cleaning out some unix

N

new32

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As much as I love all the little thousands of unix files now strewn across my hard drive, I would like to remove some of them to clear out some space. However, I'm not too sure which the system actually uses. I'm wondering if anyone out there has felt that way and knows of a script or anything that will clear out even a little of the 2Gig+ that these little files take up cause after all, if I really wanted them, a Redhat-box would have been a cheaper purchase ( not that I'm about ready to give up my eMac ;)
 
OS X is based on UNIX and all those files are needed. They aren't just some add-on that Apple stuck in to make UNIX users happy, it's part of the core of the OS and OS doesn't work properly without them.

Brian
 
Well, that's not entirely true, Brian. OS X can be shaved down to well below 600MB, so there is some excess fat that is capable of being trimmed. That said, this is a fairly advanced procedure and not to be performed by the faint of heart.

You can safely remove the extra languages:
http://www.macosx.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=28636

Then there are print drivers, desktop pictures, and other components you may be able to safely remove:
http://www.bombich.com/mactips/bootx.html
(Under the section Setup your System on the test disk Mike Bombich discusses which system components can be safely deleted.)

Be warned, this is a delicate procedure and one misstep could render your system inoperable, forcing you to reinstall the OS.
 
Thanks for the localization tip! Also the grand removal of emacs and a few other non-necessities like python and ruby(still haven't figured out why 10.2 has them but killing both didn't hurt anything =) seems to have given back about a half gig already. Any other little removal tips from anyone would be more than welcome ;)
 
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