New hard drive and Leopard
Nige Danton
drive installed (under warranty and all within two days including
shipping it from Singapore - excellent service!) and have upgraded to
Leopard. Now what to do next?
I've set myself up with an administrator password and I will be the
only user. Is there any benefit in creating a user account with a
separate password?
I want to upgrade the OS on my second mac as well. It's a PowerBook G4
with 1.25Gb of ram. Will Leopard will run on that no problem? The
system requirements say it will - I'd just like to check.
So that gives me Time Machine on both machines. The next step is back
ups. I plan to use TM to back up both macs to a single external drive
(a 320Gb Lacie Brick that is already sitting here spare) The Lacie is
bigger than than the sum of the two drives. I'll define the Lacie as
the back up drive for TM. So ok so far? Neither of the machines will
be permanently connected to the Lacie so what happens to TM when one
or the other is disconnected - does TM automatically detect and adjust
or do I need to do something?
What about the back ups themselves (incidentally I did ask these
questions in the shop but with the language difficulties etc I am
uncertain of the answers) can I rely on TM to back up all applications
and data? Can I boot from the back up? Are there any applications that
wont be properly backed up? e.g. I'm using Entourage as my mail client
- I've read reviews that suggest TM doesn't deal with Entourage very
well - do I need to d something different to back up the mail?
It's also recommended I use Carbon Copy Cloner in addition to TM -
roger on that - how frequently, is weekly sufficient?
Apologies for all the questions but it's simply that I am keen to get
it right this time around. Thanks for any input.
--
Nige Danton
Chris Ridd
> I've set myself up with an administrator password and I will be the
> only user. Is there any benefit in creating a user account with a
> separate password?
Yes, there's some security benefit in this.
> I want to upgrade the OS on my second mac as well. It's a PowerBook G4
> with 1.25Gb of ram. Will Leopard will run on that no problem? The
> system requirements say it will - I'd just like to check.
I'm running on a 1.67GHz Powerbook G4, and it is working OK.
> So that gives me Time Machine on both machines. The next step is back
> ups. I plan to use TM to back up both macs to a single external drive
> (a 320Gb Lacie Brick that is already sitting here spare) The Lacie is
> bigger than than the sum of the two drives. I'll define the Lacie as
> the back up drive for TM. So ok so far? Neither of the machines will
> be permanently connected to the Lacie so what happens to TM when one
> or the other is disconnected - does TM automatically detect and adjust
> or do I need to do something?
I don't know. However the backup directory on the TM disk contains a
subdirectory named after the machine being backed up, so there's a
really good chance if you back up a second machine it'll create a
separate directory there. I'd try and keep the account uids consistent
between the two Macs, as they're going to both write to a common drive.
> wont be properly backed up? e.g. I'm using Entourage as my mail client
> - I've read reviews that suggest TM doesn't deal with Entourage very
> well - do I need to d something different to back up the mail?
You need to exclude Entourage's database from TM. Otherwise every hour
TM will back up a complete new copy of the database :-(
You need to back up the Entourage database using some other mechanism.
> It's also recommended I use Carbon Copy Cloner in addition to TM -
> roger on that - how frequently, is weekly sufficient?
That'd be a good way to back up Entourage. The frequency is probably
OK, but it really depends on you. Your TM backups will likely be more
frequent and more useful, but in case they get lost at least you've got
your CCC clones.
Cheers,
Chris
sbt
<58529be6-109a-4fa9...@k1g2000prb.googlegroups.com>,
Nige Danton <Nige....@gmail.com> wrote:
> Following the recent tale of woe I reported here I've had a new hard
> drive installed (under warranty and all within two days including
> shipping it from Singapore - excellent service!) and have upgraded to
> Leopard. Now what to do next?
>
> I've set myself up with an administrator password and I will be the
> only user. Is there any benefit in creating a user account with a
> separate password?
>
There are a number of advantages in creating one or more non-admin
accounts. Two major ones follow:
1) You have an account in which to test whether software glitches are
confined to a single account (usually denotes a messed-up pref file)
2) You have an account for day-to-day work where you can't accidentally
invoke admin privileges and mess up part of your installation.
> I want to upgrade the OS on my second mac as well. It's a PowerBook G4
> with 1.25Gb of ram. Will Leopard will run on that no problem? The
> system requirements say it will - I'd just like to check.
>
It depends. Is the G4 PowerBook 867MHz or higher? That's the minimum
processor speed that the Leopard Installer will allow -- the G4 and
1.25GB are adequate if the speed is.
> So that gives me Time Machine on both machines. The next step is back
> ups. I plan to use TM to back up both macs to a single external drive
> (a 320Gb Lacie Brick that is already sitting here spare) The Lacie is
> bigger than than the sum of the two drives. I'll define the Lacie as
> the back up drive for TM. So ok so far? Neither of the machines will
> be permanently connected to the Lacie so what happens to TM when one
> or the other is disconnected - does TM automatically detect and adjust
> or do I need to do something?
>
I can't advise you here, though the information is almost surely
available on the Web (maybe even at Apple's web site). I have multiple
external hard drives and each of my Leopard Macs have their own Time
Machine disk(s).
> What about the back ups themselves (incidentally I did ask these
> questions in the shop but with the language difficulties etc I am
> uncertain of the answers) can I rely on TM to back up all applications
> and data? Can I boot from the back up? Are there any applications that
> wont be properly backed up? e.g. I'm using Entourage as my mail client
> - I've read reviews that suggest TM doesn't deal with Entourage very
> well - do I need to d something different to back up the mail?
>
By default, Time Machine will do what you want; however, you can set
prefs to not back up certain volumes or folders.
> It's also recommended I use Carbon Copy Cloner in addition to TM -
> roger on that - how frequently, is weekly sufficient?
>
That depends upon your particular level of paranoia. I'm only
moderately paranoid and my main Mac gets SuperDuper'ed twice a month.
My other Macs are once-a-month.
> Apologies for all the questions but it's simply that I am keen to get
> it right this time around. Thanks for any input.
>
"Right" is relative on some of the above issues, but good luck.
--
Spenser
Jolly Roger
<58529be6-109a-4fa9...@k1g2000prb.googlegroups.com>,
Nige Danton <Nige....@gmail.com> wrote:
> I've set myself up with an administrator password and I will be the
> only user. Is there any benefit in creating a user account with a
> separate password?
The initial user account Mac OS X creates during installation is an
administrator account. But running with higher privileges than needed is
never a good idea. When you are logged in as administrator, everything
you do, every program you run (directly or indirectly, purposefully or
inadvertently) is executed with administrative privileges with access to
more parts of the system than normal users. So if you make a mistake, or
worse, if you unknowingly run a trojan / worm in that account, you can
damage and alter critical system files with little or no acknowledgment
from the system. Remember that some files in Mac OS X are owned by the
"admin" group, of which the administrator account is a member. The
Applications folder is just one example of such a folder. When you are
logged in as administrator, Mac OS X allows you to modify these files at
will.
Mac OS X is designed such that you can accomplish all administrative
tasks from a non-administrative account simply by entering the username
and password of an administrator when prompted. So while you do need to
*have* an administrator account, there's really not much of a reason to
run as administrator for day-to-day use.
The secure thing to do is to create an account just for administration,
then remove administrator privileges from your day-to-day account.
Here's how to do it:
First, open and unlock the System Preferences > Accounts panel.
1. Open System Preferences.
2. Click Accounts.
3. Click the lock icon to unlock the panel (if needed).
Next, create a new administrator account:
1. Click the [+] button. A new user account sheet appears.
2. If you are running Mac OS X 10.5 or later, from the New Account menu
at the top, choose Administrator.
3. In the Name text box, enter a name, such as "Administrator" (without
quotes). There is nothing special about this name. Just pick something
you can remember.
4. In the Short Name text box, enter a short name, such as "admin"
(without quotes). There is nothing special about this name. Just pick
something you can remember.
5. In the Password text box, enter a secure password. If you need help
creating a secure password, click the little key icon to the right of
this text box, and an assistant will help you come up with a secure
password. Personally, I prefer to use a phrase as my password. I try to
pick phrases that contain one or two numbers or special characters, and
use spaces and punctuation. The goal is to pick a password phrase that
you will easily remember, and easy to type, but will be difficult to
guess.
6. In the Verify text box re-enter the secure password.
7. If you are running Mac OS X 10.4 or earlier, check the "Allow user to
administer this computer" checkbox.
8. Click Create Account.
Next, remove administrator abilities from your normal user account:
1. Open System Preferences.
2. Click Accounts.
3. Click the lock icon to unlock the panel (if needed).
4. From the account list on the left side of the Accounts panel,
highlight your normal user account name.
5. Clear the "Allow user to administer this computer" checkbox.
6. Log out for the changes to take effect.
That's it. Now whenever you are asked for an administrator account's
credentials, you can enter the administrator user name and associated
secure password.
--
Please send all responses to the relevant news group. E-mail sent to
this address may be devoured by my very hungry SPAM filter. I do not
read posts from Google Groups. Use a real news reader if you want me to
see your posts.
JR
Sally Thompson
(in article <jollyroger-DF76A...@individual.net>):
> In article
> <58529be6-109a-4fa9...@k1g2000prb.googlegroups.com>,
> Nige Danton <Nige....@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I've set myself up with an administrator password and I will be the
>> only user. Is there any benefit in creating a user account with a
>> separate password?
>
<snip>
>
> The secure thing to do is to create an account just for administration,
> then remove administrator privileges from your day-to-day account.
<snip>
Jolly Roger, I finally followed your instructions a few days ago to set up a
separate admin account, which I've been meaning to do for some time. That
all worked perfectly. One thing I can't find out though. Is it possible to
duplicate all (or any!) of my existing preferences and set-up so that my new
admin account contains the same applications, desktop background, and other
preferences, rather than having to re-set them all individually? I've looked
in the Help file but I'm not sure how to word the query.
--
Sally in Shropshire, UK
Burne-Jones/William Morris window in Shropshire church with conservation
churchyard:
http://www.whitton-stmarys.org.uk
Jolly Roger
Sally Thompson <sallyne...@yahoo.co.uk.invalid> wrote:
> On Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:24:30 +0100, Jolly Roger wrote
> (in article <jollyroger-DF76A...@individual.net>):
>
> > In article
> > <58529be6-109a-4fa9...@k1g2000prb.googlegroups.com>,
> > Nige Danton <Nige....@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> I've set myself up with an administrator password and I will be the
> >> only user. Is there any benefit in creating a user account with a
> >> separate password?
>
> <snip>
> >
> > The secure thing to do is to create an account just for administration,
> > then remove administrator privileges from your day-to-day account.
>
> <snip>
>
> Jolly Roger, I finally followed your instructions a few days ago to set up a
> separate admin account, which I've been meaning to do for some time. That
> all worked perfectly. One thing I can't find out though. Is it possible to
> duplicate all (or any!) of my existing preferences and set-up so that my new
> admin account contains the same applications, desktop background, and other
> preferences, rather than having to re-set them all individually? I've looked
> in the Help file but I'm not sure how to word the query.
Well, the point of having a separate administrator account is to use it
strictly for *administration* and nothing else, because every
application you run and everything you do while logged into that account
is done with heightened privileges.
I'll answer your question with another question:
Considering you will almost never actually log into that account, why
would you care whether or not it's the same?
Sally Thompson
(in article <jollyroger-C4D5D...@individual.net>):
Fair point. It was just that I had a problem with a web site which I was
trying to resolve, and wanted to try something in Firefox from another
account, and had to re-dowload it (into the admin account), which surprised
me.
Jolly Roger
Sally Thompson <sallyne...@yahoo.co.uk.invalid> wrote:
> On Fri, 18 Apr 2008 23:30:44 +0100, Jolly Roger wrote
> (in article <jollyroger-C4D5D...@individual.net>):
>
> > Considering you will almost never actually log into that account, why
> > would you care whether or not it's the same?
>
> Fair point. It was just that I had a problem with a web site which I was
> trying to resolve, and wanted to try something in Firefox from another
> account, and had to re-dowload it (into the admin account), which surprised
> me.
First, you should create another non-administrator account for things
like that.
Again, it's best to use the administration account *only* for
administration tasks you *cannot* perform in your normal user account.
Most administration tasks can be performed in your non-administrator
account, because Mac OS X is smart enough to prompt for administrator
credentials when you try to do something in a non-administrator account
that requires administrator access. This means you will rarely, if ever,
need to actually log into your administrator acount!
Second, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to run Firefox from your
administration account, or any other account, if it's installed
properly. Did you, perhaps not install it correctly?
The proper way to install Firefox (or any Mac application packaged as a
DMG file) is:
1. Download the DMG file.
A DMG file containing Firefox for Mac OS X is available for download
here <http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/>. A file similar to "Firefox
2.0.0.14.dmg" will be downloaded to your computer.
2. Mount the downloaded DMG file.
Double-click the DMG file to mount it. Mac OS X will open and mount the
file. For Firefox, two things will appear: (a) a Firefox window, and (b)
a Firefox disk icon on the desktop.
3. Install the application.
Drag the Firefox application icon in the Firefox window and drop it into
your /Applications folder.
4. Eject the DMG mount.
Right-click (or Control-click) the Firefox disk icon on the desktop,
and choose "Eject" from the resulting contextual menu.
5. Delete the installer (DMG file).
Throw away the "Firefox 2.0.0.14.dmg" file 0 it is no longer needed.
Once it's installed this way, to launch Firefox, open the
/Applications/Firefox application - from *any* account.
Jolly Roger
Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
> Second, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to run Firefox from your
> administration account, or any other account, if it's installed
> properly. Did you, perhaps not install it correctly?
It's also possible you chose to install Firefox into your home directory
of the non-administrator user. The most likely location, if that were
the case, would be ~/Applications (that is /Users/you/Applications). If
you were to log in as another user, you'd not have access to that, since
every user accounthas its own protected home directory in the /Users
folder.
Sally Thompson
(in article <jollyroger-74441...@individual.net>):
> In article <0001HW.C42EE5C2...@news.individual.net>,
> Sally Thompson <sallyne...@yahoo.co.uk.invalid> wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 18 Apr 2008 23:30:44 +0100, Jolly Roger wrote
>> (in article <jollyroger-C4D5D...@individual.net>):
>>
>>> Considering you will almost never actually log into that account, why
>>> would you care whether or not it's the same?
>>
>> Fair point. It was just that I had a problem with a web site which I was
>> trying to resolve, and wanted to try something in Firefox from another
>> account, and had to re-dowload it (into the admin account), which surprised
>> me.
>
> First, you should create another non-administrator account for things
> like that.
Ah, good idea. Thank you. I have several accounts on another Mac, but
hadn't thought of it for my main one.
> Again, it's best to use the administration account *only* for
> administration tasks you *cannot* perform in your normal user account.
> Most administration tasks can be performed in your non-administrator
> account, because Mac OS X is smart enough to prompt for administrator
> credentials when you try to do something in a non-administrator account
> that requires administrator access. This means you will rarely, if ever,
> need to actually log into your administrator acount!
Thanks for the advice. You've helped me understand a lot.
> Second, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to run Firefox from your
> administration account, or any other account, if it's installed
> properly. Did you, perhaps not install it correctly?
<snip>
> Once it's installed this way, to launch Firefox, open the
> /Applications/Firefox application - from *any* account.
Firefox is definitely in /Applications - but it was not there in the new
Administrator account I set up. I was just slightly surprised.
--
Sally in Shropshire, UK
<http://www.freerice.com/index.php>
Give free rice to hungry people by playing a simple word game
Sally Thompson
(in article <jollyroger-C2104...@individual.net>):
> In article <jollyroger-74441...@individual.net>,
> Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
>
>> Second, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to run Firefox from your
>> administration account, or any other account, if it's installed
>> properly. Did you, perhaps not install it correctly?
>
> It's also possible you chose to install Firefox into your home directory
> of the non-administrator user. The most likely location, if that were
> the case, would be ~/Applications (that is /Users/you/Applications). If
> you were to log in as another user, you'd not have access to that, since
> every user accounthas its own protected home directory in the /Users
> folder.
>
>
No, I have checked this and the path to Firefox (and all my apps) is iMac
G5/Macintosh HD/Applications. I don't have an ~/Applications.
Thanks very much for the advice, JR. I will go and investigate further.
However, I am fairly sure that in my new Admin account there were only the
very basic applications available to me, and none of the ones I have
installed since I bought my iMac. Presumably this also means that if I set
up another account for any testing (as you suggested in your earlier
response), that too would not contain all of my everyday applications. I
will go and experiment! It may be something blindingly obvious that I have
done or not done. (Very likely!)
Sally Thompson
(in article <0001HW.C42F7E3F...@news.individual.net>):
I don't know what the problem was yesterday, but I have now set up an extra
(non-admin) account and all my applications were there. I then logged into
my administrator account - and all my applications were there! I can only
think I was having a very senior moment.
Thanks for the help.
Sally Thompson
(in article <slrng0k467....@cerebus.local>):
> In message <0001HW.C42EDDB0...@news.individual.net>
> Sally <sallyne...@yahoo.co.uk.invalid> wrote:
>> Jolly Roger, I finally followed your instructions a few days ago to set up
>> a
>> separate admin account, which I've been meaning to do for some time. That
>> all worked perfectly. One thing I can't find out though. Is it possible
>> to
>> duplicate all (or any!) of my existing preferences and set-up so that my
>> new
>> admin account contains the same applications, desktop background, and other
>> preferences, rather than having to re-set them all individually? I've
>> looked
>> in the Help file but I'm not sure how to word the query.
>
> I think you are missing the main point of the admin account, which is:
>
> You don't login as admin.
>
> I DO occasionally login as the admin. The items in my doc are
> console.app, terminal, Network Utility, etc. The account is only used
> in emergencies to see if some bug is user specific or not.
>
>
>
Yes, thanks for that. I had already learnt the error of my ways from Jolly
Roger's post <g> and have set up a further account for any testing purposes.
--
Sally in Shropshire, UK
Jolly Roger
Sally Thompson <sallyne...@yahoo.co.uk.invalid> wrote:
> I don't know what the problem was yesterday, but I have now set up an extra
> (non-admin) account and all my applications were there. I then logged into
> my administrator account - and all my applications were there! I can only
> think I was having a very senior moment.
Could it be you simply didn't see it in the Dock and *assumed* it was
also not in /Applications?
Jolly Roger
Sally Thompson <sallyne...@yahoo.co.uk.invalid> wrote:
> Thanks for the advice. You've helped me understand a lot.
Sure - any time!
Sally Thompson
(in article <jollyroger-166F1...@individual.net>):
> In article <0001HW.C42FD07E...@news.individual.net>,
> Sally Thompson <sallyne...@yahoo.co.uk.invalid> wrote:
>
>> I don't know what the problem was yesterday, but I have now set up an extra
>> (non-admin) account and all my applications were there. I then logged into
>> my administrator account - and all my applications were there! I can only
>> think I was having a very senior moment.
>
> Could it be you simply didn't see it in the Dock and *assumed* it was
> also not in /Applications?
>
>
No, I did actually open /Applications. Maybe I was in a parallel universe or
something<g>. No matter, it is solved now and I am grateful to you.
Jolly Roger
Sally Thompson <sallyne...@yahoo.co.uk.invalid> wrote:
> On Sat, 19 Apr 2008 19:08:14 +0100, Jolly Roger wrote
> (in article <jollyroger-166F1...@individual.net>):
>
> > In article <0001HW.C42FD07E...@news.individual.net>,
> > Sally Thompson <sallyne...@yahoo.co.uk.invalid> wrote:
> >
> >> I don't know what the problem was yesterday, but I have now set up an
> >> extra
> >> (non-admin) account and all my applications were there. I then logged
> >> into
> >> my administrator account - and all my applications were there! I can only
> >> think I was having a very senior moment.
> >
> > Could it be you simply didn't see it in the Dock and *assumed* it was
> > also not in /Applications?
>
> No, I did actually open /Applications. Maybe I was in a parallel universe or
> something<g>. No matter, it is solved now and I am grateful to you.
Darnit, I just hate mysteries! : )
John Varela
(in article <0001HW.C42F7CBD...@news.individual.net>):
> Ah, good idea. Thank you. I have several accounts on another Mac, but
> hadn't thought of it for my main one.
While you're at it, why not create a Guest account for that visitor who "just
wants to check his email"?
--
John Varela
Trade NEW lamps for OLD for email.
Sally Thompson
(in article <0001HW.C43281A9...@news.verizon.net>):
> On Sat, 19 Apr 2008 05:41:01 -0400, Sally Thompson wrote
> (in article <0001HW.C42F7CBD...@news.individual.net>):
>
>> Ah, good idea. Thank you. I have several accounts on another Mac, but
>> hadn't thought of it for my main one.
>
> While you're at it, why not create a Guest account for that visitor who "just
> wants to check his email"?
>
>
He/she uses the other iMac, complete with Guest account :-)
Sharon F
<58529be6-109a-4fa9...@k1g2000prb.googlegroups.com>,
Nige Danton <Nige....@gmail.com> wrote:
> Neither of the machines will
> be permanently connected to the Lacie so what happens to TM when one
> or the other is disconnected - does TM automatically detect and adjust
> or do I need to do something?
Time Machine will keep track. When my MacBook Pro was set up to use a
firewire drive with TM, I would get a reminder notice if days had passed
since the last TM backup. I now have it set up with Time Capsule so no
longer see those notices unless I'm traveling.
--
Sharon F