Techsurvivors

Archives => 2003 => Topic started by: Gregg on April 13, 2003, 02:15:00 PM

Title: Mystery folder creation
Post by: Gregg on April 13, 2003, 02:15:00 PM

I keep seeing a folder called "Applications (Mac OS9)" even after I delete it. What would be creating this? Is it an installer that does it, even though I use the "select folder" option?

Title: Mystery folder creation
Post by: kps on April 13, 2003, 05:12:00 PM

Two things...

1/ The folder is in the root directory, nothing here can be trashed. You can write to it, but you can't remove anything in the root directory. The folder has a special flag, what's called the "sticky bit" set.

2/The folder itself is owned by the system and not the user...again, it can't be trashed by the user.

If you need to get rid of it, you'll need to become the super-user and temporarily modify the root directory, as in removing the "sticky" bit, in order to remove that folder.

Title: Mystery folder creation
Post by: Mayo on April 13, 2003, 06:51:00 PM

I wonder if deleting the folder might cause problems...It appears that many installers automatically put applications in that folder; would the installers be smart enough to just put the app on the chosen volume?

I don't like it when apps are placed in the folder; I prefer to have them where I don't have to access one more folder in order to find what I am looking for.  No doubt other people think it is a great feature.  To each their own...

Title: Mystery folder creation
Post by: tacit on April 13, 2003, 07:33:00 PM

That folder is crerated by OS X. If you get rid of it, it'll be re-created.

Title: Mystery folder creation
Post by: Gregg on April 13, 2003, 09:25:00 PM

I don't have OSX. I installed OS9.2.2 from a CD. Now it may have installed some things that are only needed for OSX, if Apple wanted to cover all the bases. Perhaps that is why this folder keeps popping up after I run an installer. Adobe's Acrobat Reader 5.1 is last one I ran and it pulled things off the web. Maybe that is why the folder was re-created. I have trashed it, but it comes back.

Title: Mystery folder creation
Post by: Mayo on April 13, 2003, 10:17:00 PM

I am also running OS 9.2.2.  Didn't this particular folder appear before OS X was introduced?  I have the impression that it is Apple's way of helping people organize the folders on a volume.

Title: Mystery folder creation
Post by: jepinto on April 13, 2003, 11:36:00 PM

Yep, the installer creates that folder.  It also puts a few applications in it, like Network Browser, Apple Extras (the folder) and Sherlock.

I think Apple was trying to get us to "tidy" our lives     Good luck!

Title: Mystery folder creation
Post by: kps on April 14, 2003, 12:16:00 AM

Heh, Gregg, when you posted Applications (OS 9)...

I thought you were refereing to this:
 

It's a folder with "classic" OS 9 applications which ship with Jaguar to be used by classic.

Title: Mystery folder creation
Post by: Gregg on April 14, 2003, 07:52:00 AM

kps, that's exactly what I mean. But I don't have and never have had OSX installed. I'm pretty sure now that installers for other software create this folder, even when I select my "Applications" or "Utilities" folder as the destination.

Title: Mystery folder creation
Post by: kps on April 14, 2003, 08:48:00 AM

Now I get it...  

As others have pointed out, some installers seem to look for this folder, if they don't find it, they create it. Must be something in Apple's guidelines for its developers to do.

As I showed in the image above, even OS X installs this folder as part of "classic" on my powerbook, which is a factory install. My desktop does not have this folder in OS X, but I found that I do have it in the OS 9 system partition.

Title: Mystery folder creation
Post by: Bill on April 14, 2003, 09:45:00 AM

When I saw your thread earlier Gregg I was going to reply [fact-bet DBs cold hands ...] that you were talking about OS 9xx because I have the same in my OS 9.2.2. but never got around to it.

I've tried to trash it also. Comes right back. Same as the 'desktop alias' in Jag.
Now I know why. Just live with it,I guess.

Title: Mystery folder creation
Post by: kelly on April 14, 2003, 12:03:00 PM

Why try to get rid of it?  

To paraphrase tacit.

"That folder is crerated by OS 9.x. If you get rid of it, it'll be re-created."

"The Mac OS 9.1 Installer/Updater moves files around on your boot drive. It renames the Applications folder to "Applications (Mac OS 9)", and moves the Internet, Apple Extras, and Utilities folders into it. The name of this folder can then no longer be modified from the Finder. This has the potential to adversely affect many third-party installers."

http://www.upenn.edu/computing/help/doc/os...ac/macos91.html

Title: Mystery folder creation
Post by: Gregg on April 14, 2003, 12:33:00 PM

kelly, call me a purist. I already had an Applications folder, thank you Installer. I don't remember if the (Mac OS9) folder was created by the OS9 Installer, but it was created once or maybe twice later, I suspect by other Installers. I've never had OSX on this computer. I don't need a folder to distinguish which OS the applications were written for. It bugs me, but only a little bit.
   

The strange thing is that the () folder remained empty after the installation of Acrobat 5.0 anyway. It placed that folder where I told it to, and created an empty folder I don't need or want.
 
 
 [ 04-14-2003, 01:36 PM: Message edited by: Gregg ]