Maintaining your Mac in good condition isn't terribly difficult, and the effort you do put in will pay off in having to spend less time and effort solving problems. In this section, you will learn about the following maintenance tasks:
Using Software Update to Maintain Your SoftwareApple continuously updates the OS (and other applications, such as the iLife applications) to solve problems, enhance performance, and introduce new features. Keeping track of the updates manually is time-consuming. Fortunately, you don't have to. You can use the Software Update tool (which consists of a pane in the System Preferences application and the Software Update application) to check, download, and install updates to Mac OS X and related software (such as firmware updates, updates to Apple applications you use, and so on). Configuring Software UpdateTo configure Software Update, follow these steps:
When configuring Software Update, you have the following options:
NOTE Immediately installing available updates is not always a good idea. Sometimes, the updates are flawed, in which case the problems become known pretty quickly. If you want to avoid early adopter problems, you might want to wait a few days after an update is available before you install it on your Mac. Working with Software UpdateWhen an update is available and you haven't selected the "download in background" option (whether you check for them manually or automatically), the Software Update application will open (see Figure 35.2). In the top pane of the application's window is a list of all available updates. If you select an update, information about that update appears in the lower pane of the window. You can download and install one or more updates by checking the check box next to the updates you want to install and clicking the Install button or choosing a specific option from the Update menu. Figure 35.2. The Software Update application manages the download and installation of available updates for you.TIP You can jump straight into the Software Update application (without opening the Software Update pane first) by selecting Apple menu, Software Update. The application will launch and immediately check for updates. NOTE As with other application installs, you have to authenticate yourself as an administrator to be able to install updates via Software Update. When the Software Update application is open, you can select one of the following download options from the Update menu:
TIP If you have more than one Mac, the first or third option can be a good choice because you can put the updater on a CD and install it from there on each machine rather than downloading it to each machine one at a time. NOTE When you click the Install button, the Install option is selected. To select one of the other options, you must use the Update menu. If you selected the "download in background" option, you won't see the Software Update application until the updates have been downloaded to your Mac. Occasionally, updates are released that are of no value to you, such as updates for languages you don't use, devices you don't have, and so on. Software Update regularly reminds you of these updates until you download them. However, if you see an update that you are sure you won't want to download and install, you can have Software Update ignore that specific update. To do so, use the following steps: NOTE Ignoring an update removes it from the list of available updates. If you don't want to install a specific download, just uncheck its check box. To install that update, check its box before you click the Install button.
You can see ignored updates again by selecting Software Update, Reset Ignored Updates. All the updates you have ignored are added back to the Software Update application and you are prompted to download and install them again. You can't choose to restore a single update; you have to restore them all. Of course, you can choose to ignore specific updates again to remove them from the list. NOTE Whether the "download in background" option is good for you or not mostly depends on the type of Internet connection you have. If you have a broadband connection, this option doesn't hurt because you aren't tying up your phone line while updates are downloading. You can just choose not to install any updates you don't want to. If you use a dial-up connection, it is better not to download updates in the background because some of the updates are quite large and you might tie up a phone line for a long time downloading an update you aren't going to install anyway. After you have downloaded and installed an update, use the Installed Updates tab of the Software Update pane of the System Preferences application to verify that the updates were installed.
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Maintaining Your Disk DrivesMaintaining your disk drives will go a long way toward maximizing performance and preventing problems. You can use the Mac OS X Disk Utility application to do basic disk maintenance and repair. For maximum performance, you can also consider defragmenting and optimizing your disks. Checking and Repairing Disks with Disk UtilityAmong other things, the Disk Utility application (located in the Applications/Utilities folder) enables you to check for problems with your disks and then repair problems that are found. To check and repair a volume, perform the following steps:
NOTE For the Mac OS X startup volume, you never really need to run Disk First Aid. That is because the disk is checked and repaired during startup. You can also run a Unix disk repair utility during startup.
To learn how to run a Unix disk repair utility during startup, p. 245. You can choose to verify a volume rather than to repair it. When you do so, the application finds problems with the disk and reports back to you. You then have to tell the application to repair those problems. Generally, you should use the Repair button to save the extra step and because you will always choose to repair problems Disk Utility finds.
To learn how to use the Disk Utility to initialize and partition hard disks, p. 898. You can also use Disk Utility to repair the permissions on the startup volume you are using. This can solve access problems with specific files on the machine when you don't have the required permissions. Do the following:
You can use the Verify Disk Permissions button to find permission problems. Then you have to tell the application to repair them. Like disk problems, you will almost always repair any problems the application finds, so you can save yourself a step by using the Repair button instead. TIP Disk Utility has a toolbar, which you can configure by Control-clicking it and using the resulting pop-up menu to configure the toolbar. Erasing Disks with Disk UtilityYou can also use Disk Utility to quickly erase and reformat volumes or erasable disks (such as CD-RW discs):
TIP You can get detailed information about a device or volume by selecting it and clicking the Info button on the toolbar. Enabling Journaling with Disk UtilityUnder Mac OS X, disks can use the Mac OS (Journaled) file format. This format provides a journal function that tracks activity that has taken place in the main areas of the disk. This log helps re-create the data on the disk and makes repair operations more successful. In most cases, you should use this option because it gives you a better chance of recovering data and disks if you have problems. You can select the Journaled format when you erase a disk or volume, or you can enable journaling on an existing volume. To do the latter, use the following steps:
TIP You can disable journaling again by selecting File, Disable Journaling. Defragmenting and Optimizing Your Hard DisksAs you save files to a disk (again, this means any kind of disk you have mounted on your Mac, except for CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, and other locked disks from which you can only read data), data is written to the disk. The Mac is also frequently writing other sorts of data (such as preference changes and other system-level data) to the startup disk. As data is written to a disk, it is written in the next available space (called a block). After the data is laid down, the Mac returns to what it what was doing. When it is time to save more data, the next batch is written in the next open space, and so on. Think of this as the Mac putting all the data down in a straight line (yes, the disk is round, but it is easier to think of it this way), one chunk after another. As files are opened and closed, data from different files is laid down in the next available space so that, instead of all the data from one file being in a continuous block, it can be stored in blocks located in various spots around the disk. In this state, the data is fragmented. Although fragmentation is a normal part of the way disk drives function, excessive fragmentation can slow down the disk. Things slow down because the drive head must read data from all the blocks that make up a particular file. As those blocks become more numerous and are spread out around the disk, it takes longer and longer to read all the data for that file. You use a process called defragmentation to correct this condition. You need a disk maintenance program to do this, such as Tech Tool Pro. What the defragmentation process does is pick up all the data blocks for each particular file and write them in a continuous block. It does this for every file on the disk. After the data is laid out nice and neat, the drive performs faster because it doesn't have to move as far to read and write the data for a particular file. NOTE
Because a hard drive is made up of a round disk that spins at a constant speed, it takes longer to read and write data to various parts of the disk. Data near the center is read more quickly than data out near the rim. Data can be written to the disk in such a way that the access speed of the drive is optimized. To do this, the data that is used constantly but not changed muchsuch as the system software and applicationsare stored near the center of the disk. The documents and other data that are infrequently used are stored out toward the edge of the disk. This arrangement speeds up the disk because access to the most frequently used data is faster, and keeping the static data together means it will not become fragmented. Thus, the data is read and written in an optimized (for speed) fashion. You also need a disk maintenance tool to optimize a disk. Usually, defragmentation and optimization are done at the same time using the same tool. The steps to perform these tasks depend on the particular software you use. Generally, this is not complicated and is a matter of choosing the drives you want to defragment and optimize and clicking Start. NOTE Defragmentation and optimization are somewhat controversial topics. Many experts believe they do little to no good, while others believe you can gain some performance and reliability improvements by performing these tasks on your disks regularly. Personally, I think you can better spend your time by keeping your disks well organized and using Disk Utility to check them every so often than worrying about squeezing a few microseconds of performance out of them. Cleaning Up Your DrivesYou can do a lot for the performance of your disks by simply keeping them cleaned up. The more data on your drive, the less room you have to store new files. If your disks get too full, their performance slows down significantly. More data means there is more information for your Mac to manage, and thus it has to work harder. You can also run into all kinds of problems if you try to save files to disks that are full to the brim; how full this is depends on the size of the files with which you are working. Learn and practice good work habits such as deleting files you don't need, uninstalling software you don't use, and archiving files you are done with (such as on a CD-R disc). NOTE Many disk maintenance applications enable you to retrieve files you have deleted (an "undelete" or recover function). This is possible because during normal deletes (when you empty the Trash) the file is removed from the active system but might still exist on the disk in some form. The only way to be permanently rid of a file so it can't be recovered is to write over the area in which that file was stored with other data. To do this, you need an application that writes zeros or other bogus data over the location where the file you are deleting is stored. Typically, disk maintenance and other tools enable you to "really" delete files that you don't want to be able to be recovered. In Mac OS X , you can also do this by using the Finder's Secure Empty Trash command or by erasing a disk with Disk Utility. Maintaining Alternative Startup DisksOne of the most important tasks you need to be able to do reliably and quickly is to start up from an alternative startup volume. There are several situations in which you might need to do this. For example, if you find problems on your current startup volume, you will need to start up from another volume to repair the startup volume. If something happens to your startup volume such that your Mac can no longer use it, you need to use an alternative startup volume to get your Mac running. Several possibilities exist for alternative startup volumes; you should maintain at least one, and preferably two, of the following options:
To start up your Mac from an alternative volume, restart the machine and hold down the Option key. After a few moments, each valid startup volume appears. Select the volume from which you want to start up and press Return (or click the right-facing arrow). The volume you select will be used to start up your Mac. Depending on the type, such as a full installation of Mac OS X on a volume or the Mac OS X installation disc, you will be able to access various functionality from full Mac OS X capabilities (a full install on an alternative volume) or at least attempt to repair the startup volume itself (using the installation disc). TIP You can refresh the list of available startup volumes by clicking the Refresh button (its icon is a curved line with an arrowhead). NOTE As always, you can start up your Mac from a disc by holding down the C key while the machine is starting up. Building and Maintaining a Mac ToolkitOne of the best maintenance-related tasks you can do is to assemble and maintain a Mac toolkit. In times of trouble, this toolkit can enable you to get back to work quickly. Not having to find your tools in times of trouble also reduces the stress you experience. Following are some fundamental items you should keep in your toolkit:
TIP Consider devising some secure way to record passwords, usernames, serial numbers, and other critical data so you don't have to rely on memory to retrieve such information when you need it. Although keeping such information in hard copy is usually not advised, some people find it safer to develop and use some sort of code for this information and then have a hard copy of the encoded information handy. Maintaining Your ApplicationsAlong with the system software, you should also maintain the applications you use. It is good practice to regularly check for updates for the applications on which you rely. There are several ways to do this, including the following: NOTE Many applications include the capability to go online to check for updates, either automatically or manually. For example, most Adobe applications can check for updates to keep you informed when new versions or patches are available.
NOTE As with the system software, it is sometimes wise to let a few days or a week pass after an update is released before you download and install it in case problems are introduced by the update. You should also organize your applications and ensure that you have all the registration and serial number information you need for each application. It is amazing how easy it is to lose this information; getting it from the publisher can be a time-consuming task (and if you have to relicense the software, it can be expensive). Consider making a list of each application along with its serial number or registration number and keeping that list with the original installation discs or the discs containing the installers and updaters you make for your applications. When you need to reinstall an application, this list will be a great timesaver.
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