Filed under: Software, Features, Troubleshooting, Ask TUAW, MacBook, Leopard, MacBook Air
Ask TUAW: Removing printer drivers, renaming partitions, running your Mac with the lid closed and more
Once again, it's time for another edition of Ask TUAW, where we try to answer all your Mac and Apple-related questions. This week we're taking questions about keeping your Mac laptop running with the lid closed, removing unwanted printer drivers, renaming partitions and the best way to prepare for a clean install of Mac OSX. As always, we welcome your suggestions and questions for next week; they should be left in the comments to this post. When asking a question please include which machine and which version of Mac OS X you're running. If you don't specify, we'll assume you're running Leopard on an Intel Mac.
Okay, let's get to it.
Our first two questions today come from Quasimoto, who asks:
On my Macbook, is there a way I can keep my computer running without it having to automatically fall sleeping when I have my lid closed?
Absolutely. Just head on over to developer Semaja2's website and download the InsomniaX utility. This handy piece of software will keep your Mac running with the lid closed and prevent it from going to sleep. One thing to consider if you do decide to use this software, however: Even though Apple supports using a MacBook Pro, MacBook, MacBook Air and a Powerbook G4 with the lid closed, you may want to keep an eye on your laptop to help prevent any potential overheating issues. This is especially true if you plan on never letting the computer go to sleep using a tool like InsomniaX.
Quasimoto also asks:
I have a partition running Windows 7 perfectly, but when I'm on OSX, it shows that partition as 'Untitled' on my desktop. Is there a way to rename that partition to say 'Windows'?
Sure. It's as simple as using a tool you already have on your Mac: Disk Utility. Just go to Applications>Utilities>Disk Utility and double-click to run. Once open, select your Windows partition and then simply replace 'Untitled' with the name of your choice.
Imat77 asks:
I Installed and ran Monolingual to get rid of additional languages. Was it a smart idea to do what I did?
I've run Monolingual on probably hundreds of Macs and have never had a problem with it. It's a great tool to free up space on your Mac's hard drive. So, you should be fine. It's worth noting, though, that you should leave Microsoft Office's files alone if possible to avoid problems with updates later on.
Imat77 also asks:
I've also got a lot of unwanted printer drivers on my Mac. What's the best way to get rid of those?
To remove unwanted printer drivers, I use a tool called Print Therapy from the folks at Fixamac. This tool will perform a host of printing system diagnostics on your Mac and will also allow you to select one or more of default printer drivers and delete them.
Davis D. asks:
Could you please go into more detail about preparing for a clean install of OS X?
Performing a clean install of Mac OSX is not something to approach lightly. It's not particularly difficult or dangerous but it does take some thought. I could tell you the best way to go about it but instead, I'm going to go right to the source and tell you what Apple says you should do -- with a few additions by me.
Make sure that your user data is backed up using your preferred backup method.
Also, I make sure to de-authorize iTunes and any other programs requiring authorization, such as Adobe Photoshop, before performing an erase and install.
For portables: Verify that your Mac has uninterrupted AC power (also a good idea for desktops, if your electricity is prone to flakiness -- might be time to invest in a UPS).
For faster migration of user data, Time Capsule/AirDisk users should connect their Macs directly to their Airport device via Ethernet.
Insert your original Mac OS 10.5 Leopard DVD and reboot while holding down the "C" key.
At the "Welcome" screen click "Continue."
Click "Agree" to the user agreement.
Select your Mac's internal hard disk and click "Options."
Select "Erase and Install."
Select "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" for disk format. (Avoid selecting "Case-sensitive" unless you know what you are doing.)
Click "OK."
Click "Continue."
At "Install Summary" click "Customize" if you would like to eliminate certain Print Drivers, Fonts, or Language packages from being installed. Otherwise, click "Install."
If you wish, you can click "Skip" when the DVD integrity check begins. (I always do.)
Once the install completes, your Mac will restart and you'll have a fresh, clean almost-new computer at your disposal. Then, you can run Software Update to bring your machine up to date (you can save time by downloading the Combo system update in advance and saving it to an external drive) restore your user data, install any third-party Applications you want and get back to work.
I Installed and ran Monolingual to get rid of additional languages. Was it a smart idea to do what I did?
I've run Monolingual on probably hundreds of Macs and have never had a problem with it. It's a great tool to free up space on your Mac's hard drive. So, you should be fine. It's worth noting, though, that you should leave Microsoft Office's files alone if possible to avoid problems with updates later on.
Imat77 also asks:
I've also got a lot of unwanted printer drivers on my Mac. What's the best way to get rid of those?
To remove unwanted printer drivers, I use a tool called Print Therapy from the folks at Fixamac. This tool will perform a host of printing system diagnostics on your Mac and will also allow you to select one or more of default printer drivers and delete them.
Davis D. asks:
Could you please go into more detail about preparing for a clean install of OS X?
Performing a clean install of Mac OSX is not something to approach lightly. It's not particularly difficult or dangerous but it does take some thought. I could tell you the best way to go about it but instead, I'm going to go right to the source and tell you what Apple says you should do -- with a few additions by me.
Make sure that your user data is backed up using your preferred backup method.
Also, I make sure to de-authorize iTunes and any other programs requiring authorization, such as Adobe Photoshop, before performing an erase and install.
For portables: Verify that your Mac has uninterrupted AC power (also a good idea for desktops, if your electricity is prone to flakiness -- might be time to invest in a UPS).
For faster migration of user data, Time Capsule/AirDisk users should connect their Macs directly to their Airport device via Ethernet.
Insert your original Mac OS 10.5 Leopard DVD and reboot while holding down the "C" key.
At the "Welcome" screen click "Continue."
Click "Agree" to the user agreement.
Select your Mac's internal hard disk and click "Options."
Select "Erase and Install."
Select "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" for disk format. (Avoid selecting "Case-sensitive" unless you know what you are doing.)
Click "OK."
Click "Continue."
At "Install Summary" click "Customize" if you would like to eliminate certain Print Drivers, Fonts, or Language packages from being installed. Otherwise, click "Install."
If you wish, you can click "Skip" when the DVD integrity check begins. (I always do.)
Once the install completes, your Mac will restart and you'll have a fresh, clean almost-new computer at your disposal. Then, you can run Software Update to bring your machine up to date (you can save time by downloading the Combo system update in advance and saving it to an external drive) restore your user data, install any third-party Applications you want and get back to work.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
MadMike said 10:11AM on 1-28-2009
What about custom tweaks for Hardcore users? For instance windows has 100,00 different speed tweaks (multiple partitions, separate swap partition, etc).
Reply
nick said 7:57PM on 1-28-2009
I believe that Quasimotos question will not be possible as NTFS is not writable in leopard, which would disallow you from being able to rename the volume. My invisible Boot Camp volume trick was naming the Windows partition .Windows. It's as invisible as can be and I can still manually navigate there if necessary.
Reply
Fin said 10:24AM on 1-28-2009
I think NTFS drives (like Windows 7 mentioned) can only be renamed from within Windows, not within OS X (this is the case with my XP partition - once you rename the drive in Windows it should work fine).
Reply
Darren said 10:25AM on 1-28-2009
The official way to run with the lid closed is to close the lid, then wake the machine up with your external mouse or keyboard. Your Mac will then only on the external display.
Reply
William Briere said 12:53PM on 1-28-2009
You can also plug in an external drive to wake it if you would like to use the mouse and keyboard of your laptop (ie open) while still using the external display. I'm pretty sure you also need to have it plugged in to an outlet in order to work with the lid closed/display off otherwise it will go to sleep on you.
Kris Buckley said 1:22PM on 1-28-2009
Is anyone having issues with running clamshell mode since 10.5.6? I have had this on both White and Alu MacBook. They worked fine before 10.5.6 but now they just go back to sleep after a few seconds.
Mike said 1:35PM on 1-28-2009
Ya, I run with the lid closed at my desk. When the power is plugged in, it won't sleep. Just wake it with an external KB. Nothing else needed.
spdrcr5 said 10:32AM on 1-28-2009
How about a way to enable the "Ignore accidental Trackpad Input" when you're running a MacBook Pro with Leopard and a Multi-touch trackpad! This feature was removed when Apple changed over to the multi-touch track pad. Their "answer" and "fix" for this is to install 10.4! How stupid is that?
Reply
stevenik said 10:44AM on 1-28-2009
Interesting. My XP volume is Fat 32 and Disk Utility doesn't give me an option to change its name.
Reply
Chris said 10:57AM on 1-28-2009
Same here. I have been trying to find a solution for this since I put XP on my blackbook with BootCamp. I would love to rename it. Wont let me.
lane said 11:46AM on 1-28-2009
Same here, I have a Win7 install, but Disk utility under X.5.4 won't change it, had to reboot to that partition via holding option key down and the getting properties on my Computer and under general, add the name in the blank field. Then in OS X it will reflect the changes.
Good Luck, simple.......weird how OS X won't show the Win 7 drives under OS X, in startup disk but Win 7 BootCamp control panel will!!! wtf?....here's hoping for an update!!!!
L.
Darren said 1:30PM on 1-28-2009
You can rename a WIN32 volume with Finder, just like you rename any other file or volume. You can also use the File Info Panel (Command+I).
Matt said 10:58AM on 1-28-2009
Fin is right; you have to rename an NTFS drive in Windows; if you formatted the drive with default settings in Windows, it is most likely NTFS. An additional tip: if you start the name of the volume with a period (such as .Windows 7), it will not mount on the desktop, though you can still see it in a finder window.
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Jonathan Wise said 11:07AM on 1-28-2009
Please remember that your Mac laptop vents heat through the keyboard, so keeping the lid closed all the time isn't really a good idea...
Reply
Darren said 1:35PM on 1-28-2009
All MacBook models are designed to run with the lid closed. As long as the back vent isn't obstructed you're fine.
I've re-encoded DVDs with the lid closed and my MacBook didn't generate any extra heat; the space between the keyboard and screen was the coolest part of the laptop, since that's where it's sucking in fresh air.
That wasn't always the case. The old iBooks were not designed to run with the lid closed and would get very hot if they did.
Mike said 1:35PM on 1-28-2009
Heat isn't deliberately vented through the keyboard, it is an intake for air. The fans on MacBooks blow air out the rear of the unit. The lid being closed in of itself does not prevent adequate air from entering the unit.
Jeff said 11:11AM on 1-28-2009
There has to be a better way to remove the 3.5+ GB of unused printer drivers than buying a $30 piece of software. I'd wholesale delete the folders if I didn't think I'd break something.
Reply
Darren said 1:50PM on 1-28-2009
Navigate to /Library/Printers in Finder, switch to List View (Command+2), show View Options (Command+J) and select "Calculate All Sizes", then click the "Size" column to sort by folder size to see which drivers take up the most space. You'll see that the Canon, HP, Epson, Lexmark, and Xerox take up the most space.
Copy the large folders to a backup drive, then delete the folders from your computer. If you ever do need to print from one of these printers, just copy the folder back to your computer from your backup.
With these folders deleted you can still configure a printer to use one of these drivers, only it will warn you that the software for the driver is missing.
Most new printers come with their own drivers, anyway.
m said 5:09PM on 1-28-2009
But if they weren't pushing us to buy software, it wouldn't be TUAW, would it? Let's be glad they didn't suggest an iPhone app.
Stephen Lang said 11:12AM on 1-28-2009
My Windows partition is FAT32. I just renamed it in Finder, and don't seem to have any problems with it in either OS.
Reply