Setting Up A New Computer

There's no gain without pain. Martin Russ experiences the joys and agonies of a new computer.

So there you have it: several large and heavy boxes, newly delivered by the carrier. Contained within them is that new MacOS computer — in my case a new Apple PowerMac 7300. And what was the first thing I did?

Nope, I didn't. Experience is a wonderful thing. It nags away at your fun and replaces it with the mundane. So having looked wistfully at those boxes representing hard cash, I turned to my old trusty Centris 610 and started to remove the authorisations for all the copy‑protected music software. I will resist the tempation to drone on about how copy‑protection seems to be out of fashion for everything except music software... Anyway, with my valuable 'installs' now residing on floppy disk, ready for subsequent transfer to the new machine, I actually got down to the unpacking and connecting together bits. Since I seem to be posing questions at the end of each paragraph, what happened next?

Preparation

I suspect you might be wrong again. Having checked that it booted up, and that it seemed to be working properly, I took out my trusty Norton Utilities CD‑ROM, set it as the Startup Disk, and re‑booted. Assuming that a new computer will be perfect, with a defragmented hard drive, correctly set‑up system with B‑trees and BNDL bits all OK, is asking a lot. So, having put everything right, I set about removing all of the junk — oops, non‑essential goodies. Previous Apple Notes have covered the process of creating a 'Not the System' folder and moving all the really useless junk into it, as well as adding 'Extensions (disabled)'‑type folders to the active System Folder and moving all the 'might need sometimes' bits and bobs into them. But this is also an ideal time to prepare for subsequent installation of additional software.

Assuming that a new computer will be perfect, with a correctly set‑up system, is asking a lot.

The next thing to do is label all the contents of the pristine System Folder by selecting everything and using the 'label' menu. Because this does not work recursively down into all the folders, you also need to open all the folders inside the System Folder and label them too. I use the orange 'Essential' colour, but you can use your own favourite labelling. From this point on, anything that is added to the System Folder will not be labelled, and thus will be very easy to spot. Some people recommend re‑labelling of the newly added files after each major installation, and making a colour label key so that you can see which files are associated with each application, but even I am not that organised!

Of course, before installing serious music application programs, there's always time for those essential utilities. As it happens, the new computer came pre‑installed with the same Operating System (B1‑7.5.5) that I've been using for the last few months, so the only change was from the 68040 microprocessor to the 604 RISC processor. I'd like to be able to say that things went smoothly, but that would be wrong. Actually, I had one or two tiny bits of teething trouble...

Crash Position

Perhaps it's just me and computers. I seem to have this problem where once they get unstable it's a hard slog to get them stable again, but then they will be crash‑free for ages. I seemed to have stumbled into a teensy little bit of instability here. Like the Energy Saver, which periodically put the 7300 to sleep (fine), but then couldn't be persuaded to allow it to return to consciousness (not fine). Along with my customised version of Extension Manager and a few other unwisely installed goodies, the Energy Saver was ditched, and things got better. So in a rash moment of over‑enthusiasm, I ran an old piece of favourite freeware. At first it worked, but then it stopped working, and the Mac froze. I rebooted, and when I emptied the Wastebasket, the Mac froze again, and when I rebooted again, the Mac froze during boot‑up. At this point I began to suspect that severe damage had been done to the operating system, and rather regretted testing out the utility,

Although Apple have recently started to reveal some of the hidden extras in some of their software, the 'Clean Install' is something that still seems to be unfamiliar to many users, even though it's probably tucked away somewhere in the documentation. What it allows you to do is install a new System Folder, while leaving the old one unscathed, but not active. All you need to do is press Shift‑K when the Installer main screen starts, and you get a dialogue asking you to confirm which type of installation you want. I needed a clean install, and a few minutes later I had one.

There were now two System Folders on my hard disk: the active one, and the old one, renamed 'Previous System Folder'. By opening up windows next to each other, I could incrementally copy across the new files that I had added before things went badly wrong. By rebooting after each copying session, I could determine exactly what was causing the problems. This may sound tedious, but it's often lots better than re‑installing all those control panels, extensions and other System Folder ephemera individually. At the end of this, another check with Norton Utilities indicated that all was well. In fact, this process had coincidentally had a beneficial side‑effect — the pre‑done Microsoft Office installation of files into the System Folder had been negated, and I was a 100% Microsoft‑free site again. I'll leave the shrink‑wrapped Office CD‑ROM for possible future emergencies.

Please don't get the impression that the PowerMac 7300 is buggy, unstable or problem‑prone. I'm just one of those people who implores others to keep a slim, clean computer on one hand, while being unable to resist trying out some tasty utility themselves occasionally. A few crashes have rapidly brought me to my senses. My standard advice still stands (if only I had listened to it myself): only Apple in the System Folder, unless you've carefully checked a test install first — and if it's fun, or does something neat or clever with the user interface, be very suspicious indeed. I know it's a terrible temptation when you get enough processing power to try out all those super add‑ons, but believe me, a crash‑free computer is much more valuable!

Recommended

• Norton Utilities has been my constant companion ever since I bought it. Thoroughly recommended for regular preventative maintenance.
• Only Apple in the System Folder, unless you've carefully checked a test install first.
• Install applications one by one onto a new computer. Don't hit it with all your favourite tweaks and apps all at once, because if it falls over it will be much harder to find out what caused the problem.
• Read the manual. Apple's new CD‑ROM User Manual means that the printed booklet is now mostly concerned with troubleshooting, hints and tips. Read them!