FAQ: Check here first if you have problems!

Enabling Root User by Placebo

Root User can be a valuable tool for altering and deleting perfectly useless files that the computer won't allow you to delete. You can also look access the contents of other user's accounts. (Remember to respect other's privacy, and only use this when you need to transfer files between accounts.)

Root can also be used to delete or alter many files that would be better left alone. So before you accidently remove you computer from existence, you should know what you are doing.

Open Netinfo Manager, located in your /Applications/Utilities folder. Click on the Authenticate menu, and click Enable root user. Netinfo Manager then will prompt you to give a password to root. After you have typed the password twice, click OK.

To log into root, first log out by clicking Apple menu down to Log out.

At your login screen, you will see a new option called Other. Click on it, and the computer will prompt you for your username and password. Enter root as your username, and enter your password. The computer will log you in, giving you complete administrator priveledges.

When you are finished, log out of root.

To disable root, go to Netinfo Manager, and from the Authenitcate menu, select "Disable root". This will remove the Other option from your login screen.

Faster Enabling Root User: by Eugene

As a user with Administrator privileges, open Terminal, type sudo passwd root, and enter your own passphrase at the prompt. At the next prompt, enter the desired root passphrase.

The end.

Reseting Power Management Unit by penseive

iBook (Dual USB), iBook (Late 2001) and iBook (14.1 LCD)
1. If the computer is on, turn it off.
2. Disconnect the AC power adapter.
3. Remove the battery.
4. Press and release the reset button (shown in Figure 2) located above the Audio/Video port on the left side of the iBook (Dual USB) computer by inserting the end of a paper clip into the small hole and gently pressing the switch once.
5. Wait 5 seconds.
6. Reconnect the AC power adapter.
7. Put the battery back in the computer.
8. Press the Power button to restart the iBook computer.

iBook (14.1 LCD 32 VRAM), iBook (32 VRAM), and iBook (Opaque 16 VRAM), iBook (Early 2003), iBook (800 MHz 32 VRAM), iBook (900 MHz 32 VRAM), iBook(14.1 LCD 900 MHz 32 VRAM)

For iBook (16 VRAM) computers and later models of iBook, there is no physical reset button.

1. If the computer is on, turn it off.
2. Reset the power manager by simultaneously pressing and then releasing Shift-Control-Option-power on the keyboard. Do not press the fn (Function) key while using this combination of keystrokes.
3. Wait 5 seconds.
4. Press the power button to restart the iBook computer.

PowerBook G4 (DVI) and PowerBook G4 (1 GHz/867 MHz)

1. If the computer is on, turn it off.
2. Disengage the two keyboard latches located between the Esc and F1 keys, and the F11 and F12 keys. (You may also need to disengage the keyboard locking screw located between the F5 and F6 keys.)
3. Lift the keyboard.
Note: To ensure no harmful static electricity is transferred to the computer, properly ground yourself before performing this procedure.
4. Press and release the reset button located on the upper right side of the logic board near the power button.
5. Wait 5 seconds.
6. Press the power button to restart the computer.

PowerBook G4 (12-inch), PowerBook G4 (12-inch DVI), PowerBook G4 (15-inch FW 800), PowerBook G4 (17-inch) and PowerBook G4 (17-inch 1.33GHz)

1. If the computer is on, turn it off.
2. Reset the power manager by simultaneously pressing and then releasing Shift-Control-Option-power on the keyboard. Do not press the fn (Function) key while using this combination of keystrokes.
3. Wait 5 seconds.
4. Press the power button to restart the computer.

_______________________

If you're having trouble with the battery on your laptop (funny gauge readings, not charging, etc.), try this first. I choose to only include the most recent models.

Port Mapping/Forwarding through an Airport Base Station by penseive

If you want to run a server from a computer connected to an ABS, you need to set up port mapping. It's confusing as hell, but hopefully, this will help the process.
[list=1][*]Open up the Airport Admin Utility[*]If you're using firmware version 4.0.8, click on "Show all settings"[*]Click on the "Port Mapping" tab[*]Click on "Add" and in the "Public Port" field, put in the port number you want to open up. In the "private address" field put in a number greater than 56 (Airport automatically assigns 1-55. I use numbers above 200 just 'cause.) In the "private port" field, put in a port number you want to use. It's easiest to use the same number as used in the public port field. Click ok.


[*]Repeat as needed for your serving needs.


[*]Restart the base station.[*]Next, open up your network preferences pane. You need to manually assign your IP address. Use the same IP number you used in the previous settings.[*]This is important. Make sure you put the ABS' IP as your DNS server and your router. If you don't, it won't work.


[*]Apply now.[/list=1]

Keep in mind that you will not be able to connect to your serving computer via the real (what whatismyip.com would show you) IP address from within your local subnet. If you can connect to the internet using your computer, it will work. HTH.

Problem: when trying to repair disk permissions with Disk Utility, it spits out myriads of "User differs on /path/to/a/file, should be 0, owner is 501. Owner and group not corrected on /path/to/a/file, reason Operation not permitted" messages.

Solution:
1. Quit Disk Utility.
2. Launch Terminal found in /Applications/Utilities.
3. Type:
then press Enter, enter your admin password and press Enter again.
4. Type:
and press Enter.
5. Launch Disk Utility and repair permissions as usual.

If you are absolutely incompatible with Terminal, follow the link to get Mark Douma's little utility to help you out.

Resetting Your Password: by CubeDude

If you need to reset your password for whatever reason, you need the Mac OS X install CD(only the first one) or the Software Restore CD(or DVD) that came with your Mac.

1. Boot off of the Install* CD. To do this, insert the CD, and shut down. Then hold down the C key and power up. Or, if you are using the retail install CD, you can insert the CD, while the computer is running, and double-click on the "Install Mac OS X" icon.

2. Click on the Installer menu. Open the installer menu. It's next to the Apple logo in the top-left corner. It's also known as the Application menu.

3. Click on Reset Password. Follow the instructions in the resulting window.

4. Reboot to your hard drive.

You do NOT need to reinstall.

*These same directions apply to the Software Restore CD.

Booting from a CD/DVD: by Cubedude

Sometimes you need to boot off of a CD to fix ceartin problems.

1. Insert the CD.

2. Reboot holding down the C key until you see the start-up progress bar.

This applies in both Mac OS 9 and X.

Moving your iTunes Library: by CubeDude

Sometimes you don't want to keep your music in your home folder.

1. Open iTunes.

2. Go to the Preferences.

3. Click on the Advanced button.

4. Under the iTunes Music Library Location settings, click on the Change button.

5. Point iTunes to your new location.

Moving your iPhoto Library: by CubeDude

1. Move your iPhoto Library.

2. Highlight the folder in the new location and select "Make Alias".

3. Move the alias to the old locatioin and name it iPhoto Library.

Moving your Home folder: by CubeDude

Sometimes its useful to keep your Home folder on its own hard drive, seperate from the System folder.

1. Open Netinfo Manager. It's located in /Applications/Utilities.

2. Authinticate yourself. To do this click on the Security menu and then on Authinticate... Enter your password.

3. In the center column, click on "users". Then find your user name in the right-hand column.

4. In the box underneath the three columns, find the "home" property.

Image

5. Highlight that property/value.

6. After it is highlighted, double click on the value. Make sure you double-click on the value, or you could ruin your user. This should allow you to edit the value.

7. Type in the path to your new home folder.

It should look something like this:

/Volumes/VOLUMENAME/Users/USERNAME

Obviously, you should replace VOLUMENAME and USERNAME with their respective values.

For example:

/Volumes/Macintosh HD/Users/Joe

8. Move over all the contents of the old folder.

Viewing Invisible Files & Folders with Finder: by Tidris

Making Finder display all invisible files and folders can be useful to UNIX gurus. Even if you aren't a UNIX guru, it can save you the trouble of having to use the "Go to Folder..." menu item in Finder in order to reach invisible folders, such as the .Trash* folders. To display invisible items, enter the following commands in the Terminal application:

defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles true
killall Finder

To make Finder stop displaying invisible items, enter the following commands in Terminal:

defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles false
killall Finder

When displaying invisible items, avoid tampering with files and folders unfamiliar to you in order to stay out of trouble. Remember that with power comes responsibility.

My Mac won't boot: by CubeDude

Power up and hold down the Option + Command + O + F keys(if you can't do that you have major hardware problems).

(Skip to the next paragraph if you have a slot-loading CD drive that doesn't already have a non-bootable disc in it)
If/when you get to the OF screen, type


and press Return(if your CD tray does not pop out, or an already-inserted CD on a slot-loading drive does not pop out).

Put in the Apple Hardware Test CD that came with your computer, OR the Restore Disc that came with your computer, OR the Installer disc for your current OS if it's more current than what came with your computer.

Then type


and press Return.

How to join 128-bit encrypted wireless network run on Base Station(s) from a PC ? by piwozniak

Apple Base Stations have unique feature of creating an 128-bit encryption based on string you specify as a password. It can be an 'common sense' string like appleinsider

Windows based computers usually require 13 ASCII characters or 26 hex characters string to access 128-bit encrypted networks.

Launch AirPort Admin Utility (located in /Applications/Utilities), and select your Base Station.
Click on configure button, and enter your password.


Now click on Password icon.


Right down hex equivalent of your password. if your password is exactly 13 characters long you will be provided with ASCII string as well, otherwise only hex value will be shown.

Use this hex password to authenticate from your Windows computer.

Rebuilding your LauchServices database
When you see duplicates in the "open with" menu and/or long-deleted apps, you may have an out-of-date LaunchServices database that needs to be rebuilt.

edit: That's a one-line command.

Where's my drive space?!?

If you bought a large HD, and are only seeing approximately 128GB of that space, here's the deal.

Older computers can't address drive space over 128GB, so that big drive you bought is capped at 128GB instead.

An external Firewire drive case that's designed to support drives over 128GB will work, as long as you're the latest version of OSX.

Safari has gotten really slow-optimizing cached safari files: by Paul

Safari stores its cache in a folder in your library at ~/Library/Safari/ . Inside this folder should be four files and one folder.

The Bookmarks.plist file is where your bookmarks are stored and should be backed up.

The Downloads.plist file is where a history of your recent downloads is stored. You can easily purge this file by using the "clear" button in the downloads window of Safari.

The Form Values file is where autofill values are stored. This file can get very large after filling out a lot of forms online and can lead to slowdowns when selecting forms on webpages. This file can be periodically trimmed by going to the autofill prefpane within safari and editing "Usernames and passwords" or "Other forms". The former is listed by the webpage and user name while the latter is grouped by domain. Be sure to only delete items that you are sure you will not need.

The History.plist file is where your browsing history is kept. This file can easily be purged by using the clear history command in the history menu.

The Icons folder is where a cache of every website favicon (the little picture at the beginning of a web address) that you have ever loaded on your computer. This folder gets extremely large and can cause slowdowns while browsing. It is recommended to try and keep this folder under control as it can easily balloon to thousands of files and 10-20 megs in size (each file is tiny, a few k). One option would be to periodically delete the folder (just move it to the trash). But a better one is to delete all of the subfolders and then make the Icons folder read only.

To do this open the empty folder in the finder and "GetInfo" on it (command-I) and go to the "Details:" tab in "Ownership & Permissions:"
click the lock to authenticate and change the Owner's Access to "Read only". From now on this folder should stay empty and you shouldn't have to worry about keeping it clean.

This is only a temporary fix and could be modified in future updates of Safari but as of 10.3.4 this tweak will work perfectly.

Running Headless

Your Mac will not initialize its video output or the VNC server unless there is a monitor connected at boot. This can be a big problem when a mac is relegated to server duty in a closet or other place where a monitor isnt practical. To solve this you need to make your mac think it has a monitor connected; the only product Ive been able to find to do this is the gHead by Dr. Bott. It will unlock all the resolutions supported by an ATI card (it may be the same for Nvidia but im not sure) so you can select whatever resolution suits you in your VNC program of choice.

Enable PHP OSX 10.4 (Tiger)
The fastest, easiest, and best way to get PHP running for beginners.
http://www.phpmac.com/articles.php?view=225

How do I Play AVI, DIVX, WMV videos/movies?

There are a few DIVX codecs available for Mac OS X. I think the best is Perian. Read the read-me that comes with it. In order to avoid conflict issues, make sure you only install one DivX codec.

The Flip4Mac wmv component will allow you to play most WMV files in QuickTime.

A good stand-alone open-source video player, which should play just about anything is: VLC

Why does my new 120 GB MacBook say its hard drive's Capacity is only 111 GB?


You see, the way they calculate space on the box:

1 GB = 1000 MB = 1,000,000 KB = 1,000,000,0000 Bytes

So in order to convert the "ad" capacity to true capacity:

true (GB) = (1000/1024)^3 * ad(GB) or
total (GB) = (~0.931) * ad (GB)

This would give you around 111+ GB on a 120 GB drive.

By Skatman 7-17-2006

We did this and got the message to the effect that Firewire says
Mac OS X Not Seen on Old Computer
and nothing more can be done. Yet the old computer (about 8 years old, a blue G3 iMac) does hhave OS X.

???
Dr. Ledgard

Hello everyone, I realized there's a million threads around the net with people wanting help with various startup problems. I've decided to write a mini-guide on first logical steps to try if you're having startup issues. Some things listed are obvious to some, and will be available all over the web, including Apple's own documentation, but I figured if everything was in one easy to find location, it might make life happier. For now this is just grey screen troubleshooting, and no power / black screen. In the future, you can be SURE i will add blue screen and kernel panics. If anyone has recommendations on what to change, or info they would like to add that has worked for them in the past, i'll certainly add it. This was written from the top of my head, for the most part without revision, so by all means if it doesn't make sense or is choppy also let me know

Computer doesn't turn on

This can be a scary event for anyone. If you attempt to turn on your computer, and it won't turn on at all (not to be confused with start up, I mean no video, no sounds coming from the computer, no LED's coming on).

First thing you want to do with a portable computer, is if you're using the computer off the battery, make sure the battery has a charge. There's usually a button on the battery itself, if you press it, it will have indicator LED's telling you how much juice is in the battery. One flashing LED normally means the battery is empty. Use the adapter.
If the adapter won't start the computer, but the LED comes on indicating it knows its plugged in, reset your computer's PMU or SMC. (Search www.apple.com/support for your computer + PMU. e.g.. "ibook g4 pmu" without the quotes. For newer PPC processors and all intel processors, enter your computer + SMC, or SMU). If you've recently added any RAM to your computer, i've also seen this prevent the computer from turning on, take out the added ram.
Another valid step to try is unplug everything from your computer (USB hubs, printers, keyboards, mice, etc) and try to turn it on.
If your adapter has a flashing LED when plugged in, unplug it and let it rest for 60 seconds while plugged into anything. This will reset the internal breaker for the adapter.
If the adapter light doesn't come on at all, try another power outlet, straight in the wall if you're using a surge protector.
If using a desktop computer such as iMac or PowerMac, or Mac Pro, checking the diagnostic LED's is a good step as well. If you're unsure how, search the KBase for your computer + diagnostic LED.

Computer starts up, No video, no startup chime

For this one, the article on the Apple page is pretty spot on. I'll just link it.
My Computer displays no video
Basically it boils down to this, for external and built in displays. Reset the PRAM (soon as you turn on your computer, hold down Command {which is the apple} + option + P + R)., reset the PMU, attempt to start up to the first install disk for your computer, (Put it in the drive, hold down "C" immediately after turning the computer on.) This will verify whether or not it is hardware or software. If you can boot to the cd, attempt an Archive + install, if that doesn't work, Erase + install it is. If startup disk doesn't happen, shine a light on the display, if you can see an image, its a backlight failure. In any case you will most likely need to set it up for a repair.

Grey Screen Troubleshooting

Computer starts to grey screen, either with or without Apple and spinning gear

First make sure nothing is connected to your computer. Next, I would try resetting your computer's PRAM. Next I would try and start to the first Install disk for your computer (If you are using Tiger after upgrading, use the Tiger disks!), Run a Disk first aid, by selecting your Mac HD from the left, then clicking repair disk on the right. If the repair disk option is not available, Erase + install. If the Hard-drive is not available at all to select (you may only see the 4.7 GB Optical drive listed) You may need to run the erase feature of disk utility, zero off your drive and try the installation. Otherwise it will need to be set up for repair (make sure you've tried resetting the PRAM.) If you don't have an install disk, see the Note 1 at the very end of this article.
Next thing to try if repairing the disk didn't help, or find anything is run the Apple Hardware Test. This is located on the Install dvd on Intel macs, available by holding down "D" after the startup chime. On most PPC machines, it will likely be on the second install disk. If you find any error codes, I would search Apple's KBase for "AHT error codes" without the quotes, then select the appropriate computer.
If you've recently added any RAM, reseat it. If that doesn't solve the problem, try changing the order of the ram, or even take it out completely. This step is normally useless, but I have seen it work on rare occasions.

Computer starts up to grey screen, with globe

This means the computer is trying to boot to a network volume, for a variety of reasons from not so terrible, to fairly bad. First thing to try is boot the computer holding down "X". If for some reason your startup disk was changed to boot to a network volume, this will force your computer to attempt to boot mac os x. If it is successful, open your system preferences, open up startup disk, and select mac os x. If that didn't work, try resetting your PRAM and try again. Boot to the Startup Manager by holding down "Option" on startup, and see if your drive is listed. If it is, select it and click the continue arrow on the bottom right. If not, attempt the Disk First Aid instructions listed above under "computer starts to grey screen". If repair disk doesn't come up with any errors, try an Archive + install.

Computer starts up to a prohibitory sign / broken folder

This is not usually good news unfortunately. It typically means the hard drive is failing, or the OS install has become corrupt. The first valid step is to reset your computer's PRAM to make sure we can look for and find a boot volume. This will also reset your Startup Disk, in case it was incorrect. Next you'll want to boot to a known good installation cd, and repair the disk in Disk First Aid, if this finds a problem and corrects it, run the repair 2 more times for good measure. Then you will want to proceed to Archive + Install. If it finds something that cannot be fixed, attempt to Erase + install.

Computer starts up to a flashing question mark

For the most part, follow the same steps as above. Also try disconnecting ALL devices from the computer, including ethernet cable. The steps to try are Disk First Aid, Startup Manager, PRAM, and reinstallation of the OS.

Note 1 : If you don't have an install disk to perform Disk First Aid, another option is FSCK from Single-User mode. First boot to Single User mode, by holding down Apple + S on startup. When you get to a # prompt, type in "/sbin/fsck -fy" without the quotes. If you are using 10.3 or later and are using a journaled File system, you may see some errors that you can safely ignore.

Stay tuned for kernel panics, and post grey screen issues on startup.

This is something that looks like it should be easy - after all, it's only a CD!
But if the CD contains audiobook tracks, you don't want these appearing in your random play list! So how to get audiobooks into the Audiobooks library?
This page explains: http://www.podcaststingers.com/audiobooks.htm