Backdoor's to Mac OS X

[supanatral]

I just recently started my own business and part of my services also involves fixing computers with Mac OS X on it, so I'm wanting to learn more about Mac OS X in depth.

In windows theres a "backdoor" sort of speak called registry editor and its hard to explain what does but it sort of puts windows and program settings all in one screen.

Is there any kind of "backdoors" like that in mac OS X?

If there is stuff that is dangerous to fool around with in Mac OS X (just like registry editor is) and you don't want just anybody going there then please personal message me. Otherwise, I'm not afraid to mess up Mac OS X, as long as their is something to learn from it.

 

[nixgeek]

Thankfully, there's nothing like the Windows Registry in Unix-like operating systems like Linux, Mac OS X, and others. Most of the settings (or preferences) for applications in Mac OS X are either found in the Library folder in the root of the Macintosh HD or in the Library folder located in the user's home folder. In other Unix-like operating systems like Linux and the BSDs, the configurations for the system and applications are either located in /etc (for global settings) or in the user's home folder (for user specific settings).

Personally, I prefer the Unix way of maintaining settings since there isn't one point of failure. The Registry is all-encompassing and as far as I know isn't locked out from regular users. One mistake in the wrong place can really hose a Windows system. However, having a configuration file for an app in a specific area (whether it's global or per user) won't negatively impact any of the other files. So if something goes wrong, overwriting the corrupted config file with a new one will sometimes do the trick without affecting other applications.

 

[supanatral]

Thanks for your reply! makes sense, so think back by linux/unix days if I want to edit configurations manually.

Also your right about the registry being open to all users. I guess the idea behind it is that if users are smart enough to get to the registry editor, then hopefully their smart enough not to mess it up.....hopefully.

Also, I tried searching for the configuration files that directly effect mac OS X but I couldn't find any. Is there such a thing?

 

[Satcomer]

You might want to take a look at the book Mac OS X Tiger in a Nutshell and also keep and eye out on the web sites MacFixIt, MacOSXHints, MacWindows. Plus consider taking the OS X Certification route.

Also take a long hard look at the web site Accelerate Your Macintosh, especially the drive search lasso.

 

[Debaser626]

If you want to play around, there's a bunch of apps that let you alter things. I'm pretty sure you've played around with Terminal and NetInfo, but if you haven't those Utilities are a good place to start. Also, you can mess around with PlistEdit Pro, which lets you alter system and application preferences (often options you can do directly from the Preferences tab of the app itself, but occasionally you'll find a hidden option you can turn on or off) if you're so inclined.