Tag Archives: macOS

fixed : put iTunes Music database on external drive to save space

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Question :

My internal HD is too full, so I want to make room for macOS to run smoothly again. As my iTunes Music database is huge, would it be possible to move that database onto an external HD that is continuously connected to my Mac ?

Is there any option to do so ?

 

Answer :

Yes, it is possible to move your entire iTunes Music database to an external HD. Apple does explicitly recommend to use an external HD that is connected to your Mac directly with USB, ThunderBolt or FireWire. (and Apple explicitly recommends against putting your active iTunes or Music.app database on a wireless drive or network drive)

To do this, do this :

  • get yourself an external HD, preferably one that is using a fast cable connection to connect to your Mac ; Samsung currently has some small and very good external HDs using USB-C for this : Samsung T5 Portable SSD
  • plug the external HD into your Mac
  • goto Applications –> Utilities –> Disk Utility
  • open Disk Utility
  • reformat the external HD as “Mac OS Extended”
  • now, in the Finder, create a new folder on the external HD named Music
  • inside that folder, create 2 new folders ; one named iTunes, the other named Music
  • then, in the Finder, goto Users –> [your name]  –> Music –> Music –> Music Library (if you don’t have one, skip the next step)
  • then drag&drop the Music Library folder into the Music folder inside the top-level Music folder on the external HD you have just created
  • …this may take a while
  • then, in the Finder, goto Users –> [your name]  –> Music –> iTunes –> iTunes Library (if you don’t have one, skip the next step)
  • then drag&drop the iTunes Library folder into the iTunes folder inside the top-level Music folder on the external HD you have just created
  • …this may take a while also
  • when done, open the Music.app (or iTunes.app if you are running an older version of macOS)
  • goto Music (or iTunes) in the top-bar of your screen –> Preferences
  • in the window that opens, select the Files tab, and at “Music Media folder location” click on the Change-button
  • in the Finder window that opens, select the Music (or iTunes) folder inside the Music folder on the external HD and click Open-button
  • back in the Files window, click the OK-button
  • now Music.app (or iTunes) will start up using the Music Library (or iTunes Library) on the external HD (and it will keep using the Music Library (or iTunes Library) on the external HD as its default library from now on)
  • check inside Music.app (or iTunes) to see if all your photos are now available (there’s no reason why they wouldn’t but just to make sure…)
  • now start using this setup as your new Music.app (or iTunes) setup, and if you don’t run into any problems in a few weeks (or even months if you need to) you can delete the Music Library (and/or iTunes Library) that was in the Music folder in your Home folder on your Mac’s internal drive to clear up some space

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : put Photos database on external drive to save space

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Question :

My internal HD is too full, so I want to make room for macOS to run smoothly again. As my Photos.app database is huge, would it be possible to move that database onto an external HD that is continuously connected to my Mac.

Is there any option to do so ?

 

Answer :

Yes, it is possible to move your entire Photos.app database to an external HD. Apple does explicitly recommend to use an external HD that is connected to your Mac directly with USB, ThunderBolt or FireWire. (and Apple explicitly recommends against putting your active Photos.app database on a wireless drive or network drive)

To do this, do this :

  • get yourself an external HD, preferably one that is using a fast cable connection to connect to your Mac ; Samsung currently has some small and very good external HDs using USB-C for this : Samsung T5 Portable SSD
  • plug the external HD into your Mac
  • goto Applications –> Utilities –> Disk Utility
  • open Disk Utility
  • reformat the external HD as “Mac OS Extended”
  • now, in the Finder, create a new folder on the external HD named Pictures
  • then, in the Finder, goto Users –> [your name]  –> Pictures
  • then drag&drop the Photos Library file to the external HD you have just created
  • …this may take a while
  • when done, open the Photos.app while pressing the [ALT]-key
  • in the Choose Library window that opens, click on the “Other Library”-button
  • from the pulldown Finder window, choose your new external drive –> Pictures –> Photos Library
  • then click the Open-button
  • now Photos.app will start up using the Photos Library on the external HD (and it will keep using the Photos Library on the external HD as its default library from now on)
  • check inside Photos.app to see if all your photos are now available (there’s no reason why they wouldn’t but just to make sure…)
  • now start using this setup as your new Photos.app setup, and if you don’t run into any problems in a few weeks (or even months if you need to) you can delete the Photos Library that was in the Pictures folder in your Home folder on your Mac’s internal drive to clear up some space

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : cannot print PDF form from macOS Preview.app

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Question :

I have received an eMail from a vendor that includes a dispatchnote PDF that I need to print.

The PDF opens fine in Preview.app, but when I try to print it, everything seems to work fine, only the print doesn’t come out of the printer…

I can’t find the problem : the PDF appears in the printer’s Job List, the status bar fills up completely, the printer makes some noise to indicate that it is receiving data, the print job is deleted from the Job List, and nothing comes out of the printer… there are no error messages, no indication what so ever that something went wrong… the pint just won’t come out of the printer…

I checked to see if there is something special about the PDF-file that might be causing this, but I can’t find anything special about it… the PDF is not locked or anything…

What can I do ?

 

Answer :

Even though it is not clear where this problem comes from, the solution is simple : use Adobe Reader (a.k.a. Adobe Acrobat Reader DC) or Adobe Acrobat Pro if you have it.

To do so, do this :

  • go to https://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/otherversions/
  • at Step 1, 2 and 3 set the right OS, language and version, then click the Download Now button to download Adobe Reader
  • when the download is done, install Adobe Reader on your Mac
  • then, open Adobe Reader
  • and open the hard-to-print PDF from Adobe Reader
  • as soon as it starts appearing on-screen, you can press [CMD] + [P] to get to the printing screen
  • from there, just try to print again…
    • note that this is not your regular macOS printing screen, so you might want to check if all settings are to your liking before you give the actual print-commando (you might have to set things like double sided printing again)

The fact that the file is not printing from Preview.app, but it is from Adobe Reader, might indicate that the PDF was created by Adobe Acrobat Pro on Windows and that there is a problem in the version of Acrobar Reader that was used that causes this problem to arise…

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : manually update firmware on Samsung SmartTV

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Question :

I have my Samsung SmartTV set to automatically do its software updates (actually, these should be called automatic firmware upgrades), and when I let my TV search for new software updates, it tells me no new updates were found.

However, on the internet I found info that suggests that newer versions of the firmware are available for my Samsung SmartTV, just not in my region for some reason.

Is there any way to get these upgrades anyway ?

 

Answer :

If you want to upgrade the firmware on your Samsung SmartTV manually, do this :

  • turn on your TV
  • press the MENU-button on your remote control
  • in the window that opens, on the left, select Support
  • on the right, scroll down entirely and select Contact Samsung 
  • on the page that opens, at the bottom, the Model Code is displayed : write this down ! ( eg. “UE50JU6400” or “UE32J5200” )
  • then ‘arrow to the left’ on your remote control
  • then, on the left, select Support
  • on the right, select Software Update
  • now, on the right, the Current Version is displayed : write this down ! ( eg. 1530 )
  • now, on your Mac (or PC), go to https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/search/
    • note : for unknown reasons, go to the UK website, not the US website, to find the latest firmware upgrades
  • there, typ your model number in the entry field and press the ENTER-key
  • all available firmware upgrades for your TV will now be displayed
  • if the latest version that is available for download is newer than the version listed at Current Version on you TV, download the latest version from the website
  • when the download is done, macOS will automatically unzip it for you to a folder with the firmware upgrade in it
    • if your download turns out to be a .exe-file, use TheUnarchiver.app (available for FREE on the Mac AppStore) to unzip it
  • your firmware upgrade file should now be a folder named “T-….”, and have a folder named “image” inside it
  • plug an empty USB-stick into your Mac
    • the USB-stick must be FAT32 formatted (as nearly every brand-new USB-stick will be)
  • then, drag&drop the folder with the firmware upgrade onto the USB-stick
  • when the copying is done, select EJECT to disconnect the USB-stick from macOS
  • then, you can safely unplug the USB-stick from your Mac
  • now, you can plug the USB-stick into your TV
  • then, turn on the TV (if it wasn’t already on)
  • wait for about 2 minutes, then press the MENU-button on your remote control
  • in the window that appears, on the bottom left, select Support
  • then, select Software Update from the list
  • in the next window, select Update Now
  • now, a pop-up window should display “Do you want to search the connected USB device for update files?”
  • if so, click YES
    • if not, make sure your USB-stick is properly plugged into your TV (if that still won’t work… go back to your Mac and check if your USB-stick is okay)
  • when the TV finds valid firmware files on the USB-stick, the text “A new software version is available. Update from version **** to version ****?” will be displayed
  • then, click YES to start the firmware upgrade
  • a window with a progress bar will be shown now
    • note : during the upgrade process, do NOT unplug the USB-stick or turn the TV off !
  • when finished, the TV will shut down and restart by itself
  • just to make sure if the firmware upgrade was successful, click the MENU-button on your remote control
  • then, select Settings, then Support, then Software Update
  • check if the version listed at Current Version is newer than the version you previously had

That’s it… you’re done !

enjoy 😉

fixed : finding faces in imported old iPhoto pictures

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Question :

I have imported my old iPhoto database into Photos.app as you described in your post on this subject. [click here to view the original post] But now I’ve got them into Photos.app it turns out that the faces I had tagged when I was still using iPhoto are not automatically recognized by the Faces function of Photos.app…

Is there any way to solve this ?

 

Answer :

Yes, there is, but it’s not as easy as you might have hoped…

There are 2 sides to your question, so let’s answer both separately :

  1. How to find people in pictures imported from iPhoto ?
  2. How to get people from iPhoto pictures into Photos.app Faces database ?

HOW TO FIND PEOPLE IN PICTURES IMPORTED FROM iPHOTO ?

When you import an iPhoto database into Photos.app the faces you had tagged way back then are not recognized as Faces, but as Keywords… so the easiest way to find pictures of  these people is this :

  • open Photos.app
  • click on “Photos” in the list on the left (the top option, in the Library chapter)
  • then click on the “Showing: All Items”-button (top right, just below the “Search” field)
  • from the pulldown menu, select “Keyword Manager”
  • in the separate “Keywords”-window that pops up, in the bottom part, named “Keywords” you will find labels with all the names of the people you had tagged in Faces of iPhoto
  • select the label of the person you were looking for (don’t mind that the label is greyed out, in this situation they are still selectable) and drag&drop it into the top part, named “Quick Group”
  • then click on the red button top left to close the “Keywords”-window
  • now, back in the main view of Photos.app, click on the “Showing: All Items”-button (again…)
  • from the pulldown menu, select the name of that particular person at “Show Only Keywords”
  • now, you will only see pictures with this particular person you where looking for
  • scroll through the photos and find the pictures you were looking for
  • remember to put the “Showing Only: …”-button back to “Showing: All Items” before you quit Photos.app

HOW TO  GET PEOPLE FROM iPHOTO PICTURES INTO PHOTOS.APP FACES DATABASE ?

After you have created keywords for people you were searching for in Photos.app, you can start to get them into the Faces database of Photos.app… to do that, do this :

  • make sure that the button top right is labeled “Showing Only:…” (in which the dots are substituted by the person’s name)
  • now, dubble-click on a photo that the person is in
  • the photo will enlarge and all faces that are recognized as faces will have a circle around them with a label below them saying “unnamed”
  • if the face of the person you had in mind does have a unnamed-label, click on the label and substitute the “unnamed” by typing the person’s real name over it
  • if the face of the person you had in mind did not get a label automatically, you will have to add it by hand… to do so, do this :
    • click on the “info ( encircled i )”-button top right
    • in the popup window that opens, click on the “plus ( encircled + )”-button
      • make sure that you do this when the name tags are visible in the photo, else it will have no effect
      • if the name tags aren’t displayed, click anywhere on the picture and they will reappear
    • when you click the “plus”-button, a circle wit ha name tag labeled “Click to Name” will appear in the middle of the picture
    • drag this circle over to the face of the person you would like to tag
      • if the circle is too big or too small, you can adjust its size by moving the dot on the right side of the circle
      • if for some reason you want to delete the circle, click on the X-sign on the left edge of the circle
    • then click on “Click to Name” and typ the name of the person whose face is in the circle
    • when done with this picture, proceed to the next picture by swiping from right to left
    • when done with tagging, go back by double-clicking anywhere on the picture
      • after that, you can even get out of the selection of this particular person’s photos by going to the “Showing Only:…”-button and changing it into “All Items” (so the button will say “Showing: All Items”)

Yes, it a painstakingly labor-intensive job to put all those name tage back in to each and every old picture, but you will have to do this for a lot of old pictures before Photo.app’s own Faces function will start to recognise and label people in those old pictures automatically…

enjoy 😉

 

fixed : (re)format a drive in FAT32 MBR using macOS

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Question :

I need to reformat a USB-stick in FAT32 MBR.

Is it possible to do that on a Mac ?

 

Answer :

Yes, you can.

To (re)format a drive, like a USB-stick, external HardDisk or external SSD in FAT32 MBR (MBR = Master Boot Record) do this :

  • plug the drive (USB-stick) into you Mac
  • make sure that there are no files or documents you need to keep left on the drive (USB-stick)
    • copy all files and documents you are not willing to lose to your internal disk space, or to another external drive
  • goto Applications –> Utilities –> Disk Utility
  • double-click on the application’s icon to startup Disk Utility
  • in the window that opens, click on the View-button (top-left) and select “Show Alle Devices”
  • then, select the drive (USB-stick) from the list of drives on the left
    • it should be listed in the “External” chapter
    • make sure you select the drive itself, not the formatted partition that is on it
      • drives are listed entirely on the left (and have a small triangle in front if they are formatted)
      • partitions are listed shifted slightly to the right of the devices list
  • then, click on the Erase-button (top-center, just below the Disk Utility name)
  • in the pulldown window that opens, select these settings :
    • Name : Untitled [ …or any name you prefer, the choice is up to you ]
    • Format : MS-DOS (FAT)
    • Scheme : Master Boot Record
  • then click on the Erase-button
  • now, wait for the process to complete
  • then, click on the Eject-icon (underlined triangle) next to the name of the drive (USB-stick) in the list on the left
  • when de drive (USB-stick) disappears from the list, you can unplug the USB-stick (or external HD or SSD)
  • close the Disk Utility app

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : update navigation maps of Peugeot 208 from 2013 using a Mac

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Question :

I have a Peugeot 208 from 2013 with a built-in navigation system. Since the maps are completely out-dated, I want to update them. Peugeot says I can buy and download new official map-updates from a company called HERE, which have their website at http://www.navigation.com

I think I have found the right maps, but the pictures of the compatible navigation systems that are shown on the site are not identical to the navigation system in my Peugeot 208, so there’s no way to tell before I buy.

Furthermore, the updating instructions in the installation manuals that HERE is providing online cannot be used in my case, as several buttons and options mentioned simply do not exist on my navigation system.

What can I do ?

 

Answer :

You are completely right, HERE (previously named Navteq) acknowledges that your navigation system is not listed in the reference photos and that they do not provide installation instructions for your navigation system online.

Anyhow, more reasons for us to put these instructions online for you :

STEP 1 : GET YOUR CAR’S VIN-NUMBER

  • to be able to buy the navigation map update, you will need your car’s VIN-code
  • go to your Peugeot 208
  • do not step into your car, but stand outside and look at the front windscreen
  • in the bottom-right corner of the windscreen, you will see a see-through opening in the black film that covers all edges of the windscreen
  • behind this see-through opening, you will see a 18-digit code ; that’s your car’s VIN-number ; write it down ! (the VIN-number usually starts with VF3…)

STEP 2 : BUYING THE RIGHT MAP UPDATE

  • as you have a Peugeot 208 from 2013, you should have a built-in navigation system with a Screen-diagonal of about 17.5cm and a radio-dial and 2 physical buttons on the left of the screen ; the button bottom-left is MENU and just above it is ‘a button with a rectangle with an arrow below it and 2 lines at both sides’ ; if so, HERE calls your navigation system a Touchscreen 7″ so yours does not have MirrorScreen, this navigation system is also known as SMEG+ iV1 running version 3 of the SMEG operating system ( probably SMEG3.25 )
    • if your Peugeot 208’s navigation system does not match the above description, you either have a Peugeot 208 from a different model year or your navigation system is not the built-in original, in that case, contact Peugeot, HERE or your local dealer to find out which navigation system you have
  • since you now know you have a (regular) Touchscreen 7″ navigation system, you can buy the update you need on the HERE website, this is the link if you live in Europe : https://peugeot.navigation.com/product-list/Catalog/Catalog_Peugeot_208_2013_Touchscreen_SMEGplus/en_GB/PeugeotEMEA/EUR
  • choose the map update you want there, and buy it
    • if you are wondering if this is the right time to buy as maps have to be updated continuously, HERE usually updates these maps every 6 months (in April and in October) but there’s no guarantee they will keep on doing that
    • HERE acknowledges that
    • buying advice : only buy the map of your own region ; since maps need to be updated so frequently to keep then kind-off up-to-date, it’s no use to buy maps of regions you will not be visiting any time soon
  • to be able to buy the map update, you will need an account at HERE ; if you don’t have one, you have to register for a new account
    • during the registration process, you will need to enter your car’s VIN-number
  • during the buying-process you will get an Activation Code ; write it down ! (after buying online, you will get the Activation Code in an extra eMail also, you could also print out that eMail)
  • click on the download link that is provided during the buying process to download the map updates to you Mac (you can also find the download link in the Activation Code eMail afterwards)

STEP 3 : PUT THE MAP UPDATE ON A USB-STICK

  • get yourself a USB-stick of 1GB or more that is formatted as FAT32 MBR and completely empty
    • if you buy a new USB-stick for this, you can buy a basic one of any size (8GB is probably the smallest you can find these days), any brand will do, as nearly every brand format their USB-sticks as FAT32 MBR ; a USB-stick with an indicator light is slightly more useful, as the navigation system will not tell you if the USB-stick is being recognized (like your computer would)
    • if want to use an old USB-stick for this, you can if you completely empty it – if you need to reformat it to FAT32 MBR, you can find instructions in this post
  • plug the USB-stick into your Mac (if you haven’t done so already)
  • on your Mac, locate the download of the map update (usually it’s inside the Downloads folder)
    • the file has probably been unzipped already automatically, but if it isn’t, double-click on the ZIP-file to unzip it
  • open the folder (that has a name consisting of 5 digits, like 52044 or something similar)
  • select one file inside the folder, then typ [CMD]+[A] ( = Select All ) on you keyboard
  • then, drag&drop all files onto the empty USB-stick
    • HERE advises you to put all update contents directly onto the top-level folder of the USB-stick, but if you have bought multiple map updates together and you want to install them at the same time (immediately after each other that is) you are probably best off by putting all their respective folders next to each other onto the top-level folder of your USB-stick
  • when the copying is done, drag the USB-stick’s icon to the Trash to eject
  • then, unplug the USB-stick

STEP 4 : GET THE MAP UPDATE ONTO YOUR CAR’S NAVIGATION SYSTEM

  • go to your car, and take these with you :
    • the USB-stick with the map-update
    • the Activation Cade you have written down
    • these update instructions (preferably printed out)
  • get into your car, and start the engine
  • plug the USB-stick into one of the USB-ports that are next to the cigarette lighter (in the cavity in front of the gearshift-handle)
  • your navigation system will now display a message “Verification of media data”
  • click the (physical) MENU-button
  • the window “Main Menu” will open, click the (on-screen) Navigation-button
  • then click the (on-screen) Navigation GPS-button
  • the window “Navigation” will open, click the (on-screen) Settings-button
  • the window “Navigation Settings” will open, click the (on-screen) Maps-button
  • a new “Navigation Settings” window will open, where you can see all installed maps and their versions listed
  • click the (on-screen) ‘circle-shaped arrow’-button (top-right)
    • if the ‘circle-shaped arrow’ button is greyed-out, there’s something wrong with the USB-stick ; go back to your Mac and make a new USB-stick with the map-update on it using the directions listed above
  • the next window “Add and update maps” will open, select the name of the map you want to update
  • then click the (on-screen) Confirm-button
  • now, you will get a warning message : “The update will take more than 20 minutes. Keep the engine running. Confirm update?” (the update will probably take less than 10 minutes to complete anyway… but it is important that you keep your car’s engine running throughout the updating process)
  • click the (on-screen) Yes-button
  • after a few moments, a window will appear where you need to type your Activation Code
  • then, click the (onscreen) Confirm-button, and wait…
  • a window with a progress bar will now be displayed ; the update will probably take less than 10 minutes to complete, but as mentioned, it could take more than 20 minutes…
  • when the progress bar window disappears, the update is done
  • do not forget to take out the USB-stick

That’s it !

enjoy 😉