Optimzing, Defragmenting,etc. on the Macmini

Question

Hi all,
I'd like your thoughts on optimizing and defragmenting the Mac mini to perform at tip top shape and prevent any viruses. I have cocktail software but havent really learned the ins and outs.
Thanks for your help,
web dude

Answer 1

Unless you work with large files - video or RAW images for example - there's really no need to be concerned at defragmenting since MacOS handles that on the fly for the files it needs.
For optimizing, the simple answer is that you generally have to do nothing. MacOS also handles these tasks pretty much and usually very well. It creates and maintains cache files to help system performance and through a process of prebinding links applications with library files etc. As with any complex system, things can go wrong of course, and that's where an application such as Cocktail comes in useful - though personally I prefer YASU because it offers a more simple and focussed set of 'maintenance' tools than most of the others, and gives you no features that could actually create more problems than resolve.
Even then, I would only use such a tool when there were indications of a problem that needed to be resolved, such as slow application launching or applications that begin to suddenly quit, or if the system bogs down unexpectedly as if it's lost a processor core. At that sort of time, the behavior of the system will often tell you which of the tune up tasks are best suited to be run - sudden application quits for example can be caused by permission problems, slow launching or stalls by prebinding errors. Cleaning system caches can also resolve instabilities in systems that have otherwise behaved perfectly well (though the next bootup after doing this will appear to be rather slow - that's normal).
Many will tell you to repair permissions with Disk Utility before and after installations, run 'cron' scripts every few days, and perhaps a whole host of other things, but truth be told, MacOS is designed to work well on it's own with minimal intervention, and those of us who tend to practice that by leaving our systems alone usually have no problems to speak of.
However, I do keep a copy of YASU on my system just in case (used on average once a year), a copy of Preferential treatment (for checking and removing faulty 'plist' files), a copy of Pacifist (in case I need to extract a specific installer from a bundled archive) and a few other bits and pieces that I've found useful such as Menu Meters (gives a useful display of system status which helps with quick diagnosis of issues if they arise) and MacJanitor (which provides a quick way of manually running the UNIX cron tasks that clean and rotate log files - a task that is generally needed somewhat infrequently).
Basically however I let the system get on with what it needs to do, and have no reason to regret that policy.
As for preventing viruses, of course as most will tell you there aren't any as yet. Actually that's not entirely true because there are some infections that can impact MS Office files and which are cross-platform, and of course a hundred thousand plus malware infections you can unwittingly get from Windows users and pass on if you're not aware of them, but these can't a don't have any effect on a Mac running MacOS (they can of course infect a Mac running Windows). However, the lack of MacOS malware at present doesn't mean that things will stay that way. MacOS is inherently more secure than Windows (even the new Vista flavors of Windows) but it still has vulnerabilities. There are many reasons perhaps why these are not being exploited - some suggest because MacOS is a platform used by very few users, though since UNIX and Linux have been targeted and they have a small user-base, that's really not a significant factor.
What is certain is that the potential exists for MacOS to be attacked and that at some point it seems reasonable to expect it will happen. To be prepared, a good solution is ClamXav, which is an open source antivirus application which suits MacOS really well because it requires very little processor overhead but can be set to watch the vulnerable locations on the system such as Mail folders, the desktop (where files are downloaded) and user documents folders - or indeed any other location by the user's choice. It can be downloaded from http://www.clamxav.com/ and while strictly not needed at this time, is a wise precaution to take, and can be very helpful if exchanging email with Windows users. It also helps to spot phishing attacks and websites containing malware scripts.
The best advice is for the most part to use your Mac rather than focus attention on looking after it!