<s>
The	O
System	B-Operating_System
folder	I-Operating_System
is	O
the	O
directory	O
in	O
the	O
classic	B-Application
Mac	I-Application
OS	I-Application
that	O
holds	O
various	O
files	O
required	O
for	O
the	O
system	O
to	O
operate	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
fonts	O
,	O
system	O
extensions	O
,	O
control	O
panels	O
,	O
and	O
preferences	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
System	B-Operating_System
Folder	I-Operating_System
location	O
macOS	B-Application
equivalent	O
Description	O
Extensions	O
/System/Library/Extensions/Library/Extensions	O
Classic	O
Mac	O
:	O
Stores	O
OS	O
extensions	O
(	O
init	O
format	O
)	O
macOS	B-Application
:	O
Stores	O
kernel	O
extensions	O
and	O
drivers	O
(	O
kext	O
format	O
)	O
Startup	O
Items	O
/System/Library/StartupItems/Library/StartupItems	O
Stores	O
files	O
or	O
scripts	O
to	O
be	O
executed	O
at	O
boot	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Control	O
Panels	O
/System/Library/PreferencePanes/Library/PreferencePanes	O
Classic	O
Mac	O
:	O
Stores	O
system	O
configuration	O
programs	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
loaded	O
at	O
boot	O
time.macOS	O
:	O
Stores	O
the	O
various	O
properties	O
that	O
appear	O
in	O
System	O
Preferences	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Note	O
:	O
On	O
macOS	B-Application
,	O
files	O
in	O
/Library	O
are	O
not	O
loaded	O
at	O
boot	O
time	O
when	O
booting	O
into	O
Safe	O
Mode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
System	B-Operating_System
Folder	I-Operating_System
is	O
normally	O
located	O
directly	O
below	O
the	O
root	B-Application
directory	I-Application
in	O
the	O
filesystem	B-Application
hierarchy	O
,	O
but	O
does	O
not	O
need	O
to	O
be	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
identifies	O
the	O
"	O
System	B-Operating_System
Folder	I-Operating_System
"	O
by	O
undocumented	O
characteristics	O
that	O
are	O
independent	O
of	O
its	O
name	O
(	O
it	O
has	O
different	O
names	O
in	O
non-English	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
)	O
,	O
or	O
its	O
location	O
in	O
the	O
directory	O
hierarchy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Macintosh	B-Application
Finder	I-Application
displays	O
this	O
"	O
blessed	O
"	O
folder	O
with	O
a	O
special	O
icon	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
"	O
live	O
"	O
System	B-Operating_System
Folder	I-Operating_System
can	O
freely	O
be	O
moved	O
to	O
any	O
location	O
in	O
the	O
directory	O
hierarchy	O
while	O
the	O
OS	O
is	O
operating	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
will	O
continue	O
to	O
operate	O
with	O
no	O
problems	O
after	O
the	O
folder	O
has	O
been	O
moved	O
and	O
after	O
the	O
system	O
is	O
restarted	O
with	O
the	O
folder	O
in	O
its	O
new	O
location	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
Finder	B-Application
copies	O
a	O
"	O
blessed	O
"	O
folder	O
to	O
a	O
new	O
volume	O
,	O
the	O
copy	O
is	O
"	O
blessed	O
"	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
degree	O
of	O
flexibility	O
distinguishes	O
the	O
classic	B-Application
Mac	I-Application
OS	I-Application
from	O
most	O
other	O
operating	O
systems	O
,	O
including	O
macOS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
versions	O
of	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
permit	O
multiple	O
copies	O
of	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
on	O
a	O
single	O
volume	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
9	I-Operating_System
added	O
formal	O
support	O
for	O
this	O
by	O
permitting	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
select	O
from	O
multiple	O
copies	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
on	O
the	O
same	O
volume	O
via	O
the	O
Startup	O
Disk	O
control	O
panel	O
,	O
primarily	O
used	O
for	O
selecting	O
which	O
volume	O
to	O
boot	O
from	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
this	O
,	O
one	O
would	O
have	O
to	O
manually	O
bless	O
the	O
copy	O
of	O
the	O
System	B-Operating_System
Folder	I-Operating_System
that	O
they	O
wished	O
to	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
folder	O
can	O
be	O
de-blessed	O
by	O
removing	O
either	O
the	O
System	O
or	O
Finder	B-Application
files	O
from	O
it	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
the	O
two	O
files	O
required	O
for	O
booting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
New	O
World	O
Macintoshes	O
also	O
need	O
the	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
ROM	O
file	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
classic	B-Application
Mac	I-Application
OS	I-Application
,	O
8.5	B-Operating_System
and	O
upwards	O
,	O
check	O
the	O
blessed	O
System	B-Operating_System
Folder	I-Operating_System
before	O
shutdown	O
and	O
warn	O
the	O
user	O
if	O
the	O
System	B-Operating_System
Folder	I-Operating_System
is	O
missing	O
any	O
of	O
the	O
key	O
system	O
files	O
,	O
to	O
prevent	O
them	O
from	O
inadvertently	O
rendering	O
the	O
hard	O
drive	O
unbootable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
alternative	O
to	O
manually	O
blessing	O
the	O
system	B-Operating_System
folders	I-Operating_System
in	O
the	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
was	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
utility	O
like	O
System	B-Operating_System
Picker	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Blessing	O
is	O
continued	O
for	O
mactel	B-Device
machines	O
running	O
macOS	B-Application
with	O
an	O
EFI	O
system	O
,	O
albeit	O
in	O
a	O
mostly	O
different	O
manner	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
System	B-Operating_System
Folder	I-Operating_System
is	O
less	O
protected	O
than	O
the	O
equivalent	O
folders	O
on	O
macOS	B-Application
,	O
in	O
that	O
the	O
contents	O
are	O
all	O
viewable	O
and	O
most	O
files	O
and	O
folders	O
are	O
editable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
it	O
was	O
possible	O
to	O
prevent	O
inexperienced	O
users	O
from	O
accidentally	O
altering	O
the	O
contents	O
by	O
using	O
the	O
Protect	O
System	B-Operating_System
Folder	I-Operating_System
Contents	O
checkbox	O
in	O
the	O
General	O
Controls	O
Control	O
Panel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Startup	O
and	O
Shut	O
Down	O
programs	O
,	O
Appearance	O
themes	O
,	O
control	O
panels	O
,	O
fonts	O
,	O
and	O
extensions	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
items	O
in	O
the	O
Apple	O
Menu	O
,	O
are	O
controlled	O
by	O
adding	O
or	O
removing	O
items	O
from	O
folders	O
in	O
the	O
System	B-Operating_System
Folder	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
process	O
was	O
made	O
more	O
convenient	O
when	O
Apple	O
implemented	O
the	O
Extensions	B-Operating_System
Manager	I-Operating_System
,	O
itself	O
a	O
Control	O
Panel	O
that	O
was	O
originally	O
a	O
shareware	O
utility	O
by	O
Ricardo	O
Batista	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
this	O
,	O
Apple	O
allowed	O
Third-party	O
development	O
of	O
font	O
management	O
programs	O
such	O
as	O
Extensis	O
Suitcase	O
,	O
Adobe	B-Operating_System
Type	I-Operating_System
Manager	I-Operating_System
and	O
AlSoft	O
MasterJuggler	O
.	O
</s>
