MacMedic邃｢ System Configuration was designed to be simple to use. Important commands are accessible directly from the MacMedic邃｢ System Configuration window by clicking the appropriate buttons. Additional commands are available in the File menu.
Creating a New Report
The first step to using MacMedic邃｢ System Configuration is creating a new report.
1. Click the New Report button in the MacMedic邃｢ System Configuration window, or choose "New窶ｦ" from the File menu.
2. In the "Save Report as" dialog box, a filename is provided, so just select a destination for the new report.
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3. Click the Save button.
The Select Volumes to Scan dialog lists every volume that is currently mounted and available to MacMedic邃｢ System Configuration. Volumes represent storage devices such as
窶｢ hard drives
窶｢ removable media, including floppy disks, CD ROMs, and SyQuest邃｢ drives
窶｢ shared folders and file servers
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4. Select volumes to include in the report by clicking next to the volume name in the Include column. A check mark appears next to each volume to be included.
If a volume other than the current startup volume contains valid system software, it is possible to create the report as if it were the current startup volume. This can be very useful for finding problems on a volume that crashes during startup.
5. To select a different volume to be treated as the startup volume, click in the Startup column next to its name. The startup icon will move beside the alternate volume. A faint image of the startup icon will always appear next to the actual startup volume as a subtle reminder.
6. After volumes have been selected, click the <OK> button.
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MacMedic邃｢ System Configuration begins collecting information about the system and about each software file resident on the selected volumes. You may cancel the collection at any time by clicking the Cancel button, or by pressing the <Esc> or <Command>-<.> keys.
(Note: The collection time varies with the number of files resident on each of the selected volumes. For this reason, it is usually undesirable to routinely scan CD ROMs and remotely mounted volumes.)
After the collection finishes, a report is automatically opened into a report window. See Understanding the Configuration Report for more information about interpreting sections within the report.
Opening an Existing Report
To view a previously created report, open it by
窶｢ double-clicking the report from within the Finder
窶｢ dragging the report to the MacMedic邃｢ System Configuration application
窶｢ opening it from within MacMedic邃｢ System Configuration
To open a report from within MacMedic邃｢ System Configuration
1. Click the Open Report button in the MacMedic邃｢ System Configuration window, or choose Open窶ｦ from the File menu.
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(Note: It is not possible to have more than one report open at a time. You must close the active report before you are able to open a new one.)
2. In the dialog box that appears, select the report file to be opened.
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3. Click the Open button.
MacMedic邃｢ System Configuration will image the selected report and display it inside a report window.
Simulating a System Software Upgrade
When considering an upgrade to the latest version of system software, MacMedic邃｢ System Configuration can, in advance, determine what kinds of problems you will encounter based on the current configuration. The report lists software that will conflict or have incompatibilities with the new system, and suggests new features to improve your system performance.
To create a report that simulates a system software upgrade click the System 8.1 Upgrade button in the MacMedic邃｢ System Configuration window. The rest of the procedure is identical to creating a normal report, described in Creating a New Report.
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(Note: This feature is unnecessary if the latest system software is already present.)
Changing MacMedic邃｢ System Configuration Preferences
The Preferences dialog box allows changes to be made to the behavior of MacMedic邃｢ System Configuration.
1. Choose Preferences窶ｦ from the File menu to display the Preferences dialog.
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2. To automatically create a report everytime MacMedic邃｢ System Configuration starts up, check the Create New Report at Startup check box.
3. To display each section of the configuration report as a black rectangle with inverted text, check the Inverted Section Titles in Report check box. This item is checked by default, but can be turned off in order to conserve toner when printing.
4. To display out-of-date installed software, check the "Only Show Later Versions" in Current Versions check box. Turning this item on, will make it easier to find software which may need to be updated.
5. Click the OK button to accept changes made in the preferences dialog.
