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Recommended Maintenance for Apple Macintosh System X

Regular maintenance can prevent many problems you may experience when using your computer.  Our recommended maintenance procedures help protect you against the most common causes of system crashes, slow performance, and damaged data. 

Why Perform Computer Maintenance

The areas of concern are:

1. Repair disk permission errors - fix disk permissions that can cause a wide array of problems.
2. Update/patch software - fix known problems in your OS and application software.
3. Repair disk errors - catch physical disk problems before you lose data and recapture lost disk space.
4. Backup important files - keep a second (or third) copy of all files you cannot afford to lose.
5. Protect your computer against viruses - it is critical to keep the anti-virus software up to date as new viruses are introduced daily.

Some of the procedures can be set to run automatically at preset time intervals in newer Mac operating systems.

Recommended Maintenance Timetable

Weekly:

Repair disk permissions by running Repair Disk Permissions using Apple's Disk Utility.
Check for Macintosh operating system updates using Software Update. Install all recommended updates.

Everytime New Software is Installed:

Check for software and driver updates for your installed software/hardware.
Repair disk permissions by running Repair Disk Permissions using Apple's Disk Utility.

Monthly Maintenance:

Run a third party disk utility such as Alsoft Disk Warrior, Tech Tool Pro or Norton Disk Doctor. Check for physical defects on your hard disks when checking for file/folder system errors.
Check for software and driver updates for your installed software/hardware.
Check free hard disk space. You should have at least 10% of each hard disk available.
Update your Virex virus definitions.  Check for an upgrade of Virex.
Back up your data.

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Repairing Disk Permissions

Checking for Permission Problems
Files and directories can develop permission problems through the normal use of your computer. If not fixed this eventually turns into major problems.  We recommend you run a utility program to check for file and directory discrepancies at least once a month.  The Macintosh operating system comes bundled with a utility called Disk Utility.   While Disk Utility can repair minor problems you may need to use third party software to fix major problems.

Procedure for Repairing Disk Permissions with Apple's Disk Utility

1. Launch the Finder by clicking on the icon on the dock.
2. Click on the Applications button.
3. Click on the Utilities folder.
4. Double-click Disk Utility.
5. When the Disk Utility program starts, the left 'pane' of the window will display your hard drive. Click once on the name of your hard drive (probably "Macintosh HD" unless you've changed it) you want to repair.
6. In the right 'pane' of this window, click the First Aid tab.
7. Click the button marked Repair Disk Permissions.
   
8. Do not quit the Disk Utility program until repair is complete.
9. When Disk Utility is finished, quit the program by clicking on the red close button in the top left corner of the Disk Utility window.

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Update/Patch Your Software

Operating System Updates

The Macintosh OS has a tool called Software Update that connects to the Internet and checks your system to see if there are updates from Apple that aren't installed.  If there are, you can download them and they will automatically be installed.  You may need to restart your computer at the end of an update session.  You should check for updates manually every week or schedule Software Update to update automatically.  To update your operating system files:

Running Software Update

1. Click on the Apple menu and select System Preferences.
2. Select Software Update.
3. Check the box next to Check for Updates and select either Daily, Weekly, or Monthly from the drop down selection field. We recommend selecting the Weekly option. Click the Check Now button.
   
   
4. Your system will be examined and recommended updates may appear. If you want these updates to be downloaded and installed check the appropriate box(es) when prompted and click the OK. Files will be downloaded and installed to your system. (Note: Software update can be scheduled to update automatically if the Check for updates software box is checked and a time specified in the drop down field).

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Microsoft Office Updates

Microsoft periodically releases updates and security patches for the Microsoft Office suite. Beginning with Office 2004 there is an option for automated Microsoft Office updates. Earlier versions of Office (Office X, Office 2001 and Office 98) require that you visit Microsoft's Mac Download site and download and install the appropriate updates for your version of Microsoft office manually.

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How to Manually Run Office Update for Office 2004

1. Launch Microsoft Office Update.
2. Check the Manually radio button, then click on Check for Updates.
   
3. We recommend selecting all the Office Updates listed for your computer.
4. When you have selected all the updates you want, click Review and install updates, and then click Install Now.

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Automating Office Update for Office 2004

1. Launch Microsoft Office Update.
   (Microsoft Office Update should be located in the Applications folder or in the same folder that Microsoft Office 2004 is installed).
2. Check the Automatically radio button then select either Daily, Weekly or Monthly from the selection field.
   
3. Close the Microsoft AutoUpdate window by clicking on the red button in the top left corner. This will save your settings.

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Check for Software and Hardware driver Updates

Installing software updates and newer software drivers for your applications and hardware will generally keep your system running smoothly. Often when Apple upgrades to a new version of the operating system (ie. from 10.3 to 10.4), you may need to download and install new software drivers for your devices and/or applications. Manufacturer's frequently update and release free patches to fix reported problems for their software and hardware. Visit the manufacturer's web site and search for new device drivers or check Version Tracker for recent updates and upgrades.

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Repair Disk Errors

Checking the Physical Integrity of the Hard Disk

Disk Repair is an option within Disk Utility.  Disk Repair can create and maintain the underlying structure and format your hard disk drives and other media. It has built-in testing and formatting functions, as well as the ability to update and reconfigure your hard drives.  While it can test the physical integrity of a hard disk it cannot repair the disk.  If you suspect your hard disk has a bad sector or is failing run Apple's Drive Setup Test Procedure.

To test a disk using Apple's Disk Repair:

1. Insert the Macintosh system CD or DVD that came with your Macintosh.
2. Restart the machine and hold down the c key on the keyboard. (Release the c key once the system boots from the CD/DVD).
3. From the File drop down menu select Disk Utility.
   (If Disk Utility is unavailable under the File drop down menu, check the Installer drop down menu).
   
4. When the Disk Utility program starts, it will display your hard drive in the left 'pane' of the window, click once on the name of your hard drive (probably "Macintosh HD" unless you've changed it).
5. In the right 'pane' of this window, click the tab First Aid.
6. Click the button marked Repair Disk.

Various third party utility programs such as Alsoft DiskWarrior, Norton Disk Doctor, and Micromat TechToolPro can be used for checking and repairing the physical integrity of the hard drive if Disk Repair reports errors. 

Using a Hard Disk Utility such as Alsoft DiskWarrior

If Apple's disk utility and/or disk repair cannot repair your hard drive you may need to purchase and use a 3rd party disk utility repair program. We have had good experiences using Alsoft DiskWarrior. Other third party utilities include Tech Tool Pro and Norton Disk Doctor (a component of Norton Utilities). Make sure your CD/DVD supports the current version of the Macintosh Operating System you are trying to fix. Check the manufacturer's web site to verify that they support your version of the Operating system. Norton Utilities 8.0.2 is only compatible with Mac OS X versions from 10.1.5 to 10.3.9 (does not support 10.4 'Tiger'). Frequently when a major revision of the Macintosh Operating System is released (for instance Mac OS 10.4 'Tiger') the disk utility CD/DVD for the previous OS (Mac OS 10.3) will no longer work and you will need to upgrade your version of your 3rd party disk utility CD/DVD. Alsoft DiskWarrior often issues updates and allows you to recreate a new CD/DVD from the update if you have your serial keycode.

Below is an example of using Alsoft DiskWarrior to repair your hard drive:

1. Check Alsoft's web site to verify that your CD supports the Mac operating system you are trying to fix.
   You will need version 3.0.3 or later to work on machines that have Mac OS 10.4 or later installed.
2. Insert the Alsoft DiskWarrior CD into the Macintosh.
3. Restart the machine and hold down the c key on the keyboard. (Release the c key once the system boots from the Alsoft Disk Warrior CD). (Note: Booting from the Disk Warrior CD can take up to 10 minutes).
4. Click Agree if you agree with the license terms.
5. Make sure your Macintosh hard disk is selected, then click Rebuild.
6. A new optimized directory will be created for the disk. If you wish to review the changes Alsoft Disk Warrior do the following:
   1. Click Preview.
   2. Click Continue when prompted.
   3. View the directory structure (original is on the left, the new one is on the right).
   4. Close the preview window by clicking on the top right red close button.
7. Click Replace to replace the original directory with the newly optimized one.
8. Click OK when prompted that the directory of your Macintosh hard disk has been completed.
9. From the menu bar select Disk Warrior > Quit Disk Warrior to quit the program.
10. The machine will restart. Quickly hold the eject button on the keyboard or Macintosh or hold the mouse button down to eject the Alsoft DiskWarrior CD during the reboot process.

Check Your Hard Disk Volumes For Available Space

Having enough free hard disk space for the creation of temporary files by both the Macintosh operating system and applications is critical. You should have at least 10% of free disk space on each hard disk. Check the free disk space on your hard disk volumes at least once a month. This should be checked immediately if you get an Out of Memory error message.

1. Use the mouse to highlight the hard drive icon located on your desktop.
2. From the Finder menu bar choose File > Get Info or right click (hold down the control key & click if you don't have a 2 button mouse) and choose Get Info.
3. The drive Info window will display the total capacity of your hard disk as well as how much disk space you have available.
   
   
4. If you have less than 10% free disk space on any hard disk you need to either delete files from that hard disk or move them somewhere else.

You can also view the available disk space at the bottom of any window opened in the Finder.

Caution:
Many applications install files into the Macintosh System folder and/or into the Preferences folder. Simply deleting an application by dragging the application file to the trash may not remove the entire program since there may be associated files with the particular application installed in the System folder. If you are tech savy you can browse through the System folder and Preferences folder and check if you need any of these files. Be very careful when deleting files - deleting the wrong file may seriously damage the Macintosh operating system rendering it unable to boot properly. We recommend you consult your local IT support for assistance.

The Macintosh operating system does not have a custom remove option to remove specific applications. A third party utility program such as Aladdin System's Spring Cleaning can assist with these tasks.

Graphics, animations and music are among the biggest disk space hogs. They are large and easy to collect without being aware of just how many you have. External firewire disks, such as those made by Lacie, can be used to archive (store without keeping a copy on the hard disk) seldom used files. If available, tape is another excellent archive media. You should keep copies of important archived files on at least two separate removable disks or tapes.

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Defragment/Optimize the Hard Drive?

Defragmenting the hard disk was considered a recommended maintenance procedure on older operating systems (Mac OS 7 - 9.x). This procedure reorganizes all the files on the hard disk so that similar files types (ie. Mac system files) are packed close together.  Apple no longer believes Macintosh systems running OS X and greater need to be defragmented. For more information read Apple's About Disk Optimization document. If your disks are almost full, and you often modify or create large files (such as editing video), there's a chance the disks could be fragmented. In this case, you might benefit from defragmentation, which can be performed with some third-party disk utilities.

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Backing Up Your Data

A good backup strategy can save you from the agony of lost critical data.  Hard disk's occasionally fail and can result in loss of all your data. We strongly recommend you frequently back up your data to another media such as external an hard disk, a network drive, tape drive, zip disk, etc.. It is also a good idea to keep a copy of valuable data in a secondary location to protect against theft and disasters such as fires and floods.

Please visit http://www.sfsu.edu/~helpdesk/backup/mac.htm for details on backing up data from your Macintosh.

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Anti-Virus Software

It is important that your Macintosh have software installed to protect against computer viruses.  Anti-virus software needs to have the virus definitions updated regularly to be able to protect against new viruses. Currently, there are relatively few viruses for Mac OS X; however, this does not mean there will not be harmful viruses in the future.  Macro viruses embedded in Microsoft Word and Excel files have been observed on campus machines. Virex 7.5.1 and above includes an e-Update feature to automatically check for virus definition updates. Virex 7.5.1 does not support Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger'. SFSU currently does not have a virus product that will work with 'Tiger.'

1. Install the lastest version of Virex. (Available free to SFSU students, staff and faculty).
2. Follow the installation instructions to configure Virex to auto update the virus definitions at least once a month.

Norton Antivirus is another popular product used to protect against computer viruses.  If you are using this product ensure that you have configured it properly to automatically update the virus definitions regularly to guard against new viruses.

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Links to other Macintosh Resources

Disk Utility Software
Alsoft DiskWarrior - Highly rated Disk Utility
TechTool Pro - Highly rated Disk Utility
Symantec - Makers of Norton Utilities (includes Disk Doctor) and Norton Antivirus

News
Resources for Supporting Apple Hardware and OS X - Dan Riley - Apple Engineer for Higher Education
MacNN - Macintosh News Network

Media & Storage
LaCie - External and portable hard drives
Retrospect - Highly rated backup solution

Other
Virex - SFSU's site licensed anti-virus application
MacFixIt - Web site of Ted Landau - author of 'Sad Macs Bombs and other Disasters'
VersionTracker - Check for updates/upgrades of your software