Slow 10.3.2 Boot Fix Posted

Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
The following is taken from Apple Discussion Boards here:



http://discussions.info.apple.com/[email protected]



The posts are as follows:



================================================== ==========



Topic: HOWTO: Slow 10.3.2 startup fix

Original Message ( Posted Dec 26, 03 9:43 pm )



Joachim Buechse



Joined: Dec, 2003

Posts: 26

Zurich, Switzerland



To reiterate the fix:



Open a terminal and type the following command all on one line:



sudo cp /System/Library/Extensions/BootCache.kext/Contents/Resources/BootCacheControl /usr/sbin



Reboot twice. Startup performance should be back to normal.



credit to whom it belongs: the solution from AppleSupport was originaly posted by steven minnick in this thread. this arcticle is just a copy with technical explanation.



Why does it work?



BootCacheControl is called during the startup process to create a cache of files needed to boot (up to the point were the login window is displayed).



In the 10.3.2 version the executable is called from the /etc/rc script twice:



- BootCacheControl

- BootCacheControl tag



both times its called using a shell variable set in /etc/rc which points to /System/Library/Extensions/BootCache.kext/Contents/Resources/BootCacheControl (and if this would not exist it would point to /usr/sbin/BootCacheControl.)



But there is another important call of the executable from the loginwindow process later:



- /usr/sbin/BootCacheControl autostop 15



Unfortunately the file /usr/sbin/BootCacheControl does not exist on a(ll) updated 10.3.2 system. Thecopy command above takes care of that problem.



Regards,

Joachim



iBook G3 300MHz; Mac OS X (10.3.x); 160 MB Ram



New!

RE: HOWTO: Slow 10.3.2 startup fix

( msg # 1.: Posted Dec 26, 03 10:44 pm )





Alan Somers

Level 3





Joined: Sep, 2000

Posts: 1810



Thanks for that. It works like a charm. One suggestion: add "-p" between "cp" and "/System..." to preserve permissions during the copy.



Anyway, I noticed people were posting times in the other thread, but I'll post mine here:



Before copy: 1 minute, 26 seconds from appearance of the gray Apple logo to appearance of desktop background.



First reboot after copy: 1 minute, 10 seconds to the same point.



Second reboot after copy: 31 seconds to the same point.



12" PowerBook G4 (Ed 1); Mac OS X (10.3.x); 640 MB RAM, 60 GB HD, SD, AE

============================



Worked like a charm for me.



Edited: there is a further discussion and possibly safer command as well as an undo command here:



Different Apple Discussion Thread



Edited to replace two underscore characters with spaces.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 3
    mcsjgsmcsjgs Posts: 244member
    It turns out that all might not be roses with the fix. There is another discussion thread with a possibly safer command and an undo command for the first post here:



    Apple Discussion Thread 2



    The problem seems to be that the additional file generated by the first fix might conflict with future OS X updates. Hence the remove command. You'll have to read the thread fully to get the back and forth.



    Edited:



    Here is a summary of the commands (no line breaks):



    1. Command creates extra file, speeds up boot times, but might screw up future updates:



    sudo cp -p /System/Library/Extensions/BootCache.kext/Contents/Resources/BootCacheControl /usr/sbin



    2. Remove this command before installing any future OS X updates:



    sudo rm /usr/sbin/BootCacheControl



    3. Possibly safer command (but apparently not recommended by Apple Technical Support), uses link instead of copy:



    sudo ln -s /System/Library/Extensions/BootCache.kext/Contents/Resources/BootCacheControl /usr/sbin



    Edited to change two underscore characters with spaces.



    Edited2: Be careful of copy paste operations with these commands. There may be some invisible control characters in the commands. They don't show up in 3 text processors I use, but show up in browsers sometimes. Best to copy by hand.
  • Reply 2 of 3
    Will this work on 10.3.5? After installing it, it starts up VERY slow. I even did a defrag on it in hopes that would help it- nothing improved. Ideas?



    Thanks in advance!
  • Reply 3 of 3
    Quote:

    Originally posted by tommy_thompson

    Will this work on 10.3.5? After installing it, it starts up VERY slow. I even did a defrag on it in hopes that would help it- nothing improved. Ideas?



    Thanks in advance!




    It was my understanding that this particular problem was fixed in 10.3.3, but you can try the tip and see what happens.
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