Griffinator Posted March 5, 2004 Share Posted March 5, 2004 I have a dear friend (with a teenage son who has become an internet porn addict) who needs me to clean up her iMac and install some parental control software to keep him out of those sites. Problem for me is, I have no idea how to perform even simple operations like uninstalling programs, clearing the internet cache, or even decompressing Stuffit files on an Apple-based machine. (I'm a PC man, always have been) Can some of you Mac experts kinda help me through some of this stuff? I'm already busy at work on the XP system I just installed for her, but I'm completely lost on the other machine. Thanks in advance! A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeVW Posted March 5, 2004 Share Posted March 5, 2004 OS X or OS 9? What browser is being used? There are a number of variables to deal with. Generally, uninstalling a program on a Mac is a question of dragging it to the Trash and then choosing Empty Trash when you're finished (with OS X.3.2, you can do a Secure Empty Trash, which scrubs the disk after deleting the file). Don't know anything about Internet filters for Mac, but there are commercial software packages out there. You might go over to Apple.com discussion boards and ask there for recommendations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar Geezer Posted March 5, 2004 Share Posted March 5, 2004 ...What George said LynnG Lynn G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted March 5, 2004 Author Share Posted March 5, 2004 Here we go: 1) I know it's not OS X. I'm not sure what version of MacOS it is, though. It's about a two or three year old unit, never been updated. 2) I found a commercial package, downloaded the .sit of the demo, attempted to unpack it (by double clicking it then going to File-Open), and nothing happened (well, "Stuffit" came up on the taskbar, but nothing happened with the file itself) Is there something I'm missing here? 3) If I'm understanding you correctly, George, Mac doesn't have a "registry" type structure for program permissions, etc? 4) How do I access the startup sequence - right now, when you turn the computer on, it fires up 35 documents from the word processor, plus AIM, plus several other programs. I'd really like to kill that little problem - if for no other reason than it totally destabilizes the OS for the rest of the session. A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeVW Posted March 6, 2004 Share Posted March 6, 2004 Originally posted by Griffinator: Here we go: 1) I know it's not OS X. I'm not sure what version of MacOS it is, though. It's about a two or three year old unit, never been updated. 2) I found a commercial package, downloaded the .sit of the demo, attempted to unpack it (by double clicking it then going to File-Open), and nothing happened (well, "Stuffit" came up on the taskbar, but nothing happened with the file itself) Is there something I'm missing here? 3) If I'm understanding you correctly, George, Mac doesn't have a "registry" type structure for program permissions, etc? 4) How do I access the startup sequence - right now, when you turn the computer on, it fires up 35 documents from the word processor, plus AIM, plus several other programs. I'd really like to kill that little problem - if for no other reason than it totally destabilizes the OS for the rest of the session.1. On an iMac of that age, it'll be OS 9. A little more difficult to deal with the X for some stuff, but still fairly simple. 2. Double clicking on a stuffed file should automatically unstuff it. However, if the Unstuffit app had its preferences set to unstuff to a specific directory, that's where your decompressed file now lives. You can use the 'Find' command to look for it. 3. Right. No registry. Some OS 9 programs do install extensions that they need, but it's not very common. The Extension Manager should live under the Apple Menu, and can show you what's installed. You can turn unnecessary extension off from there (if you absolutely want to trash them, you'll find them in the System folder inside a folder called Extension(Disabled). You may not want to throw them away until you're positive some other program doesn't need it as well). 4. Also in the System folder, you'll find a subdirectory called 'Startup Items'. Anything that's in that folder gets run or opened at boot. Remove the unnecessary stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groovepusher Sly Posted March 6, 2004 Share Posted March 6, 2004 What browser? Other resources, check their forums: http://www.macworld.com/ http://www.maccentral.com/ http://www.macaddict.com/ http://slashdot.org/ Sly Whasineva ehaiz, ehissgot ta be Funky! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanmass Posted March 6, 2004 Share Posted March 6, 2004 Order THIS from eBay, or blow the thing out and load OS X for $99 bucks. It will auto boot to the CD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted March 6, 2004 Author Share Posted March 6, 2004 I doubt this old thing would handle OS X. Most of the software I looked at was compatible with OS 9. A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Klopmeyer Posted March 6, 2004 Share Posted March 6, 2004 Yeah, on a three-year-old iMac, it's OS 9 or OS 8.6. No matter. 1. Turn iMac on. 2. Double-click the little "Macintosh HD" icon, probably in the upper right. That window shows the hard drive contents. 3. The browser cache can be cleaned in a couple of ways. You can find the cache folder itself (which will either be in the browser folder in the Applications folder on the HD or possibly in a floder for the browser in the Preferences folder in the System folder). The other way is to open the broswer and use the "clear cache" button, usually in the Preferences submenu. 4. You can also snoop around a bit using the "Find" command (hold down Apple-F). If the kid's been saving porn to the HD, a simple check for jpg files shouuld turn them up. Let me know if you need more help. - Jeff Marketing Communications for MI/Pro Audio My solo music and stuff They Stole My Crayon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atomix Posted March 6, 2004 Share Posted March 6, 2004 You'll need an OS 9 install disk. You should really Wipe and reload the drive. Once you have the OS 9 restore or OS 9 install disk.. - Restart. - Hold down C key to boot from the CD. - Initialize the Disk. - Run the OS 9 install. Get your hands on ContentBarrier. It works really well for filtering. Hope this helps...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pseudonym Posted March 6, 2004 Share Posted March 6, 2004 Install osX and tell the little bastard you'll beat his ass the next time he looks at a naked women, and then take him to see the "passion of the christ". You'll have a paranoid schizophenic on you're hands in no time, and then have to turn the kid over to the state and then you won't have to worry about anymore! WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted March 6, 2004 Author Share Posted March 6, 2004 Originally posted by pseudonym: Install osX and tell the little bastard you'll beat his ass the next time he looks at a naked women, and then take him to see the "passion of the christ". You'll have a paranoid schizophenic on you're hands in no time, and then have to turn the kid over to the state and then you won't have to worry about anymore! Actually, after I "blew the whistle" to his mom yesterday, he called me up and thanked me for doing it. He really wants to get help. A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted March 6, 2004 Author Share Posted March 6, 2004 Originally posted by Jeff Da Weasel: Yeah, on a three-year-old iMac, it's OS 9 or OS 8.6. No matter. 1. Turn iMac on. 2. Double-click the little "Macintosh HD" icon, probably in the upper right. That window shows the hard drive contents. 3. The browser cache can be cleaned in a couple of ways. You can find the cache folder itself (which will either be in the browser folder in the Applications folder on the HD or possibly in a floder for the browser in the Preferences folder in the System folder). The other way is to open the broswer and use the "clear cache" button, usually in the Preferences submenu. 4. You can also snoop around a bit using the "Find" command (hold down Apple-F). If the kid's been saving porn to the HD, a simple check for jpg files shouuld turn them up. Let me know if you need more help. - JeffThanks. I'll be working over at their place in an hour or so, so I'm trying to get all the utilities, etc. I can get my hands on now, so I can throw them on a CD and have them ready to roll. Digging around for a good freeware defragger utility while I'm at it. A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
not Cereal Posted March 6, 2004 Share Posted March 6, 2004 rather than cpu speed, osx is reliant on motherboard bus speed. a 50 or 66 mhz bus mac will struggle with osx, but a 100mhz motherboard will fly. example: a 500mhz g3 on a 50mhz board will suffer. a 300 mhz g3 on a 100mhz board will work very well. i dont know what mhz motherboard the imac has, but imagine its either 66 or 100. if its 100, put osx on it. if its 66, dont. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted March 6, 2004 Author Share Posted March 6, 2004 Originally posted by Mr. Nice Crass Coaster Guy: rather than cpu speed, osx is reliant on motherboard bus speed. a 50 or 66 mhz bus mac will struggle with osx, but a 100mhz motherboard will fly. example: a 500mhz g3 on a 50mhz board will suffer. a 300 mhz g3 on a 100mhz board will work very well. i dont know what mhz motherboard the imac has, but imagine its either 66 or 100. if its 100, put osx on it. if its 66, dont.I'm just not going to worry about that part. This is a "family" type computer, where the most intensive processes are going to be simple word processing. As I mentioned earlier, I just installed an Athlon XP 2600 system upstairs, so that's the unit that's going to see most of the use. A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groovepusher Sly Posted March 6, 2004 Share Posted March 6, 2004 See if you can install OSX here OSX Requirements Sly Whasineva ehaiz, ehissgot ta be Funky! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
where02190 Posted March 7, 2004 Share Posted March 7, 2004 Backup the essential (ie schoolwork) files, and reinitialize the HDD. This will wipe everything, no chance of recovery. Reinstall the OS,and get a copy of the The Mac Bible. It'll walk you through anything you need to know. Hope this is helpful. NP Recording Studios Analog approach to digital recording. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrysb3 Posted March 9, 2004 Share Posted March 9, 2004 With regard to the speed of the motherboard, would that be the "100" that's in the name of the RAM chips? I ran the profile of my iMac and it says that I have a 400mHz processor and then describes the ram chips with a PC100 and some other numbers. I bought OSX, then didn't install it after I found out about Garageband, thinking I could upgrade before I upgraded, then found that iLife requires a faster processor than what I've got. I'm getting old and cranky and resistant to change, huh? Henry He not busy being born Is busy dyin'. ...Bob Dylan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandyH Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 OS X would be a little slow on that machine, but the security is much better. Each person in the house can have their own account, and their files are kept separate. Technology can help with keeping the kid clean, but having the parents knowing how to watch his browser history, or the OS X system logs is the real way. Better yet, tell mom to install the computer in the most public area of the house. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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