Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

How set up a Mac to simplify clean installs?

pullman

pullman

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 11, 2008
922
172
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This is something I have been wondering about for a while.

I prefer to do clean installs of new OS X versions (I am aware that opinions vary about whether this is necessary).

I have a Macbook and was wondering how I should set it up to simplify clean installs. Ideally, I should have OS X and its applications on one SSD volume and the home folder and any software I have installed myself on another volume on the SSD.

And also in an ideal world, since the computer is already up and running, I would not have to re-install everything.

Thanks a lot for any help about the steps to take to achieve this
Philip
 
pullman said:
This is something I have been wondering about for a while.

I prefer to do clean installs of new OS X versions (I am aware that opinions vary about whether this is necessary).

I have a Macbook and was wondering how I should set it up to simplify clean installs. Ideally, I should have OS X and its applications on one SSD volume and the home folder and any software I have installed myself on another volume on the SSD.

And also in an ideal world, since the computer is already up and running, I would not have to re-install everything.

Thanks a lot for any help about the steps to take to achieve this
Philip
Click to expand...
I wanted the same thing and tried what you described, but found that having my home folder on an external thunderbolt array (using SW RAID) was a mistake; it would sometimes cause the Mac Mini not to properly wake when connecting via Apple TV and would cause timeouts. I had moved both the home folder and the iTunes library to the external TB array (CalDigit T3) and thought that the iTunes library was the problem but it was not. I have since reverted to having my home folder on the SSD and the iTunes library on the external, and all is well again. I wish it had worked for me, since as you said it does make fresh installs much easier.
 
How set up a Mac to simplify clean installs?

Thanks Danny, sorry to hear about those troubles.

I realise I may not have been very clear in my original post - I am thinking it should be possible to partition the internal SSD into two volumes and put the OS one one and everything else on the other. Not sure how to achieve this in an already-running system though.

Cheers
philip
 
pullman said:
Thanks Danny, sorry to hear about those troubles.

I realise I may not have been very clear in my original post - I am thinking it should be possible to partition the internal SSD into two volumes and put the OS one one and everything else on the other. Not sure how to achieve this in an already-running system though.

Cheers
philip
Click to expand...
If there is space on the SSD you should be able to create another partition without losing any data. In Disk Utility, select the disk (not the partition) and then select the "Partition" tab. Drag the lower right corner up to create free space, and then create a new partition in this free space. Make sure that you have a backup first. You should then be able to move your home folder to the second partition using the instructions that Apple gives.
 
Thanks Danny. Yes, the partitioning itself is not a problem. What I am wondering is how I can move installed software, like Photoshop, MS Office etc, to a new partition (along with the home folder). Should I use Migration Assistant for this?
 
Do a search there is plenty of info on it including on Apple's website. Here is one;

http://www.cnet.com/news/how-to-move-a-home-folder-in-os-x/

Please note that most apps will move fine but some will ave to be reinstalled. Two that gave me trouble were Drop box and Google Drive.
 
Thanks Danny, your continued help is much appreciated.

The slight variation is that all my non-OS X applications are not installed in my home folder but are in Macintosh HD-Applications. All of them, including "big" ones, like Photoshop CS6, Microsoft Office, live there.

I have a feeling I can't just drag and drop such applications, but can they also be moved to the volume where the home folder is? Or am I better of uninstalling and re-installing them in ~/Applications?

I am also wondering if there are any other things I have to move.

cheers
philip
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back