A few Snow Leopard upgrade/erase and install questions

[celticpride678]

I am upgrading to Snow Leopard soon and have been reading threads around here, saying that it might be better for a erase and install (less bugs and faster). Here are a few questions:

1. Is Erase and Install really better? Its just that I don't want to go through everything again.

2. What's the deal with iLife? The Application DVD includes iLife, right?

3. How can I do an Erase and Install? Erase the drive in Disk Utility and install Snow Leopard? Doesn't it look for Leopard first? Which drive to I select: Macintosh HD or the physical hard drive?

Thanks.

 

[jakk2809]

1. I did a complete clean install from scratch. It seems snappier but that may just be me. Usually a clean install will get rid of log files and stuff that can slow you down.

2. iLife comes on a separate DVD. It DOES NOT come with Snow Leopard.

3. First back up everything. Insert the SL DVD, start the SL Installer and select "Utilities" on the bottom. This will shut down your computer and reboot from the DVD. Then you can use Disk Utility from the DVD installer to format your current HD. After the format, install a fresh copy of SL. It's all automated. When you are at the SL desktop, you can reinstall apps and files from your backup. This is only if you want a clean install from scratch!

This was just a general step-by-step of what I went through (although I installed SL on a 2nd HD and then physically replaced my old HD after the install).

 

[Richard1028]

Insert the SL DVD, start the SL Installer and select "Utilities" on the bottom. This will shut down your computer and reboot from the DVD.

Can't you just boot directly from the $29 SL DVD by holding down the option key? Or do you need to do it your way because the SL DVD first checks to make sure Leopard is installed?

 

[macfanboy]

because the SL DVD first checks to make sure Leopard is installed?

it doesnt do this.

 

[jakk2809]

You can boot directly from the SL DVD but what I mentioned above is what I went through.

 

[celticpride678]

Now that I think about it, I feel that a clean install is better for people that do not "clean" and "take care of" their hard drive. For example, I just went through EVERY single file on my entire hard drive and removed the ones I don't need. I kinda feel like doing an upgrade now, to not go through the entire setup process.

 

[t0mat0]

If you're not putting lots of files back onto the OS hard drive, yes, - after initially doing the eracese and install you can feel the difference.
iLife is on the installation discs that came with the Mac if it had Leopard installed. Just pop the DVD in, and it'll install them (go through the options, as I think Garaageband etc isn't selected by default).

3. Backup. Put the DVD into the drive, click on install. At the top of the screen, in the uilities menu, go to disk utility, select the main hard drive, erase it. Then proceed with the install.