Macintosh Routine Maintenance

[Randy B. Singer]

I've been too lazy to update one of my most popular Web sites.
But I'm so bored that I finally decided to do it.

Macintosh Routine Maintenance

Macintosh Routine Maintenance

Let me know what you think!

 

[krs]

I've been too lazy to update one of my most popular Web sites.

No wonder - there is a huge amount of information there.

Reading through the information fairly quickly, a few things struck me:

1. For backup software you mention/suggest SD but not CCC
I actually use SD myself, but it seems most people use CCC. Any reason CCC is not mentioned as basically an equivalent/equal alternative to SD?

2. You recommend specific a Glyph Studio drive for backups.
Maybe you should explain why.
I use any reliable brand name external drive

3. Onyx is another common piece of software that is often recommended to fix "quirks" - I see no comment about that even though it's pretty popular to try to correct small problems

4. Glad to see the comment about the need to (or not to) "Keep your Desktop clear" - mine is full of files and folders and it was never the underlying cause for any slowdown or problem.

Not sure if there is a comment about the Mac normally running slow after upgrading to a new macOS because of indexing.

And as a note:
None of the Mac users in my family actually do any, what I call, routine maintenance.
When I ask them about it, I just get that blank stare - you know, deer in the headlights.

and I never heard of the Titanium Maintenance software - something I need to take a look at.

But this is a great website, I can see why it's very popular.
I would recommend that everyone reads it, it clears up a lot of myths around the Mac with very useful information about certain macOS releases where Apple made some significant, but unadvertised, improvements.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

No wonder - there is a huge amount of information there.

I know, right? And it took a burst of enthusiasm to go through it all and update it.

1. For backup software you mention/suggest SD but not CCC
I actually use SD myself, but it seems most people use CCC. Any reason CCC is not mentioned as basically an equivalent/equal alternative to SD?

Both products are good. I prefer SD because historically I've noticed that it's developer is meticulous, and he makes sure to get things right rather than get them out fast. SD was the first backup product for OS X that accurately handled meta data. I note that while CCC was been quick to come out with an update to deal with Apple's code changes in Catalina, the price for that seems to be that CCC has to use Apple's unreliable code. SD hasn't come out with an update yet, and I'm sure that's because it's developer won't come out with an update until he is sure that it works perfectly.

I've also encountered situations where SD worked and CCC would not. But that doesn't seem to be a general problem for users.

2. You recommend specific a Glyph Studio drive for backups.
Maybe you should explain why.
I use any reliable brand name external drive

I've tried hard not to get off on too many wordy tangents on that page. I didn't want it to turn into a book.

I recommend Glyph Studio external hard drives because they are far and away the most reliable external hard drives you can purchase without paying ridiculous amounts of money. If you handle one you will instantly know that they are built like tanks. They come with internal fans for the best cooling, and huge power supplies so that their hard drive mechanisms run happily. They are renown for their reliability. They also come with a fantastic warranty that includes advance shipment and data recovery.

The thing about "brand name" external hard drives is that most of them are shockingly unreliable. WD, Seagate, and LaCie external hard drives expecially are notoriously putrid.

3. Onyx is another common piece of software that is often recommended to fix "quirks" - I see no comment about that even though it's pretty popular to try to correct small problems

Onyx and Maintenance both come from Titanium Software. I recommend Maintenance over Onyx because it is much simpler. It only has what users need, and it doesn't have a ton of stuff to get users confused and/or into trouble.

4. Glad to see the comment about the need to (or not to) "Keep your Desktop clear" - mine is full of files and folders and it was never the underlying cause for any slowdown or problem.

Yes, lots of folks still believe that is necessary. It hasn't been for years now.

Not sure if there is a comment about the Mac normally running slow after upgrading to a new macOS because of indexing.

I mention this on my "Slowdown Solutions" Web page. It isn't a routine maintenance item so I didn't mention it on that page.

And as a note

:
None of the Mac users in my family actually do any, what I call, routine maintenance.
When I ask them about it, I just get that blank stare - you know, deer in the headlights.

Which is why I created my Routine Maintenance Web site to begin with. Most folks don't know that there is stuff that you can do to keep your Mac running well for a very long time. I have one Mac that's 12 years old, and it runs like a brand-new machine. I still use it as part of my workflow.

and I never heard of the Titanium Maintenance software - something I need to take a look at.

See above.

But this is a great website, I can see why it's very popular.
I would recommend that everyone reads it, it clears up a lot of myths around the Mac with very useful information about certain macOS releases where Apple made some significant, but unadvertised, improvements.

Thank you! I was hoping that the page would answer a lot of common questions.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

I want to thank everyone who has written to me and has offered corrections and suggestions. Much appreciated. I think that I've got them all incorporated.

So...I invite everyone to have a look at the page:

Macintosh Routine Maintenance

Macintosh Routine Maintenance

I hope that folks find it helpful!

 

[pine man]

Been a while since I read your advice and I was interested in number 10, Rebuild Mail's Envelope Database.

I had been having issues with Mail for a while with incorrect message notifications popping up for most of the mailboxes at some time or other. I changed to Spark, which was ok but a bit slow.

After following your instructions closely Mail is now my default email client again and working beautifully - thanks!!

One thing I did notice was that when I had finished the whole procedure I had several files starting with 'Envelope....' littering my desktop!!
Some might wonder if it was safe to trash them, or am I overthinking it?

 

[dmccloud]

One thing I would recommend is changing that title font you use at the top of the page. It's honestly hard to read, and distracts from the rest of the page.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

One thing I did notice was that when I had finished the whole procedure I had several files starting with 'Envelope....' littering my desktop!!
Some might wonder if it was safe to trash them, or am I overthinking it?

Just trash them, they are now extraneous. The only reason that I didn't suggest that you trash them right off was an abundance of caution.

I'm glad that your copy of Mail is now working well!

 

[pm-r]

One thing I would recommend is changing that title font you use at the top of the page. It's honestly hard to read, and distracts from the rest of the page.

+!. I don't ever remember seeing the title text being so blurry And hard to read.


- Patrick
=======

 

[krs]

Same here,

I just jumped into: "I've created this site because so many Macintosh users have expressed frustration.............."

Never even looked at the title until dmccloud mentioned it.

Wouldn't hurt to fix that.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

+!. I don't ever remember seeing the title text being so blurry And hard to read.

Interesting. I used a special program to create the title (Art Text), and it looks great on all of my Macs. I don't know what else I would do with it.

 

[dmccloud]

The title is hard to read on my Mac, iPad, and Windows laptop - especially the section at the top of the page with the massive drop shadows. It may work on a different background (a forest green or darker blue, for example), but the white background washes it out.

 

[krs]

Since images are so easy to insert now - looks like this on my monitor

 

[chscag]

I think they're referring to the Gold lettering on a White background.

It looks fine to me but I'm viewing it from a 27" Retina iMac.

 

[macgig]

looks blurry to me, little hard to look at with my old eyes. I go past it and right to. Ive created this site because so many Macintosh users

 

[ferrarr]

I think they're referring to the Gold lettering on a White background.

It looks fine to me but I'm viewing it from a 27" Retina iMac.

I think it was specifically mentioned about the drop shadow behind the,

MacAttorney
The FREE Newsletter
For Macintosh Using
Attouneys

 

[Randy B. Singer]

It looks GREAT on my monitor, but I also have a 27-inch monitor with a retina display. Don't know what I can do to sharpen it up. When I use a colored background, other people yell at me for doing that. So I can't really win.

 

[ferrarr]

Can you lighten the drop shadow, or make it smaller?

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Can you lighten the drop shadow, or make it smaller?

Do you mean in the banner ad for The MacAttorney Newsletter? It took a long time to get it to where it is. I might play with it some more if I get ambitious.

Remember, I'm not a professional Webmaster or artist. I'm an idiot trying to put together a web page that is nominally legible to get the information across.

I used the program ArtText to create the logos. I could use some training on how to get the most out of it. It's a stunning program. I couldn't have done anything like it without the program.

ArtText ($30)

Art Text — Typography Design Software for Mac

Art Text is a graphic design software tuned for creating text effect and text style based graphics.

text.design