Darrel Knutson’s website
Kidsbrowser contact addresses WannaBe Contact info
Additional web browsers are listed Darrel Knutson’s website
Additionally, some Java support may be improved with Java 1.4.1 for Mac OS X 10.2.6 which requires 10.2.3 combo or 10.2.4 through 10.2.6 combo updates, Java update for Mac OS X 10.3 to Java 1.4.1, and Java update for 10.3.4 to 1.4.2. If you use the Carbon Java Plugin some web browsers will accept Java more readily. Many websites may not be totally compatible with any of those web browsers, but that’s because their webmasters neglect to follow WWW Consortium Standards. You should write the webmaster of any website that doesn’t follow those standards and let them know that the web is more than just for Windows users, and that following those standards will help their web pages be more accessible. A great page on helping webmasters become more crossbrowser compatible is Anybrowser.org.
14. Hung applications and Finder (when the spinning colored cursor comes up) – get Escapepod, or attempt to use Apple’s shortcut for force порно quitting applications: command-option-escape (where command is the Apple logo key on Apple keyboards).
When this doesn’t work, look for other slowdown causes on this FAQ, or the one on The X Lab’s troubleshooting page
15. Caches – Keep your caches clean with Jaguar Cache Cleaner, Cache Out or Cocktail. Note, since these are all multipurpose utilities, only use it for the feature shown here, as using another part of them to solve your problem may cause more problems in the long run. With clearing caches, it is important to remember to restart your computer from the Apple menu after finishing the task, otherwise you may not get the results you desire.
16. Classic – Classic’s limitation on the amount of RAM it will allocate applications is set to 128MB. Classic is Apple’s method of running Mac OS 9 applications while not having to setup startup disk system preference to boot directly off of 9. For those with older machines that came with Mac OS 9.0.x, 9.1, 9.2, or 9.2.1, or who have managed to install Mac OS 9 with the white Mac OS 9 installer CD to any of those versions of 9, you will need to update to Mac OS 9.2.2 for best support of Classic, and run those updates while still booted into Mac OS 9. To boot into Mac OS 9, select Apple menu -> System Preferences -> Startup Disk and select the Mac OS 9 system folder. If no system folder exists for Mac OS 9, you may have a machine that won’t boot Mac OS 9. Once you have booted into Mac OS 9, install the updates that will take you to Mac OS 9.2.2:
These updates are also listed on Apple’s own website on the knowledgebase article 75288
To boot back into Mac OS X, select the Special menu, and immediately after hitting restart, select the X key. This only works if Mac OS X and Mac OS 9 are on the same partition (same hard drive icon on the desktop). Otherwise, you need to use Apple menu -> Control Panels -> Startup Disk to select the Mac OS X System Folder prior to restarting.
If you got a new machine that has no OS 9 CD and for some reason Mac OS 9 is not installed you can install it from the restore CDs using Apple’s article for direction. Slightly older machines came with a bootable copy of Mac OS 9 and if 9 isn’t installed, or running properly as Classic, you may need to reinstall 9 using the clean install option
These machines will not boot into Mac OS 9, however also have Mac OS 9 for use in the Classic environment:
It is better though to get Mac OS X native hardware and software than to run items in Mac OS X’s Classic environment. Upgrade all your hardware and software first, then upgrade to a new Mac that boots only into Mac OS X. .
As a temporary measure to be able to run Mac OS X native applications while you upgrade your library, some Mac OS X native applications work best with CarbonLib 1.6 if booting from Mac OS 9. Contact the developer to make sure that your application works in Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X natively first before attempting to use this temporary measure.
16. Underpowered USB port – Using unpowered USB devices in the USB port nearest the modem on many machines will slow down the machine.
17. Zapping the PRAM – Sometimes the boot process will be slowed to a crawl because the PRAM hasn’t been zapped.
Before zapping your PRAM, make sure your firmware is up to date. If you don’t, you may permanently damage the motherboard making it impossible to upgrade your firmware, or your operating system.
You might be left with a blue or gray screen and no more progress after that. A Mac more than 4 years old may have a clock battery which needs replacing. If that happens, it will instantly zap its own PRAM without your telling it to, each time you start your Mac. As a result your clock will reset itself to 1969, 1956, or 1904. If you find this has happened, check these pages from Apple as to where to get your clock battery:
Models without clock batteries Clock battery models page 2
and links coming off the latter page. Apple’s Article 2238 covers more of what will be affected by a PRAM zap. Restart the machine holding down all four keys command-option-p-r simultaneously (where command is the key that has the cloverleaf and/or Apple logo on it) using the
Apple keyboard and wait for four chimes to zap the PRAM. In even the computer still doesn’t start up and doesn’t present a startup screen visit Apple’s article 106464, and how to fix the directory.
18. Login items – unless you are using a specific third party utility all the time, you can remove it from the Apple menu’s System Preferences, Login items. In Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) this preference has been moved to Apple menu -> System Preferences -> Accounts -> Startup Items. This will free up memory and reduce the potential for conflicts.
19. Shadowkiller – You can download Shadowkiller free to remove window shadows and improve window redrawing performance.
20. HP printer drivers – Trouble with HP All in One printer drivers slowing down your machine under Mac OS X 10.2.2? Mac OS X 10.2.3 (available in updates of 10.2.0 or 10.2.1 to 10.2.3 and 10.2.2 to 10.2.3) is supposed to resolve some of the issues faced with HP’s communication software.
One person found removing HP Communications out of /Library/Printers/hp worked very well. HP has written an article addressing the issue:
HP 3500c scanner software until recently has also slowed down Mac OS X. The 171 MB download of 4-23-2003 listed at HP’s website fixed one person’s slowdown from their scanner. If you have an HP peripheral and it is causing you to slowdown, or any peripheral, check the manufacturer’s website for updates, and complain to the manufacturer if no update has happened.
21. Hard drive spindown – External hard drive spinning down even when Energy Saver isn’t running? Spin down fix is designed to keep your hard drives spinning even when Energy Saver is not on.
A utility which allows you to edit the spindown times is Cocktail. Note, since Cocktail is an all purpose utility, only use it for the feature shown here, as using another part of it to solve your problem may cause more problems in the long run.
22. Unable to empty trash and it is getting quite full? Force Empty Trash will do it.
Another utility that force empties trash is Cocktail. Note, since Cocktail is an all purpose utility, only use it for the feature shown here, as using another part of it to solve your problem may cause more problems in the long run. If the file still doesn’t trash, try Force Delete.
23. Retrospect’s Startup item running -Dantz Retrospect Express’s boot at startup Retrorun process (used for unattended backups). By default, the preferences of Retrospect are set to establish a root process that could potentially slow the system down if not being used. To disable it “To disable retrorun under Mac OS X so it does not load at system startup you can do the following:
Go to Retrospect Express menu ->Preferences in Retrospect 5.x for Macintosh Select Notification and uncheck all available options (you can leave “Animate Dock Icon” turned on) Next go to Unattended and set the option to “Stay in Retrospect”. Restart the computer and retrorun will no longer load at system startup
from article 27286 in Dantz’s knowledgebase.
24. Startup items – Related to the Dantz Retrospect item above, check your Library folder’s Startup Items folder. If you find stuff in there you don’t use, you should throw it out.
25. Use second user to isolate problem to system or user settings – Sometimes creating a new user can isolate third party software installations if they were made by your user. Apple menu -> System Preferences -> Accounts -> New User, will create a new user you can log into in order to isolate problems. Be sure to give them administrative privledges, and no you don’t have to lose auto login. You can always Logout from the Apple menu and log in as the test user to try things out.
26. Kextcache – Remove the /System/Library/Extensions.kextcache, and Extensions.mcache file after holding down the shift key sometimes fixes boot issues.
27. iMovie 3 has caused some consternation, and as a result tips were published on the Unofficial iMovie FAQ page.
The iMovie 4 is now available as part of the iLife suite of software and may solve some of the most common issues.
28. The subject of item 28 in the FAQ is covered by the page that discusses Kernel Panics.
29. Renicer – an application which assigns priority to specific programs that need more memory, thus allowing them to run quicker.
30. Removing unnecessary fonts will increase the speed of the machine a lot. You will find fonts stored in:
31. Removing unnecessary foreign languages. The freeware Monolingual lets you do just that.
There are many foreign language resources that are installed by default when you install Mac OS X, though if you custom install, you can prevent them from being installed.
If you didn’t realize you installed foreign languages to begin with, or want to remove what was installed, the freeware will help you make up for lost time.
This will save you as much as 200 MB to 600 MB of disk space, thus giving the system more room to breath. 32. Mac OS X 10.3.2 has caused a slow boot recognized by Apple which can be resolved using either Apple’s knowledgebase article 86639 or
Go to folder from the Go menu and type this: Drag BootControl into the Favorites folder in your Finder toolbar (the heart icon)
If you don’t have an icon for the Favorites in your Finder window’s toolbar, drag Home -> Library -> Favorites into the toolbar in a blank area between the icons.
33. Eudora users may experience problems with Mac OS X 10.3 yielding a spinning beachball cursor. Eudora’s knowledgebase explains how to solve it: 34. Other optimizers which offer many of the same features. If you find one that particularly helped you where others above were not helpful, please post to guestbook as to how they helped you. These were mentioned on several reviews on the Mac web:
Applejack – works from Command line!
35. Not exactly related to speed, but if you better understand how X operates, you can make more efficient use of it. These two books are excellent guides: The Robin Williams Mac OS X Book (Jaguar edition) or (Panther edition) by Robin Williams and Mac OS X the Missing Manual (Jaguar edition) or (Panther edition) by David Pogue.
And these two books are interesting books from people who upgraded to Mac OS X:
The Mac OS X Conversion Kit: 9 to 10 Side by Side, Jaguar Edition by Scott Kelby Mac OS X for Windows Users: A Switchers’ Guide by David Coursey
A similar hint page developed separately is here:
Also check The X Lab’s Repair Process FAQ, Francine Schwieder’s page and MacDevcenter’s Panther Maintenance page Francines Panther Problems page. Kernel Thread’s page. Additional information about Mac OS X native software and hardware may be found on this sites directory of Mac OS X related sites. The old version of this FAQ is available as well if you are running an older version of Mac OS X, though it is highly recommended you upgrade to Jaguar (10.2) or newer version of Mac OS X.
Most of this old version of the FAQ is outdated now that Jaguar (Mac OS X 10.2) has been released.
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