On Fri, Nov 18, 2005 at 10:09:41AM +0000, Tom Burke wrote: > > On 18 Nov 2005, at 09:46, Tim Stephens wrote: > > > > > There's housekeeping stuff? No, I didn't know that. Don't have Onyx. > > Presumably, the date/time the housekeeping tasks run is configurable? I > just had a look in System Preferences but couldn't see anything > relevant there. > > What application or utility performs these housekeeping tasks? A script in /etc/periodic/ (either daily, weekly or monthly, depending on which one you mean) > >
All UNIX (or BSD in OS X's case) operating systems keep logs and temporary files as they go along. Normally, a periodic job is run to clear the logs out and rebuild things like the locate database (a bit like the Spotlight database, but in the terminal window). In Panther (and earlier versions of OS X), the times that these jobs are run at are controlled by cron. If you know about cron, then you will know how to change these times. If not, read on. ASIDE: Tiger has added a new program called launchd, which will eventually replace cron. The periodic tasks are controlled by launchd, and are set using plist files stored in /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/ /ASIDE: You can run the housekeeping stuff with a program such as Onyx or MacJanitor (as previously mentioned). If you've never done this, the logs etc could be very large. If you don't want to download any of these programs, leave your Mac _ON_ over Sunday night/Monday morning and on the night before the 1st of the month (that's when the tasks are run) NB: Since Apple are generally quite clever, it's probably only necessary to try these things if you're having problems. I don't think that it's really necessary to do them every week etc. (unless you're really paranoid ;o) ). Also, have you tried repairing permissions with Disk Utility. I've heard that that can work wonders too. If you do try this and get lots and lots of errors, repair them twice or thrice. Apparently, it can sometimes take a couple of tries to get everything straight. Cheers, Tim -- Mac UK is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... 123Inkjets.com <http://lowendmac.com/ad/123inkjets.html> Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> Mac UK list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/mac-uk.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[email protected]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/mac-uk%40mail.maclaunch.com/> iPod Accessories for Less at 1-800-iPOD.COM Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deal www.1800ipod.com
