It's all gone wrong since installing Leopard

Question

Hi, I've got a few problems that have started since I installed Leopard, so after trawling through the forums and doing little bits, I thought I'd consolidate them all into one post and hopefully get all the answers together in one thread! I hope someone can help with suggestions, thanks in advance for your time. Here goes:
1) Crashes: I have never had a crash in over 3yrs until this week when I installed Leopard and now I've had about 7 crashes in 4 days. I think they are kernel related but may also be related to:
2) Free space: since installing Leopard my hard drive free space has gone from 30GB down to 7GB. Have emptied my trash, performed some routine maintenance to remove logs etc, and run Monolingual to remove localization files, so I'm now up to 16GB free, but there should be more.
All my music and photos are on an external drive, except for a 10GB backup music file which I had on Tiger...
3) Having run OmniDiskSweeper, I am a bit confused about where Leopard puts music. In users/username/music/itunes, there is an 11GB internal library (where my backup folder is) and 8GB of artist folders. Do I need these if all my music should be on my other drive (and downloads are all backed up in the internal library)? They don't show up in Finder.
The same backup music file is also showing in private/var/root/music, so is it duplicated?
3a) I have also read that you can delete some private/var files that OmniDiskSweeper finds but am a bit wary about deleting things I don't understand. Can somebody clarify what is safe to get rid of and what I need to keep?
4) When I looked at Console I have a recurring log from com.applesystemstarter 18 that says "The process has forked and you cannot use this Corefoundation functionality safely. You MUST exec ( )." What is this? Is it causing the crashes?
5) I don't think it is related to any of this but at the same time as installing Leopard I upgraded my memory from 512MB to 2GB. Have run Rember and it says everything is ok with the new memory, but thought I'd mention it in case it helps!
I have run disk utility and it says the disk is ok, but everything is very sluggish, slow and lots of spinning beachball action. I guess it's down to the hard drive space and it's certainly improved since freeing up the extra 10GB. But my Mac is acting more like a PC right now and I don't like it. PLEASE HELP!!!
Thanks again, sorry for the long post.

Answer 1

There are no guarantees, but following this procedure when installing updates and upgrades on your Mac, or even re-installing them, will go a long way towards avoiding unpleasant after effects and ‘post-update stress disorder’.
It is also worth noting that it is an extreme rarity for updates to cause upsets to your system, as they have all been extensively beta-tested, but they may well reveal pre-existing ones, particularly those of which you may have been unaware. If you are actually aware of any glitches, make sure they are fixed before proceeding further.
So before you do anything else:
If you can, make a full backup first to an external hard disk. Ideally you should always have a bootable clone of your system that enables you to revert to the previous pre-update state.
Turn off sleep mode for both screen and hard disk.
Disconnect all peripherals except your keyboard and mouse.
1. Repair Permissions (in Disk Utility)
2. Verify the state of your hard disk using Disk Utility. If any faults are reported, restart from your install disk (holding down the C key), go to Disk Utility, and repair your startup disk. Restart again to get back to your startup disk.
At least you can now be reasonably certain that your system does not contain any obvious faults that might cause an update/upgrade to fail.
3. Download the correct version of the COMBO update from the Apple download site.
The Combo updater of Leopard 10.5.8 can be found here:
http://support.apple.com/downloads/MacOS_X_10_5_8_ComboUpdate
If you prefer to download updates via Software Update in the Apple menu (which would ensure that the correct version for your Mac was being downloaded), it is not recommended to allow SU to install major (or even minor) updates automatically. Set Software Update to just download the updater without immediately installing it. There is always the possibility that the combined download and install (which can be a lengthy process) might be interrupted by a power outage or your cat walking across the keyboard, and an interrupted install will almost certainly cause havoc. Once it is downloaded, you can install at a time that suits you. You should make a backup copy of the updater on a CD in case you ever need a reinstall.
Full details about the 10.5.8 update here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3606
More information on using Software Updater here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TA24901?viewlocale=en_US
Using the Combo updater ensures that all system files changed since the original 10.4.0 are included, and any that may have been missed out or subsequently damaged will be repaired. The Delta updater, although a temptingly smaller download, only takes you from the previous version to the new one, i.e. for example from 10.5.7 to 10.5.8. Software Update will generally download the Delta updater only. The preferable Combo updater needs to be downloaded from Apple's download site.
Now proceed as follows:
4. Close all applications.
5. Unplug all peripherals except your keyboard and mouse.
6. Install the update/upgrade. Do not under any circumstances interrupt this procedure. Do not do anything else on your computer while it is installing. Be patient.
7. When it ask for a restart to complete the installation, click restart. This can take longer than normal, there are probably thousands of files to overwrite and place in the correct location. Do nothing while this is going on.
8. Once your Mac is awake, repair permissions again, and you should be good to go!
If your Mac seems slightly sluggish or ‘different’, perform a second restart. It can’t hurt and is sometimes efficacious!
9. Open a few of your most used applications and check that all is OK. In this connection please remember that not all manufacturers of third party applications and plug-ins, add-ons, haxies etc, will have had time to do any necessary rewrites to their software to make them compliant with the latest version of your operating system. Give them a weeks or two while you regularly check their websites for updates. This applies particularly to plug-ins for Safari 3.
N.B. Do not attempt to install two different updates at the same time as each may have different routines and requirements. Follow the above recommendations for each update in turn.
Lastly, Apple's own article on the subject of Software Update may also be useful reading:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106695
If you are updating Safari (or just have):
Input Managers from third parties can do as much harm as good. They use a security loophole to reach right into your applications' code and change that code as the application starts up. If you have installed an OS update and Safari is crashing, the very first thing to do is clear out your InputManagers folders (both in your own Library and in the top-level /Library), log out and log back in, and try again.
So, disable all third party add-ons before updating Safari, as they may not have been updated yet for the new version. Add them back one by one. If something goes awry, remove it again and check on the software manufacturer's website for news of an update to match your version of Safari.
Most errors reported here after an update are due to an unrepaired or undetected inherent fault in the system, and/or a third party add-on.
Additional tips on software installation here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106692
To reiterate, Input Managers reach right into an application and alter its code. This puts the behavior of the affected application outside the control and responsibility of its developers: a recipe for problems. That's not to say that issues absolutely will ensue as a result of Input Managers, but you, as a user, must decide. If the functionality of a specific Input Manager or set thereof is really important to you, you may well choose to assume the associated risk.
Again, the advice is to remove all Input Managers from the following directories:
• /Library/InputManagers
• ~/Library/InputManagers
especially prior to system updates (they can always be added back one-by-one later).