I'm thinking of doing an archive and install for various reasons and I've never done it before. So I was wondering, how smooth is it and what kind of things does it archive?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Archive and Install
- Thread starter osirisX
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
It's pretty smooth. It moves your old system to a "Previous System" folder where you can get anything you might need. There is also an option to preserve user and network settings, which should automatically import just about everything you might need into the new installation. More info is available here.
So all my old preferences get moved back? Don't really feel like setting all that up again 
About how long does it take to do an archive and install?
About how long does it take to do an archive and install?
Yes, everything in your user home folder (which includes your preferences) is preserved if you select the preservation option. A few third-party apps may not work correctly after an Archive and Install and may need to be reinstalled, but the vast majority of them should be just fine.
I did the archive and install. I'm impressed with how quick it was. Now I just have to update to 10.4.10 again :/