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OSX El Captain disaster letter from customer

Posted on by Posted in Apple Mac News, iMac, Mac, Mac Pro, MacBook, Service, Software, The Future

Hi UDS,

Yesterday, after several months hesitation, I went to Upgrade from OSX 10.9.5 to the El Capitan OSX 10.11.3

Basically, it’s been one disaster after another. I’ve had several Apple Support ‘Chat’ assistants, several on-phone Tech Assistants via Screen Sharing etc, and each time I deal with them, either in Chat or direct via phone, one or another issue keeps happening.

I’ve spent all of yesterday, from about 11am to 9pm, going through support / d’load updates etc, and again from 9am – 7:30pm today.

It appears that the OSX has been corrupted (they say) or some such.
Although it does say it’s installed in ‘About This Mac’ and I am able to setup my Dock and other settings, there is a problem with the settings not saving properly.

Although it’s not the only issue, one of the most basic of these is that I use a Trackpad, but when I go in and choose the functions I want in Trackpad settings, and then exit it, those settings are not applied. At least 3 or 4 Apple people have looked at this on Chat and phone, but it’s still not saving.

The problem is that I don’t even know whether or not this means that other functions aren’t working correctly.

I’ve just got off the phone for the 4th or 5th time today, and the guy was saying that I’ll need to do a complete ‘Clean Install’ and that I need to take it to an Apple shop. I said that if I was to do that, I’d expect it to be fixed at no charge, as the issues only happened due to the OSX upgrade. He said this wouldn’t happen. That I’d be charged for it.

Before this OSX upgrade, my entire system was working fine. I have it setup for music production, and have many pro software suites from Native Instruments, Akai, Logic Pro etc etc installed on it. I’d been monitoring other peoples issues with El Capitan on various music software User Forums, and didn’t upgrade until I saw that others were happy with the upgrade.

When I initiated the OSX upgrade / d’load, I was given no warning that I’d need to do a Time Machine backup, which apparently is needed for a ‘clean install’ or even for me to back grade to OSX 10.9.5. (I was perfectly happy with it btw)

I see no point in contacting Ape support again. Most of them have been as helpful as they can, but none have resolved the overall issues.
I am at a brick wall with this, and am talked dry with Apple support.

I need to get it back up and running asap, as I have work to do with it. I’d appreciate your advice.
Could we please get in touch as soon as possible, and discuss my options, with a view to me dropping in to your shop.

Cheers,

 

Dear Mac User,

 

This problem was solved by running a maintenance application that did a permissions fix, yes that simple but because Apple has seen it fit to remove permission fix from Disk utility even their Geniuses* couldn’t fix it. I call shenanigans on whoever decision to remove permission fix.

El Crapitan is the way it is being described by other users on the internet for many reasons, your not alone.

The press like most of the modern media are a bunch of gutless, spineless creeps the haven’t a clue as to what users need or want or the means to test the OS thoroughly and like most politicians have some sort of conflicting monetary issue with the truth. So all the reviews I have seen are glowing because all they use the machine for is Word Prosessing but if you look into the comments you find the real truth.

Here is the truth from a Professional Photographer Loyd Chambers http://macperformanceguide.com/AppleCoreRot-intro.html and everything he knows about photography here http://diglloyd.com/index-free.html an his serving of AppleCoreRot.

With increased security in 10.11 called SIP’s it is slower to boot (although this is now harder to confirm because you only get a progress bar on startup and not a winding clock like icon that you could count the cycles) and has been a headache for UDS from the start.
It has been one of the first OSX updates to actually either not install or complete make a machine freeze on boot up so I can say I am not surprised and I have been in touch with Apple dev support which don’t have a number to call and did very little to help. Lights ON but know one home just like other IT companies you may know.
El Capitain truths:
1. There is certain 3rd party software that will not work with 10.11 and can be located in folders as rare as System/Library/Extensions
2. There is no significant gain on older machines that I can see and if you don’t already own a Solid State Drive things are going to be very slow.
3. Users out there have refrained from updating more so than any other previous update see recent articles at MacDailyNews
4. You pay peanuts and you get as you say Ape support (not sure if that was a typo or a Freudian slip)
5. The download of OSX is so slow it took UDS over 12 hours and many resumes to download a recent system upgrade 10.10 for a client on 20mbit cable account and this slowness alone is causing corruptions in the installer just as bad or if not worse than the day of the CD-rom with disk scratches or drives not working
6. Apple also put in so many more bridges because people out there are trying to install OSX on Pc’s (hackintosh) that these become obstacles for genuine users. So software like Diskmaker X that allows you to create USB installers are now failing to work.
7. Apples choice of overly expensive Retina screens, PCI-E flash cards 3x the price of SSD and on top of that the Aussie dollar is making the Mac unaffordable, making you think your on the cutting edge of technology but many finding themselves on the bleeding edge of technology.
So the question I must ask, why did you upgrade?
Sounds familiar the system has updated some aspect of your system, trackpad, but not others, your stuck between 2 systems with a user home folder permissions not working.
For you the problem is you did not download Yosemite when it was available because 3 months after El Captain or the new OSX arrived Apple deletes the last OSX out of the Apple store which is just another measure to ensure Hackintosh users don’t download the software. This would have been a far better choice but Apple did not give you this choice.
One of the biggest and most idiotic things I have ever seen in an OSX release is to get rid of permission fix which is one of the problems your having right now.
Which car manufacturer would decide too: in the name of minimalism take out the spare tyre/jack (Permission Fix) rip out the brake light (Active S.M.A.R.T for hard drives or SSD’s), not have a dashboard (red/Write to HD, CPU %, Memory Usage, Rx Tx of internet) and change the configuration of the gears first gear not being Top Left for first gear for right hand drive (change the direction a mouse wheel scrolls) ??? Most of these things can be fixed but you need professional support not ToysRus.
I have the tools to correct this issue as I have seen and dealt with it before on 10.11.

Unique Design Systems Pty. Ltd.
Oakleigh, Victoria   3166
Melbourne, Australia
Technical Support Services
www.uds-online.com

Phone: +613 9569 6426

El Capitan 10.11.1 update can stop your SSD from Booting

Posted on by Posted in Apple Mac News, Software

Customers cannot boot after install 10.11.1 update

Non of the magic fixes listed on forums so far have helped with booting 10.11.1 on a Samsung 850 EVO 500gb or 250gb 1TB Solid State Drives. Only taking it back to 10.11 or cloning onto a Hard Drive solved the boot issue. This was on iMacs and MacBooks a Mac Mini managed to boot but Applications quit and lagged, failed and became unusable.

I cant believe Apple engineers have not tried replicating this but it was always going to end up with a problem like this because Apple Developers short-sightedness and Apples need to push the latest “Bleeding Edge Update to OSX” and not allow clients to choose a safer previous update has created this trap.

Apple will be very busy at the moment because 10.11 from what is being said in the forums is very disappointing, from simple extensions now stopping the OS from booting (a first in OSX history), too applications that don’t work or seem to be slower than normal.
Part of the problem is due to new Apple-enforced code signature restrictions, making lots of applications not compatible with the OS X 10.11.
Although the restriction is similar, this is not directly related to 10.11’s “System Integrity Protection” (SIP, aka “rootless”)
feature and disabling SIP has no effect. Unless Apple makes the signature restriction optional, it is not clear that some apps in their present form can ever be
made compatible with OS X 10.11.
Also with the latest lag in broadband in Australia because of Netflix being oversold and issues with Apple update servers it has come to my attention that some larger downloads are corrupting.
We can offer you any OSX 10.6 10.7 10.8 10.9 10.10 and 10.11 on a USB drive so you can install without waiting an hour + for download

Apple add support for SSD drives

Posted on by Posted in Software

Some four years after adding TRIM support for first-party solid state drives to OS X, Apple incorporated the command for aftermarket drives as part of Tuesday’s OS X 10.10.4 update.

The new capability allows users to enable TRIM functionality on third-party SSDs without resorting to unsanctioned workarounds or software. Prior to the change, Apple only supported TRIM on original Mac SSDs.

Enabling TRIM for non-OEM drives requires the trimforce command be entered into Terminal, specifically, sudo trimforce enable. The system throws up a message warning users of potential incompatibility with certain SSDs before performing a reboot operation.

Part of the ATA standard, TRIM helps optimize garbage data handling in SSDs by earmarking files no longer in use for permanent deletion. Unlike conventional spinning hard drives, SSDs perform erase operations before writing new files, meaning multiple erase/write operations could create a backlog of garbage bits that gradually slow the system down.

More Info From Appleinsider

Why is my Mac running slow

Posted on by Posted in Apple Mac News, Hardware, iMac, Mac Pro, MacBook, Service, Software

Has your Macintosh started to run slow!!

More and more now we find that off the street Apple Mac’s where the internal hard drive is running very slowly may be because a Fail-Safe guard called S.M.A.R.T has been triggered and your beloved Hard Drive is about to fail.

This problem can be very easily tested with this software FREE and will tell you if your drive is failing (only works with 10.5 onwards) and checks the onboard chip on your hard drive. We use this application to check the health of all the reconditioned and second hand older machines we sell.

Smart Utility

FREE https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/24875/smart-utility

Why does it go slow?
When your drive has a number of errors, SMART kicks in then slows the hard drive. This gives you longer to backup and recover all your files before the drive stops dead.

Surprising but there is no support for “SMART” warnings or issue reporting in the current Mavericks Operating System 10.9. and if it did it would most likely only work with Apple original drives. A bit like not having a low-oil-light in your car, your not going to need it most of the time, but when you do, its is going to be critical.

What some users will do to fix the problem
There is a promise from a persistently advertised software product called “Mackeeper”. Many users BUY this software to fix a computer problem because of claims it will “Speed up their Mac”. There are 2 things that this application will also do that may just cause more problems:

1. high disk activity as is scans all files for viruses that don’t work on Macs. Not good if your drive is failing!!
2. Memory and processor intensive

The other things this application does like a “cache cleaning” can be searched and downloaded from here: http://www.macupdate.com. I use and recommend Onyx

Connecting your Mac to a faster Drive
One of the great advances in storage SSD or Flash drives is what makes the slickness of the Macbook Air work so much faster. You can add a SSD to any Macintosh but UDS is the only company that can make sure that you get the right software keep you drive optimised but also last longer. Larger cheaper drive are now on there way from companies like Samsung.

Backup, Restore and Recovery experts

more

Apple Releases new OS Mavericks For Free

Posted on by Posted in Apple Mac News, Mac, Software

We want all Mac users to experience the latest features, the most advanced technologies, and the strongest security. And now they can. Because the newest version of OS X is free. It’s a simple download from the Mac App Store, so it couldn’t be easier to get. OS X Mavericks is another major leap forward for the Mac — and for everyone who uses it.

IceTV wins High Court decision – freezes Nine!

Posted on by Posted in Apple Mac News, Media Center, Service, Software, Uncategorized

The High Court of Australia has today ruled in favour of IceTV in what has been an epic three year legal battle with the Nine Network.

 

 

Six months after the appeal was heard by the High Court and 3 years since the case originally began the High Court has today in Canberra, allowed IceTV’s appeal from the decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court. A comment as to the High Court findings will follow shortly.

In an official statement made immediately following today’s judgment, IceTV’s Chairmanand major investor, Mr. Colin O’Brien said the following;

“I would like to thank all our shareholders, our staff, our customers and our business partners. Without their support during the last three years IceTV would not have survived. IceTV now looks forward to a successful future bringing both Free-To-Air TV and content via various partners to viewers in a way that satisfies viewer demand, whilst embracing the future of digital Free-To-Air television in Australia.”

Since it’s incorporation in 2005 IceTV has had one aim: To give TV viewers the freedom to record and manage their TV shows as they choose. To record what they want, skip what they want and watch it at a time that suits them. No longer do viewers have to watch their chosen shows when the Networks tell them or to watch content they would rather skip through. IceTV gives them this choice.

This win today is also a win for our many subscribers who enjoy the benefits of simpler, smarter TV viewing.

IceTV’s General Manager, Mr. Matt Kossatz made the following comment after the High Court’s decision;

“Today’s decision is the news that we (IceTV), our staff and our loyal users have waited 3 long years and worked very hard for. With everything happening with digital television in Australia at the moment, the timing is ripe and almost worth the wait. We are seeing more and more content coming to both free-to-air TV and via the web and as an independent company (not a TV Network), we will always have the ability to put the interest’s of the consumer first in terms of features we offer”.