To solve, follow these steps:
1. Open up a command prompt (run cmd.exe from the Start Menu).
2. Navigate to the folder that the object resides in.
3. Run “dir /a /x /p” to display the contents of the folder, including hidden files (/a) and 8.3 filenames (/x).
4. Find the 8.3 filename of the object to the left of the regular, long filename.
5. Run “ren <8.3 name>” to rename the object, “del <8.3 name>” to delete it if it’s a file and “rd /s <8.3 name>” to delete it if it’s a folder.

Note: If renaming to a long filename, make sure to enclose the long filename in quotations. If that fails, temporarily rename it to an 8.3 name and then rename it to what you want outside of the command prompt.

Symptoms

After updating to Mac OS X v10.5.7 or 10.5.8, you may be prompted to enter the name and password of a user in the lpadmin group when changing a printer setting or printer control.

After retyping your password very carefully at least twice to make sure you just didn’t mistype it, you’ll need to find your Mac OS X install DVD, insert it into your Mac and restart holding down the C button. After selecting your language of choice, in the menubar, select Utilities > Reset Password. Follow the directions to reset your password.

I can’t eject my CD or DVD or it won’t come out when I press Eject

Holding down the eject button for several seconds should work,  if not, then restart your Mac and hold down the primary button on your mouse–the trackpad button will work as well if you’re on a MacBook–and during startup the disk should eject.

My Mac is not recognizing devices plugged in to one of my USB ports

First, make sure your Mac’s firmware is up to date, run Software Update under the Apple menu and install any firmware updates you find for your machine. If nothing happens, turn off your Mac, unplug the power cable, disconnect all peripherals, and let it sit for five minutes. Plug it back in, reconnect the keyboard and mouse, turn it back on, and try the USB ports again.

If they’re still unresponsive, you will need to reset the PRAM (parameter RAM) and NVRAM (nonvolatile RAM), which stores some system and device settings that your Mac accesses on startup. Shut your Mac down. Then position your fingers above the Command, Option, P, and R keys on your keyboard. Turn the Mac on, then immediately press and hold those four keys before you see the gray screen. Keep them pressed until the Mac restarts again and you hear the startup chime for the second time. Then let ’em go. When your Mac is finished starting up, check your USB devices.

If they’re still not unresponsive, there’s one more thing you can try before making a Genius Bar appointment: resetting the SMC, or system management controller. Directions for resetting the SMC on your MacBook Pro are found at support.apple.com/kb/HT1411. Instructions for all other Macs are linked from support.apple.com/kb/HT1894.

Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance

1. Start from your Mac OS X Install DVD that came with your system or a current version of Mac OS X DVD: Insert the installation disc, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
   Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
5. Select your Mac OS X volume. (In left column, typically called “Macintosh HD”)
6. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk.
7. Also run “Repair Permissions”
8. Quit and Restart

Spotlight search results have stopped working

Try re-indexing your whole hard drive by going into the Spotlight System Preference, clicking on the Privacy tab, then dragging your hard drive into the list. Wait a moment, and then remove your hard drive from the list again.

I use a webmail client to check email, but every time I click on an email link, it launches Apple Mail instead.

You can set up Apple Mail to access your webmail account using IMAP or POP (check with your webmail provider for instructions on how to do this; some charge a fee for this service), or you can install a free program called Webmailer, which lets you set any webmail site as your default email program.

If you use Gmail, you have a few additional choices: You can install Google Notifier (free, toolbar.google.com/gmail-helper) and set that to your default email client in Mail’s preferences. Or you can use the outstanding Mailplane ($25, www.mailplaneapp.com), which provides many more features than the Gmail website.

I can receive but not send email messages

Outgoing email messages are typically sent over the Internet using TCP port numbers 25, 465, or 587. However, in an effort to reduce spam, some ISPs and firewalls are set up to severely restrict the use of those ports. For example, AT&T is notorious for blocking port 25 for its DSL customers, unless you’re sending email with the AT&T email address assigned to your DSL modem. If you’re using AT&T (or another service provider that has similar restrictions), call the technical support number and request that they unblock port 25 for you. If you don’t control the Internet access where you are located, contact your email host to see if they have an alternate port that you can send email on. You can specify alternate port numbers in your email app’s account settings. If all else fails, you should be able to send email through your webmail system until you can physically get yourself to a different location that has no restrictions.

Whenever I address an outgoing email, I get unwanted email addresses for people who aren’t in my address book

Most email clients keep track of addresses that you’ve emailed to in the past and will suggest those addresses to you in the future when you start to type the same characters. You can turn off this feature in Entourage and Thunderbird by going into their preferences. In Entourage, this is found on the Compose tab. In Thunderbird, this is on the Composition > Addressing tab. You can’t turn off this feature in Mail, but you can clear the list from time-to-time by selecting Window > Previous Recipients, selecting the names and clicking Remove from List.

I have multiple folders entitled Drafts, Sent, Junk, or Trash for my IMAP email account

Setting up an IMAP account can be a little tricky. After typing your valid account settings into your email program, there are two additional steps:

First, you’ll need to set the proper IMAP path prefix (sometimes called the “root folder” or IMAP server directory) in your account settings. For example, Gmail’s IMAP Path Prefix is [Gmail].

Email Client Configuration

In Entourage, you set this on the Options tab of your IMAP’s account settings. In Thunderbird, click the Advanced button on the Server Settings tab. In Mail, this is on the Advanced tab of your IMAP’s account settings.

Then you’ll need to designate which folders on the server should be used for storing your drafts, sent messages, trash, and junk. In Entourage, you set this on the Advanced tab of your IMAP’s account settings. In Thunderbird, this is done in the Copies & Folders section of your account settings. In Mail, go out to your main viewer window and select a folder on the server (in the left-hand margin, underneath the IMAP account name), then choose Mailbox > Use This Mailbox For.

Convert Office 2007 & 2008 files to Office 2004

Open XML Converter for Mac allows you to convert Open XML files that were created in Office 2008 for Mac or Office 2007 for Windows so that you can open, edit, and save them in earlier versions of Office for Mac. Open XML Converter can convert Word documents, Excel workbooks, and PowerPoint presentations that are in the Open XML Format so that you can open and edit the files in Office 2004 for Mac and Office v. X for Mac. You can choose to convert and open one file, or convert a large number of files.

Make Entourage run more efficiently

Entourage stores all of its data—for instance, e-mail, contacts, and calendar entries—in a single database file (located in /Users/your_username/Documents/Microsoft User Data/Office 2008 Identities/Main Identity). This file can grow quite large over time, and even if you delete messages or other data, the file doesn’t shrink proportionally. To save disk space and enable Entourage to work more efficiently, you should compact this database every few months (this reorganizes its contents internally).

First, quit all Microsoft Office programs. Hold down Option while launching Entourage to bring up the Database Utility. You have a couple of choices: Select Compact Database to compress and optimize the data, or Repair Database to also fix any errors, and then click on Continue. The process should take a few minutes, though it may be longer if you have a large database. When it’s complete, click on Done and then Quit. This process stores a backup copy of your database in /Users/your_username/Documents/Microsoft User Data/Office 2008 Identities/Main Identity [Backed up date and time]. Once you’re satisfied that Entourage is working properly, you can delete the backup, if you wish.

This hidden utility lets you compact or repair the Office database—just hold down Option while launching Entourage.

My Internet connection is slow

A sluggish Internet connection could be caused by any number of things, so here are a few troubleshooting tips to start with: Resetting Safari (Safari > Reset Safari). Then, try a different Web browser to see if the problem happens there as well. You may also want to uninstall any Internet plug-ins that you have installed recently.

Next, check your upload and download speeds at www.speedtest.net and see if you’re getting the speeds you’re paying for. If not, try power cycling both your modem and router, such as your Airport Extreme. Turn off or unplug the device, let it sit powered off for several minutes, then plug it in or switch it on again.

If these methods don’t address the slowdown, try plugging your modem directly into your Mac using an Ethernet cable to see if the problem goes away. If so, your router may be the problem. If you’re using an Airport Extreme or Airport Express, launch Airport Utility to see if there is a firmware upgrade available. If so, install the firmware upgrade and see if that helps.

If not, your Mac could be the problem–you may need to perform an Archive and Install of your operating system, which is one of your options on the Mac OS X Leopard Installation DVD.

And it’s always possible that your modem or Internet line is the problem too, in which case you should call your ISP’s technical support number.

I want to sync some–but not all–of my iCal calendars across my Macs

Instead of MobileMe syncing options, use BusySync ($25) or BusyCal ($40), both can be found at www.busymac.com), which both give you an incredible amount of syncing options.

iTunes no longer launches automatically when I attach my iPod or iPhone to my computer

If your iPhone or iPod is very low on power or if the battery is fully depleted, it can take up to 10 minutes to appear under Devices in iTunes.

Otherwise, you may have unchecked the box in iTunes for your device that says “Automatically sync when this iPhone/iPod is connected” or “Open iTunes when this iPod is attached.”

You may have also removed the iTunesHelper application from your Login Items in your Account System Preferences, which is required to automatically launch iTunes. You can get this back by reinstalling iTunes (www.apple.com/itunes) or by manually dragging iTunesHelper into the Login Items. iTunesHelper can be found by right-clicking on iTunes in the Finder and choosing Show Package Contents, then going to Contents > Resources.

Rebuild your iPhoto Library and fix errors and missing pictures

Most of the common problems Mac users have with iPhoto are easily resolved by rebuilding the program’s photo library.

Symptoms to spot when it’s time to rebuild the iPhoto library is when iPhoto may not open correctly, photos could be missing, or some of your image thumbnails display exclamation or question marks, or when there’s very long periods of spinning beach ball before iPhoto opens.

Rebuilding the iPhoto library does not re-import and sort your pictures all over again instead the iPhoto library database is being updated with the current photos in the library, their file names and their current locations (re-indexing).

To start the process of rebuilding the iPhoto library, quit iPhoto, then hold down Command+Option keys, then click to restart iPhoto. A dialog box to rebuild you iPhoto library while appear (Figure 1). Select all the options and click rebuild. It will take a while depending on the size of your library, but once it’s done, iPhoto will show a noticeable improvement in speed and your photo library should be fully functional again.

How to revert to a previous Mac OS version from Time Machine

If you backed up any individual files as described under the Important message above, you can restore them now. If you backed them up using Time Machine, recover them using the Time Machine application. (You’ll find the Time Machine application in the Dock or in the Applications folder.)

2. Shut Down and Wake Up now Twice as fast: Apple says that Snow Leopard will be up to 75-percent faster than its predecessor when shutting down and waking up the operating system from sleep mode, with screen locking enabled. Hopefully, this is the end of the groggy computer!

3. Higher Resolution iChat Video Chats: iChat can now display iChat Theater content at a higher resolution–up to 640 by 480 pixels, four times the maximum resolution in Mac OS X Leopard. So, you can chat with your friends and family while you’re on a business trip and feel like you never left.

4. Better Services Integration: Services that are only used sometimes, or never, can now be disabled and enabled as you please, without cluttering up your screen. And, you’ll only see the services that are compatible with whatever program you’re using.

5. Flight Data Detector: Now when you read email messages and text documents, Snow Leopard can automatically identify flight numbers mentioned and take you directly to the Dashboard Flight Track widget to keep you on board with the latest updates.

6. Split-Pane Terminal: Split your Terminal window into different Terminal sessions. Keep track of multiple activities in one wndow.

7. AirPort Menu Signal Strength: Not sure which wireless networks have the strongest wireless signal? AirPort will now include signal strength for all available wireless networks so you can choose the right one, instead of rifling through each connection, only to discover that most of them have less than two bars.

8. iChat will only require one-third the bandwidth: Leopard requires 900-Kbps upstream bandwidth, while Snow Leopard only requires 300-Kbps and still manages to deliver near DVD-quality video. This also means it’ll be easier to download an album from iTunes while simultaneously video chatting with a friend.

9. Automatic spelling correction: TextEdit will now fix common spelling errors as you type, including commonly misspelled words such as “teh” and common misspellings in longer words.

10. Jump around webpages with web spots: A feature we love on the iPhone. The web spot technology in Safari lets you jump directly to the important parts of a webpage. It also provides a way to go directly to the web spot without having to check out other areas of the page.