System Updates - A Recipe for Success
08/09/06 09:34 Filed in: Hints 'n' Tips
We all know that a) no software is perfect, and b) no two workstations are configured, installed or accessories alike, so how to make sure the next Apple system update you install goes according to plan?
1) Before any System or Security update, always ensure you've backed up your important data. Sometimes things do go wrong and you need to recover ASAP.
2) Unmount, disconnect and physically turn off any peripherals you may have attached, besides your standard keyboard and mouse, such as external USB & FireWire drives, scanners....
3) Go to Utilities > Disk Utility > Repair Permissions. This will help make sure that any previous installations haven't made it impossible for this installation to write its files correctly.
4) If you have the System disc handy, or a third party utility like Disk Warrior, boot up from it and make any disk repairs it needs.
5) For any incremental System update (eg: 10.3.5 > 10.3.9 or 10.4.6 > 10.4.10), anecdotal evidence suggests NOT using the Software Update derived incremental updater, but instead going to the Apple downloads website and downloading the ultra-big Combo updater, which will update any point release to the latest, including any Security updates that have been released. It's often over the 100Mb mark, but oh so worth it, especially if you have several machines to update.
6) When you've run it and restarted your Mac, you may find it often takes a while before the login or desktop screens appear. This is quite usual, so don't panic! Subsequent restarts are back to normal quick.
7) When your desktop is back up, again go to Utilities > Disk Utility > Repair Permissions.
Then you're done and can add back your peripherals and often a restart is good to clean up with. I also like to flush out old cached information too, at this point. Have a look at YASU (shareware) or MainMenu (freeware) to automate this process whilst you go make coffee.
• The periodic Security updates and Apple application updates are generally fine to install from Software Update - just be sure to Repair Permissions before and afterwards, and likewise for any third-party software updates you perform, too. The extra couple of minutes it takes can potentially save your hours of grief.
• One final word of caution: System, Security and application updates are generally recommended and serve to fix, secure and enhance your computing experience - but even the pros at Apple and Adobe and others stuff up from time-to-time with their installers or their updates, so please don't be in a rush to be an early adopter, especially in a production environment! Patience is often a much overlooked virtue in the stampede to be on the bleeding edge of technology!
1) Before any System or Security update, always ensure you've backed up your important data. Sometimes things do go wrong and you need to recover ASAP.
2) Unmount, disconnect and physically turn off any peripherals you may have attached, besides your standard keyboard and mouse, such as external USB & FireWire drives, scanners....
3) Go to Utilities > Disk Utility > Repair Permissions. This will help make sure that any previous installations haven't made it impossible for this installation to write its files correctly.
4) If you have the System disc handy, or a third party utility like Disk Warrior, boot up from it and make any disk repairs it needs.
5) For any incremental System update (eg: 10.3.5 > 10.3.9 or 10.4.6 > 10.4.10), anecdotal evidence suggests NOT using the Software Update derived incremental updater, but instead going to the Apple downloads website and downloading the ultra-big Combo updater, which will update any point release to the latest, including any Security updates that have been released. It's often over the 100Mb mark, but oh so worth it, especially if you have several machines to update.
6) When you've run it and restarted your Mac, you may find it often takes a while before the login or desktop screens appear. This is quite usual, so don't panic! Subsequent restarts are back to normal quick.
7) When your desktop is back up, again go to Utilities > Disk Utility > Repair Permissions.
Then you're done and can add back your peripherals and often a restart is good to clean up with. I also like to flush out old cached information too, at this point. Have a look at YASU (shareware) or MainMenu (freeware) to automate this process whilst you go make coffee.
• The periodic Security updates and Apple application updates are generally fine to install from Software Update - just be sure to Repair Permissions before and afterwards, and likewise for any third-party software updates you perform, too. The extra couple of minutes it takes can potentially save your hours of grief.
• One final word of caution: System, Security and application updates are generally recommended and serve to fix, secure and enhance your computing experience - but even the pros at Apple and Adobe and others stuff up from time-to-time with their installers or their updates, so please don't be in a rush to be an early adopter, especially in a production environment! Patience is often a much overlooked virtue in the stampede to be on the bleeding edge of technology!