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(Seemingly) Random crashes in VW 10 on OS 10.3


rnelson

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Where I work, students run laptops (a few desktop systems in the lab are used by those who don't buy laptops), most of which are running 10.3.2 (I can't think of any off-hand that I know are still 10.2). They all just purchased VW 10.5.1 (dongle version, for lack of a better term). All systems are various G4 systems, nothing obvious in the area of low ram or hard drive space. They'll be working and suddenly it'll crash. The next time I see one of them do it, I'll check to see if the Submit Bug Report gives any useful debug information; if so, I'll do a followup.

Are there any known issues in VW 10.5.1/OS 10.3.2?

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(I'm the Student Tech Fellow [random tech] for the dept.)

I've tried both Disk Utility and DiskWarrior on a couple systems with other issues and it still crashes (though the other issues are fixed).

Next time it crashes, I'll try it again. Would there be any advantage to running DU from the OS install cd? I know that it, for obvious reasons, can't modify the mode (chmod -- always assumed mod was for mode, never actually read the man page) on anything open. Maybe DongleSys stuff could be it. (I haven't noticed random crashes on older copies of 10 (10.0.1) that are upgraded to 10.5.1 but don't require the dongle)

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Being laptops the systems may not be running the underlying unix maintinace scripts, which run between 3-5am when the computer is either switched off or asleep.

These can also reduce vectorwork crashing and improve system stability if run regularly.

You can check www.versiontracker.com for tools to either edit the time (crontab) to when the computer will be on and awake but maybe fairly idle.(or check the net for a guide on how to edit the crontab yourself using terminal)

as well as tools to let you run the scripts on demand.

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It shouldn't be the dongle, or else there would be alot more reports of it.

Running it from the CD has no benefit. I'd run it from the system folder. At least, that's what the "experts" suggest.

Personally, I'd run DU instead of a third party utility, only because it's certified by Apple. One other application you have on your computer that is not necessary is just a waste of HD space and can open the possibility of a system corruption. If you think about it, anyone but Apple that develops a program to reset system level permissions and what not, is probably not the best nor safest application. (This is a personal thought, not the sole thought of NNA.)

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DiskWarrior doesn't install on the hard drive (well, optionally it can); it's run from a cd so it can mess with the system files which are in use.

They've been using it in the department without any problems for a while, may be worth taking a look at sometime when you're bored. Assuming it only does what it says it's going to (time to whip out some system to debug while it's running? hehe), it's safe to run. As you say, though, you never know.

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Just talked to my boss. I mentioned both running DU manually and the scripts, but since we've tried it before he's not sure how it'll help. We have a copy of Apple Remote Desktop, so I'll play with creating a package to install the scripts and remote install it sometime.

He also mentioned Panther Cache Cleaner; is there anything it helps with that may be a problem with VW? (his question)

Also, I believe I stated that they were on a variety of systems; they're all on the new PBooks (15.2" Titaniums), more likely than not all standard configuration. Everything running 10.3.2 and VW 10.5.1.

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I suggest doing that on whatever computer(s) is crashing.

Moving files around on the computer excessively (like in an educational environment), installation and removal of applications under OS 10 is going to upset the user preference file - which will cause all kinds of wild things - crashes mostly.

As monthly maintenance, DU should be run on the computers about once a month, unless software is isntalled or removed. DU should also be run after new software installation or removal of old software.

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