fixed : need to replace batteries in new Magic Mouse

Question :

I am using my friends iMac at this moment, and I get a message “Mouse Batteries Very Low – Replace or recharge the batteries soon.”. So I turned this Magic Mouse upside-down and now it turns out that the bottom side is different from my own Magic Mouse… I can’t find the lid to open the Magic Mouse and get the empty batteries out…

What is wrong ?

 

Answer :

The Magic Mouse you have yourself is a 1st generation Magic Mouse that does have a battery compartment with normal AA-type (rechargeable) batteries in it.

The Magic Mouse you are holding now is a Magic Mouse 2 (2nd generation) that has a rechargeable battery pack built-in. There is no battery compartment you can open, there is no lid. You just have to take out the Lighting cable from the iMac-keyboard (or get a Lightning-cable equipped USB-charger from your iPhone or iPad) and plug it into the small oblong hole in the bottom of the Mighty Mouse 2 and it’ll start recharging.

That’s it.

😉

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fixed : I want to block AppleWatch watch face from changing unintentionally

Question :

Sometimes, when I look on my Apple Watch to check the time, the watch face has suddenly changed to something completely different.

Now, each time this happens, I have to open the Watch-app on my iPhone and reselect my preferred watch face and set it as “My Current Watch Face” to get things back to normal…

Isn’t there an easy way to prevent that my watch face will suddenly change into something different ? I’ve looked in on my Apple Watch and in the iOS Watch-app, but I can’t find a setting to block this…

What am I doing wrong ?

 

Answer :

Since you have unintentionally set multiple watch faces in “My Watch Faces”, you’re watch face will change if you swipe left or right when your current watch face is displayed.

Simply put : it’s a feature, not a bug.

To be more precise : this is a feature for people who want different watch faces for different activities like “Work”, “Home”, “Sports”, etc. ; but anyone who has no need for this feature, or never thought this could be handy, it seems like erratic behavior whenever the watch face ‘suddenly’ changes…

To fix this :

  • on your iPhone (or iPad), open the Watch-app
  • the “My Watch” screen opens
  • at “MY FACES”, see how many watch faces you have set
  • click on “Edit” (in orange)
  • in the “My Faces” screen that opens, delete all watch faces you don’t want or need, except for the “Current Watch Face”
  • then click “Done” (in orange)
  • then exit the Watch-app

that’s it 😉

enjoy !

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fixed : changing the name of a Time Machine backup .sparsebundle-file

Question :

I have transported my user account from my old Mac to my new Mac (using the Migration Assistant application) some weeks ago. Yesterday, I happend to click on the Data-drive from my TimeCapsule in the Finder, and I noticed that the TimeMachine backup-file (.sparsebundle-file) is still named after my old Mac… the name hasn’t changed to the new Mac’s name…

I find this utterly confusing. Is there something I can do to change the name of the .sparsebundle-file ?

 

Answer :

Yes there is, but it appears not all versions of the TimeMachine software are happy with changing the name of the .sparsebundle-file by the user.

So if you want to change the name of a TimeMachine backup-file (.sparsebundle-file) but wish to minimize the risk of corrupting your entire TimeMachine backup-file (one thus loosing all your data), follow this procedure :

1- make sure you are operating your Mac from a user account with administrator rights

2- go to Apple –> System Preferences –> Sharing

3- there, change the “Computer Name” to a name that identifies you new Mac (and the .sparsebundle-file)

4- then, go to the TimeMachine-icon in the Finder’s top menu bar and select “Back Up Now” from the pulldown menu

5- wait for the TimeMachine backup has finished (this might take longer than normal), and check to see if the .sparsebundle-file has been renamed (go to your TimeMachine backup drive using the Finder to do so)

The above will probably be sufficient if you are running MacOSX 10.7 “Lion”, OSX 10.8 “Mountain Lion” or OSX 10.9 “Mavericks”, and if it works, it’s the preferred way for changing the name of the .sparsebundle -file, as it minimises the risk on corrupting your backups. So, always try the above procedure first !

If you are running MacOSX 10.6 “Snow Leopard” or earlier (probably even Mac OSX 10.4 “Tiger” and even PowerPC Macs with G4 and G5 processors that can run the Time Machine software), and the above procedure didn’t change the name of the .sparsebundle-file, try this :

– duplicate your .sparsebundle-file to another harddisk, or select a new backup harddisk to make an entirely new TimeMachine backup to  (to make sure you have a backup in case you accidentally mess up ; if your sparse bundle-file is your one-and-only and irreplaceable backup, make sure you do this !)

– make sure the .sparsebundle-file is operating correctly by testing it using the “Enter TimeMachine”-option from the pulldown menu that appears when clicking on the TimeMachine-icon in the Finder’s menu bar

– make sure you are logged in as a user with Administrator rights

– click on the TimeMachine-icon in the Finder’s top menu bar and select “Back Up Now”

– after the backup has finished, go to your (primary) TimeMachine-drive in the Finder, click on the .sparsebundle-file and change it’s name

– then, go to the TimeMachine Preferences (either through the System Preferences or through the pulldown menu from the TimeMachine-icon in the top bar of the Finder)

– there, switch off TimeMachine and exit the System Preferences

– then, open the TimeMachine Preferences (within the System Preferences) again, and switch TimeMachine back on, then exit the System Peferences

– then, go to your (primary) TimeMachine-drive in the Finder again, and check if the name of the .sparsebundle-file has changed

– if the name has changed, check if the TimeMachine-backup works (try to access it by clicking “Enter Time Machine” from the pulldown menu that appears under the TimeMachine-icon in the Finder’s top menu bar), if that works, that’s it, you’re done !

– if somewhere along the procedure, something didn’t work as expected, restart your Mac and try again

– if it name change still won’t stick after several tries, make sure the “Computer Name” of your Mac is named exactly as you like in the Network Preferences (within the System Preferences) and then create an entirely new TimeMachine-backup : add a new drive for TimeMachine-backups (or remove the existing drive and then add the same one again) in the Time Machine Preferences (within the System Preferences), then click “Back Up Now” from the pulldown menu when you select the TimeMachine-icon in the Finder’s top menu bar… and wait…

That should be it.

Enjoy !

😉

Note : the .sparsebundle-file extension might not be visible ; you can turn it on (or off) in the file’s “Get Info”-window (accessible when right-clicking on the file’s icon in the Finder)

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fixed : what’s the location of Apple’s official Mac icons in OSX ?

Question :

I want to change the icon of my hard drive into an icon-sized picture of my Mac.

How do I do that ?

Answer :

For (nearly) every model of Mac, iPhone, iPad & iPod, the ‘official’ icon is already included inside OSX. If you want to use it, e.g. as an icon for a hard drive or folder, or as a profile pic on a website (a.k.a. an Avatar), you just have to did a little inside OSX…

– in the Finder, select “Go” in the top Menu-bar, and select “Go to folder” from the pulldown-list

– in the screen that opens, paste the following line :

/System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Resources

– now the folder that holds all Apple’s hardware icons and system icons will open

Note : be sure not to mess things up in this folder ! do not delete anything ! deleting or messing up could mean you will have to reinstall OSX !

– in this folder the hardware icon of (nearly) any Mac can be found, the names start with “com.apple.”

– find the Mac-icon you’re looking for, some examples :

aluminium iMac 27″ = com.apple.imac-unibody-27

black MacBook 13″ = com.apple.macbook-black

MacBook Air 11″ (2010 and newer) = com.apple.macbookair-11-unibody

MacBook Pro 13″ (with DVD-burner) = com.apple.macbookpro-13-unibody

– then right-click (CTRL-click) on it and select “Copy” from the popup-menu

– then close the folder (to avoid messing things up, keep this folder open no longer than strictly needed)

– then return to your Desktop (in the Finder) and right-click (CTRL-click) anywhere there

– then choose “Paste” from the popup-menu, and on your Desktop a .ICNS-file with the selected Mac as it’s icon will appear

– then, on the Desktop, right-click (CTRL-click) the icon of your hard drive (normally a generic hard drive icon named “Macintosh HD”) and select “Get Info” from the popup-menu

– then in the “Get Info”-window that opens, select the icon so it will get a blue (selection) glow around it

– then drag&drop the .ICNS-file from your Desktop onto the icon in the “Get Info”-window

that’s it !

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Note #1 :

if you would also like to give your generically named Macintosh HD a different name, go to the chapter “Name & Extension:” in the “Get Info”-window ; if the small triangle icon in front of it is pointing to the right, click on it to let it point down and the chapter will expand to reveal an entry box where you can type the name you want to give to your hard drive

Note #2 :

if you do not see your hard drive on your Desktop, go to “Finder” in the top Menu-bar and select “Preferences…” from the pulldown-menu ; in the “Finder Preferences”-window that opens, click on the “General”-tab/icon and put a checkmark at “Hard disks”