Reinstalling OS X

[monkeydo_jb]

Mac newbie here.

I decided to reload my first mac (powerbook) and wiped it out before
I read instructions on how to do it.

I managed to get it installed, but I'm wondering about
which filesystem I should have chosen for my OS X
partition. Unix or Mac Standard (or whatever)?

I used Unix and things are acting a little strangely.
I can't drag and drop anything. Also, I tried using the
Restore DVD to reinstall developer tools and iDVD and it quits
on an error saying it can't read the DVD at around 13%.


Also, I made a partition for my swap.
Anyone have a link that tells how to use it as such?
I know I edit the fstab in /etc, but I'm not sure that's
it.

Please give me some advice.


-jeff

[sparkleytone]

redo it with HFS+

anything that requires resource forks (e.g iMovie) will not work properly

[monkeydo_jb]

My options were -

Unix
Mac Standard
Mac Extended

I did my os X and Swap as Unix (this is HFS+, no?) and an Apps partition as Mac Extended.

Should I do it differently? Would anything
prevent me from installing iDVD, etc. off of the restore DVD?


Thanks for the fast reply.



-jeff

[lmalave]

Mac Extended should be fine. It's not like you won't be able to use Unix features on your Mac just because you didn't select a Unix filesystem. The disk on my iBook is formatted as Mac OS Extended, and I use Unix tools (CVS, Ant, X11) on a daily basis.

[sparkleytone]

HFS+ = Mac Extended

[Rower_CPU]

Unix = UFS
Mac Extended = HFS+
Mac = HFS

dammit, sparkley beat me to it :p

[monkeydo_jb]

Wow, thanks for all the help.
I reloaded making all partitions HFS+ and things
are working perfectly.

Anyone know a site that tells how to set your swap file as a partition?


Thanks for all your help.


-jeff

[yamadataro]

When I first installed OS X on my machine, I wondered about this UNIX format thingy too. Because Apple advertises X as UNIX UNIX UNIX, I'm sure many newbies have made some mistakes there... (*I* almost did)

As I've read David Pogue's book, he says UNIX format is just for the programmers who make UNIX software. I wish Apple makes it clear on that format dialogue box.

[monkeydo_jb]

Here's (http://www.resexcellence.com/hack_html_01/06-01-01.shtml)a great tutorial on how to
use a seperate partition for your
swap file.

Worked like a charm.


-jeff

[lmalave]

Originally posted by monkeydo_jb
Here's (http://www.resexcellence.com/hack_html_01/06-01-01.shtml)a great tutorial on how to
use a seperate partition for your
swap file.

Worked like a charm.


-jeff

Wow, just read it. Did you get the 25% accross the board performance boost like the article indicates?

I wish I had known this when I bought my iBook 3 months ago. I did a fresh reinstall anyway so I could have separate OS X and Data partitions. Oh well, I may still attempt this this weekend - better now than later when I have even more stuff installed...

[yamadataro]

Originally posted by lmalave


Wow, just read it. Did you get the 25% accross the board performance boost like the article indicates?

I remember David Pogue said this doesn't work in 10.2. I think it was just for the X 10.0 because its system was not perfect.

Notice that the article says "...if you have upgraded from MacOS X 10.0 to 10.0.3." Also the article is dated June 1, 2001.

[monkeydo_jb]

No, I didn't get a 25% performance gain.
However, I made a seperate partition on
the same hard drive. He did it on an
entirely seperate drive.

I disagree that this doesn't help at all.
When I have many apps open at the same
time I definitely notice a speed gain.

I think having a swapfile as the only file on
a partition makes it more readily accessible.


-jeff