Tag Archives: reinstall

fixed : error message -2101F when trying to reinstall macOS

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Question :
I have a 2019 MacBook Air and when I tried to install the latest macOS system update, it froze… I called Apple, and they told met to reinstall macOS, but evert time I turn my Mac off and back on with the OPTION+SHIFT+R key-combo pressed on my keyboard, I run into a black screen with a light grey globe with a white triangle with an exclamation mark in it (a warning icon) and a text below it that just says “support.apple.com/mac/startup -2101F”

What can I do to fix this ?

Answer :
The -2101F error message that you are getting means “cannot connect to the internet”, and connection to the internet is essential for your Mac to do a regular reinstallation of macOS nowadays…
There are some options to solve this problem. First try this one :
– check if your WiFi internet is working properly by connecting to your WiFi using your iPhone (or any other mobile phone)
– if it turns out that your WiFi is not functioning properly, restart your modem to make sure all lights on it (like “Power”, “Internet”, “LAN” end “WiFi”) start blinking
– then restart your Mac and try to initiate the reinstallation process again

If that didn’t help, try this :
– connect your Mac to the internet using a UTP/Ethernet-cable
– for this, you need a UTP/Ethernet cable that is has connection to your modem (preferably directly)
if you buy anything from Amazon by using the links below, MacManus.nl makes a tiny profit, but it will not affect the price you pay
– if you don’t have a UTP/Ethernet-cable, you can borrow one or buy one
to buy one from Amazon US, click here
to buy one form Amazon UK, click here
to buy one from Amazon DE, clcik here
– modern MacBooks don’t have a dedicated UTP/Ethernet-port, so you will need a UTP/Ethernet-to-USB(-C)-converter-cable also
– if you don’t have a UTP/Ethernet-to-USB-C-converter, you can borrow or buy one
to buy one from Amazon US, click here
to buy one form Amazon UK, click here
to buy one from Amazon DE, clcik here
– if you have a UTP/Ethernet-to-USB-converter-cable, but you only have USB-C ports on your Mac, you will need a USB-C-to-USB-converter also
to buy one from Amazon US, click here
to buy one form Amazon UK, click here
to buy one from Amazon DE, clcik here
– after you have connected your Mac to the internet using a UTP/Ethernet-cable, restart your Mac and try to initiate the reinstallation process again

If that didn’t work, try this :
– connect the UTP/Ethernet-to-USB(-C)-converter-cable to a different port on your Mac, because sometimes that USB/USB-C port on your Mac may be faulty, misfunctioning of broken
– then restart your Mac and try to initiate the installation process again

If that didn’t work, try this :
– make sure that one of the USB(-C) ports on your Mac is functioning properly by connecting a USB-mouse or USB-keyboard or USB-stick with a light in it (you might also need a USB-C-to-USB-converter-cable for this) and check if the light is switching on
– if the light in the mouse, keyboard or USB-stick doesn’t turn on when connected to your Mac (do make sure that the light is actually working when using it on another computer), your USB-port is broken and you will need a hardware repair (or a new Mac, which might be more tempting in a lot of cases)
– if the light does turn on, disconnect the mouse, keyboard or USB-stick and use that USB(-C)- port for the reinstallation of macOS from a USB-stick
– first you will have to create a USB-stick with a macOS-installer, to do this, you will need another Mac that is the same age or newer than your Mac and if your Mac doesn’t have an M1/M2/M3-or-newer processor, you will need an Intel-based Mac for this
– follow the directions to create a USB-stick with a macOS-installer that are outlined here :
https://www.macworld.com/article/671308/how-to-create-a-bootable-usb-macos-installer.html
or the instructions from Apple itself :
https://support.apple.com/en-us/101578
– if you don’t have an empty USB-stick at hand, you’re best of buying a 32GB USB-C-stick
to buy one from Amazon US, click here
to buy one form Amazon UK, click here
to buy one from Amazon DE, clcik here
– after you have created the USB-stick with the macOS-installer on it (on the other Mac), plug the USB-stick into your faulty Mac (make sure you use the USB(-C)-port that you know is working) and restart your Mac and initiate the installation process

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : black screen and no BIOS Boot Menu on MSI NightBlade X2B gaming-PC

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Question :
I have a MSI NightBlade X2B gaming-PC that I need to reinstall Windows on, the internal HD has been reformatted externally, but when I try to startup the PC, the HDMI-connected monitor gives only a black screen with and error message saying something like “no HDMI signal detected”… I need to get into the BIOS Boot Menu to fix this, but how do I do that If I cannot see anything on screen ?

What can I do to fix this ?

Answer :
The MSI NightBlade X2B gaming PC not only has an internal HD (usually 1TB), but also a 500GB SSD that is hard to access manually. And Windows has usually been installed on that SSD, not on the HD.
If the PC starts up porperly (lights and sound of running fans), then the fix to getting into the BIOS Boot Menu is to reset the CMOS Battery. To do that, you need to do this :
– diconnect al cables from the PC (Power, HDMI, USB, etc.)
– open the PC housing (slide open the red protectors on the back and unscrew the screws)
– take off the side panel
– if you are in an environment with high static electricity you need to unplug the internal cables from the graphics card, the HD and the power (but usually you’ll be okay if you are in a clean and smooth environment, especially if continuously connect yourself with al metal wire to a grounded large metal object or a radiator)
– unscrew the graphics card, which is the bottom mother/daughter-board (first unscrew the L-shaped black plate on the backside, then tilt out the graphics card starting at the back)
– behind the graphics card, on bottom left of the motherboard, you will find the red&black (or red&white) cable that connects the CMOS Battery to the motherboard
– gently unplug the white connector that has written “BAT 1” under it
– then leave tthe PC like this for about 8 hours (so a working day or a night), this will drain the motherboard and all internal electronics so they will automatically reset to factory settings (except for the HD and the SSD, so you will have to wipe or reformat those later)
– after this cool-down period, reconnect the small white connector and reassemble the PC (starting with the graphics card)
– then, reconnect a USB-mouse, a keyboard (seems like a PS/2 keyboard works better at this stage, but a USB keyboard should also work), a UTP/Ethernet-cable (if you have wired Ethernet available this will work easier then WiFi at this stage) and the HDMI-cable to your monitor
– then, startup the PC using the Power Button and immediately start pressing the F11 key on your keyboard repeatingly (the F11 key is the ususal key to press for MSI motherboards, but you might need to press the F1, F2 or F12 key)
– the PC should now start up in BIOS Mode, but if it does not, shut down the PC and restart it using the Power Button and immediately press the CTRL + ALT + DEL key-combo on your keyboard, which should get you into BIOS Mode

Then proceed as usual for reinstalling Windows 10 (or 11) and don’t forget to format the HD to NTFS and wipe unwanted and/or unneeded old user data to free up space on the SSD (it’s easiest to do so after installing Windows).

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : reinstalling an app on AppleWatch

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Question :
I have an app on my AppleWatch that isn’t working properly. I want to reinstall it.

How do I do that ?

Answer :
There are 3 ways of reinstalling an app on your AppleWatch. If you have problems with an app on your AppleWatch, try these first (in any order you like).
If the app still doesn’t work properly after trying these 3 options, you should try an erase and reinstall of your entire AppleWatch (outlined in this post).

OPTION #1
The targeted app reinstall via the iPhone‘s AppleWatch.app:
– on your iPhone, open the AppleWatch.app
– click on the ‘My Watch’ button (bottom left)
– scroll down to the ‘INSTALLED ON APPLE WATCH’ chapter and find the app that isn’t working properly
– click on it
– in the next page that opens, turn the slider at “Show App on Apple Watch’ to OFF (grey-black, not green)
– then, click ‘Back’ (top-left) and exit and close the AppleWatch.app
– now check on your AppleWatch if the app has been removed from your AppleWatch
– if it hasn’t, give it a few minutes to sync and check again
– if it’s been removed, reopen the AppleWatch.app on your iPhone
– click on the ‘My Watch’ button (bottom-left)
– scroll down to the ‘AVAILABLE APPS’ chapter and find the app you want to reinstall
– click on it (on the INSTALL-button at the right of the app icon)
– see the INSTALL-botton turn into a download progress circle and wait for the downloading to finish
– scroll up to the ‘INSTALLED ON APPLE WATCH’ chapter and see that the app is now listed there
– then, click ‘Back’ (top left) and exit and close the AppleWatch.app
– now, check on your AppleWatch to see that the app has been reinstalled
– then, on your AppleWatch, open the app and check if it works properly
– if it does, your good to go
– if it does not, try one of the other reinstall options

OPTION #2
The complete app reinstall via the iPhone‘s AppStore.app :
– on your iPhone, find the corresponding iOS-app of the app that isn’t working properly on your AppleWatch
– long-press sonwhere on the screen inbetween the app icons until all icons start to jiggle
– click on the small circle with a minus-sign in it (on the top-left) of the icon of the app that is not working properly
– when the Remove-popup appears, click on ‘Delete App’
– now, the app will be deleted from your iPhone …and also from your AppleWatch !
– check your AppleWatch to verify that the app has also been deleted there
– if not, wait a little until your iPhone and AppleWatch have synced
– if so, proceed on your iPhone
– open the AppStore.app on your iPhone
– find the app that you have just deleted (and that used to give problems on your AppleWatch)
– reinstall the app by clicking on the ‘download from cloud’-icon/button next to it
– wait for the download to complete and the icon to chang into an ‘Open’-button
– click the ‘Open’-button
– go to your AppleWatch and see that the app has been reinstalled there also
– if not, wait a little longer until the syncing is done
– then proceed, by opening the app on your AppleWatch
– now check if the app works properly
– if it does, you’re good to go
– if it does not, try one of the other reinstall options

OPTION #3
The targeted app reinstall via the AppleWatch‘s AppStore.app :
– on your AppleWatch, press the Digital Crown once to see your collection of apps
– touch and hold anywhere on the display until all app icons begin to jiggle
– click on the icon of the app that is not working properly (when the icon is jiggling, it also has a tiny grey circle with an X in it top-left on it)
– you will now see a black screen with white letters “Are you shure you want to delete… ?’ and a ‘Delete APP’ and a ‘Cancel’ button
– click the ‘Delete App’ button
– then your collection of apps will be shown, check that the app is no longer there
– now, in your collection of apps, find the AppStore icon (the blue circle with the distinctive white AppStore A in it ; if your vcan’t find it at first, look again, since it will be there as it cannot be deleted)
– if you’ve never used the AppStore on your AppleWatch before, you need to activate it by clicking the blue ‘Continue’ button first
– then, in the AppStore screen, click the Search-icon (the looking glass top-left)
– in the Search screen, skip up the triangular arrow from the bottom (below the word ‘SPACE’)
– on the next screen, choose to input the search word using Scribble (writing letters on-screen one-by-one) or Dictation (speaking the search word)
– using your input manner of choice, see to it that the search word is somthing like the apps name, it doesn’t have to be exactly righ ( it’s just that the pronounciation should resemble the name of the app you’e rearching for)
– then, click the blue ‘Search’-button (top-right)
– in the list of reach results, scroll down to the app you want to reinstall and clikc on it’s name
– on the page that opens, click on the ‘download from cloud’-icon on the right side
– it will now turn into a download progress circle that will finally turn into a blue ‘Open’-button
– click on the blue ‘Open’-button
– now check if the app works properly
– if it does, you’re good
– if it does not, try one of the other reinstall options

FINAL OPTION
if neither of the 3 reinstall options outlined above has worked to get the app working properly, you will need to erase and resinstall your AppleWatch entirely…
To do so, see this post :
fixed : VanMoof.app keeps giving No Data error message

That’s it !
One of the above options will help you to reinstall (and fix) an AppleWatch-app

enjoy 😉

fixed : MacBook Pro sighs then hangs during startup without progress bar over and over again

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Question :

I have a  2018 MacBook Pro 13″ with TouchBar and 4 Thunderbolt3 ports that seems to hang during startup : the MacBook ‘sighs’ (fan noise) during startup and shows only a black screen with a white Apple-logo, but no progress bar as usual… then it automatically restarts… and the same thing repeats itself…

Is there any way to solve this ?

 

Answer :

This might be caused by a hardware problem, so if it happens frequently, you should take your MacBook Pro to an AppleStore or authorized Apple Repair shop for repair.

But before you do so, try this, as it might fix your problem :

If you do see a progress bar during startup, look at this post :

fixed : MacBook Pro hangs during final stage of macOS startup

If you do not see a progress bar during startup, do this :

  • unplug everything else from the USB-C ports
  • now plug in the USB-C power-adapter
  • then, if you can, plug-in a USB-C-to-Ethernet-adapter and make an ethernet-connection to your network (and the Internet), if not leave it
  • then, press the ON/OFF-fingerscan-button (top-right in the Touch Bar) to restart your Mac
  • then, during restart, immediately press the [CMD]+[ALT]+[R] key-combo on your keyboard
  • keep this key-combo pressed for about 30 seconds, then release
  • now, leave your MacBook connected to power and internet overnight
  • in the morning, your MacBook will have reinstalled the latest version of macOS

…and you will be good to go 😉

If the problem persists overnight, you might want to try this also, before you decide to bring in your MacBook Pro for repair :

  • create a macOS installer on a USB-stick (or even a USB-C stick)
    • as your own MacBook Pro is not available for this, you need to do this on another Mac or ask someone to do this for you
    • instructions on doing this can be found here on Apple.com
  • then plug the USB-C stick (or USB-stick with a USB-to-USB-C-adapter) into your MacBook Pro
  • then restart your MacBook Pro, while pressing the [ALT]-key on your keyboard
  • release the [ALT]-key when the Startup Manager window opens
  • then select the USB-stick as your startup disk
  • then follow the onscreen instructions for (re)installing macOS

That’s it !

As mentioned before : if you keep running into this problem frequently, you might have a hardware problem and you should bring your MacBook Pro in for repair.

enjoy 😉

fixed : which version of Java do I have ?

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Question :

I would like to know which version of Java I have installed on my Mac, since the software I want to use will only run on Java 7 or higher.

How can I check (and update) ?

 

Answer :

Java is a free software platform which is operation system independent (so Mac & PC) created and maintained by Oracle. Despite it always having been a very reliable way of making cross platform games & applications, Apple has restricted the use of Java to ‘only when needed’ by default in the latest versions of OSX and macOS, because of the security risks involved in using Java and similar software that can run autonomously on your Mac next to macOS.

To find out which version of Java you have installed, do the online check that’s on this official website :

https://java.com/en/download/installed.jsp

Just follow the instructions given and the result of the check will be shown : you will either have the latest version installed, or you won’t… in that case update instructions will guide you to getting the latest version available for your Mac.

enjoy 😉

fixed : printer auto-install in Windows Vista won’t work

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Question :

My HP DeskJet 930c prints colors if I print out the test page from the printer, but if I print from my Windows Vista PC, it only prints in grey-tones…

From the info on the HP website it has become clear to me that I have to reinstall the printer (and specifically the printer drivers) on Windows Vista.

But… according to HP the only way to reinstall the printer in Windows Vista using USB is to delete it from the Configuration Panel and then restart the PC and just plug in the printer and wait for Windows Vista to do the ‘magical’ auto-install…

The official HP instruction video can be found here :

http://bcove.me/4xavsoow

…and nothing happens when I do that.

And HP does not offer any other option… what can I do ?

 

Answer :

— DISCLAIMER —

This is purely a Windows problem, and this weblog is for Apple solutions only. I do have a solution that will probably work for you, and I’ve not found that solution posted online anywhere, so I will provide it to you here ‘as is’ (meaning NO guarantee, NO additional help and NO service) ! Try at your own risk ! If it doesn’t work for you : I’m sorry… please ask a Windows-specialist.

————————-

The solution is simple (and it’s unexplainable why HP doesn’t mention this anywhere) :

Just reinstall the printer the way you would have done it in Windows XP :

– delete any previous installs of the printer from the Configuration Panel

– install all (essential) available Windows Vista updates using Vista’s built-in Security Panel

– restart your PC

– connect the printer to your PC using a USB printer cable

– go to START-menu

– then to Configuration Panel

– then to Printers

– then choose Add Printer

– choose Virtual USB Port 1 (or 2) as the connection to be used

– choose your Printer

– choose the dedicated driver [*]

– and wait for the installing to finish

– test your printer using any (color) document you have available, if you don’t have any useable color document available, use this printer test-page :

https://macmanus.nl/2010/07/28/looking-for-a-good-test-page-to-test-your-pinter

– that should be it : enjoy !

[*] if no driver is available, download it from the following website, then install and start over with this procedure from the beginning :

http://www.driverguide.com

— DISCLAIMER —

This is purely a Windows problem, and this weblog is for Apple solutions only. I do have a solution that will probably work for you, and I’ve not found that solution posted online anywhere, so I will provide it to you here ‘as is’ (meaning NO guarantee, NO additional help and NO service) ! Try at your own risk ! If it doesn’t work for you : I’m sorry… please ask a Windows-specialist.

————————-

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/Â