Apple MacBook Pro: Upgrading OS X Snow Leopard 10.6 to El Capitan 10.11 with 2 Factor Authentication On

Wow, what an adventure.

We have a MacBook Pro 13" early 2009 laptop here in the shop that has been sitting idle for a while.

We installed a new SSD in the unit and bumped the RAM up to 8GB.

Then, on to installing a fresh copy of Snow Leopard 10.6 via the installer DVD.

We needed to use the Disk Utility in the installer to set up a partition prior to being allowed to install the OS.

Once in, we went through the updates process.

Then, on to upgrading OS X to El Capitan 10.11.

What a pain. Because we are on what is essentially an ancient OS version all of the apps were uncooperative due to the 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) that is enabled on our Apple ID.

Safari would not work with Apple's sites for authentication either due to SSL compatibility issues.

Searching meant using buckshot terms to try and figure out exactly what needed to be done to allow the upgrade to proceed in the App Store.

The long and short of it found here is to do the following:

1. Open Safari and navigate to this Apple Support page: How to upgrade to OS X El Capitan
2. Scroll down to Step 4 and click on the Get El Capitan link to bring up the App Store
3. Click the Get button in the store
4. On a trusted device such as an iPhone
1. Tap into Settings --> Your Name --> Password & Security
2. Tap on the Get Verification Code at the bottom of that page
5. On the MacBook Pro enter the Apple ID and the Password
1. YourAppleID@YourDomain.Com
2. YourAppleIDPassword123456
• 123456 = Verification Code

The verification code gets tagged on to the password at the end as above.

It's a monster weighing in at 6.21GB so a good fast connection should be used to download this one!

Philip Elder
Microsoft High Availability MVP
MPECS Inc.
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book
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Apple - The Land Of Massive Updates?!?

We just fired up our MacBook Pro to do some video editing for a DVD that will accompany a letter we will be mailing out to the CEO of a company this coming week.

This has to be a first . . . at least for us:

That OS X update at over 400MB is quite large for an Apple update. The combined total of the updates do approach 600MB.

In the Windows world, our most recent service packs have been quite large too, some weighing in at over 750MB!

So, it looks like Apple too has its hands full patching vulnerabilities in their products just as Microsoft and especially Adobe do.

There have been some good things going on over at Apple in the way of recent hires too. Perhaps the lessons learned by Microsoft and its Windows products being the 800 pound gorilla in the room have started to rub off as Apple has grown in its market share.

About 7 minutes later, our MacBook Pro was happily updated and rolling along:

Note that we swapped the default 160GB 5400RPM spindle out of our MacBook for an Intel 160GB X25-M Solid-State Drive a while back. It certainly makes for a much snappier Mac experience ... and moves those updates along quite quickly!

Philip Elder

MPECS Inc.

Microsoft Small Business Specialists

Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

MacBook Blogging written from Mars Edit

OS X: Mac Mail POP Stops Working

We had a call to look into why the built-in OS X mail client was no longer pulling e-mail into the inbox.

The 24” iMac was running OS X 10.5 (Leopard) with most of the recent updates.

The e-mail stopped flowing on July 9 at 16:45hrs (4:45PM).

Click on the gear near the bottom left corner of Mac Mail and then click on Get Account Info and the window that came up would connect to the POP3 server and list all e-mail on the server including any new e-mail not being retrieved.

Because the Account Info dialogue allowed us to connect and view content on the POP3 server, we knew that we were not dealing with an authentication or improper credentials problem.

A search for a solution to the problem took a few different keyword iterations before anything reasonably close came up:

• Tech-Recipes: OS X Mail: POP Suddenly Quits Working

Now, the above link deals with an e-mail that is malformed with a 0KB size that causes the stall.

In our case, the e-mail that was next in line, when sorted by date, had a 35KB size and was a broadcast self-addressed e-mail with a number of BCC addresses in it.

Somehow, that e-mail was causing the hang-up because as soon as it was deleted using the Remove From Server button in the Account Info window the user’s e-mail started to flow.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*All Mac on SBS posts will not be written on a Mac until we replace our now missing iMac! (previous blog post)

Windows Live Writer

Mac on SBS - OS X Leopard ... Soon

We haven't had time to work on getting the iMac back online with the SBS network lately so this post comes via one of our PCs.

However, there are only a few more days to OS X Leopard according to Apple's OS X Leopard site.

Our Canadian suppliers have Leopard SKUd up and show stock coming in with no ETA.

• OS X 10.5 Leopard Retail: MB021Z/A
• OS X 10.5 Leopard Retail - French: MB021F/A
• OS X 10.5 Leopard Retail Family Pack: MB022Z/A
• OS X 10.5 Leopard Retail Family Pack - French: MB022F/A

One of our Canadian suppliers shows over four thousand Leopard Retail packs on the way. So, we think they are expecting it to be quite popular! ;)

We just put an order in so we can upgrade our iMac when the time comes. So, we might as well wait before adding it to the SBS network to see if there are any significant Windows Networking differences between Tiger and Leopard. Time will tell...

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

Mac on SBS - Reloading OS X wireless keyboard/mouse caveat

The iMac is not configured on our network yet, so this post is coming via one of our Windows machines.

We replaced our iMac's original wired keyboard and mouse with Bluetooth versions not long ago.
When we reinstalled OS X today, which ultimately took over two hours on the iMac, there were a number of inputs that needed to happen.

Wireless would not work at that time either. So, we needed to dig up our wired keyboard and mouse to complete the install and post install tasks.

So, don't throw out that wired keyboard and mouse! Otherwise, there will be a mad scramble to the local store for a keyboard and mouse to complete the install of OS X.

Not sure if a non-Apple keyboard and/or mouse could be plugged in once the OS X install had already been started. They probably would if present from the start.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

Mac on SBS - The Command Line - FreeBSD/Darwin Style

Having some experience with FreeBSD and OpenBSD, albeit a limited amount, just came to a huge payoff.

Howz that?

The command line shell for OS X is bash. Bash is one of the UNIX shells of choice for many *NIX users that run anything from Apache Web servers, QMail or Sendmail e-mail servers, to Windows replacement desktops. It provides full Unix command line functionality and all that entails. And, that is a lot!

Also, OS X Darwin incorporates FreeBSD services along with a host of other powerful features. So, hopefully this means that I will be on somewhat familiar ground! :D

To access bash, open Finder (the face looking icon on the dashboard) and click on Applications. Scroll down to Utilities and you will find the Terminal.app.

To add the Terminal application to the dashboard, click and hold on it in the Finder list and drag it down to the position you want and release it there. A "shortcut" will be placed there. I am not sure what the official Mac name for the icon is.

A quick way about finding something in the Finder is to click up in the top right corner in the search field:


If you type Terminal there, the Terminal.app will come up right away. From there, one can click and drag the icon to the dashboard for subsequent quick access.

I think I can see where Microsoft got their inspiration for the Desktop Search system that is installable on Windows XP and comes native to Windows Vista based on this feature.

In Windows, the "shell" is the Windows Command Line Interpreter. We get to it in 2000 Pro, XP Pro/Home, or Vista by:

• Start-->Run-->CMD [Enter].

From there we have somewhere in the neighbourhood of 40 commands to work around with.

Microsoft: Windows Command-line reference A-Z.

While we can get quite proficient in the Windows Command Line Interpreter, utilizing a *NIX shell is another thing altogether.

The *NIX command structure is elegant simplicity at its finest. One can create a tapestry of commands that will complete an extremely complex series of tasks with the ability to script those tapestries ad infinitum.

*NIX scripting and management can be seen as an artform. And believe me, there are some pretty amazing *NIX artists out there.

I do believe that Microsoft has "seen the light" so to speak when it comes to the power of the *NIX command structure. Enter the Windows PowerShell. For those of us who manage networks, it is a whole new challenge to embrace or fear depending on your predisposition to the command line! ;)

Microsoft Windows PowerShell Site.

Back to OS X: while in the bash shell, there is a huge help manual (Man pages). It can be accessed by typing

• man command [Enter]

This will bring up the following about the command:

• NAME - A description of what the command will do
• SYNOPSIS - The various switches that can be applied to the command
• DESCRIPTION - A deeper description of the command's abilities, defaults, and more
• OPTIONS - Explanation of the use of the command's switches and the switches themselves.
• Keep in mind that there can be sub-switches to the switches and so on!

My first contact with the Man pages a number of years back and their indepth explanations and examples for the various commands blew me away. At that time, it was clear that Microsoft had a long way to go with their Windows Help files as they were completely anemic in comparison to the *BSD Man pages and now OS X Man pages.

Microsoft has come a long way with the Help files and tutorials available for their desktop products. The server products Help can be pretty tough to decipher at times though. Just try publishing a DNS server through ISA 2004/6 when reading the Help on the subject! That is where knowledge and experience of the product, as well as research via the Internet come in very handy.

Microsoft, it shouldn't have to be that way!

Some relevant links:

• FreeBSD site: UNIX Basics
• Apple: Based on UNIX
• MacDevCenter.com: Learning the Mac OS X Terminal: Part 1 (of 3)
• Apple Developer Connection: Mac OS X (Darwin) Manual Pages

This aspect of the Mac is definitely exciting and I am looking forward to brushing up on my *NIX skills! :D

Oh, and BTW, to exit out of the bash shell:

• exit [Enter]

A [Process Completed] will appear after the logout process has completed. One can close the Terminal window then.

The reason for the "*NIX" as opposed to typing UNIX: Linux and UNIX fall under the same OS umbrella to some degree. Both strains offer their own particular command line structures and shell capabilities with some shells like bash ported to run on pretty much any *NIX.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.