HELP! New OS's are driving me nuts!!!

[Mr. D]

After using Macs since the very 1st one....I have made evidently made the mistake of downloading recent OS Updates! I am now running 10.14.2 . Now I am unable to see DVD's, CD's or Thumb Drives on the desktop & use them, although when I eject them I get them improperly I get the message that the item was withdrawn improperly (without dragging it to the trash I suppose!) What is the deal? How am I susposted to use these items??? Apple changes constantly just for the sake of change with no benefits that assist my needs that I can see! YIKES!

I assume there are still ways to use the CD, DVD, & Thumb Drive that I don't understand! I am considering how to get back to an OS of a few years back... so I can use my Mac Book Pro the way I want to!

Any help would be appreciated! Thanx in advance!

Mr. D (Dave)

 

[ferrarr]

In all honesty, it's your choice to upgrade the OS.

In Finder > Preferences, what is selected to display on the desktop?

 

[MacInWin]

First, calm down. Ranting about "Apple changes constantly just for the sake of change with no benefits that assist my needs that I can see! YIKES! " just means "I don't like it." There are those who see the changes a beneficial, too, you know.

Now, to see those things on the desktop, open Finder>Preferences>General and put checks by what you want to see and uncheck what you don't want to see.

See, that wasn't so hard, was it?

As for the "withdrawn improperly" message, what do you mean by "when I eject them?" Do you mean physically ejecting and not unmounting them? If so, the solution is to either drag to the trash or right click and select "Eject" to unmount the disk first.

 

[pm-r]

Can't post a reply again...






- Patrick
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[MacInWin]

And yet, you can post about not being able to post. Ah, the irony. I've seen that a couple of times (without the Chrome thingy). I generally ignore it and the post I put up is there. If I click Cancel and stay there, it posts twice sometimes and sometimes only once.

 

[ferrarr]

Can't post a reply again...

View attachment 28991




- Patrick
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I don’t understand? Then how do you get a post to show up in the thread?

 

[pm-r]

I'm assuming there must be something goofy in the text causing the problem using either paste or the auto restore so I was finally able to clear and cancel everything, refresh the page a few times, and post the screenshot I took when attempting to post.

The same problem happened last week or so.

I'll try posting the text I was able to copy and see what happens in a separate post.





- Patrick
======

 

[pm-r]

Nope, same problem when pasting in the saved text.



EDIT: Now I can't even get it to work properly in Safari.

Not going to waste any more or my time or anyone else's.


I don't even know if this will work. Can't even select the Safari goof up screenshot to post.




- Patrick
======

 

[MacInWin]

Can you change it slightly and try again, or cut into two posts to get it up? Maybe the mods will be able to determine what is in it causing the problem.

 

[pm-r]

Well thanks Jake and here's an attempt to post the screenshot when trying Safari. Not worth wasting any more time on the problem:






- Patrick
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[IWT]

Getting back to Mr D -

In a recent previous thread of yours, I demonstrated with screenshots how to get your CD, DVD and other Drives to show up in the Finder Sidebar AND the Desktop.

I also said that an empty CD/DVD will not show up on the Desktop - it needs a Disk with content (not a blank disk) to be inserted for it to show.

And, as Jake said, you must unmount/eject anything connected to your Mac by Right Clicking on the Drive, Disk, whatever, and choosing Eject. There are other ways too, as Jake mentioned.

Follow my previous instructions, and all will be fine.

Ian

 

[Mr. D]

Apologies! I'm 77 & have a couple of nerve illnesses that cause me pain most of the time.... so my patience isn't what it should be! Sorry!

I was aware of the instructions you gave me. What I still don't understand is the method to put data on a blank DVD when it does not show on the Desktop. Obviously there must be an easy way to put data on a DVD starting with a blank disk! One of my problems is the New Apple Disc Drive was defective. As with automotive, never assume a new part is a good part!

What's the best way to put data on a blank DVD I can see on the desktop???

Thanx in advance for any help,

 

[Mr. D]

MacInWin - Jake

Apologies! I'm 77 & have a couple of nerve illnesses that cause me pain most of the time.... so my patience isn't what it should be when the pain has got me! Sorry! Or maybe I'm just a complainer... a distinct possibility! Other people have far more to complain about then me! Patience is a virture I have little of! LOL! Of course the changes must be beneficial even if I don't see the benefit of the change... such as not allowing blank discs to show on the desktop. Must be a reason! I had already done those things. 1st problem is my new Apple Disc Drive is defective. Never assume new parts work is something I learned working on hot rods! "Empty" DVD's evidently don't show on desktop any more. Without "ranting" I still don't understand the purpose of that change!

In any case, what is the easiest/best new way to put data on a DVD that can't be seen on the desktop? The old method of dragging the data on to the DVD icon is changed.

Thanx in advance for any help!

 

[pigoo3]

What I still don't understand is the method to put data on a blank DVD when it does not show on the Desktop.

Need to follow the instructions member ferrarr mentioned in post #2 of this thread so that items like hard drives, optical drives, and thumb drives show up on the desktop...if seeing these items on the desktop makes things easier.

Obviously there must be an easy way to put data on a DVD starting with a blank disk! One of my problems is the New Apple Disc Drive was defective.

You have 3 Apple computer models listed below your Mac-Forums avatar. Which this info is somewhat generally helpful...telling us 24" iMac, 15" MacBook Pro, 13" MacBook really does not help if we need to know the specific model computers you have...since there have been lots of each model produced over the years...so we have no idea exactly which model computer each of these is.

Secondly...since we haven't been told...we have no idea which computer you're using this "Apple Disc Drive" with. That external "Apple Disc Drive" ONLY works with certain model computers (not all)...thus the "Apple Disc Drive" may NOT be defective...if it's being used with the incorrect Apple computer.

What's the best way to put data on a blank DVD I can see on the desktop???

While putting data on a blank DVD isn't "brain-surgery"...it is different than putting data on a hard drive or thumb drive. Using an automobile reference for comparison...changing a flat tire on a car is a different procedure than changing the spark plugs. Same thing with putting data on a hard drive vs. a blank DVD.

Here's the Apple procedure on how to "burn" data onto a CD/DVD:

https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/burn-cds-and-dvds-mchl8addfd95/mac

HTH,

- Nick

 

[IWT]

@Nick,

Couldn't pick up any URL reference re Apple Procedure. Did you mean this?: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/burn-cds-and-dvds-mchl8addfd95/mac

BTW, Mr D, here is the Apple help on Ejecting CD/DVDs: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/gui...ds-from-your-mac-mchl2f6b0645/10.14/mac/10.14. (This in addition the the Right Click, choose Eject method)

Ian

 

[pm-r]

While putting data on a blank DVD isn't "brain-surgery"...it is different than putting data on a hard drive or thumb drive.

I'm wondering if the OP has some special needs to be burning and working with optical disks and burning when using a USB flash drive can be so much easier.



[OT, PS: And it seems that I can post here normally this am. Even though the auto-restore suggestion was showing, I was able to get rid of it, and maybe it won't pop up again, at least on this thread.]



- Patrick
======

 

[ferrarr]

Patrick, have you tried to reload the page, when your have this issue? I think I have had that happen before, and that was a way around it.

 

[pm-r]

Patrick, have you tried to reload the page, when your have this issue? I think I have had that happen before, and that was a way around it.

Yes I did thanks Bob, in fact several times, and I even tried switching browsers. Same problem.

Quite strange, but finally got around the problem by typing and using new text and also using the cancel and delete button after doing a select-all and also ignoring anything to do with auto-restore which finally disappeared.

Definitely something strange happening at the mac-forums end, as even Charlie had the same problem trying to fix a previous post I had made with the same problem I had encountered.


EDIT: I've even looked at the text I saved that causes the problem when posting and cannot find anything wrong with it and no sign of any naughty words.

But I sure would like to know what causes the problem even if it is very intermittent.







- Patrick
======

 

[pigoo3]

@Nick,

Couldn't pick up any URL reference re Apple Procedure. Did you mean this?:

Yes that's it Ian...thanks. I forgot to add the link in my haste to finish the post.

- Nick

 

[Randy B. Singer]

I'm wondering if the OP has some special needs to be burning and working with optical disks and burning when using a USB flash drive can be so much easier.

Burning data to an optical disk is a fairly reliable way to store data long-term. Putting data on a USB flash drive is a very unreliable long-term way to store data, though it is excellent for short term data storage.

Using optical disks to back up one's internal hard drive has more or less been supplanted by backing up to an external hard drive. However, if one still has an older Mac with an optical drive, it is very attractive to continue to use this method. Purchasing new blank optical disks to back up to is still quite a bit cheaper than backing up to an external hard drive, even though the price of external hard drives has dropped.