Two (or more) questions from a new MacBook owner

[The.Gab]

When I access a Windows shared folder, that folder is mounted. When I leave the network, those folder disappear. Is there a way to permanently mount those folders even though they are no longer available on the network?

Edit: I'm so stupid. For that question, it seems like making an alias was the answer.

I made two volumes from my hard drive. One called OS X and the other called Data. I installed leopard in the first one I'd like the volume Data to act as my home folder. I initially though I could mount the volume in home. I probably can, but it looks like it is quite complicated because I've tried the instructions from two sites and it didn't work. I believe there could an other solution to what I want. Can you either tell me how to mount the volume at that location or any other solutions please?

 

[toMACsh]

Well, if your title had said "partition question" in it, I would have passed...

On the other hand, others may have been drawn to open it who passed on it instead.

 

[chas_m]

You're not going to like my answer, but here it is anyway:

In this particular case, partitioning the drive is completely unneeded and no, you can't really (reliably) do what you want to do, so don't bother.

This is a Mac. It doesn't work like a Windows machine. Let go of that mindset. It's designed to work best as a unified volume. You can certainly store certain elements on another drive, but your home folder is really and truly best left where Apple put it.

 

[The.Gab]

My mindset is that the machine is something that needs to be subdued and dominated. I do things MY way, not the Mac or Windows way. I've fought a long and dirty war with Windows and I can say that I am now it's master and it is now my... So will it be for the Mac.

I will keep looking for the perfect solution to what I described, but thanks for the replies.

 

[cuhnool]

My mindset is that the machine is something that needs to be subdued and dominated. I do things MY way, not the Mac or Windows way. I've fought a long and dirty war with Windows and I can say that I am now it's master and it is now my... So will it be for the Mac.

I will keep looking for the perfect solution to what I described, but thanks for the replies.

That's still the wrong mindset. A computer is a tool, and is used for what it's designed for ansd what it can handle. For example, you can't make a hammer be a nail gun. If you do make a hammer a nail gun, it's no longer a hammer and you have just wasted all that time making it something else than just using the hammer as it is. If you want a machine that can be dominated and subdued, you're better off building your own custom Windows machine. Mac OS X works the way it does because Apple put it that way, not because people tinker around with the main file structure.

 

[The.Gab]

You can't compare a computer to such limited tools as a hammer or a nail gun. Hammers and nail guns are designed to do one task, while you can program a computer to perform many different tasks. The computer must serve me and abide to my ways, not the other way around. I have built my own Windows machine. Since I have no choice but to work with a MacBook because the iPhone SDK does not work on Windows, I intend to make the most out of it.

I'm not inflexible to change. If I see a Mac way that is better than mine, I will make it my own, but on this case, I stand by my way.

Anyway, I've got another question. I'd like to upgrade my RAM. It currently has 667 MHz RAM. If I change both modules, will it benefit from having 800 MHz sticks?

P.S. I suppose RAM for the MacBook is no different from PC laptop RAM. As long as I have the right speed (PC2-5300 667MHz), it should be compatible right?

 

[cuhnool]

It was a simple analogy, not meant to be taken literally to every term. I creatively gave my stand on the topic, agreeing with chas_m.

And MHz? The earliest MacBook I can think of ran at least 512 MB of memory. I think you're getting confused with the data transfer rate (DDR2 667)

Here is a helpful article on how to identify the model of your MacBook. It also shows you the production dates and configurations (which will tell you the max RAM config for that model)

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1635

iPhone SDK eh? Can I assume you will be developing apps to submit to the App Store?

 

[The.Gab]

I wouldn't be very bright if I took your analogy literally. Your analogy did make the computer sound like it was an extremely specialized tool that only does one task like a hammer or a nail gun.

I was talking about the transfer rate and had nothing confused. How much RAM I currently have on my MacBook (1GB) and how much RAM I plan to have (4GB) are not information I wished to divulge in my previous post since it wasn't relevant to the question. I already know that 4GB (2 sticks of 2GB) is my max. To make my question cleared, if I change my two PC2-5300 667 MHz sticks of 512MB to two PC2-6400 800 MHz sticks of 2GB, will my MacBook be able to take advantage from the extra speed? If it doesn't, I will buy two PC2-5300 sticks of 2GB, unless they are the same price.

As for the iPhone, it is a school project, but after that, who knows. Maybe I'll make millions out of my apps. I can always dream...

P.S. Are RAM sticks for PC compatible with RAM sticks for Mac?

 

[cuhnool]

To make my question cleared, if I change my two PC2-5300 667 MHz sticks of 512MB to two PC2-6400 800 MHz sticks of 2GB, will my MacBook be able to take advantage from the extra speed? If it doesn't, I will buy two PC2-5300 sticks of 2GB, unless they are the same price.

That does make it a lot more clearer, as usually when people want to upgrade RAM the transfer rate isn't mentioned, no less trying to decide which transfer rate is wanted.

So therefore I can not give any insight for this particular question, as I myself have not yet upgraded my RAM, nor had any personal experience if a 800 MHz transfer rate gave a noticeable speed-gain compared to a 667.

If anything, I would guess "yes" and just get the fastest possible, it can't hurt to have more.

Another question about the iPhone app (I know. . . off topic, but I am a bit interested), what kind of project will you be doing?

P.S. I apologize that my analogy was misleading. I probably won't use that one anymore. . .

 

[The.Gab]

We are actually starting with something quite complicated for a beginner developer. We are making an accessory for the iPhone to make it act like a universal remote controller for TVs and stuff. Basically, the hardware will be just an infrared sensor and emitter, which will plug into the dock. Now, if you google that, there are already this kind of product out there, but we actually started our planning the beginning of last semester and at that time, it was an original idea.

The reason why I say it will be quite hard is because Apple will not support us with documentations on how to use the dock because they only do that with certified accessory developers. And those developers have signed a non disclosure agreement.

 

[bobtomay]

Since we don't know which Mac you have, my guess would be that it is the same as any Windows machine - if it shipped with 667 Mhz RAM, 800 Mhz would probably work, but it would only run at the 667 Mhz speed.

One of the easiest way to find out, would be to use the Crucial web site to see what they'll sell for your machine.

 

[The.Gab]

I did say it shipped with 667 MHz RAM. The most important questions would be is any 800 MHz or 667 MHz RAM compatible with my MacBook3,1 even though it didn't specifically say it is for MacBook.

Edit: One more questions. On the dock, is there a way to make the icons look different for apps that are currently open, to distinguish them from apps that are not?

Edit2: Do the Mac Terminal have exactly the same commands as the Unix Terminal or are there differences?

 

[86Apex]

Go into System Profiler and click on Hardware on the left. If your Bus Speed is over 800 MHz, then generally it should be able to handle it, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it will. All depends on if your model's firmware has it enabled. My guess is it won't though, might be for the best to stick to the same speed as the memory that's already in there.

 

[cuhnool]

We are actually starting with something quite complicated for a beginner developer. We are making an accessory for the iPhone to make it act like a universal remote controller for TVs and stuff. Basically, the hardware will be just an infrared sensor and emitter, which will plug into the dock. Now, if you google that, there are already this kind of product out there, but we actually started our planning the beginning of last semester and at that time, it was an original idea.

The reason why I say it will be quite hard is because Apple will not support us with documentations on how to use the dock because they only do that with certified accessory developers. And those developers have signed a non disclosure agreement.

Good luck, and have fun with that one! ;D

 

[dcow]

Edit2: Do the Mac Terminal have exactly the same commands as the Unix Terminal or are there differences?

There are differences. Mac is based on UNIX but it is not UNIX. For example, Apple uses their own program, bless, to deal with boot configurations. You will not find bless on a unix system. There are a lot of similarities though. You will find VIM, ssh, and md5/SHA1 and such. I think it even has built in perl support. And of course it runs a bash shell so you get all those commands.

As far as your original question:

I have not tested this but here is my suggestion. Alias your home folder to the root of your DATA partition. This would require you to move the contents of your home folder to your data partition, then in your User folder, create an alias named EXACTLY what your home folder was called and point it to the root of your DATA partition. Remember, use a SYMBOLIC link and NOT a hardlink. Hardlinks are bad (but if you have trouble with a SYM link we could look into using a hardlink as a last resort).

If you don't like that solution let me know and we could probably figure out another one. There is a UNION option with mount to mount a file system in union with a folder, I don't think that what you'll want though. The other option would be to delete your home folder and mount your data partition there, however, to do this you will have to alter the boot script that mounts your drives so that DATA is always mounted where your home folder should be.


As far as the RAM. Listen to bobtomy and go to the Crucial website and just order from there. It is the best way to get RAM for a Mac. Most likely, using a higher speed will not be beneficial. Macs are not pcs and you don't get the flexibility to mess with your 'bios' (the EFI environment).. not officially anyway.

 

[The.Gab]

Okay, I'll try your solution, but I'll need to backup my OS first because I've customized it the way I want, which brings me to a new question.

What backup program should I use? I never backup my data, only the OSes because I customize them to my taste, which is time consuming and I wouldn't want to do twice. Ideally, I'd like to have an app that is able to create a bootable CD which can create an image of the OS partition and save it on the Data volume. That same bootable CD is also capable of restoring that partition with the image.

I am however open to suggestions on this one. The crucial things with the backup is that it must keep my customized OS preferences, but also cleans everything that is added after the backup. Also, I do not need any automatic scheduled backups.

P.S. I used to do that with Acronis True Image, which is able to create a bootable CD, but it doesn't work with a Mac. A similar program would be the ideal solution.

Edit: I started reading on backups and it looks like the OS install disk has this function. That might be my solution. I'll read on then.

Edit2: Looks like the Time Machine and OS X installation disk are exactly the things I need. Scratch that last question. I'm now going to try what you said.

 

[dcow]

Okay, I'll try your solution, but I'll need to backup my OS first because I've customized it the way I want, which brings me to a new question.

What backup program should I use? I never backup my data, only the OSes because I customize them to my taste, which is time consuming and I wouldn't want to do twice. Ideally, I'd like to have an app that is able to create a bootable CD which can create an image of the OS partition and save it on the Data volume. That same bootable CD is also capable of restoring that partition with the image.

I am however open to suggestions on this one. The crucial things with the backup is that it must keep my customized OS preferences, but also cleans everything that is added after the backup. Also, I do not need any automatic scheduled backups.

P.S. I used to do that with Acronis True Image, which is able to create a bootable CD, but it doesn't work with a Mac. A similar program would be the ideal solution.

Edit: I started reading on backups and it looks like the OS install disk has this function. That might be my solution. I'll read on then.

Yes, DiskUtility can do all this. All you need to do is select your OS partition in DiskUtility and select new image at the top. Then save it to the data partition. Anytime you want to restore, just boot up with your grey disc, go into DiskUtility and select the partition you want to restore then go to the restore tab, locate the image on your data partition and you're good to go.

The more I think about it the more I think you'll want to use a hardlink in your case. I think it will be cleaner and since you're not dealing with multiple pointers to your data partition for your home directory you shouldn't run into any of the common issues with using hardlinks (like infinite loops or anything). Yeah use a hardlink. It will be more 'proper' this way and some of the UNIX programs are programed not to follow symlinks when removing files and such which you don't want to happen, if you want your home directory to function EXACTLY as if it was your home folder, just on a different partition, then use a hardlink (=

To create a hardlink use the command:

ln [source] [target]

so you'll want it to look something like this:

ln /Users/your_user_name /Volumes/DATA/

if you don't delete your home folder you can use this command to force ln to override your homefolder:

ln -Fi /Users/your_user_name /Volumes/DATA/

(note F needs to be capital, the i flag is a prompt so you'll just have to type y to confirm that you want to override)

 

[The.Gab]

I actually tried using the time machine to make a backup. After finishing the restore, I get a kernel panic message starting with "you need to restart your computer...". Well, time to try doing the backup with image. Hopefully, that will work. I still got to reinstall and put in all my apps and preferences. What a pain.

 

[dcow]

Wait.. time machine gave you a kernel panic? That shouldn't be happening. Can you elaborate a little more?

 

[The.Gab]

After setting up my preferences and installing apps, I clicked on the time machine icon and chose back up now, which created one on my Data volume. I made some obvious modifications on my desktop after the backup and inserted OS X install disk and restarted the computer. After booting with the disk there was an option to restore using time machine. I pretty much just followed the screen instructions after that. After restore is done, it say it wants to restart. After restarting, there was that message.