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General discussion

Does Mac OS X have....

Jan 7, 2007 1:02AM PST

a type of utility like Windows' System Restore which will return the computer to an earlier state if something went wrong while installing or changing something? I am thinking of getting a Mac but want to be sure it has some sort of utility built into the OS like that... Thanks.

Discussion is locked

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Time machine in OS 10.5...
Jan 7, 2007 1:51AM PST

is advertised to do something of what you mention.

Most Mac OSX situations don't really need it though. Simply put, going to the Applications folder and dragging a program to the garbage and deleting will get rid of most problems caused by glitchy software. Running permissions repair in the disc utility takes care of the rest.

If your HD really becomes buggered up you can always take the OS disc, stick it in the drive, and pick ARCHIVE AND INSTALL which will reinstall the OS without deleting files. This will usually take care of problems where the underlaying code may have been corrupted. Otherwise... it will probably be a hardware issue.

Peter can explain this better than I though.

grim

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Oh....
Jan 7, 2007 2:11AM PST

So there is no installing or uninstalling in a Mac? What would happen if I had Tiger and I changed a file that shouldn't have been changed and this caused the computer to malfunction? How could this be corrected if it wasn't an OS file? Do PCs crash more than Macs (I know they have more viruses)?

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As Boya84 say...
Jan 7, 2007 6:42AM PST

the core operating registry (to put it in PC terms) is commonly not effected when you install or uninstall programs.

The Applications folder and Library folder will hold a new program and its preferences like a tool bench shelf holds a hammer. Just because you put the hammer down on the tool bench for storage... does not effect how the tool bench works.

Bad hammer - keeps hitting your thumb? Throw it away and get a new one (delete and reinstall a program) and the hammer will work like new... and the tool bench was never changed at all.

There is a utility that comes with your mac OS X, that does let you into the actual code of your operating system (like opening a command line dialogue box in windows - or the registry) but only developers or really, really, REALLY smart people should ever mess with it. As it is, you got to know the magic words to even open up the shell and see inside.

Does PC crash more than Mac? That is a hard question to answer. Macs will get the SPINNING BEACH BALL icon where you generally have run out of enough memory for the program to be able to function... as you sit there and look at the frozen program you wait and wait... sometimes the program will stop thinking about how hard you have been working it and start talking to you again. Sometimes you can come back a day later and the beach ball is still spinning. That is when you force quit and reactivate the program (or restart the computer). If this happens often then you might need to buy more RAM or your hard drive may be getting full and you need to back up and delete.

BTW... you do not need to wait a day to see if the spinning beach ball has stopped! Just force quit and reboot after a few minutes!

Viruses are currently not a problem. Mac does not use .exe files so you would have to install a virus manually at this point in time. BTW... mac does not use .exe files so the rare legitimate web applications that depend on this files will not work on a mac.

grim

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(NT) Thanks for that clarification...
Jan 7, 2007 9:14AM PST
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about that beachball...
Jan 7, 2007 12:10PM PST

the first time I got it, I was rendering my first nearly 120 minute iDVD disc on a G4 (QuickSilver) tower... this was 3-4 years ago, I guess. The spinning beach ball just kept spinning and the Activity Monitor said iDVD was not responding. After 3 hours I killed it. I spoke with a friend who said that the render would take a while - I restarted the burn and let it run. I don't know what the actual render time was, but I clicked burn, went to sleep and the next morning, the disc was done.

These, days, 110 minute video does not take that much time, but I still let the LONG burns (double layer discs have double the capacity of single layer) run over night... I multitask - sleep and burning the DVD. Much more efficient than staring at the machine waiting for it to complete.

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How to Remove Apps in OSX
Jan 13, 2007 2:05PM PST

I know this is not germane to the initial question of how to restore the Mac to a previous state, but since the subject of removing installed/unwanted software has come up here, I have, a long time ago, used a small application called "AppZapper".

The trial version, which, if I remember correctly, works for five removals, is free.

The good news, of course, is that it does not really cost a great amount to get it.

So, those of you who want all those preferences etc in other folders to go couls give it a try!!

Cheers

ck

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grim is all over it...
Jan 7, 2007 2:18AM PST

The *current* version of Mac OSX does not have that Windows "restore" you are looking for... the OSs' architectures are quite different.

MacOSX has no central/single "registry" file that is modified (when you install an application) that impacts everything whether you want it to or not. The OSX System folder has subdirectories for extensions and preferences and plug-ins and such (as do some of the applicatio-specific folders - it depends how the installer was set up)... these items are called/used only when the application calls or otherwise needs them. If the application is not launched, the extensions and preferences and plug-ins don't get called/used. Typically, if you decide you don't want an application (for whatever reason), just drag it to the trash and empty the trash.

It is possible, over time to have various unused preferences and whatever files build-up from these deleted applications that will never be used. But since they aren't used - and are typically quite small, they are an itty-bitty annoyance more than anything else. Conversely, if you are using an application that (for some odd reason) starts misbehaving, keep the app - but one trouble shooting technique is to trash the specific application's preference file and re-launch the app to re-build that preference file.

There used to be a "Spring Cleaning" app that would go out and hunt down those unused files and make them available for deletion rather than your having to manually identify them, but I don't know too much more than that. *Most* people don't need that...

As far as restoring OSX, just boot from the system discs and follow the prompts... You know - from my postings - that I have been using and supporting Macs and Windows for a while... I do not recall having to "restore" a MacOS based system because of an application installation misbehavior... There were the occasional control panel or extension conflicts, but starting up holding the shift key at power-up allows "safe boot" start-up.

There is a good "MacOSX: The Missing Manual" reference book by David Pogue that has all sorts of information on tips, tricks and other helpful stuff... also, Mac User Groups generally have experienced (and new - and everyone in between) users... Check http://www.apple.com/usergroups to see if there is one in your area. They are not directly supported by Apple and are a good, under-used, resource. For the last 8-10 years (I think), I've worked/presented at a "new Macintosh owner" session held by a Mac User Group in Northern California (and yes, I have been a user group member for that time as well) - I don't know if other MUGs do this...

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It's Coming
Jan 11, 2007 10:14PM PST

I don't know if anybody mentioned it, but I heard that OS X Leopard will actually have a System restore utility.

I've never had any need for this. OS X is not as cryptic as Windows.

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I used the system restore in XP once...
Jan 11, 2007 10:33PM PST

Quite honestly I was confused by it's purpose. It is supposed to take you back to a point where if your system was corrupted by bad software you can just jump back to before it was installed, right?

Well, I had a trial piece of software that had been installed for a college class project. The trial software came with a very expensive text book... quick aside here - if software is supplied with a college text book it is logical to assume the software will be used for 3 and a half to 4 months, right? So why is the software trial only for one month!... so anyway... the trial had run out and final projects were coming up so I thought to myself, "hey, use the system restore and reinstall the trial". No, it doesn't work that way, once you installed the trial it put a marker somewhere in the registry or someplace.

but that made me think... if a virus or some malware can do what the trial software did... make a permanent change in my computer... then what good is system restore to begin with?

Anyway... for you text book suppliers out there. Start getting a semester's long license for any software you supply with a text book will ya please? It is only logical a student would need it for the length of the class being taught.

My rant for the day Grin

grim

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Apple's OS X is Object Oriented verses Windows Object Based
Jan 12, 2007 4:17AM PST

The architectures of the two OS's are quite different in that with the Mac (OS X), moving an application's folder moves all the pointers that are associated with it and are not tied to the system registry the way it is with Windows. If you move an application folder from the "Program Files" folder or any folder designated as an installation folder in windows the OS does not know how to locate the application thus the system either hangs or crashes. This is why OS X is much more stable that Windows in my opinion. I do use both and both have their advantages but the interworkings of OS X provide more rowbustness and stability in my experiences.

I currently am using an Intel 2Ghz Core 2 Duo based iMac with 1GB RAM and am running Windows XP and Vista using Parallels Virtual Machine software...

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Palaa seems to know
Jan 24, 2007 5:49AM PST

Thanks for your reply to the post, explaining OS X's unix robustness.

Having just opened my daughter's Christmas present (IMAC 24") and tried to install //s and XP home, I find I can't read a PC recorded flashdrive.
I checked the //s manual and went through setup (too) MANY times: removable storage is enabled. XP responds to my USB keyboard and mighty MOUSE. XP "my computer" does not show the flashdrive nor will it read it (although once the memory stick's directory flashed on the screen when I inserted it with XP running which then lost the contact).

Have you or anyone else had any luck reading a flashdrive in XP running under parallels on an intel IMAC?

HELP!
Dan

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(NT) (NT) Only on the new operating system. Mac OS X Leopard
Jan 11, 2007 10:25PM PST
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No...
Jan 17, 2007 12:59AM PST

...though many Apple fanboys will tell you the many steps of several ways of doing something similiar but not the same or sell you the usual excuse that Macs don't really need that (pure BS).
That is yet another feature Apple will copy in Leopard with some childish GUI like TimeMachine's and claim they invented it or they reinvented the computer, as usual.

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ah... welcome back
Jan 17, 2007 7:21AM PST

Windows fanboy!

Clueless as usual...