelated.

How can I change that ?

 

Answer :

The official icon of the current Scanmarker app for OSX is still a 32x32pixels icon, which is a very old that shouldn’t be used in OSX (where 152x152pixels icons are standard).

Simplest way to fix this is to download an appropriate icon of higher resolution and paste that onto the app. Here’s how to :

  • either download the original icon here (still fuzzy since it is a 300x300pixels icon enlarged to OSX-native 152x152pixels) :  Scanmarker Android app icon
  • or download the icon of the iOS app here : ScanmarkerAir iOS icon
  • or download the diap desktop icon here :ScanmarkerAir OSX icon
  • after downloading your preferred icon, do this :
  • select the Scanmarker app in your Applications folder
  • press [CMD]+[I] to open the “Info” popup menu
  • then click on the icon (top left) and a blue outline will open around it
  • then open the file (with the icon as a picture) you’ve just downloaded in Preview
  • in Preview press [CMD]+[A] to select the entire image
  • then return to the Info-popup window, and press [CMD]+[V] to paste the new icon
  • now your Scanmarker app has a better looking icon
  • to make sure it also shows on the Desktop, delete the old Scanmarker alias from the Dock, then open the Scanmarker app again and right-click on it’s icon in the Dock and select “Keep in Dock” from the popup menu

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

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fixed : burn .iso to bootable Windows DVD-R in OSX 10.11 El_Capitan

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Question :

As I need to install Windows in Boot Camp mode on my Mac, I’m trying to burn an .iso disk image of Windows 7 onto a DVD-R from within OSX 10.11 El_Capitan.

But when I right-click on the .iso-file and select “Burn Disk Image “windows-7.iso” to Disc” from the popup-list,  everything seems to go okay, but I end up with a DVD-R with just the .iso-file on it…

It’s not a bootable DVD-R of Windows 7 as I was intending to do… what is wrong ?

 

Answer :

In OSX 10.11 El_Capitan the procedure for doing this has slightly altered compared to previous versions of OSX :

  • right-click on the .iso-file and select “Open With” and then “DiskImageMounter(default)” from the popup-list
  • now the .iso will mount in the Finder
  • then start the Disk Utility application
  • in the window that opens, select the mounted .iso from the list on the left ; it’s listed with an unpronounceable name under “Disk Images”
  • then, in the top menu bar of the screen, go to “Images” and choose “Convert…” from the pulldown list
  • in the pulldown window that opens, select the original .iso-file and click “Open”
  • in the next pulldown window, at “Save As:” replace the temporary Untitled-name with the unpronounceable name of the mounted .iso you’ve seen before
  • then, at “Where:” choose a destination to create the converted .iso-file, and make sure “Encryption:” is set to “none” and “Image Format:” is set to “DVD/CD master” ; then click “Save”
  • now, a .cdr-file will be created in the location you selected at “Where:”
  • right-click on the .cdr-file and select “Burn Disk Image “[name].cdr” to Disc”
  • in the window that opens, select your SuperDrive (or external DVD-burner) and click on the triangular arrow at the far right side
  • the window will be extended, and at “Burn Options” choose the slowest speed possible (if this option is greyed-out, leave it as-is), and at “After Burning” choose “Verify burned data”
  • then put a DVD-R in your Superdrive (or external DVD-burner) and click “Burn”
  • now, the end result will be a bootable Windows installer-DVD

enjoy !

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fixed : where did the onscreen virtual keyboard go ?

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Question :

For years, I used to start  the onscreen keyboard whenever I wanted to type a character on my Mac that I didn’t know the key-combo for by heart…

Now I’m on OSX 10.11 El_Capitan and I don’t see the icon in the menu bar top right… and I can’t find the option to switch it on either…

What should I do ?

 

Answer :

What you call ‘onscreen keyboard’ is officially called the ‘virtual keyboard’ ; it’s a very handy option in OSX as you mentioned.

For some reason, after upgrading to OSX 10.11 El_Capitan, your preset for quick access to the virtual keyboard is lost… and switching it back on is hidden in some cryptic text in the Preferences :

  • in the Finder, go to Apple [top left] –> System Preferences –> Keyboard
  • in the window that opens, under the Keyboard-tab, put a check-mark at “Show Keyboard, Emoji & Symbol Viewers in menu bar”
  • then close the System Preferences window
  • now, in the Finder, top right, click on the flag-icon and select “Show Keyboard Viewer”
  • then, the virtual keyboard will appear onscreen and you can use it as you’re used to…

that’s it !

enjoy 😉

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fixed : retrieve WiFi-password from iPhone [without hacking]

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Question :

We have a password-protected WiFi-network at our local sports club. My iPhone automatically logs on when I’m near, but now my son is a member too and he would also like to connect to the WiFi when he’s around. Problem is, nobody seems to know the password… I’ve typed the password once long ago, but I didn’t write it down… Is there any way to see the password that is stored on my iPhone ?

 

Answer :

Yes, but you need a Mac and iCloud for it.

To be more precise : you can’t retrieve passwords on your iPhone (or iPad) the way you can on your Mac, by just opening the Keychain utility.

But there’s a way around this :

  1. on your iPhone, go to Settings –> iCloud
  2. there, make sure “Keychain” is set to “On”
  3. then, on your Mac, go to Apple [top left corner] –> System Preferences –> iCloud
  4. in the window that opens, make sure there’s a checkmark in front of “Keychain”
  5. then, on your Mac, click anywhere on your desktop
  6. then make sure “Finder” is displayed top left, next to the Apple-icon
  7. then press the [SHIFT]+[CMD]+[U] key-combo on your keyboard
  8. in the window that opens (named “Utilities”) double-click on the “Keychain Access” icon
  9. in the window that opens (named “Keychain Access”) select “iCloud” from the list on the left
  10. now, find the name of the WiFi-network you are interested in, and double-click on it
  11. in the window that opens (named like the WiFi-network), make sure the “Attributes”-tab is selected
  12. then, put a checkmark in front of “Show password:”
  13. in the (unnamed) window that opens it is said ‘Keychain Access want to use the “Local Items” keychain.’ typ your Administrator’s password and click “OK”
  14. now, the WiFi-password you are looking for will be displayed in the previous window (at “Show password:”)

…that’s it !

enjoy 😉

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fixed : grey NoEntry-sign when trying to move items to OSX 10.11 El_Capitan System folder

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Question :

I used to be able to drag&drop tweaked or additional system files to the general Libraries folder inside System folder. I only had to typ my administrator’s name & password to give extra authentication. But, since installing OSX 10.11 El_Capitan, I can’t seem to be able to drag&drop like that any longer… I get a grey circle with a slash in it…

Even when trying to change folder permissions for folders within de System folder, through the “Get Info” panel, I can’t change the permissions…

What is the problem ?

And how can I bypass this ?

 

Answer :

The grey circle with a slash in it is actually a grey version of the red traffic sign that is used as a “No Entry”, “No Access” or “Prohibited” sign.

With the upgrade to OSX 10.11 El_Capitan, System Integrity Protection (SIP) has been introduced to OSX. The positive side of this is that it is now extremely hard to accidentally mess up the OSX system. The negative side however is that is no longer possible to get access to some system folders without downgrading security and using the Terminal.

But… the collaboration between the ~/System/Library folder and the ~/Library folder is now working far better than in previous versions of OSX.

So, the solution : if you want to put files or items in a folder that’s inside the ~/System/Library folder, now put them in the corresponding folder inside the ~/Library folder and everything should work as intended

e.g. :  items that you used to put in the ~/System/Library/Fonts folder, can now be drag&dropped into the ~/Library/Fonts folder

NOTE : for items that you used to put in a folder within ~/System/Library that isn’t available inside ~/Library the solution is to create a folder with the correct name in there to put those items in

e.g. : for items that you used to put in the ~/System/Library/Filters folder, you should now create a ~/Library/Filters folder first to put the files in first

TIP : to be able to view the ~/Users/[username]/Library folder, make sure “Finder” is indicated next to the Apple icon in the upper left corner, the select “Go” and press the ALT-key on your keyboard and the Library folder will magically appear in the pulldown list

enjoy !

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