GeekwithEnvy

OSX

Mac Startup Keys / How to Reset your NVRAM

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Often we need to access specific features on our computers when things go wrong or if we start tinkering around with our hardware configurations. Sometimes you just want to see how things are running or maybe your just curious. Either way, here is a list of different key combinations that you can use to access special features built into your Intel Mac.

All of these key combinations should be pressed as soon as you hear the startup sound when turning on your Mac. You will want to keep these keys pressed until your Mac performs the requested function.

 

AppleWirelessKeyboard for Mac Startup Keys

Resetting NVRAM

(Having issues with your startup disk, screen resolution, audio issues? Resetting the NVRAM may help resolve these issues. )

Press Option-Command-P-R until you hear startup sound a second time.

Want to start your Mac with bootable media, USB thumb drive or DVD? 

Press “C” during startup.

Eject Removable Media

Press Eject, F12, or hold the mouse or trackpad button.

Safe Boot (similar to Windows Safe Mode)

Hold “Shift” during startup.

Verbose Mode (Let’s you see what’s happening during boot-up instead of the Apple Logo)

Press Command-V during startup.

Single User Mode ( As the name suggests, it’s boots into a single user and without a GUI)

Press Command-S during startup.

OS X Recovery System

Press Command-R during startup.

Startup Manager (  A GUI that allows you to choose which volume to boot with)

Press “Option” during startup.

Apple Hardware Test ( As the name suggests, it tests your hardware and reports issues)

Press “D” during startup.

Target Disk Mode (Turn a Firewire connected Mac into a external Hard drive)

Press “T” during startup.

NetBoot (Allows you to boot from a Network  “Default Boot Image”)

Press Option-N during startup.

NetBoot (Allows you to boot from a Network “Use Compatible”)

Press “N” during startup.

 

 

Blizzard Introduces HearthStone: Heroes of Warcraft

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Blizzard Entertainment has introduced a brand new game, HearthStone: Heroes of Warcraft. The game is a TCG (Trading Card Game) style game that is free-to-play and features all of our favorite Warcraft characters. Build Decks and Challenge players, the core of any good card game, and that’s exactly what HearthStone is all about.

It’s exciting to see Blizzard doing something that shakes things up a bit. I can’t wait to jump in and check it out. The game will be available for Windows PC, Mac, and iPad. You can sign up to be a part of the beta and get even more information by heading to the official site, HearthStone: Heroes of Warcraft.

We’ve always loved collectible card games at Blizzard, so it’s been exciting to bring everything we love about the genre to life in Hearthstone, we’re putting a lot of focus into creating a fun new game that’s easy to pick up and play, but also has a lot of depth. We can’t wait to share it with everyone.”– Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment

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HearthStone: Heroes of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment)

How to Show Hidden Files in OS X

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HiddenOSXFiles

Sometimes you need to access files that are normally hidden by default, but these files can sometimes be critical to the proper operation of the operating system and are therefore hidden for a reason. This means that it isn’t always easy to “unhide” these files as developers want to try to prevent less experienced computer users from deleting things accidentally. However, if you’re a geek then chances are you know exactly what you’re doing and you need direct access to hidden files in OS X.

Fortunately, “unhiding” files in OS X is very easy. Just open Terminal and enter the following command.

defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles YES

If you find you no longer have the need to view hidden files, you can hide them again by adding a “NO” at the end of the command.

defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles NO

Once you have entered either one of these commands, you need to relaunch Finder in order for the changes to take effect.

Relaunching Finder

One of the easiest ways to relaunch Finder is to hold down the “Option” Key and then click and hold the “Finder” icon. You can also hold down the option key and “Right-Click” the Finder icon. You should see the option to relaunch. After you relaunch Finder, you should see your changes take effect.

How To Play a DVD in Windows 8

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If you haven’t already noticed, you can’t play a DVD by default in Windows 8. Yep, sounds weird but it’s true. Fortunately, there’s a great application out there that gets the job done and then some.

VLC Media Player is the simple solution to this problem. If you haven’t used this great application yet then your missing out. It plays all kinds of formats, almost all of them, and best of all, it’s completely free! You can customize your player with skins, work with filtering effects, and it even has streaming support. This is a very robust little application and it’s worth downloading.

VLC Media Player is available for Windows, OS X, and Linux and you can get it at the official site, VideoLAN.org.

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Apple Pushes Out OS X Update 10.8.3 and SMC That Fixes Game Lag

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Apple Logo

Just the other day I put together a brief article on how to fix low frame rate issues on the Macbook Pro Retina, which were being caused after a recent update. Fortunately, You should no longer have to worry about those issues as Apple has just pushed out update 10.8.3 which also came with an SMC update version 1.1 that has corrected these frame rate issues.

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Update 10.8.3 Details

  • The ability to redeem iTunes gift cards in the Mac App Store using your Mac’s built-in camera
  • Boot Camp support for installing Windows 8
  • Boot Camp support for Macs with a 3 TB hard drive
  • A fix for an issue that could cause a file URL to quit apps unexpectedly
  • A fix for an issue that may cause Logic Pro to become unresponsive when using certain plug-ins
  • A fix for an issue that may cause audio to stutter on 2011 iMacs
  • A fix for an issue in Contacts that may cause cards to print out of order
  • A fix for an issue that may cause the desktop picture to change after logging out or restarting
  • A fix for an issue in Messages that may cause messages to appear out of order after waking from sleep
  • A fix for an issue that may cause the screen to display incorrectly after waking from sleep
  • Improves compatibility with IMAP servers in the Notes app
  • Allows the Slideshow screen saver to display photos located in a subfolder
  • A fix for an issue in Contacts that may cause addresses to print in the wrong location
  • Reliability improvements when using a Microsoft Exchange account in Mail
  • Xsan reliability improvements
  • A fix for an issue that could cause Active Directory accounts to be locked out after accessing the Security & Privacy pane in System Preferences
  • A fix for an issue that could cause link aggregation to not complete after a restart
  • A fix for an issue that could cause delays when logging into an Active Directory account on high latency networks

For more information on the OS X 10.8.3 update you can head to Apple’s official support page.