OSX Archives - Hamell.net

How to fix: Failed due to unexpected error 80004005. No description is available

Posted by Rick on October 21, 2021 in OSX 0 Comment

How to fix: Failed due to unexpected error 80004005. No description is available

Background: This error message comes up in Mozilla’s Thunderbird when using an Google hosted email account (Gmail, or a Google hosted domain/mail server that piggy backs off go Gmail,). “Failed due to unexpected error 80004005. No description is available” is technically either a password or security error message.
Various forums have tried to troubleshoot this error message but failed in my case.

In my case, this is actually a common error message. I have 8 email accounts setup through Thunderbird. When I travel or work remotely Google frequently kicks back this error message when I connect to a new, unknown, wireless network for the first time. 95% of the time just waiting five or ten minutes “fixes” the error message. The other 5% of the time I have to go into the security settings for that specific email address, and tell it that yes, that is indeed me logging in.

What you need to do is instead turn on “less secure app access.” Occasionally Google will flip this as it tries to make your account more secure (which is good,) but it breaks Thunderbird.

To do this go into Security settings:

Then go to Less Secure App Access:

And turn it to “On” despite Google’s warnings.

This fixed for me!

Other troubleshooting steps I took:
– Re-entered the account password a billion times
– Told Gmail security that this is indeed my device
– Deleted (multiple) saved passwords for the account in Thunderbird’s Password Manager
– Changed the smtp server from smtp.googlemail.com to smtp.gmail.com
– Deleted the recreated the account in Thunderbird

Useful OS X Commands

Posted by Rick on November 13, 2019 in Hacking, OSX 0 Comment

Useful OS X Commands

Here is a list of a bunch of potentially useful OS X Commands. These are going to be mostly for power users, system admins, OS X hackers, and programmers. Normal users will likely never need these, thus they are presented without use directions.

Commands were gathered via the .OSX group on GitHub. Please feel free to comment below and add any other useful commands you find!

Most commands are set to enable the action with the -true flag. Disable action by replacing it with -false.

Stop the creation of .DS_Store and AppleDouble files on USB Drives
defaults write com.apple.desktopservices DSDontWriteUSBStores -bool true

Stop the creation of .DS_Store files on Network Drives
defaults write com.apple.desktopservices DSDontWriteNetworkStores true

Show hidden files in Finder
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES

Prevent MDS from attempting to Index
sudo touch /Volumes/your volume name here/.metadata_never_index

Disable Indexing and Searching of Volumes
sudo mdutil -i off -d /Volumes/VolumeName

Delete existing Spotlight Index
sudo rm -rfv /.Spotlight-V100

Enable full keyboard access for all controls
defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleKeyboardUIMode -int 3

Enable subpixel font rendering on non-Apple LCD Screens and non-Retina Monitors
defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleFontSmoothing -int 2

Show the ~/Library folder in GUI (Can be used to show other “hidden” folders that some Applications add)
chflags nohidden ~/Library

Add “Anywhere” option to the “Allow apps downloaded from:” under the General Tab of Security and Privacy
sudo spctl –master-disable

Enable the 2D Dock
defaults write com.apple.dock no-glass -bool true

Turn Dock autohide on
defaults write com.apple.dock autohide -bool true

Remove Dock display delay
defaults write com.apple.Dock autohide-delay -float 0 && killall Dock

Show Dock icons of hidden applications as translucent
defaults write com.apple.dock showhidden -bool true

Show iTunes track notifications in the Dock
defaults write com.apple.dock itunes-notifications -bool true

Disable menu bar transparency
defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleEnableMenuBarTransparency -bool false

Show remaining battery life as percentage
defaults write com.apple.menuextra.battery ShowPercent -string “YES”

Show remaining battery life as time
defaults write com.apple.menuextra.battery ShowTime -string “YES”

Always show scrollbars
defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleShowScrollBars -string “Auto”

Hide desktop icons upon quitting Finder
defaults write com.apple.finder QuitMenuItem -bool true

Disable get info and window animations in Finder
defaults write com.apple.finder DisableAllAnimations -bool true

Show all filename extensions in Finder
defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleShowAllExtensions -bool true

Use current directory as default search scope in Finder
defaults write com.apple.finder FXDefaultSearchScope -string “SCcf”

Show Path bar in Finder
defaults write com.apple.finder ShowPathbar -bool true

Show Status bar in Finder
defaults write com.apple.finder ShowStatusBar -bool true

Expand save panel by default
defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSNavPanelExpandedStateForSaveMode -bool true
defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSNavPanelExpandedStateForSaveMode2 -bool true

Expand print panel by default
defaults write NSGlobalDomain PMPrintingExpandedStateForPrint -bool true

Disable dialog box: “Are you sure you want to open this application?” (Note, this disables OS X Security and anti-malware features)
defaults write com.apple.LaunchServices LSQuarantine -bool false

Disable dialog box: “Are you sure you want to open this application?” (for one application)
xattr -d com.apple.quarantine ~/Downloads/ApplicationName (before installing)
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/ApplicationName (after installing)

Disable shadow in screenshots
defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool true

Enable highlight hover effect on Dock for the grid view of a stack
defaults write com.apple.dock mouse-over-hilte-stack -bool true

Enable spring loading for all Dock items
defaults write enable-spring-load-actions-on-all-items -bool true

Show indicator lights for open applications in the Dock
defaults write com.apple.dock show-process-indicators -bool true

Don’t animate opening applications from the Dock
defaults write com.apple.dock launchanim -bool false

Display ASCII control characters using caret notation in standard text views
(Try e.g. `cd /tmp; unidecode “\x{0000}” > cc.txt; open -e cc.txt`)
defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSTextShowsControlCharacters -bool true

Disable press-and-hold for keys in favor of key repeat (enable key repeat)
defaults write NSGlobalDomain ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool false

Set keyboard repeat rate
defaults write NSGlobalDomain KeyRepeat -int 0.05 (Fast)
defaults write NSGlobalDomain InitialKeyRepeat -int 15 (Slow)

Disable auto-correct (Does not impact MS Office)
defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSAutomaticSpellingCorrectionEnabled -bool false

Disable opening and closing window animations
defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSAutomaticWindowAnimationsEnabled -bool false

Enable AirDrop over Ethernet (also works for Lion)
defaults write com.apple.NetworkBrowser BrowseAllInterfaces -bool true

Disable disk image verification
defaults write com.apple.frameworks.diskimages skip-verify -bool true
defaults write com.apple.frameworks.diskimages skip-verify-locked -bool true
defaults write com.apple.frameworks.diskimages skip-verify-remote -bool true

Automatically open a new Finder window when a volume is mounted
defaults write com.apple.frameworks.diskimages auto-open-ro-root -bool true (Read-only)
defaults write com.apple.frameworks.diskimages auto-open-rw-root -bool true (Read-write)
defaults write com.apple.finder OpenWindowForNewRemovableDisk -bool true

Display full POSIX path as Finder window title
defaults write com.apple.finder _FXShowPosixPathInTitle -bool true

Increase window resize speed for Cocoa applications
defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSWindowResizeTime -float 0.001

Disable the warning upon changing file extension
defaults write com.apple.finder FXEnableExtensionChangeWarning -bool false

Show item info below desktop icons
/usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c “Set :DesktopViewSettings:IconViewSettings:showItemInfo true” ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist

Enable snap-to-grid for desktop icons (Same as OS 9 GUI command)
/usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c “Set :DesktopViewSettings:IconViewSettings:arrangeBy grid” ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist

Disable Empty Trash Warning
defaults write com.apple.finder WarnOnEmptyTrash -bool false

Empty Trash securely by default
defaults write com.apple.finder EmptyTrashSecurely -bool true

Require password immediately after sleep or screen saver begins (reduces the normal delay)
defaults write com.apple.screensaver askForPassword -int 1
defaults write com.apple.screensaver askForPasswordDelay -int 0

Enable tap to click on Trackpad
defaults write com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch.trackpad Clicking -bool true

Map bottom right Trackpad corner to right-click
defaults write com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch.trackpad TrackpadCornerSecondaryClick -int 2
defaults write com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch.trackpad TrackpadRightClick -bool true

Disable Safari thumbnail cache for History and Top Sites
defaults write com.apple.Safari DebugSnapshotsUpdatePolicy -int 2

Enable Safari debug menu (most useful for Web Developers)
defaults write com.apple.Safari IncludeInternalDebugMenu -bool true

Remove useless icons from Safari bookmarks bar
defaults write com.apple.Safari ProxiesInBookmarksBar “()”

Add a context menu item to web view for showing the Web Inspector
defaults write NSGlobalDomain WebKitDeveloperExtras -bool true

Only use UTF-8 in Terminal Application
defaults write com.apple.terminal StringEncodings -array 4

Disable the Ping sidebar in iTunes
defaults write com.apple.iTunes disablePingSidebar -bool true

Disable Ping in iTunes
defaults write com.apple.iTunes disablePing -bool true

Make ⌘ + F focus the search input in iTunes
defaults write com.apple.iTunes NSUserKeyEquivalents -dict-add “Target Search Field” “@F”

Disable send and reply animations in Mail Application
defaults write com.apple.Mail DisableReplyAnimations -bool true
defaults write com.apple.Mail DisableSendAnimations -bool true

Disable Resume system-wide
defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSQuitAlwaysKeepsWindows -bool false

Disable the “reopen windows when logging back in” dialog box (Leaves default to reopen windows)
defaults write com.apple.loginwindow TALLogoutSavesState -bool false
defaults write com.apple.loginwindow LoginwindowLaunchesRelaunchApps -bool false

Enable Dashboard Dev mode (Keeps widgets on the desktop)
defaults write com.apple.dashboard devmode -bool true

Reset Launchpad
[ -e ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dock/*.db ] && rm ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dock/*.db

Disable local Time Machine backups
hash tmutil &> /dev/null && sudo tmutil disablelocal

How to: Fix Kenwood Stereo MP3 file errors

Posted by Rick on February 6, 2015 in OSX, Technology How To's 24 Comments

I recently got a new (well, apparently from 2012,) Kenwood Stereo. The exact model number is the KDC-X498, but from my research most of the Kenwood stereos are pretty similar. It’s a pretty cool stereo as it has a USB port on it. I can plug in any phone with a USB cable and it’ll play music from it. It will also play MP3 files from a USB Drive.

Unfortunately there are a number of caveats to make this possible;
– The USB Drive is limited to 32GB in size
– The USB Drive must be formatted in Fat 32. Most are this way from the factory, so usually not a huge deal.
– Audio files must be in .mp3 format or .wav format. Some models will accept the .acc format also.
– Some stereos can only see a certain number of MP3s per a directory on the drive. Its roughly a thousand files, but on a 32GB drive that is easy to reach. If this happens, separate the files out into subdirectories. Or as I do, by Artist then Album.
– MP3s must be in 192k format. Not 320k VBR or some other format.

Despite all of this, my stereo (and several other models,) will suddenly display “NA File” while reading a USB drive full of MP3 files. After a lot of searching on the internet, most said to make sure that it’s in the right format. Well, I run a Mac, and spent several hours downgrading all my files to 192k yet still had the problem. After several more hours of searching and no answers at all, I finally figured out the problem.

The Kenwood Stereo’s firmware does not “skip” over the Macintosh’s .DS_Store files like every other operating system has been doing for years. Modern OSes see any file starting with a . (or period,) as a system file and ignores it, or processes it as appropriately. Not the Kenwood!

So to fix this, these can be disabled in the command line using these directions I wrote years ago.

Or, it’s easy to open up Terminal in OS X, and type ‘rm -rf ._*’ (without quotes.) This will delete all the .DS Store files and everything will magically work! Make sure you cd to the correct directory first , usually /Volumes/Crucial or something similar.

How To: Manually update OS X time from Command Line

Posted by Rick on October 21, 2011 in OSX, Technology How To's 0 Comment

How To: Manually update OS X time from Command Line

Sometimes OS X’s time and date gets out of sync with the real world, and using the option “Set date and time automatically:” doesn’t always work.

You can use this command in terminal to update it manually:

ntpdate -u

The server address can be any of the Apple Servers such as time.apple.com or the free Time Servers, pool.ntp.org.

This same command should work for most Unix/Linux Operating systems, as long as ntpdate is installed.

How To: Use Equation editor in Office 2008 (for Mac)

Posted by Rick on June 21, 2011 in Microsoft, OSX, Technology How To's 2 Comments

How To: Use Equation editor in Office 2008 (for Mac)

Equation Editor in Office 2008 should be installed by a default install of Office. If for some reason it is not, you’ll need to find your Office Disc and reinstall Office 2008 for Macintosh.

To check if Equation Editor is already installed, look in /Applications/Microsoft Office 2008/Office. The Application, Equation Editor, should located there. But you don’t need to launch it from here or you’ll get error messages saying fonts are missing. Equation Editor is meant to be used inside of Word, and other Office applications.

To use Equation Editor, first step is to launch “Word” from your toolbar, or from Applications.

In Word, click on “Insert” in the menu bar, then at the bottom choose “Object.”

Choose “Equation Editor” from the list of Object Types.

Type in the required equation using the buttons at the top of the Equation Editor to get the Mathematical Operations needed.

Once you have your equation, click the red button in the upper left hand corner to close the Equation Editor. This will automatically insert the equation you just entered into the Word document at the cursor location.

Keep in mind this is for MS Office 2008 for Mac only. If you know how to do this in Office 2011 for Mac, please comment below!