os x utilities

[hobey19]

i have had my ibook for awhile now, and i absolutely love it. one thing i have noticed, however, is that my speeds are incredibly slow compared to my xp desktop. i don't remember it always being like that, so i figure that over time, stuff may have gotten on there like it does on a windows pc. i cleared everything in safari, but it didn't really help my speeds at all. both computers are behind the same router, and the desktop is rarely turned on, as i use the ibook for most of my day-to-day stuff, so it has full bandwidth. is there anything i can do to speed it up a bit? i am new to the mac os, so i don't know my way around much. thanks

craig

[Mac Medic]

go into, preferences, accounts, your account, startup items, and see what is loading on startup.

[hobey19]

alright, i disabled everything i don't need (there were only 4 things anyway). the system itself is running just fine, it just seems as if the internet is slow. i appreciate the help, oem_guy

the other thing, too, off topic, is that my printer is not working. i bought an epson rx500, which comes with mac drivers, and i ran the disc as it said to. then, when i went to printer control panel to add the printer, it shows the name of the printer in the install field for USB, but it says drivers not installed. i have downloaded the update from epson's website, but it still doesn't work. any advice on that one? thanks

craig

[Mac Medic]

just the internet huh, have you tried resetting safari? it's in the safari menu. Warning though, this gets rid of history, cookies, auto fill info etc...

[hobey19]

yea, reset safari, still no dice. i am installing firefox right now, just to see if its a safari issue

craig

[hobey19]

alright, definitely doesn't seem to be a safari issue, as firefox is just as slow (i'm talking dial-up slow). so your advice on this and the printer is really appreciated

craig

[Mac Medic]

are you using airport? and ran software update? you could also try deleting the safari plist file incase it corrupted. search for com.apple.safari.plist in the finder.

Then repair preference in the disk utility app, dont bother with verify and repair though, just repair.

[Mac Medic]

repair permissions sorry, not repair preference

[hobey19]

neg, i am using an ethernet cable, but i will try the plist and repair permissions

thanks
craig

[Mac Medic]

for the printer, I would delete the current printer from the control panel, re-run the installer, and try adding the printer again to see what happens. Make sure you run the installer before plugging in the printer, then plug it in and add it to the printer list.

[hobey19]

alright, the repair definitely sped things up, still not as fast as my pc, but its a lot better. any thing else i should check? i will try your suggestion for the printer

also, does mac os have a system-restore type function?

thanks
craig

[hobey19]

i tried your suggestion with the printer, and it did not work, it still comes up as Epson Stylus Photo RX500 "Driver Not Installed". any suggestions? all of the software on the disc has been installed. is there a way for me to manually copy the drivers into the appropriate folder? thanks

craig

[Mac Medic]

I use Onyx to keep my Macs clean and running tip-top.

http://www.boostware.com/os/mac/onyx.html

I just run the automator, it cleans the system, prebinds it, runs all cron jobs and can do a few miscellaneous things in addition.

The software restore in in the Application/Utilities folder. Use Onyx first, it may just need the cron scripts ran and a prebind to get it all back to normal.

Also, just out of curiosity, in the preference/energy saver panel, see what you processor is set to. If automatic, set it to full speed.