How to Change an AirPort Password (7 Steps)

Open a new Finder window by clicking on the icon in the Dock.
Navigate to the 'Utilities' folder, which is located in the 'Applications' section of the Mac hard drive.
Double-click on the 'AirPort Utility' icon. The AirPort configuration program will launch and begin scanning for nearby AirPort wireless routers.
Highlight your AirPort wireless router from the list of available devices on the left side of the window. Then click on the 'Manual Setup' button at the bottom of the window.
Go to the 'Wireless' tab at the top of the window.
Enter a new password for your AirPort wireless network in the 'Wireless password' and 'Verify Password' fields.
Click on the 'Update' button at the bottom of the window to save the settings and change your AirPort password.
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How to Ping an IP Address on a Mac (6 Steps)

Open a new Finder window.
Navigate to the 'Utilities' folder, which can be found in the Applications section of the Mac hard drive.
Double-click on the 'Network Utility' icon to start the networking application.
Click on the 'Ping' tab at the top of the application window.
In the main field, type the IP address you wish to ping, and enter the number of ping attempts you would like to complete.
Click the 'Ping' button to begin testing the connection. Ping results will appear in the main application window.
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How to Use Boot Camp to Install Linux

Download and install rEFIt (see Resources). This is a tool required to allow booting into other partitions, such as the Linux partition, not traditionally supported by Boot Camp.
Click 'Applications' 'Utilities' and then 'Boot Camp Assistant.'
Drag the slider to determine how much hard drive space you want to give your new 'Windows XP' partition. Click 'Partition' to continue.
Insert your Linux distribution installation CD when your partition has been created. Click 'Restart Mac OS X.'
Hold down Alt (option key) on your keyboard as your Mac is booting up.
Click the CD icon that says 'Windows.'
Follow the on screen Linux installation instructions to install the operating system.
Click the 'fat32' partition when the partition manager appears. Delete the fat32 partition.
Create two partitions, one around 600MB in size, the other with the rest of the full space. Name the smaller partition 'swap' and the other formatted as 'ext3' with 'root' or '/' assigned to it. Complete the installation then eject the Linux disc.
Hold Alt on your keyboard as your system is booting up. Click 'Windows' to boot into Linux.
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How to Find the Link Speed of a Mac

Open a new Finder window by clicking on the icon in the dock.
Navigate to the 'Utilities' folder, which can be found in the 'Applications' portion of the Mac hard drive.
Double-click on the 'Network Utility' icon to open the networking program.
Click on the 'Info' tab at the top of the application window.
From the 'Network Interface' drop-down menu, select the network adapter whose speed you wish to look up. The speed of the connection will then appear below.
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How to Install an Isight Driver in Windows XP

Open your Web browser.
Download the Windows XP iSight driver. Save the .ZIP archive file that these drivers come in to a directory on your hard drive that you have easy access to, such as your desktop.
Right click on the .ZIP archive file you just downloaded and click 'Extract.' This will extract the contents of the .ZIP archive file to a new folder in the same directory called 'iSight.'
Open the folder called 'iSight.'
Copy the files in the folder called 'iSight' to your computer's 'C:/Windows/System32' directory. This will successfully install the iSight driver on your Windows XP computer.
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How to Retrieve Data Off of a MacBook That Will Not Start

Connect the non-working MacBook to the working Mac with a FireWire cable.
Press the start button of the non-working MacBook as though you were turning it on, while holding down the 'T' key on the keyboard. Wait for the MacBook's hard drive to show up on the working Mac's desktop as an external drive icon.
Create a new folder on the working Mac computer. Double-click the drive icon to open the drive folder. Select your user account in the 'Users' folder in the drive and copy it by pressing the 'Command' key and 'C' key at the same time.
Open the new folder you created on the working Mac and paste the user account folders and files into it by pressing the 'Command' key and 'V' key at the same time. Wait while the user account's contents is copied onto the working Mac computer.
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How to Move Photos on a Macbook to a Flash Drive

Insert your USB flash drive into one of the USB ports on your Macbook.
Click the 'Finder' icon in your Dock to open a new Finder window. Click the device icon for your USB drive in the left column and leave this Finder window open.
Locate the photos you want to move. If you have them in a folder, open a new Finder window and navigate to the folder on your hard drive. If you use an application like iPhoto or Aperture, open the application.
Select the photos you want to move. Use the 'Shift' key to select multiple photos in a row or the 'Command' key to select multiple nonconsecutive photos. For folders, you can click to select the entire folder.
Click your selected folder or photos and, still holding your mouse, drag them to the Finder window with your USB flash drive. Release your mouse when you see the green '+' sign. Your photos will copy automatically when you release your mouse.
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How to Download an iTunes Playlist to USB Storage

Insert the USB drive in an USB port on the computer. Most USB ports are located on the back or side of a computer and are square shaped. Open the USB storage folder on your hard drive if it does not open automatically. Look for it in the 'Devices with Removable Storage' section of the PC's 'Computer' folder.
Open iTunes. Click the name of the playlist in the 'Playlists' section of the iTunes sidebar.
Drag the name of the playlist into the USB storage folder.
Check the USB storage folder and compare the song files in the folder with the playlist in iTunes. Do not disconnect the USB device until all of the songs on the playlist show up in the USB storage folder.
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How to Check the Hard Drive Size in a MacBook

Click the 'Go' menu in the Finder and scroll down to 'Computer.'
Click the icon for your MacBook's hard drive. Go to the 'File' menu and select 'Get Info.'
Check the total size of the hard drive next to 'Capacity.' Check the amount of free space on the hard drive next to 'Available.'
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How to Create a Backup for a MacBook (3 Steps)

Connect an external hard drive to your MacBook.
Click 'Use as Backup Disk' when you are asked if you want to use the hard drive to backup your MacBook. Time Machine will then open and backup everything on your computer.
Close the Time Machine window when the backup is complete.
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How to Connect a Mixer to Garage Band (7 Steps)

Insert the USB or FireWire cable into USB or FireWire port on the rear panel of the mixer.
Insert the other end of the USB or FireWire cable into the USB or FireWire port on the computer.
Locate the GarageBand icon on the computer's hard drive. Double-click the icon to open GarageBand.
Click 'GarageBand' and select 'Preferences.'
Click the 'Audio/MIDI' tab to open the Audio/MIDI control panel.
Open the 'Audio Input' drop-down menu and select the USB or FireWire device from the list to connect it to GarageBand.
Click 'X' to close the Audio/MIDI control panel.
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How to Add a Dashboard to the Dock

Click the 'Hard Drive' icon on your desktop.
Click 'Applications' in the 'Hard Drive' window that appears. It may be in the left column or in the set of folders that appears. This depends on how you have your view constructed on your Mac.
Click and hold the Dashboard application icon. Drag it to your Dock. Release your mouse button. The icon appears on the Dock. Click on it to launch your Dashboard. Click on it again to shut down your Dashboard.
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How to Copy DVD Movies to a MacBook (6 Steps)

Insert a DVD into your MacBook's disk drive. Apple's default DVD player will launch. Quit the program.
Download and install HandBrake on your computer. The program will launch upon completing installation.
Select the location of the DVD (your hard drive) from the pane on the left. Then click "Open". HandBrake will scan the DVD and the main program window will open. This may take a few minutes.
Navigate to the Destination section toward the upper-right of the window. Select a location where you want to save the ripped file. HandBrake's default destination location is your desktop. You can also name the file in this section. Ensure HandBrake has selected the correct file(s) to rip by verifying the "Chapters" drop-down field and checking the length of time listed next to "Duration". Your DVD should usually start with chapter "1" and end with the last/highest number listed in the "Chapters:" drop-down menu. The the main feature on a DVD is generally the item with longest duration time.
Click the "Rip" button in the lower-right of the program window to begin importing the DVD. This process usually takes around 30 to 45 minutes depending on the length of the DVD and speed of your computer. The program alerts you when the process is complete.
Quit the program and verify the ripped DVD file is on your computer. Eject the original DVD from your disk drive.
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How to Upgrade Your MacBook Air

Remove screws. The internals of a MacBook Pro are accessed form the underside of the casing. The bottom is held in place by ten screws, including six 3 mm Phillips screws, two 5.4 mm Phillips screws, and two 7.9 mm Phillips screws.
Lift off the case. Once the screws are removed, the bottom of the MacBook Air case should come off easily, with a quick pull.
Disconnect the accessory ports. Your MacBook Air's current hard drive or solid state drive sits underneath the ribbon that connects your accessory USB, audio, power and DVI connectors. With the bottom of the case removed, unplug the ribbon that connects these accessories to the motherboard.
Remove hard drive screws. Once the accessory ports are disconnected form the board, remove the screws that hold the hard drive frame in place.
Lift the hard drive frame. Make sure that the ribbon that attaches the accessory ports is safely out of the way. If the path is clear, the hard drive and its frame can be lifted from the computer.
Replace hard drive. With the frame and hard drive out of the computer, the current drive can be slid out of the frame and a new one inserted. Original generation MacBook Air models use a zero insertion force (ZIF) connector, so make sure the hard drive or solid state drive you use has this type of connector. Models manufactured after the summer of 2009 feature a more common Serial ATA (SATA) connector. All MacBook Air hard drives or solid state drives must be 1.8 inches wide by 5 mm tall to fit in the frame.
Reassemble MacBook Air. Place the bracket back in the computer and secure it using using the removed screws. Reattach the ribbon connectors for the accessory ports. Replace the back of the computer and secure it with its 10 screws. Boot the computer and install Mac OS X, being sure to test functionality.
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How to Import PDFs in iTunes (7 Steps)

Launch iTunes on your computer.
Click 'File' from the iTunes menu.
Click 'Add to Library' (Mac) or 'Add File to Library' (Windows). A dialog box opens.
Click a folder on your computer's hard drive containing a PDF you want to import.
Click a single PDF file to select it. Press the 'Command' key on the keyboard and then click multiple PDFs to select them.
Click 'Choose.' The PDFs import into iTunes.
Click 'Books' under 'Library' in the left pane of the iTunes window to see the list of your imported PDF files.
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How to Maintain a Mac (6 Steps)

Run maintenance scripts to maintain your Mac. These are built into your OS and will run automatically if you leave your system on all the time. If you shut your system down every day, remember to run the appropriate Mac maintenance scripts on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.
Check your hard drive periodically. This can be done from your Disk Utility on your hard drive, or you can boot up from your install CD and run the Disk Utility from there. You will need it anyway should the utility need to repair your hard drive.
Back up your files. You can back up as often as you feel you need to--some people back up daily. In the event of a hard drive crash, you will have a separate copy of all your files. Most users do this with an external hard drive.
Repair permissions to maintain your computer. You really only need to do this after you install any new software or before you clone your hard drive. The Mac was designed to be low maintenance.
Reinstall when necessary. If you are running OS X 10.2 or higher, use the feature called 'Archive and Install.' It will move your system files into a 'Previous System' folder and reinstall your OS. Do this only when you have tried other measures and only after you back up any files you want to keep.
Create a backup of your hard drive on an external Firewire drive.
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How to connect two Macs using FireWire target disk mode

Assume Mac #1 is your main machine that the external drive will be connected to. Mac #2 is the Mac you want to use as an external hard drive.Mac #1 should be turned on and Mac #2 should be powered down.
Connect the FireWire cable to a port on each Mac so the Macs are connected together by the cable.
Turn on Mac #2 while holding down the 't' key. You can stop when you see the FireWire drive appear on the desktop of Mac #1. You can now access any of the data on Mac #2.
Drag the Mac #2 volume(s) to the trash when you're done. Then you can turn off Mac #2 and unplug the cable.
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How to Trace an IP Address on a Mac

Open a new Finder window by clicking on the icon in the dock.
Navigate to the 'Utilities' folder, which is located in the 'Applications' section of the Mac hard drive.
Double-click on the 'Network Utility' icon to start the networking application.
Click on the 'Traceroute' tab at the top of the program window.
Iin the main text field, type the IP address you wish to trace.
Click on the 'Trace' button to begin searching for the IP address. Any trace results will appear in the main application window.
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How to Open the Command Prompt on Mac Computers

Click on your 'Applications' folder inside of the hard drive.
Open the 'Utilities' folder and double-click on 'Terminal'.
Type a command at the command prompt and click 'Return' on the keyboard to use the command line.
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How to Change a Macbook S.M.A.R.T. Status (6 Steps)

Doucle-click on the 'Macintosh HD' icon from the desktop and then double-click on the 'Applications' folder. Double-click on the 'Utilities' folder.
Double-click on the 'Disk Utility' icon. Click on the main hard drive icon in the left navigation pane.
Look for the 'S.M.A.R.T. Status' field near the bottom of the bottom of the pop-up screen. If the status reads, 'Verified,' then you don't need to change anything, but if it says, 'Failed,' continue to Step 4.
Click on the 'Repair Disk' button and allow for the repair to complete. If the S.M.A.R.T. still reads, 'Failed,' you must restore your hard drive.
Back up all of your computers files to an external hard drive. Go back to the 'Disk Utility' pop-up screen after you've backed up all of your files.
Click your drive again and then click on the 'Erase' tab. Follow the directions to erase your hard drive and then click the 'Erase' button. You hard drive should now be as good as new, and you can check the S.M.A.R.T. status again to make sure it reads, 'Verified.'
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