Simple Help » Mac http://www.simplehelp.net Common questions, simple answers Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:12:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 How to revert to the iTunes 9.0 green zoom button behavior http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/10/14/how-to-revert-to-the-itunes-9-0-green-zoom-button-behavior/ http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/10/14/how-to-revert-to-the-itunes-9-0-green-zoom-button-behavior/#comments Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:48:18 +0000 Ross McKillop http://www.simplehelp.net/?p=3327

When Apple released iTunes 9, they finally changed the behavior of the green zoom button to match most other apps in OS X. Then in iTunes 9.0.1 – and almost certainly due to customer feedback (it really annoyed me to have to learn yet another keyboard shortcut to switch back to the mini-player) – they changed it back. Clicking the green zoom button once again ‘minimizes’ iTunes to the mini-player.

If you actually liked the change (having the green zoom button resize the iTunes window rather than changing to the mini-player), open Terminal (Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal) and enter the command:

defaults write com.apple.iTunes zoom-to-window -bool YES

Now you’ll have the green zoom button behavior that iTunes 9.0 introduced. If you change your mind yet again, replace YES in the above command to NO.

itunes mini-player

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]]> http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/10/14/how-to-revert-to-the-itunes-9-0-green-zoom-button-behavior/feed/ 3 How to stop iPhoto from opening when you plug in an iPod Touch (or any device with a camera) http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/09/29/how-to-stop-iphoto-from-opening-when-you-plug-in-an-ipod-touch-or-any-device-with-a-camera/ http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/09/29/how-to-stop-iphoto-from-opening-when-you-plug-in-an-ipod-touch-or-any-device-with-a-camera/#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:30:24 +0000 Ross McKillop http://www.simplehelp.net/?p=3202 iPhone iPod

This tutorial will show you how to stop iPhoto from launching each time you plug in your iPod Touch (or iPhone, or any device with a camera) – and still allow iPhoto to automatically launch when you plug in your digital camera.

The application Image Capture was recently updated to include much awaited functionality – the ability to choose which application launches – or none at all – when you plug in a specific device. This means that you can set your digital camera to automatically launch iPhoto when it’s plugged in, but have nothing happen when your iPod Touch is plugged in.

To set your preferences by device, follow the instructions outlined below.

  1. Launch Image Capture by going to your Applications list and double-clicking it. With no devices (cameras, scanners, iPods, iPhones etc) connected, it will look similar to the screen below.


    2. click to enlarge

  2. Now plug in a device (or three, as I have in the image below). Select that device from the DEVICES menu in the left column. Now choose an action for that device by selecting the Connecting this xxxxxx opens: drop-down list. In the case of my camera, I want iPhoto to launch when it’s plugged in.


    3. click to enlarge

  3. Now select (or plug in) another device. In the example below, I don’t want anything to happen when I plug my Android phone in, so I selected No application from the drop-down list.


    4. click to enlarge

  4. And I repeated the above step for my iPod. Note: iTunes will still launch when you plug an iPod or iPhone into your Mac if you have that preference set in iTunes itself.


    5. click to enlarge

  5. That’s it! Now you can have individual settings per device.

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]]> http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/09/29/how-to-stop-iphoto-from-opening-when-you-plug-in-an-ipod-touch-or-any-device-with-a-camera/feed/ 2 How to quickly add Contacts to your Address Book from Mail http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/09/16/how-to-quickly-add-contacts-to-your-address-book-from-mail/ http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/09/16/how-to-quickly-add-contacts-to-your-address-book-from-mail/#comments Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:00:44 +0000 Ross McKillop http://www.simplehelp.net/?p=3135 Mac

This tutorial will show you how to quickly add contacts, and all of their info, to your Address Book from directly within Mail.

  1. When you hover your mouse cursor over an address (or phone number) contained in an email message, that address will become ‘outlined’ with a dotted line and a small arrow will appear. Note: the address/phone number can be anywhere in the email – it doesn’t have to be part of the signature. Mail will recognize an address anywhere inside the message.

  2. Click that arrow, and select Create New Contact… from the drop-down list. If this is someone already in your Address Book, select Add to Existing Contact instead.

  3. A window will pop up with all of the info pre-populated. Make sure it’s all correct and in the right spots – feel free to add to it if you want, and then click Add to Address Book.

  4. Now launch your Address Book, and that contact will be there. That’s it!

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]]> http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/09/16/how-to-quickly-add-contacts-to-your-address-book-from-mail/feed/ 3 How to run OS X programs in 32-bit mode http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/09/15/how-to-run-os-x-programs-in-32-bit-mode/ http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/09/15/how-to-run-os-x-programs-in-32-bit-mode/#comments Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:55:11 +0000 Ross McKillop http://www.simplehelp.net/?p=3130

This brief tutorial will show you how to run OS X applications in 32bit mode.

Although OS X was 64-bit compatible in many ways prior to Snow Leopard, Snow Leopard made a big jump in 64-bit computing by re-writing most system applications, including the Finder, Mail, Safari, iCal, and iChat, in 64-bit code. This allows these programs (and others as they are re-written) to use a lot more memory than was previously possible.

The drawback is that some programs (addons, plugins etc) that interact with these 64-bit programs, often don’t work (at least until they too are re-written in 64-bit).

One way to get around this ‘problem’ is to launch the application itself in 32-bit mode, so that all of it’s 32-bit plugins and addons continue to work.

To do so, select the program in question, right-click it (ctrl-click for single mouse button folks), and select Get Info

right-clicking a program in OS X

In the Info panel, select Open in 32-bit mode. Close the Info panel and launch the program. It will now be running in 32-bit mode.

Get Info panel for Safari

Don’t forget to remove that check-mark in order to run the program in its native 64-bit mode (once the plugins, addons or whatever it is that caused you to require it running in 32-bit mode are updated).

That’s it!

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]]> http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/09/15/how-to-run-os-x-programs-in-32-bit-mode/feed/ 0 How to play divx and xvid videos in iTunes and Front Row http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/09/14/how-to-play-divx-and-xvid-videos-in-itunes-and-front-row/ http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/09/14/how-to-play-divx-and-xvid-videos-in-itunes-and-front-row/#comments Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:00:34 +0000 Ross McKillop http://www.simplehelp.net/?p=3107

This tutorial will show you how to add xvid and divx movies to iTunes, which in turn allows you to play them in Front Row.

  1. The first thing you’ll need to do is enable QuickTime to play divx and xvid videos. To do this, just download and install Perian. Perian installs itself as a System Preference pane. Though the installation is pretty straight forward, there’s a video tutorial that walks you through the process if you need some help.
  2. Once Perian is installed, open up a divx or xvid movie with QuickTime Player 7. QuickTime Player 7 is not the same thing as QuickTime X, which was introduced in Snow Leopard. To make sure you’re using the correct QuickTime, right-click (or ctrl-click for single-mouse button folks) the video and select Open With. From the sub-menu, select QuickTime Player 7. If it’s not listed, click the Other… link, navigate to QuickTime Player 7, and select it.

    Note: if you’re using Leopard (10.5) or earlier, QuickTime Player 7 can be found in your Applications list. If you’re using Snow Leopard (10.6), QuickTime Player 7 can be found inside the Utilities sub-folder of your Applications folder.

  3. Once the video opens, select File and then Save As….

  4. Make sure that Save as a reference movie is selected, and then click the Save button.

  5. This will create a small .mov file in the same folder as your xvid or divx video.


    6. click to enlarge

  6. Now launch iTunes. Select File and then Add to Library…

  7. Navigate to the .mov file you just created with QuickTime Player 7. Select it and click the Choose button.


    8. click to enlarge

  8. Now select the Movies link in your iTunes library. You should see the movie you just added in that list. Note: if it’s not there, repeat the previous two steps, and make sure to select the .mov file – you may have accidentally selected the .avi (divx or xvid) file – which cannot be imported into iTunes.


    9. click to enlarge

  9. Double-click your newly imported movie to watch it in iTunes (if you want).


    10. click to enlarge

  10. That movie will now be listed when you launch Front Row – and can be watched from within Front Row. Important: if you delete the .mov or the original .avi (divx or xvid) file, it will no longer be watchable in iTunes or Front Row.

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]]> http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/09/14/how-to-play-divx-and-xvid-videos-in-itunes-and-front-row/feed/ 3 How to copy music to your Android phone from your Mac http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/07/28/how-to-copy-music-to-your-android-phone-from-your-mac/ http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/07/28/how-to-copy-music-to-your-android-phone-from-your-mac/#comments Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:00:11 +0000 Ross McKillop http://www.simplehelp.net/?p=3056 Mac

This tutorial will take you step by step through the process of adding audio files (MP3, OGG, WMA etc) to your Android phone.

Note: although the steps and screenshots in this tutorial are specific to the G1 phone, they will very likely apply to future Android based devices – and this tutorial will be updated if they do not.

  1. The first step to adding music to your Android phone is to plug it into your Mac using a USB cable. Once connected to your Mac, you should see a small USB icon in the upper left corner of your phone.

  2. Drag the menu bar down to reveal your notifications etc, and there will be an entry titled USB connected. Tap/click it.

  3. Now tap the Mount button.

  4. Open up a Finder window in OS X, and you should see a new drive in the DEVICES list. The name may vary depending on your mobile provider or if you’ve added your own SD card to your phone. As indicated by the screenshot below, mine is titled NO NAME. Regardless – select that new device.

    In the “root” of that drive, there should be a folder titled Music. If there isn’t – no big deal – just create the folder yourself.


    5. click to enlarge

  5. Now start dragging and dropping (copying) music into that folder. The songs, albums and playlists don’t have to have a specific folder structure. As long as they have been properly ‘tagged’ in a program like iTunes, the song names, artist names, album names and album covers will display properly.


    6. click to enlarge

  6. Once you’ve copied your audio files into the Music folder, you’ll want to disconnect your phone from your Mac. This is a straight forward two step process. First, right-click on the drive name in Finder and select Eject.

  7. Back on your G1 (or other Android phone/device) select Turn off USB storage from the alerts menu.

  8. Tap Turn Off when prompted.

  9. To play the songs you just added to your phone, select Music from your list of apps.

  10. Tap on Artists, Albums Songs or (if you added any) Playlists.

  11. And from there you can play your music, podcasts etc. That’s it!

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]]> http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/07/28/how-to-copy-music-to-your-android-phone-from-your-mac/feed/ 5 How to take screenshots of your Android based phone from OS X http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/07/23/how-to-take-screenshots-of-your-android-based-phone-from-os-x/ http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/07/23/how-to-take-screenshots-of-your-android-based-phone-from-os-x/#comments Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:00:42 +0000 Ross McKillop http://www.simplehelp.net/?p=3016 Mac

This tutorial will walk you every step of the way through the process of taking screenshots of your Android phone using your Mac.

  1. On your Android phone, select Settings.

    2. android menu

  2. Then select Applications -> Development -> and enable USB debugging by placing a check in the box next to it.

    3. android menu

  3. Now you’ll need to download the Android SDK from http://code.google.com/android/download.html. Select the Mac OS X (intel) version, and save the file. It’s not a huge file, but it’s not small either. Depending on your Internet connection speed, it might take a while to download.


    4. click to enlarge

  4. Once the download has completed, unzip the SDK to a location on your hard drive that works for you.

  5. At this point, make sure your Android phone is plugged into your Mac (via USB) if it isn’t already.
  6. Open the SDK folder, and select the tools folder from within it. Double-click the ddms file.


    7. click to enlarge

  7. A Terminal window will pop up – ignore it, but don’t close it.


    8. click to enlarge

  8. Then a “usage statistics” window will open. Google asks if you’d like to enable usage statistics – review the Privacy Policy and then decide for yourself if you’d like to help out. Click the Proceed button to continue.

  9. The Dalvik Debug Monitor will launch. Select your device from the Name column in the upper-left most box.


    10. click to enlarge

  10. Now select Device -> Screen capture… from the top menu.

  11. The Device Screen Capture window will appear, along with whatever screen is currently being displayed on your Android phone. On your Android device, navigate to the screen you want to capture. When that screen is being displayed on your device, click the Refresh button at the bottom of the Device Screen Capture window.

  12. With the screen you want to capture being displayed, click the Save button.

  13. Give the file a name and select the location you want to save it in. Click the Save button.

  14. And now you’ll have a screenshot of your Android screen.

  15. Repeat steps 11 to 13 to take more screenshots. That’s it!

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]]> http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/07/23/how-to-take-screenshots-of-your-android-based-phone-from-os-x/feed/ 2 How to install Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) in Parallels Desktop for OS X http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/05/13/how-to-install-ubuntu-904-jaunty-jackalope-in-parallels-desktop-for-os-x/ http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/05/13/how-to-install-ubuntu-904-jaunty-jackalope-in-parallels-desktop-for-os-x/#comments Wed, 13 May 2009 11:00:36 +0000 Ross McKillop http://www.simplehelp.net/?p=2769 Mac

This tutorial will guide you through installing Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) using Parallels Desktop 4.0 (Build 4.0.3810) for OS X.

Note: the images in this tutorial are rather large (file size). You might need to give this page a moment or two to fully load. Sorry about that.

  1. To get started, download Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop. Once the download has completed, launch Parallels
  2. If the New Virtual Machine Assistant doesn’t launch on its own, click the plus sign ( + ) button in the bottom left corner of the Parallels window.

  3. When the Operating System Detection screen appears, click the Skip Detection button in the bottom left corner.


    click to enlarge

  4. On the Select Operating System Type and Version screen, select Linux as the Type: and Ubuntu Linux as the Version:. Click Continue.


    5. click to enlarge

  5. Select Custom as the Virtual Machine Type and then click Continue.


    6. click to enlarge

  6. Now you’ll need to decide how many CPUs you want the virtual machine to have. Select the number from the Number of CPUs: drop-down list. Use the slider to set the amount of memory (RAM) you want your virtual machine to have. On my MacBook Pro with 2GB of RAM, I’ve found that 512MB of RAM for the virtual machine (Ubuntu) works quite well, and OS X itself still has enough left so that it doesn’t run too slowly while Ubuntu is running. Click Continue when you’re done.


    7. click to enlarge

  7. On the Hard Disk Options screen, select New image file and then click Continue.


    8. click to enlarge

  8. Now decide how much hard disk space you want to allocate to Ubuntu. If you plan on using it a lot, and are going to install lots of programs, you’ll want a higher number. If you just want to try it out and will be using it for limited tasks, select a lower amount. Whatever number you opt for, select Expanding disk as the type. This will allow you to only use ‘actual’ hard disk space on your Mac as Ubuntu grows in size. So even if you specify 15GB of space for Ubuntu, you’ll only use a few GB initially, and it will grow in size (up to 15GB) as you install programs etc. Click Continue when you’re ready to move on.


    9. click to enlarge

  9. On the Networking Type screen, select Shared Networking, unless you have reason to opt for another choice. Click Continue.


    10. click to enlarge

  10. On the Optimization Options screen, decide if you want more resources allocated to the virtual machine (Ubuntu) or OS X. Generally, you’ll want to select the virtual machine – you might as well have it be as fast as possible while you’re using it. Once again, click Continue.


    11. click to enlarge

  11. Now give your virtual machine a name. Something obvious is generally a good idea. Select More Options and decide if you want to have a shortcut icon created on your Desktop (so you can launch Ubuntu using it) and if you want to share your virtual machine with other users on your Mac. From here you can also change the default location that Parallels will save the virutal machine file, if you’d like. Finally – click the Create button.


    12. click to enlarge

  12. Select the Boot Options section of the Prepare to Install Operating System screen. If you’ve burned Ubuntu to CD, put that CD in your drive now, and make sure Real CD/DVD-ROM Drive is selected. If you want to install Ubuntu directly from the .iso file (as I will be) – select CD/DVD Image, click the Browse… button, navigate to your Ubuntu .iso file and select it. Click Done.


    13. click to enlarge

  13. Ubuntu will now boot. Select Install Ubuntu from the menu – using the arrow keys on your keyboard to move down to that option, then the Enter (return) key to select it.


    14. click to enlarge

  14. Ubuntu will load…


    15. click to enlarge

  15. .. and you’ll be prompted to select your language. Again, use the keyboard arrows and enter key to make your choice.


    16. click to enlarge

  16. Again, select your language for the installation. This time you can use your mouse to make the selection. Click the Forward button to continue.


    17. click to enlarge

  17. Select your Region and City for the time-zone setting. Click Forward.


    18. click to enlarge

  18. Now choose your keyboard layout. Generally this will be auto-detected based on your language preferences, but if it’s not, you can make the change here. Click Forward.


    19. click to enlarge

  19. When asked where you want to put Ubuntu, select Use the entire disk – but make sure that the disk you’re using includes “Virtual HDD” somewhere in the title (this should be the default selection). To possibly ease some fears here – you will NOT be formatting or deleting any of the files on your Mac. Parallels uses a “virtual hard drive” – which is really just a file on your existing drive – as its hard disk. Click Forward.


    20. click to enlarge

  20. Now fill in the required info (name, username, password etc) and click Forward.


    21. click to enlarge

  21. Now you’re done with the configuration stuff. Click the Install button after you review the options you’ve selected. You can always use the Back button to make any corrections.


    22. click to enlarge

  22. At this point, you might want to go make yourself a cup of coffee. Or turn on the TV. Maybe go for a walk. The installation takes quite a while, though it does depend on how fast your Mac is.


    23. click to enlarge

  23. Finally you’ll be prompted to restart Ubuntu. Click the Restart Now button.


    24. click to enlarge

  24. The virtual machine (Ubuntu) will reboot, and you’ll be prompted to login. Enter the user name and password that you specified back in step #20.


    25. click to enlarge

  25. And Ubuntu is now ready to use!


    26. click to enlarge

  26. One last thing you’ll want to do if you used the .iso to install Ubuntu. Escape out of Parallels (click ctrl+alt) and from the Parallels Desktop menu select Devices -> CD/DVD-ROM 1 -> Real CD/DVD-ROM and select your “actual” CD/DVD-ROM. Otherwise Ubuntu will think that your CD/DVD drive is in fact the .iso file.


    27. click to enlarge

  27. That’s it! Enjoy using Ubuntu 9.04 via Parallels Desktop on your Mac! I’ll update this tutorial with the steps required to install Parallels Tools in Ubuntu 9.04 once Parallels updates (currently it doesn’t work).

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]]> http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/05/13/how-to-install-ubuntu-904-jaunty-jackalope-in-parallels-desktop-for-os-x/feed/ 20 Overivew: Safari 4 beta http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/02/25/overview-safari-4-beta/ http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/02/25/overview-safari-4-beta/#comments Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:05:17 +0000 Sukrit Dhandhania http://www.simplehelp.net/?p=2308 Mac Windows

Apple recently launched a public beta version of their web browser, Safari 4. Safari runs both on Mac as well as on Windows computers, and the new beta is available for both platforms.

The new version comes with a number of features such as a cover flow view of your browsing history, a pretty neat way to access your favorite websites, and more. So head over to the Safari download page and get yourself the latest version of the web browser. Note that as this is a beta release you could face some issues. So, this might be only for the brave.

Safari 4 beta requires some packages installed. On my Mac it asked me to install all the latest security updates. The download is of under 32 MB, so it might take some time. Once the download is complete double click on the downloaded file to begin the installation. Hit Continue a few times and you’ll be done with the installation.

After the installation completes you will need to restart your computer for the new version of Safari to work. Launch Safari 4 beta after rebooting your computer. Before you get to business with your new web browser, let me quickly run you through some of the new features that have been introduced in this release.

Top Sites

Top Sites is a completely new feature in Safari. When you launch a new blank tab or open a new blank window Safari gives you a preview of some of your most visited websites. This makes visiting those websites very easy, as all you need to do is to click on the image. This is pretty customizable, so you should definitely check it out.

Cover Flow

Cover Flow is a feature used in a number of other Apple applications such as iTunes. You get to flip through the pages you have surfed using the Cover Flow view just like you flip through album covers in iTunes. Click on an image to open the website.

Full History Search

Safari 4 beta brings a visual way to search through your browsing history. It uses the Cover Flow view to help you browse through your history. It changes the way you do this, from a boring list of sites in a menu to a visual search that makes it a lot easier and definitely a lot more fun to take a look at your browsing records.

These are some of the major features that shipped with Safari 4 beta. There are many other features that I have not mentioned here. Apple has made many changes in Safari with the version 4 beta, some good, some not so good, and some that will take time to adjust to. But form the looks of it the new browser is a step in the right direction.

Note: most of the plugins I had installed on Safari 3 are not yet compatible with the new version, so do keep that in mind while upgrading.

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]]> http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/02/25/overview-safari-4-beta/feed/ 7 How to install Windows 7 in OS X using Parallels Desktop – a complete walkthrough http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/02/02/how-to-install-windows-7-in-os-x-using-parallels-desktop-a-complete-walkthrough/ http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/02/02/how-to-install-windows-7-in-os-x-using-parallels-desktop-a-complete-walkthrough/#comments Mon, 02 Feb 2009 11:30:18 +0000 Ross McKillop http://www.simplehelp.net/?p=2226 Windows

This tutorial will guide you every step of the way through installing Windows 7 on your Mac using Parallels Desktop 4.0. Parallels Desktop for Mac allows you to run other Operating Systems (like Windows 7) in a virtual environment, while OS X is running at the same time. Though Windows 7 won’t run as fast in Parallels Desktop as it does via Boot Camp, it is a very easy way to get Windows 7 running on your Mac.

  1. If you’re using Parallels Desktop for the first time, an Introduction window will appear. Otherwise, click File -> New Virtual Machine…. Click Continue.


    2. click to enlarge

  2. On the Operating System Detection screen, select either the Real CD/DVD-ROM Drive option if you have Windows 7 burned to DVD (and make sure the disk is in your DVD drive). If you’re using an .iso image, select CD/DVD Image, click the Choose… button, navigate to your Windows 7 .iso file, select it and click OK. When you’re ready, click Continue.


    3. click to enlarge

  3. The automatic detection will probably fail. From the Type: drop-down, select Windows. From the Version: drop-down, select Windows 7 (experimental). Click Continue.


    4. click to enlarge

  4. From the Virtual Machine Type window, select Custom and then click Continue.


    5. click to enlarge

  5. Choosing the Number of CPUs: will depend on your Mac. I opted for 1, which is always a safe bet. You’ll want to allocate at least 1GB (1024MB) of RAM for your Virtual Machine, as Windows 7 will run quite slowly if you set it any lower. Click Continue.


    6. click to enlarge

  6. Select New image file on the Hard Disk Options screen, and once again click Continue.


    7. click to enlarge

  7. Specify a size for your virtual hard drive, and select Expanding disk (recommended). This will allow you to create a file that grows in size as you add files and programs to Windows 7, rather than creating the full “size” of your virtual hard drive immediately. Yet again, click Continue.


    8. click to enlarge

  8. Select Shared Networking (Recommended) as the Networking Type and click Continue.


    9. click to enlarge

  9. On the Optimization Options screen, select Virutal Machine (Recommended) if you want Windows 7 to have more resources while it’s running, or Mac if you want OS X to have more resources while Windows 7 is running. Click Continue.


    10. click to enlarge

  10. Finally, enter a name for your virtual machine (something ‘obvious’ like “Windows 7″ would be ideal). If you want to enable File Sharing and User Profile Sharing, leave those boxes checked. Click the small arrow next to More Options and decide if you want to have a launch icon on your Desktop for Windows 7, and if you want to share your virtual machine with other users on your Mac. When you’re ready, click Create.


    11. click to enlarge

  11. Again, the same as in step #2, select Real CD/DVD-ROM Drive if you’ve burned Windows 7 to DVD (and make sure it’s in your DVD drive) or CD/DVD Image if you’re using an .iso or image file of Windows 7. Click Done to begin the installation.


    12. click to enlarge

  12. Windows 7 will begin loading files and start the installation.


    13. click to enlarge

  13. Select the appropriate language, time and keyboard layout for you. Click Next to continue installing Windows 7.


    14. click to enlarge

  14. Click the Install now button.


    15. click to enlarge

  15. Setup will initiate and take a moment or two to do its thing.


    16. click to enlarge

  16. When you’re presented with the Software License Terms, place a check in the I accept the license terms box, and click Next.


    17. click to enlarge

  17. Click the Custom (advanced) ‘button’ when asked which type of installation you want.


    18. click to enlarge

  18. You should only have one option on the Where do you want to install Windows? screen. If you have more than one, make sure to select the one that is the size you specified back in step #7 and has the idental number in the Free Space column. Again, click Next.


    19. click to enlarge

  19. Go grab yourself a cup of coffee. It’ll take a while for Windows to install itself. Windows 7 may reboot itself during this process.


    20. click to enlarge

  20. After the actual installation, you’ll need to setup Windows 7 itself. Enter a username and computer name in the spaces provided. Click Next.


    21. click to enlarge

  21. Set a password and password hint, and click Next.


    22. click to enlarge

  22. Enter the Product key that was provided with your copy of Windows 7, and unless you don’t want to activate Windows when you’re online, leave the box checked. Click Next.


    23. click to enlarge

  23. For now, click Use recommended settings. They can always be changed later.


    24. click to enlarge

  24. Make sure your time and date settings are correct, then click Next.


    25. click to enlarge

  25. The final part of the setup will prepare and create your desktop.


    26. click to enlarge

  26. And now, finally, Windows 7. But your work isn’t over quite yet. There’s a possibility that networking (including your Internet connection) and sound won’t be working – yet.


    27. click to enlarge

  27. Press the Ctrl+Alt keyboard combo to release your mouse and keyboard from Parallels (Windows 7). From the Parallels Desktop menu, select Virtual Machine and from the drop-down list, select Install Parallels Tools…

  28. You’ll be presented with a description window of Parallels Tools. Review it (if you want) and then click Continue.


    29. click to enlarge

  29. Back inside Windows 7, an AutoPlay window will appear. From it, click the Install Parallels Tools button.

  30. The Parallels Tools installer will launch. It will install each of the parts of Parallels Tools, and can take several minutes. You might refresh your coffee at this point. .


    31. click to enlarge

  31. Once Parallels Tools has installed, restart Windows 7


    32. click to enlarge

  32. At this point you should have Internet connectivity. If you don’t have sound, make sure to run Windows Update, and it will detect any missing drivers (and find updates to the Operating System itself). Install all of the updates, and reboot again (if prompted). You should now have a fully working version of Windows 7 installed in Parallels.

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]]> http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/02/02/how-to-install-windows-7-in-os-x-using-parallels-desktop-a-complete-walkthrough/feed/ 47 How to delete a Boot Camp partition http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/01/26/how-to-delete-a-boot-camp-partition/ http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/01/26/how-to-delete-a-boot-camp-partition/#comments Mon, 26 Jan 2009 12:30:18 +0000 Ross McKillop http://www.simplehelp.net/?p=2200 Windows

If you’ve installed Windows via Boot Camp, and now want to delete it and restore the space to your main Mac hard drive, this brief tutorial will guide you through the steps to do just that.

It’s actually quite easy to remove the Windows drive and reclaim all the hard drive space, the only “problem” is that Apple doesn’t make it an obvious process.

NOTE: by deleting your Windows Boot Camp partition, you will of course be deleting all of the data on that partition. Make sure to back up anything on your “Windows drive” before you proceed. Your OS X partition will not be erased and you won’t lose any data from it.

  1. Launch the Boot Camp Assistant by going to your Applications -> Utilities -> Boot Camp Assistant.


    2. click to enlarge

  2. Click Continue on the initial Boot Camp Assistant Introduction window.


    3. click to enlarge

  3. Select Create or remove a Windows partition and then click Continue


    4. click to enlarge

  4. Click the Restore button to remove the Windows partition and restore the disk to a single-partition OS X volume.


    5. click to enlarge

  5. You’ll be prompted to enter your password – do so and then click OK.


    6. click to enlarge

  6. The Boot Camp Assistant will start partitioning…


    7. click to enlarge

  7. and then you’ll be back to a single OS X volume. That’s it – Windows is gone.


    8. click to enlarge

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]]> http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/01/26/how-to-delete-a-boot-camp-partition/feed/ 34 How to get sound working in Windows 7 running via Boot Camp http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/01/26/how-to-get-sound-working-in-windows-7-running-via-boot-camp/ http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/01/26/how-to-get-sound-working-in-windows-7-running-via-boot-camp/#comments Mon, 26 Jan 2009 11:00:41 +0000 Ross McKillop http://www.simplehelp.net/?p=2192 Windows

The solution to audio not working in Windows 7 running in Boot Camp is to download and install the latest (2.14) Realtek Drivers. Select the High Definition Audio Codecs (Software) link, accept the license agreement, and after the download has completed run the executable. You may need to reboot your Mac (back into Windows 7) for audio to work.

Thanks BrianSF!

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]]> http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/01/26/how-to-get-sound-working-in-windows-7-running-via-boot-camp/feed/ 21 Using Boot Camp to install Windows 7 on your Mac: The Complete Walkthrough http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/01/15/using-boot-camp-to-install-windows-7-on-your-mac-the-complete-walkthrough/ http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/01/15/using-boot-camp-to-install-windows-7-on-your-mac-the-complete-walkthrough/#comments Thu, 15 Jan 2009 10:02:42 +0000 Ross McKillop http://www.simplehelp.net/?p=2128 Windows

Somewhat similar to the Using Boot Camp to install Vista on your Mac walkthrough, this tutorial will take you every step of the way through installing Microsoft Windows 7 on your Intel Mac (running 10.5 or later), using Boot Camp.

Note: if you’d rather not dual boot OS X and Windows 7, you can always install Windows 7 in a virtual environment using Parallels Desktop.

To install Windows 7 on your Mac using Boot Camp you will need the following:

  1. All firmware updates installed on your Mac (use Apple Button -> Software Update… to check)
  2. A Windows 7 installation DVD
  3. Your OS X Leopard installation DVD
  4. At least 10GB of empty hard drive space on your Mac (you can probably get away with less but you’ll have almost no room to install anything other than the OS)
  5. An hour if all goes well, up to 5 hours if not
  6. Though not absolutely required, it’s a VERY good idea to have a complete and up to date Time Machine backup of OS X – it really came in handy for me. Because part of the process involves partitioning your drive, there’s always the distinct chance something will go wrong and everything will be wiped out.
  7. Patience, possibly a great deal of it. Having a book handy will also help kill time during the partitioning, installing etc).

Installing Windows 7 via Boot Camp

  1. Here goes. First thing – close absolutely every open program you can. That includes those things running in the Apple Menu that you always forget about. Don’t worry about killing the Dock or Dashboard – having those running is fine.
  2. Now open a Finder and navigate to Applications -> Utilities and double-click Boot Camp Assistant.

    3. finder displaying the boot camp utility
    click to enlarge

  3. Click Continue on the initial Introduction screen. Ignore the fact that it doesn’t mention Windows 7 as a possible OS to install.
  4. Now you have to decide how much space you want to allocate to Windows 7. You might be able to get away with going as low as 6GB, but I would highly advise against it. You’ll have almost no space left over to install software, and your page file in Windows might cause frequent crashes. I opted for 20GB, which left me with just a bit over 16GB to use after installing Windows 7.

    To change the amount of space to dedicate to Windows 7, click the small divider between Mac OS X and Windows, and drag it to the left.


    5. click to enlarge

  5. Once you’ve determined how much space you want to allocate to Windows 7, click the Partition button.


    6. click to enlarge

  6. The partitioning itself doesn’t take particularly long. If you receive an error, proceed to step 10 of the “How to install Vista with Boot Camp” tutorial. It provides all the troubleshooting info you need to resolve partitioning issues. Once you’ve cleared up any problems, or if everything just goes smoothly, proceed with the next step in this tutorial.


    7. click to enlarge

  7. Once completed you’ll notice a new BOOTCAMP drive on your desktop.

  8. Now insert your Windows 7 DVD and click the Start Installation button.


    9. click to enlarge

  9. Your Mac will restart, and Windows 7 will boot. You’ll be prompted with a window asking you which partition you want to install Windows on. Select the one with BOOTCAMP in the Name column. Selecting anything else may wipe out OS X or cause serious problems. Then select the Drive options (advanced) link.


    10. click to enlarge

  10. With the BOOTCAMP volume still selected, click the Format link.


    11. click to enlarge

  11. Click OK.


    12. click to enlarge

  12. And Windows 7 will begin to install. It’s a fairly boring process, so you may want to grab yourself a cup of coffee or your beverage of choice. But don’t go too far away, because when your system reboots, you’ll need to remove the Windows 7 DVD.


    13. click to enlarge

  13. With the Windows 7 DVD removed, your Mac will automatically boot back into Windows 7, and the installation will complete. You’ll be prompted to select your language, keyboard layout etc. The rest of the Windows 7 installation process is very straight forward.
  14. Once the installation has completed and your Mac has restarted again, you’ll be able to use Windows 7. WiFi will work immediately (no drivers to install) so connect to the Internet. Windows 7 will then begin to download updates, including the proper video card driver. Let it do its thing.

  15. Once completed, you’ll be prompted to reboot yet again. Do so.


    16. click to enlarge

  16. Once Windows 7 boots back up again, you’ll notice the resolution is much better, and you can enable the advanced graphics features.


    17. click to enlarge

  17. But if you check for sound, you’ll notice there are no sound drivers installed.

  18. Insert your OS X Leopard DVD. When prompted, select Run setup.exe.

  19. The Boot Camp installer will launch. Click Next to begin.


    20. click to enlarge

  20. Select I accept the terms in the license agreement and then click Next again.


    21. click to enlarge

  21. Make sure that Apple Software Update for Windows is checked, and click Install.


    22. click to enlarge

  22. The Boot Camp installer will do its thing, and install all the required drivers.


    23. click to enlarge

  23. Notifications will pop up with each driver that gets installed.

  24. Once completed, click Finish.


    25. click to enlarge

  25. And yet again you’ll be prompted to reboot. Remove your OS X Leopard DVD from the drive, and click Yes to restart.

  26. If you still have problems with sound not working, you’ll need to install the Realtek drivers. This tutorial will explain what to do.
  27. That’s it, you’re done! When your Mac boots, hold down the Option key to select which Operating System you want to boot into.

    28. do you want to boot into OS X or Windows I choose OS X

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]]> http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/01/15/using-boot-camp-to-install-windows-7-on-your-mac-the-complete-walkthrough/feed/ 274 How to scan your Mac for viruses http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/01/12/how-to-scan-your-mac-for-viruses/ http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/01/12/how-to-scan-your-mac-for-viruses/#comments Mon, 12 Jan 2009 08:35:38 +0000 Ross McKillop http://www.simplehelp.net/?p=2106 Security

According to the ClamXav home page -

Today, the number of viruses actively attacking OS X users is…NONE! However, this doesn’t mean we should get complacent about checking incoming email attachments or web downloads, for two reasons. Firstly, there’s no guarantee that we Mac users will continue to enjoy the status quo, but more importantly, the majority of the computing world use machines running MS Windows, for which an enormous quantity of viruses exist, so we must be vigilant in checking the files we pass on to our friends and colleagues.

So – do you even need anti-virus software on your Mac? That’s up to you to decide. If you do decide you want anti-virus software on your Mac, this tutorial will guide you through installing and using ClamXav – a free (and frequently updated) virus scanner for OS X.

  1. Start out by downloading ClamXav. Once the download has completed, open the DMG file, and drag ClamXav to your Applications folder.


    2. click to enlarge

  2. ClamXav isn’t very large, so it won’t take long to copy/install.


    3. click to enlarge

  3. Open up an instance of Finder. Select your user name from the left navigation window, and go to Library -> Contextual Menu Items. Back in the opened DMG window, drag ScanWithClamXav.plugin to the Contextual Menu Items folder. Sign out of your Mac (or restart, but signing out and back in will do the trick). Signing out and back in again will activate the “Scan with ClamXav” plugin.


    4. click to enlarge

  4. Now launch ClamXav from your Applications folder. You’ll be prompted to install the Clam Anti-Virus engine. Click the Install button.

  5. On the Introduction screen, click Continue.


    6. click to enlarge

  6. Review the Software License Agreement and once again, click Continue.


    7. click to enlarge

  7. Click Agree to accept it, again.


    8. click to enlarge

  8. Now click Install.


    9. click to enlarge

  9. Enter your password when prompted, and click OK.


    10. click to enlarge

  10. And now the scanning engine will install.


    11. click to enlarge

  11. Click Close once the process has completed.


    12. click to enlarge

  12. Now launch ClamXav from your Applications, again. Before you start the scan, click the Update virus definitions button.

  13. Once completed, you should see a Virus definitions updated successfully status message.

  14. Now click the Preferences button.

  15. On the General tab, make the selections that are appropriate for you. I opted to quarantine infected files rather than outright delete them, in case of any false positives (ClamXav flagging a file as being infected with a virus, when it in fact isn’t).


    16. click to enlarge

  16. Depending on which settings you opt for, you may receive a message telling you not to turn on certain features if you plan on having your email scanned or watched. This wasn’t an issue for me as I use Gmail (via the web) but it is something to consider if you use Mail or Entourage for email.

  17. Select the Internet tab, and again, make any changes you see fit. I opted to have ClamXav check for all possible updates each time it starts.


    18. click to enlarge

  18. Select the Schedule tab, and if you’d like to schedule virus scans, this is the place to create them.


    19. click to enlarge

  19. Select the Folder Sentry tab. From here you can add folders to be constantly monitored for viruses (eg. your Downloads folder). Review the other options and make any changes you see fit. Click OK when you’re done.


    20. click to enlarge

  20. Back in the main ClamXav window, click the Choose what to scan… button.


    21. click to enlarge

  21. If you attempt to select your entire startup disk (as indicated in the screenshot below)…


    22. click to enlarge

  22. you’ll get an error.

  23. So instead, just select all of the folders (hold down the Apple Key to select multiple items) on the drive you want to scan. Then click Open.


    24. click to enlarge

  24. Finally, click the Start Scan button.


    25. click to enlarge

  25. ClamXav will do a “quick” (it’s not that fast) scan of your drive to determine how many files it’s going to check.


    26. click to enlarge

  26. And then they actual scan will begin.


    27. click to enlarge

  27. At this point, you might as well settle in for the long haul. Depending on the size of your hard drive, the number of files on it, and the speed of your Mac, the process can take quite a long time. As indicated in the screenshot below, it took ClamXav 172 min and 31 seconds to complete on my MacBook Pro (an older one). With all of that said, I was able to work on my Mac the entire time without much of a noticeable slowdown. However, I kept my tasks to the relatively ’safe’ – the last thing I wanted was a crash in the middle of the scan, forcing me to start over again. Running the scan overnight while you’re sleeping is probably a good idea.


    28. click to enlarge

  28. And that’s it. Now you may want to scan your Mac for spyware, malware and tracking cookies.

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]]> http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/01/12/how-to-scan-your-mac-for-viruses/feed/ 9 Three free rhythm based games http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/01/05/three-free-rhythm-based-games/ http://www.simplehelp.net/2009/01/05/three-free-rhythm-based-games/#comments Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:00:07 +0000 Skyler Huse http://www.simplehelp.net/?p=2082 Linux Mac Windows

I love music, and I love video games. This makes rhythm games perfect for me. And the best part? I don’t have to pay for some of the great ones! This is a list of my three favorite rhythm games, in no particular order.

Frets on Fire


click to enlarge

This is a Guitar Hero like game for Windows, Linux, and OS X. A great thing about Frets on Fire is that it lets you rip songs from your Guitar Hero games! The downside to this is it’s really slow. It’s usually faster to just download all the songs. But that’s probably illegal. It comes with three songs and a tutorial. You can also download songs from the community. If you don’t have a Guitar Hero controller to hook into your PC, you can use your keyboard.

Stepmania


click to enlarge

This is a DDR like game for Windows, Linux, and OS X. It’s been around for a long time, and is still being worked on. It is also the only game on this list with a multiplayer mode. You can use a dance pad or just use you arrow keys. Much simpler than most rhythm games (if you’re using the arrow keys, that is) and is still just as fun. It doesn’t come with any songs, but you can download some here.

Osu!


click to enlarge

This is a game I pretty much just found out about. Gameplay is similar to Elite Beat Agents for the DS. This game is very nice and it makes installing songs easy. You can download songs here. You have to register to download songs, but it’s a good idea to do it anyway. The game keeps track of how good you do and you get levels for it! It’s hard to explain the gameplay if you haven’t played the game it’s based on. Luckily, there is a good tutorial and you can check out a video of me playing a song (very poorly) on Easy.

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