Archive and install?

[Morod]

Hi all,
My 24" 2.4 GHz Al iMac has a random freezing problem. I am thinking of doing an archive and install of the OS (running 10.5.6). Questions:
1. Will an A&I keep all my present data?
2. How is it done?
I've never done it before and want to make sure I do it correctly. I did a forum search of archive and install, and nothing pertinent came up for me.
I do have both installation disks that came with the iMac, so I should be good to go there.
Thanks for any help/advice given!
Morod

 

[BlueRevolution]

1. Will an A&I keep all my present data?

Yes. That's the point.

2. How is it done?

The same way a normal install is done: insert the disk and reboot, holding the C key from when the startup chime sounds until the Apple logo appears. When prompted, choose to archive & install. If you enable the "preserve users and network settings" option, it will also re-import all of your data after the fact.

 

[Morod]

Thank you, Blue!
I will try this after I get off work today.
The freeze problem is intermittent, so the local Apple repair place has had the computer and of course it never freezes while in the shop. This is one thing I can try to check myself.
Thanks again!
Morod

 

[IJ Reilly]

Without knowing a lot more about the problems you are experiencing I can't recommend any type of reinstall. The most common source of these problems are hardware issues, a situation which attempting to reinstall can actually make worse.

 

[Morod]

The problem...

I too think it could be hardware-related, but the tech said an A&I might help, hence my request for help.

PROBLEM:
The computer freezes up.

SYMPTOMS:
No rhyme or reason to it. Whether or not someone is using it or it is just sitting on, the computer locks up. If it is playing music, the music stops abruptly. The wallpaper, which is set to change photos every 5 seconds, quits changing and stays on one picture. It is unresponsive to keyboard/mouse inputs. The only solution is to power it down from the power button in back, wait 10 seconds, then power back up. It happens every other day or so. Resetting the SMC (which I’ve done twice) causes it to work okay for about 3 weeks before it starts freezing up again.

It first started doing this around September or October of 2008. It seems to freeze up more often as time has passed.

Thanks again!
Morod

 

[IJ Reilly]

Even Apple recommends reinstalls far more often than they should. The fact that resetting the SMC seems to help, even temporarily, suggests hardware as the source of the problem. Have you upgraded the RAM on this Mac, or do you have any USB or Firewire devices attached?

 

[Morod]

Even Apple recommends reinstalls far more often than they should. The fact that resetting the SMC seems to help, even temporarily, suggests hardware as the source of the problem. Have you upgraded the RAM on this Mac, or do you have any USB or Firewire devices attached?

I upgraded the RAM to 4GB of Crucial the first day I got the computer (January 2008). It has been running fine.
Firewire 800 G-Tech external drive for Time Machine. Installed the first day I got the computer.
USB is just the keyboard (BT MM).
Thanks for the help!
MR RAWKS!
Morod

 

[Morod]

I completed the Archive and Install

My first time doing it. Thanks for the help, Blue!
It went smoothly and I ran software updater a couple of times afterwards to get me back where I was.
Now to see if the freeze problem goes away or not. I'm keeping notes in iCal on everything I've done to the iMac, so I know what what & when things have changed.
I'm with IJ in I think this is a hardware problem, but this allows me to check one item off the "possibles" list.
Thanks again!
Morod

 

[Morod]

Question on my day-to-day account

Since the A&I, doing something as simple as renaming a Pages document is not allowed. A dialog box pops up saying the user does not have sufficient privileges. To add a Pages document to a folder I need my Admin u/n and p/w. Before the A&I, this was not required.
On my day-to-day account, I noticed the checkbox is unchecked for "Allow user to administer this computer."
Should I check this box to get it back as it was before? And if I do check the box, doesn't that defeat the purpose of running a Standard Account instead of an Admin account?
I hope this makes sense. I would just like to modify folders/Pages docs without needing to enter the Admin info.
Thanks,
Morod

 

[IJ Reilly]

I'm not sure what you mean by your "day-to-day" account. If you are logged into a non-administrator account you will have privileges only in that user directory.

 

[JediMeister]

Did you Archive & Install with the option to preserve users and network settings or did you not? That should have been an available choice on the installer screen where you select a destination. Some install discs do not automatically check that option and could account for some of the issues you're having modifying user files.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Another possibility. Good call.

 

[Morod]

Yes, the preserve checkbox was checked

Sorry for not including this info, but the preserve users and network settings box was checked.
By my day-to-day account, I mean the account I use 99% of the time. It is a non-admin account. And I was trying to rename pages docs in that account when I got the dialog box.
I guess before the A&I, I also had to enter admin u/n & p/w to modify pages docs.
SO I think I am back to where I need to be.
Thank you all for your help. Now if the freeze-up problem goes away I will be one happy camper!
Morod

 

[BlueRevolution]

Log in to your admin account, open a Terminal window (in /Applications/Utilities), and run:

sudo chown -R [short name of your day-to-day account]:staff /Users/[short name]

The short name is the name of your user home folder. It defaults to the account's username in lowercase with all spaces removed.

 

[Morod]

Log in to your admin account, open a Terminal window (in /Applications/Utilities), and run:

sudo chown -R [short name of your day-to-day account]:staff /Users/[short name]

The short name is the name of your user home folder. It defaults to the account's username in lowercase with all spaces removed.

This did the trick!
A special (and public) thank you to BlueRevolution for the specific detailed instructions and guidance in the very first use of Terminal by me.
Morod

 

[Morod]

Turn back on TM!

Again, thanks to everyone for your help in this matter.
The A&I seems to have worked!
One caveat:
Check your system prefs after doing an A&I. My Time Machine was turned off after the A&I and I just realized it today. Which makes sense as OS X is shipped with it turned off. I'm just a bit slow on the uptake,
Anyway, things are good here. Now.
Morod