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The Maintenance Pane |
If you have installed Mac OS X with the package for the BSD command line (which is the default), the system will execute periodic maintenance tasks at night, typically between 3:15 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. These maintenance tasks remove old temporary files, and update internal system databases as well as backup copies that support the work of system administrators and experienced Unix users.
If your Macintosh is switched off or is in sleep mode at night, the maintenance scripts will never run. To solve this problem, you can manually start the maintenance tasks in the pane Periodic Tasks: Just select the script(s) you want to run (the script that is usually run daily, weekly or monthly, or all three scripts), and press the Run now button. If the checkmark Display report after completion was set, the program will open a report window after the scripts have run.
The maintenance scripts are only available if the BSD command line tools (labeled as installation package BSD Subsystem) have been installed in your version of Mac OS X. If you never work with Terminal or the command line, you won't need these scripts. They are irrelevant for normal operation of Mac OS X.
Some third-party software vendors distribute installers that alter the permission settings of files and folders in an incorrect way. Additionally, unexperienced users with administrative rights may unintentionally change permission settings which causes software and security problems. Similar issues can arise if a Mac OS X system volume is accessed from a different operating system, e.g. from a booted Mac OS 9. To solve these kinds of problems, the permission settings can be reset.
To reset the permission settings of operating system files and folders to their correct installation defaults, press the button Reset permissions in the Permissions pane. Running this function will take a while. A report is shown during and after this feature is used.
This function only affects operating system files and
software packages that are considered an official addition to the operating
system (e.g. iTunes). It will never touch user files, which includes most
third-party software products.
Note that Apple describes this feature by the term Repair
permissions which is slightly misleading.
Nearly all applications you launch have to use functions of the operating system. For this reason, each program has to locate some component files of the operating system when it is activated. To speed up this search for OS components, each program can keep an internal table that holds information where operating system functions are located. These internal tables have to be updated when versions or locations of operating system functions change, for example after a system update. Note that precomputation of these tables is not really necessary for the operation of Mac OS X, this technique only accelerates the startup time of applications.
If a program is launched with internal information that is out-of-date, Mac OS X will automatically update the affected table. Additionally, all tables in all affected programs are updated when you install a system update that changes operating system components. The Apple Software Installer calls this step System Optimization.
If something goes wrong during System Optimization or you have manually changed an OS code library, you can force Mac OS X to repeat System Optimization for all program files in the entire system. To do this, press the button Repeat System Optimization.
It is not recommended to launch any application while the optimization
takes place.
System Optimization never affects the performance of programs.
It is only relevant to the startup phase of applications.
Mac OS X contains a special background service which communicates with the directory services configured for your system. This service is the central information broker of the system, needed to collect data about users, computers, IP addresses, user groups and many other things relevant to an operating system. Under special circumstances, the internal memory contents of this service may contain incorrect or outdated information, especially if your computer is accessing a DNS server or directory server which doesn't work reliably, or the network configuration has changed abruptly. This can result in unexpected delays (spinning rainbow cursor) especially while using network functions.
In this situation, clearing the online cache of directory services might correct the problem: The information broker will begin with fresh new data it fetches from your network and the local computer. To do this, press the button Clear cache.
When making certain changes in your printer configuration, it is possible that applications damage important settings of Mac OS X's printer subsystem. This system is called CUPS (Common Unix Printing System). TinkerTool System can detect specific types of problems and in this case repair the misconfigured printing system. You can use this feature in the following situations:
Press the button Repair CUPS in this case to correct the problem. The button can only be pressed if the mentioned problem is detected and a repair seems to be possible.
This feature is only useful for Mac OS X 10.3 Panther. If you are using 10.4 Tiger, launch Apple's Printer Setup Utility and select the function Reset Printing System. If you are using 10.5 Leopard, you won't need this function.