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Archive-name: macintosh/general-faq
Version: 2.4.1 Last-modified: June 23, 1996 Maintainer: elharo@shock.njit.edu URL: http://www.macfaq.com/generalfaq.html See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge
MACINTOSH FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
====================================
comp.sys.mac.faq, part 1:
Introduction to the Macintosh Newsgroups
Copyright 1993-1996 by Elliotte Harold
Please see section 5.8 below if you wish to
distribute or revise this document in any way.
Version: 2.4.1
Last-modified: June 23, 1996
Address comments to elharo@shock.njit.edu
What's new in version 2.4.1:
----------------------------
Primarily this is a maintenance release to reflect changes in
various ftp and World Wide Web sites, particularly the official
FAQ site which has moved from rever.nmsu.edu to ftp.macfaq.com
and the revised filenaming scheme at ftp.support.apple.com.
2.6) What is .bin? .hqx? .cpt? .image? .etc.?
StuffIt is now at version 4.0.x.
3.5) Reinstall the system software
This step has been updated to take reflect the various
updates to System 7.5.
3.6) Isolate the Problem
I've improved the procedure for finding corrupt fonts.
4.7) Disk Utilities
4.10) Reformatting and partitioning your hard disk
Drive Setup is now mentioned for those Macs that need it.
Table of Contents
=================
General FAQ
-----------
I. I have a question...
1. How do I use this document?
2. What other information is available?
3. Which newsgroup should I post to?
4. How should I answer frequently asked questions?
II. FTP, Gopher and the World Wide Web
1. Where can I FTP Macintosh software?
2. Can I get shareware by email?
3. Where can I find application X?
4. Where can I find an application to do X?
5. Can someone mail me application X?
6. What is .bin? .hqx? .cpt? .image? .etc.?
7. How can I get BinHex? StuffIt? etc.?
8. How can I get BinHex, StuffIt, etc. from a PC?
III. Troubleshooting. What to do when things go wrong
1. Identify the problem.
2. Read the READ ME file.
3. Check for viruses.
4. Reinstall the application and all its support files.
5. Reinstall the system software.
6. Isolate the problem.
7. Contact technical support.
IV. Preventive Maintenance
1. Trash Unneeded Files
2. Reevaluate Your Extensions
3. Rebuild the desktop.
4. Zap the PRAM and Reset the Clock
5. Resize the system heap. (System 6 only)
6. Reinstall the system software.
7. Disk Utilities
8. Backing Up
9. Disk Defragmentation
10. Reformatting and partitioning your hard disk
V. Meta-FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions about the FAQ)
1. There's a mistake in your FAQ.
2. Why don't you include this complicated/payware solution?
3. Would you please include my software in your FAQ?
4. Why don't you post the FAQ more often?
5. Can you help me with this problem I'm having with my Mac?
6. Will you send me the FAQ?
7. Why don't you format the FAQ in Word? Digest? HTML? etc.?
8. Can I repost, revise, publish or otherwise use this document?
comp.sys.mac.system
-------------------
I. Memory
1. Why is my system using so much memory?
2. What is Mode 32? the 32-bit enabler? Do I need them?
3. Cache and Carry (How much memory should I allot to my cache?)
II. System Software
1. Why does Apple charge for system software?
2. What does System 7.5 give me for my $35/$50/$99 that System 7.1 doesn't?
3. Where can I get System 7.5?
4. How can I use System 6 on a System 7 only Mac?
5. Non-US scripts and systems
6. What is System 7 Tuneup? System Update 3.0? etc.? Do I need them?
7. Why do my DA's disappear when I turn on MultiFinder?
8. Do I need System 7.0.1?
9. How can I get System 7.0.1, 7.1 or 7.5 on 800K disks?
10. Is there a Unix for the Mac?
III. Hard Disks, Filesharing, and the File System
1. Help! My folder disappeared!
2. Why can't I throw this folder away?
3. Why can't I share my removable drive?
4. Why can't I eject this SyQuest cartridge? CD-ROM? etc.?
5. Why can't I rename my hard disk?
6. How do I change my hard disk icon?
IV. Fonts
1. How do I convert between Windows fonts and Mac fonts?
TrueType and PostScript?
2. What font will my screen/printer use when different types
are installed?
3. Where should I put my fonts?
V. Miscellaneous:
1. What does System Error XXX mean?
2. What is a Type Y error?
3. What is A/ROSE?
4. Easy Access or One Answer, Many Questions
5. How can I keep multiple system folders on one hard disk?
6. How do I access the programmer's key?
comp.sys.mac.misc
-----------------
I. Viruses
1. Help! I have a virus!
2. Reporting new viruses
II. Printing and PostScript
1. How do I make a PostScript file?
2. How do I print a PostScript file?
3. Why won't my PostScript file print on my mainframe's printer?
4. Why are my PostScript files so big?
5. How can I print PostScript on a non-PostScript printer?
6. How do I make my ImageWriter II print in color?
7. Why doesn't PrintMonitor work with the ImageWriter?
8. Why did my document change when I printed it?
9. How can I preview a PostScript file?
10. Can I use a LaserJet or other PC printer with my Mac?
11. How can I print grey scales on my StyleWriter I?
12. How can I edit a PostScript file?
III. DOS and the Mac
1. How can I move files between a Mac and a PC?
2. How can I translate files to a DOS format?
3. Should I buy SoftPC or a real PC?
IV. Security
1. How can I password protect a Mac?
2. How can I password protect a file?
3. How can I password protect a folder?
4. How can I prevent software piracy?
5. How can I keep a hard drive in a fixed configuration?
V. Sound
1. How can I copy a track from an audio CD onto my Mac?
2. How can I extract a sound from a QuickTime movie?
3. How can I convert/play a mod/wav/etc. file?
VI. No particular place to go (Miscellaneous Miscellanea)
1. Are there any good books about the Mac?
2. How do I take a picture of the screen?
3. How do I use a picture for my desktop?
4. Can I Replace the "Welcome to Macintosh" box with a picture?
5. What is AutoDoubler? SpaceSaver? More Disk Space? Are they safe?
6. How do they compare to TimesTwo, Stacker and eDisk?
7. Where did my icons go?
8. Where can I find a user group?
9. Where can I find the 1984 Quicktime movie?
10. Do RAM Doubler and Optimem work?
11. I'm greedy. Can I triple my RAM?
12. How do I run software that needs an FPU on a Mac that doesn't
have one?
comp.sys.mac.apps
-----------------
I. What's the Best...
1. Text editor
2. Word processor
3. Genealogy software
4. TeX/LaTeX
5. Integrated application
6. Spreadsheet
7. JPEG Viewer
8. Electronic publishing software
9. Drawing application
10. Typing tutor?
11. OCR software?
II. Microsoft Word
1. How can I assign styles to characters?
2. How can I automatically generate cross-references?
3. How can I change a Word document to TeX? and vice-versa?
4. How can I depersonalize Word?
5. Where can I get more information?
III. TeachText
1. How can I change the font in TeachText?
2. How do I place a picture in a TeachText file?
3. How do I make a TeachText document read-only?
comp.sys.mac.wanted
-------------------
I. Buying and Selling Used Equipment
1. Should I buy/sell on Usenet?
2. Where should I buy/sell used equipment?
3. I've decided to completely ignore your excellent advice and
post my ad anyway. What should I do?
4. I've decided to completely ignore your excellent advice and
buy something offered for sale on the net anyway. How can
I avoid being ripped off?
II. Fair Market Value
1. How much is my computer worth?
2. What is used software worth?
3. Going prices?
III. Where Should I Buy a New Mac?
1. Authorized Dealers
2. VAR's
3. Superstores
4. Performas
5. Educational Dealers
6. Direct From Apple
7. Auctions
8. Does anyone know a dealer in New York City?
9. New Equipment Prices
IV. When Should I buy a New Mac?
1. Macrotime
2. Microtime
3. When will I get my Mac?
V. How Should I Buy a New Mac?
1. Know what you want
2. The dealer needs to sell you a mac more than you need to buy one
3. Have a competitor's ad handy
4. Cash on delivery
5. The sales tax game
6. Leasing
7. Be nice to the salesperson.
VI. The Gray Market and Mail Order
1. What is the gray market?
2. Are gray market Macs covered by Apple warranties?
3. Does anyone know a good mail-order company?
comp.sys.mac.hardware
---------------------
I. Maintenance
1. How do I clean a keyboard?
2. How do I clean a screen?
3. How do I clean a mouse?
4. How do I clean a floppy drive?
5. How do I clean the inside of my mac?
II. Problems And Repairs
1. How do I open a compact Mac?
2. Now that I've opened my Mac how might I electrocute myself?
3. Where can I get my Mac fixed?
4. Can you recommend any good books about Mac repair?
5. The screen on my compact Mac is jittering.
III. Upgrades
1. What Macs will be upgradeable to the PowerPC?
2. Can I increase the speed of my Mac by accelerating the clock?
3. Can I add an FPU to my Mac?
4. Can I replace the 68LC040 with a 68040?
IV. Thanks for the Memory
1. What kind of memory should I use in my Mac?
2. Can I use PC SIMM's in my Mac?
3. What vendors have good prices on memory?
4. Do SIMMdoublers work?
V. Video
1. What's VRAM?
2. All monitors are not created equal.
3. There's a horizontal line across my monitor.
VI. Floppy Disks
1. What kind of floppy disks do I need for my Mac?
2. Why can't my Quadra (SE/30, Iici, etc.) read the disks from my Plus?
3. Does punching a hole in a double-density disk make a
high-density disk?
VII. SCSI Troubles
1. How do I put my old internal hard disk in an external case?
2. What's the cheapest/fastest/most reliable/most common
removable drive?
3. What's the best CD-ROM drive?
VIII. Printers
1. What's a good printer?
IX. Miscellaneous hardware FAQ's
1. What power adaptor do I need to use my mac in another country?
2. How can I fix the sound on my IIsi?
A. Models
RETRIEVING THE ENTIRE FAQ
=========================
This is the FIRST part of the this FAQ. The second part is
posted to comp.sys.mac.system and features many questions about
system software. The third part answers miscellaneous questions
about Macs and is posted every two weeks in comp.sys.mac.misc.
The fourth part covers frequently asked questions about Macintosh
application software and appears in comp.sys.mac.apps. The fifth
piece covers buying and selling Macintosh computers, software and
peripherals and is posted in comp.sys.mac.wanted. The sixth part
answers many questions about Macintosh hardware and peripherals
and appears in comp.sys.mac.hardware. Tables of contents for all
pieces are included above. Please familiarize yourself with all
six sections of this document before posting. All pieces are
available for anonymous ftp from
<URL:ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/macintosh/>
Except for this introductory FAQ which appears in multiple
newsgroups and is stored as general-faq, the name of each
file has the format of the last part of the group name followed
by "-faq", e.g the FAQ for comp.sys.mac.system is stored as
system-faq. You can also have these files mailed to you
by sending an email message to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with the
line:
send pub/usenet/news.answers/macintosh/name
in the body text where "name" is the name of the file you want as
specified above (e.g. general-faq). You can also send this server
a message with the subject "help" for more detailed instructions.
For access via the World-Wide-Web use
<URL:http://www.macfaq.com/faqs.html>
I HAVE A QUESTION... (1.0)
===========================
Congratulations! You've come to the right place. Usenet is
a wonderful resource for information ranging from basic questions
(How do I lock a floppy disk?) to queries that would make Steve
Jobs himself run screaming from the room in terror. (I used
ResEdit to remove resources Init #11, WDEF 34, and nVIR 17 from my
system file and used the Hex Editor to add code string #A67B45 as
a patch to the SFGetFile routine so the Standard File Dialog Box
would be a nice shade of mauve. Everything worked fine until I
installed SuperCDevBlaster, and now when I use the Aldus driver to
print from PageMaker 5.0d4 to a Linotronic 6000 my system hangs.
P.S. I'm running System 6.0.2 on a PowerBook 170.)
Since the Macintosh newsgroups are medium to high volume, we
ask that you first peruse this FAQ list including at least the
table of contents for the other pieces of it, check any other
relevant online resources listed below in question 1.2, especially
the FAQ lists for the other Macintosh newsgroups, and RTFM (Read
the Friendly Manual) before posting your question. We realize that
you are personally incensed that the System is taking up fourteen
of your newly-installed twenty megs of RAM, but this question has
already made its way around the world three hundred times before,
and it's developing tired feet. Finally, before posting to any
newsgroup (Macintosh or otherwise), please familiarize yourself
with the basic etiquette of Usenet as described in the newsgroup
news.announce.newusers. Usenet can be a real nerd-eat-nerd world,
and it's a bad idea to enter it unprepared.
HOW DO I USE THIS DOCUMENT? (1.1)
----------------------------------
comp.sys.mac.faq is currently divided into multiple pieces, a general
introduction which you're reading now, and specific lists for the
newsgroups comp.sys.mac.system, comp.sys.mac.misc, comp.sys.mac.apps,
comp.sys.mac.wanted and the comp.sys.mac.hardware hierarchy. This
introductory document is posted to all of the concerned newsgroups.
The tables of contents for each of the specific FAQ lists are at the
beginning of this file so you should be able to get at least some
idea whether your question is answered anywhere else in the FAQ even
if you don't have the other parts at hand. It's not always obvious,
especially to newcomers, where a particular question or comment
should be posted. Please familiarize yourself with the FAQ lists in
all the major Macintosh newsgroups before posting in any of them.
Which questions appear in which FAQs can serve as a basic guide to
what posts belong where.
To jump to a particular question search for
section-number.question-number enclosed in parentheses. For
example to find "Where can I FTP Macintosh software?" search
for the string "(2.1)". To jump to a section instead of a
question use a zero for the question number.
This document is in "setext" format. Akif Eyler's freeware
application EasyView can parse this document into a hierarchical
outline view that makes for easier browsing. See
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/>
Files available by anonymous ftp are listed here in URL
(Uniform Resource Locator) format. To retrieve a file you can
paste the URL into Mosaic's Open URL dialog or Anarchie's Get
dialog or you can retrieve it manually. A typical ftp URL
looks like
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/>
If you don't have Mosaic, Netscape, MacWeb or some other World Wide
Web browser this reference is easy to decode for use by regular,
manual ftp. (In fact it's easier to use than the form I used to use
which didn't include directories.) Ignore the "ftp://". The next
part, "ftp.macfaq.com" is the site. The last part, "UUTool.sit.bin"
is the file itself. Everything in between is the directory. Thus to
retrieve this file by ftp you would ftp to ftp.macfaq.com, login as
"anonymous" using your email address as your password, switch to
"binary" mode (since the .bin on the end of the file indicates this
is a binary file), change directory to pub/macfaq and get the file
UUTool2.3.2.sit.bin. Directory URL's are similar except they end
with a / symbol. A typical directory URL looks like
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/>
Here ftp.macfaq.com is the site and everything after that is
a directory.
WHAT OTHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE? (1.2)
-------------------------------------------
comp.sys.mac.faq provides short answers to a number of frequently
asked questions appropriate for the comp.sys.mac regions of Usenet.
Five other FAQ lists are worthy of particular note. All are
available for anonymous ftp from rtfm.mit.edu [18.181.0.24] in the
directory pub/usenet/group-name (where "group-name" is the name of
the group in which they're posted) as well as in their respective
newsgroups. You can also access these and other FAQ lists from
<URL:http://www.cs.ruu.nl/cgi-bin/faqwais>
Jon W{tte maintains a public domain FAQ list for
comp.sys.mac.programmer which is posted about every three weeks. See
<URL:ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/macintosh/
The FAQ list for comp.sys.mac.comm answers many frequently asked
questions about networking, UNIX and the Mac, telecommunications,
and foreign file formats. See
<URL:ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/macintosh/comm-faq/>
Norm Walsh has compiled an excellent FAQ for comp.fonts that answers
a lot of questions about the various kinds of fonts and cross-platform
conversion and printing. See
<URL:ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/comp.fonts/>
Finally Jim Jagielski maintains a FAQ for comp.unix.aux covering
Apple's UNIX environment, A/UX. It's posted every 2 to 3 weeks in
comp.unix.aux. See
<URL:ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/comp.unix.aux/>
Much other information is accessible via the World Wide Web by
pointing your favorite browser at The Well Connected Mac, located at
<URL:http://www.macfaq.com/Macintosh.html>
Among other things this site contains hypertext versions of many
of the above FAQ lists, lists of Macintosh FTP and Web sites, a
directory of vendors doing business in the Macintosh market, many
reviews of hardware and software, and much more. If you only
have a dialup UNIX account and can't use a graphical browser, see
if lynx is installed on your system. If it is, use it. Otherwise
if you can telnet, try telneting to www.njit.edu which offers a
publically accessible text-based browser for the Web.
WHICH NEWSGROUP SHOULD I POST TO? (1.3)
----------------------------------------
There are no stupid questions, but there are misplaced ones.
You wouldn't ask your English teacher how to do the definite
integral of ln x between zero and one, would you? So don't ask
the programmer newsgroup why your system is so slow when Microsoft
Word is in the background. Ignorance of basic netiquette is not an
excuse. If you want people to help you, you need to learn their
ways of communicating.
Posting questions to the proper newsgroup will fill your
mailbox with pearls of wisdom (and maybe a few rotten oysters too
:-) ). Posting to the wrong newsgroup often engenders a thundering
silence. For instance the most common and glaring mispost, one
that seems as incongruous to dwellers in the Macintosh regions of
Usenet as would a purple elephant to Aleuts in the Arctic, asking
a question about networking anywhere except comp.sys.mac.comm,
normally produces no useful responses. Posting the same question
to comp.sys.mac.comm ensures that your post is read and considered
by dozens of experienced network administrators and not a few
network software designers.
Please post to exactly *ONE* newsgroup. Do not cross-post.
If a question isn't important enough for you to take the extra
minute to figure out where it properly belongs, it's not important
enough for several thousand people to spend their time reading.
For the same reason comp.sys.mac.misc should not be used as a
catch-all newsgroup.
The breakdown of questions between different newsgroups in this
document can also serve as a reasonable guide to what belongs where.
Questions about productivity applications (software you bought your
Macintosh to run, not software you bought to make your Macintosh run
better) should go to comp.sys.mac.apps unless the application is
covered in a more specific newsgroup. Communications programs,
games, HyperCard, compilers and databases all have more topical
comp.sys.mac.* newsgroups.
Questions about communications software and some hardware questions
belongs in comp.sys.mac.comm. However detailed questions about
Appletalk belong in comp.protocols.appletalk. Questions about modem
hardware belongs in comp.dcom.modems. Questions about web browsers
belong in comp.infosystems.www.browsers.mac and questions about web
servers should be directed to comp.infosystems.www.servers.mac.
Questions about the Internet in general and not about specific Mac
based software like MacTCP do not belong in comp.sys.mac.comm
at all.
Questions about MacOS system software belong in comp.sys.mac.system
with a few exceptions. Most notably all questions about printing and
printing software belong in comp.sys.mac.printing. Questions about
third party utilities and extensions normally belong in
comp.sys.mac.misc. Questions about A/UX go to comp.unix.aux.
Posts about hardware are split as follows: Anything at all about
printers belongs in comp.sys.mac.printing. Posts about hard drives,
tape drives, removable media like Zip and Syquest drives, and CD-ROM
drives and the driver and utility software required to make these
items work belongs in comp.sys.mac.hardware.storage. Posts about
displays, monitors, video cards and the driver and utility software
necessary to make these items work belongs in
comp.sys.mac.hardware.video. All other hardware related posts
including those about CPU's, memory, scanners and other peripherals
should be directed to comp.sys.mac.hardware.misc. Please try to
restrict posts to comp.sys.mac.hardware to ones that actually involve
the metal and plastic that modern computer hardware is made of. Just
because a game comes on CD-ROM does mean you should review it in
comp.sys.mac.hardware.storage. (On the other hand a review of the
drive itself would be appropriate.) Software questions in
comp.sys.mac.hardware should be restricted to the bare minimum of
non-standard software required to make a device work, e.g. hard disk
drivers, special extensions, and the like.
Programming questions and questions about development environments
belong in the comp.sys.mac.programmer hierarchy. ResEdit questions
may be posted either to comp.sys.mac.misc, comp.sys.mac.system, or
comp.sys.mac.programmer; but generally the netters who inhabit the
darker recesses of comp.sys.mac.programmer are considerably more
practiced at the art of resource hacking.
A general exception to the above rules is that any *very* technical
question about an application that actually begins to delve into the
how's of a program as well as the what's (Recent example: How does
WriteNow which is written entirely in assembly compare to other word
processors written in high level languages?) might be better
addressed to the programmer newsgroups.
For Sale and Want to Buy posts should go to comp.sys.mac.wanted and
the misc.forsale.computers.mac hierarchy *ONLY*. We understand that
you're desperate to sell your upgraded 128K Mac to get the $$ for a
PowerBook 540c; but trust me, anyone who wants to buy it will be
reading comp.sys.mac.wanted and
misc.forsale.computers.mac-specific.portables.
Although comp.sys.mac.wanted is a fairly catch-all group,
misc.forsale.computers.mac is a little more hierarchical.
misc.forsale.computers.mac-specific.cards.video contains for
sale and want-to-buy ads for Macintosh video cards only.
misc.forsale.computers.mac.mac-specific.cards.misc features ads
for other Mac-only cards, audio cards, data acquisition cards.
misc.forsale.computers.mac-specific.portables is for
sale and want-to-buy ads for Macintosh PowerBooks, Portables,
Duos and other complete portable systems.
misc.forsale.computers.mac-specific.software is for all Macintosh
software. misc.forsale.computers.mac-specific.systems is for buying
and selling complete Macintosh systems (no parts). Finally
misc.forsale.computers.mac-specific.misc is for buying and selling
Macintosh specific items not covered in the above newsgroups. All
of these newsgroups are for initial posts only. All inquiries,
discussion and negotiation should be kept in private email.
They're also all intended for individuals selling one or
two systems. Dealers of new or used computers and software should
post to biz.marketplace.computers.mac.
Many items of computer hardware work on multiple platforms,
particularly memory, monitors, external modems, hard drives and other
SCSI devices. If you're selling any of these items please post to the
appropriate cross-platform, peripheral group, i.e.:
* misc.forsale.computers.memory
* misc.forsale.computers.modems
* misc.forsale.computers.monitors
* misc.forsale.computers.printers
* misc.forsale.computers.storage
Posting to these groups will give your message a much broader
distribution than posting it to the Mac specific newsgroups.
Political and religious questions (The Mac is better than Windows! Is
not! Is too! Is not! Is too! Hey! How 'bout the Amiga! What about it?
Is Not! Is too!) belong in comp.sys.mac.advocacy. Anything not
specifically mentioned above probably belongs in comp.sys.mac.misc.
Finally don't be so provincial as to only consider the
comp.sys.mac newsgroups for your questions. Many questions about
modems in comp.sys.mac.comm are much more thoroughly discussed
in comp.dcom.modems. Questions about Mac MIDI are often better
handled in comp.music even though it's not a Macintosh specific
newsgroup. Posts about the Newton belong in the comp.sys.newton
hierarchy, not in *ANY* of the Macintosh newsgroups. Look around.
Usenet's big and not everything relevant to the Macintosh happens
in comp.sys.mac.
HOW SHOULD I ANSWER FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS? (1.4)
------------------------------------------------------
Mostly through private email. Frequent answers are just as
boring and uninteresting as frequent questions. Unless you really
have something new to add to the traditional answers (such as the
recent discovery that fonts in System 7.1 could eat memory in a way
that mimicked the symptoms of not having 32-bit addressing turned on)
private email is a much better medium for answering FAQs. You might
want to add a mention of this FAQ list in your email response and a
polite suggestion that your correspondent read it before posting
future questions.
FTP, GOPHER, AND THE WORLD WIDE WEB (2.0)
==========================================
WHERE CAN I GET MAC SOFTWARE? (2.1)
------------------------------------
The two major North American Internet archives of shareware,
freeware, and demo software are Info-Mac at sumex-aim.stanford.edu
[171.65.4.3], and mac.archive at mac.archive.umich.edu
[141.211.120.11] Unless otherwise noted shareware and freeware
mentioned in this document should be available at the above sites.
Unfortunately these sites are extremely busy and allow very few
connections. Thus you should try to connect to a mirror site
instead.
In the United States Info-Mac's files are available from
grind.isca.uiowa.edu [128.255.21.233] in the directory mac/infomac or
mirrors.aol.com [198.81.1.25] in pub/mac. mac.archive files are
available from mirror.archive.umich.edu and mirrors.aol.com.
Scandinavians should try connecting to ftp.funet.fi (128.214.6.100)
or ftp.lth.se [130.235.20.3] first. In the U.K. look to
src.doc.ic.ac.uk [146.169.2.1]. Continental Europeans can try
nic.switch.ch [130.59.1.40], ezinfo.ethz.ch [129.132.2.72], and
anl.anl.fr [192.54.179.1]. In Australia check out archie.au
[139.130.4.6]. Japanese users will find sumex mirrored at
ftp.center.osaka-u.ac.jp [133.1.4.13] in info-mac. In Israel try
ftp.technion.ac.il [132.68.1.10] in the directory
pub/unsupported/mac. In Taiwan nctuccca.edu.tw [192.83.166.10 or
140.111.1.10] mirrors both sumex and mac.archive.
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/info/Mac_FTP_List.txt>
U.S.: <URL:ftp://grind.isca.uiowa.edu/mac/infomac/>
<URL:ftp://mirrors.aol.com/>
<URL:ftp://mirror.archive.umich.edu/>
Finland: <URL:ftp://ftp.funet.fi/>
Sweden: <URL:ftp://ftp.lth.se/>
<URL:ftp://ftp.sunet.se/pub/mac/>
U.K.: <URL:ftp://src.doc.ic.ac.uk/packages/info-mac/>
Switzerland: ftp://nic.switch.ch/>
<URL:ftp://ezinfo.ethz.ch/>
France: <URL:ftp://anl.anl.fr/>
Taiwan: <URL:ftp://nctuccca.edu.tw/>
Israel: <URL:ftp://ftp.technion.ac.il/pub/unsupported/mac/>
Australia: <URL:ftp://archie.au/>
Japan: <URL:ftp://ftp.center.osaka-u.ac.jp/info-mac/>
A more complete and current list of mirrors is available at
<URL:http://www.macfaq.com/software.html>
Two other very useful sites are ftp.info.apple.com [204.96.16.4]
and ftp.support.apple.com [130.43.6.3]. The latter is mirrored at
ftptoo.support.apple.com.
<URL:ftp://ftp.info.apple.com/>
<URL:ftp://ftp.support.apple.com/>
<URL:ftp://ftptoo.support.apple.com/>
These are Apple's official repositories for system software,
developer tools, source code, technical notes, and other things
that come more or less straight from Apple's mouth. Some material
at this site may not be distributed outside the U.S. or by other
sites that don't have an official license to distribute Apple
system software. Please read the various README documents
available at these sites for the detailed info if you're
connecting from outside the U.S. or if you wish to redistribute
material you find here.
All software mentioned in these FAQ lists which may be freely
posted is available for anonymous ftp from ftp.macfaq.com in the
directory /pub/, i.e.
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/>
Ftp.macfaq.com is NOT a general archive site like info-mac or
mac.archive and does not endeavor to store every piece of shareware
in the Macintosh universe. However it should have most software
mentioned here, and should be easily accessible.
Finally if you have one flavor or another of Gopher available,
Apple maintains an astoundingly useful gopher server at
<URL:gopher://info.hed.apple.com/>
This site contains gobs of PR, technical specs for Apple products,
and pointers to sumex and mac.archive. It's often much easier to
browse mac.archive and sumex through gopher rather than directly
by ftp. Much of this is also available on the World Wide Web at
<URL:http://www.apple.com/>
CAN I GET SHAREWARE BY EMAIL? (2.2)
------------------------------------
The info-mac archives at sumex-aim are available by email from
LISTSERV@RICEVM1.bitnet (alternately listserv@ricevm1.rice.edu).
The listserver responds to the commands $MACARCH HELP, $MACARCH
INDEX, and $MACARCH GET filename. Mac archive files are available
from mac@mac.archive.umich.edu. Send it a message containing the
word "help" (no quotes) on the first line of your message for
instructions on getting started. You can retrieve files from
other sites by using the server at ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com. For
details send it a message with just the text "help" (no quotes).
WHERE CAN I FIND APPLICATION X? (2.3)
--------------------------------------
If you can't find shareware you're looking for at one of
the above sites, archie will help you find it. If you have a
MacTCP connection to the net, you should use Peter Lewis's
graphical archie client Anarchie, available from
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/>
Otherwise try telnetting to your nearest archie server or
sending it an email message addressed to archie with the subject
"help." Archie servers are located at archie.rutgers.edu (128.6.18.15,
America), archie.mcgill.ca (132.206.2.3, Canada), archie.au
(139.130.4.6, Australia), archie.funet.fi (128.214.6.100,
Scandinavia), and archie.doc.ic.ac.uk (146.169.3.7, the U.K. and
the continent). These sites index the tens of thousands of files
available for anonymous ftp. Login as "archie" (no password is
needed) and type "prog filename" to find what you're looking for or
type "help" for more detailed instructions. For instance you would
type "prog Disinfectant" to search for a convenient ftp site for
Disinfectant. If the initial search fails to turn up the file you
want, try variations on and substrings of the name. For instance if
you didn't find Disinfectant with "prog Disinfectant", you might try
"prog disi" instead.
If you have access to the World Wide Web the Virtual Software
Library at
http://www.shareware.com/
is often quicker to respond than archie although it doesn't index
as many sites.
Most common payware is stocked by MacWarehouse and featured
in their catalog which you can request from MacWarehouse at
(800) 622-6222. Apple brand software not stocked by MacWarehouse
and not available on ftp.support.apple.com is often available from
APDA, the Apple Programmers' and Developers' Association. Call
(800) 282-2732 in the U.S., (800) 637-0029 in Canada, (716) 871-6555
elsewhere, for a catalog. Finally most third party programming
tools with too small a market to be advertised in the MacWarehouse
catalog are advertised in every issue of MacTech along with
information on how to order.
Please check the above catalogs and archie personally BEFORE
asking the net where you can find a particular piece of software.
These sources provide answers much more quickly than the net.
WHERE CAN I FIND AN APPLICATION TO DO X? (2.4)
-----------------------------------------------
Most archives of shareware and freeware have index files
which briefly describe the various programs available at the site.
At anonymous ftp sites these files typically begin with 00 and end
with either .txt or .abs. Lists that cover the entire archive and
topical subdirectories are both available. For example if you're
looking for a program to play MOD files, ftp to sumex-aim and
look in the directory Sound/util for any files beginning with two
zeroes. You'll find 00Utility-abstracts.abs. Get it and then
browse through it at your leisure. Then when you've located a
likely candidate in the index file you can ftp it and try it out.
The best source of information about payware programs is the
MacWarehouse catalog. You'll occasionally find it on sale at
newsstands for about three dollars; but if you call MacWarehouse
at 1-800-622-6222, they'll be happy to send you one for free.
Unlike many other catalogs almost all common software is
advertised in the MacWarehouse catalog. A quick browse through
the appropriate section normally reveals several products that
fit your needs.
CAN SOMEONE MAIL ME APPLICATION X? (2.5)
-----------------------------------------
No. Nor will anyone mail you a part of a file from
comp.binaries.mac that was corrupt or missed at your site.
Please refer to the first questions in this section to
find out about anonymous FTP, archie, and email servers.
WHAT IS .BIN? .HQX? .CPT? .ETC? (2.6)
--------------------------------------
Most files available by FTP are modified twice to allow them to
more easily pass through foreign computer systems. First they're
compressed to make them faster to download, and then they're
translated to either a binhex (.hqx) or MacBinary (.bin) format
that other computers can digest. (The Macintosh uses a special
two-fork filing system that chokes most other computers.) BinHex
files are 7-bit ASCII text files, while MacBinary files are pure
8-bit binary data that must always be transferred using a binary
protocol.
How a file has been translated and compressed is indicated
by its suffix. Normally a file will have a name something like
filename.xxx.yyy. .xxx indicates how it was compressed and .yyy
indicates how it was translated. To use a file you've FTP'd and
downloaded to your Mac you'll need to reverse the process. Most
files you get from the net require a two-step decoding process.
First change the binhex (.hqx) or MacBinary (.bin) file to a
double-clickable Macintosh file; then decompress it. Which
programs decode which file types is covered in the table below.
Also note that most Macintosh telecommunications programs will
automatically convert MacBinary files to regular Macintosh files
as they are downloaded.
*******************************************************************************
Suffix: .sit .cpt .hqx .bin .pit .Z .image .dd .zip .uu .tar .gz
Extractors
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
StuffIt 3.0| X X X X X X X X X X X
Compact Pro| X X
Packit | X
UUTool | X
MacCompress| X
SunTar | X X X X
BinHex 5.0 | X X
BinHex 4.0 | X
DiskDoubler| X X
ZipIt | X X X
DiskCopy | X
macutil | X X X X
MacGzip | X X
*******************************************************************************
A few notes on the decompressors:
StuffIt is a family of products that use several different
compression schemes. The freeware StuffIt Expander will unstuff
all of them. Versions of StuffIt earlier than 3.0 (StuffIt 1.5.1,
StuffIt Classic, UnStuffIt, and StuffIt Deluxe 2.0 and 1.0)
will not unstuff the increasing number of files stuffed by
StuffIt 3.0 and later. You need to get a more recent version of
StuffIt or StuffIt Expander. See
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/>
StuffIt 4.0 (available in Lite, Deluxe, DropStuff and SpaceSaver
flavors) consistently makes smaller archives than any other Macintosh
compression utility. To allow maximum space for files on the various
ftp sites and to keep net-bandwidth down, please compress all files
you send to anonymous ftp sites with StuffIt 4.0 or later. See
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/>
UUTool, MacCompress, MacGzip and SunTar handle the popular
UNIX formats of uuencode (.uu), compress (.Z), gzip (.gz) and
tar (.tar) respectively. The UNIX versions are often more robust
than the Mac products, so use them instead when that's an option.
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/>
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/>
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/>
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/>
StuffIt Deluxe or the combination of the freeware StuffIt Expander
and the shareware DropStuff with Expander Enhancer can also decode
these four formats in a relatively reliable fashion. However be warned
that the registration dialog in these products is more than a little
annoying. See
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/>
Macutil is dik winter's package of UNIX utilities to
decompress and debinhex files on a workstation before downloading
them to a Mac. Since UNIX stores files differently than the
Mac, macutil creates MacBinary (.bin) files which should be
automatically converted on download. It can't decompress
everything. In particular it can't decompress StuffIt 3.0 and later
archives. However, if you need only one or two files out of an
archive--for instance if you want to read the README to find out if
a program does what you need it to do before you download all of
it--macutil is indispensable. See
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/>
A few notes on the compression formats:
.bin: These are MacBinary files. Always use a binary file
transfer protocol when transferring them, never ASCII or text.
Most files on the net are stored as .hqx instead. Only rascal
stores most of its files in .bin format. Most communications
programs such as ZTerm and Microphone are capable of translating
MacBinary files on the fly as they download if they know in
advance they'll be downloading MacBinary files.
.image: This format is normally used only for system software,
so that on-line users can download files that can easily be
converted into exact copies of the installer floppies. Instead
of using DiskCopy to restore the images to floppies, you can use
the freeware utility ShrinkWrap to treat the images on your hard
disk as actual floppies inserted in a floppy drive. ShrinkWrap
sometimes has problems when doing installs, so you should have
some blank floppies and a copy of DiskCopy handy just in case. See
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/>
.sea (.x, .X): .sea files don't merit a position in the above
table because they're self-extracting. They may have been created
with Compact Pro, StuffIt, or even DiskDoubler; but all should be
capable of decompressing themselves when double-clicked. For some
unknown reason Alysis has chosen not to use this industry standard
designation for self-extracting archives created with their
payware products SuperDisk! and More Disk Space. Instead
they append either .x or .X to self-extracting archives.
HOW CAN I GET BINHEX? STUFFIT? ETC.? (2.7)
---------------------------------------------
By far the easiest way to get these programs is to ask a
human being to copy them onto a floppy for you. If you're at a
university there's absolutely no excuse for not finding someone to
give you a copy; and if you're anywhere less remote than McMurdo
Sound, chances are very good that someone at a computer center,
dealership, or user group can provide you with a copy of StuffIt.
Once you have StuffIt (any version) you don't need BinHex.
If you're such a computer geek that the thought of actually
asking a living, breathing human being instead of a computer
terminal for something turns you into a quivering mass of
protoplasmic jelly, you can probably download a working
copy of StuffIt from a local bulletin board system.
If you have religious objections to software gotten by any
means other than anonymous ftp, then I suppose I'll mention that
you can in fact ftp a working copy of StuffIt though this is
by far the hardest way to get it. Ftp to ftp.macfaq.com and
login. Type the word "binary." Hit return. Type "cd pub/macfaq"
and hit return. Then type "get StuffItExpander.sea.bin" and hit
return. If you've ftp'd straight onto your Mac you should now have a
self-extracting archive which will produce a working copy of StuffIt
Expander when double-clicked. If you've ftp'd to your mainframe or
UNIX account first, you still need to use a modem program to download
it to your Mac. Just make sure that the Mac is receiving in MacBinary
mode and the mainframe is sending in binary mode. If you need more
details on the last step, consult the FAQ list for comp.sys.mac.comm
and the manuals for both your mainframe and Macintosh
telecommunications software.
HOW CAN I GET BINHEX, STUFFIT, ETC. FROM A PC? (2.8)
-----------------------------------------------------
Paul Thomson's shareware DOS utility Macette can transfer
MacBinary files like the ones stored at ftp.macfaq.com from a DOS
file system onto a Macintosh high density diskette, translating
from MacBinary into a standard two-fork executable Macintosh file
in the process. It can even format the diskette for you. Thus
once you've gotten StuffIt Expander from
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/>
you can use macette to move it from the PC to your Mac.
I've made macette available at my ftp site. See
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/>
TROUBLESHOOTING: WHAT TO DO (BEFORE POSTING) WHEN THINGS GO WRONG (3.0)
========================================================================
While the various FAQ lists cover a lot of specific problems, there
are far more problems that aren't covered here. These are a few basic
techniques you should follow before asking for help. You should
probably also perform the ten-step preventive maintenance routine
described in section four, especially rebuilding the desktop (4.3)
and zapping the PRAM (4.4). Following these steps may or may
not solve your problem, but it will at least make it easier for
others to recommend solutions to you.
IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM. (3.1)
----------------------------
"Microsoft Word is crashing" doesn't say much. What were you
doing when it crashed? Can you repeat the actions that lead to
the crash? The more information you provide about the actions
preceding the crash the more likely it is someone can help you.
The more precisely you've identified the problem and the actions
preceding it, the easier it will be to tell if the following steps
fix the problem. For example, "Sometimes QuarkXPress 3.0 crashes
with a coprocessor not installed error." is not nearly as helpful
as "QuarkXPress 3.0 crashes when I link two text boxes on a master
page when copies of those text boxes already contain text." The
former diagnosis leaves you wondering whether the bug remains after
a given step. The latter lets you go right to the problem and see
if it's still there or not.
READ THE READ ME FILE. (3.2)
-----------------------------
Many companies include a list of known incompatibilities
and bugs in their READ ME files. Often these aren't documented
in the manual. Read any READ ME files to see if any of the
problems sound familiar.
CHECK FOR VIRUSES. (3.3)
-------------------------
Run Disinfectant or another anti-viral across your disk.
Virus infections are rarer than most people think, but they do
occur and they do cause all sorts of weird problems when they do.
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/>
REINSTALL THE APPLICATION AND ALL ITS SUPPORT FILES. (3.4)
-----------------------------------------------------------
For half a dozen reasons (external magnetic fields, improperly written
software, the alignment of the planets) a file on a disk may not
contain the data it's supposed to contain. This can cause all types
of unexplained, unusual behavior. Restoring from original master
disks will usually fix this. Check to see if the application has a
preferences file in the Preferences folder in the system folder and
if so trash it. This is often overlooked when reinstalling. Since
the preferences file is often the most easily corrupted file in an
application, reinstalling it alone may be sufficient to fix the
problem.
REINSTALL THE SYSTEM SOFTWARE. (3.5)
-------------------------------------
Bits are even more likely to get twiddled in the system file
than in the application, and the effects can be just as disastrous.
See question 4.6 for a detailed procedure for performing a clean
reinstall.
If the problem continues to occur after you've taken these
steps, chances are you've found either a conflict between your
application and some other software or a genuine bug in the
program. So it's time to
ISOLATE THE PROBLEM. (3.6)
---------------------------
You need to find the minimal system on which the problem
will assert itself. Here are the basic steps of isolating the
cause of a system or application crash:
1. Run only one application at a time. Occasionally applications
conflict with each other. If the problem does not manifest
itself without other applications running simultaneously,
begin launching other applications until you find the one that
causes the crash.
2. If you're running System 6, turn off MultiFinder. If you're
running System 7, allot as much memory to the application as you
can afford. Sometimes programs just need more memory, especially
when performing complicated operations.
3. If you're running System 7, turn off virtual memory and 32-bit
addressing in the Memory Control Panel. There's still an awful
lot of 32-bit and VM hostile software out there including some
from companies that really have no excuse. (Can you say Microsoft
Word 5.1, boys and girls? I knew you could.) Some of this
software only expresses its incompatibilities when certain
uncommon actions are taken. PowerMacs always run in 32-bit mode.
Try turning the modern memory manager off instead.
4. If you have a 68040 Mac, turn the cache off. Many older
programs don't work well with the built-in cache of the 68040.
5. If you have a PowerPC turn off the modern memory manager.
Some software doesn't get along with it.
6. Restart your Mac and hold down the shift key (or boot from a virgin
system floppy if you're using System 6). If the problem disappears
you likely have an extension conflict. You need to progressively remove
extensions until the problem vanishes. System 7.5's Extensions
Manager lets you decide at startup which extensions to load so you
don't have to spend a lot of time moving files into and out of the
System Folder. In earlier systems you can use Ricardo Batista's
freeware Extensions Manager 2.0.1 on which System 7.5's Extensions
manager is built. See
<URL:ftp://ftp.support.apple.com/pub/apple_sw_updates/US/Macintosh/Utilities/>
Use a little common sense when choosing the first extensions to
remove. If the problem occurs when you try to open a file, remove
any extensions that mess with the Standard File Open procedure such as
Super Boomerang first. If the problem remains after the obvious
candidates have been eliminated, either remove the remaining
extensions one at a time; or, if you have a lot of them, perform a
binary search by removing half of the extensions at a time. Once
the problem disappears add half of the most recently removed set
back. Continue until you've narrowed the conflict down to one
extension. When you think you've found the offending extension
restart with only that extension enabled just to make sure that it
and it alone is indeed causing the problem. Although performing
this procedure manually can be fairly quick if you have a pretty
good idea of which extensions to check, it can take quite some
time when you really don't have any strong suspects for a
conflict. In that case consider using Conflict Catcher to help
isolate the offending init. A fully functional timed demo can be
had from
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/>
7. Remove all but the required fonts (Chicago, Monaco) from your
Fonts folder. If the problem disappears then one of your fonts
is corrupted. Open the Fonts folder in your System folder and
open each font suitcase until your Mac crashes. The last suitcase
opened is probably corrupt. Restart the machine, remove the
allegedly corrupt suitcase from the Fonts folder and check the
remaining fonts. (There may be more than one corrupt font.) This
procedure may not always isolate the corrupted font, so if no
corrupted fonts are found or if the symptoms do not disappear, you
can use the binary elimination procedure described above to find
the corrupt font.
8. Remove all external SCSI devices. If the problem disappears,
add them back one at a time until the problem reappears. Once
you've isolated the SCSI device causing the problem check its
termination and try moving it to a different position in the
SCSI chain. It's also possible a SCSI cable's gone bad, so
try replacing just the cable.
9. Turn the Mac off and unplug all cables: power, ADB, modem,
printer, network, SCSI and anything else you've plugged in to the
back of your Mac. Then plug everything back in and try again.
Loose cables can imitate malfunctions in almost any hardware or
software. I recently spent a day in panic because I thought my
analog board had died before I could back up the latest draft of
the hardware FAQ. I even went so far as to email my favorite
repair shop (Tekserve, 212-929-3645) before I thought calmly for
a few minutes, unplugged all my cables, and plugged them back in.
My Mac booted up immediately. The power cable had been loosened
when I moved my desk the previous weekend and a few days later
random motion finally disconnected it enough to cut my power. To
all appearances this was an expensive analog board or power supply
failure rather than a cheap cable problem that I could fix in about
a minute at home.
CONTACT TECHNICAL SUPPORT. (3.7)
---------------------------------
By now you should have a very good idea of when, where, and why
the conflict occurs. If a tech support number is available for the
software, call it. If you're lucky the company will have a work
around or fix available. If not, perhaps they'll at least add the
bug to their database of problems to be fixed in the next release.
PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE (4.0)
=============================
You wouldn't drive your car 100,000 miles without giving it a
tune-up. A computer is no different. Regular tune-ups avoid a lot
of problems. Although there are Mac mechanics who will be happy to
charge you $75 or more for the equivalent of an oil change, there's
no reason you can't change it yourself. The following ten-step
program should be performed about every three months or when you're
experiencing problems.
TRASH UNNEEDED FILES (4.1)
---------------------------
Many of the operations that follow will run faster and more
smoothly the more free disk space there is to work with, so spend
a little time cleaning up your hard disk. If you're at all like
me, you'll find several megabytes worth of preferences files for
applications you no longer have, archives of software you've
dearchived, shareware you tried out and didn't like, announcements
for events that have come and gone and many other files you no
longer need. If you're running System 7 you may also have several
more megabytes in your trash can alone. Throw them away and empty
the trash.
RETHINK YOUR EXTENSIONS (4.2)
------------------------------
Some Macintoshes attract extensions like a new suit attracts rain.
Seriously consider whether you actually need every extension and
control panel in your collection. If you don't use the
functionality of an extension at least every fifth time you boot
up, you're probably better off not storing it in your System
Folder where it only takes up memory, destabilizes your system,
and slows down every startup. For instance if you only read PC
disks once a month, there's no need to keep Macintosh PC Exchange
loaded all the time. Cutting back on your extensions can really
help avoid crashes.
REBUILD THE DESKTOP (4.3)
--------------------------
The Desktop file/database holds all the information necessary
to associate each file with the application that created it.
It lets the system know what application should be launched when
you open a given file and what icons it should display where.
Depending on its size each application has one or more
representatives in the desktop file. As applications and files
move on and off your hard disk, the Desktop file can be become
bloated and corrupt. Think of it as a Congress for your Mac.
Every so often it's necessary to throw the bums out and start
with a clean slate. Fortunately it's easier to rebuild the
desktop than to defeat an incumbent.
One warning: rebuilding the desktop will erase all comments
you've stored in the Get Info boxes. Under System 7 Maurice
Volaski's freeware extension CommentKeeper will retain those comments
across a rebuild. See
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/>
CommentKeeper also works with System 6 but only if Apple's
Desktop Manager extension is also installed.
To rebuild the desktop restart your Mac and, as your
extensions finish loading, depress the Command and Option keys.
You'll be presented with a dialog box asking if you want to rebuild
the desktop and warning you that "This could take a few minutes."
Click OK. It will take more than a few minutes. The more files you
have the longer it will take. If you're running System 6 you may
want to turn off MultiFinder before trying to rebuild the desktop.
If you're experiencing definite problems and not just doing
preventive maintenance, you may want to use Micromat's freeware
utility TechTool. TechTool completely deletes the Desktop file
before rebuilding it, thus eliminating possibly corrupt data
structures. Furthermore it doesn't require you to remember any
confusing keystroke combinations. See
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/>
ZAP THE PRAM AND RESET THE CLOCK (4.4)
---------------------------------------
All Macs from the original 128K Thin Mac to the PowerMac 9500
contain a small amount of battery powered RAM that holds certain
settings that belong to the CPU rather than the startup disk, for
example the disk to start up from. Unfortunately this "parameter
RAM" can become corrupted and cause unexplained crashes. To reset
it under System 7 hold down the Command, Option, P, and R keys
while restarting your Mac. Under System 6 hold down the Command,
Option, and Shift keys while selecting the Control Panel from the
Apple menu, and click "Yes" when asked if you want to zap the
parameter RAM. Alternatively you can use MicroMat's free utility
TechTool which doesn't require you stretch your fingers across the
keyboard like a circus contortionist. See
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/>
Zapping the PRAM erases the settings of most Apple Control
Panels including the General Controls, Keyboard, Startup Disk,
Mouse, and Map. It also erases the Powerbook 100's non-volatile
RAM disk. Thus after zapping the PRAM you will need to reset these
Control Panels to fit your preferences. One setting that zapping
the PRAM does not erase is the date and time; but since the internal
clock in the Macintosh is notoriously inaccurate you'll probably want
to reset it now anyway.
RESIZE THE SYSTEM HEAP (System 6 Only) (4.5)
---------------------------------------------
Even after rethinking their extensions as per step two, most
people still have at least half a row of icons march across
the bottom of their screen every time they restart. All these
extensions (and most applications too) need space in a section of
memory called the System Heap. If the System Heap isn't big enough
to comfortably accommodate all the programs that want a piece of
it, they start playing King of the Mountain on the system heap,
knocking each other off to get bigger pieces for themselves and
trying to climb back on after they get knocked off. All this
fighting amongst the programs severely degrades system performance
and almost inevitably crashes the Mac.
Under System 7 your Macintosh automatically resizes the
system heap as necessary, but under System 6 you yourself need
to set the system heap size large enough to have room for all your
extensions and applications. By default this size is set to 128K,
way too small for Macs with even a few extensions. The system heap
size is stored in the normally non-editable boot blocks of every
system disk. Bill Steinberg's freeware utility BootMan not only
resizes your system heap but also checks how much memory your heap
is using and tells you how much more needs to be allocated. If
you're running System 6, get BootMan, use it, and be amazed at
how infrequently your Macintosh crashes. See
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/>
REINSTALL THE SYSTEM SOFTWARE (4.6)
------------------------------------
System files can become corrupt and fragmented, especially
if you've stored lots of fonts and desk accessories inside them.
Merely updating the System software will often not fix system file
corruption. I recommend doing a clean reinstall. Here's how:
1. Move the Finder from the System Folder onto your desktop.
2. Rename the System Folder "Old System Folder."
3. If you're installing System 6, 7.0, 7.0.1 or 7.1 shut down
and then boot from the Installer floppy of your system disks.
If you're installing System 7.5, quit all running applications
and launch the installer on the first installer disk.
4. Double-click the installer script on your System disk. Then
choose Customize... Select the appropriate software for your
model Mac and printer. You could do an Easy Install instead,
but that will only add a lot of extensions and code you don't
need that waste your memory and disk space.
If you're installing System 7.5 type "Command-Shift-K" which is
the magic code to get the installer to do a clean install.. A
dialog will pop up. Select the radio button that says "Install
New System Folder" and click OK.
From this point on just follow the installer's instructions.
Mostly you'll just need to swap disks. After installation is
finished the installer will ask you to restart your Mac. You
don't really have any choice so go ahead and restart.
5. If you installed System 7.0 or 7.0.1, you should now install
System 7 Tuneup 1.1.1, available from
<URL:ftp://ftp.support.apple.com/pub/apple_sw_updates/US/Macintosh/System_Software/Other_System_Software/
If you installed System 7.1, 7.1 Pro or 7.1.2, then you should
also install System Update 3.0, available from
<URL:ftp://ftp.support.apple.com/pub/apple_sw_updates/US/Macintosh/System_Software/Other_System_Software/>
If you installed System 7.5, 7.5.1 or 7.5.2 then you should also install
System 7.5 Update 2.0, available from
<URL:ftp://ftp.support.apple.com/pub/apple_sw_updates/US/Macintosh/System/System_7.5_Update_2.0/>
This will bring you to System 7.5.3. Finally you should install the
System 7.5.3 Revision 2 update, available from
<URL:ftp://ftp.support.apple.com/pub/apple_sw_updates/US/Macintosh/System/System_7.5.3_Revision_2/>
6. Copy any non-standard fonts and desk accessories out
of the old System file into a temporary suitcase.
7. Trash the Finder file on desktop. Now go into the Old System
Folder and trash the System, MultiFinder, DA Handler, and all
other standard Apple extensions and control panels. These were
all replaced in the new installation. If you were running
System 7.x, move everything left in the Extensions, Control Panels,
Apple Menu Items and Preferences folders into the top level of
the new System Folder.
8. Now move everything from the Old System Folder you created in step 2
into the new System folder. If you're asked if you want to replace
anything, you missed something in step 7. You'll need to replace
things individually until you find the duplicate piece. Also
reinstall any fonts or DA's you removed in step 6.
9. Reboot. You should now have a clean, defragmented System file
that takes up less memory and disk space and a much more stable
system overall.
DISK UTILITIES (4.7)
---------------------
Much like system files hard disks have data structures that
occasionally become corrupted affecting performance and even
causing data loss. Apple includes Disk First Aid, a simple utility
for detecting and repairing hard disk problems, with its System
disks. It's also available for anonymous ftp from
ftp.support.apple.com in
<URL:ftp://ftp.support.apple.com/pub/apple_sw_updates/US/Macintosh/Utilities/>
If you have an earlier version than 7.2 (and many people do)
you should get version 7.2 from ftp.apple.com, make a copy of
your Disk Tools disk, and replace the old Disk First Aid on the
copy with the new version. At the same time you should also
replace the old version of HD SC Setup on your Disk Tools disk
with HD SC Setup 7.3.5 (or newer) from the same directory. See
<URL:ftp://ftp.support.apple.com/pub/apple_sw_updates/US/Macintosh/Utilities/>
Certain late-model Macs require a new formatter called Drive Setup instead.
Drive Setup requires System 7.5 or later and is only should only be used
with PowerMacs, PowerBook 190's and Macintosh 580 and 630 series
68040 Macs. As of June, 1996, the latest version is 1.0.5 which
is available from
<URL:ftp://ftp.support.apple.com/pub/apple_sw_updates/US/Macintosh/Utilities/>
Several companies sell payware disk utilities that detect and repair
considerably more problems than Disk First Aid though, interestingly,
none of them detect and repair everything that Disk First Aid does.
The most effective for general work are Symantec's MacTools 4.0 and
Norton Utilities for the Macintosh 3.2. A department or work group
should have both of these as well as Disk First Aid since none of
them fix everything the others do. For individuals MacTools ($48
street) is about half the price of Norton ($94 street) so, features
and ease of use being roughly equal, I recommend MacTools.
All of these products occasionally encounter problems they
can't fix. When that happens it's time to backup (4.8) and
reformat (4.10).
BACKING UP (4.8)
-----------------
This is one part of preventive maintenance that should be
done a *LOT* more often than every three months. The simplest back
up is merely to copy all the files on your hard disk onto floppies
or other removable media. If you keep your data files separate
from your application and support files then it's easy to only back
up those folders which change frequently. Nonetheless every three
months you should do a complete backup of your hard disk.
A number of programs are available to make backing up easier. Apple
included a very basic full backup application with System 6. Apple
ships the Apple Backup utility with all Performas that can backup
the entire disk or just the System folder onto floppies. The
previously mentioned Norton Utilities for the Mac and MacTools Deluxe
include more powerful floppy backup utilities that incorporate
compression and incremental backups. Finally the usual ftp sites
should have Diversified I/O's $35 shareware SoftBackup II, a full
featured backup program that will do full, image and incremental
backups to floppies, tape drives, WORMs, Syquest drives, hard disks,
servers and other media. See
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/>
About the only thing thing SoftBackup II can't do is replace old
versions of files in a backup set with newer versions. If you want
to do that, check out the more flexible payware utilities Redux ($49
street, doesn't support tape drives) and Diskfit Pro ($74 street).
DISK DEFRAGMENTATION (4.9)
---------------------------
As disks fill up it gets harder and harder to find enough
contiguous free space to write large files. Therefore the
operating system will often split larger files into pieces to
be stored in different places on your hard disk. As files
become more and more fragmented performance can degrade.
There are several ways to defragment a hard disk.
The most tedious but cheapest method is to backup all your
files, erase the hard disk (and you might as well reformat while
you're at it. See question 4.10.), and restore all the files.
A number of payware utilities including Norton Utilities
and Mac Tools can defragment a disk in place, i.e. without
erasing it. Although the ads for all these products brag about
their safety, once you've bought the software and opened the
shrink-wrap they all warn you to back up your disk before
defragmenting it in case something does go wrong. If you use
any of these products, be sure to run a disk repair package
on the disk you wish to defragment before defragmenting.
Defragmenting will almost certainly make any existing problems
with a disk worse so it's important to make sure a disk is in
good health before using a defragmenting utility on it. Fast
Unfrag is a $10 shareware disk defragmenter by Kas Thomas. See
<URL:ftp://ftp.macfaq.com/pub/>
It appears to do the job it was designed for; (defragmenting the
files on a hard disk) and my brief tests didn't reveal any glaring
bugs or trash any files. Nonetheless, I'm a bit nervous about this
product because the programmer and his skill level are unknown to
me, and writing a disk defragmenter is not something I'd trust to a
novice. The interface is flaky; the program only works on the disk
where the application resides (very unusual behavior for a disk
defragmenter); it's unfriendly to background applications (not so
unusual for any disk intensive app); and neither documentation,
online help, nor an email address are provided with the program.
Since this is still a relative unknown I *STRONGLY* recommend that
you backup your files before using it. I'd appreciate hearing any
experiences you have with it.
REFORMAT YOUR HARD DISK (4.10)
-------------------------------
Just as a floppy disk needs to be initialized before use, so a hard
disk must be formatted before it can hold data. You don't need to
reformat every three months; but when your system is crashing no
matter what you try, reformatting is the ultimate means of wiping the
slate clean. Reformatting your hard disk may even gain you a few
extra megabytes of space. Not all hard disks are created equal.
Some can hold more data than others. To facilitate mass production
and advertising without a lot of asterisks (* 81.3 megabytes is the
pre-formatted size. Actual formatted capacity may vary.) Apple
often formats drives to the lowest common denominator of drive
capacity. When you reformat there's no reason at all not to reclaim
whatever unused space Apple's left on your disk.
Unlike floppies hard disks need a special program to initialize them.
Most hard disks come with formatting software. Apple's disks and
System software ship with either HD SC Setup or Drive Setup, minimal
disk formatters which will format Apple brand hard drives *ONLY*. See
<URL:ftp://ftp.support.apple.com/pub/apple_sw_updates/US/Macintosh/Utilities/>
<URL:ftp://ftp.support.apple.com/pub/apple_sw_updates/US/Macintosh/Utilities/>
Most hard drive manufacturers ship appropriate formatting software
with their hard drives. Normally this is all you need to reformat
your hard disk. This software installs a "driver" onto the hard
disk. Most formatting software includes an option to update the
driver without reformatting the entire hard disk, and this can fix
some hard to diagnose problems without going to the trouble of
reformatting and restoring an entire hard disk. (Do backup before
updating a hard disk driver though, as a failed driver update can
leave a disk unusable.)
A number of general-purpose formatters are also available
which go beyond the bundled software to include features like
encryption, password protection, multiple partitioning, faster disk
access, System 7 compatibility, and even compression. Two of the
best are the payware Drive7 and Hard Disk Toolkit Personal Edition
($49 street for either). While there are one or two freeware
formatters available, none are likely to be superior to the
ones bundled with your hard disk.
PowerBook owners should be sure to turn off Sleep and
processor cycling before reformatting their hard drives no
matter what software they use. Otherwise disk corruption,
crashes, and data losses are likely.
META-FAQS (FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FAQ) (5.0)
===========================================================
Since posting the first version of my FAQ list a little over
three years ago I have noticed a precipitous drop in the frequency of
certain questions. Most notably: Why is my system using 14 of my
20 megs of RAM? Though that still shows up occasionally, it's no
longer at the twelve times a day level that induced me to start
writing. I count that as some measure of success. However, I have
experienced one unexpected phenomenom. Certain questions began
appearing frequently in my mailbox so I've composed this little list
of meta-faqs, that is frequently asked questions about the FAQ. Please
familiarize yourself with this list before mailing me comments
or questions.
THERE'S A MISTAKE IN YOUR FAQ. (5.1)
-------------------------------------
Thanks for pointing this out. Since I maintain several
documents of about 300K total size, it would be helpful if
you would reference the specific document where you found
my error and the question number.
WHY DON'T YOU INCLUDE THIS COMPLICATED/PAYWARE SOLUTION? (5.2)
---------------------------------------------------------------
When there are multiple solutions to a common problem, I try
to pick the one that is achievable with the simplest and cheapest
tools. Chances are I do know about that undocumented feature
of WhizzyWriter 1000 that lets you download PostScript files.
Call me crazy, but I suspect that most people would prefer to
download a free utility from ftp.support.apple.com rather than shell
out $995 for WhizzyWriter just to solve their PostScript problems.
Similarly if a problem can be solved with the tools that are
bundled with every Mac, I'll choose that solution over one that
requires downloading some shareware. Space in the FAQ is limited;
(mainly by brain-dead news software at some sites that restricts
files to 32K) and I can't give comprehensive lists when they're
not needed.
WOULD YOU PLEASE INCLUDE MY SOFTWARE IN YOUR FAQ? (5.3)
--------------------------------------------------------
As explained above space in these documents is limited, and I
simply can't mention every imaginable software that conceivably
falls somewhere within the purview of the Macintosh newsgroups.
If, however, you feel your software answers a frequently asked
question, for example a _working_ PostScript previewer
(GhostScript doesn't count.); or it provides a solution to a
common problem superior to what's already available, then I'll be
happy to consider it for inclusion in the FAQ.
WHY DON'T YOU POST THE FAQ MORE OFTEN? (5.4)
---------------------------------------------
The FAQ is posted automatically about every two weeks, give or
take a day. Normally it doesn't change more frequently than that;
and I want to avoid wasting bandwidth since Usenet is not, contrary
to popular belief, free. The FAQ includes an Expires: header to
insure that one version doesn't disappear from your news spool
until the next one arrives and a Supersedes: header so multiple
copies won't waste everyone's disk space. This is all accomplished
automatically via Jonathan Kamens' faq server. If the FAQ is ever
not available at your site, then your news software is BROKEN and
should be fixed. Complain to your news administrators about their
broken software that ignores Expires: headers, not to me.
CAN YOU HELP ME WITH THIS PROBLEM I'M HAVING WITH MY MAC? (5.5)
----------------------------------------------------------------
Certainly! I negotiate consulting fees on a case-by-case basis,
but they tend to average about $120 an hour with a four hour
minimum. If you're outside the metropolitan New York area
(roughly Philadelphia to New Haven) the minimum is seven hours and
you'll also be expected to provide airfare expenses. Quantity
discounts and support contracts can be negotiated on a
case-by-case basis. Oh, you meant free help? Sorry, that's what
Usenet is for. Post your question to the appropriate newsgroup,
and you'll probably get a lot more advice than I could give you.
WILL YOU SEND ME THE FAQ? (5.6)
--------------------------------
No. I have neither the time nor the inclination to act
as a mail-server for people who can't be bothered to use the
mail-server at rtfm.mit.edu as outlined in the introduction.
I reject all such requests.
WHY DON'T YOU FORMAT THE FAQ IN WORD? DIGEST? HTML ETC.? (5.7)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
While I get about one request per month to adhere to some
imagined "standard" format, I have yet to receive two requests
for the same format. The FAQ has recently been redone in HTML.
See:
<URL:http://www.macfaq.com/faqs.html>
Sometime in the future I hope to release a much improved HTML version
with lots of pictures, sounds, and movies. I am exploring the
possibility of publishing that version for profit on the net. The
basic FAQ list posted to Usenet will of course remain free for the
foreseeable future. I'm also interested in Common Ground, Adobe
Acrobat, and MIME based news. However none of these are particularly
high on my priority list.
CAN I REPOST, REVISE, PUBLISH OR OTHERWISE USE THIS DOCUMENT? (5.8)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
This work is Copyright 1993-1996 by Elliotte M. Harold.
Permission is hereby granted to transmit and store this document as
part of an unedited collection of any newsgroup to which it is posted
by myself. I also grant permission to distribute *UNMODIFIED* copies
of this document online via bulletin boards, local file servers, online
services, and other providers of electronic communications provided
that no fees in excess of normal online charges are required for such
distribution; i.e. if the FAQ is available on a system, it must be
available at the minimum charge for accessing the system. For
instance you may post it to most BBS's that charge either a flat
monthly fee or a per hour rate. However if there is an extra charge
for downloading files over what is charged per normal access, either
per hour, per kilobyte, or per month, then the FAQ may not be posted
to that system without my explicit, prior permission. Portions of
this document may be extracted and quoted free of charge and without
necessity of citation in normal online communication provided only
that said quotes are not represented as the correspondent's original
work. Permission for quotation of this document in edited, online
communication (such as the Info-Mac Digest and TidBITS) is given
subject to normal citation procedures (i.e. you have to say where
you got it).
Due to prior licensing arrangements this FAQ list may not at this point
in time be republished in a modified form, or redistributed on disk or
paper.
--
Elliotte Rusty Harold
elharo@shock.njit.edu
..
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