Big Sur crashes etc

Hi there: Ever since installing Big Sur/11.3/11.3.1, I have been having big problems with the machine crashing and restarting randomly, taking forever to shut down, refusing to shut down altogether, even spontaneously powering on from being off. Anyone else seeing this behavior? Suggestions for

External backup drive recommendations

Hi there: My wife’s 2nd computer has just been replaced with a new 1TB SSD Mini, and we need to get a backup for it. I’d be glad to know your recommended sources, makers, and types (meaning HD vs. SSD). The size would be probably 1-1.5 TB, I guess, no need for more than that as far as I know;

Finding duplicate files

Hi there: How can I find duplicate files? I think I have several boatloads of photos that are dupes of each other, in various folders. There’s also the old iPhoto stuff that I can’t navigate anymore anyway, and I think there are dupes in there as well. Any suggestions welcome. Thanks in

Time Machine configuration...?

Hi there: I’ve got Big Sur installed now, and I’m hoping to be able to use Time Machine to do my backing up rather than Carbon Copy Cloner, which is what I’ve been using for quite a while now. But I can’t see how to configure TM to do what I need. Here’s the setup: I have three physical HDs,

Video editing question

Hi there: I seem to be being hauled toward getting into some basic video editing/production. I could please use some insight into the advantages/disadvantages of Final Cut Pro vs. Adobe Premiere Elements. I have never really done anything with video editing, and I really doubt I will have any

Backing up options for the new OS

Hi there: Here’s the story: I have two external drives in addition to the internal one on the Mini listed below. One of the externals contains everything that used to be in iTunes (I haven’t bothered to rename to drive), because the main HD is not roomy enough to hold it all. The other external

OT: iPod upgrade question

Hi there: First, my apologies in advance for asking at all. I’m asking this question here because I have no idea where else I can ask it aside from the Apple communities—which I have already done. I have an iPod classic, last generation, with the stock 160gb HD installed. It is completely full

Remote acess question

Hi there: I’ve been using TeamViewer to access my father’s computer but he is on 10.10.5 and I am as shown below. TeamViewer tells me that his version is too old but he can’t upgrade because of the OS that his machine is stuck on (a Mini from some years back). Apparently there’s a Chrome

Catalina vs. iTunes: some questions

Hi there: I have not yet installed Catalina and need to know a couple of things first, please: I currently keep iTunes on a separate, external HD due to the fact that there’s not enough room for it on the main HD (capacity 250GB, but iTunes currenlty uses a bit over 500GB) Will Catalina

Logitech trackball weirdness

My M570 wireless trackball began making a single click behave like a double-click a while ago. It’s very maddening. The Logitech site only seems to talk about this in the Windows world. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance! * William Spencer 12008 Boxer Hill Road Cockeysville, Maryland

Catalina vs. iTunes: some questions

Hi there: I have not yet installed Catalina and need to know a couple of things first, please: I currently keep iTunes on a separate, external HD due to the fact that there’s not enough room for it on the main HD (capacity 250GB, but iTunes currently uses a bit over 500GB) Will Catalina

Reconfiguring AirPort Express?

Hi there: This is the kind of thing that drives me batty. I decided I wanted to stream iTunes (version 12.7.2.58) over the home stereo via our (pre-existing) FiOS wifi network, so I picked up an A1264 AirPort Express on eBay. It still has the prior owner’s network running on it, so I tried

Extracting audio-only from DVD audio

Hi there: I have a commercial recording of some music, which was issued as DVD-audio rather than CD-audio. There’s video material included, which I guess accounts for that. My question is this: I want to export the audio so that I can store it in iTunes, but I have no idea how to do so. (DVD

Merging jpegs...?

Hi there: I think there must be a way to do this but I can’t figure out how with the basic system apps I have. I have two jpeg images that I want to merge together into one, so the original first one is at the top and the second one is below it. Preview doesn’t seem able to do so, and I don’t

Audio Joiner?

Hi there: Does anyone here have any experience with this online app? Is it a good tool to use for combining AAC files? Or is there another tool that’s better? Thanks in advance! Bill *** Bill Spencer in Maryland Mac Mini 2.6 GHz i5/10.11.6 -- You received this message because you

Driver locations?

Hi there: My wife is trying to install a new touch-screen monitor for a very unusual application she uses. The old monitor was just too big for the space available. From what I understand, the new monitor (Planar PT1945R) works fine except for the touchscreen functionality. I was just on the

FaceTime/iSight question(s)

Hi there: I am just now beginning to experiment with using FaceTime with the machine below; I bought a second-hand iSight camera not long ago to use with it, but am baffled by some things. So I'm sorry to ask what may well be obvious questions (the answers to which I have not yet found within

CD won't import

Hi there: I recently bought a used CD that plays fine in the car and through the stereo, but when I try to import it into iTunes, the import always fails about 80% of the way through. Any thoughts on why, and how to fix the problem? Thanks! *** Bill Spencer in Maryland Mac Mini

Printer recommendations?

Hi there: Our Brother wireless all-in-one is giving us a message that its drum needs to be replaced. The cost of doing so appears to be about the same as that of buying a new printer. So I’m wondering what anyone might recommend for a basic laser all-in-one with wireless connectivity. Brother

PATA drive capacity question

Hi there: I have a 2.5 inch PATA drive enclosure (Rocport 4Cx, listed as USB 2/FireWire) and I’m thinking about finding as big a drive as I can to put in it for backup purposes. How big do they (or did they) make them? 500 gb? More? Less? And does anyone make them anymore? (Meaning, I suppose,

Another DVD-conversion question

Hi there: Here’s another DVD question…I have a single copy of a non-commercial and unavailable DVD that appears to be copy-protected. I want to make a copy for myself that I can watch on both the TV and the computer just as though I’m looking at the original, meaning including whatever chapters

Migration Assistant question

Hi there: My parents bought themselves a Mac Mini for CHristmas, to replace their late-2006 iMac (just like mine—see below). When I went up to visit them last week to help get it set up, it turned out that the Migration Assistant process somehow froze up well before completion, and I had to

Photo-merge tool?

Hi there: I have an ancient version of Photoshop Elements that has a feature that merges multiple images into one panoramic result, but since that's the only thing I'd use it for I would rather not buy the whole package for just one tool. Any recommendations for other ways to do this? Thanks!

Using MS Windows

Hi there: Today is my first day with my new employer, and there are things I have to do for them that require using Windows. Since I do not have a work computer yet I seem to be in the unhappy position of having to install Windows on the 1.83 iMac listed below. This is completely new territory

External monitor question

Hi there: Would a Dell flat monitor (17 Dell Ultra Sharp) be able to work as an external display with either the 1.83 iMac below, or with a 2009 MacBook Pro? Thanks! *** Bill Spencer in Maryland IMac Core 2 Duo 2.4 ghz/2 g RAM/Lion IMac Core 2 Duo 1.83 ghz/2 g RAM/Lion -- -- You

Extending a network

Hi there: A friend has Verizon DSL (because FiOS isn’t available within the city limits, I don’t know why), and the modem, or whatever its equivalent is for DSL, generates the wireless network in his house. He wants to extend that network so the rest of the house gets better signal strength,

Get Info for lots of files?

Hi there: I have a boatload of PDFs that all show the .pdf extension. Is there a way to hide the extension on all of them at once instead of getting info for them one by one (which is pretty tedious)? As always, my thanks in advance! *** Bill Spencer in Maryland IMac Core 2 Duo 2.4

Connecting iMac to new TV?

Hi there: I got this note from a friend today, and am hoping someone here may know more about it than I, since I know absolutely nothing about it. We recently got a 40'' Samsung Smart TV, which is amazing, and I am trying to connect it (for the purpose of mirroring) to my 2007 iMac via a Mini

iTunes truncates when converting

Hi there: I have a single audio file of about 9 1/2 hours duration, that for some unimaginable reason I want to split up into smaller chunks. But when I tell iTunes (10.2.2) to convert it to AIFF so I can edit it with Audacity, iTunes stops the conversion at well under three hours, and

Can't print a PDF...

Hi there: For some reason I cannot print a PDF (on the second machine listed below) from Acrobat Reader to the Laserwriter on the minimal network. The print dialogue shows the file spooling to the printer, the green light on the printer starts blinking, then everything resets as though the job

Printing inquiry

Hi there: Is there a consensus on ink? I have two ink-jets, a Canon Pixma iP6220D and an HP Photosmart C4400 series (as well as a laser printer), and have been finding it increasingly difficult to get replacement third-party cartridges that work, especially with the Canon. My choices seem to

What else to do with your old machines

In case you missed this site... http://macuddersidepark.4-you.ca/ *** Bill Spencer in Maryland IMac Core Duo 2.4 ghz/2 g RAM/Snow Leopard IMac Core Duo 1.83 ghz/1 g RAM/Snow Leopard -- You received this message because you are a member of the iMac Group, a group for those using

iTunes and the firewall?

Hi there: For some days or weeks now, whenever iTunes opens up it insists on asking me if it should accept incoming connections...even though the firewall setting (in the Security system preference) is set to have iTunes accept incoming connections. It would not be that big a deal except that

So how much memory does it take?

Hi there: I'm getting conflicting information about how far I can expand the RAM in the earlier of the two machines listed below. Some sources say 2G, some say 3G, some say 4G. LEM says both 3 and 4 on different pages. Who's right? Thanks! *** Bill Spencer in Maryland IMac Core

iMac flip-out--aack!

Hi there: The newer of the two machines listed below has decided to enter a parallel universe. It will not boot to the regular login screen but instead goes straight to my son's desktop after just a couple of seconds worth of a grayish screen I've never seen before, with a horizontal

Display shows vertical line

Hi there: The older of the two machines below has just developed a thin vertical yellow line, just left of center, that sometimes flickers but not usually. I assume it's simply one of those things that happens but am wondering if it's a symptom of something more ominous than just an

Snow Leopard won't play with my printer...

Hi there: So it looks like Snow Leopard has eaten my dear old LaserWriter 12/640 PS. It seems Apple has dropped AppleTalk as of 10.6...so, am I really out of luck? Or do I have to go back to 10.4 or 10.5? Or is there a way to get them all to play nicely together short of asking me to

Getting Mail to work with two machines

Hi there: I am hoping there's a way to get the newer machine (see details below) when it fires up Mail to do so using the mailboxes on the older machine. (This is because I generally use the older machine but occasionally it's not available to me.) It looks as though the Synchronize

HD space available...?

: /Users/Bill/Movies: Permission denied find: /Users/Bill/Music: Permission denied find: /Users/Bill/Pictures: Permission denied find: /Users/Bill/Public/Drop Box: Permission denied /Users/Dad/Documents/Microsoft User Data/Identities/William Spencer/ Messages /Users/Dad/Library/iTunes/iPod Software

Toner refills...?

Hi there: I am seeing bottles of refill toner for laser cartridges being offered, and would like to solicit views on how sensible a route that might be, rather than try to find an increasingly rare cartridge for my poor old Apple 12/640 PS. How feasible is it to put new toner into old