grawk Posted October 5, 2015 Report Posted October 5, 2015 Since I have an ensemble and a duet, I agree.
Torpedo Posted October 5, 2015 Report Posted October 5, 2015 Thanks for the reminder, Dan. I should check if there're FW drivers for my Mytek DSD before upgrading.
Hopstretch Posted October 5, 2015 Author Report Posted October 5, 2015 I have found bluetooth connections to be a little screwy under El Cap. Mouse, trackpad and keyboard are randomly dropping out. Never experienced before with this hardware.
HeadphoneAddict Posted October 23, 2015 Report Posted October 23, 2015 I updated my Retina MBP to OS X 10.10.5 and iTunes 12.3.1.23 last night, as I'm waiting to see how El Capitan works out with the bugs, and iTunes decided it didn't want to work anymore.  I'd get 100% CPU usage and constant spinning beachballs, to the point where I couldn't click on anything or scroll.Since I have backups, I wiped out my iTunes database and started fresh, and iTunes would work fine with just my online content showing (everything streams fine).  So then I imported my music back into iTunes, and that worked too (go to iTunes media folder in finder and drag it onto the open iTunes window).  The last step was to get my 1200 playlists back, which I use to separate MP3 versions of an album from ALAC versions, or group certain albums together for syncing. But, if I try to import my old playlists back into iTunes the trouble starts all over again.  I even went back to 2 and 3 week old backups of my iTunes database, and I simply cannot import my playlists back into iTunes without it running like it's mired in molasses.  I've lost 10 years of work fine tuning my playlists to quick and easy access.  The only other way to get my playlists back would be to turn on iTunes match to download the ones that my iMac uploaded.Normally I only run iTunes match/iCloud Library on the iMac with 6TB external iTunes drive, so that my full music library and playlists are available on all of the apple TV's.  Meanwhile, my MBP has a subset of my library to make it more manageable.  I actually use my rMBP most for listening to my favorite music. Anyway, to get my playlists back onto the rMBP I tried turning on iTunes Match/iCloud Library on the MBP.  Unfortunately that causes the same issue as importing my playlists back in via .xml file - crap.  I've lost faith in Apple to get things right everytime, which they used to be able to do because they have control over everything.  Apple's starting to really suck, and I really miss Steve Jobs.  This is why I am not updating the iMac from Yosemite and the older iTunes for a while, and why my son insists on staying with OS X 10.9.5 Mavericks, instead of Yosemite.  When it aint broke don't fix it, and I was happy just 24 hours ago till I allowed them to break it.
Pars Posted October 23, 2015 Report Posted October 23, 2015 (edited) I finally got around to upping the RAM in my 2012 Mac Mini 6,2 to 16G (Crucial had $10 off; I was just going to buy a single 8G stick and run 10G but it wasn't much more to go to 16G). My brother gave me a 250G Samsung 840 EVO SSD to put in it and wanted some recs as to how to go about doing this:Just replace the existing 1T HDD (250G is large enough for me as a single and only drive)?Use an OWC Data Doubler kit and put both drives in?Other? Edited October 23, 2015 by Pars
grawk Posted October 23, 2015 Report Posted October 23, 2015 If you don't need the extra space, I'd just swap out the hard drive for an ssd.  It will run cooler, use less power, and be more reliable. Plus, it will be faster. 1
Salt Peanuts Posted October 23, 2015 Report Posted October 23, 2015 What Dan said. Â I've used the Data Doubler in the past and it can be a pain at times.Also, I'd grab a USB3 enclosure for the stock hard drive.
MexicanDragon Posted October 23, 2015 Report Posted October 23, 2015 Buy a 1TB SSD in the configuration for a brand new, TOTL Mac Mini with i7 and 16GB RAM, and then get an 8TB external drive.People keep forgetting this is Head-Case. SMH.**BRENT**
ironbut Posted October 23, 2015 Report Posted October 23, 2015 What Dan said. Â I've used the Data Doubler in the past and it can be a pain at times.Also, I'd grab a USB3 enclosure for the stock hard drive.What issues did you have with the doubler? I've thought about putting one into my MBP. I use a mixed storage set up in my Mac Pro and it can be a pain to set up the first time (or two) but once that's done, it's very sweet!
Salt Peanuts Posted October 23, 2015 Report Posted October 23, 2015 (edited) What issues did you have with the doubler? I've thought about putting one into my MBP. I use a mixed storage set up in my Mac Pro and it can be a pain to set up the first time (or two) but once that's done, it's very sweet!Some models can be very fussy to setup if it doesn't a capacity to have multiple HDD/SSD as a stock option, this includes switching out an optical drive with a HDD or SSD. It also doesn't always play nice with an external optical drive if you switch one out (e.g., installing Windows via BootCamp may not work since BootCamp won't recognize an external drive). Oh, if you need to do a clean install of OS, it can potentially mean taking out the Data Doubler.YMMV, of course, depending on your Mac. Edited October 23, 2015 by Salt Peanuts
ironbut Posted October 24, 2015 Report Posted October 24, 2015 Thanks for the info.I'm not planning on doing anything right away but it's good to know!
Pars Posted October 24, 2015 Report Posted October 24, 2015 Yes, thanks for the info as well. I still kinda miss not having an optical drive, so I am leaning towards buying a Mac Mini format enclosure with an optical drive and the capacity to put another HDD (or more) in it as well.Any recs there would be appreciated as well.
Salt Peanuts Posted October 24, 2015 Report Posted October 24, 2015 Yes, thanks for the info as well. I still kinda miss not having an optical drive, so I am leaning towards buying a Mac Mini format enclosure with an optical drive and the capacity to put another HDD (or more) in it as well.Any recs there would be appreciated as well.It's not cheap, but maybe one of these?http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ministack_max
HeadphoneAddict Posted October 25, 2015 Report Posted October 25, 2015 That never actually happened.It seemed like just a few years ago that things seemed to work pretty well, stable, and seamless - compared to now.
Pars Posted October 25, 2015 Report Posted October 25, 2015 Thanks for the rec; I had looked at the mini stack enclosures and thought about going that way, but yeah they are expensive.I went to Fry's yesterday and bought a WD Black 1TB 3.5" for $60 for backup; my previous WD Green 2T crapped out. Nice of it I bought a Sabrent EC-3US25 USB3 enclosure there but I need to return it. It mounts then disappears. The USB connector is flaky.Any recs on USB3 2.5" drive enclosures that you like? I was thinking maybe a Patriot Gauntlet 2 or 3, or possibly a SIIG (of the ones that Frys carries).
Salt Peanuts Posted October 25, 2015 Report Posted October 25, 2015 Only USB3 "enclosure" I have is a StarTech dual-dock one, which works well but it isn't actually an enclosure. I've used few OWC enclosures for both 3.5 and 2.5 drives in the past and have had no problems with them, but no experience with their USB3 versions.
Pars Posted October 25, 2015 Report Posted October 25, 2015 The OWC enclosures look nice but are expensive (~$60) vs. competitors. I guess if they actually work...They seem to have discontinued the USB-only ones in favor of combined USB/800 FW or USB/eSata (+$$). StarTech seems to have some decently reviewed offerings; might try one.
ironbut Posted October 25, 2015 Report Posted October 25, 2015 I use a Plugable USB3 dock for back up only. Nice since I have 5 HD's I back up regularly.I have an OWC Mercury Elite 3.5" that I usually use with firewire 800. I use it with a variety of adapters and carry it into studios etc. . It's very solid and the way I use it, the speed difference isn't that important. It's pretty easy to replace the HD in it too.
Hopstretch Posted October 29, 2015 Author Report Posted October 29, 2015 Hey, I got my @mac.com email address back in the latest El Cap update, as mysteriously as it had disappeared from the server list.Thanks Obama Apple! 1
Torpedo Posted November 2, 2015 Report Posted November 2, 2015 I have this mid 2010 MBP which I upgraded with more RAM, a SSD and a HDD replacing the optical drive. It works great and handles most of my computer needs. A few weeks ago it started to display a warning on the battery icon, saying the battery needs "repair". I've noticed that the trackpad is going increasingly harder to push, so I did some research and it seems that a bulky battery may produce that effect on the trackpad.I guess I should replace the battery because after 5 years I don't think the battery could be repaired by Apple. There are budget batteries in Amazon at about 60 euros, but they don't receive good reviews, some for short power delivery times after a few charging cycles, others for being too thick for the computer. Then at iFixit they have what they say is an OEM Apple battery at almost 100 euros. I have a couple of questions: Do you guys have any experience with iFixit products, are they reliable and worth the price plus? I've opened my laptop a few times, it clearly says "don't mess with the battery!!!" (or the like) Would I lose some information or damage the computer in any way by replacing the battery with a new one?
ironbut Posted November 2, 2015 Report Posted November 2, 2015 I'm not sure if they ship internationally, but I trust Other World Computing for stuff like this. Their advice has always been spot on and you can order through Amazon.One of the main things I like about them is the site has specific threads you follow for the exact model you have. Always be sure to order according to the model listed in System Profile.Even if you don't buy from them, their instruction videos are foolproof.http://www.macsales.com/Â 1
Sherwood Posted November 2, 2015 Report Posted November 2, 2015 You have received excellent advice, and batteries are not fungible components.  OWC and iFixit are the ne plus ultra in this category, especially because of the wonderful videos they produce, which show your specific machine and the parts they sent you being installed in it. There are not many things in this world on which I may speak with authority, but I was an Apple genius and repaired Apple devices 9-5 for months.  iFixit and OWC have parts equivalent or identical to Apple's own replacement parts, and I would occasionally watch their videos at work if I hadn't done a particular repair in a while.  We had them bookmarked in the Genius Bar. 1
grawk Posted November 2, 2015 Report Posted November 2, 2015 I'd check with apple about the battery tho, too. Â They're pretty good about replacing bulging batteries and they're pretty reasonable for repairs like that, as well. 1
Torpedo Posted November 2, 2015 Report Posted November 2, 2015 Thank you very much for the advice, guys, you're the best  I haven't checked directly with Apple, but I read somewhere that their cost for replacing a battery is around 300 euros, although they take care of the old one for recycling.I think I'm going to order it from iFixit since they have a store in Europe. I also like their tools sets, I'm probably getting one of those too. This is the HC yet
Sherwood Posted November 3, 2015 Report Posted November 3, 2015 The tool set can all be bought separately... but I bought a set and I love it. Â Mine came from a Radio Shack that was going out of business, and I would happily buy another. Â Good tools.
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