All Questions
14,815
questions
62
votes
6
answers
112k
views
How can I download an older version of OS X/macOS?
Sometimes it's hard to search for older / previous versions of macOS & OS X on the App Store or Apple web site since they change links to promote the newest shipping version.
This is an attempt to ...
- 107k
130
votes
19
answers
108k
views
How can I figure out what's slowly eating my drive space?
Every few days I get notices on my MacBook that it's running or run out of hard drive space. Curiously, restarting the computer will enable me to recover gigabytes of space (this past time, it was ...
- 22.9k
54
votes
5
answers
652k
views
How can I bypass Activation Lock?
I bought a used iPhone 4. The previous owner re-set the phone, but did not remove the device from their iCloud. It is asking me for their iCloud information when I try to set-up the phone. I don't ...
- 541
77
votes
3
answers
115k
views
Can I install any iOS version I wish by picking and choosing which firmware to restore?
I'm trying to downgrade my iPhone from the current iOS to an older one, as per this question.
But every time I try, I always receive this error:
The iPhone could not be restored. This device isn't ...
- 875
194
votes
6
answers
465k
views
How do I disable System Integrity Protection (SIP) AKA "rootless" on macOS?
Apple has introduced System Integrity Protection, also known as "rootless", with OS X 10.11, El Capitan. I understand this is a step for general protection against malware but as a developer I need ...
- 2,043
13
votes
1
answer
42k
views
Keyboard key stuck or not being recognized; how to fix
This is an attempt to write a canonical QA for this issue, as per the Meta post: Where is the list of canonical questions stored for Ask Different? I expect it to be periodically edited with the goal ...
- 88.7k
160
votes
10
answers
167k
views
OS X computer name not matching what shows on terminal
My computer name in System Preferences > Sharing is set to "archos", but is showing as "iphone" on Terminal. It just started doing this after I loaded Xcode for doing iPhone ...
- 1,703
24
votes
2
answers
33k
views
MacBook [Pro] or iMac - how many displays, what resolution/frequency?
How do I find out the number, type, resolution & refresh rate of additional monitors I can attach to my MacBook or MacBook Pro?
This is an attempt at a canonical QA, as per the Meta QA -
Where is ...
- 107k
363
votes
39
answers
224k
views
What Window Management Options exist for OS X?
I'd like to do something with my windows on OS X, where something includes options like re-arranging, moving, re-sizing, remembering positions, cloning across Spaces, etc. What options exist?
Rules
...
78
votes
5
answers
535k
views
I don't have administrator account on my mac
On my mac I have 2 accounts and the both are normal account. So in this moment I don't have a Administrator account, only one that was in the past a administrator, but now is not.
How I can have ...
- 781
61
votes
4
answers
153k
views
GPU problem - Boot Hangs on Grey Screen
I found this according to my problem in this thread:
Boot hangs on grey screen (even when booting from USB drive with fresh OS X install)
My MacBook Pro 15" Early 2011 with AMD Radeon HD 6750M ...
- 611
12
votes
1
answer
5k
views
What is an efficient way for developers / power users to use OSX window management and Spaces on a single screen?
This may be a strange question.
Background: I usually work in a multiple monitor setup, where I can plaster the screen with all my windows so nothing I might need to switch to is ever hidden from ...
- 955
10
votes
2
answers
24k
views
MacBook Air occasionally freezes when external monitor is connected
I bought an ultra wide monitor (LG 29UM58) the other day. To hook it up to my Air, I convert a mini-DP signal to HDMI. With two different cables, I started noticing occasional latency on the signal ...
- 433
544
votes
15
answers
638k
views
Shortcut for toggling between different windows of same app?
I opened two Google Chrome windows (because I am using multiple Gmails) and when I do the Cmd ⌘ Tab ⇥ shortcut it just shows me other applications that I opened but does not show me the other Chrome ...
- 5,443
150
votes
12
answers
256k
views
Should I disconnect my MacBook Pro's power cord when the battery is fully charged?
My friend told me that I need to disconnect the power cord when the battery is fully charged. Otherwise, I will shorten the life of the battery.
Other people say you should drain it once a month or ...
- 4,385
40
votes
5
answers
84k
views
How do I make a bootable USB OS X installer on a Mac?
Does anyone have a Terminal command-line recipe for making a new bootable USB flash drive for one of the new MacBook Air's? Is there a way to dd copy the USB boot device that comes in the box and ...
- 5,423
15
votes
2
answers
13k
views
OS volume shows as type 'FFFFFFFF-FFFF-FFFF-FFFF-FFFFFFFFFFFF'
Yesterday, I have tried to delete an Ubuntu partition. Since, my Mac (13", MBPro mid-2014) doesn't boot. Now, I boot on Mac OS copy with an USB.
i follow different subject of this forum (like this : ...
- 153
12
votes
3
answers
60k
views
No bootable device USB 2.0 MacBook Pro mid 2014
I've been tearing my hair out the last couple days trying to get Windows installed.
I have a MacBook Pro Retina 15 inch mid 2014. Yosemite version 10.10.1.
Win 7 64 bit iso (sha1 - ...
- 223
10
votes
2
answers
54k
views
What are the requirements to use iMac screen as a second monitor - Target Display Mode?
I have a Surface Pro 4 and an iMac (late 2019). I would like to connect my Surface Pro to the iMac to use the iMac screen as a second monitor. Is that possible?
What are the requirements to use an ...
- 101
20
votes
3
answers
5k
views
My Mac is getting really slow, what should I do?
I bought a Mac (13", early 2011) almost 5 years ago. When I first got it, it was running under OS X 10.7 and it was pretty fast. I've being upgrading it ever since and it's now running under Mac OS X ...
- 425
263
votes
3
answers
180k
views
What is the "rootless" feature in El Capitan, really?
I have just learned about the "Rootless" feature in El Capitan, and I am hearing things like "There is no root user", "Nothing can modify /System" and "The world will end because we can't get root".
...
- 8,449
59
votes
12
answers
166k
views
Is it possible to use Boot Camp with Windows 10 from an external HDD?
I need to run Visual Studio on my MacBook Pro and I need Windows to do that. The easiest and well known way to install Windows on a Mac is by running the Boot Camp app on the Mac and let it do what's ...
- 733
18
votes
7
answers
46k
views
How can I get back a system file after deleting it from my Mac?
I've deleted a system file from my Mac and need to get it back.
System files can include:
hidden files in the root of / - especially unix files in /private
/System files
/Library files
/...
grg♦
- 193k
53
votes
2
answers
507k
views
How can I get admin access to a Mac without knowing the current password?
My Father died last year and I inherited his Mac Mini. My wife has retired and we are trying to set up the mini for her use but the changes we want to make require admin access and we do not have the ...
- 531
8
votes
2
answers
137k
views
Fully charged MacBook Air turns off when power cord removed
I have a MacBook Air, 2009, with a recently replaced Apple battery in December 2012. Recently, when power cord comes off, the computer shuts down. Also, it usually will not restart unless power cord ...
- 81
666
votes
13
answers
559k
views
How to find cause of high kernel_task cpu usage?
Occasionally my machine will have a kernel_task instance max out the CPU:
This can last from minutes to sometimes hours. The machine is effectively unusable in this state. Restarting doesn't help; a ...
- 11.9k
12
votes
2
answers
97k
views
How to install Windows 10 into a 2011 iMac without using the Boot Camp Assistant, an optical (DVD) drive or third party tools?
Note the following regarding fdmillion's answer to this question
User fdmillion's answer requires a Mac that can BIOS boot from an USB drive. The only 2011 Macs which can BIOS boot from an USB drive ...
- 36k
8
votes
3
answers
11k
views
launchd plist format for running a command at a specific time on a weekday
I'm trying to run a command at 10 minutes after 2am every weekday only. In my launchd .plist file, how can I specify this?
I don't want it to run every 2 hours and 10 minutes, just once every ...
- 225
68
votes
8
answers
59k
views
How do I write to NTFS drives in OS X?
What is the best, easiest, preferably cheapest way to make OS X write to NTFS-formatted drives in Mac OS X?
- 1,457
100
votes
7
answers
54k
views
Isn't Inactive memory a waste of resources?
I'm looking for explanation of memory usage on my machine especially in light of the example in this screenshot below:
I understand what is Free and Active means
But what are the meanings of Wired ...
- 2,738
66
votes
12
answers
32k
views
Can I create a shortcut to open a specific application on OS X?
I want to create a keyboard shortcut to i.e. open Firefox while I am working in another application. I know I can use ⌘ CMD+T when I am in Firefox to open a new tab.
I haven't found a way to create ...
- 1,123
39
votes
8
answers
70k
views
Resizing or expanding a CoreStorage volume
I bought a new SSD with 750 GB and made two partitions: 600 GB and 150 GB. The smaller one was thought to be a Bootcamp partition one day, but to date it was just another unused partition. When I ...
- 517
14
votes
3
answers
94k
views
Boot camp install of Windows 7 issue, no bootable devices
So I have a 2010 15" macbook pro (MBP6,1) and I replaced the optical drive with a hard disk. I wanted to install windows 7 on the hard disk with boot camp with a USB and ISO image.
After searching I ...
- 195
8
votes
3
answers
6k
views
Mid 2012 MBP shuts down claiming no power with charge at 30% or 40% or more
I have two mid 2012 MBPs. Sometime last year they both started randomly shutting down and showing the 'please plug me in to power' image when trying to start them up. That would be fine if the batter ...
- 379
87
votes
4
answers
101k
views
How do I remap a key in macOS Sierra, e.g., Right Alt to Right Control?
I used to use Karabiner to remap Right Alt to Right Control (as an Emacs user I use Control MUCH more that Alt) but updating to Sierra broke this. Downgrading is not an option.
How do I manually ...
- 2,178
31
votes
6
answers
62k
views
Are OS X shutdown cause and sleep cause numbers listed/explained anywhere?
The numbers in which I'm most interested
-2
0
3
5
… I might add to that shortlist.
What do those numbers mean; where might we find authoritative explanations?
Somewhere in Apple open source, ...
- 7,613
228
votes
15
answers
91k
views
Best app to switch between all open windows
After 4 years of being a Mac user, there is only one thing that I still miss from the Windows world, and that is being able to switch with a single keystroke between all open windows in the computer.
...
- 2,480
84
votes
5
answers
43k
views
On OS X, what files are excluded by rule from a Time Machine backup?
In addition to whatever files I may choose to exclude, what files does the system exclude by rule or classification?
It might make sense not to backup Trash or Caches, but I'm looking for a way to ...
- 227k
260
votes
8
answers
741k
views
How can I manually delete old backups to free space for Time Machine?
I use a Time Capsule for backup and now I want the drive to back up data from an extra Mac. But the drive is filled up with old backups from Mac 1. There simply is not enough space available for the ...
- 2,772
32
votes
8
answers
53k
views
How do I create El Capitan installer on a Catalina (or post-El Capitan) installed Mac for use on USB boot installer?
I have downloaded the El Capitan DMG file (InstallMacOSX.dmg) provided by Apple. The expanded DMG image contains the package "InstallMacOSX.pkg" which should be run to create the El Capitan ...
- 549
14
votes
4
answers
15k
views
What is a Kernel Panic and what does it mean?
I have this report:
Anonymous UUID: Removed
Tue Aug 11 20:26:13 2015
*** Panic Report ***
panic(cpu 2 caller 0xffffff8028bc1cde): "launchd died\nState at Last Exception:\n\n"@/SourceCache/xnu/...
- 141
92
votes
8
answers
95k
views
How do I assign a keyboard shortcut to an AppleScript I wrote?
How do I assign a keyboard shortcut to an AppleScript? I found a script for automatically going back to the inbox in Office 2011.
- 937
78
votes
6
answers
24k
views
How to add characters to the press and hold character picker in OS X Lion?
In OS X Lion, there is a very useful feature for people like me who need to write in multiple languages, which pops up a small menu of additional characters when you hold down a letter.
For instance, ...
- 8,982
5
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Revert to El Capitan
I'm having major 'disagreements' with Sierra, compatibility issues with software etc, & have decided to revert to El Capitan.
I have done this many times in the past, tested an OS then gone back ...
- 107k
344
votes
6
answers
125k
views
How can I disable animation when switching desktops in Lion?
I would very much like to disable the sliding animation that occurs when switching desktops via ctrl+→/← or ctrl+[number] in Lion. This was previously accomplished in previous versions ...
- 3,441
50
votes
6
answers
111k
views
Is the Macbook 12 inch's USB-C charger interchangeable with other USB-C chargers or devices?
If there is only the Macbook 12 inch USB-C charger nearby, can it be used to charge other USB-C devices, such as any Android phones that also use USB-C? (will it be "too powerful" and damage other ...
- 9,398
43
votes
1
answer
40k
views
What's /System/Volumes/Data?
New mac user here (Linux background). I'm running macOS Catalina (Beta5). I've noticed there are 5 volumes in my main disk container.
One is mounted at /, that I understand, it's the system, another ...
- 293
22
votes
2
answers
9k
views
Data Not Backed Up, Partition Type: FFFFFFFF-FFFF-FFFF-FFFF-FFFFFFFFFFFF
I was trying to install Linux on my MacBook for class when I bricked my computer, which now in an unbootable state.
I made my partition too small, so I was going to delete and create a larger one. ...
- 223
18
votes
6
answers
77k
views
Is it possible to delete the "useless" apps pre-installed on my Mac?
There are some preinstalled apps that came with my laptop that I know I wil never ever use.
Apps like "Notes", "Stickies", "Game Center", etc.. that were preinstalled in my Macbook Pro are apps that ...
- 453
8
votes
2
answers
95k
views
Can Recovery Mode install OS X onto a blank SSD?
I want to install a new Solid State Drive (SSD) into the Mac. Can I just build in the SSD, start the MacBook in Recovery Mode and install OS X from there on?
After reading a lot on the internet I ...
- 81