March 29, 2020 - True Gossiper

Internet Recovery Mode: Reinstall macOS When You Change the Hard Drive or SSD

by Anil SharmaMarch 29, 2020Technology / Computer / GuideLeave a Comment

Internet Recovery Mode: Every Mac includes a recovery mode based on a partition on the hard drive itself or SSD. From this section it is possible to reinstall the version of macOS that the computer has installed and to perform some additional tasks such as doing disk checks.

This is fine and in case of problems with the operating system or data allows a quick restore. But what happens if the storage system breaks down? In this case, the computer cannot be restored from this mode, since that partition will be completely lost.

Internet Recovery Mode: Reinstall macOS When You Change the Hard Drive or SSD

For these cases Apple created an alternative system called Recovery for macOS over the Internet. This system allows you to restore the installation of the operating system on any Mac through an Internet connection.

Throughout this guide you will learn everything you need to know about how to recover macOS through the Internet: how to access it, how to use it and also all its advantages and limitations.

What can you do with this mode

Basically it offers the same possibilities as the standard recovery mode, with the difference that in this case it is not necessary for the storage system to have any previous data.

If you have just changed the hard drive or SSD memory of your Mac and it is completely empty, you can access this mode to start the installation of the operating system or restore a backup of Time Machine without using any USB stick, external hard drive or optical disk to make the relevant installations.

In addition, you can also access the Disk Utility to do disk checks, create partitions, change the file system, etc, etc …

Finally, this recovery system also allows you to open Safari and browse the Apple support website looking for solutions to the most common problems during the restoration.

Differences between standard and Internet mode

As you can see the options that one mode allows and the other are practically the same. But there is a big difference and it is the version of macOS that can be installed from each one.

In the case of standard recovery you can reinstall the latest version of macOS that the Mac had. That is, if you had Mojave installed on the Mac, you can reinstall the exact same version.

For its part, the recovery through the Internet, allows you to reinstall the version that the computer included at the factory , even if it was later updated at some point. That is, if you had Mojave, but when you bought the computer it came with Sierra, you can only reinstall Sierra and later you will have to update it from System Preferences.

How to access Internet recovery mode

Accessing this mode is very easy, all you have to do is follow these steps with the Mac completely turned off:

Press the power button and immediately hold down the key combination Command (⌘) + Option (⌥) + R.
Keep the keys pressed until a world ball with the message “Starting Internet Recovery” appears on the computer screen (same as in the photo a little above).
Choose the WiFi network you want to connect to and enter the password (if you have a network cable connected you can skip this step).
Wait a few minutes until the loading process is complete (the waiting time varies depending on several factors, you must be patient, as it will take several minutes).

As soon as it finishes, the computer will directly load a window with various macOS utilities that you can access from the recovery mode.

At this point you only have to choose the one you need to use and follow the on-screen instructions to perform the operations you need: restore a backup of Time Machine, reinstall macOS from scratch, access Disk Utility or open Safari to visit the web Apple support.

Which Macs are supported

This function has been present on Macs for quite some time and all Macs that came with macOS Lion as standard support accessing this mode.

In addition, some devices that came onto the market with Snow Leopard were later made compatible through a software update. If your equipment is from the year 2010 onwards, it is most likely compatible.

The exact list of the first compatible equipment is as follows:

MacBook Air (11-inch and 13-inch, late 2010).
MacBook (13 inches, mid 2010).
MacBook Pro (13, 15 and 17 inches, mid 2010).
Mac mini (mid 2010).
iMac (21.5-inch and 27-inch, mid 2010).

All who came to the market later can access this recovery mode without any problem. Thus, in case of problems with the storage system, they can restore the operating system without having any previously created method.

My Mac is not supported. How can I reinstall macOS?

In case your Mac does not support this recovery mode and you cannot access the standard mode either, you should resort to reinstallation from a USB installation disc.

If you had not created the recovery disc before changing the Mac storage system, you will need to do it from another computer and then reinstall the operating system on your computer.

That is why if you are reading these lines and you have a Mac that is not compatible with these recovery systems, I recommend that you create the pendrive now so that, in case of problems, you can recover it.

How to Open RAR Files on Mac

by Anil SharmaMarch 29, 2020Technology / Computer / GuideLeave a Comment

Open RAR Files on Mac: All Mac computers can natively compress and decompress ZIP files. The reason is that this format has become something like the “standard” in the world of compression, although it is not the only format used and in this article I want to talk about one of its closest competitors: RAR, a format highly popular, largely thanks to the success of one of the programs to create them, WinRAR.

How to Open RAR Files on Mac

Since macOS does not offer native integration to decompress RAR files, it is necessary to resort to third-party applications to do so. This is not really a problem, since it is possible to find software to extract files of this type of very good quality and totally free.

The Unarchiver, the best RAR decompressor for macOS

This is probably the most widely used RAR archive decompression application on Mac and, really, it doesn’t surprise me. It is a very simple application to use, practically transparent and can also be downloaded for free from the Mac App Store. The latter ensures that it has passed a series of controls by Apple, which guarantees that it is free of any type of virus, malware or similar.

The best thing about The Unarchiver is that it supports all kinds of RAR files . Both single-volume, password-protected files and of course, split RAR files into multiple chunks, volumes, or batches (there really is no limit, these can be 2-part, 3, 10, 30, 100, or 1000 files).

Another of the main advantages of this application over others is its simplicity of use. To open a RAR file with The Unarchiver, just follow these steps:

Open a Finder window and find the RAR file you need to unzip.
Double click on it and wait for the decompression to complete.

This is it, just a double click to launch the decompression and extract the files to the same folder where the RAR is. Once the extraction is finished, you will only have to move the files or folders to the location you want. Easy, fast, safe and totally transparent.

Of course, the program has other common decompressor functions like coding identification . Thanks to this, the software will correctly name the extracted files and you will not have to worry about renaming the files if the RAR was generated on a computer that used a different type of encoding than yours uses.

Other supported formats

It is also important to mention that The Unarchiver is not only compatible with RAR files (including v5). The software can easily become the only decompressor you need, since it is compatible with other widely used formats such as: Zip, Zipx, 7z, Tar, Gzip, Bzip2, MSI, ISO, BIN, Ace, ARJ and many other formats, both current as old and also some little used as XAR, RPM, Deb, ALZip, WARC …

I sincerely believe and for this reason is the one I have installed on my Mac, that this application is the best to decompress files on Mac, but if for any reason you are not convinced, there are other alternatives such as: 7zip, Stuffit, Keka, RAR Extractor, iZip Unextractor, UnRarX, BetterZip, Zipeg and many others that you can find in the Mac App Store itself or directly on the websites of its creators.

How to Quit Programs on Mac | All Methods

by Anil SharmaMarch 29, 2020Technology / ComputerLeave a Comment

Quit Programs on Mac: Forcing an application to quit on Mac is a very simple process and can be done in a lot of different ways. In this article I want to talk about precisely this, about the different ways to force the exit of a program in macOS when it hangs for any reason.

In the case of Windows, the most common is to use the key combination Control + Alt + Delete. It will surely sound to you if before using Mac you were a user of a PC with the Redmond operating system.

In macOS there is a very similar alternative, although it is not the only one available as you will see in the following lines.

How to Quit Programs on Mac

Perhaps on Mac it is not so common for applications to hang, but of course they are not failsafe and can hang at any time. Apple is aware of this and that is why it has integrated several different options in the operating system to force the closure of a program that does not respond for any reason.

Here are all the methods available to do it.

From the Dock

It is perhaps the easiest method you can access and one of the most used by macOS users. To force the closing of a program from the dock, simply click on its icon with the right mouse button and select the Force exit option.

This option will appear if the program does not respond. In case it does not appear directly, when the secondary menu is displayed you must press the Alt key on the keyboard and you will see how the Exit option changes to Force exit, on which you must click.

From the Apple icon

The second option is to use the menu bar, more specifically the icon with the Apple logo, to access the Force Exit window .

To do this you just have to click on the mentioned icon and then select the Force exit option. When you do this, a new window will be displayed in which you can select the application or applications (hold down the Command key while clicking on each program you want to select) that you need to close and click on the Force exit button.

Also, there is a variant that allows you to close the active application. To do this, you must take the previous steps and once you have the Apple icon menu displayed, press the Shift key and the option Force Exit from XXX will appear (where XXX will be the name of the active program, that is, the one you have selected in the Dock).

With a keyboard shortcut

This option is very similar to the previous one , with the difference that the Force application exit window is displayed with a keyboard shortcut instead of the mouse.

The shortcut is Command + Option (Alt) + Esc. When pressing this combination, the mentioned window will automatically appear and you will only have to select the programs you want to close. Finally, click on the Force exit button and they will be closed instantly.

With Activity Monitor

Activity Monitor could be said to be the equivalent of Windows Task Manager and from it it is also possible to close an application that does not respond.

To access this tool you can search for it from Spotlight (the magnifying glass that appears in the upper right corner of the screen, inside the menu bar) or access it from Applications – Utilities.

Once inside the tool, you will see a list with all the processes running on the computer. At this point you just have to find the one you need to close or force the closure and select it by clicking on it. Once selected, click on the icon with the X symbol in the upper left corner of the application window and it will close completely on the fly.

Using Terminal

Perhaps this method is a bit more messy, since the entire interface is in text mode and there is no visual aid. In any case it is good to know it in case the other options fail (something unlikely).

The first thing you must do to use this option is to open a Terminal window. To do this you can type Terminal in Spotlight (the magnifying glass that appears in the macOS menu bar, just in the upper right corner of the screen) or access Applications – Utilities.

Once open, type the TOP command and press the Enter key. You will see a list with all the applications running along with data such as memory consumption, CPU usage, etc, etc …

In this list you should look for the program that is giving you problems in the COMMAND column. It may not appear with the name you know it with, but with some kind of abbreviation or similar. Find the one that most resembles and write down the corresponding PID (the number that appears in the column on your left).

Now press the letter Q to exit the list of running applications and type the kill command followed by the PID you have noted. For example:

kill 834

After typing the command, hit the Enter key and the task will run instantly, completely closing the application that is failing.

Paxful Wallet | How to Use Bitcoin Wallet for iPhone

by Hemant SharmaMarch 29, 2020Guide / BusinessLeave a Comment

It seems that the Bitcoin wallet and its exponential growth in a few months has passed, but the reality is that it has only just begun. Everything seems to indicate that virtual currencies will have a lot to say in the future and if you have money that you do not need at the moment, it may be interesting to invest a part in cryptocurrencies.

To do this, one of the easiest methods to get them is to buy them from a service that offers this option. One of them is virtual wallets and today I want to talk about one that has given me a very good impression: Paxful Wallet.

How to Use Bitcoin Wallet for iPhone

One of the first surprises you find when opening the Paxful app and creating your account is its user interface. Its design helps to understand its operation in seconds and is that its creators have been able to simplify to the maximum something that in other options is a little more convoluted.

The main screen of the app, called Wallet, shows a summary of the amount of Bitcoins (BTC) that you have in your account and gives you direct access to the functions that you will use the most if you become a user of this type of virtual currency:

To buy

In this section you can buy Bitcoins using different payment methods (bank transfer, PayPal, cards …) and also do it in different markets with which you can get better prices or conditions.

The purchase process is also simple. You will only have to choose the market in which you want to buy, enter the amount of euros you want to invest and follow the instructions that you will see on the screen to choose the payment method. Once completed, the Bitcoins will automatically be added to your account.

Spend

Spending could also be called withdrawing, since what this section of the app allows is to convert Bitcoins into another type of payment method . From here you can transfer your virtual currencies to cash in your bank account, PayPal or AliPay.

In addition, you can also convert it into gift cards from different establishments and finally to buy other types of virtual currencies.

Send

In the send section you can enter the address of another wallet or scan a QR code and use it to send Bitcoins. These transfers can be to another purse you own or, of course, to the purse of any other person or company.

In this way you can pay for a service, send money to a friend or family member, etc, etc …

Receive Bitcoin

This is the last section of the Paxful main screen and in it you can find mainly two things: the address of your wallet and a QR code to share it in a very simple way.

This is the code that you would have to give to other people so that they can send you Bitcoins and end up in your virtual wallet in the app.

User account and security

Another of the sections that we liked the most about Paxful Wallet are the possibilities it offers to personalize the user account.

To be able to use the application the first thing is to create a user account. To do this you only need to enter an email address and a password. In addition, you will have to verify that the email is real and that you have access with an email that you will receive with a code that you will have to enter in the app.

Once the account is created you can start operating and all transactions will be identified with a random username that the app will have assigned to you. But if you want to make it easier to identify yourself within the platform, you can set your own username . This can be done from the Account tab and it is as easy as clicking on Username and then entering the name you want to use (which may or may not be real).

Thanks to this, your contacts will know when you send them Bitcoins, since they will see in the Transactions tab all the operations you carry out with them.

The security section is also worth mentioning. As soon as you create your account within the app, it will ask you to establish a four-digit PIN to access the account. This adds a layer of security that prevents anyone from “looking” at your data within the app without your prior authorization.

But it doesn’t stop there. From the Account tab you can also change the PIN at any time and even activate Face ID or Touch ID. So you will not have to enter the PIN every time you access the app, but you can identify yourself with a fingerprint or facial identification.

You can also add your phone number, set some security questions and activate the 2FA verification (which works through SMS or verification apps like Google Authenticator or Authy. With these options your account will become a real bunker and you will know that All your data and your Bitcoins are well protected within the app, since both to access the application and to operate with Bitcoins it will be necessary to carry out a two-step identification.

Paxful Wallet free download

The Paxful Wallet app is available completely free on the App Store (it also has an Android version on the Play Store). You can download and start using it from the following link.

Also, it is important to mention that it is available in several languages . Spanish is one of them, although you will have to choose it in the Account tab once the app is installed (it is not automatically activated even if your iPhone is configured in this language).

How to Restore AirPods Pro to Factory State

by Hemant SharmaMarch 29, 2020Entertainment / GuideLeave a Comment

Restore AirPods Pro to Factory State: The AirPods Pro , although not common, can fail at any time. This can happen with any product, and Apple’s Active Noise Canceling Wireless Headphones are no exception.

Some of the problems that may appear are: sudden disconnections, poor sound quality, control failures due to touch of the headphones, etc, etc …

How to Restore AirPods Pro to Factory State

If you see yourself in this situation, you shouldn’t lose your cool. Normally these problems are caused by a software failure and restoring the AirPods Pro to factory state usually ends them. In addition, you should know that doing this is very simple and that it will not take more than a few seconds.

The factory reset of the AirPods Pro is a little different from the process of restoring the AirPods, but it really has no loss and you just have to follow the step by step that I leave below.

Unlinking and pairing the AirPods Pro again

Before you go to restore the new in-ear headphones, you may want to try an intermediate solution that also usually gives very good results and is not so radical.

I am talking about unlinking the AirPods Pro from the iPhone or any other device that is giving you problems and pairing them again. Sometimes this fixes problems related to Bluetooth connectivity and makes everything work normally again.

To test this, the first thing you need to do is unpair the headphones by following these steps on the iOS device (iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch).

Access the Settings app and then the Bluetooth section.
Once inside, locate the AirPods Pro in the list of devices and tap on the icon with the letter i.
Tap on Skip device and confirm that you really want to “forget it”.

When you have done this, the connection between both devices will be removed and you will have to pair them again. To do this you just have to pair them like the first time.

The quickest and easiest method is to open the headphone case cover while close to the iOS device. Once detected, you will see a button on the device screen to link them with a single touch on the screen.

You can also choose to access the Bluetooth settings and synchronize manually, although the previous process is faster and more comfortable as I said.

Once this is done, the AirPods Pro is likely to work normally again and you don’t have to do anything else. In case the problems continue or you want to restore them to the factory state to give them to someone else or the like, you should follow the steps in the next section.

Restore AirPods Pro to factory state

As I said, if the above was not enough or if you want to give the AirPods Pro to someone else, you must do the complete restoration to the factory state . Doing this will remove all user information stored in the hearing aids and will also lose the link with your iOS devices.

The process is simple, you just have to do the following:

Open the case with the AirPods Pro inside.
Press and hold the button on the case on the back for about 15 seconds until the LED light turns white and I blinked.
Close the case and open it again.
Finally, bring it closer to the device you want to pair it with to complete the process and be able to use them again.

Once this is done, your AirPods Pro will be restored and ready to be used again with the same devices or with different ones.

Chances are that after doing this the headphone issues have disappeared. If not, it is recommended that you contact Apple support to find a solution, since it is most likely not a software failure, but rather something related to hardware.