Today's technology has come a long way in closing the divide between Windows and Mac applications, especially in the enterprise. However, a gap still exists for some and requires a bridge to move between computing environments.
For Mac users, the stalwart tool has been the Microsoft Remote Desktop connection. Available now through the Mac App store, it allows users to remotely connect to a Windows desktop to access local files, applications, and network resources.
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In order to get started with Microsoft Remote Desktop, you must begin by downloading it from the Mac App Store. Click the blue 'App Store' icon in your dock. Or, you can download it from our sister site Download.com here.
Once you've accessed the Mac App Store, use the search bar at the top right of the screen to search for 'Microsoft Remote Desktop.' The first search result should be what you're looking for. To begin the download, click the blue 'Get' button. This app is free, so no price will be listed.
Next, open the application by clicking through the grey 'Launchpad' icon and clicking on the Remote Desktop app icon. Or, you can use the searchlight feature by clicking the looking glass at the top right of your home screen, or by using the shortcut Command + Space Bar, and searching for 'Microsoft Remote Desktop.' Opening the app should look like this:
If you think you'll be frequently using this remote desktop connection, now would be a good time to set it in your dock. Right click (control + click) on the icon, mouse over 'Options,' and click 'Keep in Dock.' This will keep you from having to look for the icon every time you need to use it.
At this point you'll need to enable remote access on your target PC. For a Windows 8 machine, the fastest way to get this done is to search for 'Allow remote access to your computer' and click on that when it comes up. You may need an administrator password to complete this step. Under the 'System Properties' box you should see 'Remote Desktop' and the button labeled 'Allow remote connections to this computer' should be selected.
Next, you'll need to select the users who will be able to be accessed through the remote desktop connection. Now, search for 'System' and click it when it appears. Turn off hibernation and sleep settings for the target PC, as you won't be able to access it remotely if it falls asleep.
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While still in 'System,' it's a good time to go ahead and get your full PC name if you don't already have it, as you'll need it to set up the connection. Click on 'Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings' to find the full PC name and write it down. Enabling a Windows 7 computer is a little different, but you can find out how to do that here.
Head back to your Mac and click the 'New' button at the top left of the Microsoft Remote Desktop screen. You'll be prompted to fill in quite a few fields.
The first thing you'll need to input is the connection name. This is simply what you want to call the connection and it has no real bearing on the connection itself. For example, you could call it 'John's work computer,' or 'Jennifer's PC.'
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Next, you'll need to input the PC name (the one you wrote down from earlier), or the IP address so your Mac knows where to find your PC. The next line down allows you to configure a Gateway, which would let you connect to virtual desktops or session-based desktops that are on your company's network. Check with your network administrator to see if there is a gateway you are to use.
Credentials is where you will type in the domain, username, and password for the target PC so you can log in through the remote connection. Resolution, colors, and full screen mode are all personal preferences for how you want the remote desktop to launch on your machine. If you're not sure, start with the standard settings and go from there.
If you want to configure peripheral devices for your remote desktop, you can find options for that under the middle tab, 'Session.'
The first choice is a drop-down menu for sound. You can disable sound, have it play on the remote PC, or have it play on your Mac. If you want to connect to an administrator session on a Windows server, click the box next to 'Connect to admin session.'
The next option to 'Forward printing devices' will make your local printers available during your remote desktop session. 'Swap mouse buttons' will allow you to use left click commands with a right-click Mac mouse.
The last tab at the top of the window is 'Redirection.' This is where you would choose a local folder you wanted to be available during your remote session. Click the '+' button, choose a name for the folder, and input the folder's path to have it available.
When you are finished configuring your remote desktop, click the red close button at the top left of the dialog box and your new remote desktop will be added. To start a session with that desktop, simply double-click it to begin.
If you want to edit, duplicate, export, or delete that remote connection, right-click (control + click) on the desktop name to access those options.
If you don't think Microsoft Remote Desktop is the option for you, here are some other options available at Download.com:
What do you think?
Is there a better way to access your Windows applications? Tell us in the comments.
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Need to create a new partition, or re-format an external drive? There’s no need to hunt down paid partition managers or disk-management boot disks: your Mac includes a built-in partition manager and disk management tool known as Disk Utility.
Disk Utility is even accessible from Recovery Mode, so you can partition your Mac’s hard drive without having to create and load up any special bootable tools.
Accessing Disk Utility
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To access the Disk Utility in macOS, just press Command+Space to open Spotlight search, type “Disk Utility” into the search box, and then press Enter. You can also click the Launchpad icon on your dock, click the Other folder, and then click Disk Utility. Or, open a Finder window, click Applications in the sidebar, double-click the Utilities folder, and then double-click Disk Utility.
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To access the Disk Utility on a modern Mac—regardless of whether it even has an operating system installed—reboot or boot up the Mac and hold Command+R as it boots. It’ll boot into Recovery Mode, and you can click Disk Utility to open it up.
In Recovery Mode, macOS runs a special sort of recovery environment. This allows you to use Disk Utility to wipe your entire drive—or repartition it.
Partition Drives and Format Partitions
Disk Utility shows internal drives and connected external drives (like USB drives), as well as special image files (DMG files) that you can mount and access as drives.
On the left side of the window you’ll see all mounted volumes.
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This annoyingly leaves out empty hard drives, but click Views > Show All Devices in the menu bar and you’ll see a tree of drives and their internal partitions. Each “parent” drive is a separate physical drive, while each little drive icon below it is a partition on that drive.
To manage your partitions, click a parent drive and select the “Partition” heading. You can adjust the partitioning layout scheme here. You can also resize, delete, create, rename, and reformat partitions.
Note: Many of these operations are destructive, so be sure you have backups first.
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If you want to repartition your system drive, you’ll need to do this from within Recovery Mode, with one exception: APFS volumes. APFS is Apple’s new file system, the default on solid state drives as of macOS High Sierra, and it’s got all sorts of clever tricks up its sleeve. One of them: volumes on the same drive pool storage space, meaning you’ll see two separate drives in Finder, but won’t have to manage how much storage space each volume uses. To add a new APFS volume, simply select your system drive, and then click Edit > Add APFS in the menu bar. You’ll see the above prompt.
First Aid Repairs File System Problems
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If a hard drive is acting up, Disk Utility’s First Aid function is the first thing you should try. This feature checks the file system for errors and attempts to correct them, all without much intervention from you.
Simply click the drive you want to check, then click the “First Aid” button. Be warned that these checks can take a while, and running them on your system drive will leave you with an unresponsive computer until it’s done.
Secure-Erase a Partition or Drive
The Erase button allows you to erase an entire hard disk or partition. You can also choose to only erase its free space.
You can use this feature to securely wipe a hard drive. Click a drive, then click the “Erase” button, then click “Security Options” to select a number of passes to overwrite the drive with. One pass should be good enough, but you can always do a few more if you feel like it. The maximum number is unnecessary.
Note that this feature will only be useful on mechanical drives, as you shouldn’t be able to recover deleted data from a solid state drive. Don’t perform a secure erase on a solid-state drive, such as the ones built into modern Mac Books—that will just wear down the drive for no advantage. Performing the “fastest” erase of the internal drive from recovery mode will erase everything.
Create and Work With Disk Images
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Click the File menu in Disk Utility and use the New menu to create blank disk images or disk images containing the contents of a folder — these are .DMG files. You can then mount that disk image file and write files into it. This is particularly useful because you can encrypt that DMG file, creating an encrypted container file that can store other files. You can then upload this encrypted DMG file to cloud storage locations or save it on unencrypted removable drives.
The Convert and Resize Image buttons will allow you to manage that disk image from the Disk Utility window.
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Copy Volumes and Restore Disk Images
The Restore feature allows you to copy one volume to another. You can use it to copy the contents of one partition to another, or to copy a disk image to a partition.
You can also create a disk image that contains an exact copy of an entire partition. Select the drive you’d like to create an image of, and then click File > New Image > Image From [Partition Name].
You can later restore this disk image file to a partition, erasing that partition and copying the data from the disk image to it.
RAID Setup
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The Disk Utility also allows you to set up RAID on a Mac: just click File > RAID Assistant in the menu bar. Combine disks and partitions into one or more RAID sets and choose whether you want to mirror, stripe, or concatenate your data. This is an advanced feature most people won’t need to use, but it’s there if you need it.
Mirroring (RAID 1) means data you write to the RIAD is stored on each partition or drive for failsafe purposes. If one drive dies, your data is still available elsewhere.
Striping (RAID 0) will alternate disk writes between one drive and the other for faster speed. However, if one of the drives fails, you’ll lose all the data — so it’s getting more speed at the expense of less reliability.
Concatenation (JBOD) allows you to combine different drives as though they were one, useful in certain circumstances.
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The Disk Utility included with Mac OS X is powerful, and it should handle all the functions you need it to perform. It’s a bit like the Disk Management tool built into Windows, but more capable and, thanks to Recovery Mode, easier to access from outside the operating system.
Photo credit: Joe Besure/Shutterstock.com
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