Its software acceleration compensates for sub-optimal disk performance to make extensions and control panels load faster. Startup your powerbook faster at airports (and everywhere else!), zap through all those startup icons! Save time each time you startup your Mac! Those seconds spent waiting really add up: Startup Doubler makes startups up to twice faster, depending on the performance of your startup disk and the number of Extensions and Control Panels in your System!
Installation
1 Run the Startup Doubler Installer
2 The SECOND restart will be accelerated, as well as the next ones. The first restart is used to build Startup Doubler’s data.
3 Please see http://marcmoini.com or http://www.kagi.com/authors/marc/ for the latest version!
System 7 or Mac OS 8.x on a color-capable Mac are required, and 8 megabytes of Random Access Memory (RAM).
Note: Turn off any anti-virus software while running the Startup Doubler installer (use the anti-virus software to scan the installer beforehand if needed)
Removal
Please use the Startup Doubler installer’s Remove button to un-install Startup Doubler from your system. Likewise, if you need to install Startup Doubler on a new System, please use the Installer. Only using the installer ensures Startup Doubler is installed or removed properly.
Using Startup Doubler
After restarting, you may enter your preferences in the control panel.
Checking the Startup Acceleration box enables Startup Doubler’s innovative acceleration technology. This transparently affects Extensions and Control Panels and makes them load faster.
• it is recommended you use the Memory control panel to set the disk cache size to at least 1024K (or better: 2048K) on a 32 meg machine, at least 512K on a 16 meg machine, to make startups even faster. Clicking the Default button should set this correctly.
• hold down the Shift key at startup to bypass Startup Doubler if needed. This will also bypass loading all other extensions and control panels.
• if you have many (50+) extensions, Startup Doubler’s optimal performance will probably be reached after a few restarts, as it adapts to your system.
• disk checks after a crash aren’t accelerated. Upgrade to System 7.6.1 or later to get faster disk checking.
Support
A lot of time goes into making Startup Doubler work as intended. If you find a problem not described on the Startup Doubler web page, please send a short email to marc@kagi.com. Time spent on correspondence is taken away from software development, so please check the documentation and the web page’s Frequently Asked Questions before writing in!
Emails with questions already answered in the documentation or on the web page will be replied to last. You will not receive a reply if your return email address is wrong: send a copy of the email to yourself to make sure the return address is correct! The volume of mail received often prevents the author from replying, but all e-mails are carefully read.
Shareware Notice
Startup Doubler is shareware. You may evaluate it freely for up to 15 days, then to continue using it you are expected to pay a $20 registration fee. Registration is handled by the Kagi Shareware service. You may register on-line with a credit card at :
http://order.kagi.com/?MM&S
(or without the &S if your browser doesn't support secure connections)
Or use the attached Register application to register by e-mail (send to shareware@Kagi.com) or by fax with a credit card, or through postal mail. Please run the application for more information (and turn on Balloon Help!). If you received Startup Doubler without the Register application, please download the complete package.
After you register, Kagi will send you a receipt and a code to disable the registration reminders. Please remember to include your e-mail address (or postal address, but it takes much longer) so Kagi knows where to send the code! If you don't receive your code within a week, let me know by sending an email to Marc@Kagi.com.
A person or family using the program on several computers need only pay for one copy. Site licenses are available. The Kagi Shareware address and fax number are for registrations only, please. Kagi is a payment processing service and does not provide support for Startup Doubler or any other program.
Please distribute Startup Doubler as a complete package, with this document and the Register application. It is OK to upload the unmodified package to BBSs, the Internet and online services, and to put it on a CD-ROM provided Startup Doubler is not sold.
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to Bill Goodman, Vils Legrand, Christopher Li, Fl.M, Marc Menschenfreund, Alessandro Levi Montalcini, Mark Nagata, Michel Pollet and Mark Shirley!
Disclaimer
The author makes no warranties, either express or implied, regarding the fitness of Startup Doubler for any particular purpose. Use Startup Doubler at your own risk. The author claims no liability for data loss or any other problems caused directly or indirectly by Startup Doubler.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I measure exactly how much time Startup Doubler saves?
A: Start the timer when you see Welcome to Macintosh appear in the center of the screen, then stop it as soon as the first disk icon appears in the Finder. Compare with same when Startup Doubler is off.
Q: Startup Doubler makes my system start up only 5 seconds faster. Why not more?
A: It really depends on the performance of your hard drive: the slower it is, the more dramatic Startup Doubler's results will be. For a very fast hard drive, however, the savings will be minimal.
Q: It's compatible with Speed Doubler 2.03, but what about Speed Doubler 8?
A: At the time of this writing Startup Doubler is compatible with Speed Doubler 8.0, 8.01 and 8.1.
Q: Why is the Startup Doubler icon at startup sometimes displayed with 3 dots and sometimes with an orange ‘rocket’ on it?
A: The 3 dots are shown whenever Startup Doubler rebuilds its cache (ex: after switching startup volumes). The ‘rocket’ icon indicates Startup Doubler is accelerating the startup process.
Q: Is Startup Doubler similar to FWB TurboBoot?
A: No, and unfortunately they're incompatible. Startup Doubler should save much more time, though! On an un-networked PowerMac 7500/150 running System 7.6.1 off a Quantum Fireball 2gig hard drive, Startup Doubler cuts the startup time to 40 seconds down from 70 seconds!
Q: How is the acceleration achieved?
A: I guess you could say it adds a second level to the disk cache. If you know some software that you think works the same way, please let me know!
Q: Do the savings from Startup Doubler and Speed Doubler add up?
A: Yes. Running either one alone will make your system faster: Startup Doubler accelerates the startup, and Speed Doubler's Faster Disk Performance accelerates most after startup. So running the two together is fastest!
Q: After installing Startup Doubler, TechTool reports that my System file is damaged. Is it?
A: No. TechTool is triggered by a small change the Startup Doubler installer makes to the System file.
Other programs by the author
Smart Scroll resizes the indicator thumb in regular scroll bars to show how much of a document is displayed in a window: If a window is displaying half of a document, the thumb will be half the scrollbar size. This gives you an idea of how large the document is, without having to scroll the window to find out!
Smart Scroll also adds Live Scrolling, which updates the display as you drag the scrollbar thumb. Just release the thumb when you see the part of the document you want: no more guessing where you'll end up! Download from www.marcmoini.com
Clean-Install Assistant makes it easier to migrate third-party and personal items to a new Clean-Installed System Folder, and it may also be used to save space and backup your valuable additions and preference files only, instead of the whole System Folder; Install the same set of additions on multiple Macs; Remove extra files and folders from your System Folder to restore it to a previous state: you can take a ‘snapshot’ of the System Folder and have Clean-Install Assistant extract any items added since. Clean-Install Assistant is free for personal and educational use. Download from www.marcmoini.com
Custom/TearOff Menus lets you tear-off any menu and float it above the desktop for quick and easy access at any time (this is a feature Apple reportedly plans for Mac OS X, but you can have it now!). Build your own menus from items in any menu. Rename any item ! Choose your own Font, Size and colors for the menus and the menu bar. Pop-Up the menu bar under the mouse : fast access to menus with less mouse travel! Download from www.marcmoini.com
Version History
Download the latest version from http://wwwmarcmoini.com or http://www.kagi.com/authors/marc/ or an Info-Mac mirror or the MIT HyperArchive at http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive.html. Also available on the MacOS forum (control panels) on CompuServe, and the Mac Utilities forum on AOL.
1.2.1 8dec98
• Supports Mac OS 8.5.1
1.2 3oct98
• Fixed bug that was causing a freeze at startup, often when running alongside Norton CrashGuard.
• Supports Mac OS 8.5.
• Misc. changes and fixes.
1.1 5jan98
• Accelerates even after a crash (with a few exceptions, such as if cmd-power is pressed).
• Supports Mac OS 8.1.
• Supports Mac OS Extended Disk Format (HFS+).
• Fixed crash bug with Speed Doubler 8 if disk cache size was more than 2 megs.
• Misc. changes and fixes.
1.0 20oct97
• Misc changes from 1.0fc1
1.0fc1 15oct97
• Fixed bug that was causing random crashes in the Finder on some systems.
• Fixed some low memory situation slowdowns.
1.0pb3 13oct97
• Fixed bug that caused Startup Doubler to not run at all on some machines (the icon would not appear at startup)
• Added compatibility with Speed Doubler 8.0
• Removed the ‘Skip network startup’ option because it caused too many problems.
• Misc. changes and bug fixes
1.0pb2 10oct97
• Added compatibility with Speed Doubler 8 (8.0b3)
