Accept Apps To Update - MAC

Have you recently had a error message pop up that says "To Update this app, you need to accept it on the Account page in the App store", only to see no accept button when you sign into your Apple ID account to update apps on your MAC? Well you have come to the right spot. Your friendly neighborhood IT has found a solution that will help fix the issue. Here is the rundown...
***This is a workaround and may not apply in later OSX updates or new operating systems that Apple pushes out***

1. Go to the app store account page and make sure you are signed in
2. Click on the Launchpad icon on your MAC and find the apps that need the update
3. Click and hold the app until it wobbles....like it does on your iPad or iPhone when deleting apps
4. Click the X by the app to delete it
5. Do this for all of the apps that need an update
6. Close Launchpad
7. Wait about a minute or two then click the update/cloud download icon for the app in the app store

That is it....you are done and your good to go. Credit for this solution goes to r.w.b from a discussion thread on the Apple site. The thread for this can be found at the following link...
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250312720

Broken Headphone Jack - Apple Mobile Devices

Recently your friendly neighborhood IT department experience something very odd but somewhat of a brain teaser.

The Brain Teaser:
During an installation of a sound bar for computer monitor we were testing out the device so we plugged the 1/8" stereo port into a iPad mini for testing the sound.  When we pulled the cable out the end broke off and the tip of the headphone port was still in the iPad mini.  So at this point the very tip of the stereo cable was about deep in the headphone port of the device.  The device thought the cable was still connected to adjusting the volume of the device made it adjust the volume of the headphones not the speakers on the device.

Testing The Solutions
After looking on the Apple community site and various other sites about the different tricks people used we started to think how that would work for this situation and started to try them.  We tried taking some long needle nose pliers and that wouldn't grip the tip at all.  We tried drilling a small hole in the top of the tip, as one site suggested, to get it out like you would a stripped screw.  That idea failed because all we were doing is spinning the tip itself.  We came across a site that suggested taking a Q-tip, cutting it in the middle, putting super glue on the white stem part, and sticking it on the tip to make it come out.  This idea was considered to be the best solution for us at that point.......until we found something much easier.

The Solution - Fast, Easy, no Mess
After a few other searches we came across a website that had just about the most simplest and easiest solution.  This site suggested taking a existing headphone cable, taking some pliers, pulling the end off, and using it to put in the port so it can clamp on the end of it and pull it out.  That got us thinking of using the broken speaker jack itself.  We tried it and sure enough it worked.  No glue, no extra gear, and no extra time.  Just simple, fast, and no mess.For the website that can give you the complete rundown on this idea, and who we have to give credit to for thinking up this idea, just click here.

ERROR 7 (Windows error 126) - iTunes 11.1.4

Recently Apple released a update for its iTunes software for Windows computers.  This update release is version 11.1.4.  With previous iTunes updates the update has installed smoothly via the apple software update utility.  This recent update has had some issues working with the .NET updates that were installed by Windows updates.  As a result, when you try to install the iTunes update you may get a "ERROR 7 (Windows error 126)" pop up message.

Before you go downloading all the .NET updates you can and try messing with the registry, your friendly neighborhood IT department has tried a simple solution that will fix the issue.  Close out of iTunes and do the following in the correct order listed below

1. Click on Start and go to Control Panel
2. Click on Programs and then click on Uninstall Programs
3. Find the iTunes program, right mouse click, and choose Uninstall
4. After iTunes uninstalls follow the same steps in number 3 but uninstall Apple Software Update
5. Next uninstall Apple Mobile Device Support
   ***If you get a error here saying something like "a fatal error has occurred", just click cancel or abort and skip this program.***
6. Once that finished uninstall Bonjour
7. After that uninstalls, uninstall Apple Application Support
8. Once all of those programs uninstall, reboot computer
9. Now go to www.itunes.com ,click Download iTunes, and then click Save or Save As
10. Now find where that iTunes.exe is located at and right click on it and choose Run as Administrator
11. After iTunes installs, you should be good to go

As always if you need a more detailed rundown of this process or what exactly causes this error, then just click here.

Hyperlinks Showing - Office 2007 & Office 2013

With the various updates that are coming out for Office 2007 and the new Office 2013 / Office 365 some features and settings may be changed by default.  There are just too many to layout in this blog post but your friendly neighborhood IT department wants to break down one setting........hyperlinks.  You may have installed Office 2013 but when you type a hyperlink, like www.bing.com in Word or Outlook it displays as this {HYPERLINK http://www.bing.com/}>.  This is a result of a "field code" setting that Office has on by default.  To get that fixed open Word 2013 and click the following:

1. Click on File
2. Click on Options
3. In the new window that pops up click Advanced on the left hand side
4. On the right hand side of that screen scroll down to where it says "Show field codes instead of their values."
5. Make sure that check box is unchecked
6. Once it is unchecked click the Ok box, close out of the pop up window, and that's it.

For a complete rundown and more info on this setting, you can click the following link........here.

HP Laserjet M1536dnf - "Redial Pending" Error

With more and more mobile devices like iPhones and Droids being used in the workplace today, the demand on printers that can "talk" to these devices and print their files is in high demand.  With more printers being produced the need to fix errors on them becomes a factor when your office decides to buy one.  One of these errors is a "Redial Pending" error that appears sometimes on a HP LaserJet M1536dnf MFP model printer.  This error appears when something gets jammed up or some configuration gets messed up while trying to work the fax option of this printer.

To save hours of trying to get it to work all you need to do is the following steps:

1. Turn the printer off
2. Press and hold the "3" and "6" on the keypad and press the power button
3. When the printer comes on depress the 3 and 6 numbers
4. Wait for the printer to boot all the way up and you will be ready to print to it

OSX 10.7 & 10.8 - Windows 7 Shared Printer

With the introduction of OSX 10.7 (Lion) and OSX 10.8 (Mountain Lion) on Apple computers it changed the way they connect to Windows 7 shared printers.  Up until OSX 10.7 (Lion), Apple computers used Line Printer Daemon/Line Printer Remote Protocol (LPD/LPR Host or Printer) to connect to shared printers on a Windows 7 machine.  When Apple relased OSX 10.7 they started to use the SMB (Server Message Block) protocol since that is what Windows uses to allow systems on same network to share files.  Now since OSX 10.8 has came out Apple has updated and enhanced the SMB protocol to make it standard for most printers connected to it.  Make sure your Windows 7 printer is on and shared then do the following:

1. On the MAC computer / laptop open the "Print & Fax" area via the "System Preferences" section
2. Click the "+" sign on the bottom left hand side to add the printer
3. In the window that opens up, click the "Advanced" button located near the top on the right hand side (If you do not see the "Advanced" button then right-click anyplace on the toolbar and then select "Customize Toolbar" then you can add the Advanced button it)
4. Select the "Windows printer via spoolss" in the "Type" drop down field list
5. In the "URL" section, put your cursor after the "//", and type the name of the Windows 7 machine followed by the printer shared name. An example of this is in the following: Windows7ComputerName/PrinterShareName11. Select the approate driver for the Windows printer you want to connect
6. Click "Add" and you should be good to go
7. Do a test print to bring up the box that asks for a username & password for the printer
8. Put in the username & password of the Windows 7 user in the boxes
9. Click "Ok" and the test page should print on the printer, as long as the Windows 7 computer is turned on

Most printers shared from a Windows 7 machine will connect via the SMB protcol.  For more information on this please contact your local IT department.

Reset Apple Wireless Keyboard

As more and more Apple mobile devices are hitting the market they all have several common factors.  One common factor is that they all have bluetooth installed on them.  As a result the demand to install, or pair, a wireless keyboard to the mobile device has increased.  With a wireless keyboard increase many people are buying and selling at a tremendous rate.  Every once in a while you may get a keyboard, either from a friend or a seller, that is still paired with another Apple device.  The following is a rundown of how to manually reset a Apple wireless keyboard so you can connect it, or pair it, with your Apple MAC computer.  Each mobile device has a little different procedure but they all will connect a keyboard via the "Bluetooth" section of the Settings area.  Make sure you have charged batteries in the keyboard and do the following:

1. Make sure keyboard is off - (Just take batteries out then put back in if keyboard is on)
2. Navigate to the "Bluetooth" section of the MAC computer
3. Click the + symbol in the bottom left hand corner
4. The Bluetooth Set Up Assistance window will come up and start searching
5. Turn on the keyboard by pushing the button on the side of it, BUT HOLD THE BUTTON IN. DO NOT LET IT GO!
6. The Set Up Assistance will find your keyboard
7. Click on the Name of the Keyboard and click on "Continue Again", while still holding the power button down on keyboard
8. Type the "Paring Code" that you see on the screen
9. Take your finger off the keyboard power button
10. Your keyboard should be connected to your device and good to go

For more information about this process, you may click here.