Four things you should do with a new Mac or one you're upgrading
15/11/07 22:05 Filed in: BitDepth+
1)
Backup your data. If this is your first computer, you can skip this
step, but if it isn't, you probably already have some data that
you've spent some time creating. I can't tell you how important
your information is, but I can guarantee you this; it's probably
more important than you think.
If you've been running a previous version of Mac OS X, then the heart of your Mac installation is the User Folder, which holds every unique setting you've created on your system, the Desktop folder (yep, everything on your Mac Desktop is really a file in a folder that just happens to fill the screen) and your iTunes Library.
If you keep data in folders that aren't in the User Folder, then be sure to back those up as well.
Most User Folders will fit on a two, or four gigabyte flash drive but some will need to be copied to an external hard drive. It's probably best to burn a DVD of your User Folder now as a record of your data at this stage in your computer use.
Current Photoshop users (CS2, CS3) should deactivate their software and then reactivate it after a major system update.
Backup crucial folders of data and your User Folder, which holds every special setting that makes your Mac, yours. The User Folder can grow quite large if you have a big iTunes library or video in your Movies folder.
2) Reformat and partition if necessary. If you're installing on a new Mac or one with few custom installations and little user generated data, this is an excellent opportunity to start from scratch and plan the way your drive should look. Specifically, consider partitioning the drive, which divides it from being a single volume into two or more volumes. I've had situations in the past when a startup drive went so sour that it had to be completely reformatted. That's a lot easier if the system boots from one partition and your data lives on another one.
Partitioning is pretty much a must do if you use software that hits the hard disk often. Most professional music editing, video editing and photo editing software writes virtual working files as you use them. Photoshop is a well-known example of this. It offers you an opportunity to define a "scratch" disk for its working files and you'll find that performance is much better if you set that disk to be an empty partition. Software such as Final Cut and Logic will write their scratch files wherever they open their documents. So use the partition for that or for direct video or audio capture.
3) Update everything in sight. Run all available updates for your software and update your Mac's firmware as well if an update is available. You'll have a better experience updating if every bit of software is as up-to-date as possible before upgrading the Operating System. Check VersionTracker for new, Leopard ready versions of your favorite applications.
This is particularly crucial if you're updating a working Mac that you don't want to rebuild from scratch. Just about the best way to take a Mac from an earlier version of OS X is using the Archive and Install option in the Leopard installer. Be sure to check the box that preserves your settings and preferences.
What you'll end up with is a working Leopard install that should have preserved everything useful about your previous install and a huge folder called "Previous Systems."
Some software doesn't make it through this well, and you'll need to reinstall.
Make sure that everything is launching properly and after a couple of days, you can dump the folder and move on with your new Leopardy goodness.
4) Rename your hard disk icon, that "Macintosh HD" is easy to change and reeks of newbie. For extra Mac cred, get a cool icon and paste it on that gunmetal gray drive representation. The Iconfactory has a generous collection of images and each collection has instructions on how to change an icon on the Macintosh.
This advice is offered with no warranty and represents my own experiences. Yours may vary.
If you've been running a previous version of Mac OS X, then the heart of your Mac installation is the User Folder, which holds every unique setting you've created on your system, the Desktop folder (yep, everything on your Mac Desktop is really a file in a folder that just happens to fill the screen) and your iTunes Library.
If you keep data in folders that aren't in the User Folder, then be sure to back those up as well.
Most User Folders will fit on a two, or four gigabyte flash drive but some will need to be copied to an external hard drive. It's probably best to burn a DVD of your User Folder now as a record of your data at this stage in your computer use.
Current Photoshop users (CS2, CS3) should deactivate their software and then reactivate it after a major system update.
Backup crucial folders of data and your User Folder, which holds every special setting that makes your Mac, yours. The User Folder can grow quite large if you have a big iTunes library or video in your Movies folder.
2) Reformat and partition if necessary. If you're installing on a new Mac or one with few custom installations and little user generated data, this is an excellent opportunity to start from scratch and plan the way your drive should look. Specifically, consider partitioning the drive, which divides it from being a single volume into two or more volumes. I've had situations in the past when a startup drive went so sour that it had to be completely reformatted. That's a lot easier if the system boots from one partition and your data lives on another one.
Partitioning is pretty much a must do if you use software that hits the hard disk often. Most professional music editing, video editing and photo editing software writes virtual working files as you use them. Photoshop is a well-known example of this. It offers you an opportunity to define a "scratch" disk for its working files and you'll find that performance is much better if you set that disk to be an empty partition. Software such as Final Cut and Logic will write their scratch files wherever they open their documents. So use the partition for that or for direct video or audio capture.
3) Update everything in sight. Run all available updates for your software and update your Mac's firmware as well if an update is available. You'll have a better experience updating if every bit of software is as up-to-date as possible before upgrading the Operating System. Check VersionTracker for new, Leopard ready versions of your favorite applications.
This is particularly crucial if you're updating a working Mac that you don't want to rebuild from scratch. Just about the best way to take a Mac from an earlier version of OS X is using the Archive and Install option in the Leopard installer. Be sure to check the box that preserves your settings and preferences.
What you'll end up with is a working Leopard install that should have preserved everything useful about your previous install and a huge folder called "Previous Systems."
Some software doesn't make it through this well, and you'll need to reinstall.
Make sure that everything is launching properly and after a couple of days, you can dump the folder and move on with your new Leopardy goodness.
4) Rename your hard disk icon, that "Macintosh HD" is easy to change and reeks of newbie. For extra Mac cred, get a cool icon and paste it on that gunmetal gray drive representation. The Iconfactory has a generous collection of images and each collection has instructions on how to change an icon on the Macintosh.
This advice is offered with no warranty and represents my own experiences. Yours may vary.
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