[Weezer]

Hey,

So I've been making an effort to clean up my HD, burning lots of files, deleting random stuff I dont need, etc. Basically I was functioning at 1 gig free on my 60 gig boot drive at all times, so I'm doing a lot better now. I've been reading up on disk defraging, and most people seem to say that OS X has built in measures so that is not necessary etc. However, I read that it only accounts for small files, like 15 megs or less. If I constantly work with large files (around a gig), will disk defragging be of use? What is the best program to do that? Also, what are some good apps and features that I should use to keep my system running at optimal performance? Finally (I promise), Im currently using the 5400 rpm drive that came with my 933 G4. I also have a 7200 8 meg cache drive installed. Would changing the 7200 drive as my boot drive speed anything up? Thanks a lot!

[bergy]

For trouble free OSX computing ... I recommend these steps and apps ..

After any update .. Repair permissions: Close all files and applications on the disk you want to repair. Go to Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility and double click it. Then select your hard drive in the left panel and First Aid at the top. Then click on "Repair Permissions." It will take a few minutes.

Essential Maintenance Tools

Macaroni ... Just Set It and Forget It!
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/9633

Why should you have to remember to clean up your Mac every day, every week, and every month? Shouldn't a computer be able to remember for you?

Macaroni is a tool which handles regular maintenance for Mac OS X, including the Mac OS X repair privileges process as well as Unix-style maintenance. Without Macaroni, some of these tasks normally run in the middle of the night, and don't get run unless you leave your Mac on all night. Others don't run automatically at all, and won't happen unless you remember when they're due.
Macaroni remembers the schedule for you!
Macaroni runs these maintenance tasks on a regular schedule, regardless of when your Mac is on. If a scheduled maintenance task is not run when it's normally scheduled, Macaroni automatically ensures that it's run at the next opportunity, whenever the Mac is on.



Also every month or so ....
Cache Out X
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/9538
Cache Out X clears out the cache entries on your machine, helping you recover valuable disk space on your machine. Items removed include the caches in System, Users, and Library, along with the Internet Explorer download cache. Optionally clears the IE's history cache as well.

If you like to dabble ... try Cocktail instead .. however make sure you know what you're doing ..

References for above suggestions ...

Apple's Say on Maintenance Tasks
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107388

Panther Maintenance Tips
http://www.macdevcenter.com/lpt/a/4400


Defragging ... Tech Tool Pro 4 is highly rated ..

For more on this topic ..

Former Senior Engineer at Mac Norton Utilities discusses Defragging
http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07254

Apple - OS 10 Disk Optimization
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25668

[chabig]

I love Macaroni also.

[Weezer]

thanks a lot for the thoughtful reply and the links