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Madison · Apr 17, 2004, 11:26 AM

Hi all,

Have been loving my new Dual 2.0ghz G5 for about 2 months now, aside from verifying/repairing disk permissions once in a while (how often?), is there any other routine maintenance I should be doing? I don't do heavy graphic work, I don't download strange things from unknown sites, etc. As a matter of fact, I don't do a whole lot of anything, but still, what else should I be doing to keep this baby rocking?

Thanks,
Tom

Truepop · Apr 17, 2004, 01:03 PM

there are some cron jobs that Mac OS X does to keep your system in good order but it only does it at night so if you turn off your machine at night they will never be done.

True they don't have to be done but it really doesn't hurt either.

check out this software.

http://www.macosxcocktail.com/

bergy · Apr 17, 2004, 07:21 PM

For trouble free OSX computing, I recommend these simple steps and applications ..

They pose no threat to your system in any way ..

As a rule of thumb ... 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.

Use These 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 permissions process (once a week), 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 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. Macaroni installs into your system preferences and you can configure and monitor it from there if need be. Otherwise, just "set it and forget it".

Once a month or so run this ...

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. Requires restart after completion.

If you can, buy a copy of Disk Warrior and run it a couple of times a year.

Stay away from third party system hacks ( "haxies" ). Don't add extra fonts unless you have to.

These steps should prevent 95% of the problems that users may run into.

typoon · Apr 20, 2004, 09:15 AM

Another thing that you should do is run DiskWarrior. I usually run it once to twice a month, depending on how much I'm using my machine and for what.

SimeyTheLimey · Apr 20, 2004, 10:09 AM

Originally posted by bergy:
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.

Do those automatic tasks (the default ones in OS-X, without any additional software) run if the computer is asleep? Mine is almost never awake at night.

gorickey · Apr 20, 2004, 10:23 AM

Originally posted by SimeyTheLimey:
Do those automatic tasks (the default ones in OS-X, without any additional software) run if the computer is asleep? Mine is almost never awake at night.

Without any additional software the commands must be run manually via the Terminal...however, if you do use "Macaroni" or something else the commands will still run while the computer is asleep...

wataru · Apr 20, 2004, 02:14 PM

Originally posted by gorickey:
Without any additional software the commands must be run manually via the Terminal...however, if you do use "Macaroni" or something else the commands will still run while the computer is asleep...

No, nothing can run while the computer is asleep. What Macaroni does is make sure that the commands are run (later) in the event that the computer couldn't run them at the scheduled time (because the computer was asleep or off). Note that the same functionality is available for free with anacron, which is available both via fink or as a separate package (search for it on google).

gorickey · Apr 20, 2004, 02:49 PM

Originally posted by wataru:
No, nothing can run while the computer is asleep. What Macaroni does is make sure that the commands are run (later) in the event that the computer couldn't run them at the scheduled time (because the computer was asleep or off). Note that the same functionality is available for free with anacron, which is available both via fink or as a separate package (search for it on google).

My bad then, thanks for the clarification...

SimeyTheLimey · Apr 20, 2004, 03:40 PM

Originally posted by wataru:
No, nothing can run while the computer is asleep.

Why does Apple have maintenance commands run at a time when the vast majority of users let their computers go to sleep so they won't work? That's stupid. We're not all insomniac college kids without jobs.

wataru · Apr 20, 2004, 05:32 PM

Originally posted by SimeyTheLimey:
Why does Apple have maintenance commands run at a time when the vast majority of users let their computers go to sleep so they won't work? That's stupid. We're not all insomniac college kids without jobs.

That's a really good question, especially since a free solution is available. Anyone know of a reason for this?

CatOne · Apr 20, 2004, 07:12 PM

Originally posted by wataru:
That's a really good question, especially since a free solution is available. Anyone know of a reason for this?

Dunno... it's the standard times for when 'cron' runs.

People would probably complain if the disk started chugging and the machine got slow for a few minutes in the middle of the day... and bitch about random behaviors the machine had, so since the tasks aren't all THAT important for everyday user stuff (do you really need your logs rotated, when was the last time you ran 'locate' from a terminal?) they just run "whenever"

alphasubzero949 · Apr 20, 2004, 07:23 PM

Originally posted by SimeyTheLimey:
Why does Apple have maintenance commands run at a time when the vast majority of users let their computers go to sleep so they won't work? That's stupid. We're not all insomniac college kids without jobs.

From the MacJanitor Read Me:

The Unix subsystems on Mac OS X were originally written for machines that were typically never shut off. Mac OS X inherits this assumption in version 1.0, and has many system maintenance tasks that are scheduled to run between 3 am and 5 am. In addition, there are scripts designed to run weekly on weekends, and once a month in the middle of the night.

If these maintenance tasks are never run (such as on a laptop that is always shut off at night), many log files and system databases will grow extremely large or fail to get backed up.

Terri · Apr 20, 2004, 07:34 PM

Originally posted by wataru:
Note that the same functionality is available for free with anacron, which is available both via fink or as a separate package (search for it on google).

After reading this I installed anacron. Seems like Apple should find a way of making this part of the Mac OS X install.

wataru · Apr 20, 2004, 08:17 PM

Originally posted by alphasubzero949:
From the MacJanitor Read Me:

The Unix subsystems on Mac OS X were originally written for machines that were typically never shut off. Mac OS X inherits this assumption in version 1.0, and has many system maintenance tasks that are scheduled to run between 3 am and 5 am. In addition, there are scripts designed to run weekly on weekends, and once a month in the middle of the night.

If these maintenance tasks are never run (such as on a laptop that is always shut off at night), many log files and system databases will grow extremely large or fail to get backed up.

Yes, we are aware of that. But that doesn't explain why they don't use anacron, which is designed to fix just this problem.

chabig · Apr 20, 2004, 10:46 PM

Want to bet it's included in 10.4?

gorickey · Apr 20, 2004, 10:50 PM

Originally posted by chabig:
Want to bet it's included in 10.4?

I'll bet a stack of expired credit cards that it's not...

saranwarp · Apr 23, 2004, 04:56 PM

For some reason, my computer's gone ballistic ever since I installed anacron. How do I uninstall it?

wataru · Apr 24, 2004, 01:02 AM

That depends on how you installed it.