Gary's Suggested Setup Instructions for:
MacOS X
- apple.com/macosx/
- Minimum RAM suggestion (1GB for MacOS X).
- Buy RAM from the Campus Computer Store.
- Purchasing RAM from a reliable source helps ensure a more stable computer.
Note: Some of these Control Panel, Finder / System Preference settings and web browser changes help keep your Mac running fast and stable.
Finder Modifications:
System Preferences
- apple.com/macosx/features/systempreferences/
- Dock: select Animate opening, automatically hide and magnification
- General/Appearance: Number of recent items (none for both applications, documents and servers)
- Sharing: Firewall tab - Select Start (MacOS 10.3), Select Start and from the Advanced tab; enable Stealth Mode (MacOS 10.4)
- Classic (Available on non-Intel Macs): Start Classic when you login (unless you won't be using Classic) Advanced Tab: set to Never
- Date/time: Menu Bar Clock tab - select Display the time with seconds (that way you know if your Mac has frozen if the seconds stop ticking)
- Energy Saver: Put the computer to sleep (never) and uncheck Put the hard disk to sleep when possible (desktop computers, good to use when using classic mode with network connections such as Outlook 2001 for Mac)
- Keyboard: Key Repeat Rate (fast) Delay Until Repeat (short)
- Options:
- turn on Energy Saver to automatically turn on machine at desired time.
Applications install
If installed already or once you install (drag the applications icon to the dock area)
FireFox Web Browser Settings
FireFox (1.5.0.x) Menu Preferences;
- General tab -
- Location (type in where you want your default web page)
- Privacy tab (in addition to what is checked or unchecked by default) -
- History (0 days),
- Saved Form Information (uncheck),
- Saved Passwords (uncheck remember..),
- Download Manager History (Upon successful download),
- Cache (0kb)
FireFox (2.0.x/3.0x) Menu Preferences;
- Main tab -
- Location (type in where you want your default web page)
- Privacy tab (in addition to what is checked or unchecked by default) -
- uncheck; Remember visited pages... (0 days),
- uncheck remember what I enter in forms...
- uncheck remember what I've downloaded
- Accecpt cookies from sites; keep until I close Firefox
- Security tab (in addition to what is checked or unchecked by default) -
- uncheck remember passwords for sites
- Advanced tab (in addition to what is checked or unchecked by default) -
- Network tab
- cache; use up to 0MB of space...
Safari Web Browser Settings
apple.com/safari
- Safari Menu; select block pop-up windows
- Safair Menu: select Private Browsing
- Safari Menu; Preferences; General tab (your homepage), Autofill (uncheck all), Tabs (enable), uncheck Open "Safe" files after downloading
- with Safari - also run fromt the Safari menu; Reset Safari and also Empty Cache every so often
Shubert PDF (to view PDFs within your web browser)
2.2.3 for FireFox
schubert-it.com/pluginpdf/
Office X, 2004, 2008
- run updates (from Office folder Microsoft Component Library: Get Info tells what version it is)
- microsoft.com/mac/downloads.aspx
- Open Word, turn off recently used file option from the Preferences (general tab) listed under Word Menu
- Open Excel, turn off the recently used file option from the Preferences (general tab) listed under Excel Menu.
- Open PowerPoint, turn off the recently used file option from the Preferences (general tab) listed under Excel Menu.
- Optional: turn off project gallery at startup for each program
QuickTime/iTunes Updates
- see Schubert PDF above for viewing with your web browser
- place in Utilities folder within the Apps folder.
- Open StuffIt Expander; StuffIt Menu; Preferences; check both of the delete after expanding options.
Other Stuff
- Run Repair Disk Permissions (after all these installation and whenever you do a lot of installs or after a month or so of use of your computer)
- http://www.osxfaq.com/DailyTips/10-2004/10-06.ws
- Utilities folder within the Applications folder; Disk Utility - select Repair Disk Permissions
Other Advice
- Don't always install the latest System update until its been out for awhile - but install security updates.
- apple.com/support/downloads/
- You can install software updates and Security updates from the Software Update area (Apple Menu or System Preferences area).
- Have a good amount of RAM in your computer (512MB for MacOS X)
- sometimes loose RAM or bad RAM can make your computer unstable.
- Use MavDisk for backup and/or CDs or DVDs
Other good things to do:
- Rebuild Desktop for Classic (non-Intel Macs) every month or so
- In Mac OS X, rebuilding the Desktop file is only applicable to the Classic environment.
- Choose System Preferences from the Apple Menu.
- Click the Classic icon.
- Click the Advanced tab.
- Click Rebuild Desktop.
- http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=10182
