[xfesty]

Hi,

I've asked this here before but the question was probably too broad so I didn't get any proper answers. I'll try again, but be more specific.

Since I've had my 10.3 install I've installed a sh*tload of drivers, third party applications, haxies, etc and for obvious reasons I felt my system performance/stability was degrading. I ended up solving most problems by manually cleaning/deleting things (under ~, /System and /Library, et al), but I still know I could do better. I've ran all the usual system cleaners (ONYX, etc) but they don't solve these specific problems.

Is there an application out there that can identify startup drivers/applications/utilities/haxies/etc and offer to cleanly remove them? When I say drivers, I'm talking kext's under /System/Library/Extensions - even if the program had an internal database of kext's that come with 10.3.6, and can show 3rd party ones to make my job identifying what shouldn't be there easier.

The real solution would be a reinstall, but I've got way too much on this installation to do that and not enough time.

Thanks!

[CharlesS]

To remove any haxies, just remove the Application Enhancer framework and you'll get them. Also, there should be a folder in /Library that APE puts all the individual haxies in - I'm guessing it would be something like /Library/Application Enhancers or something similar.

To remove any third-party frameworks, just yank stuff in /Library/Frameworks and ~/Library/Frameworks.

For startup items, just clean out /Library/StartupItems.

With extensions, we have a problem. With OS 9, there used to be an old trick where you could set the label of everything in your Extensions folder to a certain label, and then anything that was subsequently added would not have the label. In Panther, you could still do this, but it'd be more of a pain since you'd have to change the permissions on the files so you'd have write access first (and then, you'd have to change them back, since kexts don't work properly if their permissions aren't right).

Unfortunately, it's too late to use this method, and there's no really good way to tell which extensions are Apple-provided and which are not. Here are some things that can help, though:

1. Any kext whose name begins with "Apple" or "IO" is almost certainly Apple-provided.

2. Any kext that appears in BaseSystem.pkg or Essentials.pkg (shameless plug: you can check the contents of the packages using Pacifist) is Apple-provided.

3. Sometimes (but not always), Apple-provided kexts have an Apple copyright string when you look them up in System Profiler. Unfortunately, sometimes they have some other company's copyright, though, particularly if they're drivers for some third-party product.

4. If none of the above rules apply, use your judgment. Often, third-party kexts have some giveaway, such as the name of the company who makes one of the software programs you've installed in either the filename or in the Get Info string in System Profiler.

[Dr. Smoke]

Originally posted by xfesty:
The real solution would be a reinstall, but I've got way too much on this installation to do that and not enough time.

An Archive and Install isn't that painful or time-consuming.

See my "General advice on performing an Archive and Install" FAQ. Perform the steps therein in the specified order.