Squared 5 – MPEG Streamclip video converter for Mac OS X. This is some excellent information if you need to configure MPEG-2 in Lion. Thanks Squared5!

The Snow Leopard upgrade DVD released on August 28, 2009 may wipe the content of the /System/Library/QuickTime folder during the upgrade process, and delete your MPEG-2 Playback Component installed in that folder. To use MPEG-2 files with MPEG Streamclip you have to reinstall the MPEG-2 component or restore it from a backup copy. 

If you are going to upgrade to Snow Leopard

Open the /System/Library/QuickTime folder and drag the QuickTimeMPEG2.component file to your desktop to make a copy of it. Then upgrade to Snow Leopard. When the upgrade is complete, open the /System/Library/QuickTime folder again and move the QuickTimeMPEG2.component file from the desktop to the /System/Library/QuickTime folder (enter your administrator password if necessary).

If you already upgraded to Snow Leopard

You have to reinstall or restore your MPEG-2 Playback Component.

If you have a Time Machine backup of your System folder, then open the /System/Library/QuickTime folder, enter Time Machine and go back in time until you see the QuickTimeMPEG2.component file; select that file and then click Restore.

If you purchased the MPEG-2 Playback Component from the Apple Online Store, then you probably still have the DMG file that contains the installer. Use Spotlight to search for “QuickTimeMPEG2.dmg”: if you find a file with that name, double-click it and then in the disk image, double-click the installer package for Intel Macs.

If you purchased the MPEG-2 Playback Component from the Apple Online Store but you can’t find the QuickTimeMPEG2.dmg file, you can download the file again from the Apple Online Store if you remember the Apple ID used when you originally purchased it (if you forgot your Apple ID then go to Apple iforgot). Visit the Apple Online Store, click on “Account” in the store menu, then click “Downloadable Software Purchases,” enter your Apple ID and password, and click the link to the QuickTime MPEG-2 Playback Component to download it again.

If you obtained the MPEG-2 Playback Component from the installation of Final Cut Studio, then you can reinstall it again from the Final Cut Studio DVD. Insert the DVD and use the Finder’s Go menu > Go To Folder… command to get to the /Volumes/Final Cut Studio/Installer/Packages/ folder inside the DVD. Locate the QuickTimeMPEG2.pkg or the QuickTimeMPEG2Pro.pkg installer: double-click it to reinstall the MPEG-2 component.

Apple iCloud: Manage App Data Backup and Storage. This is a helpful way to manage the data and storage you are using on Apple iCloud. I haven’t used iCloud much since MobileMe was such a disaster. I turned it on, but a month later it had a problem so I turned it off and haven’t used it since. Not a good start to the service.

Maclive.net:: Keeping Two Macs in Sync. This is an old story, but I looked at the latest version of FoldersSynchronizer and it is Lion compatible. I had a friend ask about this. Personally ChronoSync seems like a better product to me and so he is having me install that for him. I will let you know if he likes the product.

Coriolis Systems – StumbleUpon. Drobo have their own set of issues that make them unrealiable storage in my opinion. I wonder if they ever solved this issue? They didn’t follow up on this post. I will send them an email and ask.

This was the email text I sent to them.

At this URL: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/7vS1ZK/www.coriolis-systems.com/

You have a post hosted that talks about the incompatibility of iPartition with Drobo. Is that still an issue and can you update that article? I have bought your software and want to use it to help a friend with a drobo.

I heard back from the company and according to them this is still an issue. I wonder why Drobo doesn't seem to care about fixing this?

Unable to get status of backup volume: Apple Support Communities. I got this message today. I caused it myself by unplugging an external USB device that TM thought was still mounted. So since that partition was identically named to another partition, it was confused which one I was referring to. Makes perfect sense.

In this thread he discusses this problem and even finds a solution. Great work juan152.

 I was able to solve it!

So, I have a Windows 7 (64-bit computer) with the latest updated iTunes and it woudn’t want to restore my iPhone to a backed up version I had a few days ago. These are the steps I took to fix it myself.

What I used: 2 Laptops (Windows 7 laptop and Windows Vista Computer) and an external hard drive.

1. On my Windows 7 computer, I went to C:/Users/User/AppData/Roaming/Apple Computer/Mobile Sync/Backup/[a huge set of numbers/letters] and put all the files of the earliest folder (as it is the most recent backup) into my external hard drive for transfer. ***Note: In order to view AppData, you must Unhide all hidden folders from the control panel***

2. I transferred the folder from my external hard drive to my Windows Vista Computer in C:/Users/User/AppData/Roaming/AppleComputer/MobileSync/MobileSync/Backup….

3. I connected my iPhone to my Windows Vista Computer, right clicked my iPhone in iTunes and “Restore from Backup.” The huge folder that I copied from my hard drive to my Local Disk Drive C:/ was there and it was able to restore!

Good luck! This took me 3 hours to figure out!

backup session failed: Apple Support Communities. Turns out that if you use Xcode you should reinstall iTunes. I wonder how many people use Xcode?

Yes I read those articles but I found the correct answer elsewhere.

In one of the discussions, someone suggested that after downloading the latest version of Xcode, we better re-download de latest version of iTunes as well.

I effectively downloaded Xcode a few days ago.

So I downloaded iTunes again as stated in the discussion.

And indeed, it works now fine !

So thank you all for your kind assistance.

It a pleasure being part of this community.

Pondini solves it. How exciting it is when things work correctly.

Timemachine is Backing up again. What i have done:

Started Festplattendienstprogram (Harddisk Repair Program) and performed the check. The result was ok = green. (Like Pondini proposed, thanx!)

I stopped Timemachine by performing a reboot.

I deaktivated Timemachine backup.

I ereased the “Backup-in-progress-file” in the Mac mini Servers backup.

I started an manual Backup and this went ok.

After that i restard automated backup again.

So im am fine now!

Thanxs to everyone.

via Timemachine keeps indexing my Backup: Apple Support Communities.

Migrate Time Machine backup to new Mac in Lion | Operating Systems | Macworld. This is a very thoughtful thing for Apple to do. Sometimes I am surprised by the thoughtfulness they put into their products. Other times I am surprised by the overt marketing that exists. I suppose it is a hard thing to balance the needs of the users against the needs of Apple.

Synology Disk Station DS1511+ NAS server – Serial ATA-300. I had a reader search for this today and I didn’t have any articles. The Synology Disk Stations are all Time Machine compatible. These are a great way to do network backups.

More experiences and reviews of this product here.

Linc Davis has figured it out. Makes sense with the suggestion he gives and the poster said it worked.

Connect the drive directly to a USB port on the MBP.

In the Energy Saver preference pane, uncheck “Put hard disks to sleep…” if checked.

If neither of the above helps, boot in safe mode and try again.

via Time Machine: “An error occurred while…: Apple Support Communities.

IPad2 backup session fails consistently…: Apple Support Communities. Turns out that uninstalling and reinstalling the iTunes 10.3 program fixed it for the poster. Great work!

I tried for 2 years all kinds of backup plugins with GoDaddy. GD is a terrible host, and doesn’t work with many plugins including backup ones. I have probably installed more than 50 of them in the last two years.

So I am glad to report that my friend offered to pay for me to use VaultPress. I have to say that it has been fantastic and totally worth it. Today for example, I received an email notification saying that one of my plugins had an injected hacker code and that they deleted it. They listed 5 steps for me to take to secure my WP site, and when I responded I made a suggestion for them. I got a response that gave me further information about another plugin I had that had “issues” so I deleted it. This is incredibly valuable and I will upgrade if I get an advertiser that allows me to afford this next step of service.

Being self-hosted has been a great experience. I encourage anyone who is interested in learning more about things to give it a try. I have been able to upgrade things, and to me, having a secure backup was one of the major reasons that I stayed on WP.com for so long. I wasn’t convinced that being self-hosted would be worth it, but I was wrong.

Download LaCie SilverKeeper for Mac – Automate external backups to LaCie drives. MacUpdate.com. I used to use SilverKeeper when I used a LaCie hard drive more than 7 years ago. The LaCie hard drives failed, but the software always worked. According to the reviews, it worked when SuperDuper and Time Machine wouldn’t backup data.

I have used SuperDuper and never had any problems. Time Machine has had issues especially when it has to share one partition with multiple computers. So my suggestion would be to try SuperDuper first $29, if Time Machine doesn’t work, then try SilverKeeper.

SugarSync Review: Online Backup Solution. I am currently testing SugarSync so far and I like it. It has 3 GB more than DropBox with the free edition, and is easier for non-technical users to find useful. So far the only question in my mind is if it caused my kernel panic or if that was caused by DropBox not being uninstalled but off.

His review is fairly balanced with a nice pro’s and con’s list. It seems that most of the cons are on the Windows side, so for Mac users, you may not see an issue. I will update this if SugarSync has issues. So far so good.

This article talks about a product called Deja Vu for $29 which seems limited. I like SuperDuper myself and note in the comments to this article:

Another great tool is SuperDuper which does far more functions, is less money $28 and a great recovery tool as well.

http://chimac.net/2009/11/16/how-can-you-backup-your-files-on-the-mac/

How to back up your media in iTunes. This is an Apple KB that allows you to back up your songs to a CD/DVD. Interesting option. This could save money if you don’t want to buy an external hard drive or Time Capsule.

Poster solves his own problem with Safari running slowly and taking excessive CPU’s. Interesting troubleshooting.

Videobox was the culprit! I must\’ve accidentally installed the plugin when I used it for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I turned off the plugin and my Safari\’s cpus have dropped to about 10! Amazing. I also took your advice and rebuilt the 1password data file and things are getting faster. I\’m going to keep going through the logs to see what other problems I have and try and troubleshoot from there. The only other program that has gotten slow is iPhoto \’09. Think I should rebuild the library? Thanks again for your help. I will list your answer as the correct one.

via Time Machine Question: Apple Support Communities.

Supplement your backup routine with Disk Drill Pro | Derek Punsalan – 5THIRTYONE. One of the commentaries said that it took 24 hours to scan and recover files using a competitive software. It would be interesting if Apple shared how they decided on how software was selected that was sold in the store. Do they do independent testing, or survey their workforce?

I have been focused on WordPress stories lately since I moved to a self-hosted blog. I must say that except for the backup, it works pretty well. Since my database is larger than typical, it seems to overload the hosts capacity to process it. I am working with them to identify and solve these issues. This morning I worked on modifying my php.ini file to increase the script timeout from the default 30 seconds. I didn’t have that file visible in my root folder, so it may be that the host had made it inaccessible to me. We will see how prompt their service is.

I could of course make my own php.ini file, but if the host provider already has one, doing so might create unexpected results. So I would prefer to research and find out for certain rather than risk data loss or misbehavior.

Akismet

WPCandy Pros is a ‘reverse job board’ for WordPress professionals – TNW Design

Why did I change my banner and why am I advertising?

Fun trying WordPress plugins

Useful WordPress plugins

Introduction to CommentLuv

Want to find related posts and perhaps make some money too?

7 Must Have WordPress Plugins For Every Blog

How to find a lost computer or stolen laptop. Backblaze makes a compelling argument for only $5. You can backup unlimited sizes and find your computer. This is a fantastic combination that should be an easy choice for anyone who has a laptop.

Run your own Software Update Server with Reposado. This is interesting. This could be worthwhile as a backup for mission critical systems. Do you know of anyone who is using this besides Disney?

Backing up your WordPress database with WP-DB-Backup « Weblog Tools Collection

I asked for it to be mailed to me, but it might be too large. I haven’t received it yet. Perhaps I should check what are the size limits for Gmail attachments. If you are thinking of self-hosting, this is a great and safe backup tool to use. Apparently Gmail attachment is maxed out at 25 MB. So yes, it probably was too big.

Recently, I came across this amazing article that shows you how to turn your Ubuntu desktop/server into a Mac File Server or Time Machine volume. Not only does it allow you to share files between the two computers, but it will also automatically mount your Time Machine volume and begin the backup process. I have followed this article and am currently using this setup on my home network. If you have any questions about this article or need help, p … Read More

via The Daily Byte

Seagate starts shipping pencil-thin 99 GoFlex Slim hard drive — Engadget. This seems perfect for people on the go. It does make me wonder how likely they are to break however. With it being so small I would imagine that there is a greater chance of accidentally damaging it.

We shown you how to backup your Mac with Time Machine. Here is a quick video we made to show you how you can quickly restore a file you have deleted… and emptied from the Trash. NOTE: Probably best to watch in HD and Full Screen … Read More

via Click For Geek

Outlook 2011 for Mac: Using certificates for digital signing « vegardhw.net. This is a really good setup on how to accomplish this. I had one client who lost his data using this program so be sure to be using Time Machine or some kind of regular backup.

The PutPlace Blog. This is the best list I have seen. If you don’t want to pay for Crashplan or Mozy, the link above might be a great option for you.

Leaving Mozy’s online backup and switching to CrashPlan Gravitational Pull. With the price change from Mozy the best option for Mac users seems to be Crashplan. I have everything saved in Google Docs but if I move from Google, this will be the service I go to.

Apple – Support – Discussions – hello.connectivity.m …. Nice instructions. drbeez has it figured out.

I finally got a Senior Advisor, Taylor, at Apple to answer this. Three previous technicians claimed they’d never heard of this issue.
APACSD is Apple Wide Area Connectivity Service Daemon. It is a function of MobileMe. It doesn’t pertain to BTMM only, but to a world of connections such as Calendar, Contacts, Synch, iWeb, etc.
Taylor explained that this a a form of handshaking between MobileMe and your Mac. If the connection is disabled by your firewall protection, you will see many malfunctions in anything MobileMe-related.
hello.connectivity.me.com is a platform established in OSX 10.6.6 that will later support other added services.
Funny. The third technician thought I was worried about the government seeking contact with my computer (“just who do you believe is trying to access your computer?”) and treated me like a weirdo until I explained the research time I’d spent on this and told him I knew this was an Apple connection. Only then did he pass me along to his superior. At least he learned something.
And maybe this helps someone else who’s bugged by these repeated requests for access. Allow the connection and it’s over with.

MobileMe has had plenty of issues. Read about them here, here, here, here. I could go on, but I think you get the idea. I don’t know why I waited with MobileMe for 10 years. I guess I am slow to learn some things.

EvilGator shares with us the solution. Nice work!

I finally got on the phone with a Senior Advisor at Apple. We created another user account (System Preferences > Accounts). Time Machine worked for that user. So, the Time Machine problem was user-specific.

We went back to the original user and moved to trash the folder <home folder>Library/Caches. From there we went and moved to the desktop <user>/Library/Preferences/com.apple.TimeMachine.plist.
We then restarted the mac. Upon restart, we entered Time Machine and it worked fine. The timeline had reappeared!

Apparently there was something in the Cache that was causing the problem.

Time Machine has had a few issues. The biggest one seems to be this.

via Apple – Support – Discussions – Timeline not appearing in Time Machine ….

Nice simple terminal command that might allow your NAS to be a Time Machine volume. This is super easy on Mac OS X 10.6 server.

open terminal and type in “sudo defaults write com.apple.systempreferences TMShowUnsupportedNetworkVolumes 1″ (minus quotes) then through finder connect to the root of the drive you want to back up for time machine & BOOM. … Read More

via Edge IT

mtnmedic found a solution.

*Checked cables and connections
*Restarted iTunes
*Restarted my PC
*Checked to make sure PC date/time/time zone were all accurate
*Checked to make sure my security software (MS Security Essentials and Windows FIrewall) were up-to-date and no conflicts
*Made sure I had proper permission for the iPad backup folders. To ensure that, I selected the folders and clicked on “Take Ownership” in the context menu.
*I made sure that my user account is an Administrator account on this PC
*I logged out of my primary user account and logged in as the Computer Administrator (basically, a different user acccount that is an Administrator) and tried to do the backup to iTunes from there.

Failing with all of those things, many of which are suggested from the Apple knowledge base, I was just about to backup my iPad onto another machine, then transfer the backup to this PC and restore the iPad from here using that file, maybe even removing and re-installing iTunes, etc. Everything so far short of wiping the iPad and starting over from scratch, which I feared might end up happening.

Then, a lightbulb went off in my head. Why not do a reset on the iPad itself? Not the usual soft reset but the kind of reset that restores function to an iDevice when it isn’t responding: press and hold both the Power and Home buttons at the same time and hold them until the device restarts, ignoring the “slide to turn off” prompt. After it finished booting up, I connected it with my PC, which brought up iTunes automatically, then…lo and behold, instead of seeing the rapid synch then error, it went right into backup. Took about fifteen minutes but it finished the backup without a hitch and synched the iPad.

So there you have it: one more thing to try. Maybe the FIRST thing you should try? It was so simple! I wish I’d figured that out BEFORE I did all that other stuff I mentioned above!

I’d like to read comments from anyone who has also experienced this problem and has tried my “fix” suggestion.

via Apple – Support – Discussions -.

matmug115 has the answer.  It worked for some people.  Others still have the issue.

Found the culprit, I had also installed an app called menumeters, when I uninstalled, the error message disappeared.

via Apple – Support – Discussions – Error 256 when doing a backup ….

Jeff Berman said it best:

here are two ways to get photos out of Picasa: Exporting and Backing Up.

If you export photos, they all show up flattened-out in one folder. While this would technically work, the downside is iPhoto will suddenly have thousands of photos added to it and I’m not really sure how it will figure out the events (I didn’t try importing into iPhoto yet).

If you use Picasa’s Backup feature (Tools->Back up pictures) then all the photos show up with their folder hierarchies preserved. So for example you could end up with a folder containing the following folders and photos.

Vacation Photos
Vacation Photos/Hawaii 2009/
Vacation Photos/Hawaii 2009/pic1.jpg
Vacation Photos/Hawaii 2009/pic2.jpg
Vacation Photos/New York 2008/
Vacation Photos/New York 2008/pic1.jpg
Vacation Photos/New York 2008/pic2.jpg

etc.

From what I’ve read, if the “Vacation Photos” folder is imported into iPhoto, the folder names will be used as events, so in this example you’ll end up with a “Hawaii 2009″ event and a “New York 2008″ event, which is nice.

As far as Picasa’s Backup tool goes, it will create one or more top-level folders with names starting with a dollar sign. These represent the top-level folders containing photos. On the computer I tested this on I ended up with $Desktop, $My Documents, and $My Pictures, because all the photos on this computer were inside of the Desktop, My Documents, and My Pictures folders (and their children).

So in a nutshell, if you want to migrate from Picasa on Windows to iPhoto, just use Picasa’s “Back Up Pictures” menu item if you want to preserve the folder hierarchy of your photos. Oh, one last thing: this feature doesn’t let you back up to the same hard drive as the photos, so just share a folder on either your Mac or your PC and then back up to that folder.

Hope somebody finds this information useful.

via Apple – Support – Discussions – Advice needed for importing photos from ….

The Experience Perspective I am a designer so when I got an opportunity to try out Carbonite™ as a BzzAgent, I was super excited.My biggest concern is always my computer files – my photos, my client work, and all of my personal files as well. I’ve been through multiple external hard drives (all of which have failed on me at some point or another) and I tried Apple’s MobileMe which I found annoying, finicky, and overall a waste of money. I’ve burn … Read More

via Everyday Perspectives

It turns out that this error will occur when you don’t have as much free space as the space your home folder occupies.  Either delete things or clone to a bigger disk.  Thanks WZZZ.

via Apple – Support – Discussions – FileVault ….

Which online backup service is right for you? Storage.  Nice review and prices as well.  If you are thinking about cloud storage this might help you make your decision.

via luckyBackup – backup and sync utility.