Housecleaning Tips for Tiger
by Derrick Story04/26/2005
Back when my job was Mac support for a busy communications department, I had a major philosophical difference with my assistant. When one of our Macs would misbehave to a point beyond my tolerance, I'd always back everything up, wipe the drive, install a clean version of the OS, and reinstall the apps.
My assistant thought this was a huge waste of time. His approach was to keep hammering at the problem until he found a way to get the computer running again. Usually, this meant lots of trial and error troubleshooting.
We never really analyzed our approaches to determine which one was more efficient over the long haul, but to this day I remain addicted to clean installs on an annual basis. Since Apple has been releasing new versions of Mac OS X on a similar cycle, I've used the pending upgrade as an excuse to tidy up before installation. That will be my approach with Tiger, and that's what this article is about.
Embarrassment of Riches
First, I have a confession. I use not one, but two PowerBooks for my work. Over the years I've come up with lots of rationalizations why this is necessary, but today's excuse is that I don't want to install a brand new Tiger on the Mac I need to make tomorrow's deadlines. Instead, I'll install it on my other PowerBook, which I use for testing software. Once I have all the bugs worked out of the new OS, I'll start using the Tiger PowerBook as my working laptop, and the other computer will become my machine for testing.
If you're lucky enough to have two serviceable Macs, I highly recommend this approach. Learning the quirks of a new OS is an exciting adventure on a second Mac, but can be an agonizing journey on your primary machine.
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If you don't have a second Mac, then back up your entire hard drive on to an external FireWire drive. Some folks recommend just backing up the Home folder, but I like to have everything. I can always delete it later, once the "all clear" signal has sounded.
Just in case you skimmed over that last paragraph: back everything up to an external drive.
Time to Partition?
Most of us are so excited when we buy a new Mac that we want to get right to work. About three days later, after all of our apps and work files have been installed, we realize that we didn't partition our drive.
Partitioning your drive—that is, creating two separate virtual hard drives—has one great advantage for power users: You can install a second operating system on the other partition, then choose which one you want to boot from. (You make this choice either in the Startup Disk system preference, or by holding down the Option key during bootup.)
If you missed your first opportunity to partition, then you might want to reconsider after your housecleaning preparations for Tiger. You'll have to copy everything on your Mac to an external drive, then load it back after you partition. To create the actual partition, use Apple's Disk Utility in your Utilities folder. There are third party apps too, but I haven't tested any of them. If you have, please post a talkback relating your experience at the end of this article.
Application Data Clean-Up
One of the things that have been bugging me is the size of my Entourage database. I get a lot of mail, and have been using Entourage since its initial release. My Office 2004 Identities folder is mega-gigabytes in size.
I could wait for the whole house of cards to collapse, but instead I'm taking the Tiger opportunity to archive my mail in another database, then start anew with the Tiger version of Mail, or at least a fresh copy of Entourage.
One of my favorite utilities is Entourage Email Archive X by Softhing. Not only does it enable me to archive all of my mail, Softhing also provides a FileMaker template so I can store the data in a separate, powerful relational database.
The FileMaker template is free with the $25 registration fee for Entourage Email
Archive X
When you export from Entourage using this utility, choose the tab-text file option. Then launch the Filemaker template and import the file. You'll have to take a minute to properly map the fields, which is easily accomplished with a helpful user interface.
I keep this FileMaker database on an external FireWire drive and on my iPod. That way it's always accessible when I need to look something up. I'll also keep it on my PowerBook hard drive during the transition to Tiger. But at some point I'll be able to remove it and free up disk space (as long as my iPod is nearby in case I need the database.)
You can use this same approach for other apps that have accumulated huge amounts of data. With iPhoto, for example, try using iPhoto Library Manager to create a fresh library while still having access to your existing pictures. Again, I archive the old library on a FireWire drive and store a copy on my iPod. I can then free up disk space on the PowerBook by starting afresh with a new library. If I need to grab an old picture, I just plug in my iPod, open Library Manager, switch libraries, get what I need, then reverse the process.
iPhoto Library Manager is a free utility that enables you to create multiple iPhoto
libraries and switch between them. The libraries listed in red are those located
on my iPod. They become available as soon as I connect the Pod to my PowerBook.Two more thoughts about your apps. First, make sure they're in the Applications folder. I know this sounds like a no-brainer, but the Apple apps may not get updated during the Tiger install if they're not located there. Second, make sure you have all of your shareware registration numbers handy. Tiger is changing a lot of things under the hood, and we're going to see new versions of some of our favorite software. You can save yourself a lot of frustration by having all of your registration numbers on hand and ready to use. I keep mine in a single text file and have it backed up on .Mac. That way I can get to them from any computer.
If you're using a cool data backup utility along the lines of the examples I've written about, please mention it in the talkbacks. Others will be interested in your experiences.
Old Files, Past Projects, Unused Apps
I'm amazed at how much stuff I accumulate over the course of 18 months. As I scroll through my Applications folder, I see lots of perfectly useable software that I never use. It's like those shirts from mom lurking in the back of my closet; I don't want to give them away because they're from mom, but I never wear them, either.
A good compromise is to archive the apps on a FireWire drive, then remove them from your computer. If you do find that you need that copy of "Bob's Great X Utility," you can always retrieve it and reinstall—that is, if it runs on Tiger.
The same holds true for old projects. If you haven't opened the folder in six months, chances are good you can archive and remove. Before you know it, those megabytes will be falling off your hard drive like leaves off of an autumn tree.
Finish Off with a Cocktail
Once you've cleaned, archived, and double-checked your work, it's time for a cocktail: Cocktail for Mac OS X that is. This collection of maintenance tools helps you finish off your housecleaning by tidying up all of those nooks and crannies on your Mac's hard drive.
Cocktail helps you tidy all of those nooks and crannies on your hard drive.
You're now ready to upgrade to Tiger. In our next article, this coming Friday, F.J. is going to walk you through a clean Tiger install. You may think that this process is so simple that you don't need an article to do it. Well...that may be true, but wait to decide until you read what F.J. has to say. We'll post the piece on Friday afternoon, PST. You might want to read it before taking the plunge.
Until then, happy cleaning.
Derrick Story is the digital media evangelist for O'Reilly. His experience includes more than 20 years as a photojournalist, managing editor for O'Reilly Network, and a speaker for IDG, PMA, and Santa Fe Workshops. He is the author of Digital Photography Hacks, Digital Photography Pocket Guide, 3rd Ed., and his latest, The Digital Photography Companion.
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Showing messages 1 through 14 of 14.
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House cleaning for Tiger
2007-06-16 15:09:37 geeurbie [Reply | View]
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House cleaning for Tiger
2007-06-16 15:09:22 geeurbie [Reply | View]
I have a house cleaning tips blog. So I check other house cleaning blog. That's when I stumbled onto this great web site. So if any one else like me landed here looking for house cleaning tips... Please visit Tucson House Cleaning Blog (http://www.yourfreshstart.us/wp)
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psync for backups . . .
2005-04-27 18:03:41 rbannon@mac.com [Reply | View]
I've used psync for backups and so far I've been able to do weekly mirror image backups between my two internal SATA drives. I also use it to occasional backup to external USB and Firewire drives. Once, I even used it to backup a drive I wanted to partition -- once reformatted I was able to do a restore without any trouble. It's also very easy to use.
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Backup software
2005-04-27 14:10:27 snackdog [Reply | View]
I was planning to use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone my drive before I wipe my drive and install fresh. Any other recommendations?
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my two cents
2005-04-27 10:07:17 rwright [Reply | View]
My experience with OS X upgrades has been painless, I have upgraded Panther over Jaguar. So if you are not having any problems, most can rest assured that a basic upgrade will get them up and running in the shortest amount of time.
I second the backup strategy but I have to wonder about partitioning, even now that iPartition is out which makes undoing partitions easy, it is time consuming to un-partition an 80 gig or larger drive, and partitioning a smaller drive is not a good idea. Sooner or later after iphoto and itunes libraries grow large, you will want to reclaim tha space, which is why the dual boot seems to be not a good idea to me.
I also want to question the wisdom of advocating splitting up large entourage or Mail databases, or iphoto libraries. While I know that speed is an issue, with the advent of spotlight there seems to be a return on investment for keeping large email databases, simply because the data will be more accessible with spotlight. I am praying for an entourage plugin...othewise I will have to move to Mail. I think the idea of spotlight is to create value in all that old material, and if I can get a spotlight search to return me the entire set of emails to a specific client over the past few years, that kind of information is very useful. While Entourage Archive X is useful, it seems to me to be the kind of app that spotlight makes irrelevant. -
RE: my two cents
2005-04-27 10:19:03 Derrick Story [Reply | View]
I think you make some good points, and I agree with most of them. The one thing I will say about the Entourage DB issue is, regardless of Spotlight, I have an inherent distrust of Entourage's ability to handle large amounts of mail. It's true that I haven't read as much about DB crashes with the current version of Entourage as I had with Entourage X. But on my Mac, it's starting to feel a little goosey, and I'd rather do something now while it's on my terms.
That being said, this is what makes these conversations so interesting, right? -
RE: my two cents
2005-04-27 10:37:39 rwright [Reply | View]
yeah I am only up to a half a gig on my entourage db, in the current version of Office, and so far it is responsive. But I do not get a lot of email compared to what I expect you get. The nice thing about Mail is that is uses standard mboxes, and this coupled with spotlight makes me think that moving to Mail might be a good idea. I haven't really made use of the project center in entourage that much, but I do use the calendar a lot, and iCal is really not up to it for me. Still praying for the entourage plugin.
another nice app for spring cleaning is OmnidiscSweeper, which can show you readily what is hogging the most space and might be worth deleting. Often times it makes more sense to archive one or two big items rather than spend time trashing lots and lots of small files. -
RE: my two cents
2005-04-27 11:22:11 Derrick Story [Reply | View]
Yup, I have to say that part of the reason I'm archiving my mail in FileMaker is that I'm considering the move to Mail when I upgrade to Tiger...
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Jezz.
2005-04-27 02:21:38 JPorter [Reply | View]
With the advent of Panther, I became spoiled on the ease of
installation of these new OSs. I like to use my computer, not mess with the guts of making it work. I will have Tiger, but I think I will wait several days to see how others are doing. I would expect the new OS to clean up my hard drive as I am not smart enough to follow a lot of these complicated computer installs. -
Think of it as spring cleaning
2005-04-27 10:44:42 MEP [Reply | View]
I like to use my computer too rather than tinker with it all the time. But over the course of normal use, a lot of garbage accumulates -- old documents that no longer serve a purpose, software that I tried but didn't like, an internet downloads folder in desperate need of a flensing -- just stuff that needs to go away.
It's not just about technical issues, freeing up hard space and making things work better. It's just about clearing out the clutter and starting with a clean, well-organized slate once in a while. So I always install a new OS by formatting and starting over. It takes more time, but being able to go through everything that's on my system and really decide what I need to keep and what needs to go is helpful on many levels so I think it's worth it. -
Re: Jezz.
2005-04-27 08:42:23 Derrick Story [Reply | View]
Rest at ease; you can still be spoiled. Indeed you can just pop the Tiger DVD into your Mac and its excellent installer will take it from there.
This article, and the one that follows, are for Mac users who want to optimize their experience. This is strictly an optional path...
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Tiger Considerations
2005-04-26 17:19:55 tomp2002 [Reply | View]
Now is also a time to breath a sigh of relief if you don't have directories based on iPhoto or any other applications but use the conventional directory system for organizing photos. While I have a pro system for keeping track of my library of photos, for example, I have all of them in a conventional structure of folders, directories, etc.
The workaround for iPhoto directories, however, as suggested in the article, is also good. This same concept, however, may apply to a good many other systems currently in use, such as those from Canon, Nikon, or whoever with respect to photos.
There are any number of proprietary applications which may be broken, at least for the time being, by Tiger, in areas other than photos, especially those from third parties. I wouldn't be in the least surprised that two I have are broken by Tiger. I therefore intend to make certain any of their files can be readily organized into conventional OSX directories and backed up with the "duplicate" function of Retrospect or whatever your favorite backup program is. Just don't rely on a conventional backup in the proprietary form of Retrospect or any other app unless you plan to restore to a FireWire drive and then Finder copy from it.
Many backup programs allow selective individual file backups, including those which do "duplicates." I plan to "duplicate" all Preference files, for example, after first taking note of those specific to Tiger (in Panther there are only about ten but I'd rather use the new pref or plist files of Tiger than the old ones from Panther).
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Other Ideas
2005-04-26 17:10:40 tomp2002 [Reply | View]
I personally would prefer Tinker Tool System over Cocktail. While the latter is definitely a good application Tinker Tool System is written by the author of the freeware, Tinker Tool, probably the first utility EVER for MacOSX giving me a bit more confidence, a confidence I've never regretted. There are helpful hints, tips, and definitions in each window for the various optional tasks.
The major item I'd consider necessary would be Alsoft's DiskWarrior and (a poor 2nd choice) Apple's Disk Utility). Presumably the new version of Disk Utility will allow it to check for permissions problems and there is NO utility better at fixing problems, typically based on directory issues, than DiskWarrior.
I'd run it first, followed by a permissions check of the present data. I'd then back all up with an adequate backup application (I use Retrospect 6 and FireWire external drives and have done complete restores with it) or something like CCC as a hedge. CCC is reportedly broken by Tiger so this might want to be an option to carefully consider. Using the "duplicate" function of Retrospect 6 would allow Finder copying of files from /Applications and the two Library files as it simply creates a duplicate of each individual file.
The use of Retrospect 6, or anyother utility that can create a duplicate (using Finder copy is not as accurate as Retrospect IMO because Retrospect has more error checking). Actually any version of Retrospect which works with the present installed OS will work; Just remember to "duplicate" instead of a "backiup" selection for any media.
Then you can do a clean "wipe" (format, including partitioning, if desired before installing Tiger). I don't plan to partition my main drives in PowerBooks or G5s simply because I have a number of backup FireWire drives and a lot of capacity. I'd also backup with Retrospect (or something else if only Finder copy) of /Applications and BOTH Libraries. Many copy protection files live in Preferences and the two libraries, saving a bit of time in entering passwords (you DO have a copy of all passwords, right?). I wouldn't count on Retrospect or ANY other backup application to work under Tiger unless you make a "duplicate" or comparable backup. Obviously you don't want to backup /System unless you know what certain .kext files are that are needed as drivers for (whatever). Hopefully not too many of these will be broken (he said with a wish and a prayer).
I plan to install Tiger on only one of my Macs for the time being and work out the wrinkles with it (I bought a Family Pack). If you have two or more Macs I'd recommend you consider the same thing. That doesn't mean that what works on your G5 will necessarily work on your PowerBook G4, but it should point out some of the many incompatibilities which are inevitable with drivers, not to mention those with assorted applications and utilities which haven't had Tiger upgrades (and need them) yet. -
RE: Other Ideas
2005-04-26 17:21:29 Derrick Story [Reply | View]
Thanks for your additional tips. I'm sure readers will want more info about some of these items...
