Mac Daniel's Advice

Multiple Users on the Same Mac at Work

Dan Knight - 2007.11.15

del.icio.us Bookmark in del.icio.us

Low End Mac Reader Specials

Memory To Go Special: MacPro 8 Core 8GB kit $232 / 4GB kit $116 / 2GB kit $72. New Macbook 2GB DDR3-$65. HARD DRIVES available -- Free shipping / LIfetime warranty.

Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com

LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.

Mac users can finally play Party Poker for Mac. Not only that, they can also learn how to play PokerStars for Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, laptops, and LCD TVs side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for a new cell phone GPS products or MP3 players. The Ciao network makes searching products easy for you.

From Mike Zoller:

Dear LEM,

I work in the marketing department of a large health organization. As far as I know, I have the only two Macs in the entire organization, and IS doesn't know much about Apple. So I'm on my own here (which is fine with me).

What is the best way to set up a single computer with multiple users that will allow the users to access a single pool of files on the computer's hard drive? I've been trying to find a solution for this; the scattered info seems to point to using a group or ACL. Am I on the right track, and can you point me to some information that will get me headed in the right direction?

Many, many thanks in advance; I look forward to your reply.

Michael  

Michael,

If you're setting up multiple user accounts, you're on the right track. The next step is to create a "work" folder that every user can access - put it in the main directory of the hard drive, and be sure to tell each user to use that folder rather than the default "user" folder, which will be inaccessible to others.

Another tip: If you have fast user switching enabled, teach each user to log out when finished to prevent multiple user sessions from eating up system resources and slowing down the computer.

Dan

Dan,

Many thanks for your prompt reply - I think that will resolve the issue.

The two Macs I'm tending to are a Quad 2.5 GHz G5 (I just updated it to 10.4.10 today) and a Mirror Door Drive Dual 1.25 GHz G4 running 10.2 w/512 MB RAM.

I've recommended we upgrade "freeze" our OS at 10.4.10 for the time being and max out the RAM on the MDD, which can be up to 2 GB, according to your site. The older Mac has Adobe CS1, the newer, CS2.

My question is this (and this time it is a true Low End question): Where can I find a new copy of CS2, upgrade or full version, from a reliable, trustworthy source? Google doesn't seem to be turning up much; most results point me to CS3, which is not an option for my supervisors.

Again, your help is much appreciated. Checking out your site is part of my daily ritual.

Michael

Michael,

I just upgraded my Dual 1 GHz MDD Power Mac to 2 GB, so I can affirm that it works. The more work you do, the more you benefit from the extra RAM.

I did a Google search for "photoshop cs2 mac upgrade" and found several vendors offering it in the $160-200 range.

Dan

Not sure if you should upgrade your old Mac or replace it? Check the Mac Daniel index to see if we've already addressed your problem.

Recent Mac Daniel columns

Links for the Day

Recent Content on Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2008 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
  Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
  Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.


Have a question?
Ask an expert!

Navigation

Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Best Used Macs
Video Cards
Email Lists
InfoMac's Low
End Mac Forum

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
   Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
   Mac FAQ
Abandonware
   Petition
Mac vs. PC Info

Affiliates

The Apple Store
Mac Connection
MacMall
TechRestore
MacResQ
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com

Advertise

All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For price quotes and advertising information, please contact at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Open Link

Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We recommend Firefox for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox than any other browser.