Messages

1

Tech / Security Software

« on: October 28, 2022, 04:43:00 PM »

So my wife’s Early 2015 MBP was running erratically and she was seeing some crazy pop-ups, weird messages about her keychain, all behavior that suggested some kind of malware issue. So I’ve been using the free edition of Sophos Home for years and I shared it to her computer and installed it. Sure enough, things began to show up. Some were blocked and some were “cleaned up”. For now, I just want to see if the free edition sufficiently took care of the PUA’s and the malware and got rid of the weird behavior. My question is what are members using for security software, and do any of you feel the need for upgrading to the pay subscriptions for any of these programs?

TIA,

Chris K

2

Tech / Re: Annoying mouse behavior in Monterey

« on: August 09, 2022, 02:27:51 PM »

Well Paddy, you are probably correct, it is more a hub, with connections for USB, SD cards, HDMI and a USB C or
Thunderbolt port. But I've pretty much called anything I have to plug into a computer to connect with a port that doesn't exist on the computer a dongle for a while now, but you're right, calling it a hub would have been a little more clear. So it's about 6 years old. The strange thing is that the little green light that indicates it's powered up from the Thunderbolt port is on and I still have to disconnect and then reconnect to get the mouse recognized. This didn't happen in Big Sur. This was one of the first "hubs" available when the Thunderbolt (USB-C) MBP's came out and everyone was scrambling for connectivity solutions.

I use a 27 inch 4K UHD monitor because, like you, I like the real estate available for multiple windows, and 4K resolution is native to the Thunderbolt 3 ports on the MBP. I like using a mouse because I have to go back and forth with my PC for music applications, and it's just easier to use for me as I've gotten used to left and right clicking over time.

Guess I should think about being in 2022 and look into gettiing a Bluetooth mouse...   

3

Tech / Re: Annoying mouse behavior in Monterey

« on: July 28, 2022, 12:35:22 PM »

No, it’s a cheap mouse I got on Amazon last year sometime, it’s always worked fine, I will try using another mouse and see what happens. 

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Tech / Re: Annoying mouse behavior in Monterey

« on: July 28, 2022, 12:32:53 PM »

Nope, no other dongle available.

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Tech / Annoying mouse behavior in Monterey

« on: July 27, 2022, 04:12:32 PM »

So, I got my MBP 13" back from Apple last weekend and it has developed a very annoying glitch with the mouse. When it wakes up from sleep, the USB mouse won't work unless I unplug the dongle from the computer and plug it back in. then it will work again. It's about a 6 year old Letscom dongle that plugs into the Thunderbolt port.

Apple clean installed the newest version of Monterey, 12.5. This didn't happen on the version of Big Sur that I had installed in late April. I used Migration Assistant to move all my stuff back over from the backup drive.

Any bright ideas?

TIA,

Chris

6

Tech / Re: MacBook Pro is dead

« on: July 26, 2022, 01:16:08 PM »

Paddy, I'm beginning to wonder that it might be a "Known" issue, at least by Apple. Pretty much everything is on the logic board with these later models, the CPU, RAM and HDD. So basically, it's a brand new computer. And they had the parts on hand. So, yeah, it was a ridiculously fast repair. 

7

Tech / Re: MacBook Pro is dead

« on: July 25, 2022, 12:23:17 PM »

Wow, that's quite a saga Paddy! Unbelievable!

I'm happy to report that it was ridiculously fast and easy. I sent the MBP out this past Thursday in a return box that they had delivered to me on Wednesday. I had the computer back by Saturday around noon. New logic board and touch ID sensor board, new OS (Monterey).

Thank God I had a viable backup. So far the PCI Express enclosure and drive have been really fast and performed well. Also great that SuperDuper and CCC have solved the backup issues and we can now continue to clone drives. Migration Asst. went super fast with that drive and Thunderbolt connection.

Don't feel bad, I kayoed my 2016 MBP in similar fashion, knocking over a glass of seltzer water on it. Killed the keyboard and damaged the display.

CK

Bummer. Well, at least you didn't spill tea all over it and kill it yourself, like I did back in mid May. 2018 MBP - completely killed. Ain't no AppleCare for utter stupidity!

And then there was the crazy replacement saga:

1. Ordered new M1 MBP from refurb store (no choice there - unless I wanted to wait 2.5 months until the end of JULY for one) and paid for the expedited delivery so I could get it all set up on the weekend.
2. It didn't arrive. Said Apple had missed the window for sending from the US.
3. Monday. No MBP. UPS tracking had no updated delivery day.
4. Tuesday. No MBP. Called UPS. They said they couldn't find it in their system. Oh...great. Call Apple they say.
5. Called Apple - got bounced around four different departments. Finally told they'd have to start an investigation - and how long would that take, I wondered? "A day or two"...
6. An hour after the phone call I got an email from Apple saying "your order has been cancelled and your payment will be refunded." WOT???
7. Called Apple again. Yup - can't locate it, no other MBPs in captivity now, period. Too bad, so sad.
8. What to do? Kinda need this thing. Start combing Kijiji and FB Marketplace - so many ads that look completely bogus. Finally find one that seems real, contact the person and voila. Month-old M1, top of the line (so more than I'd intended on getting in the first go-round, but oh well...) and the price was retail but no tax (which at 13% is no laughing matter) and it had AppleCare.
9. Arranged to meet the seller at the bank - he was even willing to go to the Apple store to assure that it wasn't stolen
10. Picked up the MBP on Thursday morning. Got back in car. Scrolled through emails. There was one from UPS...guess what? Allegedly, they were going to deliver the wayward, supposedly cancelled MBP the next day (exactly a week after  it was supposed to have arrived). Yah, right - I'll believe that when I see it.
11. Of course...it turned up exactly when they said it would.

So - now what? I am now in possession of TWO brand new M1 Macs, when they were as scarce as hen's teeth. So - hubby got an unexpected replacement for his 2016, and son's girlfriend got a 2016 MBP capable of running Windows either natively or in Parallels (which she needs for her CPA course) which replaces her ailing and on-its-last-legs 2010 13" MBP. Everyone's happy (well, it wasn't exactly a cheap exercise...)

Postscript: A couple of weeks later, I'm looking through my Visa bill - and you guessed it, Apple had refunded the payment for the MBP that we now had in our possession. Tempting as it was to have a "free" computer, I couldn't do that - so I called them up and said "um...Houston, we have a rather unusual problem..." and then went a couple of rounds while they tried to figure out how to actually bill me after the fact. LOL.

So - I certainly hope your replacement goes much more smoothly and promptly than mine did, Chris!!

8

Tech / Re: MacBook Pro is dead

« on: July 20, 2022, 02:14:49 PM »

More like a warehouse for old electronics I can't use or sell any more, and guitars, guitars, guitars... oh yeah, it has a backup propane heater, a wood stove, and no plumbing...  Oh yes, a roof too... 

9

Tech / MacBook Pro is dead

« on: July 18, 2022, 06:19:48 PM »

Went out to the studio today to do some more guitar rehab, and lo and behold, my 2020 MBP was totally dead. Good thing I backed it up a few weeks ago after I upgraded to Big Sur. Sending it back to Apple, good thing I bought AppleCare. It’s a factory refurb bought online from Apple. 

10

Tech / Re: USPS phishing message.

« on: July 18, 2022, 06:13:24 PM »

We get so many spoofed calls from Autodialers, it’s become a real pain in the rear. Probably 3-4 times a day at times. We pick up the phone, sit in silence until they hang up. And then there is all of the above in this thread. Latest scam was a phishing email from some one who purported to be Meta Support claiming that one of our posts for the Chester Summer Music Series violated FB Community Standards and that if I didn’t respond within 24 hours our page would be deleted. Ha ha, Meta Business was sending me emails that the ad was running well within that time frame. It’s getting ridiculous out there. 

11

Tech / Thunderbird won't work in Gmail anymore

« on: November 22, 2021, 12:40:36 PM »

So as I recall, there may not be very many users of Thunderbird here at TS, but I thought I'd report on an issue I am presently experiencing. Ever since Gmail and Google went to two-factor identification, Thunderbird won't accept the password any more. I've checked all my settings and everything seems to be in order. In the meanwhile, I've set up Apple Mail to handle my Gmail account and it's working fine.

Any bright ideas? Running Catalina 10.15.7 on a 2020 MBP.

TIA,

Chris

12

Tech / Re: T2 Macs

« on: April 08, 2021, 05:24:37 PM »

Hi Paddy,

Wow, that's crazy pricing!

Well, early on while backing up today I saw transfer speeds up to almost 800 MB/s. Right now towards the end of the backup it's going at around 160MB/s. A pretty significant speed bump from USB3. Seems to get slower as the drive heats up. Drive enclosure is pretty warm right now. Not uncomfortable to hold or pick up, but the heat is noticeable. Looks like SuperDuper will finish up in a couple of minutes, elapsed time is going to be around 35 minutes for 271GB. I think there may be drive enclosures that dissipate the  heat better perhaps. Supposedly any Slimline M.2 2280 form factor SSD should fit in there, it was a fairly tight fit for the Intel drive. Now they are offering a Samsung 1TB for $129.99, probably a better drive https://www.newegg.com/samsung-1tb-980/p/N82E16820147804

It was a bit of a scary moment when I put the drive together with the heat sink, as it has little plastic holders that need to go through the holes built into the ends of the drive to hold the heat sink in place.

Biggest improvement seems to be using it as a boot drive, very much faster operation than with a traditional USB 3. What kind of speeds are you seeing with your Samsung USB-C drives?

ATTO Disk Benchmark shows 1.62 GB/s write and 1.50 GB/s which translates to 1620 Mbps and 1500 Mbps respectively. Bear in mind that the Intel SSD is only rated for 1800 MB/s both read and write, so I think it's doing the job ok. There are definitely faster drives available in the same form factor

HTH,

Chris

13

Tech / Re: T2 Macs

« on: March 26, 2021, 03:39:34 PM »

Hey Jim,

Here's the links to the products I bought. I gotta tell you, getting the little screws in on the side of the WavLink are a pain in the butt.
Newegg seems to have the best selection and pricing on these guys. I bought the previous version of the Intel NVMe SSD, but there are even faster choices if you poke around a bit.

https://www.newegg.com/Wavlink-WL-UTE02-Enclosure/p/0VN-0069-00025?Item=9SIA6PFA3D8575

https://www.newegg.com/Intel-660p-Series-1TB/p/N82E16820167462?Item=N82E16820167462&cm_sp=SH-_-463840-_-8-_-3-_-20-167-462-_-intel+ssd-_-intel|ssd

14

Tech / T2 Macs

« on: March 26, 2021, 03:16:45 PM »

Hi,

Many of you may know this already, but when I tried to boot from an external drive on my newer 2020 MBP, a security setting within the Startup Utility for the T2 chip prevented it. Simple enough to fix, but not necessarily readily apparent. The Startup Utility can only be accessed in Recovery Mode, and here's the method: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208198

Also, here is a list of Macs that have the T2 Security Chip: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208198

Also, I took one for the team and bought an 1TB NVMe drive, and a Thunderbolt 3 external enclosure to try for a backup drive. Startup is lightning fast compared to USB 3. And once booted it runs very fast as well.It was definitely a DYI project, but the components cost about $85 less than OWC's NVMe and enclosure. If anyone wants the specs on what I used, let me know. We'll see how durable it is, time will tell.

 

Chris

15

Tech / Re: Some news from CCC and SuperDuper

« on: February 17, 2021, 01:21:20 PM »

Wow... Thanks Jon!  Lots of work to accomplish a working backup, and a couple of interesting workarounds for sure...

Does make me maybe a little more confident to get out on the bleeding edge... definitely going to have to upgrade my external drives and get the latest version of Techtool Pro if I get an M1 Mac. But reading through that thread, there seems to be no one method of actually making a bootable cloned drive drive on an M1 Mac, so I may have to resort to the most recent Intel Mac I can afford if I want to be able to have a cloned, bootable backup.

But, Catalina should be an OS that will go for quite a few years unless the kinks that presently exist in Big Sur can be addressed by SuperDuper and CCC, and and the newer Intel machines should be able to run whatever OS Apple throws at us for quite a while.

Kinda reminds me of when Apple put nothing but Thunderbolt 3 ports on the Macbook Pros in 2016. That was a hardware decision, but it was way out in front of most of the hardware available at the time. In a similar fashion, The M1 Macs and Big Sur seem to be a little ahead of their time with software issues.

ck