Filed under: Software, iTunes, Ask TUAW, Leopard
Ask TUAW: tracking your iTunes purchases, quitting processes, doing a clean OSX install and more
Once again, it's time for another edition of Ask TUAW: the place where we try to answer all of your Mac and Apple-related questions. This week we're taking questions about tracking your total iTunes purchases, forcing processes to quit, doing a clean install of OSX and more.As always, we welcome your suggestions for this week and questions for next time. Please leave your contributions in the comments for this post. When asking questions, please include which Mac and which version of OS X you're running. If you don't specify, we'll assume you're running Leopard on an Intel Mac.
Dima asks:
I would like a way to require a password when the computer wakes from sleep, but not to require a password for just the screensaver. Is there a way for me to accomplish this?
The only way I know of to accomplish this would be to modify the plist file for the screensaver via the Terminal. However, unless this is really important to you, I would not advise doing it. If you want to do it, proceed at your own risk.
Either way, here's the command to enter in the Terminal if you want to try it.
defaults -currentHost write com.apple.screensaver askForPassword -int 0
This will set it so the computer only asks for a password after waking from sleep and not after the screensaver.
Frank asks:
In my finder window, next to my drive's name, there's a number in parentheses. it used to be a (2), but recently it changed to a (3). What does this number mean?
Most likely this is caused by an error in File Sharing. If you have more than one Mac with the same name in the File Sharing Prefs Pane, OSX will append a number in parentheses to the drive name in the Finder window. To see if this is your issue, go to System Prefs > Sharing and turn File Sharing off.
Then, give your Mac a new, unique name in the space next to "Computer Name." Then you can turn File Sharing back on and your issue should be resolved as long as the name you selected is different from any other Mac on your network.
Seisto asks:
Is there a way to view my entire iTunes Store purchase history and total money spent?
Sure, just launch iTunes and click in the upper corner where your Apple ID is shown. When you click there a window will come up asking for your password. Once you enter it click on the button that says "View Account."
That will take you to another screen where about half-way down there will be another button that says "Purchase History." Click that to access your entire purchase history in iTunes with that account. If you have multiple iTunes accounts you will have to log into each one in order to see your purchase history.
Pandaboy asks:
How can you force quit an application (when it beachballs) that doesn't appear on the dock but lives on the menu bar at the top?
Go to Applications> Utilities and then double click on "Activity Monitor" to launch it. Once its open you can see a list of all processes (including Applications) that are running on your Mac. Select the one you want to quit and then click the "Quit Process" button at the top of the window.
Be aware that quitting a process when you don't know what it does can cause your Mac to have unforeseen issues and may require a restart to correct (for example, quitting WindowServer will log you out abruptly). Quit processes and applications using this technique at your own risk.
Ejota asks:
My MBP running 10.5.6 is taking a lot longer to turn on and turn off. I would like to do a clean install of OS X. How can I make sure my programs (especially the ones I paid for) still work when I erase and reinstall OS X? I would like to keep my settings and my licenses for everything.
If you are performing a "real" clean install of Mac OS X (i.e. you are erasing the drive and installing it fresh) then there isn't really a way to preserve your installed programs if they use hidden license files for authorization. Adobe Photoshop is one example of a program that has this problem. You may be installing from the original media and licensing information for those apps.
However, some other programs have files and folders in various places (such as in Users> User Name> Library> Application Support or Users> User Name> Library> Preferences) that can be backed up to an external drive and then copied back to your boot drive once the install of Mac OS X is complete.
Really, if you're going to go to the trouble of doing a clean install of Mac OS X, I usually recommend and follow a procedure whereby I remove and deauthorize all programs that require it, erase and reinstall Mac OS X, and then replace my applications and other programs by reinstalling them again. It's more time-consuming this way, but ends up yielding superior results.
Then, give your Mac a new, unique name in the space next to "Computer Name." Then you can turn File Sharing back on and your issue should be resolved as long as the name you selected is different from any other Mac on your network.
Seisto asks:
Is there a way to view my entire iTunes Store purchase history and total money spent?
Sure, just launch iTunes and click in the upper corner where your Apple ID is shown. When you click there a window will come up asking for your password. Once you enter it click on the button that says "View Account."
That will take you to another screen where about half-way down there will be another button that says "Purchase History." Click that to access your entire purchase history in iTunes with that account. If you have multiple iTunes accounts you will have to log into each one in order to see your purchase history.
Pandaboy asks:
How can you force quit an application (when it beachballs) that doesn't appear on the dock but lives on the menu bar at the top?
Go to Applications> Utilities and then double click on "Activity Monitor" to launch it. Once its open you can see a list of all processes (including Applications) that are running on your Mac. Select the one you want to quit and then click the "Quit Process" button at the top of the window.
Be aware that quitting a process when you don't know what it does can cause your Mac to have unforeseen issues and may require a restart to correct (for example, quitting WindowServer will log you out abruptly). Quit processes and applications using this technique at your own risk.
Ejota asks:
My MBP running 10.5.6 is taking a lot longer to turn on and turn off. I would like to do a clean install of OS X. How can I make sure my programs (especially the ones I paid for) still work when I erase and reinstall OS X? I would like to keep my settings and my licenses for everything.
If you are performing a "real" clean install of Mac OS X (i.e. you are erasing the drive and installing it fresh) then there isn't really a way to preserve your installed programs if they use hidden license files for authorization. Adobe Photoshop is one example of a program that has this problem. You may be installing from the original media and licensing information for those apps.
However, some other programs have files and folders in various places (such as in Users> User Name> Library> Application Support or Users> User Name> Library> Preferences) that can be backed up to an external drive and then copied back to your boot drive once the install of Mac OS X is complete.
Really, if you're going to go to the trouble of doing a clean install of Mac OS X, I usually recommend and follow a procedure whereby I remove and deauthorize all programs that require it, erase and reinstall Mac OS X, and then replace my applications and other programs by reinstalling them again. It's more time-consuming this way, but ends up yielding superior results.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Zachariah said 11:19PM on 4-22-2009
I have been looking for exactly that script that will ask or a password after waking, but not from screensaver. But your disclaimer is a bit scary. Why all the precautions with this one? Shouldn't this either work or not work?
Reply
julian said 11:29PM on 4-22-2009
i think he was talking about a safety precaution as in like someone could log on to your baby and look through your stuff?
Reply
azcool91 said 11:31PM on 4-22-2009
iMac, Leopard v10.5.6
Q: Is there any way to change the name of my Home folder? Everytime I try to, it says it cant be modieifed because its required by OS X.
Reply
phormality said 11:47PM on 4-22-2009
renaming the home folder is not a good idea. There is a way to do it, I think apple has a doc on their support site, but they still don't recommend it.
I managed to trick it into letting me under 10.3 or 10.4... I lost everything and had no way to get to it, yet the hard drive space was still being taken up and changing it back didn't recover it.
There are utilities that can help you with it as well, but do a full backup before attempting it.
Now that I think about it, they may have added an option to change your username in Leopard in the Account pane of System Prefrances. Right click your name I think after unlocking the panel. (i'm not on a mac right now to test). Still backup though, I think it warns you before you do it.
Mike said 11:49PM on 4-22-2009
Your home folder is named after your short user name. This is a system-level UNIX code name that was chosen when you made the user (it defaults to your first name, but you can pick something different). However, once your user is made, you can't change it through any kind of easy means. The only way to really do this is to make a new user with the same admin privileges (if you're the only user of the computer) and migrate all your information to the new user. The option to change the user name in the Accounts pane in Leopard only changes the long name, but will not change the name of your home folder.
Rafe H. said 1:35AM on 4-23-2009
System Preferences->Accounts, unlock padlock, right-click account name, choose "Advanced Settings...". voila. reboot.
Tom said 9:19AM on 4-23-2009
@ Rafe H.: this is not true. Your account name is changed this way, but your home folder is not renamed.
HandyMac said 1:16PM on 4-23-2009
Dan Frakes is the expert in this subject; see "Changing the short username in Leopard"
http://www.macworld.com/article/132693/2008/03
which also includes a link to the utility he created to do the same in 10.4 and 10.3. In any case the procedure is not trivial; proceed at own risk.
Jethro said 9:58PM on 4-23-2009
Apple does have a support doc telling you to enable the root user and log in as the root user and simply rename the home folder under users, but when I did that, I lost a lot of stuff. I had to basically reinstall the whole OS. Luckily , I use time machine.
Mike said 11:44PM on 4-22-2009
More like caution in that Terminal commands, and the defaults command in particular, comes with it's own bit of risk.
defaults is a command-line Mac-only program that changes user defaults. Every potential preference, including a massive array of undocumented ones, can be changed using defaults. Many defaults tips are posted without the "-currentHost" option, because it's not actually required for user-level preferences on normal computers. In a multiple-computer network, where you use the same login on multiple computers, then you use the currentHost option to say that you only want to change the preference on that computer. In general, you shouldn't need to specify it. As for safety, opening a Terminal and making sure to type the command exactly, then logging out/in should not be of much risk at all.
Reply
Erica said 11:59PM on 4-22-2009
MacBook Pro 17" with Built-In Battery, Mac OS X v10.5.6
Q: Is there a way to change the Vista icon on the Boot Screen? I have already changed how it looks on Mac and Vista, but the Boot Screen icon remains unchanged. Thank you.
Reply
Dano said 12:35AM on 4-23-2009
Replace /System/Library/CoreServices/DefaultDesktop.jpg and the next time you log in, it will be set to your background to your customized image. (Note: You have to rename the image/picture of your choosing to DefaultDesktop.jpg)
*Tip originally found at:http://www.appletell.com/apple/comment/ultimate-leopard-tweaking-guide/
Kevin said 1:34AM on 4-23-2009
@Dano
I'm pretty sure he was talking about the list of drives you get when holding down the option key when booting your mac.
I'm curious about that too
Aelver said 12:16AM on 4-23-2009
I'm upgrading my Mac ... and have a related question:
Do most people start fresh, or just migrate? I've heard good/bad stories both ways, and I am not sure what I should do.
Reply
GlennAC said 11:45PM on 4-23-2009
Aelver, I have migrated the same user account across 4 or 5 various MacBook Pros & PowerBooks over the years without issue. The key is to do the migration DURING the new Macs' initial startup. That is DON'T create a new/virgin user account on the new Mac and DOUBLE DON'T create a new user account with the same name.
Transfer your user data from Mac-to-Mac connected either by means of Firewire (Target Disk Mode) or ethernet (through your network). Alternatively, you can have Setup Assistant access your old Macs' Time Machine backup and migrate your user accounts and Apps that way. Avoid wireless transfer as that can take up to a day or two depending on how much data there is. Also, if you are moving from a PowerPC Mac to an Intel Mac, best to avoid migrating the Apps as many will not be compatible.
Next, make sure you run Repair Disk Permissions in Disk Utility once the migration is complete. Then Software Update to catch any new updates that weren't applicable to your old Mac. Finally, start a new set of backups with Time Machine since the new Mac will likely not honor the previous set. That's normal. You will still be able to access the old set via "Browse Other Time Machine disks..." in the Dock icon.
Hope that helps. Cheers!
Andrew said 12:21AM on 4-23-2009
MBP 15" (early '08), Mac OS X 10.5.6
What's a good way to see which process is the one causing the beachball? I'm seeing more of them recently but not sure how to tell what's actually going on.
Reply
Alexandre Strube said 2:57AM on 4-23-2009
Go to the activity monitor, see all processes, and sort by cpu usage.
Jim said 12:25AM on 4-23-2009
Macbook Pro, 15'', late 2007 model
Q: My Macbook Pro has running hotter and hotter these days. A quick search online suggests that there might be a dust build up blocking airflow. How would I go about cleaning it safely? It's one thing to open up my MBP and start blowing around compressed air, but I hear that's not too smart.
Reply
Alexandre Strube said 2:57AM on 4-23-2009
First, see if a process is eating up your cpu. See my tip above.
Jim said 11:27AM on 4-23-2009
It's not a program, I do tend to check the Activity Monitor on a regular basis, and I actually give my MBP a fresh install every few months. These heating problems can occur on a fresh install with nothing else running but Safari.