AppleJack

Of course we love everything that is Apple! Drumroll for AppleJack, please. :D

Download AppleJack

What is AppleJack? 
According to its Source Forge page, it is "a user friendly troubleshooting assistant for Mac OS X. With AppleJack you can troubleshoot a computer even if you can't load the GUI, or don't have a startup CD handy. AppleJack runs in Single User Mode and is menu-based for ease of use."


Now let's draw from that the most attractive parts for us OSx86 users:

1. With AppleJack you can troubleshoot a computer even if you can't load the GUI
2. AppleJack runs in Single User Mode and is menu-based for ease of use.

The 1st situation is what we all run into occasionally. Err, "But I can't even boot my HP Mini 311 up because it Kernel Panics!" you say. Remember the Golden Rule in troubleshooting? Ok, maybe I'm at fault for not stating that Golden Rule, but when you can't boot up your OSx86 machine, the first thing you do is:

• Boot in Single User mode

Yep, that's right. Moving on...

The logic behind booting in Single User mode is to access CLI (Command Line Interface) at least and from there, you can manually launch commands to hopefully sort out the issue. Most of the time, the root cause for Kernel Panics (at least for a stable hackintosh like the HP Mini 311) is permissions error. Try powering off your machine abruptly a few times in a row, sabotaging its natural shutdown mechanics and you're most likely to get a KP soon after.

But how does one launch Permissions Repair from CLI? Sure you can memorize or keep an index card with the command but why bother when there's a better way? 

That's exactly what AppleJack is all about. I don't think any "fsck blah blah blah" could ever beat simply typing "applejack" and then press Enter key.

Actually it does more than permissions repair.

Here's the menu you see when you launch:

And a better screenshot courtesy of AppleJack's page:

You can:

1. Repair disks
2. Repair permissions
3. cleanup cache files (clears system caches)
4. validate preference files (for errant applications)
5. remove swap files (which is now "cleanup virtual memory")

En somme, AppleJack is a utility that no Mini MacBooker should be without. :D

P.S. This isn't a paid advert. By now I assume you're used to reading non paid ad-like stuff on My MacBook Mini cause I just seem to love writing them! ;-)