Optimizing OS X

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I have just ordered a new Core 2 Duo MBP and I have serveral concerns about optimizing the performance of the machine, as well as basic knowledge. I have looked over the Switchers Guide to OSX, so these questions are beyond the scope of that article.

- For starters, is it necessary/useful to partition the hard drive, and if so, how would I go about doing that?

- How can I free up some of the hard drive space? Ideally I would like to delete all languages except for English, Spanish, and Chinese. Will I lose some space on the hard drive if I format and start from scratch?

- I have an external 80GB hard drive, and when I plug it into a Windows system, all folders show up, but when I plug into my friends MB, I only get a fraction of the folders. Why is this? And how can I get all of them to show up? Furthermore, the Apple displays all kinds of crazy folders (which I never created) with links to various pictures and files of mine. This totally baffles me.

- What are some other useful tips in optimizing the performance of an MBP right off the bat? I will be getting this thing in a few days and I would like to tweak it so that it performs as well as possible.

Thanks!
 
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I have just ordered a new Core 2 Duo MBP and I have serveral concerns about optimizing the performance of the machine, as well as basic knowledge. I have looked over the Switchers Guide to OSX, so these questions are beyond the scope of that article.

- For starters, is it necessary/useful to partition the hard drive, and if so, how would I go about doing that?

I wouldn't partition the HD. It is unnecessary, and it will probably just make you mad later on. The only time you should do that if with multiple operating systems, or just in Windows so you don't spread viruses.

- How can I free up some of the hard drive space? Ideally I would like to delete all languages except for English, Spanish, and Chinese. Will I lose some space on the hard drive if I format and start from scratch?

You can get rid of languages, and also there are some programs that you will probably never use. Your Mac will come with a program called Sherlock. I think this program is trash, and there are also lots of user related files that go along with it. I got rid of all of that and haven't missed it. I would not reccomend a fresh format. It's probably more trouble than it's worth. I guess if you really wanted to max out your savings, that would be the way to do it though.

- I have an external 80GB hard drive, and when I plug it into a Windows system, all folders show up, but when I plug into my friends MB, I only get a fraction of the folders. Why is this? And how can I get all of them to show up? Furthermore, the Apple displays all kinds of crazy folders (which I never created) with links to various pictures and files of mine. This totally baffles me.

If you will be using the drive solely for your Mac, then use a program called Disk Utility to format it to Mac standards. That will eliminate the weird things that it is doing with your files.

- What are some other useful tips in optimizing the performance of an MBP right off the bat? I will be getting this thing in a few days and I would like to tweak it so that it performs as well as possible.

Thanks!

Well, first of all I would say max out the RAM. After doing that, I noticed a huge difference in performance. Try not to run Dashboard, as it uses up system resources.
 
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the program that erases all the languages that you don't want is called delocalizer.
 
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If you will be using the drive solely for your Mac, then use a program called Disk Utility to format it to Mac standards. That will eliminate the weird things that it is doing with your files.

Thanks for all the advice. Where can I find this Disk Utility program? Thanks again.
 
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G'day Quest and a belated welcome to Mac-Forums!

Navigate to Macintosh HD>Applications>Utilities>Disc Utility.

There's a handy little maintainance app called OnyX, (click for link) which while it takes care of some tasks also gives you the option to fully optomise the system for either your account or the complete system.
 
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G'day Quest and a belated welcome to Mac-Forums!

Navigate to Macintosh HD>Applications>Utilities>Disc Utility.

There's a handy little maintainance app called OnyX, (click for link) which while it takes care of some tasks also gives you the option to fully optomise the system for either your account or the complete system.

I would have recomended Onyx, but it has caused me some problems. It is a little too powerful for people like myself who don't know exactly what they are doing. It can cause some problems that can be tough to solve. Take it from me. I know this by experience.
 

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What problems have you had with Onyx? I have used it since Panther and never had one issue with it.
 
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I would have recomended Onyx, but it has caused me some problems. It is a little too powerful for people like myself who don't know exactly what they are doing. It can cause some problems that can be tough to solve. Take it from me. I know this by experience.

I've been using the clean up and maintainance sections for ages without one problem. They are the only sections I use. IMO they are safe for regular Mac users who wish to clean up some clutter. When you refer to OnyX being a little too powerful for you I can't work out how you ran into trouble unless you were trying to use some of OnyX's other features which I never use.

My recommendation for OnyX is purely for optomisation purposes, if you wish to tweak a little then it's advisable to read the help files very carefully.
 

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