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I NEVER have an optical disk in, I remove it as soon as the files are copied onto my computer, so I don’t foeget to give the client back their disk. As for running Cocktail, the problem is so off and on, and intermittent, that I can’t tell you when it happens based on when I’ve run cocktail, but the next time it happens, I’ll run cocktail while Photoshop is still open, and see if I can save afterwards.
Of course, I thought Macs didn’t ‘need’ maintenance… (Sorry, just had to make a dig!)… I’ll try cocktail tonight after work. Of course, I won’t know if it worked unless I randomly get the issue again.
Of course, I thought Macs didn’t ‘need’ maintenance…
Like ANY computer, any platform, preventive and routine care is highly recommended. It’s no secret. And no one here ever said, with authority, that Macs don’t need maintenance.
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I can also tell you that Adobe staff does not routinely come here. And unfortunately, those who have posted here in the past are largely absent now in a number of forums. If you have a specific concern for Adobe, you need to contact them directly using the "Contact" link at the top of any page.
I must admit, one of the reasons I was recently dissuaded from switching to Mac is the advent of all this "maintenance" like Disk Warrior, Archive and Install, Repair Permissions, Cron scripts, … the list goes on!
It wasn’t like that when I used, and instructed on, Macs 15 years ago!
Sadly you got the wrong impression: we run maintenance software like that purely in order to PREVENT problems from developing in the first place.
Programs like Cocktail run automatically and take just a few minutes to do their task (and that can include cleaning-out caches, running the cron scripts and repairing permissions too in a single pass).
Archive & install is only needed when someone has managed to screw-up their computer (often because they meddled with their installation when they shouldn’t have done!) and takes just 45 minutes to AUTOMATICALLY install a squeaky clean new OS and put all of their files and preferences back in order again.
DiskWarrior repairs, or replaces, a damaged Directory on a HD a HD working on any kind of computer can need that sort of first aid from time to time.
DiskWarrior just does the work painlessly, automatically and safely. The time taken depends on the size of the Drive, how much data is stored, and how much of a mess that the User has allowed to pile-up.
I suspect that you forget: 15 years ago you probably used Norton’s Utilities? Now THAT was a real horror story .
Mac care is NOT a big deal, particularly if it is done routinely — just like you routinely change the oil, check the tires, brake and transmission fluids, and radiator, fill up the gas tank, and change the wiper blades, etc., in your car. Those of us who do find Macs to be relatively problem-free.
Fifteen years ago, computers were simpler. You had Disk First Aid, Symantec AntiVirus, and Norton Utilities (and perhaps others) that you routinely ran on your IIfx or 8100, and you couldn’t do an archive and install — as I recall you pretty much had to back up, wipe and reformat your 250 MB drive.
Too many folks ignore all maintenance until they find they can no longer work, which is why you hear us continually talking about it as a step in solving a serious problem.
I don’t know what specific care is recommended on Windows machines, but it is there, just as well.
Macs crash just as often as PC’s, they are almost impossible to customize, and they really give no reason for the crash, at least the M$ BSOD gives you a clue as to what went wrong. When it comes down to it, they are really overrated, but that’s only because they cost so much more. In short, either system is only as good as the person maintaining it, but what I was really trying to say before, to listen to the Mac-philes, the things run perfectly forever, and never have a single problem. That said, I DO like the Dock in OSX, and being able to drag stuff directly into it to open files.
Your Mac experience is atypical. Sorry, but your own biases are showing here, demonstrated in a bit of exaggerated info about crashing, costs, ability to customize…
As has been said, NO one ever said Macs are maintenance-free, and I can’t remember the last time I’ve had a crash on any of my systems.
Yeah, ok, "atypical". Yeah, I’ve been working on Macs between school and work for about 8 years now, so that’s pretty "atypical". Macs aren’t special, they aren’t the ‘sceond coming’, and they ARE expensive. They also don’t like to detect files over the network, and they DO crash without any explanation for either the software crash, or the OS crash. It just happens and the computer says ‘Oops!’. Sorry if reality seems biased.
We’re going way OT here. But I will say this: I’ll admit there are no $400 Macintoshes. And there are no build-from-scratch Macs. But for a similarly tricked-out Win high-end (e.g. graphic design) machine, the cost is close to that of an equivalent Mac. And some report that the Mac is cheaper.
Per Consumer Reports readers, Apple gives better tech support and has higher reliability and customer satisfaction. My 18 years of Mac experience and having responsibility for dozens of machines bear this out.
If you are so unhappy using unreliable, expensive Macs, then just find a nice Acer, Gateway or HP box. At least you’ll have the PC advantage of several brands to choose from.
Thank you for the explanations. However that was only part of the story; I won’t bore you with the rest. I ordered my new (Windows) computer yesterday.
Don’t feel sorry for me I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve!
Enjoy! Whichever machine you feel comfortable with; whichever lets you get your work done most efficiently. We’re also happy with the full rack of Dells we use for our Web business. We use Macs for everything else.
Of course, I thought Macs didn’t ‘need’ maintenance…
Hey I have a really cool Bridge I’ll sell you. Real cheap. B)
Just for the record I haven’t had a crash on my G5 forever. My Laptop crashed the other day but its running Leopard. first one. People who know what they are doing have well running machines, Mac or Windows.
You mean to tell us you’ve just discovered it now?
I am talking about what I discovered coming to this forum a couple of months ago, when I was actively considering replacing my main machine with a new Mac. The aim was to familiarise myself with the situation prior to making the switch. As I mentioned elsewhere, my last deep experience with Apple computers was 15 years ago (although I still sometimes use friends’ Macs).
I would NOT choose a computer based upon differences (perceived or otherwise) in routine maintenance. That’s as meaningful as choosing brand A car over brand B car because the former has a 15K maintenance interval and the other has a 12K. ALL computers, regardless of platform, REQUIRE some routine maintenance to perform reliably and up to spec.
I’m telling you, aside from the usual "how-to" questions, I would say that one of the largest segments of queries here is the result of poor maintenance habits.
Not performing routine maintenance and expecting not to have trouble on any machine is akin to never taking showers or baths and expecting not to smell bad.
Ramón, I never take showers or baths, and my pets think I smell great!
But I do perform routine maintenance on my Macs and my wife and daughters perform routine maintenance on me. In consequence, my battery stays charged, my entrails remain free of corruption, and my Macs perform without a hitch. (They do smell a little though.)
I’m just trying to think what routine maintenance I perform on my main computer. The answer is none. This particular one has been running for over 3 years now and all tasks, such as defragmentation, are dealt with automatically in the background. I turn it off now and then to let it clear its brain and, if things seem to be getting sluggish, I will run a registry cleaner, but that’s not routine and it’s maybe once every few months.
I do ghost the system drive every two months to keep an up-to-date image. I am very particular about what is installed on it and nobody else is allowed to touch it.
Now I’ve said that, it will probably give me a Blue Screen Of Death tonight just to spite me. 😉
This will probably offend somebody/somebodies/… but
I actually think you are all overstressing the importance of daily maintenance and running this or that.
A normal Mac with a healthy system and healthy fonts, without haxies and other system enhancers, without beta-software and similar, regularly system- and programupdated, and regularly restarted, very seldom has problems even without daily runnings of various disk-tools etc.
Just keep it in a cool place away from cats, dogs and children and your own lunch and softdrinks, dust and sand and salty beaches, and nothing dangerous will happen even if you never run DiskWarrior or any of the other tools and only occassionally do a permissions repair.
If you routinely run those tools just in case and in prevention, you might actually cause damage rather than prevent it.
That’s my experience from more than 20 years of Mac-support-job and maintenance and hundreds (if not thousands if I would have added them up) of users machines.
My own present machines (an Intel iMac and a MacBook (and a retired iBook)) has not had a crash ever during the time I’ve used them (couple of years each). One of my multiple external harddisks died beyond recovery a couple of years back but no maintenance would have prevented that (hardware fault, I got a new one from LaCie). And I am a heavy user of various Adobe apps, both present and past, primarily, plus browsers and mail. I am very careful though of what I put into my machines and I do know how to handle fonts.
There are models that are more crash-prown than others though in my exprience. One is the PB G4 12" which was constant trouble, another seem to be the MacPros (non-Leopard models) which we use a few at the newspaper for video-production.
Occassional, semi-regular, maintenance does not hurt and might be preventive (particulary regarding caches), but excessive ones might do more harm than good (just like brushing your teeth 20 times a day will not give you healthier teeth).
I for one never had a need to run "daily maintenance". Of course, auto routines prior to shutdown that some folks run can’t hurt anything. I will boot from the System Disk (Disk Utility) or DiskWarrior if my computer ever starts acting in some unexpected way (rare, and usually subtle), and before and after updates or upgrades. Cocktail is also run occasionally. But maintenance certainly isn’t an obsession. I don’t install haxies, garbage apps or plug-ins, games, or other questionable software either.
nothing dangerous will happen even if you never run DiskWarrior or any of the other tools and only occassionally do a permissions repair.
It is rare that DiskWarrior finds anything on my system other than a little disk fragmentation. Only once did a seatbelt in my car save my life.
Still, I wouldn’t be without either.
If you routinely run those tools just in case and in prevention, you might actually cause damage rather than prevent it.
Aside from wearing out a hard drive a tiny bit faster, if you run utilities intelligently, what damage can you cause?
