Ask Jacob
Archive for January, 2010
Where are hidden or temp files stored on my Mac?
Hi Jacob –
I’m not sure if this is in your arena, but I’ll try.
Is there a place on a Mac (like the hidden /tmp area) where temp files are created as you’re typing an email in a web-based email program (like Yahoo)?
I was typing along, and somehow, Yahoo’s advertisements bar (normally located to the right of the body of my email) jumped into the main frame where one writes the actual email text.
The ads pane is no longer on the right side of my screen, and my message has been replaced with the advertisement. I can’t undo, I can’t get rid of it, and my drafts folder now shows a draft of an email that contains none other than the advertisement.
I’m pulling out my hair to find a way to recover the text that I was typing, and thanks to no help from yahoo thus far, I’m getting nowhere. I’m thinking that this data has got to be saved somewhere, on some server, but I’m hoping that there also exists a temp file of the text somewhere on my machine. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Kristen
There are a few things you can try. If you have the page open still, you can try saving a Web Archive of the page. Select “Save As…” from the File menu and save a Web Archive of the page. Then open the Web Archive with the TextEdit application. It will look awful, but scroll down through the page and see if the text is in there someplace. I did a test and found it down at the bottom of the page.
Before you close the Yahoo Mail page you can look through the Safari Cache file found here: Macintosh HD/Users/(YourUserName)/Library/Caches/com.apple.Safari/Cache.db Search through it for words that you know you used in the email text, that should lead you to the data, if it is there.
If that fails, you could also try changing the “To:” address of the draft and send it to yourself instead. Perhaps the sent version of the email will exclude the advertisement.
- Jacob
Which kind of SCSI card do I need to network my G4 tower?
G4, Media Center, Networking, Printing / 0 Comments
I need a little help and guidance here. I’m helping a friend of mine set up a computer he bought off of you guys a little while back (Peter West, Washington, PA). I’m by no means any sort of computer expert but I’m a little better at fumbling through this than he is.
This is the scenario. He has one older system running a Roland large format printer and an Agfa scanner both serial driven (no USB no Firewire). He bought the tower off of you to build a backup clone should his current original tower bite the dust.
We need two 25 pin SCSI cards for a G4 tower and I have no idea where to start on which type. The less expensive the better (only if it’s still a reliable choice). Can you give me some help on what to get here?
THANKS!
- Toby
Sure thing, you probably want an Adaptec 2916 card.
When I was a install tech I used this card 99% of the time and never had a bad one. There are better cards for hard drive control but this is fine for external devices. SCSI also can be run in daisy chains, so you may be able to get by with just one card, if one of the devices supports pass through.
- Jacob
How can I best manage contacts with my Mac?
G5, Software / 0 Comments
Jacob,
We were trying to use AddressBookServer to sync our address books and were having multiple problems that the writers of the program couldn’t seem to help with so after spending hours trying to get this to work, we have now deleted the program from our system.
Do you have any way (besides through gmail) for us to be able to sync information on the Address Book or is there any software available that you know of for, basically, contact management?
Please advise. Thank you.
- Jan
Well there are plenty of options for you. We have a business sales team that uses a product called Daylite to manage contacts and it works well for the mobile sales force.
Take a look at the product and try the Demo. It could be more than what you are looking for but it would solve the problem you are having and help you in other areas.
Other than that, consider a MobileMe account. That will let you keep many things in sync without needing to rely on none-Apple software.
- Jacob
How can I use OS X Automator to duplicate my application files?
Mac OS X, Software / 0 Comments
I have just started working on my first Mac (a MacBook Pro). I will be using the Mac as a beta test bed for some software we are developing. This software will eventually live on a USB flash drive…maybe 1000 of them…duplicated. So that is my task. I can write a batch file on the PC to copy my PC files to the USB. Simply doubleclick the icon I make and it will run the batch file over and over and over…Copying the files to the USB drive. I need to replicate this “batch file copy” on the new Mac. I have poked around the “AutoMator” but it seems to only pick up mouse movement and clicks, not keystrokes. Plus, I am not sure it will do what I want any way.
So that is my question. How can I automate the copy and paste of the same files to the same location. I will be in charge of creating the initial test batch of flash drives, populated with our program. I will need to do this for possibly up to 1000 flash drives.
Thanks for any insight you can provide,
- Andrew
Automator is a good program for creating workflows but it has its limits. For more advanced work, look at the Applescript program or even bash shell scripts. However I am sure that Automator can do what you want, and I emailed you a test workflow you can save as a mini application. All you need to do is change the “Myapplication” to whatever you will be copying over and change the destination “USB-STICK” to whatever your usb drives will call themselves. Then select Save as from the Automator’s File menu and save it as an application.
This sample is just two elements from the “Actions” list: “Find Finder Items” and “Copy Finder Items.” You can keep stacking different functions as you need them. Keep playing with Automator, it will save you tons of time.
- Jacob
My Mac’s screen is locked – help!
Hello-
I was attempting to get back to my Mac set up and perhaps I screwed up permissions because the screen became locked.
I shut it down – only thing I could do. Have tried everything to reboot – reset pram, safe reboot, option command reboot, etc etc.
Nothing is working.
I should still be under warranty. Shall I send for replacement? Need something sooner than later. From reading other people have had to have HD replace – ?
Help!
Thanks,
- Mary Grace
I hear that you have already spoken to our people in sales to get some assistance. It is likely that you only have a software problem, and not a hardware problem. Your best option is to boot up off your OS X Leopard install disc that came with your Mac and do an “Archive and Install” of the Mac OS. It will not overwrite your personal data, just the broken System files.
Apple also has a great informational resource on the Archive and Install process.
I hope this helps
Jacob
What’s the best dual hard drive option for a Macbook Pro?
Hardware, Laptops & Notebooks / 0 Comments
My late-2008 vintage Macbook pro, 2.4 GHz core duo w/2 GB ddr3 ram with a 7200 RPM Hitachi 250GB hard drive is so much better than my “main” home 2004 vintage G5 1.8 Ghz, 2 GB Ram, but it DOES have 2 internal hard drives – I use one for system/software, one for data…
I do lots of audio and video editing using final cut and logic. Projects often are 16 channel audio mixing, or 2-3 camera video compositing, DVD authoring
Firewire drives for external backup/storage are fine, but I wonder what’s the best/fastest dual hard drive option (express card slot??), or should I stop spinning my wheels because the performance improvement over using the single 7200 internal drive would be insignificant. Thanks in advance!
- Live Sound Reinforcement
- Live Recording on Location
- Lighting
Peter
The best two drive option is to replace your optical drive with a 2nd hard drive. MCE Tech makes an optical drive replacement bay, called an OptiBay that can house a second hard drive. You would need to use a external optical drive but USB is a fine connection for an optical drive.
We can order and install any MCE parts but this is a special order item so call in to talk to a sales person if you are interested. Otherwise a this Caldigit eSATA card combined with a good eSATA drive is the next best thing.
Hope that helps
- Jacob
Is there any way to upgrade from Tiger to Leopard?
I have an almost-3-year-old MacBook that came with Tiger (10.2), but with the software upgrades, is now running OS 10.4.11
I would now like to upgrade it to Leopard (10.5), using disks that came with my new iMac. The MacBook has 2.0 GHz Intel core duo; 1 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM and currently has 44.59 GB of memory available. However, when I try to use the install disks, I end up with a message that Leopard “cannot be installed on this computer.”
Why? Is there any way to upgrade from Tiger to Leopard?
Apple prevents the installation of System Restore software on any hardware except the models that those DVDs shipped with. It is the only protection Apple uses on their operating system to prevent piracy. A retail copy of Leopard can be be installed on an endless amount of compatible Macs, without any errors. Apple just trusts that you will buy a copy for each system.
You can bypass the Apple block on restore DVDs by putting your MacBook into Target Disk mode. Boot up your MacBook holding down the [T] key will place it in Target Disk mode. Then connect the Macbook to the iMac via a FireWire cable. Now put the Restore DVD into the iMacs optical drive and double click on the OS X installer. After the iMac boots up off the OS X restore DVD go through the install process but select the MacBook’s hard drive as the install destination, instead of the iMacs internal hard drive.
After the install process has finished, you can restart both computers and they both will have Leopard.
Jacob
