MacRx - page 2

Why Does Safari On My Mac Keep Saying “Missing Plug-in”? [Ask MacRx]

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On a Mac everything is supposed to “just work”, and usually it does. However, sometimes a missing internet plug-in or other component may be required for correct operation:

I have been a Mac user since the first home/small Mac computers were available. My recent eMac was 9 years old, so I was out of sync with EVERYTHING. Just bought a new iMac and I have Safari. Sometimes I click on a document on the Internet, and I get a basically blank page that says “Missing plug-in.” So I can’t open everything I need.

How To Move or Rename Your Mac Home Folder [MacRx]

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Your Mac’s home directory, or home folder, is represented by a little house in the Finder and is the default location for your documents, music, photos and other items on your computer. The name of the home folder is also your Mac account username, or “shortname” in UNIX parlance.

Since these items are related, the process for renaming the home folder and changing your username is similar to moving your home folder to another location such as a second hard drive. Here’s how it’s done.

Can I Dual-Boot My Mac But Share Apps and User Data? [Ask MacRx]

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Apple operates under the philosophy that the latest and greatest OS is what everybody should use, but many of us prefer to try things out first and upgrade a bit more slowly. When you dual-boot your Mac among two different versions of Mac OS X some things will work fine, while others require one system or the other:

I’m running Snow Leopard 10.6.8 on a MacBook Pro 3,1 and I just got a new 750GB, 7200rpm drive to put in. Can I create say a 100GB OS X 10.7 Lion partition and share the apps / data from the 10.6.8 partition?

Why Does My MacBook Keep Ejecting My Recordable CDs? [Ask MacRx]

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When an optical CD/DVD drive begins to fail, it usually has trouble with recordable media first. A few simple tests can help verify whether the problem is with the drive or the media:

I have a macbook and recently I cannot put a cd in to record or have recorded. This happened before with toast. And I found I had something set wrong. What am I supposed to set this on so it will quit ejecting my cds?

Ernie

Can I Use an Old Mac to Get Pictures Off an iPhone? [Ask MacRx]

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Apple is all about the cutting edge, but in the real world people use older computers that may not have the latest and greatest software. Here’s how to use an old Mac with a new iPhone:

My mom is about to get an iPhone for the first time. She has an older iMac that only supports Leopard, no Snow Leopard or Lion, so she cannot sync with her pc at home. The new iOS 5 allows her to get an iPhone that does not need to sync to a pc. How can she get her photos off her new iPhone 4S onto her existing iMac to load into iPhoto? Will the iMac recognize the device as a camera source even if otherwise unsupported by her version of Leopard and iTunes?

Toby

Why Is iTunes Randomly Moving My Music Files? [Ask MacRx]

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Many of us are convinced our computers have minds of their own. In this bizarre case of iTunes moving music files around, there may well be a ghost in the machine:

Ok. I got one for you that has stumped EVERYONE that I have proposed this problem to, including Mac Geniuses and numerous techie friends.

iTunes keeps all music organized inside the Music folder in the Home folder. For the last several months, periodically when I add a new song, or change something regarding songs already in the library (add artwork, adjust genre, etc) SOME songs will relocate themselves to Macintosh HD >Music >iTunes >iTunes Music [outside the Home folder].

How Do I Repair a MacBook Pro from Hell? [Ask MacRx]

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We’ve all had the experience of a computer being a lemon, one problem after another. Here’s one story of a MacBook Pro from hell that has a happy ending thanks to a sympathetic support rep at Apple:

I have a MBP 2.4ghz – the logic board failed 6 months ago and was replaced and worked fine. Last week the battery overheated and “swelled” ruining it. It was removed and run on AC adaptor only after that. The adaptor cable was tripped on and disconnected from the magsafe. The unit would not boot on after that point. After letting it cool completely down, it started up normally. I shut it down and it would not reboot.

Can I Use an AppleTV in a Hotel Room? [Ask MacRx]

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Bringing your own equipment with you while on the road often requires some planning ahead. If you plan to use an AppleTV while traveling you might want to bring some ethernet cables or a WiFi router along with you:

Since I travel a great deal, I have been wondering if there is a way I can use AppleTV and the hotel’s WiFi network to stream video from my laptop to their television. In looking at the Apple Support Discussions, it appears that a similar question has been raised by those in college dorms.

I realize that this requires a HDMI cord and port on the television. But is there a way that the Mac can then “talk” to the AppleTV?

Thanks, Bill

How Can I Open All Safari Links in Fullscreen Mode? [Ask MacRx]

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When you are running a Mac as a kiosk or to run a demo, it can be helpful to block out all elements of the user interface. This user from Norway can’t figure out how to force Safari in Lion to always open links in true fullscreen mode:

We are a group of mac users that can not figure out why or how to get our Safari to be a true fullscreen app when we click on a link to start safari. So here is what we struggle with: how to get safari on Lion to open links in true fullscreen without the toolbar in the top?

How Do I Merge iTunes and iPhoto Libraries? [Ask MacRx]

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Many Mac users have multiple systems of varying ages, and often several different copies of their iTunes and iPhoto libraries. Here’s how to get them all in one place:

Your post today about sharing libraries made me wonder whether you have addressed importing/merging libraries across two Macs. My wife has a desktop PowerMac G4 Cube and a newer MacBook. She wants to import both her iPhoto and iTunes libraries to the MacBook, but I’m not sure how to accomplish this. Also, because the Cube has slow USB and the MacBook has no Firewire, I’m not even sure how to get the data over to the MacBook without it taking eons. Any thoughts would help.

Thanks! Rik

My Mac is Stalling with Finder Error Code 36 [Ask MacRx]

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The Mac and Mac OS X have changed tremendously in their nearly three-decade long existence, but some problems stand the test of time. Finder Error Code 36 has plagued Mac users since the Beige Days:

My girlfriend and I have matching 13″ MacBook Pros (4Gigs RAM and both with ample HDs) and are the same “age”. We both are music nuts and have tons of music and my Mac performs beautifully but her computer has been pausing/stalling (with spinning beach ball) when she plays music on iTunes. This happens mainly, but not limited to, when the screensaver starts up. We took it to the Genius Bar and their solution was to disable the screensaver with a hot corner. I find that solution unacceptable.

Why Does My Mac Screen Just Show Two Buttons with Arrows? [Ask MacRx]

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Inheriting an old Mac does not always mean it’s ready to go with freshly reinstalled software. The Startup (Boot) Manager might show its friendly face sometimes when a valid boot drive can’t be found:

Recently I have been given a iMac G5 (light sensor). The guy who gave it to me has wiped the HD so I can start again. I intend to give this Mac to my parents for a present but before I go and buy a copy of OSX i decided to try and install a borrowed copy just to make sure the computer still works. As far as I know the copy works. But my Mac won’t have any of it. (don’t worry, I’m not asking you for advice on pirating). All that shows on the screen are two buttons. One has a circular arrow and the other has a straight arrow. Nothing happens when I click on either of them.

How Do I Share iPhoto and iTunes Libraries Between Two Users? [Ask MacRx]

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Sharing an iPhoto or iTunes library between two users is a common request, but Apple doesn’t make this easy. Home Sharing will distribute purchased media but does not allow you to manage a single shared library. Here are some Apple recommended options:

I have my iPhoto library located in my /Users/Shared folder. My wife is an Admin and I am an Admin and both login apps are linked to it. I have gone as far as selecting the permissions to read and write for everyone, but there are still videos she can’t watch and when she imports items they don’t save to the library. Importing can only be done from my login.

Can you detail the exact method for sharing?

How Do I Import Photos from iPod touch to Hard Drive? [Ask MacRx]

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Those of us with Macs take for granted how easy it is to import pictures from our iPhones and iPods to our Macs – at least, once you’ve done it the first time. Things are a bit less obvious for iDevice owners running Windows:

Is there an easy way to move all the pictures from the camera roll [on my iPod touch] to my computer or an external hard drive?

Richard

Why Do I Get the Spinning Beach Ball Daily? [Ask MacRx]

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Readers continue to contact us with questions about their Macs and iDevices, so we’ve decided to run Ask MacRx more frequently during the week. Today we address one of the most common questions for a Mac consultant, why do I get that spinning beach ball all the time?

It seems like there is never a day goes by that I am not confronted with the Spinning Ball of Death, most often while in Safari (although granted, that is the application that I use most frequently). Lately (post Lion installation) I have even been getting a message “Browser is Not Responding.”

Ask MacRx: Mail Message Previews, MobileMe Sync Problems, and iPhoto Duplicates

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In today’s high tech world, sometimes we can all use a bit of assistance. This week we’re launching a new troubleshooting column for Cult of Mac readers, Ask MacRx, to address your questions and issues about Macs and iDevices.

In today’s edition we’ll tackle restoring the Mail Message Preview Pane, more options for overcoming MobileMe sync problems, and questions about duplicates in iPhoto.

How To Extend Your WiFi Network Range [MacRx]

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Wireless networking is de rigeur these days, but in large buildings or crowded urban environments it can sometimes be difficult to get connections working reliably throughout a facility. Extending your WiFi network allows you to provide strong coverage through a home or workplace while allowing wireless devices to roam about and keep connectivity.

The most reliable way I’ve found to extend WiFi network coverage is to create a single network with multiple Wireless Access Points, connected via a wired backbone to a single internet router. Here’s how this is done.

How To Print From Your iPad or iPhone [MacRx]

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So you’re a cutting edge, Post-PC consumer. You’ve bought into the Cloud, have all the latest apps on your iPad, and you work on the go. Just tweet this, email that, and print out an electronic boarding pass before you head to the airport.

Not so fast on that last step. There’s a tantalizing Print button in many iOS apps these days, but very few printers are usable without some extra work first. Unlike printing on the Mac or PC, AirPrint (the iOS-based printing system) is still not yet a fully realized solution. Fortunately, workarounds are available.

How To Fix MobileMe Sync Problems [MacRx]

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MobileMe Cloud

I curse MobileMe, but I rely on MobileMe. So do many Mac users, it’s easy to setup and it generally works. However sometimes your info gets mixed up with duplicates or omissions, or a device in your sync setup can get stuck and won’t send or receive new data.

The basic procedure for resetting sync data involves taking the most complete copy of your data and propagating it through all other systems. Pick one system to become your Primary Mac for the steps below.

Essential Utilities for Mac Maintenance and Troubleshooting [MacRx]

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Working as a Mac consultant brings me in contact with several dozen different Macintosh systems every month. Many needs and tasks are common – OS upgrades, backups, system slowdowns, troubleshooting startup or WiFi problems. Like any good mechanic there are a few items in my toolbox which I favor above others. From built-in tools like Disk Utility, Network Utility and Console to third-party tools like DiskWarrior, FileSalvage and iStumbler, these items help get the job done.

Cure What Ails Your Mac – Best of MacRx [Year in Review]

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Best of MacRx 2010

After all the eggnog is consumed and the gifts unwrapped, your new and old Macs may need a bit of holiday cheer themselves. Whether you’re trying to setup a new system or infuse energy into an old favorite, a few MacRx columns on such matters resonated with our readers this year.

Read on for refreshers about Fixing Startup Problems, Speeding up Slow Macs, Troubleshooting WiFi Issues, Making Hard Drive Clones, and Managing Your Safari Bookmarks. Some things to do over the holiday break!

How To Consolidate Your iPhoto Library and Remove Duplicates [MacRx]

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iPhoto Ad Infinitum

iPhoto is one of Apple’s most popular applications. Bundled with every new Mac since 2002, millions of people have imported and manipulated billions of photos with this useful software. Every time you plug your iPhone or another camera into your Mac, iPhoto leaps to the assistance (whether you want it to or not).

With success come challenges. One common thing I’m asked about as an Mac consultant is how to manage iPhoto libraries that have gotten out of hand – thousands of photos, lots of duplicate items, and sometimes multiple copies of libraries. How do you get all this under control?

How to undelete files in Mac OS X [MacRx]

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Are You Sure You Want To Empty the Trash?

It’s happened to us all: You delete a file, folder or entire disk, then realize you’ve made a mistake.  You reach for your backup – and you don’t have a backup. What now?

There are several utilities available to help recover deleted files under Mac OS X.  Your chances of success depend on how the file was deleted and what you’ve done since then.  Unfortunately you will also lose your original filenames, though some reconstruction is possible.