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| Author |
Message |
rcurl
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Mac INITS
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Dec 7 19:50 UTC 1996 |
For the discussion of Mac inits - useful one and conflicts.
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| 47 responses total. |
omni
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response 1 of 47:
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Dec 7 21:01 UTC 1996 |
I have several that are useful-
Smart Calendar- It's an init, and a DA; and if you'll be kind enough to share
your dates with it, it will remind you with a dialog box, or a beeping icon,
which ever you prefer. $10 Shareware.
SuperClock 4.0- Should come with every Mac. Plays a sound every 1/4 hour,
puts the clock in the menu bar, and is compatable with every init I have.
Daylight- very handy during the time change.
Disinfectant- A must for every Mac.
True Type Init- Lets you use TT fonts on your Imagewriter II. (I know none
of the Mac users around here, are so behind the times that they still use an
Imagewriter II) ;)
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rcurl
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response 2 of 47:
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Dec 7 23:33 UTC 1996 |
I was trying to enter #1 as soon as I entered this item, but Grex crashed
in the middle. Here is what my inquiry was going to be:
I have had some very drastic slowing of my PowerMac sometime during
running a bunch of applications, such as having to hold the click on a
menu for 4 seconds before it opens (this recovers on rebooting). I would
like a INIT/DA that *logged* activity on the computer, including the
application running and some measure of system performance. With that I
could get an idea of when the conflict occurs and which inits/cdevs/apps
might be involved. Does such a logging application exist?
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omni
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response 3 of 47:
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Dec 8 09:19 UTC 1996 |
There is a program called Conflict Catcher that may do something like that,
but the only problem is that it costs $95 from MacWherehouse.
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rcurl
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response 4 of 47:
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Dec 8 17:10 UTC 1996 |
From what I read about it, it just acts on bootup. However the slowing I
observe occurs only after a lot of use of different applications. I would
think there'd be an activity and fault logging init as a useful diagnostic
tool. When one gets a BOMB, it doesn't help to just know it is Error 11.
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omni
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response 5 of 47:
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Dec 8 20:07 UTC 1996 |
You could look in the MIT archives, or filepile.com. Two good sources for
files.
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ajax
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response 6 of 47:
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Dec 8 22:06 UTC 1996 |
I don't run a lot of unnecessary INITs, but one that I do like makes
menu pull-down behave more like Windows: you click and release on the
word "File", and the file menu stays pulled down until you click on an
option. You can still use the click-and-hold method, but you don't
have to. It may sound silly, but my button finger gets sore after a
lot of hours of clicking, and that eases the problem significantly.
With multi-nested menus, that can save a lot of button-holding! If
anyone is interested, I'll look up the name of the INIT; it's available
on the Internet.
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omni
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response 7 of 47:
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Dec 9 04:33 UTC 1996 |
Please do, Rob.
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rcurl
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response 8 of 47:
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Dec 9 06:31 UTC 1996 |
I use [6072 Nov 20 1993 ./system.extensions/init/dropmenus1.2.cpt.hqx] on
my PowerBook with Sys. 7.1, but it doesn't work in Sys. 7.5.3. Do you know
one that does? (That [string] is from allfiles.txt, from the UM Archive,
which I keep on my desktop.)
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ajax
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response 9 of 47:
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Dec 9 22:48 UTC 1996 |
The one I use is StickyClick, from '92, but it works under Sys7.5 (not
sure about 7.5.3). I put a copy of just the init in /u/ajax/sticky.sit.
It's an 8K file, in Stuffit format. If it had docs to begin with, I've
lost them, but there's not much to know; either it works or it doesn't!
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rcurl
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response 10 of 47:
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Dec 10 15:23 UTC 1996 |
StickyClick is ALLRIGHT. I pulled it up from the archives, as [10076 Feb
20 1993 ./system.extensions/init/stickyclick1.2.cpt.hqx]. You must have an
earlier version (?). Works fine with Sys. 7.5.3 (so far....).
WindowPicker [46296 Nov 11 1992
./system.extensions/init/windowpicker1.02.sit.hqx] provides a menu of all
your open windows, so you can find and bring up one you might have lost in
the clutter. It is (c) Apple and works in Sys 7.x.y., but not just
provided with the system - I wonder why.
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ajax
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response 11 of 47:
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Dec 11 02:43 UTC 1996 |
MS and Apple both release free, unsupported utilities from time to time.
I think they're things someone there wrote, but weren't deemed useful enough
or stable enough to include with the base OS. (Not that either company's
base OS's are particularly stable, but.... :-)
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kentn
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response 12 of 47:
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Dec 11 05:34 UTC 1996 |
...but we're all glad they see fit to release such utilities without
charge instead of keeping them locked up in some closet in the basement
of the central office.
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rcurl
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response 13 of 47:
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Dec 11 06:43 UTC 1996 |
My UM Dept comp-guru provided me with an application called YOOZ1.6
(shareware), which logs startup times and durations for applications. It
is not logging any "background" activity - just applications that I open.
I haven't decided if this is useful or not.....
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kentn
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response 14 of 47:
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Dec 12 17:03 UTC 1996 |
Might be useful if you suspect someone else is using your computer
without your knowledge, or with your knowledge but in an inappropriate
way. Might also be useful for tracking down what group of apps are
related to system crashes. Would be useful for billing your time, too.
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rcurl
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response 15 of 47:
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Dec 12 18:09 UTC 1996 |
Exactly. Apparently YOOZ1.56 will also work across networks, so syops
might find it useful for reviewing the use of different applications.
However it does not do what I was seeking. I want an init that works like
an aircraft "black box", that is logging all functions for the last few
minutes before the crash. (I searched archives for "blackbox", but came
up only with a game and a general file utility). If anyone would like to
check out YOOZ1.56, I'd be glad to e-mail a copy as an attachment. Quite a
few functions are disabled until you pay the shareware fee, but you can
learn what it will do.
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kentn
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response 16 of 47:
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Dec 13 19:50 UTC 1996 |
I'll ask my wife (one of the UM mac archivists) and see if she has any
suggestions. I know she has either done or wished for this capability
also. I wonder how she solved?
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arthurp
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response 17 of 47:
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Dec 15 07:20 UTC 1996 |
Copmile hooks into the kernel for tracing. But then you would have to be
using LINUX to do that. Oh, well.
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srw
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response 18 of 47:
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Dec 16 07:03 UTC 1996 |
Install the debugger MacsBug and then hit the interrupt button while the
system is being nonresponsive. The current application is listed on the
screen. If it is hanging due to interrupt activity, this will not help,
but if it has switched contexts and run something that is not cooperating for
some reason, you will at least learn which program is causing this.
Hmm. I think the latest MacsBug has to be gotten from an apple site. It may
be one of those non-redistributable thingies, but it is free. It works on
Power macs, but it shows only emulated code, so if there is a native code loop
it may miss it. However, that is unlikely in my estimation. On most powermacs,
there is still plenty of 680x0 code being emulated.
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kentn
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response 19 of 47:
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Dec 16 23:55 UTC 1996 |
The UM Mac archive has a file called "mpwmacsbug" but I don't know if it's
"the latest" version. MacsBug was what my spouse recommended, too.
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rcurl
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response 20 of 47:
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Dec 17 06:40 UTC 1996 |
I appeaars to be a macsbug tool to run a macsbug command in the MPW Shell.
(Whatever that means>) I haven't located a real live Macsbug yet. It used to
be on CAEN servers, but seems to have been removed.
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ajax
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response 21 of 47:
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Dec 17 07:43 UTC 1996 |
MPW = Macintosh Programmer's Workshop, a software development environment.
Macsbug is geared more toward developers than users.
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rcurl
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response 22 of 47:
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Dec 17 17:43 UTC 1996 |
I found MacsBug on the ITD software site. Would you explain further how to
use it, Steve? Which is the "interrupt" button on my Mac? It seems as scarce
as the "any" button.
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srw
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response 23 of 47:
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Dec 22 08:16 UTC 1996 |
The interrupt button is not it's correct name. It is actually called the
"programmer's switch". On most macs it is not located on the keyboard, but
on the Mac itself, nearby the reset button.
It is not present on all Macs, but should be installable. It's a plastic
button. Where it goes depends upon your Mac model. If you press it without
Macsbug installed it puts you in the rom debugger, which is pretty
featureless. It produces a small window with a > prompt.
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rcurl
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response 24 of 47:
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Dec 22 20:18 UTC 1996 |
I found a note I had from some time ago to put MacsBug into the System folder,
and low-and-behold, the bootup dialog said it was installed! My note also
told me about help, and miscellaneous....but most of the rest of the screen
is still gobble-de-gook. Is there a "MacsBug for Dummies" document available?
The associated folders and files that came with MacsBug are as cryptic as
MacsBug itself.
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