AdwareMedic became Malwarebytes. ClamXav is still around but it's no longer free and the oldest OS X version it seems to support is 10.6. Your machine can be upgraded to that, assuming you have the Snow Leopard DVD.
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OS X El Capitan [OT]
- Thread starter Ninja Dom
- Start date
AdwareMedic became Malwarebytes. ClamXav is still around but it's no longer free and the oldest OS X version it seems to support is 10.6. Your machine can be upgraded to that, assuming you have the Snow Leopard DVD.
User 479360
Banned
I don't, and it seems to be updated as far as it can be without that.
Thanks for trying to help.
You can try running the scan from another Mac. Hold down T on boot for target disk mode and its drive will mount on the other computer if you have a Firewire cable. You could also try scanning it over the network but that will probably be very slow.
Word of warning about ClamXav, it's notorious for false positives at least for Windows viruses so don't freak out if you have a Boot Camp partition.
User 479360
Banned
Thanks
I don't remember having false positives from ClamXav. Avast, yes, and one other I tried.
I scanned my network -- that's what I was worried about, because I downloaded something I was worried about -- and my network seems fine.
I use that computer about once a year, and will just disconnect it from my network.
The Real Abed
Perma-Junior
Seriously, apps with Sparkle integration update themselves better and more smoothly than MAS apps.
Oh good, it's not just me.
You only need to enter a terminal command to enable TRIM on third party SSDs, and it persists between OS updates.
Well you bought an MSDN key without meeting the licensing terms to use the MSDN key.
That's a good development, it wasn't always so simple.
I didn't know at the time of purchase and I would have run into activation issues anyway because I was going from a VM to Boot Camp. It's ridiculous that I had to give someone at Microsoft remote access to my machine during this process. I don't think it's a controversial statement to make that Windows licensing and upgrading involves a lot of unnecessary heartache relative to OS X.
Not sure why they needed remote access. I thought if you needed to reactivate Windows and online activation fails, you just call the number they give you and an automated computer voice gives you what you need.
Zeyphersan
Banned
On that subject, what does TRIM do and when should you use it?
My small understanding...
It's only for 3rd party SSD drives that have been installed by the user. It isn't required for Macs that Apple supply with SSD's as standard because TRIM is auto enabled by Apple.
What happens is that SSD's write data to blocks. If a block is no longer in use (the user deleted some data) then TRIM allows the block to be totally erased and then re-written on.
Without TRIM a block that is no longer in use cannot be re-written on and instead the SSD writes data to a new unused block. That gradually over time the SSD fills up as the SSD isn't able to re-write over existing blocks that are no longer in use.
Whats going on guys! I'm a new Apple/Mac user, I just updated OS X to El Capitan on this MacBook Pro I purchased from an local Gaffer here!!!
Is there any helpful guides/tutorials or recommended apps to help me with my transition from Windows to OS X? One thing which I'm researching and probably doing is getting Parallel and running a VM for Windows 10.
Is there any helpful guides/tutorials or recommended apps to help me with my transition from Windows to OS X? One thing which I'm researching and probably doing is getting Parallel and running a VM for Windows 10.
infiniteloop
Member
There's this site at apple, though it looks a little dated:
https://www.apple.com/support/macbasics/
One from MacRumors is a little more dense:
http://guides.macrumors.com/Mac_Beginner's_Guide
Much appreciated!
Is their a way to have volume control on the "desktop", instead of going to "System Preferences>Sound"?
Zeyphersan
Banned
You can add the volume option to the menu bar up top, might be what you're looking for?
You know what, I'm blind and see the volume icon on the Menu bar, thanks!
You also have volume buttons on your keyboard.
gingerbeardman
Member
Also separate volume levels with and without headphones attached.
I'm still getting some major system freezes since about os 10.11.3 or .4.
2012 iMac. First thing that happens, an app freezes. I usually try force quutting it, which appears to close the window, but in activity monitor (which is dreadfully slow) it stays. the computer is otherwise useable, but apps start freezing, including finder, and they cannot be reopened...and the menubar prevents any action. Usually need to resort to hard shutdown with the power button.
a bunch of processes are frozen too, namely escrow security, and often some kind of notification process like distnoted (once I killed this one and everything went again).
I thought it was from waking my mac, but i turned off the sleep and it still happens. I notice that Time machine will often stop working for an age at a time when it happens - since it's supposed to back up every hour, when I come to my computer and it freezes, I can see the history of time machine not working for some time...maybe it's related to that, or maybe some process hangs causing Time Machine to stop backing up.I dunno.
but it's like once a week (was more often when I had sleep on).
2012 iMac. First thing that happens, an app freezes. I usually try force quutting it, which appears to close the window, but in activity monitor (which is dreadfully slow) it stays. the computer is otherwise useable, but apps start freezing, including finder, and they cannot be reopened...and the menubar prevents any action. Usually need to resort to hard shutdown with the power button.
a bunch of processes are frozen too, namely escrow security, and often some kind of notification process like distnoted (once I killed this one and everything went again).
I thought it was from waking my mac, but i turned off the sleep and it still happens. I notice that Time machine will often stop working for an age at a time when it happens - since it's supposed to back up every hour, when I come to my computer and it freezes, I can see the history of time machine not working for some time...maybe it's related to that, or maybe some process hangs causing Time Machine to stop backing up.I dunno.
but it's like once a week (was more often when I had sleep on).
gingerbeardman
Member
That to me sounds like bad storage. HDD/SSD/RAM.
See posts on this page and the one before about dying hard drives.
I had a RAM problem once before, the Mac would eventually freeze and restart itself. Crucial sent me free replacement chips some 4 years after I bought the originals. Lifetime warranty.
There's no guaranteed way of testing the hard drive.
For RAM, if you have more that two chips installed then you have the option of running with half the ram, and you'll be able deduce which chip is bad though a process of elimination.
See posts on this page and the one before about dying hard drives.
I had a RAM problem once before, the Mac would eventually freeze and restart itself. Crucial sent me free replacement chips some 4 years after I bought the originals. Lifetime warranty.
There's no guaranteed way of testing the hard drive.
For RAM, if you have more that two chips installed then you have the option of running with half the ram, and you'll be able deduce which chip is bad though a process of elimination.
This was very similar to the type of problems I was having after updating to 10.11.5. See my problems above.
Safari quit on me one day. Then other apps became unresponsive and then Finder crashed. Rebooting would take about 5 minutes and then I was stuck on the login screen (spinning circle and never loading to the desktop).
Ended up being a faulty HDD. Everything is superb now I've replaced it with a brand new SSD.
EDIT: In fact it was YOU that diagnosed my problem. Lol.
I do fear that. But o keep a record of when it happens, and the last few times since I changed a few settings it has been exactly every seven days.
It's certainly a possibility, and is one of the lost common issues (if you look above I was commenting and replying to the incident above about dying hard drives). There's just a hunch this is something a bit more software related, partially reasoned by the intervals and frequency of it happening, as well as typical processes seeming to be involved.
Of course it could be storage, and the key process are the ones that are poorly installed due to poor storage and bad sectors.
I can boot from time machine now I believe can't i? I don't have the time to mess about like that any more though. like run it for weeks. a reinstall I might be able to do. but even then, don't really have the time to fix anything that goes wrong....
Unless something has changed, time machine doesn't make a bootable clone.
Restoring from the recovery partition and migrating from the time machine backup is probably an option. I don't have any experience with it so hopefully someone else can weigh in.
gingerbeardman
Member
Try booting as a guest user?
But really just whip some memory out.
But really just whip some memory out.
takes too long to mess about with it right now in my life, but yeah, it's always the final go to option.
Guest is a good option (I know all the things to try, I just need the time to do it) - thing is it takes a lot of testing, due to it being an intermittent thing, once a week - and if it never happens in guest (or other user), doesn't necessarily rule much out. Whipping memory out (hardware wise) not an option -2012 21" iMAc.
I still have a hunch it's software. But you never know...
I've already done an "extended" version of the in built apple hardware diagnostics. It said no problem. I assume it's built in HD diagnostic is not comprehensive, however, but it's built in RAM test should be pretty good.
U less you mean there's something in there to disable eithe of the ram sticks.
I understand failing RAM and/or HD can manifest as all sorts of problems, but this freeze seems too consistent at the moment, most notably the once per week every Thursday the last three times seems particularly suspicious as well as certain processes being at fault often. I will do a reinstall in place when I get a chance (my current circumstances make it pretty difficult to really sit down and nut the problem out - if I had a free day I would do so). But the hassles of it will have me leave it to a later resort.
Lol missed this post. Damn, if it really is similar symptoms the possibility of a bad hard drive increases. Reboots are totally fine. File system has not been corrupted (which can happen if HD is failing), but it could also be that I have a fusion drive and hence reboots would still be fine as OS I figure would reside in the ssd side. I can't recall, but often if a computer requires hard reboot, the Mac might launch with file system check on next boot if it detects a bad shutdown.
I wonder if my apple care has run out yet... Argh don't have time for this lol.
I keep dual time machines going for backup, but before I check out any potential major issue is prefer to get a third going.
gingerbeardman
Member
This, along with other tools, was unable to diagnose my faulty RAM.
User 479360
Banned
I generally leave my computer on at night, and will turn it off for a while every few days.
I used it this afternoon, then went back to use it just now -- an hour and a half later, maybe -- and found that it wouldn't wake up from sleep using the mouse and keyboard. I hit the power button and it started up, meaning it had shut down for some reason without being told to.
Any way I can find out why it did that?
I used it this afternoon, then went back to use it just now -- an hour and a half later, maybe -- and found that it wouldn't wake up from sleep using the mouse and keyboard. I hit the power button and it started up, meaning it had shut down for some reason without being told to.
Any way I can find out why it did that?
gingerbeardman
Member
Open Console.app and scroll back up to the time it happened. There should be some logging messages.
Do searches for things like "shutdown" etc.
See if it was like something that just happened. Usually with unclean shutdowns, on boot it will say so and ask about it.
Also check your system preferences and see f you have auto reboot on power cut. If you do then you know it wasn't a power cut (as it would've rebooted).
As for my issue, 1 week later, as predicted my computer had its little mini for with the same process (distnoted and escrow security alert). Going to turn off my notifications for that particular website and wait another week to see if anything occurs.
User 479360
Banned
Thanks
It says previous shut down cause -128. Then it says that it was turned back on after an unclean shutdown.
It says previous shut down cause -128. Then it says that it was turned back on after an unclean shutdown.
For the record, my crashes that I've been having I've narrowed dow to a runaway distnoted process.
Basically it details what a few other people have been experiencing on El Captian:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7540087?start=0&tstart=0
I have yet to try a reinstall, but I may try that once I get a few more backups (I have two time machine, but would like to get in a new one before attempting a reinstall).
Basically it details what a few other people have been experiencing on El Captian:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7540087?start=0&tstart=0
I have yet to try a reinstall, but I may try that once I get a few more backups (I have two time machine, but would like to get in a new one before attempting a reinstall).
User 479360
Banned
My computer just shut itself off again, randomly, while I was listening to music on YouTube. This is the second random shutdown in a week.
gingerbeardman
Member
That turned out to be a faulty RAM issue when it kept happening to me.
I have an older MacBook Pro (mid 2010) that's been running Yosemite flawlessly for years. I initially held off on upgrading to El Capitan due to all the negative reviews/comments I saw when it was first released. At this point are there minimal risks and compelling reasons I should just bite the bullet and upgrade?
Yeah. Bite the bullet and update. El Capitan runs on all Yosemite capable Macs and you shouldn't have any performance/speed issues with it.
infiniteloop
Member
El Cap's always been better than Yosemite in my experience , never saw many negative reviews.