All Questions
15,434
questions
314
votes
3
answers
194k
views
Hotkey to show hidden files and folders in File Open dialog?
This question is very similar to Is it possible to always show hidden/dotfiles in Open/Save dialogs?. How to show hidden files and folders in finder? is also related. However, I don't want to always ...
195
votes
12
answers
178k
views
Why is it not possible to use the "cut" command to manipulate a file in the Finder?
On OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard), I don't seem to be able to us the "Cut" command on a file in the Finder, like you can do in Windows Explorer on Microsoft Windows. (In Windows, once you select a file and "...
180
votes
239
answers
47k
views
Which OS X Applications do you find indispensable?
Please Search Prior To Posting!
There are many applications already listed. In all likelihood, this includes the one you are thinking of. Please check the existing answers to avoid duplicates, and ...
176
votes
20
answers
419k
views
How to arrange two windows easily to left and right side?
In Windows 7, we can easily arrange two windows with these shortcuts: Option (Alt) ⌥ + ← maximizes the window to the left side of the screen, and Option (Alt) ⌥ + → maximizes the window to the right ...
156
votes
9
answers
500k
views
How can I mount an SMB share from the command line?
I would like to mount an SMB network share from the command line (terminal); how would I go about that?
I am using Mac OS X 10.6.4.
106
votes
4
answers
99k
views
How can I type unicode characters without using the mouse?
I want to type unicode characters with the keyboard. I'm looking for a solution with no mouse usage. For example, below I have a line with the unicode "PILE-OF-POO" character:
💩
The codepoint for ...
104
votes
2
answers
181k
views
Why doesn't Mac OS X source ~/.bashrc? [duplicate]
I found a lot of people figuring out why instruction similar to this :
Put X to your ~/.bashrc and you can do Y
don't work.
It always turns out that Mac OS X's bash's startup files (or Mac's Bash ...
102
votes
10
answers
146k
views
How do I control Macbook volume when a DP display is connected?
When I plug my Mac into a DisplayPort monitor that has loudspeakers, the Mac's volume controls become disabled.
Is Apple assuming that if I have external speakers I am so much better using their ...
74
votes
8
answers
94k
views
What is wired memory?
I'm trying to figure out what is using all of the memory in my Macbook Pro running OS X Lion. I have 8 GB of memory total. When I quit all active programs except Finder and Activity Monitor, then run ...
70
votes
2
answers
108k
views
What is com.apple.bird? Why does it grow so big?
When trying to clean up their hard disk, some users discover ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.bird is pretty big, sometimes in the order of many gigabytes. What is it?
51
votes
11
answers
5k
views
Is it generally advisable to get anti-virus software for Mac OS X?
Is it worth to buy an anti-virus software for Mac OS X?
I heard both opinions like "it's not possible to get a virus on Mac OS X" and "Mac OS X is also vulnerable against virus... "
Which is true? ...
47
votes
7
answers
76k
views
Bandwidth shaper or bandwidth controller application for Mac OS X
I'm looking for a bandwidth/packet throttle/shaper program with the following features:
Similar to Windows-based Netlimiter.
GUI based and not terminal or command line.
Shows list of all applications ...
46
votes
5
answers
13k
views
Why is /tmp a symlink to /private/tmp?
Why is /tmp a symlink to /private/tmp on Mac OS X? In other words, why isn't /tmp just a regular directory, like on Linux or BSD? I understand how it works and I don't mind it, I'm just interested in ...
45
votes
6
answers
11k
views
App crashes, dock icon remains, can't reboot, yet no process in ps aux to kill
I've been encountering an extremely annoying problem since I upgraded to Yosemite.
FCPX (but I've been having reports of this problem on other computers with finder.app and safari.app) sometimes will ...
44
votes
6
answers
77k
views
How to add hibernate mode to MacBook Pro
I have recently switched to Mac from Windows hence I do not have much information.
I want my Mac to go to safe sleep state on closing the lid.
I also need an extra option available somewhere which ...
40
votes
8
answers
34k
views
SRM gone in macOS Sierra (10.12)
I've just updated to macOS 10.12 and when I try to execute srm in Terminal, it says -bash: srm: command not found.
Is srm removed? How to fix this?
39
votes
4
answers
29k
views
Easy way to remap non-modifier keys on Mac?
I want to remap § to ` and ± to ~ on my Mac keyboard because they are located in a place I am not used to.
Is there an easy way to do this?
38
votes
4
answers
7k
views
How can I prevent iPhoto from opening everytime I plug my iPad/iPhone?
How can I prevent iPhoto/Photos/Image Capture from launching everytime I plug in my iPad/iPhone?
28
votes
6
answers
40k
views
How to disable battery charging?
From the pmset man page:
POWER SOURCE ARGUMENTS
-g with a 'batt' or 'ps' argument will show the state of all attached power sources.
[…] Certain Apple battery calibration tools may ...
27
votes
6
answers
270k
views
Can I downgrade to Mavericks after installing Yosemite (beta/developer preview)?
I have installed the developer preview for Yosemite.
Huge mistake. Everything in my workspace is broken.
I don't have any sort of backup image. I was wondering if I could re-download Mavericks and ...
24
votes
4
answers
48k
views
How can I merge primary APFS partition with other empty APFS partition?
Using the latest Macbook Pro with currently High Sierra 10.13.1, I was using bootcamp for a year, and I decided to get rid of the Bootcamp partition this morning. The Bootcamp utility would not let me ...
24
votes
4
answers
7k
views
Macbook Pro Retina running at native resolution
A question I've had in my head since I first saw screenshots of the display preference pane on the new Retina MBP is this: Can it be made to run with what you could call a 1.0 UI scaling factor (same ...
22
votes
4
answers
13k
views
Which command controls the open file limits?
Which command / configuration file controls the open file limits on OS X? Is there a different command for OS X 10.5 / 10.6 / 10.7? The options I explore below are ulimit, sysctl, and launchctl
"...
19
votes
5
answers
14k
views
My Mac mini's computer name keeps changing when it resumes from sleep
When I wake my Mac mini from sleep, it occasionally comes up with a dialog saying "The name of your computer "whatever" is already in use on this network. The name has been changed to "whatever (1)"" (...
15
votes
5
answers
12k
views
Will an iOS reinstall make a jailbroken iOS device "unjailbroken" and “supported by Apple” again?
Will an iOS reinstall
Work on any jailbroken-iPhone and
Make a jailbroken-iPhone "unjailbroken"?
Make a jailbroken-iPhone "supported by Apple"?
Similarly, does such an iOS reinstall reset the iPhone ...
14
votes
3
answers
164k
views
Accessing WhatsApp iCloud backup?
I have WhatsApp set up on my iPhone with iCloud backup. I don't want my WhatsApp media polluting my Photos stream, so I've disabled "Save to camera roll", as I didn't see a way to keep WhatsApp images/...
14
votes
7
answers
31k
views
Can I plug two external monitors in to a MacBook Pro?
I'd like to use two external monitors for some excels, coding, email, not games or video content.
Can someone please explain how I can go about using two external monitors with my MacBook Pro, and ...
12
votes
4
answers
26k
views
Completely synchronise multiple Macs
I actually have a Macbook Pro with Snow Leopard (I plan on upgrading to Lion).
I may have to buy an Mac mini in order to have a full dual screen (external identical screens) layout (see my previous ...
7
votes
1
answer
5k
views
OS volume shows as type 'FFFFFFFF-FFFF-FFFF-FFFF-FFFFFFFF' after attempting to delete some Linux partitions—cannot log in
I was unable to just delete the partitions left by an old Linux Mint installation by pressing the '-' button in disk utility. I looked online and read that I could reformat them to a journaled format ...
7
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Unable to boot up my Mac. Getting a flashing folder with a question mark
I currently own a 15 inch MacBook Pro with retina display model ( early 2013) . My Mac was working fine and all of a sudden my Mac won't boot up. I see a flashing folder with a question mark symbol on ...
6
votes
3
answers
7k
views
Install macOS Sierra on VirtualBox?
I’m trying to install macOS Sierra on VirtualBox, but can’t seem to make it work. For reference, here are the steps I took.
Downloaded the Install macOS Sierra app from the App Store.
Used the ...
6
votes
1
answer
21k
views
Boot Camp Assistance is stuck on create a partition?
I have a MacBook Pro, Late 2013. I have done a clean install of High Sierra macOS 10.13.3. I am trying to install Windows 10, Fall Creators Update, on my Mac by following Boot Camp Assistant's ...
6
votes
2
answers
7k
views
App Store: Not enough disk space to install Xcode
Similar to Xcode free space requirement, but different details.
We could not complete your update
There is not enough disk space available to install the product.
The download size lists:
...
5
votes
4
answers
10k
views
MacBook Pro randomly discharges from 100% to ~90% when plugged
My 15 inch 2018 Mac Book Pro with Mojave 10.14 randomly starts draining battery when plugged in. When I try to move the cable, change the power cable to a different USB slot nothing helps. The battery ...
5
votes
3
answers
6k
views
Recover deleted Encrypted OS X Extended volume
I accidentally formatted an external 1TB HD to FAT file system using Disk Utility in Mac OS. The disk used to be HFS+ encrypted. Encryption was done when I created the OS X Extended partition, not ...
4
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Can I use Siri with these apps?
Could YouTube, Todoist, myEmail (fill in name app your looking for) be controlled/used with Siri?
Could a third party iOS app be controlled by Siri?
4
votes
3
answers
2k
views
How to tell Messages "I'm not at home"?
I leave my Mac running 24/7, but I'm not always sitting at it.
Is there any way to tell the Mac, or Messages specifically, if my phone isn't on the local wifi subnet, don't take messages, leave them ...
4
votes
2
answers
5k
views
How to detect if Mac if rebooting after a power failure using terminal?
As I asked in the title, how can I check if a Mac is rebooting after experiencing a power failure. It would be preferable to check this using terminal or some other script, as I would like to test ...
3
votes
1
answer
5k
views
HFS+ invalid number of allocation blocks
Okay so a few days ago I wanted to install Ubuntu GNOME over regular Ubuntu and it gave me the option to automatically overwrite my Ubuntu installation (that I had on a separate partition from my OS X ...
3
votes
1
answer
2k
views
New SSD problem
I've just installed a new SSD replacing an HDD in my old (late 2008) iMac. When I switched it on all I got on screen was a question mark.
On the advice of my son I tried cmdR during switch on with ...
2
votes
1
answer
1k
views
External Hard Drive no longer working
I am on a MacBook Pro 13 running latest Sierra. I have an external Seagate solid state hard drive that was working and out of the blue stopped working. The only thing on it was my Adobe Lightroom ...
1
vote
2
answers
11k
views
How to make remove free space and make APFS container take it up
I am on 11.1 Big Sur beta.
I have a partition with no disk identifier called (free space)
I would like to remove this, and then make the APFS container take up the free space.
Here is a screenshot of ...
1
vote
2
answers
5k
views
Does Apple offer a page that lists all versions of published Boot Camp drivers?
I realise that the recommended way of obtaining the latest drivers for Boot Camp is via Apple's official Boot Camp Assistant built into macOS, but was wondering if Apple offers an official index that ...
1
vote
1
answer
6k
views
Danger of damaging 13" macbook pro by charging it with 85w charger? [duplicate]
We've got a range of laptops in our office all macbook pros some of which are 13" and some of which are 15".
The 15" laptops came with 85w chargers, and the 13" came with 60w chargers.
I want to ...
558
votes
13
answers
206k
views
Remap "Home" and "End" to beginning and end of line
Most of my computing time is spent in Linux (with occasional time in Windows). On these platforms the Home and End keys universally jump to the beginning or end of the current line.
I am gradually ...
404
votes
133
answers
246k
views
Got any tips or tricks for Terminal in Mac OS X?
One tip or trick per answer.
My favorite is
open .
Opens the folder you're currently browsing in Finder. You can also pass URLs, images, documents or else to open.
If you specify a program name ...
180
votes
107
answers
55k
views
What tiny thing in Lion makes you smile or has caught you off guard?
I would like to call for a place to list some little things that surprise you about Lion. There are so many articles and lists of all the new features with information overload, I would rather focus ...
167
votes
4
answers
526k
views
Using The Terminal Command to Shutdown, Restart and Sleep My Mac?
I'm getting more interested in using Terminal as an alternative way to address solutions on my Mac. I have seen this question entitled "Is there a better way to shutdown/restart OSX?".
I would ...
155
votes
23
answers
184k
views
How to stop OS X from writing Spotlight and Trash files to memory cards and USB sticks?
When plugging a USB stick into a Mac, OS X creates a number of hidden files on the stick, including a Spotlight index and Trash folder.
Example from the terminal for a USB stick "Untitled":
$ ls -a /...
150
votes
10
answers
173k
views
How to change the default behaviour of the fullscreen/maximize button?
There is a question that deals with the different behaviour of the fullscreen button in the window bar. There, it is shown that by doing:
⌥ + ⇧ + Click on green or outer right icon (plus icon)
I can ...