April 2025
Creedence disk is mounting on my desktop
24/04/25 Filed in: MacOS | general troubleshooting
This is a weird plug in thing that shows up on my iMac.
They are part of the operating system and being triggered to appear because you most likely have an older piece of software that is conflicting with the OS. For instance, if you had an intel version of some Garmin navigation software that had been discontinued but you were on an M Apple silicon processor. Just as example. Pulling up Activity monitor when this happens could possibly reveal the software that is to blame. It's not harmful at all. Just an annoyance. Hopefully Apple will resolve it in an upcoming Sequoia update. You should be able to right click and eject it.
If you'd like to dig further, the legacy software may be listed in login items within system settings or a launch folder. Often there are plist files that reside in one of a few folders that trigger software to run in the background and it is likely the culprit is listed there, launching and then causing the issue.
They are part of the operating system and being triggered to appear because you most likely have an older piece of software that is conflicting with the OS. For instance, if you had an intel version of some Garmin navigation software that had been discontinued but you were on an M Apple silicon processor. Just as example. Pulling up Activity monitor when this happens could possibly reveal the software that is to blame. It's not harmful at all. Just an annoyance. Hopefully Apple will resolve it in an upcoming Sequoia update. You should be able to right click and eject it.
If you'd like to dig further, the legacy software may be listed in login items within system settings or a launch folder. Often there are plist files that reside in one of a few folders that trigger software to run in the background and it is likely the culprit is listed there, launching and then causing the issue.
Why do I have two of the same printer listed?
08/04/25 Filed in: printers
This issue started yesterday when my printers weren’t working. The home WiFi was down. When I disconnected the ethernet cable, the WiFi and the printers came back. I deleted the VPN and uninstalled it, cleaned up the residual stuff, and now I am going to plug the Ethernet back in. Do you have any other suggestions before I do this?
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When you are printing via WiFi then connect a cable directly to the printer, you are often left with two of the same printer added within the Print Controls in System Settings. So once you have your system the way you like it again, it’s a good idea to go into Print settings and delete the one you don’t want. In other words, if printing wifi, then delete the USB or ethernet instance of the printer. You can always re add it again at any time.
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When you are printing via WiFi then connect a cable directly to the printer, you are often left with two of the same printer added within the Print Controls in System Settings. So once you have your system the way you like it again, it’s a good idea to go into Print settings and delete the one you don’t want. In other words, if printing wifi, then delete the USB or ethernet instance of the printer. You can always re add it again at any time.
Can you save this printer?
08/04/25 Filed in: printers
Can you save my HP Envy 6400 that thinks it has a paper jam but I don't think it does?
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By this screenshot, it’s got two issues. 1. It obviously thinks there’s a paper jam. True or not. 2. it’s only using the generic driver. Th most up to date driver, when not automatically downloaded via the operating system, can usually be found online, given that HP hasn’t stopped updating the driver for the latest OS. This would normally be able to be done remotely. However, the jam issue may be causing the printer to think it’s stuck and therefore not responding. The net thing to try is to use the on screen display (if there is one) to reset the printer to its default settings. Honestly…these HP Envy’s aren’t worth much of an effort and I would not recommend paying me to visit just for the attempt to revive it. If the printer has an onscreen display, you can try to navigate to the setting where you can restore it to factory defaults. That would make it forget it has a paper jam. Then you could start over re-adding the printer to the computer.
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By this screenshot, it’s got two issues. 1. It obviously thinks there’s a paper jam. True or not. 2. it’s only using the generic driver. Th most up to date driver, when not automatically downloaded via the operating system, can usually be found online, given that HP hasn’t stopped updating the driver for the latest OS. This would normally be able to be done remotely. However, the jam issue may be causing the printer to think it’s stuck and therefore not responding. The net thing to try is to use the on screen display (if there is one) to reset the printer to its default settings. Honestly…these HP Envy’s aren’t worth much of an effort and I would not recommend paying me to visit just for the attempt to revive it. If the printer has an onscreen display, you can try to navigate to the setting where you can restore it to factory defaults. That would make it forget it has a paper jam. Then you could start over re-adding the printer to the computer.
Do I update my printer to work?
08/04/25 Filed in: printers
How do I update the printer for it to work on my computer?
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Usually not up to the printer to be updated. It’s usually reliant on the computer to be up to date then the printer company to update their driver to fit the computer’s Operating system which is then USUALLY automatically fed down to the computer through an automatic update. However some printer companies will abandon updating drivers for their older printers as Apple and Microsoft continue to update their computers. There is a generic driver that some printers can use called “airprint”. All this said, I don’t recall exactly what printer was not working and what OS your computer was on.
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Usually not up to the printer to be updated. It’s usually reliant on the computer to be up to date then the printer company to update their driver to fit the computer’s Operating system which is then USUALLY automatically fed down to the computer through an automatic update. However some printer companies will abandon updating drivers for their older printers as Apple and Microsoft continue to update their computers. There is a generic driver that some printers can use called “airprint”. All this said, I don’t recall exactly what printer was not working and what OS your computer was on.
Rid me of google photos!
07/04/25 Filed in: iCloud Photo Library | google
The last time you and family member had a meeting he was getting google notices he was out of storage space. (You helped me with this a couple of years ago … I downloaded some photos from someone and the next thing I know all my photo were imported to google photos. The same thing happened to him.) I know you cleaned up has emails some but the notices returned a week or two later. Their solution was to buy more space. one I do not like google having all has photos and two it’s $20 a month! Apple is much cheaper. SO I do not know how you did it because I could only delete 100 photos at a time, but you manage to figure out away to delete the whole portfolio of photos. WE would very much love for you to do so again on he account.
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Google photos can be a disease. You have to remove the app from any and all devices otherwise it will continue to harvest them from Photos as you take them. It can be a pain. Yes, we should be able to resolve that as well.
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Google photos can be a disease. You have to remove the app from any and all devices otherwise it will continue to harvest them from Photos as you take them. It can be a pain. Yes, we should be able to resolve that as well.
What's the best VPN?
07/04/25 Filed in: vpn
Along this line of thought…I’m also thinking adding a VPN because he also does not listen to me regarding logging into internet at hotels. I always use a hot spot from my phone and it can be slow at times but it is safe. However I know he does not most of the time. Do you have a recommendation for VPN services that are most compatible with Apple computers? Once set up is it just ON all the time? Does it affect speed much? Are you limited from certain websites?
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VPN. I like Nord as a first time user’s choice. ExpressVPN is also decent. They have multiple users so you could both use the same account. I don’t leave it on all the time but if I’m leaving the house it’s always a good idea. The VPN landscape will most likely be changing in the next 3 years due to some political reasons in the US but for now, it’s still the absolute best way to protect yourself when traveling. It does block or make less convenient some websites or services. If a certain website detects you are using a vpn it will choose not to load the site. Because they can’t collect data from you during your visit. It’s all about money.
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VPN. I like Nord as a first time user’s choice. ExpressVPN is also decent. They have multiple users so you could both use the same account. I don’t leave it on all the time but if I’m leaving the house it’s always a good idea. The VPN landscape will most likely be changing in the next 3 years due to some political reasons in the US but for now, it’s still the absolute best way to protect yourself when traveling. It does block or make less convenient some websites or services. If a certain website detects you are using a vpn it will choose not to load the site. Because they can’t collect data from you during your visit. It’s all about money.
Where should I be storing my documents?
When I recently was helping him attach a recommendation document to a website for a student it appeared that family member does not save his documents to his hard drive?? but only in iCloud? That was bizarre to me, but didn't have the time to delve into that at the time. I want to make sure with his new computer he follows a regime with proper privacy and storage considerations in mind.😬 PLease help.
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Younger people than us only use the cloud to store their documents. Google docs, etc…. But us old schoolers still feel like we want copies locally. It’s matter of understanding the wording in the finder when you go to save a document. Not too hard to explain. It’s a common issue. Google docs, Office using OneDrive, Pages using iCloud, Dropbox or local. I can help clear that all up.
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Younger people than us only use the cloud to store their documents. Google docs, etc…. But us old schoolers still feel like we want copies locally. It’s matter of understanding the wording in the finder when you go to save a document. Not too hard to explain. It’s a common issue. Google docs, Office using OneDrive, Pages using iCloud, Dropbox or local. I can help clear that all up.
Which backup should I be using?
07/04/25 Filed in: Backup | time machine
I asked family member, “You have been backing up your computer up, correct?. He said “Yeah, iCloud." I said, “No the little black drive you are supposed to plug into each night…oh that…not recently…” Good news for any recent writing, it should be in the cloud. Passwords/keychain/configuration etc he’ll just have to go with whatever is saved on the last back up I guess. There is likely something else I am not thinking about, but if important maybe a rescue effort could be done on old hard drive? The battery was shot and wouldn’t hold a charge for long. He used only plugged in so maybe the just the battery was damaged? probably wishful but a thought. SO I do not know exactly his storage usage but likely mine is larger than his. Mine is 418 GB. I just don’t want to force him to back up photos to an external drive down the road and optimize to the cloud…any effort will likely not be met properly if you catch my rift.🙄 I’ll check capacity on Air and hopefully they have raised their capacity from last time I looked. Please share your thoughts.
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While having a good healthy time machine copy is my preference when transferring data, the cloud does work as a secondary backup. We’d just have to reinstall whatever third party applications he may have been using like MS Office etc… We can also pull original pictures back down from the cloud as well. We could also see when the last backup was and make a choice then as well.
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While having a good healthy time machine copy is my preference when transferring data, the cloud does work as a secondary backup. We’d just have to reinstall whatever third party applications he may have been using like MS Office etc… We can also pull original pictures back down from the cloud as well. We could also see when the last backup was and make a choice then as well.
Which computer should I buy?
07/04/25 Filed in: Recommendations
I need a computer recommendation for family member? He primarily uses it for internet search, writing in Pages, stores photos, occasionally streaming sporting event or show - no gaming, spreadsheets, or photo-editing really, so from that stand point MacBook Air would seem sufficient. Biggest question is his photo library is likely the largest storage item for him and I know MacbookAir does not have as much storage capacity as Pro does. I personally prefer to keep originals on my computer, using a back up drive, as well as saving to the cloud. I prefer NOT to optimize on my computer with the orignal in the cloud. I know call me old school….so capacity could be an issue, but maybe not…which takes me to next issue...
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I agree that it’s a good idea to keep local copies of your photos but it really comes down to a question of connivence and finance. The MacBook Air does come in larger capacities so you should be able to increase up to 2TB therefore solving that issue.
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I agree that it’s a good idea to keep local copies of your photos but it really comes down to a question of connivence and finance. The MacBook Air does come in larger capacities so you should be able to increase up to 2TB therefore solving that issue.
How to save photos from an icloud library
07/04/25 Filed in: iCloud Photo Library
We lost a family member yesterday. We would like to save their photo library. How do you recommend I do it?
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I’m sorry to hear of your loss. There are several ways to accomplish this.
Option 1. If you still have access to her apple computer (Mac) and she had been using it to view her pictures within the Photos app AND the setting of “download originals” was selected then we could retrieve them from there and move them over to a new machine.
Option 2. If you know the password to her AppleID and you have access to another of her devices like an iPhone then you could log in to iCloud.com and download the entire photo library from there onto any computer you wish.
Option 3. If she had a time machine backup from a computer, you may be able to retrieve them that way as well (given the option of “download originals” had been checked from the backed up computer in the past.)
I understand how important photos are for us especially during this time, so I am happy to assist any way you. Would like if needed.
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I’m sorry to hear of your loss. There are several ways to accomplish this.
Option 1. If you still have access to her apple computer (Mac) and she had been using it to view her pictures within the Photos app AND the setting of “download originals” was selected then we could retrieve them from there and move them over to a new machine.
Option 2. If you know the password to her AppleID and you have access to another of her devices like an iPhone then you could log in to iCloud.com and download the entire photo library from there onto any computer you wish.
Option 3. If she had a time machine backup from a computer, you may be able to retrieve them that way as well (given the option of “download originals” had been checked from the backed up computer in the past.)
I understand how important photos are for us especially during this time, so I am happy to assist any way you. Would like if needed.
Can I lock down my child's device?
07/04/25 Filed in: parental controls
A friend mentioned you are able to set controls or lockdown the kids devices so it’s safe and clean for them ?
Please let me know how this works as far as cost and what exactly is done to their iPads ? I’m wondering if we can even remove internet browsing all together ?
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Yes, Apple has very good built in parental controls for each device. It works by the parent designating the child as a child within the family then applying a 4 digit code to the parental control area of the their phone. Once done correctly the parent has the ability to monitor and edit parental control settings from their own phone without having to even touch the child’s device. There are some places that need improvement of course but overall, a parent that can follow a few guidelines and DOES NOT forget the 4 digit code they place on their child’s device can be successful.
I often see various parenting strategies so mileage varies between situations. Yes you can remove browsing altogether if you like. You’ll hear me say the following sentence several times if we work together in the future. “Security equals inconvenience”. The more secure something is the less convenient it will be. Therefore, the more locked down you make your child’s device, the less useful they will find it and that is where the never ending struggle between child/parent continues.
Happy to assist any way that I can. You can read more details about me and what I do at my website via the link below. I work remotely via zoom the majority of my week however, parental controls are usu
Please let me know how this works as far as cost and what exactly is done to their iPads ? I’m wondering if we can even remove internet browsing all together ?
___________
Yes, Apple has very good built in parental controls for each device. It works by the parent designating the child as a child within the family then applying a 4 digit code to the parental control area of the their phone. Once done correctly the parent has the ability to monitor and edit parental control settings from their own phone without having to even touch the child’s device. There are some places that need improvement of course but overall, a parent that can follow a few guidelines and DOES NOT forget the 4 digit code they place on their child’s device can be successful.
I often see various parenting strategies so mileage varies between situations. Yes you can remove browsing altogether if you like. You’ll hear me say the following sentence several times if we work together in the future. “Security equals inconvenience”. The more secure something is the less convenient it will be. Therefore, the more locked down you make your child’s device, the less useful they will find it and that is where the never ending struggle between child/parent continues.
Happy to assist any way that I can. You can read more details about me and what I do at my website via the link below. I work remotely via zoom the majority of my week however, parental controls are usu
Wifi and Ethernet at the same time?
07/04/25 Filed in: wifi | networking
Scotty, can I use the WiFi on my MacBook Pro and a network cable from my router/modem simultaneously?
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You can connect an ethernet cable using an adapter of course while the wifi is still active on the laptop but the laptop will default to ethernet as soon as it detects its presence. It won’t pull from both sources of data if that’s what you mean.
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You can connect an ethernet cable using an adapter of course while the wifi is still active on the laptop but the laptop will default to ethernet as soon as it detects its presence. It won’t pull from both sources of data if that’s what you mean.
Why won't my email go out?
just tried sending an email from the gmail account in this new location and I was not sure how to answer this message that popped up?
I am unable to send the email.
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Select the Gmail option if it pops up when trying to send via gmail. Each email account has its own sending server and sometimes when one fails temporarily, the email account will ask if it can borrow another one. See if that fixes it.
I am unable to send the email.
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Select the Gmail option if it pops up when trying to send via gmail. Each email account has its own sending server and sometimes when one fails temporarily, the email account will ask if it can borrow another one. See if that fixes it.
How can I move pictures from my phone to my computer?
01/04/25
I am trying to share photos from my iphone 16 to my desktop! I looked online and did what it suggested BUT my phone says the pairing isn't supported! DANG I thought for sure a new desktop could do this. Both bluetooth's are on and "looking" for other bluetooth....
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Picture syncing has changed tremendously over the last decade and we really don't usually connect our phones to our computers anymore in order to move pictures. In fact, one would have to have iCloud syncing turned off for them to even only exist on your phone so my guess is that we may be missing something here. However, if you do want to move pictures from your phone, then syncing setting for iCloud would have to either have been disabled or turned to "keep originals" on your phone. Otherwise, your pictures would only exist as thumbnails on your phone and would not be transferable to a computer. So I suspect there's an additional piece of information I'm not aware of yet in your case for us to resolve the issue.
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Picture syncing has changed tremendously over the last decade and we really don't usually connect our phones to our computers anymore in order to move pictures. In fact, one would have to have iCloud syncing turned off for them to even only exist on your phone so my guess is that we may be missing something here. However, if you do want to move pictures from your phone, then syncing setting for iCloud would have to either have been disabled or turned to "keep originals" on your phone. Otherwise, your pictures would only exist as thumbnails on your phone and would not be transferable to a computer. So I suspect there's an additional piece of information I'm not aware of yet in your case for us to resolve the issue.
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