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and upwards, check the blessed System Folder before shutdown and warn the user if the System Folder is missing any of the key system files, to prevent them from inadvertently rendering the hard drive unbootable. An alternative to manually blessing the system folders in the Mac OS was to use a utility
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When the Finder copies a "blessed" folder to a new volume, the copy is "blessed" as well. On a system with more than one disk volume, it is thus easy to create functioning backups of a system simply by dragging the folder. It is also easy to maintain older and newer versions of the OS "in parallel",
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Prior to this, one would have to manually bless the copy of the System Folder that they wished to use. A folder can be de-blessed by removing either the System or Finder files from it, which are the two files required for booting. (New World
Macintoshes also need the Mac OS ROM file.) Some versions
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The System Folder is less protected than the equivalent folders on macOS, in that the contents are all viewable and most files and folders are editable. However it was possible to prevent inexperienced users from accidentally altering the contents by using the
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hierarchy, but does not need to be. The Mac OS identifies the "System Folder" by undocumented characteristics that are independent of its name (it has different names in non-English versions of the Mac OS), or its location in the directory hierarchy. The
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added formal support for this by permitting the user to select from multiple copies of the system on the same volume via the
Startup Disk control panel, primarily used for selecting which volume to boot from.
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and it will continue to operate with no problems after the folder has been moved and after the system is restarted with the folder in its new location.
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displays this "blessed" folder with a special icon. A "live" System Folder can freely be moved to any location in the directory hierarchy
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Control Panel. The
Startup and Shut Down programs, Appearance themes, control panels, fonts, and extensions, as well as items in the
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This degree of flexibility distinguishes the classic Mac OS from most other operating systems, including macOS.
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each on its own volume, and revert to the old one if problems are encountered with the new one.
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Note: On macOS, files in /Library are not loaded at boot time when booting into Safe Mode.
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All versions of Mac OS permit multiple copies of the operating system on a single volume.
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machines running macOS with an EFI system, albeit in a mostly different manner. See
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that holds various files required for the system to operate, such as
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Stores system configuration programs, which are loaded at boot time.
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This process was made more convenient when Apple implemented the
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Stores the various properties that appear in System
Preferences.
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and the two types of booting for Apple's BootX bootloader.
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The System Folder is normally located directly below the
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Stores files or scripts to be executed at boot time.
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208:Stores various application and system preferences.
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46:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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311:One notable absence was the managements of
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106:Learn how and when to remove this message
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282:User accessibility and customization
44:adding citations to reliable sources
158:Stores OS extensions (init format)
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276:EFI system partition § macOS
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570:Macintosh Programmer's Workshop
184:/System/Library/PreferencePanes
31:needs additional citations for
289:Protect System Folder Contents
218:Location and "blessed" folders
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171:/System/Library/StartupItems
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270:Blessing is continued for
237:while the OS is operating,
150:/System/Library/Extensions
691:Multiprocessing Services
651:Hierarchical File System
349:"apple-opensource/bless"
317:font management programs
186:/Library/PreferencePanes
122:is the directory in the
258:of the classic Mac OS,
136:System Folder location
671:Macintosh File System
173:/Library/StartupItems
329:AlSoft MasterJuggler
205:/Library/Preferences
40:improve this article
489:Graphing Calculator
152:/Library/Extensions
596:Appearance Manager
539:System Information
420:System 2, 3, and 4
325:Adobe Type Manager
305:Extensions Manager
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767:Memory management
676:Macintosh Toolbox
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760:Related articles
731:Startup sequence
509:QuickTime Player
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293:General Controls
291:checkbox in the
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139:macOS equivalent
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124:classic Mac OS
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265:System Picker
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168:Startup Items
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120:System folder
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96:December 2009
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57: –
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52:
51:Find sources:
45:
41:
35:
34:
29:This article
27:
23:
18:
17:
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726:Sosumi sound
636:Creator code
611:Balloon help
459:Applications
356:. Retrieved
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190:Classic Mac:
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156:Classic Mac:
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142:Description
119:
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76:
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62:
50:
38:Please help
33:verification
30:
751:WorldScript
686:MultiFinder
475:Drive Setup
202:Preferences
646:Extensions
616:Bomb error
601:Apple menu
584:Technology
544:SimpleText
479:DVD Player
466:Calculator
335:References
323:Suitcase,
297:Apple Menu
228:filesystem
147:Extensions
66:newspapers
746:Type code
716:QuickTime
711:QuickDraw
560:HyperCard
553:Developer
519:Scrapbook
504:PowerTalk
358:6 January
797:Category
782:Software
681:Managers
661:Keychain
656:HFS Plus
534:Stickies
524:Sherlock
450:Mac OS 9
445:Mac OS 8
439:Mac OS 7
435:System 7
430:System 6
425:System 5
415:System 1
408:Versions
321:Extensis
319:such as
251:Mac OS 9
606:At Ease
575:ResEdit
565:MacsBug
471:Chooser
226:in the
80:scholar
701:OSType
666:Labels
641:Dogcow
484:Finder
353:GitHub
272:mactel
195:macOS:
161:macOS:
82:
75:
68:
61:
53:
591:Alias
313:Fonts
263:like
128:fonts
87:JSTOR
73:books
706:PICT
360:2020
327:and
118:The
59:news
260:8.5
42:by
799::
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331:.
267:.
393:e
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379:v
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103:(
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94:(
84:·
77:·
70:·
63:·
36:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
