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Got my new 1 TB Avastor HDX and decided to format with 10.4 even though I'm running 10.3 because it just has less problems on my old Titanium. This way, I can use it as a 10.4 startup to do some 10.4 iLife stuff, etc. I partitioned it and everything works fine, the startup partition is 120 gigs. BUT, there are two files which are probably meant to be invisible, mac.sym and an alias called mach that show up as docs on same level as Apps, Lib, Sys, and User folders on the startup partition. Is that a problem?

I love the drive and Tekserve in NYC has a great price on it.

It's not a problem. Those are critical system files, and the computer won't boot if they're removed, but the fact that they're visible isn't a big deal. As you correctly surmised, they're usually invisible.

Have you tried shutting down your Mac and starting it up again? (That sometimes toggles files such as you're seeing back to their native invisible state.)

Alternatively, d/l iShow Invisible, and see if it toggles your files back to invisibility.

iShow invisible looks like it is only for 10.4 or higher. Running 10.3.9. I think I will just use it with it's invisible's visible. I'll pretend I'm wearing x-ray glasses.

I mentioned iShow Invisible because it's the app I use, but a VersionTracker search, keyword "invisible," will turn up others with similar functionality. (There's also a Terminal command you could use if you're so inclined.)

If you do wind up leaving those files visible, though, be certain not to delete them accidentally.