My Mac Fixes

You've probably seen the cries of pain on the Mac fix-it sites that arrive with every system update -- blank screens, lock-outs, networks going down, Apple apps failing, hardware not responding. Yet most people seem to experience little or no trouble. Why is that? With something as complex as a system update, some incompatibilities are bound to occur. But some Mac users heighten the chances dramatically by loading their computers with crud. By "crud," I mean small programs that modify the system to produce interface changes or add features. With every one of these you add, you make it all the more likely that the next OS X update will choke on an unexpected modification. And also with each one, you make it harder to locate the problem! How do you spot these programs? Usually, they're the ones that use installers instead of drag-and-drop. An installer often means they're sticking files in places they'd be wiser not to. If they weren't doing that, the...

  The safest way to apply an OS X update is to download Apple's Combo Update, which includes all updates since that major version appeared. But Leopard Combo Updates have the annoying characteristic of requiring a very long double start-up -- during which the computer may even hang. The whole process can be both time-consuming and nerve-wracking. Luckily, the solution is simple: Don't update from your boot volume. On my Mac, I always have at least three working copies of OS X: 1. My regular boot volume, named "OSX". 2. A "Test" volume for trying out software, updates, and fixes before applying them to my boot volume. As necessary, I update this by copying from my boot volume with SuperDuper. 3. A "Maintenance" volume for performing repairs to the boot volume. I update this one too with SuperDuper -- but it usually lags behind the boot volume by an update or two, so I can be sure it's available to save me from any problems an update might introd...