Selective restore to another user's iMac on OSX 10.10.5 Yosemite (early 2017)

Rather than restoring an entire set of files settings and apps, the Migrate Wizard can be used to import part of your Time Machine content.


If you accidentally click through too fast on the Migrate Wizard steps, and choose to restore everything, fear not.
The new user you have created in the Migrate process will have all the files settings etc from which you can choose. (If you started the Migrate process from the Guest account, it still creates the new user over the top of the Guest account (huh?) - so that is one to watch out for.

But how do you access the files of the new user? Login as the newly created account I hear you say. Yes, but what if the password for that old restored account is long lost?!?!


Using sudo chmod -R 777 in the terminal is a bit scary, so an easier way is to navigate to the folder of the new user. (Log back in to your own user).

The simplest method is to drag the folder with a red no entry sign pops up this authorisation dialog

which appears to do the trick!

I wasn't sure if this method allowed all the sub folders to be copied.. 

So I also tried a slightly longer-winded way of changing the permissions:

From the folder in question, choose Get Info.

From there the trick is to unlock the padlock (bottom right)

And then ADD your account as a Full read & right permission using the + and the Privilege spinner

With that done, the drag an drop copy still prompts for authorisation, but appears to recursively copy everything.

So far so good.

Fresh Windows7 installs failing to update?

Follow these instructions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFfc22x3I_s

Takeaways:

Get the two manual updates, but STOP the windows update service BEFORE you install them.
Restart in between.
Then let Windows update continue as normal. - Give it time.

Good luck

Windows 10 not shutting down? Disable fast startup - here's how

Despite the myriad slew of suggestions tweaking power settings, even delving into the BIOS - simply disable Fast startup - it's worked for me 6 of 6 times!

Job done

How to get your email addresses out of your nk2 file and into a newer version of Outlook

Scenario
An older version of Outlook where te user has an extensive list of frequently used email addresses built up over the years. The user has not managed these by putting them in the address book - as they should have been doing. (IF they had, these would be easy to export and re-import into the new program).

User really wants to just be able to start typing an email address and be prompted with the resulting list of familiar choices they are familiar with!


Title says it all really - my scenario was Outlook2007 to Outlook 2016.


Step 1
Use NIRSOFT's nk2 extractor (its safe) to export all the addresses.

If you try to import the exported csv into the new Outlook and are met with a grayed out box, I'm assuming its because your new destination email account is an IMAP account, and so cannot does not have a contacts "container" like Outlook the app does...

So instead:
from within the app, select all the found addresses, copy and paste into excel.

Step 2
From excel reduce it down to just the email address column (there are way too many columns)

Step 3
Copy and paste this list into an Outlook email compose area
LET OUTLOOK RESOLVE (or force it to resolve with cntrl-k).
You may discard this email - so you don't need to spam your entire address book to do this :)

DONE - as these addresses are now in the new Outlook nickname file b ;)
(They are STILL not in the address book) - but who cares!?

It's a pleasure

How to format a USB drive to EXT4 - so that it reliably writes more than once from a Readynas 

Get these tools:
to create an ext4 partition
http://download.cnet.com/MiniTool-Partition-Wizard-Home-Edition
(freeware)
to be able to read it on Windows
http://www.paragon-software.com/registration/extfs-windows.html
(requires registration)
Paragon can be loaded just as required (don't integrate unless needed.
No reboot was required to install these two and use them on Win7 Pro :)

(or use http://www.diskinternals.com/linux-reader/
or
http://sourceforge.net/projects/ext2read/files/latest/download
neither of which I have tried)

To Brother or not to Brother?

I'll have to say this in not so many words - buy a reputable brand.

As a dealer/reseller, I may not make as much markup - but I least I don't have come-backs such as we have had with a few other newer brands - ones more normally associated with phones and TVs than printers!

See this interesting discussion on why HP hasn't cornered the copier/MFP article:
http://blog.marketpoint.com/2012/07/22/is-it-a-printer-that-copies-or-a-copier-that-prints-how-the-convergence-of-copyprintfaxscan-has-blurred-the-lines-2/

Sometimes, you just have to get the paper out, no further fixing required - even if it was a 40 minute drive to site!

One droplet of oil..

Taking the lead from a great post : http://blog.marketpoint.com/2013/01/23/hp-color-laserjet-5500-51-2-error-on-the-display/ , and with nothing to loose, as I had already disassembled the printer down to the scanner, I decided to try a wee drop of oil... (The motor that spins up the laser scanner, had almost seized up and was screaming as the printer initialized). A light clean and oil and it was fixed :)

Here is the offending scanner. There was no documentation or labelling as to which was the Cyan scanner, but the the lowest toner in the set was Cyan, so an educated guess turned out to be correct   :)
In addition, to double check that error 52.1C was in fact the scanner (and not the DC controller as the manual suggested it could be), I simply swapped the two leads to the DC controller, and sure enough the error changed to 52.1Y - the yellow scanner was the next level up.
(I didn't need to put any covers back on to run this test, just the fuser needed reinstalling, and the front door reed switch needed to be held in.)

The customer was, needles to say rather pleased at this outcome - especially as I had some years ago ordered this very part for the same error, but the issue resolved itself so we didn't actually need to change the part till now, nearly four years later!.
And when it came to replacing it, somehow I didn't have the correct part :( Luckily a drop of oil and some perseverance was all that was required.

So now I have for sale a brand new laser scanner part number C2037-69008 as pictured: