What I should know

[Nexrus]

Hey all. I just got a macbook (new mac user) and I want to make sure my system is running smoothly. Someone told me about a widgit that told your hardware temps? I look but couldnt find it. Anyone know whats its called?

also, is there something similar to defrag and disc cleanup for the macs?

and is there anything important I should know before reinstalling a fresh copy of mac os x in the future?

Thanks

 

[swiftaw]

http://www.islayer.com/index.php?op=item&id=7

 

[Silver-Fox]

istat pro is the widget is what you need

You don't need to defrag the hdd

 

[Neil321]

For general maintenance try OnyX

 

[kuwisdelu]

also, is there something similar to defrag and disc cleanup for the macs?

and is there anything important I should know before reinstalling a fresh copy of mac os x in the future?

As mentioned before, your widget is iStat pro.

You don't need to defrag the HD. I'll make that more clear. Don't defrag the HD of a Mac. Ever. It doesn't need it. OS X takes care of that for you.

As for cleanup, there's not much to it. OS X usually runs maintenance scripts on its own, but you can run them manually with the aforementioned OnyX. If things start feeling slower, repairing permissions usually fixes that, which you can either do from OnyX or from Applications->Utilities->Disk Utility.

For the future? If you ever need to install/reinstall a new copy of OS X, do the "Archive & Install" option. The default "Upgrade" option doesn't always get it right, but Archive & Install is just like doing a clean install, but saving all your data.

 

[Nexrus]

Im more intrested in putting a clean/fresh copy of the os plus the apps. When I put the disc in it doesnt have an option to put a new copy of it. Any help? Thanks

 

[kuwisdelu]

Im more intrested in putting a clean/fresh copy of the os plus the apps. When I put the disc in it doesnt have an option to put a new copy of it. Any help? Thanks

I'm not sure what you mean by a new copy of it? Do you mean you want two versions of OS X?

But if you mean you want the freshest install possible then you have either Archive & Install or Erase and Install.

Archive & Install makes a separate partition for your Home folder, erases your old partition, and then installs the new operating system there. Then, your home folder is placed back into the new operating system with all your files and applications as they were before, but the OS is brand new.

Erase and Install is just that. It erases everything--your apps, files, etc.--and then installs the new OS. You lose everything from before, your files and your apps, and get a new operating system.

If you mean you just want to keep your applications but erase your files--I'm not sure there's a way to do that.

 

[Nexrus]

Erase and Install is just that. It erases everything--your apps, files, etc.--and then installs the new OS. You lose everything from before, your files and your apps, and get a new operating system.

thats exactly what I want to do.... as long as my system will perform the same. Is that an option when you put in the mac ox disc or do you have to do it some other way?

Thanks

 

[macsrules]

swiftaw

I like this Widget, thanks for the post.


Nexrus,


Maybe your already have this but, if not, you should get quicksilver from www.blacktree.com In my opinion one of the greatest Mac Applications.

MacsRules

 

[kuwisdelu]

thats exactly what I want to do.... as long as my system will perform the same. Is that an option when you put in the mac ox disc or do you have to do it some other way?

Thanks

When you put in the OS X install disk and tell it to install, the default is to "Upgrade," which installs the new OS directly on top of the last one. This is usually the buggiest, but also the simplest. When you get to the "Choose a Destination..." part of the installation, though, you can choose what kind of installation you want. Click on the "Options" button on this screen, and you'll see your three options:

Upgrade
Archive & Install
Erase & Install

Just choose Erase & Install, make sure you have everything you might need later backed up, and continue with the installation. That'll give you everything new again.