OSX.2.8 Won't Hold Window Settings

[Gary S]

Thanks for the explaination Karl.

I'm running X.2.8, not Panther.
The extensions are as you describe ie., Photoshopp etc. but none of mine are BBEdit and most of them are generic.

I'll do the trash of the Finder prefs again and Quot the Finder and see if that works. I could use Cocktail instead of MacJanitor to run my scripts.

Could I make an Apple script of what you posted as the monthly script and run that?
If so, do you have a daily and weekly or would the monthly take care of them all?

[kps]

The three maintenance scripts all do different things and must be run separately.

They must run as root, so I don't know if you want to compromise your machine's security by putting your admin password into an Applescript. Aside from that, they are unix shell scripts and I don't think it's possible to duplicate them in Applescript alone.

The best solution I found is to change the times all three scripts run, to a time when the machine is most likely to be on. So if you check your email, let's say, every day at 9:00AM, then change the daily script to run at 9:15AM from 3:15AM. It'll run in the background and you wont even know it ran...AND there'll be no performance hit either. If you miss a day or even a couple, it's no big deal.

The weekly script is probably the most important and should be run on schedule. This script is set to run at 4:30AM each Saturday. But to be honest I've missed a week or two here and there with no ill effects.

The monthly script, we discussed. It doesn't do a heck of a lot, except for trashing old log files.

I posted the directions on how to change all this before in:

This thread

and This Thread

If you're interested or have further questions, I'll post comprehensive instructions and after you're done, you'll never again need MacJanitor.

[Gary S]

KPS,

I will look at those threads in a minute and see if I can change the times. Just a few minutes ago I ran the MacJanitor Tasks in succession and copied them. Here are the results...I don't know if they will make much sense to you or not but they are kind of self-explanitory as to what they are doing. I don't understand them but you may.

MacJanitor daily tasks

Backing up NetInfo data

Checking subsystem status:

disks:
Filesystem    1K-blocks     Used    Avail Capacity  Mounted on
/dev/disk0s5   60046560 18147752 41642808    30%    /
fdesc                 1        1        0   100%    /dev
/dev/disk1s9    2096705   402652  1694052    19%    /Volumes/OS 9.2
/dev/disk1s10   1048327     8487  1039840     0%    /Volumes/Scratch Disk
/dev/disk1s11   6290159    77039  6213120     1%    /Volumes/Other System
/dev/disk1s12  15725333  1191363 14533970     7%    /Volumes/Applications Disk
/dev/disk1s13  14976829  2859627 12117202    19%    /Volumes/Backup Disk

Last dump(s) done (Dump '>' file systems):

mail:
/etc/mail/sendmail.cf: line 93: fileclass: cannot open '/etc/mail/local-host-names': Group writable directory

network:
Name  Mtu   Network       Address            Ipkts Ierrs    Opkts Oerrs  Coll
lo0   16384 <Link#1>                          2880     0     2880     0     0
lo0   16384 localhost   ::1                   2880     -     2880     -     -
lo0   16384 fe80:1::1   fe80:1::1             2880     -     2880     -     -
lo0   16384 127           localhost           2880     -     2880     -     -
gif0* 1280  <Link#2>                             0     0        0     0     0
stf0* 1280  <Link#3>                             0     0        0     0     0
en0   1500  <Link#4>    00:03:93:1c:ac:c4       11     8       76     0     0
en0   1500  fe80:4::203 fe80:4::203:93ff:       11     -       76     -     -
en0   1500  192.168.0     192.168.0.100         11     -       76     -     -
en0   1500  (16)00:00:ff:82:2d                  11     8       76     0     0


Rotating log files: system.log

Cleaning web server log files:
Done

MacJanitor Weekly tasks

Subject: Admin weekly run output

Rebuilding locate database:

Rebuilding whatis database:

Rotating log files: ftp.log lookupd.log lpr.log mail.log netinfo.log

Done

MacJanitor Monthly Tasks

Subject: Admin monthly run output

Doing login accounting:
   total        0.00

Rotating log files: wtmp

Done

MacJanitor run all tasks

Subject: Admin.local. daily run output

Removing scratch and junk files:

Backing up NetInfo data

Checking subsystem status:

disks:
Filesystem    1K-blocks     Used    Avail Capacity  Mounted on
/dev/disk0s5   60046560 18147784 41642776    30%    /
fdesc                 1        1        0   100%    /dev
/dev/disk1s9    2096705   402652  1694052    19%    /Volumes/OS 9.2
/dev/disk1s10   1048327     8487  1039840     0%    /Volumes/Scratch Disk
/dev/disk1s11   6290159    77039  6213120     1%    /Volumes/Other System
/dev/disk1s12  15725333  1191363 14533970     7%    /Volumes/Applications Disk
/dev/disk1s13  14976829  2859627 12117202    19%    /Volumes/Backup Disk

Last dump(s) done (Dump '>' file systems):

mail:
/etc/mail/sendmail.cf: line 93: fileclass: cannot open '/etc/mail/local-host-names': Group writable directory

network:
Name  Mtu   Network       Address            Ipkts Ierrs    Opkts Oerrs  Coll
lo0   16384 <Link#1>                          5004     0     5004     0     0
lo0   16384 localhost   ::1                   5004     -     5004     -     -
lo0   16384 fe80:1::1   fe80:1::1             5004     -     5004     -     -
lo0   16384 127           localhost           5004     -     5004     -     -
gif0* 1280  <Link#2>                             0     0        0     0     0
stf0* 1280  <Link#3>                             0     0        0     0     0
en0   1500  <Link#4>    00:03:93:1c:ac:c4       20   156       99     0     0
en0   1500  fe80:4::203 fe80:4::203:93ff:       20     -       99     -     -
en0   1500  192.168.0     192.168.0.100         20     -       99     -     -
en0   1500  (16)00:00:ff:82:2d                  20   156       99     0     0


Rotating log files: system.log

Cleaning web server log files:
Done

Subject: Admin weekly run output

Rebuilding locate database:

Rebuilding whatis database:

Rotating log files: ftp.log lookupd.log lpr.log mail.log netinfo.log

Done

Subject: Admin monthly run output

Doing login accounting:
   total        0.00

Rotating log files: wtmp

Done

[kps]

Gary, by running "MacJanitor Run All Tasks" you ran daily, weekly and monthly twice. No need for that, either run the individual scripts or run ALL tasks. All MacJanitor is, is a GUI interface to those three unix scripts, nothing more.

A lot of what those scripts do is completely irrelevant to the average Mac user. FTP logs are only relavent if you're using your Mac as an FTP server, mail is only relavent if you turned on sendmail, which is off by default, it has nothing at all to do with the Mail application or your email from your ISP....'whatis' database is important if you're using the CLI to find unix commands, etc.  Most of those logs will be empty, but there are also relavent logs and relavent processes, such as backing up the netinfo database.

Anyway, if you want to change when cron runs these scripts, let me know.

[kps]

Gary and others...

Check this out:

http://www.macworld.com/2003/12/secrets/handson/

[Gary S]

Thanks kps.

I'm going to try that CronniX amd see if I can set it to do the tasks at different times.

[Gary S]

I can't download CronniX. It starts to download as code instead of a Disk image.

[kps]

I had no problem downloading with Safari from here:

http://www.koch-schmidt.de/cronnix/download.html

Make sure you're downloading the .dmg and not the .dmg.gz file.

I never used it, so I had a look at it. From trying the app I would recommend that you  be careful editing the system cron file and don't create any user cron files. Cronnix, by default, will open a new blank crontab file under your user name. If you save it, cron will try to run it and the system crontab file. If there are no commands in the user crontab, you may start logging error messages in Console.

To make changes to the system crontab, open it from: Menu bar-->File-->Open System Crontab. You'll be prompted for the admin passwd.

I still think the safest and easiest way to change system files is in the Terminal... these GUI front ends tend to obfuscate things to the degree where it's easier to make a mistake there than in the CLI.

[Gary S]

I downloaded it with Safari.

KPS,
I know what you mean about the obfuscation, even if I haven't heard the word obfuscate used in a long time.

It looks like I could reeeeely screw things up with that CronniX.

Maybe it's time I should start to learn about using the Terminal. I can't screw anything up there....right.  

I guess they call it the Terminal for a reason.

[pendragon]

Perhaps wishful thinking, but now that 10.3.2 is released, I wonder if this window issue has been addressed/resolved.

Harv

[kps]

QUOTE

Maybe it's time I should start to learn about using the Terminal. I can't screw anything up there....right.

 

The reason I think it's safer to use term, is that YOU remain in control, rather than an application to which you "hand over" the control when you type in that admin passwd...

Cronnix is relatively simple and safe in terms of changing the time values, so go ahead Gary, you'll be fine...just don't change any other values.

[Gary S]

I'll try just the Time values and that's it.

thanks KPS!