Mac OS X Disaster Relief; 10.1 Edition
Errata Page

The following is a list of corrections to the first edition of Mac OS X Disaster Relief. The fixes have all been included in the Updated for Jaguar edition.

Page 31:

The sidebar titled "Understanding Image Files" makes a reference to Disk Copy 6.5. This was a beta version of Disk Copy for Mac OS 9, available to developers, that apparently was never released to end users.

Page 118:

Page 119:

The sentence that begins

The most common setting is Read Only

should read instead

The most common setting for Everyone is Read Only

Note: This and the previous error were both cases where the copy editor deleted the text, not realizing its significance. I failed to notice this had been done and thus did not undo it. There may be more of this type of error lurking elsewhere. If so, I will post the corrections here as I spot them.

Page 119:

The "Technically Speaking" sidebar states:

You cannot change the owner or group name for an item, even if you are the owner of the file.

This is meant to refer to the Show Info window only. Earlier in the sidebar, it correctly indicates that there are ways around this restriction (e.g., using Terminal or third party software), but it should have been more clear.

Page 124:

Contrary to what is stated on this page, you can no longer open most OS X applications via the sudo command in Terminal. An update to OS X 10.1 eliminated this feature, as I correctly noted on page 349. Actually, the entire section on Terminal on page 124 has so much overlap with similar material in Chapter 10, that I would now sharply reduce it as follows:

Terminal. Anything that you can do with Unix in Mac OS X, you can do via the Terminal application—the command-line interface utility that accesses the Unix OS.

You can enable root access from Terminal in two ways. The first way is to use the su (for superuser) command. Type su, and press Return. You will be asked for your administrator password. Give it, and you have root access.

Second, you can type sudo plus a command in the same line. This action gives you root access just for that one command, returning you to your normal access when you are done.

The rationale for using sudo instead of su is to keep root access as limited as possible. Even with the best of intentions, root access can allow you to make a change that can have devastating consequences for your Mac, such as wiping out the files the OS needs to work. Thus, Unix tries to keep your risk to a minimum by restricting root access to the task at hand.

I discuss su, sudo, and numerous other Unix commands in more detail in Chapter 10.

Page 202-203

The term "set-default" should instead be "set-defaults." The set-default term only works if followed by a variable citing which setting you want to set back to its default. The plural term resets most defaults, with no need to specify them.

Page 223:

The text notes that deleting the mach_kernel file will result in a startup crash. It should have included the solution:

Boot from Mac OS 9, mount the Mac OS X Install CD. Drag the mach_kernel file at the root level of the CD to the root level of the OS X volume. Now restart in OS X. Note: This assumes that the CD contains the same version of OS X as presently installed on the drive. If not, you either can get the needed mach_kernel file from a back-up you previously made, or else you will likely need to reinstall OS X.

Page 254:

The text states:

DiskWarrior will not repair Mac OS X problems on a volume that has both OS 9 and OS X installed; it must be an OS X-only volume.

This sentence is in error. It should have referred to a limitation of running DiskWarrior from Classic (e.g., if you try to use DiskWarrior in the Classic environment, it will not make repairs to volumes that are available to both Classic and Mac OS X). However, if you boot from OS 9 and run DiskWarrior, it can repair a volume that contains both OS X and OS 9.

Page 255:

The section titled "Optimizing with Speed Disk" refers to the Speed Disk component of Norton Utilities. This component needs to be run from the Mac OS 9 version of the software, as it is not yet included in the OS X version. However, even when run from OS 9, it can still optimize an OS X volume. The text is correct as written, but should have been clearer on this OS 9 vs. OS X version distinction.

Drive 10 1.1 now includes an optimization feature.

Page 297 and page 329

The sections beginning on the above pages describe problems and solutions for copying, moving and deleting files. In addition to what is covered there, the following should be added:

If you try to replace a folder in your Home directory with a back-up copy (such as replacing the Preferences folder in the Library folder), you may get an error saying that you do not have sufficient privileges to do this. The problem is usually some file (or files) in the folder for which you do not have write access, even though it is in your Home directory. When this happened to me, the com.apple.NetInfoManager.plist file was one example. In most cases, the solution is to drag the folder-to-be replaced to the Trash. Now, drag the back-up copy to the desired Home directory location and it should copy successfully.

When you enable the Lock checkbox for a file in its Show Info window in the Finder, this typically also set its Immutable flag. Occasionally, even after unlocking the file from the Finder, the immutable flag remains set (as noted on page 556). This prevents moving or deleting the file. One solution is to use the chflags command, as described on page 334, to turn off the flag. Another solution is open the file in XRay and uncheck the Immut. checkbox from the Permissions' Owner Flags section.

Page 294:

The sidebar on "Default Settings of Applications" makes reference to an Apple utility called FixApplicationsFolderPermissions. This utility is no longer available. For Mac OS X 10.1.5, it has been replaced by a newer utility called Repair Privileges. This newer utility addresses a wider range of permissions-related problems.

Page 348:

a. The line that reads:

2. Go to ~/Library (such as the Library folder in your Home directory).

should read instead

2. Go to ~/Library (i.e., the Library folder in your Home directory).

b. The line that reads

3. Drag the file to the ~Library folder

should read instead:

3. Drag the file to the ~/Library folder

Page 356:

The term "vmstat" should instead be "vm_stat".

Page 399:

Rather than follow the steps listed at the top of the page, there is a simpler solution:

Login as the root user and delete the entire "printing" folder. Alternatively, if running Mac OS X 10.1.5, using the Repair Privileges utility should fix the problem.

Page 415:

The sentence in the sidebar that begins:

Internet routers work the same way that broadband devices do, except that...

should instead begin:

Internet routers using a modem work the same way as when using a broadband connection, except that...

Page 468:

a. The line that reads

• iDisks:
afp://iToolsUsername:iToolsPassword@{IPaddress or name}/iToolsUsername

should read instead

• iDisks:
afp://iToolsUsername:iToolsPassword@idisk.mac.com/iToolsUsername

b. In the three examples above this iDisk example, where it reads

or name

it should read instead

or domain name

Page 557 and 558:

The text /Documents/ should instead be ~/Documents/

<sudo sh /etc/weekly>

--

This page last updated October 25, 2002.