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Proven ways to keep your mac healthy
Software Optimization
Avoid unnecessary extensions. The more you have, the more memory
and disk space it will eat up. Bugs in an extension can also crash
and slow down your computer. Your Mac will also startup faster when
you have fewer extensions and control panels to load. You can use
the Extensions Manager Control Panel to help you decide what to
enable and what to disable.
Avoid unnecessary control panels in your computer. Just like extensions,
the more you install, the less memory and disk space will be left
for you. Bugs in a control panel can also crash and slow down your
computer.You can use the Extensions Manager Control Panel t to help
you decide what to enable and what to disable.
If you are not connected to a network via ethernet or TCP/IP, go
to the Chooser and deactivate AppleTalk. If you turn it on, your
system will lose about 10 percent in performance.
Avoid using Virtual memory. Use real RAM if possible. Always remember
that Virtual Memory will be turned on after you install a new Mac
OS (I don't know why!) even you have enough RAM to run all your
applications. All the latest information indicates that for OS 9.x:
(1) the speed penalty is minimal, if it exists at all, and (2) the
system is more stable with VM turned on. Apple suggests allocating
1 MB more than the physical RAM that is installed.
Do not check "Calculate folder sizes" inside the View
control panel, since this will slow your computer considerably and
can slow the server (if you are connected to a server) to a crawl
the minute you open a folder. Not available in MacOS 8 and 8.1.
For faster font display, use Geneva 9 point. This is fast because
the font is built into the System file. Even if you delete all the
fonts, your Mac will still have Geneva 9 point for screen display.
The default font for Mac OS is 10-point Geneva, but try to keep
the font size as small as is reasonably possible to allow more items
to appear in a given windows.
Uncheck the 'Shut Down Warning' in the General Controls Control
Panel.
Try to have as few fonts as possible inside your Fonts Folder. Eash
font file takes a small toll in system speed.
The Appearance control panel from Mac OS 8.5.x lets the user choose
a "soundset" which enables sounds to be used for tasks
performed on the computer. This feature is very cute but it can
slow down your Mac.
For us audio freaks, go get yourself a copy of Mac OS 9. It is much
more stable and FASTER then any other version of Mac OS 8. This
is especially noticeable with the much-hyped file transferring.
The whole system feels snappier than 8.0 did. Of course almost all
of the code is finally PowerPC native, taking advantage of faster
and more powerful chips available. But be aware that you may need
a lot more RAM than even with MacOS 8.1, and some of your older
applications and utilities may be incompatible.
What the heck are all these extensions, control panels and shared
libraries?
Most of the times they're 'called upon' when an app starts (same
as with extensions like OpenGL). Remember: OS9 is really a different
ballgame than any previous OS, a lot of strange exotic extensions
and libraries are needed, but you never know for what. Below is
some background information.
What is an extension?
An extension is a small file that changes how your computer operates.
For example, the QuickTime extension gives your computer the capability
to play digitized video and audio files. Unlike a control panel,
you typically do not have any direct interaction with an extension.
An extension makes the appropriate changes when you start your computer
and remains active until you shut down your computer. Extensions
must be loaded into memory during computer startup. Therefore, when
you place (or install) a new extension into your extension folder.
it has no effect until you restart your Macintosh. Extensions with
the letters "lib" in them are typically code libraries
that may be used by multiple applications or system components.
Turning off extensions or libraries may have unexpected effects.
In general, you shouldn't turn off any extensions unless you know
for certain what they're used for.
The contents of your Extensions folder may vary depending on the
type of computer you have. You might also have extensions that were
added by third-party applications. You can use the Extensions Manager
control panel to turn off any extension you don't need. However,
Extensions Manager will only list those files that have an INIT
resource, or files that are set to be listed regardless of whether
they have INIT code in them or not. In other words, Extensions Manager
does not show all extensions and control panels.
The Extensions folder inside the System 7.x and 8.x System Folder
contains "system extensions" (previously known as "INITs"),
and miscellaneous software additions to your Macintosh computer,
such as printer drivers and network drivers. The Extensions folder
is the first place the System looks when loading system extensions
at startup.
What is a control panel?
A control panel is a small piece of software that allows you to
change your computer's settings to meet your needs. For example,
you can change the pattern or color of your computer's desktop using
the Desktop Patterns control panel.
You can use the Extensions Manager control panel to turn off any
control panel you don't need on your computer.
Depending on the type of computer you have, the contents of your
Control Panels folder may vary. You might have control panels that
were added by third-party applications, and you don't need all the
control panels described below. For complete instructions on using
control panels, see Macintosh Guide, available in the Guide (question
mark) menu when the Finder is the active program.
What is Shared Library file?
Shared Library Manager
Apple Shared Library Manager (ASLM) extension is a piece of code
that lets other programs share common code. Historically each application
was required to link in any necessary library modules at compile
time. The shared library manager lets any common code be loaded
into memory only once by all running applications and then shared
by others who also need to make the same calls thus reducing the
memory foot print for application.
ASLM ships with several Apple as well as some third-party products.
Any application that requires ASLM ships with a copy of the application.
ASLM maintains the relationship of applications to shared libraries
at the system level.
Shared Libraries
A shared library is a library of functions or classes (for C++ programmers)
that are compiled, linked, and stored separately from the clients
(applications) that use them. By accessing the functions or classes
that are stored in a shared library, a client (application) can
call functions that are not part of its executable code. Furthermore,
functions or classes that are stored in a shared library can be
called by different applications that are running at the same time.
Because shared libraries can contain shared code and are loaded
and linked at run time, they save enormous amounts of RAM and disk
space. Shared libraries eliminate the necessity for keeping multiple
copies of code in memory when multiple applications use the same
code. Shared libraries help software developers design independent,
modular, compact libraries that applications can share. It also
helps software designers develop their products faster, and it makes
the products easier to improve and maintain.
A shared library file is a binary file that can contain object code
for functions, classes, methods (member functions), data, and resources.
A shared library file can contain one or more shared libraries.
When a shared library file is made available, developers can share,
and dynamically link with, the code stored in the shared library.
What exactly is PRAM?
PRAM stands for Parameter Random-Access Memory. It is a tiny section
of memory that is set aside for critical information about your
Mac's configuration. PRAM is powered by an internal battery so the
contents are saved even when your Mac is shut down.
Occasionally the PRAM can be overwritten when your computer crashes.
When this happens your Mac can behave in strange and unexplainable
ways. A relatively harmless--but sometimes important--step in troubleshooting
problems is to reset the PRAM. The process of resetting is also
known as zapping and it simply sets the PRAM to factory defaults.
The steps for zapping PRAM differ depending upon the model Mac you
have and the version of the Mac OS you're running. For most, you
merely need to press the Command, Option, "p" and "r"
keys immediately after you press the power button to start up and
you hear the startup chime. The PRAM has been zapped when your Mac
chimes and starts a second time. As long as you press command-option-p-r
your Mac will continue to zap the PRAM and restart.
After zapping the PRAM you'll need to update some of your Mac OS
preferences. You may have to reconfigure your RAM disk, date and
time, sound volume, AppleTalk setting, startup disk, and more.
Performing a Clean Installation with Mac OS 9:
Here are the instructions for what is commonly called a clean installation
of system software. A normal system software installation replaces
changed system files and adds new ones, but leaves other files alone.
A clean installation creates a completely new System Folder on your
hard disk.
Performing a clean installation can be a lengthy procedure, but
if you have tried other troubleshooting methods and are still experiencing
problems, it may help.
1. Start up your computer from the Mac OS CD.
2. Open the Mac OS Installer application.
3. In the Select Destination window of the Installer, click the
Options button.
4. Click the Perform Clean Installation checkbox to select it,
then click OK.
5. Follow the onscreen instructions to begin the installation.
When the installation is finished, you can reinstall extensions,
fonts, control panels, applications, and other items not installed
with the Mac OS from their original disks. If you don't have the
original disks, you can drag the items one at a time from the Previous
System Folder to the new System Folder. To make sure the software
is compatible with this version of the Mac OS, you should restart
your computer after you reinstall each item.
Remember: A clean installation creates a completely new System Folder.
This means you must reinstall any non-Apple extensions, fonts, and
control panels after you do the installation. Before you begin,
write down your Internet settings (from the Modem, TCP/IP, and Remote
Access control panels). Some of your application programs might
also need to be reinstalled after you perform a clean installation,
particularly if they rely on files that used to be in the System
Folder.
After you're sure you've copied all the items you want to save into
your new System Folder, delete the Previous System Folder from your
hard disk.Someday you may need to reset the logic board when adding
PCI cards. We found that, after installing a second PCI card (for
video), the Mac would not startup. Apple Tech Support told us, that
we would have to reset the logic board. This worked.
According to an Apple Service Source document for the previous G4
models, here is how you do this:
Resetting the logic board can resolve many system problems. Whenever
you have a unit that fails to power up, you should follow this
procedure before replacing any modules.
1. Unplug the computer.
2. Press the Power On button on the front of the unit.
3. Open the side access panel.
4. Remove the battery from the logic board.
5. Wait at least 10 minutes before replacing the battery.
6. Make sure the battery is installed in the correct +/- direction.
7. Reassemble the computer and test the unit." Disk cache
is a static area in RAM set aside to help the Macintosh work more
quickly and efficiently.
Taken for Apple's Tech Info Library:
When a program asks for data from the disk (such as a part of a
document), many times the next piece of data the program will need
(such as the next part of the document) can be anticipated. Therefore,
instead of transferring from disk to memory only the amount of data
you are immediately working with, the system puts a larger amount
(the size-of-disk-cache) of data into memory. This way, instead
of spending the time to search for data on the disk again, the next
piece of information will already be available. Disk cache works
better on non-fragmented disks.
It may seem that the size-of-disk-cache should be configured to
be quite large so that the need to search on the disk is greatly
reduced. But this is not so because the memory allocated to disk
cache cannot be used for opening more applications or documents.
Thus, giving disk cache a huge amount of memory only makes that
unavailable for use as RAM; it will not result in an increase in
performance.
If the total memory of your system software appears to be very large
under "About this Macintosh..." you should consider decreasing
the memory allotted to disk cache. Open the Memory control panel
and click the down arrow in the Disk Cache box.
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