How often do you do a clean install of OS X?

[CubaTBird]

I know I am when 10.3.5 comes out. ;)

[1macker1]

what's so special about 10.3.5. I haven't done a clean install since updating from Jag. to Panther.
I know I am when 10.3.5 comes out. ;)

[sonofslim]

every time my PC crashes and i reinstall windows, just so my Mac doesn't get uppity.

[PlaceofDis]

maybe twice a year or so, thinking about doing one again soon just to get rid of a lot of stuff that i really dont need

[musicpyrite]

I'm going to do one by weeks end.

Other than that, I only do a clean install when a new OS comes out or I have to fix a major problem.

[bousozoku]

I never have and have never found a reason to necessitate it.

[blue&whiteman]

if you manage your system properly and do proper maintenance the only time you would ever need a clean install is for a new os. you should never do a clean install for an current os update.. thats just insane and totally unnecessary. I have ran os installs for years without a reinstall.

[King Cobra]

I don't do clean installs. I do erase and installs.

...about every 6 months.

[frenetic]

Yep, I agree, only when there's a new os like Tiger I will do a clean install, just to get rid of old preference files and stuff. It really is a wrong idea that you would need to reinstall your os after 6 months. To the contrary, I've noticed that if you regularly do maintenance task (macaroni is a splendid set and forget app) OS X gets more stable with time. The only kernel crashes I've had have always been in the first month of use of a clean install, after that, never... Now I come to think of it, the last application crash I was aware of is even a month ago... It's simply amazing, isn't it?

[bryanc]

My TiBook came with 10.1, and I've upgraded through every version since. I've never done a clean install.

I suggest you just backup your home directory as usual, do the upgrade, and if there is any problem, then do a clean install and restore your home directory. That way, if everything works like it's supposed to, you will have saved yourself some work.

Remember, OS X isn't Windows...it dosen't have a registry to get completely screwed up by normal use.

Cheers

[winwintoo]

In Panther if you're the only user and things are getting clogged up in your library, save any preferences that you really want and know you'll need, like serial numbers that might be hard to track down again etc. Then set up a new admin user, delete yourself, switch to the new admin user and you're back in business with a clean library.

m

[raynegus]

I usually do a fresh install when I back up my entire home folder, which is every 6 months (Jan/July).

It's a great way to clean up all the crap I tend to download. I like to try lots of stuff on VersionTracker, etc.

I erase my entire hard drive, then reinstall off the installation DVDs only what need (I leave certain drivers off, all languages except English, etc.). Then I open up my home folder (which is now on a Lacie drive), and copy things I need back over (preferences, etc.). It takes me about 2 hours to put eveything back the way it was. It's a fun 2 hours though.

I like doing it this way because then I know everything on my computer I intentionally put there. I also don't have to mess with SpringCleaning or other crappy software like that.

I cycle several Lacie drives, by the way. So at any one time I have several backups of my home folder.

[rhpenguin]

Get ONYX! Its made my iBook run so much smoother!

Ive only done two reformats since ive owned my Mac though.. so about a year and a half for two formats.. One of those was when i switched to Panther from Jaguar.

[russed]

i have has my pb about 10 months and i havent and dont feel the need to. its running like a dream.

[Rod Rod]

every time I sell a computer I do a clean install for the buyer. other than that, I'd probably only do a clean install on a machine I plan to keep using if I did what raynegus does by experimenting with versiontracker stuff.

[medea]

I never have.

[virividox]

i never needed to, but i think i will when my sister brings her ibook in in sept. i just clean out pref files of programs i dont use anymore after i delete them

[slowtreme]

Never

[kgarner]

Only when I upgrade 10.1 > 10.2 > 10.3 etc. or when I have a catastrophic problem (only a couple of times in 4 yrs). Other than that, I just repair permissions once in a while and stay current on the updates.

[Savage Henry]

Did my old iMac G3 twice about 4 years ago. Once because I wanted to partition my disk, and the second time because I was a muppet and thought I needed to.:(

Since then, I never have am never likely too.

[etoiles]

never on my 12"PB... but I had to re-install Windows on my PC the other day :p

[12ibookg4]

i did once but that was only to fix the factory install that was messed up when i first got it

[rainman::|:|]

never found necessity to go through the trouble.

paul

[cr2sh]

I usually do a fresh install when I back up my entire home folder, which is every 6 months (Jan/July).

It's a great way to clean up all the crap I tend to download. I like to try lots of stuff on VersionTracker, etc.

I erase my entire hard drive, then reinstall off the installation DVDs only what need (I leave certain drivers off, all languages except English, etc.). Then I open up my home folder (which is now on a Lacie drive), and copy things I need back over (preferences, etc.). It takes me about 2 hours to put eveything back the way it was. It's a fun 2 hours though.

I like doing it this way because then I know everything on my computer I intentionally put there. I also don't have to mess with SpringCleaning or other crappy software like that.

I cycle several Lacie drives, by the way. So at any one time I have several backups of my home folder.

That's actually a really good idea... There's not much of an excuse for having an untidy hard drive other than laziness. I've eaten much of my pb's 60gig with duplicates of files, folders, and just unnecessary clutter - your reasoning appeals greatly to me. I'm going to start tonight. :)

[gwuMACaddict]

i've done it twice, and i think it was between major OS upgrades... i don't think i would have wanted or needed to otherwise

[edesignuk]

I know I am when 10.3.5 comes out. ;)
Why? :confused:

I only reinstall when a full OS update comes out (10.1-10.2, 10.2-10.3).

[wdlove]

I did a clean install once of twice because of some major third party conflicts. Only after trying everything else. When I upgraded to Panther, it was done at my local Apple Store. The Mac Genius didn't recommend a clean install. Just did the straight forward install. Panther has been running great.

[Horrortaxi]

I did it when the evil 10.2.8 came out and messed some things up on my MDD. Apart from that, I only do it when a new OS comes out.

My wife has had her Sawtooth since 2000 and never reformatted it. It came with OS 9 and she's had every version of OS X on it--just upgrading every time. No major problems. I finally did a fresh 10.3 install when she got a new drive, otherwise she would have hit Tiger with upgrades.

[dvdh]

Still running with the original installation on my ibook-G3900. I do regular system maintenance with Onyx, and things are running fine (on 10.2.8 currently)

[mc68k]

i reinstall whenever there is a 10.x update

my 9600 uses xpostfacto to run OS X, and usually requires some trickery to get it going stable

[Jovian9]

Whenever I install a new OS I do an erase and then install. Between that I use Cronnix, System Optimizer X, DiskWarrior, Drive 10, and TechTool Pro to maintenance my system.

[Muzukun]

I usually do a clean install of windows when all hell breaks loose (every 6 months or so) what do you do in Mac os X?

A clean install for me is total reformat and start from scratch, I have a spare HD for that so I never lose anything, is it the same for OSX though? Format and start brand new or do you just rerun the install and it's all good?

[Grimace]

I do a clean install for every new major OS update. I am also religious about full backups every month; maybe I am an outlier. :p

[7on]

I hardly ever reinstall. I did recently, but only because Sherlock stopped working (turned out to be a problem with Apple's servers). I reinstalled with 10.3.0 because I needed to get rid of a partition I wasn't using. I reinstalled a lot in 10.2, because mainly I was new to the Mac platform and I had the "if I delete this, what would happen?" attitude.

[tech4all]

I don't do clean installs. I do erase and installs.

...about every 6 months.

What is the difference between a "Clean install" and an "Erase and install"? How many different types of installs are there?

[adamfilip]

every 3-4 months.. just for fun.
if i dont feel like selectively deleting stuff
i just backup what i need and start over.

I love a fresh system.

i try out lots of experimental programs and stuff
and sometimes it screws things up

[wrldwzrd89]

I do an erase and install anytime I feel like repartitioning my HD, when a major Mac OS X update is released (such as 10.2->10.3), or when I have accumulated various programs that I want to remove but don't know how (usually command-line programs).

[walkerboh4269]

I am a fairly new OS X user. After about two months on my IBook 700 G3 that I bought refurb the harddrive began makeing wired noises. So I sent it into Apple and they installed a new harddrive. I had backed up my system before sending it to my Ipod. I install new and then transfered all of my files and stuff from my Ipod. This was about a year ago. :)

[encro]

Barring no problems in the next 6-12 months; my next fresh install will be 10.4.

[Duff-Man]

Duff-Man says...like a lot of people that have replied I only do the clean-install (archive and install) when the major upgrades come out. I have had no reason to do otherwise on either the desktop or 2 powerbooks....oh yeah!

[Nermal]

What is the difference between a "Clean install" and an "Erase and install"? How many different types of installs are there?

Erase and Install completely removes everything from the hard drive, then installs OS X.

Clean Install (aka Archive and Install) makes a backup of the System, Library and Users folders and then installs a fresh copy of OS X without deleting anything.

On my first Mac, I did a few Erase and Installs, because I didn't know any better after using Windows since 1993. On my current (second) Mac, I've Archive and Installed once to fix the Panther disk image bug, but have never done it since.

[cb911]

wow bryanc you must be one of very few people not to have done a clean install. it's a testament to the awesomeness of OS X. :cool:

i've had to do quite a few, mostly because of my own fiddling. :p the next time i'm planning to have one will be when Tiger comes out, if i still have my PB and not a PB G5... ;) :D

[cb911]

Erase and Install completely removes everything from the hard drive, then installs OS X.

Clean Install (aka Archive and Install) makes a backup of the System, Library and Users folders and then installs a fresh copy of OS X without deleting anything.

i always thought that a 'clean' install was the same as an erase and install? (cleaning the HD through a format?) and that a Archive and Install was referred to as a 'Backup & Install'?

well whatever it is, whenever i've said 'clean' install i've meant erase and install. i've never done a archive & install.

[Nermal]

Well, back in the System 7 days, a Clean Install did the same thing as today's Archive and Install, so I'm assuming that the Clean Install we're talking about here is also an Archive and Install.

[FelixDerKater]

I do it when a major update for OS X comes out, such as 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, etc. Beyond that, I just make sure the disk is aintained with some combination of Disk Utility and Norton(no jokes, please).

[ravenvii]

every 3-4 months.. just for fun.
if i dont feel like selectively deleting stuff
i just backup what i need and start over.

I love a fresh system.

i try out lots of experimental programs and stuff
and sometimes it screws things up

Haha! Same here! :D

[BakedBeans]

i seriously recomend just doing it in between major os..i will when i get tiger...i just use macjanitor to clean things up.... keeps my system sweet...i have one question though,

why do people delete all the language packs??? is it just for hardrive space or is it of speed benifit??

[wrldwzrd89]

i seriously recomend just doing it in between major os..i will when i get tiger...i just use macjanitor to clean things up.... keeps my system sweet...i have one question though,

why do people delete all the language packs??? is it just for hardrive space or is it of speed benifit??
If you don't speak any of those languages, what's the point of keeping them when you have absolutely no use for them? Besides, even if you need an international character, you can access it from the Unicode palette, regardless of what language packs are installed. As far as I know, deleting the language packs just frees up HD space - it doesn't speed anything up.

[BakedBeans]

If you don't speak any of those languages, what's the point of keeping them when you have absolutely no use for them? Besides, even if you need an international character, you can access it from the Unicode palette, regardless of what language packs are installed. As far as I know, deleting the language packs just frees up HD space - it doesn't speed anything up.

thanks for clearing that up... i know that there is not any point having them...but i still have 50gig left...so unless it speeds it up(doubt it) then i wont bother...

[CubaTBird]

You know whats funny though, I remember a lot of people erases their ipods and re-incoding all their music into apples aac format when it came out. Why, i ask. hehe :o