OS X :: SL Upgrade VS Clean Install VS Archive And Install?
Aug 25, 2009
I have many questions but few clear answers. What would be the benefits of doing a clean install vs. an upgrade? I have an iMac 8,1 which supposedly is eligible for a 64 bit kernel. Would I have to do a clean install or an "archive and install" to get the 64bit kernel? Also, can someone explain to me exactly what an "archive and install" is/does? From the name, I'd assume it would back up your HDD to an external storage unit, then do a clean install, but I'm probably way wrong.
One more question. If I so happen to choose to do a clean install, would Time Machine be an adequate way to restore all my data after the update? Any help or answers to any of the above questions would truly make my day. You will also be rewarded $1,000,000,000 in Happy FunTime money.
I'm a newbie, forgive my question but I just did an Install and Archive yesterday, but I don't know if I really should be doing a CLEAN INSTALL...
FACTS - I have an MB403LL/A (2.4GHz C2D, 2008 Early Peryn) which I use to make music with ProTools 8 LE and Reason 4.0.
- Upgraded RAM from Corsair to OWC RAM (4GB)
- Before the Install & Archive yesterday I was experiencing problems with Safari freezing up and not being able to relaunch. I believe this was due to the RAM, hence, I bought new and better RAM.
- I could not boot up my MacBook one morning, so I trouble-shot it and the only thing I could do was Re-Install the OS X.
- I did the Install & Archive with the OEM Samsung RAM and put in the OWC RAM AFTER that.
QUESTIONS - I would like to really have a fresh install of everything but not sure if there is much difference between the Clean Install and the Archive and Install? (I would just move the files I need to my external HD)
- With the Clean Install - will I be bringing my MacBook back to where it was fresh from the factory?
Should I buy the AppleCare for it? I was thinking of upgrading but there is not much difference in performance to what I have... 2.4 C2D at 4GB RAM...
I had to re-install 10.3 on my G5 after the hard drive icon icon disappeared from my desktop and the finder froze. Its back to normal now after I did a clean install of 10.3, choosing the archive and install option. What should be my next step? How do I get all my stuff in the 'previous system' folder (my music, photos, etc.) to the main account? Can I somehow log in my old account with all my stuff and delete the new one I had to make? What's the easiest way to do this?
I purchased the new Mac Box Set with Leopard 10.5.6, iLife '09 and iWork '09.
I was 50/50 on which type of Leopard install I wanted to perform today.
Looks like the disc made the choice for me and performed, what I'm assuming, is the upgrade. All of my files, settings, etc. were intact after the reboot.
I recently sold my 2009 Macbook due to a cracked screen, but kept the 10.5.6 installer discs. (HDD was zeroed out and I did not install OS X)
My 2007 Mac Mini is currently running 10.5.7 and iLife 08, and I would like to perform an archive and install using the Macbook discs on my Mac Mini, in the hope that I would be upgraded to iLife 09. Would this work or would I need to perform and complete erase and install to get iLife 09? I do not want to lose any data (although I have backed up).
I am installing Snow Leopard on My Tiger computer. Backed up the files
1. I was wondering since I am on Tiger will I need to do a clean install or just an upgrade? (Dumb question but I need answers) I have the upgrade disk and I heard the upgrade disk is the exact same as the box set and I do not need iwork 09 cause.
I already have it and I don't need ilife 09 because I have final Cut pro, photoshop, and I have some HTML knowledge.
Also, i have no interest in music making so I don't need ilife.
2. If I do need to do a clean install how do I do that?
I'm looking forward to SL as much as everyone else, but was wondering what the advantages of doing what I've seen on here as a "clean install" versus just putting in the disk with Leopard installed and letting it upgrade? How would I go about doing a clean install anyway, would I have to make a copy of my HD or something?
Like most, I was debating whether or not to just upgrade to SL, or do an Erase and Install. I decided to try both and note my findings and post my steps below. Running a Unibody Macbook Pro. 2.93 GHz, 4GB Ram. The clean install is running a LOT smoother than the straight upgrade.
The first thing I did, was run a full Time Machine backup on Leopard, just in case the worst happens. In my backups, I exclude all VMs and System Files. Once the backup was complete, I went ahead and ran the SL upgrade. The installation process was very smooth. Took about 48 minutes to complete. When the system finally booted up again, I noticed that many aspects of the OS were running a lot slower than they should have, and I was experiencing many of the 'bugs' you guys have noted.
-Animations such as dock magnification, spaces, and expose were very '-'laggy'. -Using the 4 finger gestures returned weird results when repeated. (Swiped up, desktop shown. Swiped up again, animation down, then back up again) -Icons were all over the place. -Asian characters floating around the OS.
I decided to give a clean install a shot. either install Leopard, then run the SL update, or an Erase and Install from the SL disk. But DO NOT restore your backup until SL is fully installed. Now, once SL is back up and running, head into your Migration Assistant and start your restore. This took about and hour and a half to complete. Once that was complete, I gave the system a reboot and checked things out.
-System was running very smooth. No animation lag. Expose and Spaces were running like normal, even with many windows open. -4 finger gestures were acting like they should, and did in Leopard. Very smooth. -No more random Asian characters. -Overall a much more flawless OS.
For all I know, some of you may be happy with your straight SL upgrade, but I've read many threads where people have been noting 'bugs' which I experienced as well, before the clean install. If you have the time, and patience, I definitely recommend running a backup, then an Erase and Install of Leopard/SL.
Just got my up to date disk but it says 'upgrade dvd' - can I use it to do a clean install? (not keen on upgrades!) Also, anyone got a list of what I'd need to copy back over from time machine for all my personal files/documents/emails etc - is it just my home folder?
Since I have been running Leopard since december of 2007 I have accumilated a bunch of programs and files that i just don't use and don't need.
I have been running time machine for about a month now and I was thinking of just doing a clean install or Leopard to completely erase and clean up my disk and then do the SL upgrade.
My main concern- Can i plug in my time machine external and drag and drop the files and applications that I want and need and just leave all the other things on my external?
I'm so annoyed regarding the broken Entourage <-> Exchange SSL root cert situation that I feel I must let others know of the following...
To perform a fresh / clean installation of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard to a totally blank/formatted hard drive using nothing but the upgrade DVD, do the following:
1. Boot from the Mac OS X Leopard Upgrade DVD (hold 'c' while booting).
2. Notice that the check for previous will fail (and "Continue" button is grayed out).
3. Choose the option of restoring from a Time Machine backup and go as far as you can (note: if you do actually have a Time Machine backup, pretend that you don't - making sure you've already removed any backup drives you may have plugged in).
4. Now go back to (almost) the initial screen.
5. Notice the "Continue" button is no longer grayed out...
I assume that when I get my mac, a snow leopard drop in disc will be inside.
1. As soon as I finish the setup, and am presented with the desktop, I will immediately put in the snow leopard disc. In this scenario, is it ok to just do a normal upgrade since the system is pretty much untouched? 2. My understanding is that if I do a clean install, I will lose iLife, and will have to reinstall it using the discs that came with my machine, is this correct? 3. I'm confused about archive and install. Will all my applications (iLife, etc) be left alone? Is this sort of like a clean install, except you have a copy of your old system files? Is it ok to delete the old system files afterwards? 4. From the scenario I described in #1 which of the 3 installation methods is the best to do?
If i go out and buy Snow Leopard for �25 can you do a clean install or is it an upgrade only meaning to do a clean install you have to install leopard first then snow leopard afterwards
I found that I need to re install everything on my computer, and I'm buying the final cut studio 3 upgrade version, but my main install disc for FCS 2 is damaged. Do I have to install FCS2 first to install the upgrade? Or can I use the upgrade discs for a clean install? I haven't used an upgrade kit before.
I have an early 08 MBP that shipped with Leopard. I upgraded it to Snow Leopard quite a long time ago. I feel like doing a clean reinstallation but my Leopard disk is spoilt.
Is it possible for me to do a brand new clean installation just using that Snow Leopard upgrade disk?
how to prepare for a "clean install" of Mountain Lion when it comes out. However, it's clean in theory because I want to be able to have my personal files and programs ready for ML but I am afraid for any left-overs from deleted apps since I tend to install & uninstall them for test drive purposes.
Info: MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.4), 13" Mid-2010
Long story short: I've been having some issues with Leopard (and it looks like it was probably my fault for simply choosing the "Upgrade" option when I moved up from Tiger), and so now I'm looking into a clean install Leopard, which according to all other indications should fix my problem. Now, my initial reaction was to go with the "Archive and Install" option, but since I've been reading more about what people have to say, I'm starting to wonder if I should just choose "Erase and Install", and then restore from Time Machine instead? ...or is there really even a significant difference in the end?
I would like to keep everything as intact as possible, which makes me think Time Machine would be better, but then at the same time I've read stories about people having difficulties with restoring from Time Machine, and losing certain applications/preferences, etc... but sometimes they say it works just fine. So I don't know. But I'd like to get some second opinions before moving forward too quickly and then possibly regretting my decision later.
This is the first time i reinstalled(clean install) my snow leopard on my MBP. All went fine but then i inserted the disc for bundled application (which contains the ilife apps) but it keeps failing.
It says that "the installation failed. the installer encountered an error that caused the installation to fail. contact the software manufacturer for assistance".
I've also done my research on this matter. I've gone thru a few steps i tried as below without success:
1)normal install - fail
2)repair permission - fail
3)install in safe mode - fail
4) install using another admin acc - fail
5) made an image out of the disc and install - fail
6) used a similar disc(my dad's since we have identical version) - fai
7)updated my system and install - fail
8) reinstall the mac - fail
i cant think of any other solution as im a bit noob when it comes to mac. is there any other things i could try before taking it Apple?
The internal hard drive on my early 2009 iMac is being replaced but I have to reinstall Snow Leopard myself.I did search in MRoogle and at Apple and cannot seem to find instructions on how to perform a clean Snow Leopard install on an iMac internal HD.
Can I do this? And if so how? Or do you think I should try and install Leopard on the existing Hd in the iMac? I still have these discs but have to get the SL applications install disc out of my drive (it's stuck and the iMac won't boot past the blue screen).
i just bought a macbook pro and i want to do a clean install but it didn't come with the install disks. is there a way to do it without buying new disks?
I have the Win 7 RTM currently installed on my Mac Pro, on a dedicated internal hard drive. I'm running VMware 2.0. I have the retail version of Win 7 arriving today. Anyone know if I can just install through Windows, i.e., while running my existing Win 7 installation via VMware, or do I have to go through the whole clean install via Bootcamp routine?
I have recently done a Time machine back up of my MB Pro 15" then wiped my hard drive trying to clean it up so I could install Windows 7 with Boot Camp. I had my original Install Disk which I forgot was Tiger, Having used one of my brothers company licenses to upgrade to Leopard but that disk is now with him in another country. So now I can not restore from my Time Machine backup. I have a Leopard Install disk for a Macbook Pro 13" which I also own. Is it possible to use this disk to re-install Leopard on my 15"?
I am interested in installing windows 7 on my macbook. I am a student so am able to get the windows 7 home premium upgrade disc for cheap. I would like to know if it is possible for me to perform a clean install of windows 7 through BootCamp, with no previous windows versions installed using this upgrade disc.
Currently have XP. But, I have heard/read that it is possible to do a clean install of Windows 7 from the upgrade disc. Or is that only possible on a PC? If so, how would I go about wiping XP off and then doing a clean install of Windows 7's 64 bit version?
