How to create an external bootable installer for macOS
The way we install our operating system has changed with the introduction of macOS Mojave. Most notably, imaging and installing via target disk mode have been dropped. We can still download the installer from the app store but we can also install the latest supported macOS via internet recovery. Two great options but this might […]
In the beginning there was Sudo: macOS Terminal Skills
Having sat on our recent four-day JAMF200 course it was great to revisit some command line skills from times past. Time to dust off those macOS Terminal skills. Bring on Sudo (and the disclaimer of course) Type the following ‘whoami’ command (exclude the Amsys$ bit) in a macOS Terminal window and you’ll get the current […]
Unable to unlock FileVault due to Authentication Server refusal!
This week I have been running a macOS 10.13 Support Essentials Course. As part of the course, we cover security features of macOS and in particular FileVault. Now during the exercise for this lesson I came across an issue which did not allow us to setup FileVault. Below is the error: To put the device […]
Is it possible to prevent conversion to APFS when upgrading to High Sierra?
While I was running a macOS Support Essentials 10.13 one of my delegates asked “Is it possible to prevent conversion to APFS when upgrading to High Sierra?” after explaining it to him I realised that most people in the room also didn’t realise this was an option, so I thought I better share it. As […]
Big changes coming up to macOS Server. Be prepared!
The writing has been on the wall for macOS Server app for a long time. With the introduction of High Sierra, many of the Server features have found their way into the client version but in spring 2018 macOS Server is having a major overall to focus more on management of computers and devices. A number of […]
A Week With The iMac Pro
Working in the higher education sector, where your financial years have to be planned out pretty far in advance, the good thing with Apple’s recent policy change around announcing new hardware is that it allows you to budget for it for testing purposes. So, when Apple’s new flagship machine for professionals, the iMac Pro, was […]
Deployment: We Need To Talk
What do you call it when you, as a Mac Admin, prepare a new or used Mac for a new user (or set of users)? Imaging? Deployment? Provisioning? Any or all of these? Or perhaps, “I don’t call it anything, I just do it”? Yes, we Mac Admins and DevOps are really good at getting […]
Block Google Chrome Extensions with a Profile
Hi All. You guessed it, it’s another customer request blog 😛 I had another education customer request us to block the installation of Google Chrome Extensions for their student devices. The little darlings Students had been installing VPN extensions in order to try to by-pass the local proxy filtering. These didn’t actually work still (mini fist […]
Jamf Pro Server / Casper JSS Windows Upgrade Crib Sheet
Hey all. In case you couldn’t guess, I’ve been completing a lot of on-premise Casper JSS / Jamf Pro Server upgrades recently for customer’s using Windows Servers to host their solution. I’m a big fan of little reminders and checklists so I wrote a short ‘crib-sheet’ style note I use as I complete each one. […]
Running the Jamf Pro Installer MSI in Windows
Aka “It is recommended that you use an account that is a local administrator and run the JSS Installer with elevated permissions” Hey all. This is another thing that I occasionally come across as an eternal consultant and keep forgetting the exact command needed to work around it, so externally accessible blog it is! Background […]