Ask TUAW: iSync, migrating with Time Machine, hidden files and more

This time in Ask TUAW we'll be looking at questions about iSync, hidden files in the Finder, non-destructive disk partitioning, migrating to a new Mac and more.

As always, your suggestions are most welcome, and questions for next week should be left in the comments. When asking a question please include which machine you're running and which version of Mac OS X, as certain answers will vary between different Macs and Tiger vs. Leopard, etc. (we'll assume you're running Leopard if you don't specify). And now, on to the questions!

Brassen asks

How can I sync my Motorola Razr2 V8 with iSync? It does not recognizes my phone...

From what I can tell, there simply is not an iSync plugin for your phone. Apple lists the available plugins in this Support Document and as you can see, support for Motorola phones is very limited. At least with respect to the contacts, however, there is a work around using Bluetooth to transfer them over. See this post at Apple Discussions.

Andy asks

I have a Macbook Pro running OS 10.5.5, and I currently have a 250 Gb external drive that I have partitioned into 2 HFS+ portions (one for Time Machine and the other for storage). Unfortunately I'm running low on storage space and I want to combine both partitions, erasing the Time Machine backups but keeping my storage files. Is there any non-destructive repartitioning tool for Leopard?

Yes, Leopard's built-in Disk Utility now allows for non-destructive re-partitioning where that means enlarging a volume. Start Disk Utility (located in /Applications/Utilties) then search in the help for "Enlarging a Volume" and you'll find instructions. I will say, however, that anytime you are resizing partitions you really need to have a full backup. Even though these methods are advertised as non-destructive it's a good idea to always plan for the worst case scenario.

Brandon asks

I have the latest iMac running Leopard (with all the updates). As of a few weeks ago a file appeared on my desktop called .DS_store and it won't go away. I understand that the . should make it an invisible file, but it's not. I've tried trashing it, moving and yelling at it with a stern voice, it but it just keeps popping back up. What is it and how do I get rid of it?

These .DS_store files are normal parts of OS X, however, as you say, it should be invisible. So in all likelihood you've somehow flipped the switch for viewing invisible files. There are a couple of ways to turn it back off. In there terminal you simply type:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE

then

killall Finder

However, it may be easier just to download one of the GUI tools available for flipping these hidden switches. For instance if you get Onyx (donations requested) for Leopard and look in the Finder tab of the Parameters section you'll see an option to "Show hidden files and folders." Unchecking or checking this will flip that same Finder switch.

Either of these two methods should cause the .DS_Store to disappear.

Mike asks

I've got a year old MacBook that I'm very happy with. But, let's just say, for the sake of argument, that I was eyeing those shiny new MacBooks... ;) What do I need to do to properly prep my current MacBook for sale? ie, remove any personal info, etc... Is moving to the new MacBook simply a matter of using Time Machine?

I can't say I blame you. The new machines are definitely tempting. How much you need to do depends on how paranoid you are about somebody getting your personal information. If you're not really that worried then all you need to do is boot your MacBook from one of the OS X install discs that came with it, then choose to do an erase and install of OS X. If you do this at the end of the process the computer should behave like it did when you first bought it (down to running the Welcome to OS X video). However, it will not be completely up to date (i.e. have all the latest patches).

However, this will not absolutely erase your drive. It might be possible for a forensic analysis to get data back from your hard drive. This is not likely to be something that a normal person could do, but it is in principle possible. Therefore, if you're really paranoid what you need to do before you re-install OS X is boot off the install CD (reboot the machine while holding down the 'C' key), and then run Disk Utility. This will allow you to erase your boot volume using the security options. What this does is write over your hard drive several times (as you can see, you can choose how many times based on how secure you want it to be). This will take much longer, but once done will make it very difficult for anyone to recover data from the drive. Once the drive has been securely erased you can then install OS X as normal.

Regarding your second question: Yes, it is possible to migrate your data from a Time Machine backup. If you have been using Time Machine on your present MacBook you can boot your new MacBook from the install CD. Then plugin your Time Machine drive to the new MacBook and choose the "Restore From Time Machine Backup" option from the utilities menu.

Back in the old days, it would be easy to put the old machine in Target Disk Mode and migrate using the Migration Assistant... but since the new MacBooks lack a FireWire port that's no longer an option.

Adam asks

Follow up to a question i asked a long time ago - upon TUAW's recommendation I switched over to IMAP in Gmail for use in Mail.app. Overall it's been a pleasant experience and things have gone more or less smoothly... I had one minor qualm though, which was the fact that I had duplicates of my mail - I would have my "inboxes" along with mailboxes in the sidebar that showed the actual G-Mail hierarchy. This started as a minor qualm because the numbers were annoying, but I eventually learned to ignore them.

Big mistake - the other day I had been waiting for some emails from a client and noticed they still hadn't shown up. I eventually decided to check those folders and sure enough there they were. But for some reason they never showed up in my inbox. Is there any reason why this would be happening/a way I could stop it from happening? Losing mail from clients is a big problem - but I really dont want to return back to POP. Any suggestions?

I'm not entirely sure what happened, but I do have a guess. Keep in mind that those folders that you have in the sidebar actually correspond to the labels in the web version of Gmail. My guess is that you have a filter set up in Gmail that automatically archives some mail. If so, it will not appear in the inbox, but merely in the appropriate label folder. So check to make sure that you don't have any filters that may have automatically moved that incoming message from your client.