A client gave us a MacBook Pro Mid 2009 that had some issues booting. The MacBook had El Capitan installed but it would not reinstall. After backing up the user files we then attempted to perform a recovery which attempted to restore the system to Yosemite, but that failed as well. Out of a last resort we had a copy of Snow Leopard v10.6.0 that we were able to use to reformat the drive and then install the OS. Here are the remaining steps we took to get the system retored to El Capitan.
It is important to remember that when installing any Mac OS that you don’t have any non-Apple peripherals connected such as a mouse or keyboard as these will often cause the install to fail.

1. Upgrade from v10.6.0 to v10.6.8 this is the base version needed prior to installing El Capitan.
2. Update the v10.6.8 which will then install the App Store tool.
3. Go to the Apple web site to “Get El Capitan from the App Store”
   https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206886
4. Scroll down the page to find the link “Get OS X El Capitan”. You can try this direct link.
   https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/os-x-el-capitan/
5. Click the Get button in the upper left of the page.
6. You will now need to enter your Apple ID and password to continue.
7. The install will begin, it is about 6.21 GB and may take an hour or more to complete depending on your Internet connection speed.
8. Once the install completes and the computer reboots, the system should now have El Capitan.

 We hope that this information is helpful. Please let us know how this has helped you or if you have additional questions. As always Firestone Technical Resources, Inc. is here to help with your computer support issues - "Providing personal service for your impersonal technology."

When managing the licensing for Kaspersky endpoints, you typically create a task to add the latest key to the end point. The trouble comes when you forget to uncheck the option “Add this key as an additional key” and then your end point has two license keys associated with it. If you are managing multiple license key files with endpoints that are remote, which you don’t have direct access to, this may seem to be an even bigger issue for you. So how can you remove a duplicate key?

The process to remove a duplicate key may be a two-step process, depending on which key you want to be the final key assigned. For example, if your endpoint’s primary key noted in the application properties is correct and the additional key is the one you want to remove, then you must follow the two step process. But if the additional key is the key you want to remain, you only need to follow the first step to replace the existing key.

If you're having trouble getting your Cisco WAP (Wireless Access Point) to connect to its controller, you might notice these symptoms: Wireless device cannot connect, Blinking red, red/green LED, and the device not showing on the controller for Cisco WAPs that use a controller. The Cisco WAPs that have "CAP" in their model number require a controller.

Troubleshooting can be done in this order: reboot, reset to factory defaults, and booting to original firmware.

Have you had the need to test an outgoing port through a firewall to verify that the port was open for outbound traffic? There is a great tool called Outgoing Port Tester that will test any TCP port using a variety of methods. You can use your browser to test most ports using the following URL.

http://portquiz.net/

With such a large number of connection issues with Outlook 2016 connecting to Office 365 you would think someone would have the definitive answer to these persistent issues. It is unfortunate that the issues that plague Outlook 2016 are not all related. Hopefully after you have read this technical note you too will be able to resolve your issue. Although this is not the fix that will fix all Outlook connectivity issues, but then again it might fix yours.

I guess starting with the obvious is always a good place to begin.

Most of the Microsoft Exchange technical notes do a great job of explaining how to move a recipient's mailbox from one database to another. But there is little to be found about moving the recipient resources to different database. The short answer is that it is the same process.

So you don't have to go looking for the details, here are the steps to follow.

After spending years supporting the Microsoft platform you find those special tools that help you overcome specific situations that seem monumental at first because you have to manually work your way through it. If you are lucky you will find some administration tool that eases that pain because someone before you had it to and had the skill to develop a tool to make it easier.

The purpose of this page is to help point others to some great web sites that offer free tools for administrating a Microsoft environment. Since we are unaffiliated with any of these sites, use these tools with caution. We don't advocate piracy so if there is a licensing fee, please pay up. The only things free are viruses and malware - and eventually you will pay the cost for that too.