Desktop cleanup...?

I only recently acquired an Intel iMac 24". I had OS9 on a G4 for 6 years previously, quite different behaviour...
Now, when I download additional software I find endless ".dmg" files deposited on my desktop. What are they, and can I safely trash them without affecting the downloaded items' function? Or should I save them somewhere (but not on the desktop!)?
Intel iMac 24" 2.16Ghz 2GB Mac OS X (10.4.10) G4 OS9

Like Stefan, I also have a Downloads folder in my User Account. The Desktop is normally the default location to which an iMac downloads all files. I have changed that default location in Safari Preferences/General to this Downloads folder and most apps will now use the default without further configuration. I have even dragged the Downloads folder to the sidebar in the Finder window and I can jump quickly to it.
The disk image files, .dmg, are what would appear on a CD/DVD if you purchased new software in a store. Sometimes they contain the new application with instructions to drag & drop the app to your Applications folder. Sometimes they have an installer, or an install package that uses the Apple installer which places the new app in the Applications folder and any adjunct files in their proper location.
I drag most .dmg files to the Trash and Empty Trash. I occasionally leave one in the Downloads folder a few days while I test the new app, especially if the app was installed with an installer and the installer has an uninstall option. The installer with an uninstall option, has instructions of where all the adjunct files were distributed and makes quick work of removing an app and all the loose ends if the app doesn't meet my needs.

Similar Messages

Just downloaded Firefox 4 and now have three FF icons on my desktop which I am unable to remove!

I am running Windows XP. When I try to delete or rename these multiple icons on my desktop, I receive the message : "Cannot delete file: Cannot read from the source file or disk." Please help.

You don't have to download anything. I had the same problem. Run the Desktop cleanup wizard. Select the icons (they should be there). Run the cleanup and they should be in a file on your desktop labelled "Unused icons". Then delete the file.

Restricting to Desktop

I am attempting to do a simple Desktop cleanup action in Automator, but am having a problem.
I have a number of .jpg files directly on the Desktop and a number of Folders on the Desktop with .jpg files in them.
When I tell Automator to Find Finder Items in the Desktop, it will only find the .jpgs inside the Folders on the Desktop. Anything directly on the Desktop is completely ignored.
No other location has this problem. Am I doing something wrong or is this just the way it works?
Thanks.

Woah slow down. Just because one particular action uses spotlight doesn't mean you should drop the whole thing! I'm pretty sure that's your problem, but as I mentioned there are other ways to get a list of jpg's. The easiest one would be to use terminal's "find" command (which does not use spotlight), but you could also do it with apple script reasonably easy. Find is much faster.
Here's how you'd use find:
run shell script action with:
find ~/Desktop -name *.jpg
as the command (and /bin/bash as the shell)
run applescript action with:
on run {input, parameters}
set output to {}
repeat with unixPath in input
set end of output to POSIX file unixPath
end repeat
return output
end run
as the code (converts unix paths to file objects), and then add whatever you want to the end. The result is files and folders, I tested it with the same set labels action used above.
PS: sorry for any typo's, I'm gonna be late for work so I didn't proofread.

Guide: Optimizing Your Windows XP/Vista Notebook

purpose:
to build a highly optimized, personalized, faster, smaller and more secure OS installation using windows xp (can use vista also but this guide will not cover it in any detail)
plus i was bored to tears
information:
this is a somewhat advanced guide not meant for those unfamilure with the tools and techniques used here
the basics of this guide can be applied to most/all windows xp/vista notebooks and desktops, not just Lenovo, however in my case i run windows xp pro on a T60 (8743) with an add-on graphics card (similar to a T60p i assume) and this guide will be geared toward this config.
many alterations can be made, so it is very general in nature and should not be taken literally
this is my personal machine and i am not on a private network. you may have to adjust as necessary.
disclaimer:
it ain't my fault
what will you gain:
* a highly customized OS
* faster boot times
* more free disk space
* a lighter, snappier feeling OS
* a more secure OS
* a more stable OS
* more free RAM
* less problems (or maybe more if you're not careful)
with all due respect to Lenovo, i have found that the less Lenovo software i install the fewer glitches i have and the faster things run. this is often the case for various other hardware vendors that supply proprietary software which is often not needed, or not all of which is needed.
what you will need: (all free, except for possibly the OS):
* a windows xp/vista installation disk. though you may be able to do this using your i386 directory (perhaps on the recovery partition), a full, non-OEM disk is preferred.
* SP2 and SP3 (it is my understanding that either SP1 or SP2 should be installed before installing SP3, though i have built installations with SP3 only).
* dotNet runtime
* nLite (or vLite for vista) - http://www.nliteos.com/
* Ryan's Windows XP Post-SP3 Update Pack - http://www.ryanvm.net/msfn/
* Ryan's integration tool - http://integrator.siginetsoftware.com/index.php?download
* all current drivers for your hardware
please read any license agreements for the above (for instance, nLite is not to be used for commercial applications)
also visit the nLite and RyanVM forums as there's a ton of helpful info there, add-on packs, etc., and please consider donating to them both if you like the software. both are great guys. i wouldn't bother running windows anymore without nLite. from Nuhi's page (his english is not the best):
Have you ever wanted to remove Windows components like Media Player, Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, MSN Explorer, Messenger...
How about not even to install them with Windows ?
nLite is a tool for pre-installation Windows configuration and component removal at your choice. Optional bootable image ready for burning on media or testing in virtual machines.
With nLite you will be able to have Windows installation which on install does not include, or even contain on media, the unwanted components.
Features
* Service Pack Integration
* Component Removal
* Unattended Setup
* Driver Integration *
* Hotfixes Integration **
* Tweaks
* Services Configuration
* Patches ***
* Bootable ISO creation
basic build procedure:
* install the dotNet runtime
* install nLite (or vLite for vista)
* create a directory structure something like:
c:\nlite\source\
c:\nlite\working\
c:\nlite\sp\
c:\nlite\hotfix\
* download Ryan's post SP3 update pack and dump it in c:\nlite\hotfix\
* download Ryan's integration tool and dump in c:\nlite\hotfix\
note that you can use nLite to integrate service packs and hotfix's, but i prefer Ryan's tool as i have had problems in the past using nLite to integrate Ryan's post SP update cabs, though this happened during the earlier beta days of nLite.
* download xp SP2 and SP3 service packs and dump in c:\nlite\sp\
* copy contents of windows installation disk to c:\nlite\source\
* using Ryan's integrator, set update pack path to c:\nlite\sp\WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe, windows source to c:\nlite\source\, and destination to c:\nlite\working\ and start integration
* using Ryan's integrator, set update pack path to c:\nlite\sp\WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-ENU.exe set windows source to c:\nlite\working\ and destination to c:\nlite\working\ and integrate SP3. after SP3 is integrated, if you want to save the windows installation for the next time you install, copy it elsewhere before moving on.
* using Ryan's integrator set source to c:\nlite\hotfix\ (where you dumped Ryan's post SP3 update cab) and destination to c:\nlite\working\ and run it.
* start nLite and set the windows installation path to c:\nlite\working\
make sure that, in the "version" box, that SP3 is written, otherwise you've made an error earlier.
IMPORTANT: when using nLite be very careful and move slowly, making sure to READ ALL DESCRIPTIONS and explore all options -- it's easy to skip or screw up something if you're not very careful.
rule of thumb: don't remove something if you don't know what it is or what the implications might be
* following the wizard, select your options. i would suggest the following:
remove components
unattended
options
patches
tweaks
build ISO
in the case of my thinkpad my hard drive will not be recognized by windows unless i integrate the driver for the SATA controller using nLite OR enter BIOS setup and put the controller in compatibility mode so i can install the driver from windows (after which BIOS needs to be changed again). integrating drivers will require extra reading on your part and is beyond what i wish to get into here, so, to make things easy if you're not comfortable doing this, just put your controller in compatibility mode if necessary and install the driver from within windows.
* following the wizard and hitting "next" as necessary, if you've selected the options above, nLite will pop-up a compatibility options window where you want to select what components you really need (prevents you from removing dependancies later).
* in the next step you'll remove unwanted components - the part i enjoy most. be careful what you remove! stuff in red is important. this is what i typically remove, give or take:
Accessibility Options
Briefcase
ClipBook Viewer
Defragmenter (replaced with JKDefragGUI)
Games
Internet Games
Paint
Pinball
Screensavers (useful only for very old CRT monitors)
WordPad (replaced with PSPad)
Keyboards (i remove all - nLite will keep default for your language)
ActiveX for streaming video (depends on IE which i remove parts of)
AOL ART Image Format Support (depends on IE which i remove parts of)
Images and Backgrounds (desktop eye candy)
Luna desktop theme (cartoonish desktop theme)
Media Center
Mouse Cursors
Movie Maker
Music Samples
Old CDPlayer and Sound Recorder (replaced in part by foobar2000)
Speech Support
Tablet PC
Windows Media Player (replaced by foobar2000, VLC and Satsuki codec pack)
Windows Media Player 6.4 (replaced by foobar2000, VLC and Satsuki codec pack)
Windows Picture and Fax Viewer (replaced by XnView)
Windows Sounds (unneeded sound themes)
Communication tools (phone dialer, hyperterminal, etc., some replaed by better 3rd part s/w)
FrontPage Extensions
Internet Connection Wizard (not needed to create a connection)
Internet Explorer (i keep the core (there's 2 options for removing this; one to remove parts but keep basic functionality and another to remove the core, which i suggest keeping) as it's functionality is needed by many applications - removing this will remove the "Program Files\Internet Explorer" directory, but you can still browse the web using windows explorer (file manager) if need be. i replace with Firefox)
Internet Information Services (IIS) (i use Apache (WAMP) for web development)
IP Conferencing
MSN Explorer (partially replaced with Miranda IM)
Netmeeting
Outlook Express (replaced with Thunderbird)
Peer-to-Peer (only for MS networks, nothing to do with P2P)
Share Creation Wizard
Synchronization Manager
Vector Graphics Rendering (VML) (depends on IE i think, which i remove parts of)
Web Folders
Windows Messenger (replaced with Miranda IM
.NET Framework (i don't install this at all)
Blaster/Nachi removal tool
Color Schemes (predefined desktop color schemes)
Desktop Cleanup Wizard (replaced with CCleaner)
Disk Cleanup (replaced with CCleaner)
File and Settings Wizard (used to transfer settings between 2 computers)
File System Encryption (try TrueCrypt or AxCrypt - note that MS encryption is propritary and, as such, should not be trusted)
Help and Support (huge space hog)
IExpress Wizard
Manual Install and Upgrade (ability to upgrade OS, which is always a bad idea (better to install clean))
MS Agent (used for annoying animated paperclip in MS office)
Out of Box Experience (OOBE) (do NOT remove unless you have a VLK)
Remote Installation Services (RIS)
Search Assistant (annoying animated dog in search window)
Security Center (replaced with Comodo firewall)
Service Pack Messages
Shell Media Handler
Tour (useless windows tour)
User account pictures
Web View
Zip Folders (replaced with IZArc and Universal Extractor)
Automatic Updates (hardly needed once attack vectors are removed)
Beep Driver (annoying beep, such as when you press too many keys at once)
Error Reporting (automitic error reporting to MS - i suppose vista is the result?)
IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service (replaced with ImgBurn)
Remote Registry
Secondary Logon
System Restore Service (bloated nonsense used for restoring viruses to their orgional state - better to reinstall)
Languages (i remove all - nLite will keep your default language)
as should be apparent from the above, security is already enhanced since many attack vectors were removed (OE, WMP, MSN, remote registry, system restore, etc., etc., etc.).
missing functionality is replaced by better, more functinal and more secure software
* for the "unattended setup" step, you can select many options, change default paths (Program Files), disable hibernate, configure network adapters and much more.
* next is "options" where you are presented with many more choices.
* next is "patches". here i would highly suggest turning off SFC (windows file protection) as this is an incredible annoyance for many people and will greatly increase the time required for your installation. furthermore, malicious folks and vendors that write drivers know how to get around this nonsense anyway.
* next is "tweaks" and then you'll finish up by building your installation. i typically cut the size of a default windows xp install by about 50%, but i'm a bit agressive with what i remove. also some of that space is used by 3rd party software to replace the components removed.
* if you are comfortable with virtual machine software, that'd be the way to test your shiny new installation ISO. if not, then get ready to take the plunge
when installed an nLite OS on my thinkpad for the first time (a day or 2 after i got it), i did a test install first - i kept the recovery partition in tact. once i got comfortable with installing the drivers and got everything working, i un-hid and formatted the recovery partition -- gone! you may want to do the same, though speaking from expierence i can tell you that it's rather trivial to get everything working on my T60 (though i do not have nor did i want a fingerprint reader, i would doubt it would be an issue to get working).
* once windows is up and running, there will be allot of broken stuff
some of the "Fn" keys will not work, some will (because the hardware is configured in BIOS). you'll need to install the drivers for the items that you want to work, and this is another area where i depart from the norm. here's some things i don't install and the reasons why (whenever possible, any hardware below is disabled in BIOS or device manager):
* easy eject utility - not needed/i don't use it anyway
* hotkey driver - bloated and sometimes buggy software that may corrupt OGL and DX full-screen display (games) and cause stop errors (BSOD)
* trackpoint - i don't use it, though it works anyway with limited functionality if not disabled in BIOS/device manager
* trusted platform module - yeah, well i don't trust it
* away manager - don't use it/lighter weight alternitives available
* keyboard customizer - not needed/i don't use it
* scroll lock indicator - not needed/i don't use it
* software installer - bloated mess/not needed (subscribe to the Lenovo RSS feed to be made aware of updates)
* thinkpad configuration package - i'll configure it myself, thanks
* thinkvantage access connectkions - bloated mess/slows boot time/not needed (better and lighter weight alternitives * available if you need this functionality)
* ultra-nav wizard - not needed
* bluetooth - i install the microsoft bluetooth stack (which is smaller and simpler) and have noticably less lag with bluetooth devices resuming from a standby state (mouse in particular)
* display drivers - i use the highly acclaimed and optimized Omega drivers.
for the drivers i do install, i install only the drivers, NOT the software (in other words i do not run the installer). i do this by extracting the installer using IZArc or Universal Extractor and using device manager to point the hardware to the extracted *.inf files. for me, there is only one device that comes up "unknown device" before drivers are installed (i forget which). the rest are named, so it's easy to tell what path to give them for the drivers. installing drivers for the unknown device is then simple a process of elimination, or you can use software to help identify the device.
::: the end :::
hack it 'till it BREAKS!

*bookmarked for desection*
I already see flaws, like turning off remote registry for example. Remote registry only has very limited access, and you can change the access, but why would you? You can see what it has access to by going into Control Panel > Administative Tools > Local Security Policy > > Local Polices > Security Options, then scroll a little more than half-way, and it's under the Network access box.
There are so many crack pot guides out there, that the only good advice is to look where they looked, and if you don't get it, and don't go though all of it, LEAVE IT ALONE! It only makes servicing the box at a later time a HUGE pain, and if it's in a business, it'll just be reimaged.
Keep this guy's disclaimer in mind at all times. Just do the easy ones to start, like run CCleaner, it basically does everything for you, and doesn't cause any errors (or as far as I know, and I use it just about every other day)
Currently Just passed the CompTIA A+ 601 with flying colours! =D
Owner of an SL500 running Vista Business with 4GB of PC2 6400 RAM

Can't Drag Icons

I'm working in OS X 10.2.8 and all of a sudden the icons on my desktop won't move. Also, cannot use selection tool to move objects when working in Illustrator CS2 or Corel Draw.
I've read all the posts listed here and tried every suggestion to no avail. Can anyone offer a new or different suggestion?
I'm working on a G4 which did not get along well with Tiger, when I tried to install that upgrade a couple of years ago, so that's why I'm still on the old operating system. Which was fine for me until this.
Please Help,
Debi

Welcome To  Discussions Debi!
"...I've deleted all my plists..."
Did you put the whole Preferences folder, located in HD > Users > Your Account > Library: HERE, in the Trash?
Have you emptied the Trash?
"...I've done a desktop cleanup on re-start."
Please explain what you did to clean up the Desktop.
Have you run Repair Permissions?
Are you logged in with an Admin account?
Navigate to HD > Users > Your Account.
Click once on the Desktop folder to highlight.
Press the Command + I keys to Get Info.
Click on the ▼ Disclosure Triangle for Ownership & Permissions.
-What is displayed after You can ? S/B Read & Write.
Click on the ▼ Disclosure Triangle for Details.
-What is displayed for:
Owner: ? S/B Your account Short Name.
Access: ? S/B Read & Write.
Click on an open area of the Desktop.
Press the Command + J keys.
In the View Options window, if Keep arranged by is checked, uncheck it.
Actually, for now, uncheck all four of the arrangement options.
Close that window.
Will the items move now?
ali b

Why is my Macbook pro now extremely slow and not running things like powerpoint any more?

I'm sure I'm not the only one.
Mavericks installed. Now my Macbook Pro is slower than a one-legged tortoise.
It won't run powerpoint, which just crashes. en my keyboard misses the first part of sentences because it can't keep up. I have to double check everything I type. I'm trying to run a business, and I'm losing time, money and the will to live.
I cannot reinstall microsoft office, as I bought my macbook Pro (2 GHz Intel Core i7, 8GB 1600 MHz DDR3) from a seller who cleanly installed Mountain lion for me, and installed Office 11 on it. I do not have any installation disks. I have been forced to downgrade to Mountain Lion, which I'm still waiting for Apple to send to me.
Is there anyone out there who can give me any help. I'm not paying Apple any more money. Why should I? I've already been forced to rebuy an operating system that my Macbook previously had installed.
Not only that, I think I have an expanding battery issue, and my trackpad is now broken. Just to add to my woes.
Has anyone had a solution to solving the Mavericks debacle?
Please somebody, help.
Please.
Before I start self harming.

Hi all;
I agree with stobston, many thanks to cbs20 for your inputs. I was stuck with this one also.   I'm a former UNIX sysadmin; thanks so much for pointer to etrecheck. It's nice to be able to look under the hood.
I had the same problem, Powerpoint was so slow as to be nearly useless. Apparently different cause&effect from stobston's case. Here's what worked for me. Sorry if I'm stating the obvious below; I'm new to MacOS after many years on MS-Windows;
First, I ran etrecheck and got the following;
Hardware Information:
         MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2013)
         MacBook Air - model: MacBookAir6,2
         1 1.3 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 2 cores
         4 GB RAM
Video Information:
         Intel HD Graphics 5000 - VRAM: 1024 MB
System Software:
         OS X 10.8.5 (12F45) - Uptime: 0 days 2:59:30
Disk Information:
         APPLE SSD SM0256F disk0 : (251 GB)
                   disk0s1 (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB
              Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 250.14 GB (150.98 GB free)
                   Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB
USB Information:
         Apple Internal Memory Card Reader
         Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub
                   Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
         Logitech USB Receiver
Thunderbolt Information:
         Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus
Gatekeeper:
         Anywhere
Launch Daemons:
       [loaded]             com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support
       [loaded]             com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist Support
Launch Agents:
       [loaded]             com.citrix.AuthManager_Mac.plist Support
       [running]             com.citrix.ReceiverHelper.plist Support
       [running]             com.citrix.ServiceRecords.plist Support
User Launch Agents:
       [loaded]             com.citrixonline.GoToMeeting.G2MUpdate.plist Support
       [loaded]             com.google.keystone.agent.plist Support
User Login Items:
         iTunesHelper
         Dropbox
         Google Drive
Internet Plug-ins:
         FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 13.0.0.206 - SDK 10.6 Support
         QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.1
         Flash Player: Version: 13.0.0.206 - SDK 10.6 Support
         CitrixICAClientPlugIn: Version: 11.8.2 - SDK 10.7 Support
         SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.3.8 - SDK 10.6 Support
         Silverlight: Version: 5.1.30214.0 - SDK 10.6 Support
         JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 14.9.0 - SDK 10.7 Check version
Audio Plug-ins:
         AirPlay: Version: 1.7 - SDK 10.8
         iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.1 - SDK 10.8
iTunes Plug-ins:
         Quartz Composer Visualizer: Version: 1.4 - SDK 10.8
User Internet Plug-ins:
         CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin: Version: 1.0.105 Support
         WebEx64: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.6 Support
         ZoomUsPlugIn: Version: 2.0.31405.1104 - SDK 10.8 Support
3rd Party Preference Panes:
         Flash Player Support
Time Machine:
         Time Machine not configured!
Top Processes by CPU:
            3%         WindowServer
            1%         fontd
            1%         Microsoft PowerPoint
            1%         Microsoft Word
            0%         coreservicesd
Top Processes by Memory:
       254 MB     Microsoft PowerPoint
       225 MB     WebProcess
       135 MB     mds
       135 MB     Microsoft Excel
       131 MB     Finder
Virtual Memory Information:
       891 MB     Free RAM
       1.68 GB     Active RAM
       833 MB     Inactive RAM
       524 MB     Wired RAM
       1.52 GB     Page-ins
       0 B              Page-outs
Note that I had no heavy CPU processes like stobston had. There are some processes using lots of memory though. Made me wonder, could it be a swap or contention issue? I have a Macbook Air, so 'swapping' doesn't mean what it used to mean. Anyway, I tried closing Excel and Finder. Powerpoint was still slow.   I ran etrechek again. WebProcess and mds are still running at the same memory usage; nearly half a gig between them. WebProcess is Safari; shutting down Safari didn't help.   I have heard that Safari has had memory leaks, I don't know if that's true or not. mds is the MetaData Server for SpotLight. I had run Spotlight several times today, and also did a lot of desktop cleanup.   That might have triggered mds.
I don't know how well Mountain Lion reclaims memory ( now I'm really getting into the weeds ), so I shut down MacOS and restarted it. This time, I started up PowerPoint first, with nothing else running. Problem solved. PPT is running fine.
Thanks again all for your inputs. An hour ago, I had no idea where to start.

Automatic update purge?

I have been refusing to allow some updates in automatic update for some time... every time it try's to update iphoto and iweb via the following
"This update to iPhoto contains new calendar, greeting card, and postcard themes for use with Apple print services, including a variety of holiday card designs. It also addresses compatibility for accessing Aperture 1.5 content in iPhoto."
I do not use aperture and ive been trying to avoid adding this 100mb's to my computer every time automatic updates loads.. is there anyway to permanantly refuse these updates, or is there a way i can downloaded them, then delete them, and all previous unneeded updates
its becoming to me as annoying as desktop cleanup wizard, accept i have to open this, tell it no, and close it every time
~David

Machado wrote:
thank you so much. is there a place where i can locate old updates that are taking up space to remove them manually?
Old automatic software updates are not stored on the HD anymore. All there is a Receipt which is necessary in order to inform the systems that the update has been installed.
Only manually downloaded updates are saved, for obvious reasons. They are usually in the download directory.
I don't know what goes on with automatic downloads when the box "Download automatic updates automatically" is checked. I presume that after they are installed, the downloaded file is automatically trashed.

2000 to XP migration issue

I'm migrating 2000 to XP. Everything is working...EXCEPT: I pick up the settings on 2000, the System Settings set to pick up nearly all the Desktop options except Taskbar, Desktop Cleanup Wizard, Time Zone and Web Settings. I restore it to XP. Everything restores, EXCEPT the XP image is, by default, set to XP style start menu. When I restore the 2000 DNA, it turns it to the Classic Start menu.
I've collected the DNA from an XP machine with the CLASSIC Start menu, then set it to the XP-style Start menu, and collected the DNA. I've looked at both with the DNA explorer, and cannot find a single difference between the two files?
I need to preserve every bit of the 2000 desktop I can, but I need it to go to XP with the XP-style start menu. I know it is a matter of a single click, but the powers that be want ZERO clicks to get it to the setup we have defined. Can someone point me to where I can fix this?
thanks
Oh, Zen 7 SP1 Personality Migration....
Jeff Ferris
Network Manager
512.239.1041
[email protected]

Jeff,
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Windows Server 2003, permissions, username prompts, etc.

Hello all,
I have a unique situation that I need a lot of help with. I work in a prison and teach an introduction to computers course with 20 lab computers and 1 file server. The lab computers are all running Windows XP Professional and the file server is running Windows
Server 2003.
The way these lab computers are setup is with DeepFreeze so that any changes the inmates make to the computer is wiped clean 100% when the machine gets rebooted (this is a must have as some of these guys are quite nefarious and like to cause mischief for
no reason). I'd like to be able to setup the computers so that they work like this:
- Each of the student lab computers are all part of the domain
- When they login, they login with the generic "Student" account which is "Student" username and "password" password. This account exists on the domain and has absolutely 0 privileges.
- Upon login, a logon.bat script pops up a dialog box asking them for their personal username and password which will then, based upon their entry, map a network drive to their own personal folder.
The reason they need to login with a generic account first is because that generic account has already been configured on the computer with certain rights as to what they can and can't access as well as certain shortcuts and other stuff. In addition, it
has the Windows XP theme disabled and loads the classic theme instead as well as various other tweaks such as not grouping all taskbar items, showing all folders in the "detail" layout, not popping up the "desktop cleanup wizard", etc,
etc. That one user profile is configured exactly the way it needs to be for them to be productive. If I have them all login to the machines with their own username/password, all of those fine details would be lost, especially considering DeepFreeze and the
fact that it wipes out any changes they make to the computer.
Is it possible to have them login with the generic account and then once they login, get a login prompt so that they can work with their own user folders?
At first I had it setup so that they all had the "users" folder mapped, however any student could make any change they wanted to other student's folders. I'm getting pretty tired of having to go in and restore files for students because some other
inmate decided they wanted to delete all of that student's work.
Thanks everyone, and hopefully I can get some help in this matter.

Hi,
Thanks for posting in Microsoft TechNet forums.
We can achieve the target by following the steps below:
1.Create a logon-stript file and named "logonsript.cmd".The content is:
if not exist "\\fileservername\sharefoldername\%username%" md "\\fileservername\sharefoldername\%username%"
if not exist h: net use h:
\\fileservername\sharefoldername\%username% /persistent:yes
Note:fileservername is the netbios name of your fileserver.All of Students' personal folders is in the sharefolder.
2.Assign the permissions to the sharefolder.
Cancel the option of "Include inheritable permissions from this object's parent".
Remove the group "Users" in the security TAB.
Give "full control" permissions to the group "creator owner" and apply to:"Subfolders and files only".
3.Edit GPO
Open Group policy object editor.
User configration--Windows Settings--Script(Logon/Logoff),
Double-click "Logon" on the right,click "Show Files" buttom,copy "Logonsript.cmd" to this folder,close this page.
Then click"Add..." buttom,click "browse" and choose the script file in the folder which the script file was copyed to.
Click "confirm".
When a student use the domian account to log in,a personal folder will be created automatically with "logon name" in your fileserver ,the person folder will be mapped as a dirve "H" automatically. Everyone can only access his/her own folder.
If the issue still exists, please feel free to let me know.
Ted

Why do we need to need Desktop Experience to get Disk Cleanup?

Why do we need to need Desktop Experience to get Disk Cleanup? What other options do we have?

Hi,
Disk Cleanup cannot be installed separately. This is part of desktop experience.
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windowsserver/en-US/2af659cb-51b2-4ca6-ba56-0a507979fe7d/disk-cleanup-cleanmgrexe-in-windows-2008-server-without-desktop-experience?forum=winserverManagement
Regards,
Rafic
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I amexperiencing a very slow log in's and speed to my desktop is very slow also. What is the cleanup I have to do to make this faster

I amexperiencing a very slow log in's and speed to my desktop is very slow also. What is the cleanup I have to do to make this faster

How large is your hard drive and how much hard drive space do you have left?
Sluggish Finder - Bunch of icons on your desktop? An overcrowded desktop slows down your Mac.
Get rid of needless Finder calculations - Open a window in Finder/View/Show View Options: ensure "Calculate All Sizes" option is unchecked.
Internet related - It's likely that your broadband connection is the bottleneck. You can check your speed on http://www.speedtest.net to see how fast your connection is. If your web browser specifically performs slowly, quit and relaunch it.
If browser remains sluggish, empty its cache.
Safari/Empty Cache
Firefox/Preferences - select the Network tab of the Advanced preferences and click the "Clear Now" button in the "Offline Storage" area.
Application related - Launch "Activity Monitor" - Applications/Utilities - click the CPU heading and see what float to the top. If an application takes up a large chunk of CPU and won't let it go, it could be dragging down your Mac's performance. Quit it by clicking the Quit Process button at the top of the Activity Monitor window.
Too little ram - max out your ram.
It is very difficult to offer troubleshooting suggestions when the "os version" you are using is unknown as each os has their own troubleshooting solutions. Which model Macbook Pro are you using?

Install Disk Cleanup without Desktop Experience?

Is it possible to install the Disk Cleanup utility in Windows 2012-R2 Server Core WITHOUT having to install the stupid "Desktop Experience"? If so, how is it done?
Thank you,
Ed

Hi there
Go to C:\Windows\winsxs\ and search for cleanmgr, hopefully should be in there?
Cheers
Dale

After reboot today my desktop did a cleanup without me asking it to.

This has happened on two iMacs.

A lot of reports does not make it a bug.
Mark, a number of people have reported that their desktop remains how they want it after deleting the com.apple.desktop.plist preference file. The easiest way to do this, now that the folder that the Preferences folder is in is hidden, is to paste the following into the Terminal:
rm ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.desktop.plist
Paste, don't try to re-type, as a typo in the path with 'rm' can be bad.

How do I cleanup palm desktop before I hotsync

I have a palm treo 755. I recently had to replace it on 2 occasions ,because it would keep powering off after I would make a call. I went back to the store and they would do a hard reset and it would work fine until I would hotsync. I noticed that my text messages on my phone would not delete from my phone and they would always come back with every hotsync. I believe if I could get rid of my messages from my desktop before I hotsync that would solve my problem.
Post relates to: Treo 755p (Verizon)

XP
C:\Program Files\Palm or Palm One\[hotsync username]\Backup
C:\Palm|\[hotsync username]\Backup
C:\Program Files\Handspring\[hotsync username]\Backup
Vista
Start-->Documents\Palm OS Desktop\[hotsync username]\Backup
Mac
Macintosh HD : Applications : Palm : (Palm username) : Backup
Macintosh HD : Users : (Mac username) : Documents : Palm : Users : (Palm username) : Backup
If you rename your backup folder you shouldn't have an issue after that. The rename can be anything. i.e. backup.old
Post back if you have any more questions.
Post relates to: Treo 800w (Sprint)

Primary desktop is no longer recognized as primary

So i sync'd my phone few days ago on my desktop and it was perfect. today, i went to do another full backup/sync and it says it was previvously sync'd with Jason-Desktop. this is my current computer name. computer has not changed. i did however make a change in preferences default folder to point to the itunes folder that has the actual imported data.
it was previously pointing to default. however all my music had been imported from a bigger internal drive i have. so i just changed to point there. my small SSD was getting filled up so was just trying to cleanup and stuff. not sure if that could of caused this or not but i dont want to wipe and resync. then all my music i purchased and ringtones i have feeling wont get transfered. any ideas on what is going on? i also noticed when i opened itunes it only had music from icloud. i had to reimport the music again.
am i just out of luck and have to wipe and re sync? thanks

Itunes on Windows store all files (library) in one location. You can see location in itunes preferences, click Edit- preferences- advanced. If you moved library to other drive you may need to point it to other drive. If memory serves me right, you can do that with opening itunes and holding shift key at the same time. It will ask you and you will have to point to new library location. If that is what you have done so far and some changes did occur, you may have to go through erase and sync one first time, but since you tell us that you had to reimport music from icloud, you didn't really move library properly or didn't get itunes to recognize it properly. Recognizing it is what I would try now.

Desktop cleanup...?

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