System 7.5.3 may be a real bug killer, but its System Folder looks like an anthill of trouble. Let us help you separate the workers from the drones
Ted Landau
HANDSon
It's been a bumpy ride this past year for Mac users trying to track what should and shouldn't be in their System Folders. Besieged by a continuous barrage of system-software updates, you may well be stymied as you try to tell whether you have the latest and correct version of everything you need.
Now, finally, comes System 7.5 Update 2.0 to the rescue. It can update any Mac to System 7.5.3, as long as the Mac already has System 7.5 or later. And it provides a laundry list of bug fixes. You should see fewer Type 11 error messages and "out of memory" messages, if you've been plagued by them (if you actually experience more system errors and crashes after installing 7.5.3, see the "Installing 7.5.3" sidebar). Similarly, this update will alleviate problems you may have had with Apple Guide.
But there's a dark side to this update: It foists on you the most confusing array of control panels and extensions that Apple has ever crammed into your System Folder. Weighing in at 14 floppy disks, this update not only delivers an overwhelming quantity of new System Folder items but it also gives them such arcane names as SystemAV and OpenTptAppleTalkLib. Even Mac gurus can be found scratching their heads as they puzzle over exactly what these new files do.
For those who not only want to understand the clutter but also reduce it right from the start, here's our guide to clearing up the mysteries of the System 7.5.3 System Folder.
Open Transport
This is the big one -- Apple's new networking software, which you'll use for everything from connecting to the Internet to printing to a network printer.
Most likely you won't want to do without Open Transport, so you'll need to hang onto its related items in the System Folder. Those that make up the backbone of Open Transport are Open Tpt AppleTalk Library, Open Tpt Internet Library, and Open Transport Library -- and, if you have a Power Mac, OpenTptAppleTalkLib, OpenTptInternetLib, and OpenTransportLib. Also part of Open Transport are the control panels TCP/IP and AppleTalk and the files Serial (Built-In), Ethernet (Built-In), and Open Transport Guide Additions.
As much as you may like Open Transport, don't be too eager to throw out the System Folder items for the networking software it supersedes- Classic AppleTalk. (Both sets of System Folder items get installed when you perform an Easy Install of 7.5.3 on all but 68000, 68020, and PCI-based Macs.) You may still need Classic AppleTalk and its related files- such as the MacTCP and Network control panels- in case you have trouble with Open Transport or need to use software that's incompatible with Open Transport. You can opt to remove one set of networking software or the other, but it's easier to leave them both in your system and switch between them, using Network Software Selector, a utility that comes with System 7.5.3.
Should you decide you do want to remove either Classic AppleTalk or Open Transport, there's one complication: invisible files. At least some of the System Folder items related to the networking software are invisible when that software is inactive. To trash invisible files, you need to have a special utility such as DiskTop or you can follow these steps: First, activate the networking software you want to delete, by using Network Software Selector (in the Apple Extras folder), and restart. Then drag the network-related items from the System Folder to the Trash (you'll have to trash these items manually rather than use the 7.5.3 installer's Custom Remove option). Make the other networking system active, using Network Software Selector, and restart.
Shared Libraries
Another type of item you'll find among the crowd in the 7.5.3 System Folder is shared-library files. They save RAM space, by eliminating the need to load the code shared by more than one application into memory multiple times. They're useful, but there may be some you don't need. Here's how to tell what to keep and what to trash without fear:
You can identify most shared libraries by looking for files that end in either the word Library (indicating 680x0 code) or Lib (indicating PowerPC-native code). The key extension for using all these files is the Shared Library Manager. You'll also need the Shared Library Manager PPC if you have a PowerPC-based machine. If you use Open Transport, its shared-library files need to remain. However, you won't need ObjectSupportLib and AppleScriptLib unless you use AppleScript on a Power Mac. ThreadsLib is no longer necessary at all if you have System 7.5.3. (For a complete list of files you can trash, have a look at the "Friend or Fodder" table.)
A bit of advice: Don't rely on Balloon Help for guidance about what shared library files do. It's clueless about these files, giving you entirely wrong information in some cases.
AV Features
A valuable new item in the 7.5.3 System Folder of PCI-based Macs is the Monitors & Sound control panel. It's a vast improvement over the control panel it replaces -- Sound & Displays. That loser of a control panel was clunky, bug-ridden, and confusing to almost everyone who grappled with it.
By contrast, Monitors & Sound is much easier to use, and you don't need to have as many extensions installed to use it. Specifically, you don't have to have AppleScript or AVSetup, although you do need the SystemAV extension. (It's a good idea to keep AppleScript installed, though, since many applications may use it.)
Another AV-related item, Apple Video Player, can be trashed unless you have a machine with video input (such as a Power Macintosh 7500 or 8500) or one that has a TV tuner (such as a Power Macintosh 5300). If you do use this program, make sure you also have the Video Startup extension installed, or it won't work.
Printing
There are also several optional printing-related items in the new System Folder, including the desktop-printer extensions. These extensions can facilitate printing, but if you want to ignore this technology, you can trash the Desktop Printer Extension, Desktop Printer Spooler, and Desktop PrintMonitor files.
No Rest for the Weary
Once you've followed these tips to get a leaner System Folder, relax and enjoy your smoother-running Mac. But don't get too relaxed. Brace yourself for the release of Apple's next system -- Copland -- and even more changes that will keep you busy as a bee.
Ted Landau, author of Sad Macs, Bombs, and Other Disasters, has more System 7.5.3 tips at his Web site (http://www.oakland.edu/~landau/sadmacs/).
Installing 7.5.3 / proceed with caution
You may think we're making a mountain out of an anthill by urging caution when you install System 7.5.3, but careful installation may help you avoid such serious problems as a Mac that won't boot up. Your safest bet is to follow these steps:
1. Before you install System 7.5 Update 2.0, do a "clean" install of your present system software -- System 7.5 or System 7.5.2. If you have System 7.5.1, which has no clean install, do a clean install of System 7.5.
2. Install any Apple software you use that wasn't included in the clean install, such as AppleVision software.
3. Now for the update. With extensions on, run an Easy Install of System 7.5 Update 2.0. The Update's Installer should correctly install only the new or updated files you need and trash existing files that are now obsolete. This is the first installer that also correctly updates extensions that have been disabled by startup managers, such as Apple's Extensions Manager.
4. Use the Custom Install option if you need any other 7.5.3 components that didn't get installed.
5. Finally, find the preferences files and third-party software you want to keep and move them from the old System Folder to the new, "clean" one.
If you encounter problems, they're probably due to extension conflicts or incompatible applications.
Friend or Fodder? / expendable System Folder items
Purpose File or Folder Reason to Trash It
Acceleration: Graphics Accelerator: This is needed only on PCI-based Macs that use ATI video cards.
AppleScript: AppleScriptLib, ObjectSupportLib: You'll need these only if you use AppleScript on a Power Mac.
Color printing: ColorSync, ColorSync Profiles folder, any extension ending in CMM: If you don't need to print in color, you can trash these items.
Desktop printing: Desktop Printer Extension, Desktop Printer Spooler, Desktop PrintMonitor: If you don't want to use the desktop-printer system, remove each of these items.
Foreign languages: WorldScript Power Adapter: If you don't use an Apple Foreign Language Kit, you can get rid of this.
Miscellaneous: 7.5.2 Printing Fix, Apple Multimedia Tuner, Display Enabler, Finder Update, PowerPC Finder Update, SCSI Manager, Serial DMA, Sound Manager: Each of these items is obsolete or has been rolled into System 7.5.3.
Networking: Ethernet Compatibility: This is needed only on PCI-based Macs that use Novell NetWare.
Talking Mac: MacinTalk 2 or 3, Speech, Speech Manager, Voices Folder: Remove these unless you want your Mac to talk to you.
Video input: Apple Video Player: You don't need this unless you have a Mac with video input or a Mac with a TV tuner.
Even though you may have just loaded System 7.5.3, it's not too soon to start pruning the System Folder. It probably contains items you'll never use. The ones on this list are either so specific that most Mac users won't need them or they're obsolete. See the article for more detail on some of the items.
