cjc@ecs.soton.ac.uk (Chris Colbourn) (01/17/90)
A while ago there was a 'hint' about speeding up Finder operations on HDs published in MacUser UK and sent in by someone at Apple UK. Essentially the method involves putting the 'Desktop Manager' INIT from AppleShare into your System folder, restarting your Mac, deleting the 'Desktop' file (using ResEdit or some such utility -- don't use DiskTop or MacTools since we found returning to the Finder from these caused the original desktop file to be rebuilt automatically), then finally re-booting using the option + command keys to force rebuilding the desktop. This works extremely well and all Finder operations such as file copying, returning from applications, are speeded up considerably and this does't seem to deteriorate with use as with the usual desktop (i.e. necessitating regular compression to maintain speed). The published hint gave no indication of how this method works but it appears that instead of the usual desktop file there are two files called 'Desktop DB' and 'Desktop DF' which together occupy about the same disk space as the original 'compressed' desktop, although the 'DF' file is generally about twice the size of the 'DB' one. Does anyone know how this method of desktop managment works compared to the usual one, and why it is so much faster? I should add that while this method works well, if you happen to start up your Mac from a floppy with a conventional system on it (i.e. without the Desktop Manager INIT, etc.) then the usual desktop file is automatically built on your HD (which can take several minutes on a well-laden disk!), and you have to go through the rigmorole again! Also we found that HD defragmenters like 'Disk Express' (version 1.5) depend on the ordinary single Desktop file being present and won't work until you rebuild one, although backup utilities like 'DiskFit' seem quite happy! -- Chris Colbourn, Psychology Dept, Southampton University, SO9 5NH, UK JANET: pyi011@uk.ac.soton.ibm or cjc@uk.ac.soton.ecs INTERNET: pyi011%soton.ac.uk%nsfnet-relay.ac.uk TEL: +44 703 592589 (DDI) or +44 703 595000 x2589 TLX: 47661 SOTONU G FAX: +44 703 593939 -- Chris Colbourn, Psychology Dept, Southampton University, SO9 5NH, UK JANET: pyi011@uk.ac.soton.ibm or cjc@uk.ac.soton.ecs INTERNET: pyi011%soton.ac.uk%nsfnet-relay.ac.uk TEL: +44 703 592589 (DDI) or +44 703 595000 x2589 TLX: 47661 SOTONU G FAX: +44 703 593939