Alan, You wrote:
I cant seem to use applications that require the classic environment on my Mac. Or perhaps it is more of a case that classic wont start up.
The only change has been the upgrade to 10.3.2(currently running), previously there was no problem. The spec of the Mac is G4 1.25DP with 75 gig HD running the above mentioned OS. The HD is 90% full.
the warning says....... classic was unable to update its files on "system folder" on "75 gig"
As my good friend Richard Earney points out the answer really is contained within the question, he put it politely, but I feel in the reverse order! 10% of your hard drive is too little space within which to operate an optimum system. It also sounds as if you only have that one drive.
By all means try the suggestions made to ascertain whether your System 9 is fully functional in its own right, but you do have to start by removing some of your data so that you operate with a startup drive that keeps within 30 to 50% free to give it a chance to run in a reasonably unfragmented environment.
Seriously, go out and get another drive and either fit this internally or externally, they are very inexpensive nowadays, potentially a high rpm internal is going to be your fastest option. If this is to be faster than your current internal drive, then you can designate this as your primary scratch disc for Photoshop. This could well be a good reason to partition the drive in two with an 8Gb partition as a consistently free area for scratch. I tend to always put a System on at least one drive other than my main one as a constant fallback and a means of carrying out maintenance and diagnostic from this one when used as an alternative Startup disc.
Try to ensure that you look after the System in much the same way you would a car (you do check its oil, petrol/diesel and water regularly, don't you?:-) So it is with a computer - especially if it is your lifeblood. I am sure you would not go out on a Sunday to do a long-distance trip with only a dribble of petrol in the tank, to continue the analogy, well 10% free space is similar - it is likely to be in very small chunks, and since when you run Classic MacOS X is already running you can see that the claim on this space is potentially high, hence Classic will likely be the loser.
If you have used previous Mac OS systems you will remember such regular maintenance such as Desktop rebuilds, well, think of Repairing Permissions in a similar light. Also the new MacOS is based on Unix, and it has some regular maintenance routines inbuilt, but they are scheduled to run when least likely to be in use - in the wee small hours! If you are not in the habit of leaving your machine permanently on, then programs such as MacJanitor and Onyx (free! but a donation to the authors never goes amiss) fit the bill. These will clear certain files that build up over time contributing to a cleaner system.
MacOS X is still comparatively young, but is constantly evolving with each iteration bringing at least some small improvements to speed, ease of use and security. I can certainly say that Panther has some really handy additions making life for a photographer that much easier.
I am sorry for the length, but you probably represent a tip of a berg floating in the digital ocean, so I felt it worth offering some navigational tips for other itinerants.
Rod Rod Wynne-Powell ____________________________________________________ Retoucher, Trainer, Consultant, Author of 'Photoshop Made Simple' Tech Editor for Martin Evening and Deke McLelland's books: "Photoshop 7 for Photographers"/"The Photoshop 7 Bible" SOLUTIONS photographic email: rod(at)solphoto.co.uk 01582-725065____________________ 07836-248126 mobile___
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