[Toyin]

This is a little bizarre. I decided the other day to re-install OSX (due to a problem with my mac.com account which ended up being a server problem ). So I copied my Library folder and all my applications to another Hardrive.

I re-installed OSX with the CD and erased the destination partition.
I planned on restoring all the files in my Library and low and behold many of my finder preferences were already restored. Things like window locations were exactly as I left them and in the configuration they were in previously. Are all those com.apple.xxx files stored somewhere else? Any thoughts?

Oh and restoring OSX is much easier than restoring OS9
OSX library = 86MB (including a 70MB IE Download cache) which you can just dump onto your Home icon

OS9 Extensions & Preferences = 190MB of files that you need to carefully sift through (not to mention hundreds of little files dumped into the system folder).

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-Toyin

ToyinFayemi.com

[torifile]

There's a folder in the library folder in each user's home directory called, uniquely enough, 'preferences'. I think that all your individual preferences are stored there. There's another folder called preferences in the 'System/library/' directory but that seems to just have the system preferences apps stuff. BTW, it's good to hear how easy it is to back up OSX. I've got to do it now (I'm selling my comp)

[Toyin]

I realize that the preferences (I'm not that much of an idiot )are stored in the preferences file in the library, but before I restored these files some preferences were remembered.

It couldn't have come from the System's library because that was completely erased and replaced.

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-Toyin

ToyinFayemi.com

[rw]

Some preferences seem to be stored in the application bundle itself.

[Gerson]

But Toyin said some of the *Finder* preferences were kept. That's really strange. I could imagine that if the OS X installer was smart it would recognize your preference files and keep them during a reinstall, but you said that you erased that partition? How odd.

[griffman]

>>recognize your preference files and keep them during a reinstall, but you said that you erased that partition? How odd.<<

Not just odd, but basically impossible? How can OS X know anything about Finder preferences when installing onto what appears to be a completely blank hard drive? The only thing I can think of is that the Finder settings get written into PRAM, which makes zero sense. But that's the only place I can think of where a setting is retained even when a hard drive is erased cleanly...right?

-rob.

[REVITUP]

This is a bit far out(but so is the rest of this thread, so it should fit right in ), but what if Apple stored a user's preferences for specific applications, say the ones included in OS X, on the user's iDisk(or some other form of online storage managed by Apple), and the preferences are accessible wherever you have access to your iTools account. This is kind of along the lines of the remote desktop rumors there were awhile back.

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The Q.BATi Project

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[Toyin]

That's along the lines that I was thinking, but why not all of the finder preferences? A very cool idea if it actually worked and if Apple let you know about it. I think it would be a violation of our rights if they stored personal info without letting you know. (Then again I didn't read the entire licensing agreement)

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-Toyin

ToyinFayemi.com

[Craig R. Arko]

Aren't some of the FInder view preferences stored in the invisible '.DS_Store' files that seem to litter every directory OS X comes in contact with? Even network volumes and folders get these.

[Toyin]

I think you answered my question Craig. All my files are on other partions/drives. I navigate through them by strategically placed folder aliases. All the info must be stored for those specific windows in the DS_store files. Thanks

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-Toyin

ToyinFayemi.com