Clean Reinstall of Snow Leopard

[ladymacbeth]

I loved the speed improvements Snow Leopard gave to my computer, but I knew that I would have to do a clean install sooner or later. Now, Safari and Firefox are crashing frequently (multiple times a day!) and everything is slowing down again.

I'm hoping a reinstall of the operating system will fix that. However, I used up all 5 installs on my Family Pack. Can I reinstall Snow Leopard with that disc, even though all 5 installs have been used? Do I need to buy another copy? Can the Genius Bar do the clean reinstall for me while my computer is there for other repairs?

[ubercool]

Originally Posted by ladymacbeth

I loved the speed improvements Snow Leopard gave to my computer, but I knew that I would have to do a clean install sooner or later. Now, Safari and Firefox are crashing frequently (multiple times a day!) and everything is slowing down again.

I'm hoping a reinstall of the operating system will fix that. However, I used up all 5 installs on my Family Pack. Can I reinstall Snow Leopard with that disc, even though all 5 installs have been used? Do I need to buy another copy? Can the Genius Bar do the clean reinstall for me while my computer is there for other repairs?

I don't know what technique Apple uses to count installs. Microsoft lets you simply install and reinstall, and counts the number of updates that are being served to a specific key number. I was hoping Apple used a similar technique.

That means simply reinstalling it would only count once, as system updates are counted. Hope others will chime in.

[DeLoMan]

Originally Posted by ladymacbeth

I'm hoping a reinstall of the operating system will fix that. However, I used up all 5 installs on my Family Pack. Can I reinstall Snow Leopard with that disc, even though all 5 installs have been used? Do I need to buy another copy? Can the Genius Bar do the clean reinstall for me while my computer is there for other repairs?

Sure, if you are re-installing Snow Leopard on a computer you already installed it on, that's perfectly legit. Put in the disc, start up your mac holding the "C" key, and when the on screen installer comes up, move your mouse to the top of the screen where a menu bar will appear. Select disk utility, erase the hard drive, and continue installation!

And for the record, I don't believe Apple counts installs or has the ability to. They trust their purchasers, unlike MS.

[matperk]

Originally Posted by DeLoMan

And for the record, I don't believe Apple counts installs or has the ability to. They trust their purchasers, unlike MS.

This is correct. Apple has no tracking method for installs. Technically, you could install any Apple OS on hundreds of machines with the same disc, but it's illegal, obviously.