[Simon Young]

1) I used to have my internal 60GB drive partitioned into two equal volumes, with the intention of storing all applications, system files and preferences on one, and all of my personal files on another. When reinstalling OS X from scratch recently, I decided to wipe and combine the two volumes, and keep everything together as one partition. It seemed to make sense, given that I can now use my 'User' folder to store all of my iTunes music, pictures, videos and work. Also, I don't have to worry about running out of space on my boot drive. Other than from a safety point-of-view, are there any disadvantages to what I've done, i.e. will my personal files get fragmented quicker?

2) I've been using Norton Utilities on my G4 17" PB ever since I got it, but it's caused more problems than it's solved. I've lost data when optimising my drives, and as a result Disk Doctor has problems with things such as the Volume Block Header. Now, I've kind of vowed not to reinstall Norton, because I can't bear the stress of worrying whether it's keeping my data safe when doing all of its operations. Have I been a little harsh? Is it wise never to defrag/optimise one's drives? Can Apple's own Disk Utility fisk most/all minor problems?

3) Finally, all of this worry over Norton (which prompted me to reinstall everything from scratch) has got me wondering about backing up. I rarely do it, and then only personal files, such as video projects, stuff I've downloaded etc. However, with this last reinstall I've found it a real chore to set-up all of my applications again. Through iSync, I've at least found a way to safely backup my bookmarks, calendars and addresses - but what is the easiest/most effecient way of backing up my system prefs? Would I be right in thinking that I should just make a copy of the 'Library' folder in my 'Users' folder?

[blot]

I have used norton utilities since ver 5 till 8 and have never encountered problems and yes I also defrag my drives using speed disk without any problems.

I think there are a few steps that one needs to do before running speed disk. First run apple disk utilities and repair hd. Next repair permissions. After that, run Norton utilities and make sure you scan through the disks till no problems are found. Then run speed disk to defrag the disk.

The above steps have served me well so far.

Regards.

[suthercd]

I am glad to hear blot had good results with Norton. I had big problems with it from the day I switched to OS X. For a disk repair utility I have found Disk Warrior 3.0 flawless.

When I back up I use one of four methods. rsync from the command line in terminal does exactly what I want- copies changed files, skips others. In the Developer Tools package, there is the CpMac command which copies the resource as well as the data forks of older pre-OS X files. CpMac -r makes the copy recursive. Another command line tool is ditto. ditto -rsrcfork copies data and resource forks. Finally, www.bombich.com is a great site for all kinds of backup/cloning tools. Carbon Copy Cloner, authored by Mike Bombich, is available there. A wonderful tool.

HTH
Craig

[Old Toad]

In addition to what BLOT has recommended I'd also boot into single user mode (Command-S) and then run the fsck -y command until you get no response. See below:

How to start up in single-user mode
1. Restart the computer.
2. Immediately after the startup sound, press and hold both the Command (Apple) and "s" keys on your keyboard. The computer will display a series of text messages, at which time you may release these keys.

When the computer has started up, it will display a command line prompt (#). The computer is now in single-user mode.

How to Use fsck -y From the Command Line

Once you have reached a command line, follow these steps to use fsck:
1. At the prompt, type: fsck -y (NOTE, there is a space between the k and the -)
2. Press Return.

The fsck utility will go through five "phases" and then return information about the disk's utilization and fragmentation. Once the check is finished, if no issue is found, you should see "** The volume <name of volume> appears to be OK."

If fsck alters, repairs, or fixes anything, it will display the message:

***** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED *****

Important: If this message appears, repeat the "fsck -y " command until this message no longer appears. It is normal for your computer to require several "passes" of fsck, because first-pass repairs may uncover additional errors.

3. When fsck reports that no problems were found, type: reboot
4. Press Return.

I would do this as the last step before running Speed Disk.

I've used Systemworks 2.0 ever since I went to OSX and have had no problems.

Good Luck.

[Simon Young]

Thanks for all the info! Is this 'fsck' command anything like the 'Repair Disk' command in Disk Utility? How does it work? Can it theoretically lose data? Is it designed to be used by consumers who don't really know what they're doing (i.e. me), or more for developers and programmers? I'd just like to be extra sure before I go and use it - I don't want anything screwed up, seeing as I've just reinstalled everything. I suppose I could back up my preferences this time - would the method I suggested work? The other methods suggested do sound good, but I want something simple that will just save my system and application preferences and other user info (calenders, address book, e-mail inboxes, cookies).