IMac G5 Maintenance

Hi eveyone, I just got first computer, an iMac G5 about 3 months ago, and I was wondering if there is anything I should be doing to maintain my Mac. (Like a defragment, disc clean-up, etc etc)
Thanks!

Hi Liz and welcome!
The beauty of OS X is that there is really very little maintenance that the user needs to perform. Unlike Windows, there are not a ton of anti-virus or spyware updates to perform and then scan for, which eliminates a lot of work.
I consider two applictions to be essential. First is Cocktail which will allow you to perform every maintenace task without delving into Terminal to execute scripts and such. The other is SuperDuper which is not a maintenance program, but a data backup and disk cloning tool. If you have an external FireWire drive - and you should - you can make an exact bootable copy of your internal drive that you can use to recover data from or to boot from if a software update hoses your Mac.
Those two programs cost $14.95 and $27.95 respectively. I am not associated with these companies at all. I am just a happy user of their products.
OS X take care of minor defragging on its own. If you want, programs like Drive Genius and Tech Tool Pro offer disk optimization, but I have never used them.
If you want, you can also download a copy of ClamXav anti-virus software. While there are no viruses for the Mac, you can unknowingly pass them along to your friends. That's not cool. ClamXav is free.
BTW, never ever ever install any Norton disk utility on your Mac. Symantec no longer supports this program for OS X and it has been known to cause more problems than it can solve. There are much better Mac friendly programs out there.
Edited several time for typos. Sorry.

Similar Messages

  • Imac system maintenance

    Hi,
    I've had my imac for just over 2months now and I love it. But, what I'm wondering now is, should I be doing any maintenance on it? (I think I've seen it called "housekeeping" here) It's my first computer so there was no migration from another system,therefore I started with absolutely zero software/data. Now I have around 1000 photos, 1200 songs and a few downloaded items(widgets etc). I'm a newbie so please tell me what I should be doing to ensure my mac keeps working at its best.
    Oh and what is the security update? I've updated mac os to 10.4.2, should I download the security update too?
    Thanks
    Lee
    p.s. I leave it on 24/7

    Hi Lee,
    Mac OS X does almost everything automatically, so you don't need to do much to have it work always at peak performance:
    - Always keep enough free hard drive space (10-15%) on the boot drive.
    - Back up (using a file-to-file method, -> no cloning every fault on external drives).
    - Let the 3 nightly periodic maintenance tasks run (CPU on 24/7 is OK. +since 10.4.2 they run delayed if CPU sleeps at night).
    (+ some cautious steps:)
    - Repair permissions after each software install that required an installer.
    - Clean users', browsers' and fonts' caches before an OS X update (using Yasu, OnyX or such an utility).
    - Use the cache-cleaning restart to restart from your Tiger Install DVD and,
    - Repair Disk with Disk Utility.
    (+ you can also:)
    - Rebuilt Directory with DiskWarrior.
    The Security Updates are generally good for your system. So are the OS X Updates.
    Before applying them, always disconnect all periphericals (+ iPod, HD, etc) and it is a good idea to follow my "cautious steps".
    In order to keep them backed up, you can use Software Update's option "Install and Keep Package", or you can download them directly from Apple.
    Some good info in those pages:
    (The X Lab) Maintaining Mac OS X
    (Gulliver) Mac OS X 10.3/10.4: System maintenance
    Good maintenance!
    Axl

  • Sluggish iMac performance; maintenance help needed

    I have a 21.5 inch, mid-2011 iMac with 12 GB memory and a 1 Tb drive (660 GB free). Have upgraded to Mavericks, and the iMac is running slow (although it was sluggish prior to the upgrade).
    Am looking for advice on how to get things sped up a bit. I have removed some unneeded startup items. And have run EtreCheck with results as follows. Have also repaired permissions and verifed disk. All seems to be in order.
    Can anyone offer additional hints on performance improvments before I go with a clean install?
    Hardware Information:
              iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2011)
              iMac - model: iMac12,1
              1 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 4 cores
              12 GB RAM
    Video Information:
              AMD Radeon HD 6770M - VRAM: 512 MB
    Audio Plug-ins:
              BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0
              AirPlay: Version: 1.9
              AppleAVBAudio: Version: 2.0.0
              iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3
    System Software:
              OS X 10.9 (13A603) - Uptime: 0 days 3:34:26
    Disk Information:
              WDC WD1001FALS-403AA0 disk0 : (1 TB)
                        EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB
                        Macintosh HD (disk0s2) /: 999.35 GB (661.02 GB free)
                        Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB
              OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5690H 
    USB Information:
              Dynastream Innovations ANT USBStick2
              Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
              Apple Internal Memory Card Reader
              Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)
              Tripp Lite  Tripp Lite UPS 
              Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub
                        Apple, Inc Apple Keyboard
              Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub
                        Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
    FireWire Information:
    Thunderbolt Information:
              Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus
    Kernel Extensions:
    Problem System Launch Daemons:
    Problem System Launch Agents:
    Launch Daemons:
              [loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist
              [loaded] com.bombich.ccc.plist
              [loaded] com.Cvnt.Uninstall.plist
              [loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist
    Launch Agents:
              [loaded] com.epson.eventmanager.agent.plist
    User Launch Agents:
              [loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist
              [loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist
              [failed] com.apple.MobileMeSyncClientAgent.plist
              [loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist
    User Login Items:
              AirPort Base Station Agent
              ZSyncDaemon
              Dropbox
    3rd Party Preference Panes:
              Flash Player
              MacFUSE
    Internet Plug-ins:
              AdobePDFViewer.plugin
              AdobePDFViewerNPAPI.plugin
              Default Browser.plugin
              DivXBrowserPlugin.plugin
              Flash Player.plugin
              FlashPlayer-10.6.plugin
              Flip4Mac WMV Plugin.plugin
              GarminGpsControl.plugin
              Google Earth Web Plug-in.plugin
              iPhotoPhotocast.plugin
              OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin.plugin
              Photo Center Plugin.plugin
              QuickTime Plugin.plugin
              SharePointBrowserPlugin.plugin
              Silverlight.plugin
    User Internet Plug-ins:
              CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin.plugin
              WebEx.plugin
    Bad Fonts:
              None
    Time Machine:
              Skip System Files: NO
              Mobile backups: OFF
              Auto backup: NO
              Volumes being backed up:
                        Macintosh HD: Disk size: 999.35 GB Disk used: 338.32 GB
              Destinations:
                        Data [Network] (Last used)
                        Total size: 497.96 GB
                        Total number of backups: 45
                        Oldest backup: 2013-03-30 05:21:00 +0000
                        Last backup: 2013-06-20 14:28:08 +0000
                        Size of backup disk: Too small
                                  Backup size 497.96 GB < (Disk used 338.32 GB X 3)
    Top Processes by CPU:
                   1%          WindowServer
                   1%          EtreCheck
                   1%          PluginProcess
                   0%          fontd
                   0%          EEventManager
                   0%          Dropbox
                   0%          com.apple.WebKit.Networking
                   0%          dpd
    Top Processes by Memory:
              2.36 GB            Safari
              418 MB             mds_stores
              307 MB             com.apple.WebKit.WebContent
              172 MB             com.apple.appkit.xpc.openAndSavePanelService
              147 MB             com.apple.IconServicesAgent
              135 MB             softwareupdated
              98 MB              Mail
              74 MB              Dropbox
              61 MB              PluginProcess
              61 MB              WindowServer
    Virtual Memory Statistics:
              3.06 GB            Free RAM
              5.53 GB            Active RAM
              2.14 GB            Inactive RAM
              1.27 GB            Wired RAM
              470 MB             Page-ins
              0 B                Page-outs

    I don't see anything obvious that would be causing your Mac slowdowns.
    You need to update all of your third party software if there are OS X Mavericks updates that can be applied. You may need to go the third party developers' websites if there are no updates through the Mac App Store.
    Update all of your Web browser Internet plugins, also.
    Also, if you have any third party devices, like keyboards, mice, drawing tablets, hubs, card  readers, etc, you need to update the drivers for these devices to OS X Mavericks compatible versions.
    Good Luck!

  • Sleep and maintenance

    I know that my iMac run maintenance during the night. Will it still do this if I have it sleep when not in use?

    Hello St3
    Leopard will pretty much will take care of itself!
    If you find your Mac is running a bit sluggish, or a program you use starts behaving oddly, you need to repair your disk permissions. This ☞ [How to repair disk permissions in OS X|http://www.simplehelp.net/2007/05/14/how-to-repair-disk-permissions-in-os-x> will help guide you in doing that.
    In Tiger I used ☞ [Anacron|http://members.cox.net/18james/anacron.html] to run the missed maintenance scripts. This is what Anacron says: Note: +This version of Anacron will run on MacOS 10.5 (Leopard) but it is not needed, as the Leopard launchd will run skipped jobs when the machine is next awake.+ I have found this to be true, Leopard will automatically run the missed maintenance scripts when restarted or awakened.
    Dennis

  • Erratic playback of HD iPad video on iMac

    My wife was trying to play some video taken on her new iPad (which was transferred to her iMac), but it constantly stops almost like it is buffering. Her 2011 iMac should have more than enough horsepower to easily play this video. Can't figure it out, anyone have suggestions? Thanks. P.S. I did verify and repair permissions on her iMac as maintenance.

    Read about Jerky or slow playback http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1071217

  • I purchased Adobe Acrobat Pro XI for my iMac (Mavericks 10.9.4), downloaded it and have attempted to install it 10 or more times. I have done all the usual maintenance steps (repair permissions, repair disk, etc) and it still won't install. All goes well

    I purchased Adobe Acrobat Pro XI for my iMac (Mavericks 10.9.4), downloaded it and have attempted to install it 10 or more times. I have done all the usual maintenance steps (repair permissions, repair disk, etc) and it still won't install. All goes well until the installer gets to "Running Package Scripts" then it stalls or hangs up and does not finish the installation. It runs and runs and runs. It never finishes. I wind up having to force quit the installer. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

    Hi jtento ,
    Kindly enable the Root Account for the MAC and then try the installation there (in the root account). Please find below the URL to enable the root account.
    OS X Mavericks: Enable and disable the root user
    Thanks,
    Vikrantt Singh

  • What regular maintenance needs to be done on iMac to keep it running efficiently?

    What regular maintenance needs to be done on iMac to keep it running efficiently?

    As long as you don't have to force quit your computer because it has crashed, then the only things year really need to do is (1) maintain a current backup (preferably more than 1 actually, I like to keep one backup out of the house in case there's a fire or theft) and (2) keeping your software and OS up-to-date.
    If you experience a kernel panic (your screen will darken and you'll get the message to restart your computer - in several languages) or if you have to hold the power key to force a restart you may experience disk corruption. After such an event you should run Disk Utility and perform a verify disk. This won't repair the damage but will tell you if you need to repair the damage. If you do get such a message, depending on your circumstances and the OS you are using, you'll need to restart your computer with the OS installation DVD or the recovery partition (if you have Lion) and run the repair disk function in Disk Utility.
    Windows users are used to doing much more to keep their computers healthy but this is really all you need to be concerned with on a day to day, month to month basis with a Mac.

  • Maintenance on iMac

    Hi all-
    I mostly use my PowerMac that is in my siggy, but recently was trying to help the wife with our iMac G5 that she mostly uses. It has slowed significantly, and although I've checked for most current updates, Safari seems to quit quite a lot on her, and some pages (like even CNN homepage) are not properly formatted in Safari window.
    I'm thinking of doing some work on it tonight freeing up space, first of all, but I wonder if any of you have other ideas on some maintenance that I might do to improve performance. I did a search on documents from the Apple site, but was a bit overwhelmed by what was returned for me.
    Regards-
    Dave

    Have you tried emptying the Safari caches? You might like to get OnyX to clean out other caches and speed things up. Try using [whatsize|http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/44018] to see if you have any overly large files that you can junk. Check Applications>Utilities>Activity Monitor to see if anything is hogging your CPU.
    These will be a good start, please post back and let us know, how they worked out,

  • Tools for mac maintenance? imac quite slow

    are there any good free tools (or out of the box ones) for mac maintenance? my imac seems to have slowed down considerably over the last months, and i'm wondering if i can do anything to scan/repair. I know a usual answer is buy more RAM, but hoping to avoid that if possible. here's what i got for output from etrescan:
    EtreCheck version: 1.9.15 (52)
    Report generated October 4, 2014 at 9:45:31 AM PDT
    Hardware Information: ?
      iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2011) (Verified)
      iMac - model: iMac12,1
      1 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 4 cores
      4 GB RAM
    Video Information: ?
      AMD Radeon HD 6750M - VRAM: 512 MB
      iMac 1920 x 1080
    System Software: ?
      OS X 10.9.5 (13F34) - Uptime: 7 days 23:43:18
    Disk Information: ?
      ST3500418AS disk0 : (500.11 GB)
      S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified
      EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB
      Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 499.25 GB (40.6 GB free)
      Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB
      OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5690H 
    USB Information: ?
      Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)
      Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub
      Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
      Apple Inc. iPod
      Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
      Apple Internal Memory Card Reader
    Firewire Information: ?
      Seagate GoFlex Pro Mac 800mbit - 800mbit max
      S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified
      EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB
      FreeAgent GoFlex Drive (disk1s2) /Volumes/FreeAgent GoFlex Drive: 499.76 GB (13.53 GB free)
    Thunderbolt Information: ?
      Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus
    Gatekeeper: ?
      Mac App Store and identified developers
    Kernel Extensions: ?
      [loaded] com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower (1.6.6 - SDK 10.6) Support
      [loaded] com.logmein.driver.LogMeInSoundDriver (1.0.0) Support
    Problem System Launch Daemons: ?
      [failed] com.apple.AOSNotificationOSX.plist
      [failed] com.apple.wdhelper.plist
    Launch Daemons: ?
      [loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support
      [loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist Support
      [not loaded] com.logmein.logmeinserver.plist Support
      [loaded] com.logmein.raupdate.plist Support
      [loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist Support
    Launch Agents: ?
      [loaded] com.divx.dms.agent.plist Support
      [loaded] com.divx.update.agent.plist Support
      [loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist Support
      [running] com.logmein.logmeingui.plist Support
      [not loaded] com.logmein.logmeinguiagent.plist Support
      [not loaded] com.logmein.logmeinguiagentatlogin.plist Support
    User Launch Agents: ?
      [failed] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[...]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist
      [loaded] com.valvesoftware.steamclean.plist Support
      [running] com.victorpimentel.TVShowsHelper.plist Support
      [loaded] uk.co.markallan.clamxav.freshclam.plist Support
    User Login Items: ?
      Skype
      ClamXavSentry
      ClamXav
    Internet Plug-ins: ?
      LogMeInSafari64: Version: 1.0.586 Support
      OVSHelper: Version: 1.1 Support
      Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9
      Silverlight: Version: 5.1.10411.0 - SDK 10.6 Support
      FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 15.0.0.152 - SDK 10.6 Support
      DivX Web Player: Version: 3.2.3.1164 - SDK 10.6 Support
      LogMeIn: Version: 1.0.586 Support
      Flash Player: Version: 15.0.0.152 - SDK 10.6 Support
      LogMeInSafari32: Version: 1.0.586 Support
      CitrixICAClientPlugIn: Version: 11.4.3 - SDK 10.0 Support
      QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3
      GarminGpsControl: Version: 4.0.2.6 Beta - SDK 10.6 Support
      SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.4.4 - SDK 10.6 Support
      JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 14.9.0 - SDK 10.7 Check version
    Safari Extensions: ?
      Ultimate
    Audio Plug-ins: ?
      BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9
      AirPlay: Version: 2.0 - SDK 10.9
      AppleAVBAudio: Version: 203.2 - SDK 10.9
      iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9
    iTunes Plug-ins: ?
      Quartz Composer Visualizer: Version: 1.4 - SDK 10.9
    User Internet Plug-ins ?
      WebEx64: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.6 Support
    3rd Party Preference Panes: ?
      Flash Player  Support
      Perian  Support
      TVShows  Support
    Time Machine: ?
      Skip System Files: NO
      Auto backup: YES
      Volumes being backed up:
      Macintosh HD: Disk size: 464.96 GB Disk used: 427.15 GB
      Destinations:
      FreeAgent GoFlex Drive [Local] (Last used)
      Total size: 465.44 GB
      Total number of backups: 82
      Oldest backup: 2013-04-25 15:05:03 +0000
      Last backup: 2014-09-28 06:42:19 +0000
      Size of backup disk: Too small
      Backup size 465.44 GB < (Disk used 427.15 GB X 3)
      Time Machine details may not be accurate.
      All volumes being backed up may not be listed.
    Top Processes by CPU: ?
          3% WindowServer
          2% Finder
          0% coreaudiod
          0% iTunes
          0% fontd
    Top Processes by Memory: ?
      168 MB iTunes
      135 MB softwareupdated
      74 MB Google Chrome
      74 MB Messages
      70 MB mds_stores
    Virtual Memory Information: ?
      904 MB Free RAM
      935 MB Active RAM
      512 MB Inactive RAM
      941 MB Wired RAM
      15.36 GB Page-ins
      6.45 GB Page-outs
    Thank you in advance

    I addition to running less concurrent processes or installing more RAM as Kappy mentioned.
    I also see that you have less than 10% of free space left on your HDD.
    Disk Information: ?
      ST3500418AS disk0 : (500.11 GB)
      S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified
      EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB
      Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 499.25 GB (40.6 GB free)
      Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB
    Which is fairly low and forcing it to work on the slowest part of the HDDs platter.

  • How do I perform maintenance  on my iMac SSD Drive so I can extend it's life

    I recently purchased a Mid 2011 27" 3.4GHZ i7 /16GB Memory iMac and would like to know how do I perform maintenance  on my iMac SSD Drive so I can extend it's life, Does apple now support Trimm or is there some thing else I need to do? Defrag?  I do not store anything thing but OS and APPS on the drive
    thanks

    There is nothing you need to do to the SSD. Do not attempt to defrag an SSD as there is no need and uses the device excessively. TRIM is supported only if the SSD is an Apple device so if you reformat the SSD there's no need to Zero Data for garbage collection.

  • Routine maintenance for imac

    I have been using my imac for over a year now and have never installed an antivirus program. Does an apple computer need antivirus software? If so, which kind?
    Also, do I need to do routine maintenance for my imac such as:
    .spyware search
    .defragment the hard drive
    .and of course the antivirus
    .scan disc
    Or, what else do I need? My computer is running fine, but may be a little slower browsing.
    Thanks in advance for any guidance.

    3887
    Hi Doxy,
    Christopher is right: Yes, you can install some antivirus and spyware watch software, but it's not (yet) necessary on a Mac.
    Just make sure Firewall is on, in System Preferences > Sharing,
    and of course never open an application that you're not sure of, this kind of email common sense behaviour...
    Maintenance:
    Pretty much almost everything is automatic in Mac OS X.
    All you really need is:
    - Backup!
    - Keep at least 15% free space on your hard drive.
    That's it.
    You can also:
    - Run the "Daily", the "Weekly" and the "Monthly" tasks (using OnyX or such utility), all three together once a month is fine.
    - Repair permissions (Disk Utility from the Utilities folder) after using an Apple installer or Software Update.
    Before an important update or twice a year:
    - Repair Disk (Disk Utility from the Tiger DVD).
    Slower browsing:
    Try deleting this folder
    Home/Library/Safari/Icons
    and emptying Cache (menu Safari > Empty Cache)
    or equivalent if you use another browser.
    This will slow a few pages down for only a few minutes, and make it start fresh with no old, usused stuff that you keep since the beginning.
    HTH
    Axl

  • What maintenance does an iMac need (4 yrs old)?

    I heard a computer tech guy say iMacs pretty much take care of themselves unlike PCs, but after 4 years of heavy use there must be something to do to keep it in top performance?

    How to maintain a Mac
    Make two or more backups of all your files
    One backup is not enough to be safe. A copy of a backup doesn't count as another backup; all backups must be made directly from the original data.
    Keep at least one backup off site at all times in case of disaster. Backing up to a cloud-data service is one way to accomplish this, but don't rely exclusively on such backups.
    In fact, don’t rely exclusively on any single backup method, such as Time Machine.
    If you get an indication that a backup has failed, don't ignore it.
    Keep your software up to date
    In the App Store or Software Update preference pane (depending on the OS version), you can configure automatic notifications of updates to OS X and other Mac App Store products. Some third-party applications from other sources have a similar feature, if you don’t mind letting them phone home. Otherwise you have to check yourself on a regular basis.
    Keeping up to date is especially important for complex software that modifies the operating system, such as device drivers. Don't install such modifications unless they're absolutely necessary. Remove them when they are no longer needed. Before installing any Apple update, you must check that all system modifications that you use are compatible. Incompatibility with third-party software is by far the most common cause of difficulties with system updates.
    Don't install crapware
    ...such as “themes,” "haxies," “add-ons,” “toolbars,” “enhancers," “optimizers,” “accelerators,” "boosters," “extenders,” “cleaners,” "doctors," "tune-ups," “defragmenters,” “firewalls,” "barriers," “guardians,” “defenders,” “protectors,” most “plugins,” commercial "virus scanners,” "disk tools," or "utilities." With very few exceptions, such stuff is useless or worse than useless. Above all, avoid any software that purports to change the look and feel of the user interface.
    It's not much of an exaggeration to say that the whole "utility" software industry for the Mac is a fraud on consumers. The most extreme examples are the "CleanMyMac," "TuneUpMyMac," and “MacKeeper” scams, but there are many others.
    As a rule, you should avoid software that changes the way other software works. Plugins for Photoshop and similar programs are an obvious exception to this rule. Safari extensions, and perhaps the equivalent for other web browsers, are a partial exception. Most are safe, and they're easy to get rid of if they don't work. Some may cause the browser to crash or otherwise malfunction. Some are malicious. Use with caution, and install only well-known extensions from relatively trustworthy sources, such as the Safari Extensions Gallery.
    Only install software that is useful to you, not (as you imagine) to the computer. For example, a word processor is useful for writing. A video editor is useful for making movies. A game is useful for fun. But a "cache cleaner" isn't useful for anything. You didn't buy a computer so you could clean caches.
    Never install any third-party software unless you know how to uninstall it. Otherwise you may create problems that are very hard to solve. Do not rely on "utilities" such as "AppCleaner" and the like that purport to remove software.
    Don't install bad, conflicting, or unnecessary fonts
    Whenever you install new fonts, use the validation feature of the built-in Font Book application to make sure the fonts aren't defective and don't conflict with each other or with others that you already have. See the built-in help and this support article for instructions.
    Deactivate or remove fonts that you don't really need to speed up application launching.
    Avoid malware
    "Malware" is malicious software that circulates on the Internet. This kind of attack on OS X was once so rare that it was hardly a concern, but it's now increasingly common and dangerous.
    There is some built-in protection against malware, but you can’t rely on it—the attackers are always at least one day ahead of the defense. You can’t rely on third-party "anti-virus" products for protection either. What you can rely on is common-sense awareness—not paranoia, which only makes you more vulnerable.
    Never install software from an untrustworthy or unknown source. If in doubt, do some research. Any website that prompts you to install a “codec” or “plugin” that comes from the same site, or an unknown site, is untrustworthy. Software with a corporate brand, such as Adobe Flash Player, must come directly from the developer's website. No intermediary is acceptable, and don’t trust links unless you know how to parse them. Any file that is automatically downloaded from the web, without your having requested it, should go straight into the Trash. A web page that tells you that your computer has a “virus,” or that anything else is wrong with it, is a scam.
    In OS X 10.7.5 or later, downloaded applications and Installer packages that have not been digitally signed by a developer registered with Apple are blocked from loading by default. The block can be overridden, but think carefully before you do so.
    Because of recurring security issues in Java, it’s best to disable it in your web browsers, if it’s installed. Few websites have Java content nowadays, so you won’t be missing much. This action is mandatory if you’re running any version of OS X older than 10.6.8 with the latest Java update. Note: Java has nothing to do with JavaScript, despite the similar names. Don't install Java unless you're sure you need it. Most people don't.
    Don't fill up your disk or SSD
    A common mistake is adding more and more large files to your home folder until you start to get warnings that you're out of space, which may be followed in short order by a startup failure. This is more prone to happen on the newer Macs that come with an internal SSD instead of the traditional hard drive. The drive can be very nearly full before you become aware of the problem.
    While it's not true that you should or must keep any particular percentage of space free, you should monitor your storage use and make sure you're not in immediate danger of using it up. According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of free space on the startup volume for normal operation.
    If storage space is running low, use a tool such as OmniDiskSweeper to explore the volume and find out what's taking up the most space. Move seldom-used large files to secondary storage.
    Relax, don’t do it
    Besides the above, no routine maintenance is necessary or beneficial for the vast majority of users; specifically not “cleaning caches,” “zapping the PRAM,” "resetting the SMC," “rebuilding the directory,” "defragmenting the drive," “running periodic scripts,” “dumping logs,” "deleting temp files," “scanning for viruses,” "purging memory," "checking for bad blocks," "testing the hardware," or “repairing permissions.” Such measures are either completely pointless or are useful only for solving problems, not for prevention.
    To use a Mac effectively, you have to free yourself from the Windows mindset that every computer needs regular downtime for maintenance such as "defragging" and "registry cleaning." Those concepts do not apply to the Mac platform.
    A well-designed computing device is not something you should have to think about much. It should be an almost transparent medium through which you communicate, work, and play. If you want a machine that needs a lot of attention just to keep going, use a PC, or collect antique cars.
    The very height of futility is running an expensive third-party application called “Disk Warrior” when nothing is wrong, or even when something is wrong and you have backups, which you must have. Disk Warrior is a data-salvage tool, not a maintenance tool, and you will never need it if your backups are adequate. Don’t waste money on it or anything like it.

  • Is system maintenance necessary on an iMac?

    I am new to Mac's - LOVE my iPad. That and PC problems convinced me to go the iMac route!
    My new iMac 21.5" with the I5 processor, bluetooth keyboard and mouse, arrived Wednesday, April 20.   All updates were installed.  Attempts at "Boot Camp" failed - no support for blue tooth keyboard and mouse.  That is well documented/lamented in these forums. 

    No maintenance is needed on a Mac, that is all done by OS X in the background. Your system is set up to do daily, weekly and monthly maintenance without any user intervention. If you want to monitor when this is done you can download and install the Maintenance Widget.

  • How do I perform system maintenance on my iMac (Yosemite)?

    I would like to know how to keep my Mac clean and healthy.  And I'm also trying to help out my sister who is having trouble with her iMac (Yosemite) that is sick.  Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

    The best way to keep a Mac clean and healthy is to not install applications that claim to clean it or make it healthy. It has built in maintenance routines that run automatically and installing 3rd party cleaning etc. utilities is one of the biggest source of problems. The following has some information that may be of interest: http://www.reedcorner.net/the-myth-of-the-dirty-mac/
    Regarding the trouble with your sister's Mac, it would be a good idea to start a thread with something specific in the title about what problem(s) it is having.  The following also may help: http://www.thesafemac.com/mpg/

  • Imac,Intel Core i7 on OS 10.9.3 maintenance recommendations

    What are the maintenance recommendations for an Imac,Intel Core i7 on OS 10.9.3 .

    Kappy's Personal Suggestions About Mac Maintenance
    For disk repairs use Disk Utility.  For situations DU cannot handle the best third-party utility is: Disk Warrior;  DW only fixes problems with the disk directory, but most disk problems are caused by directory corruption. Drive Genius provides additional tools not found in Disk Warrior for defragmentation of older drives, disk repair, disk scans, formatting, partitioning, disk copy, and benchmarking. 
    Four outstanding sources of information on Mac maintenance are:
    1. OS X Maintenance - MacAttorney.
    2. Mac maintenance Quick Assist
    3. Maintaining Mac OS X
    4. Mac Maintenance Guide
    Periodic Maintenance
    OS X performs certain maintenance functions that are scheduled to occur on a daily, weekly, or monthly period. The maintenance scripts run in the early AM only if the computer is turned on 24/7 (no sleep.) See Mac OS X- About background maintenance tasks. If you are running Leopard or later these tasks are run automatically, so there is no need to use any third-party software to force running these tasks.
    If you are using a pre-Leopard version of OS X, then an excellent solution is to download and install a shareware utility such as Macaroni, JAW PseudoAnacron, or Anacron that will automate the maintenance activity regardless of whether the computer is turned off or asleep.  Dependence upon third-party utilities to run the periodic maintenance scripts was significantly reduced after Tiger.  (These utilities have limited or no functionality with Snow Leopard, Lion, or Mountain Lion and should not be installed.)
    Defragmentation
    OS X automatically defragments files less than 20 MBs in size, so unless you have a disk full of very large files there's little need for defragmenting the hard drive except when trying to install Boot Camp on a fragmented drive. Malware Protection
    As for malware protection there are few if any such animals affecting OS X. Starting with Lion, Apple has included built-in malware protection that is automatically updated as necessary. To assure proper protection, update your system software when Apple releases new OS X updates for your computer.
    Helpful Links Regarding Malware Protection:
    1. Mac Malware Guide.
    2. Detecting and avoiding malware and spyware
    3. Macintosh Virus Guide
    For general anti-virus protection I recommend only using ClamXav, but it is not necessary if you are keeping your computer's operating system software up to date. You should avoid any other third-party software advertised as providing anti-malware/virus protection. They are not required and could cause the performance of your computer to drop.
    Cache Clearing
    I recommend downloading a utility such as TinkerTool System, OnyX 2.4.3, Mountain Lion Cache Cleaner 7.0.9, Maintenance 1.6.8, or Cocktail 5.1.1 that you can use for periodic maintenance such as removing old log files and archives, clearing caches, etc. Corrupted cache files can cause slowness, kernel panics, and other issues. Although this is not a frequent nor a recurring problem, when it does happen there are tools such as those above to fix the problem.
    If you are using Snow Leopard or earlier, then for emergency cleaning install the freeware utility Applejack.  If you cannot start up in OS X, you may be able to start in single-user mode from which you can run Applejack to do a whole set of repair and maintenance routines from the command line.  Note that AppleJack 1.5 is required for Leopard. AppleJack 1.6 is compatible with Snow Leopard. (AppleJack works with Snow Leopard or earlier.)
    Installing System Updates or Upgrades
    Repair the hard drive and permissions beforehand.
    Update your backups in case an update goes bad.
    Backup and Restore
    Having a backup and restore strategy is one of the most important things you can do to maintain your computer. Get an external Firewire drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. You can never have too many backups. Don't rely on just one. Make several using different backup utilities. My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
         1. Carbon Copy Cloner
         2. Get Backup
         3. Deja Vu
         4. SuperDuper!
         5. Synk Pro
         6. Tri-Backup
    Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQs on maintenance and backup and restore.
    Always have a current backup before performing any system updates or upgrades.
    Final Suggestions
    Be sure you have an adequate amount of RAM installed for the number of applications you run concurrently. Be sure you leave a minimum of 10% of the hard drive's capacity or 20 GBs, whichever is greater, as free space. Avoid installing utilities that rely on Haxies, SIMBL, or that alter the OS appearance, add features you will rarely if ever need, etc. The more extras you install the greater the probability of having problems. If you install software be sure you know how to uninstall it. Avoid installing multiple new software at the same time. Install one at a time and use it for a while to be sure it's compatible.
    Additional reading may be found in:    
    1. Mac OS X speed FAQ
    2. Speeding up Macs
    3. Macintosh OS X Routine Maintenance
    4. Essential Mac Maintenance: Get set up
    5. Essential Mac Maintenance: Rev up your routines
    6. Five Mac maintenance myths
    7. How to Speed up Macs
    8. Myths of required versus not required maintenance for Mac OS X
    Referenced software can be found at CNet Downloads or MacUpdate.
    Most if not all maintenance is for troubleshooting problems. If your computer is running OK, then there isn't really a thing you need to do except repair the hard drive and permissions before installing any new system updates.

Maybe you are looking for