Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Panther Edition

The Upgrade Installation

If Mac OS X version 10.0 through 10.2-point-anything is on your hard drive, the Mac OS X 10.3 installer can neatly nip and tuck its software code, turning it into version 10.3. Everything remains just as you had it: your accounts, folders, files, email, network settings, everything-else settings, and so on.

TROUBLESHOOTING MOMENTJournaling

If you decide to erase your hard drive before installing Panther, you’re offered a choice of two formats for your hard drive: “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)” and “Unix file System.” If you choose the first option, you turn on a special, background feature of OS X known as file journaling.

When file journaling is turned on, your Mac keeps a personal diary of everything you do on your hard drive-opening, saving, deleting files, and so on. Journaling offers two benefits: a shorter startup time and safety in the event of a crash.

Here’s how it works: When you press the power button, Mac OS X checks to see whether your computer was shut down properly (by choosing →Shut Down for example,instead of just pulling out the plug).

If you didn’t shut down properly, Mac OS X examines your hard drive the next time you start up to see if it needs repair.It has to scan the whole drive-which can take anywhere from a couple of minutes (if your hard drive is less than 10 GB) to a couple of hours (if your hard drive is more than 200 GB). Thanks to ...