Mac advice please

Problems/advice relating to your PC/Mac/Phone/Television/ Satellite TV/DVD/Blu ray......

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Kate
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Mac advice please

Post by Kate »

My Mac seems to have slowed down. It's not the broadband connexion because everything seems to be affected ie when I do a copy colle there is a delay before the pasted text appears. Is there a 'cache' that I should empty on the mac? Is there anything that I should be doing to look after it? :oops:
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john
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Post by john »

My advice vis a vis Macs,Kate, is in weather like this ,they should be worn at all times.
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Kate
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Post by Kate »

:roll: Wise guy :roll: :lol:
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Sue
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Macs

Post by Sue »

No flashing though!!
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Colin L
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Post by Colin L »

Is it just Safari that is slowing?

Anyway. the first thing to try if you haven't already, is to restart the computer (Apple pull down menu at top left of your screen)
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Kate
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Post by Kate »

No, it's not that, it's been doing it for a while now. It's like it sometimes has a kind of blip where it doesn't do what I ask it immediately, but waits til it feels like it. Reminds me of my son actually :lol:
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Post by russell »

I'm not an expert on Macs (no comments please) but as nobody has suggested a solution yet here goes:

As I understand it MacOS uses BASH as its command line shell, just like Linux. If so; open a terminal and try typing "top" (without the quotes) followed by enter. This should give you a list of the running processes and should show you what is hogging all your resources.

Good luck!

Russell.
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Post by mrob343 »

Kate wrote:No, it's not that, it's been doing it for a while now. It's like it sometimes has a kind of blip where it doesn't do what I ask it immediately, but waits til it feels like it. Reminds me of my son actually :lol:
Same goes for my daughter too ! :lol:
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Post by DaveM »

Russell wrote:
As I understand it MacOS uses BASH as its command line shell, just like Linux. If so; open a terminal and try typing "top" (without the quotes) followed by enter. This should give you a list of the running processes and should show you what is hogging all your resources.

The Mac has used Bourne Again from the first issue of OSX, though it has now, I believe, been substantially re-written. Anyway isn't this a bit challenging for an avowed novice (as indeed am I)?
I'd suggest first 'force quitting' applications (hold down 'Alt', 'Command' - the Apple key, and 'Esc' together) 'till you get the 'Force Quit' window. Then progressively quit applications, especially any reported as '(not responding)'.
Finally shut the computer down and restart.
The Mac is normally robust enough to withstand these events.
See how you go, Kate.
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Post by russell »

DaveM wrote:Anyway isn't this a bit challenging for an avowed novice (as indeed am I)?
Not really, it will list all running processes and the one of the ones at the top of the list is likely to be the problem one. Probably giving %CPU as 100. You'll not do any harm as long as you are logged in as a user rather than administrator.

Russell.
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Post by Colin L »

Russell. I too think what you suggest is too much to ask a novice to do. Apart from anything else, I don't expect Kate has any nore idea than I do how to "open a terminal." Besides, Mac OS X comes with a useful means of checking your disk and repairing it . . . . . .

Kate. Double-click and open the Macintosh HD icon (probably in top right corner of your desktop). Open the Applications folder and find an application named Utilities. Open it . Select "First Aid" at the top of the window and click on "Verify disk". It may take a few minutes for the programme to check the disk. Once it is done, it will either tell you the disk is ok or the "repair disk" button will be activated, in which case, click on it and wait till it does its job.


A little more information would be helpful. Is this slowness only in a particular application? What else do you have open at the same time?
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Post by Kate »

Thank you beaucoup Colin, Russel and Dave for taking the time to reply. Funnily enough it seems to be mainly when I am in word which I use instead of text edit, because I'm an old dog and didn't want to have to learn any new tricks.
It seems to be OK at the moment, (pinkies crossed) but will try your suggestions.
Colin, don't seem to have first aid in my Utilities (presume you mean the Applications folder that I keep in the dock). Might it be called anything else?
Russell, must admit that the open a terminal threw me a bit, and the only BASH I recognise is what I do to my husband if I don't get a cup of tea in bed in the morning.... but I'm willing to learn. :turtle:
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Post by Colin L »

Sorry Kate, I missed out a stage there (blame being totally knackered after coming home from a week's skiing in Serre Chevalier)* .

When you go into Utilities look for Disk Utility and open that. There you will find the First Aid button.

Although I have Word for Mac, I seldom use it, and when I have to I don't much like it. It keeps annoyingly trying to second guess what I want to do - and guessing wrongly! I think that if you have a problem particular to one programme, it is likely to be that programme rather than your computer that is the cause. But you could run First Aid and verify your disk anyway, just to be sure.

*A totally gratuitous mention of an epic off-piste week in Serre Chevalier, including a day of total sunshine and new snow on La Meije simply to cause jealousy amongst the skiers on the forum. 8)
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Post by russell »

Kate wrote: Russell, must admit that the open a terminal threw me a bit, and the only BASH I recognise is what I do to my husband if I don't get a cup of tea in bed in the morning.... but I'm willing to learn. :turtle:
Sorry, having first studied computing in the late '60s at university I perhaps assume too much. When I first started using computers we had to feed punched paper tape into it. Later we progressed to using terminals.
Terminal on MAC: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Terminal It comes from the days when a big computer was accessed from a number of teletype terminals.
BASH is just the program that converts commands that you type in the terminal into actions on the computer. It originated in the UNIX world on mainframe computers.
Glad it seems to be OK at the moment. I am sure your problem is a lack of system resources. Either as a result of a program hogging all the cpu time or the memory or possibly a lack of disk space. Do you know how much disk space is free?

Russell.
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mrob343
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Mac

Post by mrob343 »

Hi
Well i finally took the plunge and joined the Mac club :D Have to say they are impressive pieces of kit ! :D
Just need an answer to a small question please.
Do i need an external drive in order to run back ups using "time machine"?
I tried to create a back up to the internal drive of 2TB ! So more than enough space there,but it wont let me back up using that drive.
Also,if need to buy another external drive will it require formatting before i can run back ups ?
Any advise?
Cheers Rob :)
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Re: Mac

Post by Pete F »

mrob343 wrote:Hi
Well i finally took the plunge and joined the Mac club ...
Do i need an external drive in order to run back ups using "time machine"?
Hi Rob

I don't know if it's necessary, but it's certainly advisable - so if your Mac crashes (rare, but it does happen!) you have a complete copy of everything on a separate drive. In my experience any external drive will do, the Mac will recognise most formats quite happily.

Cheers

Pete
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Post by Helen »

I bought a bog-standard external hard drive for my i-Mac from PC World. Like Pete says, the logic was to go for an external drive just in case the Mac ever died completely.

There was no formatting required and the Time Machine facility immediately recognised it and got to work backing everything up.
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Post by Colin L »

There is another good reason for backing up. My iMac was stolen when our house was burgled. Now that's a fairly comprehensive malfunction of a hard drive. :cry:
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Post by russell »

Another good reason for backing up is that when (not if!) you accidentally erase or overwrite an important file you can recover it from the backup. Always keep several backups taken on different days just in case. I believe that time machine can be set up to do this automatically.

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Post by Allan »

The modern trend in backup technology is to use Cloud Computing. This is where you store your data on the internet and can access it from anywhere.

Microsoft will give you a free 25GB 'Skydrive' and I believe that there is a Mac client for it.

The problem with backing up locally is that the thief that steals your computer may also steal your external drive. Similarly fire and flood are not selective.

There's no reason not to back up locally and store valuable and irreplaceable data in the 'Cloud' as well.
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Post by russell »

Allan wrote:The modern trend in backup technology is to use Cloud Computing. This is where you store your data on the internet and can access it from anywhere.

Microsoft will give you a free 25GB 'Skydrive' and I believe that there is a Mac client for it.

The problem with backing up locally is that the thief that steals your computer may also steal your external drive. Similarly fire and flood are not selective.

There's no reason not to back up locally and store valuable and irreplaceable data in the 'Cloud' as well.
First, I would be very wary of storing any sensitive data on the internet.

Second, I avoid anything Microsoft like the plague. After all isn't that why you have a MAC? Try Dropbox instead. They only give you 2 GB of free storage but, unless you have lots of videos that will probably be enough for all your important documents.

If you are worried about theft, flood, etc., keep your external drive separate from your computer. Better still keep two external drives, give one to a friend to keep and swap them over occasionally.

Yes, it is important to keep a physical copy of any irreplaceable files locally if you are backing up on the internet.

Russell.
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Post by Allan »

russell wrote:First, I would be very wary of storing any sensitive data on the internet.

Second, I avoid anything Microsoft like the plague. After all isn't that why you have a MAC? Try Dropbox instead. They only give you 2 GB of free storage but, unless you have lots of videos that will probably be enough for all your important documents.

If you are worried about theft, flood, etc., keep your external drive separate from your computer. Better still keep two external drives, give one to a friend to keep and swap them over occasionally.

Yes, it is important to keep a physical copy of any irreplaceable files locally if you are backing up on the internet.

Russell.
You sound like a character from Orwell's Animal Farm '4 legs good 2 legs bad' - 'Apple good - Microsoft bad'. Are you seriously saying you should buy a Mac because its not Microsoft - ridiculous. Microsoft is one of the largest suppliers of software for the Mac.

I can't agree with your comments about storing data on the internet - where do you think your PC or Mac is when you are online, do you seriously believe that your little local firewall is more secure than Skydrive, Dropbox, Sugarsync or any of the other on-line storage providers.

In any case how many of us has truly sensitive data?

Lots of members of this forum have homes in France and the UK, internet storage makes it possible to acess data from either location without having to lug hardware around.

As for giving an external drive to a friend to look after, that's reminiscent of the 1980's where people used to take the office backup tape home with them. I also feel it's naive to believe that a thief will find computer equipment in one part of your house but not steal another piece because it is stored elsewhere.

The problem with most backup solutions is that they are time consuming and complex which is why the vast majority of people never bother. I suppose the guiding factor is how valuable is the data to you.

The choice of backup solution is down to the individual but I feel your scepticism regarding on-line solutions is misplaced.
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Post by john »

Allan,I'm the first to admit that I'm no expert on matters like this,and I'm sure Russell,let alone you, knows far more about this than I do.

But surely isn't all this down to one's circumstances and understanding of the subject ? However you dress it up,and whatevezr fancy computer services/programs you bring in,in the final analysis ,the Internet is a public place,and should be treated as such. I would not knowingly store details of my private life,finances,tax, business,investments etc open to public view potentially(eg in a library),so would not dream of doing so on the internet.

BUT...of course I do not own a multi region business,nor do I have to travel all over the place needing lots of business tools at my disposal . If I did,then no doubt,I might see things differently.

So..... surely,it's a case of "horses for courses". ? To be fair ,you do sort of allude to that in your posting, but it's not fair to blithely dismiss what Russell says as "ridiculous". As you say,some of us have info which is medium grade sensitivity,and it's just not worth the risk,or expense to invest in all sorts of fancy services we probably don't need.
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Post by Allan »

John

You are missing a really important point.

The Internet is merely a collection of wires and other communications media. It allows computers all over the world to connect to each other. BUT every computer that you connect to is also connected to your computer. So your personal correspondence and financial information is already on the Internet.

What stops other people accessing it is your local firewall and computer security. This is really lightweight stuff compared to that used by professional data storage companies.

I agree that there is a perceived comfort in backing up your own data locally but in reality it is probably less secure than an Internet backup. As I said earlier, there is no reason you can't do both.

By the way, the only part of Russell's post that I think is ridiculous is his suggestion that people buy Macs because they don't come from Microsoft especially when a high percentage of applications on his beloved Macs are supplied by Microsoft anyway.
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Post by mrob343 »

Allan wrote:John

You are missing a really important point.

The Internet is merely a collection of wires and other communications media. It allows computers all over the world to connect to each other. BUT every computer that you connect to is also connected to your computer. So your personal correspondence and financial information is already on the Internet.

What stops other people accessing it is your local firewall and computer security. This is really lightweight stuff compared to that used by professional data storage companies.

I agree that there is a perceived comfort in backing up your own data locally but in reality it is probably less secure than an Internet backup. As I said earlier, there is no reason you can't do both.

By the way, the only part of Russell's post that I think is ridiculous is his suggestion that people buy Macs because they don't come from Microsoft especially when a high percentage of applications on his beloved Macs are supplied by Microsoft anyway.

Hi,
Lots of heated debate going on here! :)
Well .. I bought a external drive of 2 TB . Then partitioned it into 4,3 for the windows Pc's and 1 for the mac,then installed it on my network.Backed up my 3 Pc's and the i mac to it. Then proceeded to upload all content to my on line server. :) So i have the best of both worlds... If ever me and my pc's or mac ever part company i have the choice of a local or on line backup.
Allan over 12 years of using windows i've never had a problem,and Russell i'm impressed with my new i mac !
Cheers :lol:
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Post by russell »

Allan wrote: You sound like a character from Orwell's Animal Farm '4 legs good 2 legs bad' - 'Apple good - Microsoft bad'. Are you seriously saying you should buy a Mac because its not Microsoft - ridiculous. Microsoft is one of the largest suppliers of software for the Mac.
I am not saying that you should buy a Mac because it is not Microsoft. There are a number of alternatives to MS Windows. I use Linux on a PC myself. Microsoft software is insecure for a number of reasons and is the most targeted.
I can't agree with your comments about storing data on the internet - where do you think your PC or Mac is when you are online, do you seriously believe that your little local firewall is more secure than Skydrive, Dropbox, Sugarsync or any of the other on-line storage providers.
When I am online I am behind a hardware firewall (a NAT router) and a highly configurable firewall as part of the Linux system. If you want to know how secure you are try this site:www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2
Yes, my system is at least as secure as these sites and less likely to be attacked. A quick check shows that Dropbox use Linux on their servers.
In any case how many of us has truly sensitive data?
Online banking, PayPal account, etc.
Lots of members of this forum have homes in France and the UK, internet storage makes it possible to acess data from either location without having to lug hardware around.
I agree, just not for sensitive data.
The problem with most backup solutions is that they are time consuming and complex which is why the vast majority of people never bother. I suppose the guiding factor is how valuable is the data to you.
Rob's machine comes with "Time Machine" which does the backups automatically at a set time interval. I use "Lucky Backup" and run it once a week just by clicking on the icon.

Russell.

The choice of backup solution is down to the individual but I feel your scepticism regarding on-line solutions is misplaced.[/quote]
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Post by john »

mrob343 wrote:Hi,
Lots of heated debate going on here! :)
:
Not heated from me Rob. I freely admit I know very little about this,but ,despite Allan suggesting I'm missing the point,I DO think I have a reasonable grasp as to how the Net works !

No,the point I made that, with respect ,he is missing,is that for vast numbers of us there's no need to put any sort of vital,sensitive information ,on line at all. I just don't use computers,for example for a lot of my investment/business dealings...simply because I don't have to. Unless you need instant access to info there's really no point. Online banking is fine for day to day stuff,and,with the security that the banks have,my "puny", anti-spy ware is perfectly adequate for the risks involved. For all transactions that would REALLY hurt me if they got into the wrong hands,I use good old face to face contact in offices (remember them ?!).
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Re: Mac advice please

Post by Maximus »

Kate wrote:My Mac seems to have slowed down. It's not the broadband connexion because everything seems to be affected ie when I do a copy colle there is a delay before the pasted text appears. Is there a 'cache' that I should empty on the mac? Is there anything that I should be doing to look after it? :oops:
going back to kates original problem, one of the first things to check is how full is your primary hard drive, if it has less than 10% left then that can greatly slow down your computer - solution, move stuff off or upgrade the hard disk

Also there is no need to go all command line (that was the dark ages) there is a little app "activity monitor" in the utilities folder that shows you what is going on

repairing permissions in "disk utility" will often help, also do you use "idisk" that can slow stuff down - eject it for a temporary solution

if you are having problems with "Word" which is awful Micro$oft bloatware, chuck it away and get Openoffice which is free, better, and will open and edit your old word files

Allez Mac !
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russell
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Re: Mac advice please

Post by russell »

Maximus wrote: if you are having problems with "Word" which is awful Micro$oft bloatware, chuck it away and get Openoffice which is free, better, and will open and edit your old word files.
I agree that OpenOffice is better than the MS offering. The latest version has been renamed. It is now called LibreOffice. It is available for Mac, Linux, and Windoze and can be downloaded free here: http://www.libreoffice.org/download/

Russell.
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Defrag

Post by mrob343 »

Hi
Another quick Mac question if i may?
Is it really necessary to defrag your macs hard drive ?
I've been trawling the web.... some say yes if you're always dealing with large video and music files, some say no due to the way OSX deals with files and programs on deletion.:?
I have found a program called i defrag which looks like it will serve the purpose.And quite reasonable at 30 € with lifetime updates.
Any advise please :)
Cheers Rob
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