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Author Topic: Do we need to do the maintenance scripts any more?  (Read 1992 times)

Offline jcarter

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Do we need to do the maintenance scripts any more?
« on: October 27, 2009, 07:53:52 AM »
Ive used Titanium's OnyX on the older Macs, but havent installed it on my new Mac. Nor have I used Cocktail.
Is it still recommended to do those unix maintenance scripts any more. My Macs are never on at night, when they are done.

Reading the new Mac magazine, they recommend doing a lot of things with Cocktail or OnyX to speed up your computer. I dont notice it slowing down, but they sure recommend cleaning out the caches, getting rid of tiny preference files, repairing disk permissions, and many more.

Would Cocktail be something I should install and use on the new Mac?  Or OnyX?
Thank you,
Jane
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Offline Xairbusdriver

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Do we need to do the maintenance scripts any more?
« Reply #1 on: October 27, 2009, 12:46:27 PM »
I mainly use them to make adjustments in the interface of my Mac. It never hurts to run those scripts, but since 10.5.4, Apple changed the way they were called/run. It's more robust now. But you can always check your logs to see when they were last run. Open Console open the Files list in the left hand list, then the /private/var/log item. Now look at the list and you'll see, among other things, a "daily.out," "Weekly.out" and a "monthly.out." Those logs will show when they were last run, usually about 3:15am, unless your computer was OFF (or you set that time differently). Then, it should be at whatever time you turned it back on, if any of those scripts needed to be run. You'll also see exactly what they do.
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Offline jcarter

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Do we need to do the maintenance scripts any more?
« Reply #2 on: October 27, 2009, 03:06:58 PM »
This is interesting! I had no idea you could see what was happening with Console, with these scripts.
Looks like Ive got lots of these scripts, the logs say they all have been run, all between 6 and 8 in the evening when my computers are still on.
I have no idea how to set the time that I want them to be run, seems that the new Mac came with the times set.
I just Googled this, and found you can change the times, but you have to do it with Terminal, and I dont dare try it. What if I did a typo?
Apple must have done it before I got the computer.

Looks like this one, the old Mac last run on mid September around 3 am. I think that I left it on overnight a couple of times.
This might be why that is listed. I havent used OnyX for a while.

The repair permissions hasnt been done on either.  I wonder how important that one is?

Thank you for the explanation.  Maybe someday I will learn more about Console.
Jane
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Offline Xairbusdriver

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Do we need to do the maintenance scripts any more?
« Reply #3 on: October 27, 2009, 04:14:10 PM »
First, the main purpose of Console is to show you the hundreds of logs various apps and the OS create. That's were any Crash logs will be, usually with the crashed apps name in the title.

Secondly, many utility apps, like Cocktail can set the times you'd like the scripts to run and usually offer numerous other options for what to do at those times. Since yours are set at early evening, I suspect that you set this with some app, possibly some time ago. 3am is the "normal" time. If that old Mac is the one using Tiger, that OS still used an older method of running the scripts and often failed to check the last time they ran. As I said, that was corrected but not until Leopard (10.5.4).

Permissions repair can be done anytime you want. Cocktail and many other utilities do that also, usually at the same time they run the scripts. There is growing thought that it does not help as much as we used to think. And, it only checks apps/files that are registered through the Apple method of installation. No other method creates the files and that includes drag'n drop installs. The point is, if the problem is with a non-Apple app, repairing permissions will not change anything. And, even if the problem is connected to an OS file/app, it still may not help. It's just an easy and 'comforting' step that any user can take. If the problem is gone, who cares what fixed it, at least until next time. wink.gif

There are dozens of apps in your Apple Utility folder. most with help files, most with names that describe what they do. None will blow up the computer if you open and explore their menus! And if it asks you to save the changes, "Just Say No!"
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Offline jcarter

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Do we need to do the maintenance scripts any more?
« Reply #4 on: October 27, 2009, 07:17:09 PM »
Is Console similar to Terminal?

Yes, I saw all the logs, and also beyond the script stuff, I saw a couple of Crash logs too.

No, I didn't set the times, the brand new Mac came with the 6 to 8 pm times already set. But Cocktail will allow this to be done?  
I also read that repairing Permissions won't help much too.

Your explanations are just wonderful!  I never knew about this stuff before, just used OnyX blindly.
Ive never had a slowdown, just lost the powersupplies and motherboards with my G5 and got a brand new 24incher as a replacement for free.

Utilities is full of neat stuff, someday I hope to get the time to go thru it all.

Thanks for the info, there is far more to all this wonderful Mac stuff than I ever knew when I got my first one.

Perhaps I should get Cocktail rather than OnyX for the new one.
Thank you again,,,,,,,,,,

Jane
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Offline krissel

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Do we need to do the maintenance scripts any more?
« Reply #5 on: October 28, 2009, 04:06:01 AM »
QUOTE(jcarter @ Oct 27 2009, 08:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Is Console similar to Terminal?


No.

Console contains records of what has happened on your Mac.

Terminal is the application that can do virtually anything with your Mac, including completely destroying all your data and the OS as well.
 So please don't use it unless you are sure you know what you are doing.  no2.gif
« Last Edit: October 28, 2009, 04:07:16 AM by krissel »
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Offline jcarter

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Do we need to do the maintenance scripts any more?
« Reply #6 on: October 28, 2009, 05:53:54 AM »
Ive seen our daughter do stuff with Terminal here, but she was connected to some computer at work, I had not a clue what she was doing.  The screen was all text, didnt look like my Mac at all.
Though I used to connect to our town assessor records department using Terminal, but it was just logging into it, nothing happened on my Mac except to read their stuff.
Then I learned to type in 'top' to see what was running on this Mac, but that is as far as I dared to venture.

Do you recommend Cocktail over OnyX?  I would like to change the time on this machine to do its scripts like my new one is, oround dinner time.
Thanks,
jane

I went ahead and downloaded OnyX from Apple's site this morning, looks like it will do everything I need, Cocktail would be a bit of overkill for me at this point.
« Last Edit: October 28, 2009, 06:59:29 AM by jcarter »
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Offline Xairbusdriver

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Do we need to do the maintenance scripts any more?
« Reply #7 on: October 28, 2009, 10:26:17 AM »
They do different things but duplicate others. I don't see any way to actually set the time for the scripts to run in either. But Cocktail allows you to schedule a specific time (in addition to the built-in one).

The point of having any utility is to know what they do and use them to do it. If you don't know that, there's no point in having them, anyway.

As Kriss said, Console has absolutely nothing to do with Terminal. While you could use Terminal to do most of what all the utility programs in that folder can do (and all the third-party ones, as well), it is not an interface that most Mac users are familiar with nor even need to be. That's why Apple created all the other utilities. And the advantage is, they guard against destroying your system with an accidental typing errer. wink.gif
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THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COUNTRIES
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And the United States = The Banana system
CAUTION! Childhood vaccinations cause adults! :yes:

Offline jcarter

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Do we need to do the maintenance scripts any more?
« Reply #8 on: October 28, 2009, 12:05:16 PM »
Yikes, one typo would make my Mac come tumbling down,,,,,whew thats scary, I wont mess with Terminal.
Our daughter can use it when she is here and needs it, but I will leave it alone.

Im pretty familiar with OnyX, as Ive used it on all my other Macs, and there are some great tutorials for the new versions.
I am careful of using things like that, I sure dont want to mess anything up.
I will go thru the tuts before I try anything new.
Jane
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