My Downloads folder in my dock has been showing a download/progress bar at 50% since yesterday. There aren't any half-complete files in my Download folder, Google Chrome isn't awaiting any action to accept or discard an upcoming download nor am I copying anything into that folder. Locate the “Downloads” folder in the Home directory, then click and drag on Downloads and drop it into the far-right side of the Dock (look for the faint line, it must be on the right side of that near the Trash) That’s it, the Downloads folder is no longer missing from the Dock, it’s now back in the Mac Dock where it is by default. New MacBook Pro 2016 launched by Apple at a Mac Event in 2016 which comes with a new Touch Bar which changes the way you use Mac. The Touch Bar is sensitive touchscreen panel above the keyboard on the new MacBook Pro 2016 and is capable of performing various tasks which include answering your iPhone or a FaceTime call from the keyboard itself. Hi, I've just initialised a new Macbook Pro and have downloaded the latest Dropbox app, logged in and am trying to smart sync my online directory to my laptop. Never had any issues in the past with other machines, however I have a smart sync issue. All files appear to be downloading locally - e.
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Control CPU, memory, and whatnot with iStat Menus app.
A few years ago, Apple dropped static function keys on some MacBooks Pro for a touch-sensitive bar it named Touch Bar. It has the ability to become just about anything you want, and can change depending on what app you’re using, and which inputs may be required.
Touch Bar attempted to revolutionize portable computing, and the results have been mostly positive. Though some miss static keys up top, the overall takeaway is the MacBook Touch Bar is far more useful than function keys.
But how do you use the Mac Touch Bar – and what is it really best at? We’ll tell you all about the MacBook touchbar, why a Touch Bar MacBook Pro is a good buy, and how to optimize your Mac to take full advantage of Apple’s latest shift for MacBook.
How does MacBook Pro Touch Bar work?
When you’re using your MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, there’s nothing specific you need to do to activate the Touch Bar. Simply put, it’s always on, active, and monitoring what you’re doing on-screen so it can change what’s displayed on the Touch Bar to better suit your needs.
The Touch Bar itself has two main components: the control strip, and the Touch Bar. The control strip is a series of system-wide buttons on the right side of the Touch Bar, where things like volume, Siri, and screen brightness can be controlled. It can be minimized or expanded as needed.
The Touch Bar occupies about 90 percent of the top of your keyboard width, and the buttons change based on what you’re doing on-screen. If you are entering a password for a website, the “OK” and “Cancel” buttons may be displayed on the Touch Bar as well as on the screen. This helps you process the request faster, as you don’t need to toggle the mouse pointer and click. When you’re using Safari, a list of page thumbnails will display on the Touch Bar, and you can click or drag through the list to toggle between pages open in your browser.
And if you really need those function keys, simply press the Function (fn) key on your MacBook keyboard, and Touch Bar will display them for you.
What you can do with the Touch Bar
It may be easier to list what can’t be done with Touch Bar! Apple has done a good job of making sure the macOS system uses Touch Bar, and many developers have woven Touch Bar features into their app as well.
The Control Strip
As noted, the control strip on your touch Bar houses system wide functionality. Within it, you’ll find the following:
- Notification center: Tapping the Notification Center button on the Touch Bar brings up the slide-out notification center on your Mac’s screen.
- Do Not Disturb: This button allows you to toggle the settings of the Mac’s Do Not Disturb feature.
- Screenshot: A tap on this button brings up the Screenshot option on your Mac, which allows you to capture a portion of the screen, the entire screen, or record your screen and save it as a video.
- Dictation: Quickly opens up the Mac’s dictation feature.
- Input Sources: Opens the keyboard Input Sources from your Mac’s system settings.
- Show Desktop: Quickly removes all open windows from your screen to reveal your desktop wallpaper
- Screensaver: This is like putting your Mac’s screen to sleep; it immediately activates your Mac’s screensaver.
- Screen Lock: A tap on this button locks your Mac, which requires a password or TouchID to gain entry again.
- Sleep: This immediately places your Mac into sleep mode.
How to use Touch ID
Using TouchID on your MacBook Pro is simple. On the far right side of the Touch Bar is the Touch ID sensor, which also serves as your Mac’s power button. Like older iPhones, the Mac uses fingerprint biometrics to secure your Mac instead of relying on a password. Hackers can guess a password, but faking a fingerprint is much more difficult!
First, be sure you’ve gone into the system settings, selected TouchID, and set up your fingerprint for use on your Mac. From that point forward, simply opening your Mac’s lid and placing a finger on the TouchID reader next to your Touch Bar will activate your Mac.
TouchID can also be used to authenticate payments and log into websites or apps.
Finder
When you open Finder on your Mac, the Touch Bar’s buttons will change and present you with several options. You can change how Finder looks (the layout), start a search, share an item, or tag an item. Like most apps, there are also forward and reverse navigation options which provide quick options for scrolling forward or back through Finder.
Mail also has a few Touch Bar features, and is a great example that the Touch Bar is meant for quick actions that are used by most users.
Note: We are discussing the built-in Mail app, here. If you use a different third-party app, its Touch Bar items may be slightly different.
Within the Mail app, Touch Bar can perform the following functions:
- Hide the side bar: The left side of Mail’s window shows all of your mailboxes and folders. You can hide them really quickly with Touch Bar.
- Create an email: Touch Bar has a button hat quickly opens a new window to create an email.
- Archive: If you want to archive an email, simply tap the ‘Archive’ button and it’ll vanish from your inbox!
- Reply: Touch Bar for Mail has a button dedicated to replying to emails.
- Trash: quickly trash an email with the press of a button on the Touch Bar.
- Move: When an email is selected in Mail, the left side of your Touch Bar will display a large “Move to” button. When tapped, it brings up a sub-menu for moving an email to a specific folder.
Primary system controls
Touch Bar’s control strip has some primary functions you should familiarize yourself with. Here’s how each works:
- Volume control: The MacBook Pro Touch Bar has mute, volume up, and volume down buttons. Tapping on the ‘mute’ button will mute or unmute your MacBook. Pressing volume up or down will move your volume up or down one point on the scale, while holding down either button will continually raise or lower the volume.
- Keyboard brightness: Much like volume control, but for your backlit keyboard. Tapping keyboard brightness up or down will brighten or dim your keyboard incrementally, while holding down either will scale your keyboard brightness continually.
- Screen brightness: Tapping up or down here will raise or lower your screen brightness, much like it does with volume control or keyboard brightness.
One thing to keep in mind is the control strip remains minimized most of the time, defaulting to keeping the mute button open as well as a single button for screen brightness and volume. When you hold down on screen brightness or volume, you can drag your finger along the Touch Bar to raise or lower the volume as you like!
The control strip is also customizable. Simply go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Customize Control Strip to alter it.
How to screenshot
To take a screenshot via Touch Bar, first make sure the screenshot button is active in your Touch Bar by visiting System Preferences > Keyboard > Customize Control Strip and dragging the screenshot button onto your Touch Bar if it’s not already there.
Once it’s on your Touch Bar, click the small arrow next to the minimized control strip, select the screenshot button, and your Mac’s screen will display the options available, like capture the entire screen, a portion of the screen, or recording your Window.
How to make the function keys
Touch Bar may not display the function keys all the time, but they’re still available! All you have to do is hold down the ‘Function’ (fn) key on your Mac keyboard to surface the function keys on the Touch Bar.
How to customize MacBook Pro touch bar
You can customize the Touch bar any time by visiting System Preferences > Keyboard > Customize Control Strip, but that only allows you to change the buttons displayed on your Mac. BetterTouchTool takes your Touch Bar to a different level, allowing you to configure your TouchBar far more than Apple allows. You can create shortcuts, target specific apps and create unique shortcuts for them, and create your own custom widgets using AppleScript, URL schemes, and HTTP requests.
Hidden features of Apple Touch Bar
Each app has its own Touch Bar buttons that appear when you use them. Zoom, for example, has options for muting and ending video chats with ease.
A great app for keeping tabs on your Mac is iStat Menus, which lives in your menu bar and keeps a close eye on your Mac’s overall performance. If you notice an app is slow or sluggish – maybe not responding to your Touch bar inputs – iStat Menus can tell you what’s going on with it as well as your Mac’s overall performance.
Boost Your Mac!
CleanMyMac X is a sensational app for cleaning up your Mac. It can quickly remove apps and associated files, update existing apps, and clean up random junk on your Mac while monitoring for malware! It also has a menu bar widget that provides a quick look at how your system is performing, how much memory you have available, your CPU load, and the health of your network connection.
Conclusion
Getting to know your Touch Bar may make you more productive, and will definitely have you enjoying your MacBook Pro a lot more. So will the apps mentioned here today!
And each – iStat Menus, CleanMyMac X, and BetterTouchTool – are available for free during a seven day trial of Setapp, a suite of nearly 200 productivity apps for your Mac. Once the trial is over, retaining unlimited access to the entire Setapp catalog is only $9.99 per month!
Setapp lives on Mac and iOS. Please come back from another device.
Meantime, prepare for all the awesome things you can do with Setapp.
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Nov 12, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions
I recently saw the MacBook Pro folder with a question mark on my screen when I turned it on. Is there a way to fix a folder with a flashing question mark on Macbook at startup? Thank you!
Unfortunately, this flashing question can lead to inaccessible data or even data loss because of data corruption. This article will discuss some of the data recovery solutions you can use to fix the folder with a flashing question mark.
Part 1: Why folder with a question mark appears at Mac startup
Most people are guilty of thinking that your Mac computer will work perfectly forever. However, when you need it to work as expected, things can quickly go wrong, leaving you with lots of questions. However, this shouldn’t be the case because things can always go wrong and be fixed at some point without much trauma.
What does a folder with a question mark mean on a MacBook?
A flashing question mark Mac appearing on your screen on startup is one of the most dreaded things that can ever happen to you. This question mark is an indication that your Mac is failing to identify its startup disk, leading to failure to boot. This can arise because you might have started up your computer from an external disk and later unplugged it, or it means your hard drive has failed.
What causes flashing question mark while booting Mac
As explained above, a Macbook pro flashing folder means your Mac cannot discover its boot directory. This is as a result of either the Mac is corrupt or simply a failure to detect the startup disk. Here are some reasons why you might see this question :
- Damaged hard drive. If your computer can’t identify your hard drive, it might not startup. This is due to a bad cable or a mechanically failed hard drive.
- A corrupt software system. There are various causes of this problem, such as intermittent failure of your hard drive leading to unsuccessful installation or an update issue.
Part 2: 5 solutions to Mac flashing folder with a question mark
![Folder Folder](/uploads/1/1/8/0/118000047/581384946.jpg)
If you are experiencing problems with a flashing folder with question mark Macbook when starting up your computer, perhaps the system fails to find the start-up disk. The good news is that there are various solutions you can use to get rid of this Macbook air folder with a question mark.
Solution 1. Reselect startup in System Preferences
When you see a flashing question mark Macbook pro for a few seconds and start, it’s most likely that the system failed to find the startup disc. For this problem, take the following easy and quick steps:
Step 1: Select System Preferences from the menu, and click the startup disk.
Step 2: Then click the disk you usually use to start your Mac computer. It’s commonly known as Macintosh HD.
Step 3: Finally, you should close your System preferences window.
After this process, the Macbook pro flashing folder question mark shouldn’t be flashing anymore when you start up your Mac.
Solution 2. Boot Mac from macOS Recovery Mode
If you view the Macbook flashing question mark, it means your startup disk doesn’t have a working Mac operating system, or it’s no longer available. Therefore, do the following to fix this problem:
Step 1: If you’re attempting to boot from your computer’s internal drive, you should shut down your Mac and start it up while pressing Command (⌘) +R buttons until you see the Apple logo.
Step 2: Once your computer starts in Recovery Mode, go to Disk Utility to restore your startup disk. Recovery Mode is ideal when your computer fails to boot, usually due to the damaged or corrupt startup disk.
Step 3: If the Disk Utility repairs the errors or found no errors, you can either reinstall macOS or restore it using a Time Machine backup.
Solution 3: Repair startup disk with Disk Utility
The flashing folder with question mark Macbook can be distressing to many people. This is a good sign that your Mac computer can’t find its system folder. In most cases, it can be tricky to locate a startup disk in the System Preference. As a result, you should repair your startup disk by taking the steps listed below:
Step 1: In the macOS utility window, select Disk Utility.
Step 2: Then choose the startup disk, which is also called the Macintosh HD. While here, you should locate it on the left side of the window and find and click on the First Aid button.
Step 3: Click on the Repair Disk icon to begin repairing any problems with the system.
Step 4: Once the repair is complete, you can click Disk Utility to stop the process because your startup disk is repaired.
Step 5: Go to the menu and choose Startup Disk. Now, you can restart the system, and the flashing question mark should no longer be there.
Solution 4: Access and recover lost files (recommended)
There is no doubt that Mac is popular across the globe because of its functionalities. However, some users face this Macbook pro question mark error, indicating that your data files are damaged or corrupted.
It’s worth mentioning that you need to backup your data before you proceed with the recovery process of your data. This is because if you fail to back it up while reinstalling the macOS, it might lead to data loss due to overwriting.
The recommended way to do this is by using Recoverit Mac Data Recovery software. This tool is popular among users as it can recover lost or deleted files due to startup disk problems.
Think about it. If you intend to reinstall macOS without backing up your precious data, such as photos, documents, system files, and many more, you can lose everything because of overwriting. Besides, this tool has an easy-to-use interface, and you can recover lost or deleted files pretty quickly.
Blinking Folder Macbook Pro
Put, if you’re seeing a Macbook pro blinking folder, there can likely be data loss due to corruption. Hence, you need reliable data recovery software to recover it.
Touch Bar Macbook Pro
This is where the Recoverit Mac Data Recovery tool comes in handy. When you use this software, it can search and restore all lost or damaged files within a couple of minutes. To use it, take the following steps:
Step 1: Select a question mark location.
Download and install the Recoverit Mac Data Recovery software on your Mac or Windows computer. When you install it, choose where the question mark is coming from and the data you want to recover.
Then launch the scanning process to recover corrupted or damaged files by clicking the Start button.
Step 2: Scan for lost files
Recoverit Mac Data Recovery tool will scan the disk.
But you should note that with a deep scan, it might take a while as the tool scans and recovers the files.
Step 3: Preview and restore corrupted or damaged files.
With the Recoverit Mac Data Recovery software, you can preview recovered data files and save them to any location on your Mac.
All you need to do is to Recover to restore your files.
Solution 5. Reformat Mac Startup Disk
This is another important solution to fixing the Macbook profile with a question mark. Here is the deal, before you can install and use your new solid-state drive (SSD) on your Mac computer, you have to reformat your Mac Startup disk. Here is what you need to do to make sure that you don’t have a Macbook pro blinking folder with a question mark during startup:
Step 1: You should always connect your SSD through a USB adapter or even any external connection option and enter Disk Utility. Alternatively, install the SSD into your Mac system internally and enter Disk Utility through the macOS Recovery tool. If your Mac computer detects the SSD, you will see a message letting you know that the drive fails to read your computer. At this point, you should click the initialize icon.
Step 2: The critical SSD will be displayed in Disk Utility. Therefore, go on to highlight it and click the Erase icon.
Step 3: You should type in the new partition name and prove that it has the GUID Partition Table.
Step 4: Make sure that the selected format has gone to MacOS Extended.
Step 5: Here, you should choose Erase to ensure that the drive is partitioned and formatted. Lastly, close it once the Disk Utility is done. After completing this process, you should see a new SSD on our desktop.
Solution 6. Reinstall macOS
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to fix the Macbook pro showing the folder with a question mark. There is always a time when startup issues have to do with the Disk Utility problems, which could be frustrating for Mac users.
Therefore, when the repair process is not successful, your best option is to reformat your Mac computer. However, you should perform a full data backup so that you don’t lose important data.
You might be aware that once you erase your startup disk, it’s likely that all stored data can be erased. These include documents, photos, videos, and many more data files. For this reason, you will be in safe hands if you backup your data.
If you can’t find any recent backup option, your best bet is to use an external drive. Therefore, take the following steps to make sure that you have a perfect backup:
Step 1: You should connect the external drive to your Mac computer. But ensure that this external drive you are connecting can erase the data on your Mac.
Step 2: Determine that the external drive has the same size as the startup disk. If not, then the process is destined for failure.
Step 3: Now, you should click on the macOS Recovery option. In this way, you can erase the external drive connected to your Mac computer. Aside from this, it makes it easier to install the macOS once more.
Step 4: It’s important to bear in mind that you should erase the Startup Disk at no point. This is because this feature is inbuilt and is designed to perform various activities.
Step 5: When you see that the installation process is done, then restart your Mac computer. You are bound to see a setup assistant where you can choose and go to all your data. But you should make sure to choose the startup built-in drive as your option to transfer all your data.
Step 6: Lastly, open your Mac Recovery and begin reinstalling your data. If you observe that the installation is done, you can restart your computer. Here, you can use the setup assistant to transfer the data back to your computer startup drive.
Video Guide on How to Fix Flashing Folder With Question Mark on Facebook
Part 3: Important tips for Mac computer startup
Despite the popularity of Mac, you can’t ignore that the blinking question mark Macbook pro can take a big toll on you. Thus, many people seek quick solutions to make their Mac computers perform as well as before.
Right steps to boot Mac properly.
To avoid a blinking question mark Macbook, you should boot correctly. If you’re booting from CD, press down the C button on your keyboard to instantly boot to a MacOSX or any other bootable disc on your computer.
Test Utility for Apple is usually designed to boot from a disc that comes with your Mac. However, Apple introduced Intel-based Macs, which have inbuilt AHT utility. Therefore, you should press down the D button when booting while starting up your computer into the Apple Hardware Test.
How to avoid flashing question mark at Mac startup
Now that you know the causes of the Macbook pro question mark folder on startup, you must avoid this from happening on your Mac. Hence, the ideal way to avoid it is by rebooting your Mac while holding the Command R button on your keyboard.
In this way, your computer will attempt to restart your Mac through the Recovery partition. If this works, it means your drive is in good condition. Then you can use Disk Utility to repair the partition.
However, if you can’t reboot using the Command R button, another option is to use the Command Option R key. This is an internet recovery which you can use to repair the damaged partition table when the drive is okay. You can utilize the Disk Utility program to make a new partition and restore it from your backup.
How to prevent Mac data loss
Mac computers can also be affected by data loss, like Windows computers. Therefore, to prevent this painful data loss experience, you should take the following steps:
- Perform regular data backup for your computer data. For example, if you put great importance on your Word documents, you can back up your Word files to an external hard drive so that you can retrieve the data after damage to your Mac system.
- Upload your data files to the cloud. Cloud backup solutions like Google drive are the best way of preventing Mac data loss. Most of these backup services are reliable and simple to use.
- Check storage devices regularly. Don’t think that your external drive or SD card is always in perfect condition. Instead, you should physically check your memory cards and USB flash drives for any damage. This is especially true with SD cards, which are bendable, fragile, and small, making them vulnerable to physical damage.
- Be ready for the worst. Sometimes, it’s best to prepare for the worst regardless of the precautions you take. In such a case, it’s better to act before things get worse. Therefore, you should use capable, reliable data recovery software, such as Recoverit Mac Data Recovery software to restore your data.
Closing words
There are good reasons why many people love using Mac computers. This is because they are functional and simple to use. But sometimes you can experience some issues, such as a flashing question mark folder.
Thankfully, these problems can be solved quickly using various methods like a safe boot recovery and restarting your Mac. However, to prevent data loss while using these methods, it’s good to utilize the most reliable data recovery tool like the Recoverit Mac Data Recovery software.
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