Cut the bloat - refresh your OS!

[chriskzoo]

So whenever Leopard came out I installed it on my G4 Mac Mini (1GB max RAM), and despite it chugging a bit at times, I decided this week to revert to a fresh install of Tiger.

Well, despite losing out on a few things, namely Time Machine (which I think was the cause of a lot of the chugging), I cleared out about 25GB of crap from my 80GB hard drive - mostly apps I never used, various downloads floating around, etc. All I loaded back on were essential apps, documents, photos, and some music.

In any event, it's always good to do this periodcally. if you notice things are starting to slow down - Safari still runs like ass on my computer so I've had to go Firefox exclusive until I eventually bite the bullet on a new iMac.

 

[bashveank]

I'm curious, did you notice any tangible performance increase? Because I feel like my Mac has been getting progressively more sluggish, but I don't really want to reinstall my OS just to confirm a niggling suspicion...

 

[chriskzoo]

I'm curious, did you notice any tangible performance increase? Because I feel like my Mac has been getting progressively more sluggish, but I don't really want to reinstall my OS just to confirm a niggling suspicion...

The performance increase was noticeable, but note that I have an older 1.83 Ghz G4 Mac Mini, which I don't think is suitable for Leopard and I went back to Tiger 10.4.11.

 

[Dunmail]

Doing this is common (and necessary) on PCs but is it required on OS X?

I've only had a Mac for a couple of weeks so I've no real standard to compare, though I've used Linux/Unix for some years and not noticed this on those machines. For those who are seasoned Mac users: does your machine now take longer to boot than when you first got it? Do apps take longer to load? If so, over what sort of timeframe has this slowdown taken place?

 

[-Ryan-]

For those who are seasoned Mac users: does your machine now take longer to boot than when you first got it? Do apps take longer to load? If so, over what sort of timeframe has this slowdown taken place?

Hi,

I've been using Macs exclusively for a few years now, and I'd say it definitely is necessary. Not quite as regularly as needed on PCs, but I do it approximately once every 6-7 months on both my Macs. Just keeps everything running sharply, minimises any problems and keeps everything looking clean. My first Mac was a G4 iBook some years ago, and it came with Panther. I recently did a fresh install on my old copy of Tiger which I was no longer using and the performance increase was incredible. Whether or not you do it, the same as Windows, is up to you, but I'd definitely recommend, if even just as a rule of housekeeping.

 

[Dunmail]

Other than creating user documents - emails etc, are you doing anything that might lead to this? I.e. installing and removing apps etc.

Also, I'm assuming that when you do a reinstall, then the Mac will grab all the interim system updates.

 

[chriskzoo]

Other than creating user documents - emails etc, are you doing anything that might lead to this? I.e. installing and removing apps etc.

Also, I'm assuming that when you do a reinstall, then the Mac will grab all the interim system updates.

Yeah, Software Update had not problem grabbing the updates, other than JAVA, which made me install versions 6, 7, and I think 8 or 9. I could have probably just grabbed the current version, but I wasn't sure which was the current version.

More than anything, I think this just gets rid of a) all the apps you don't use b) all the misc. files created in the Library that don't get deleted when you trash an app (i use AppZapper though, which grabs them) and c) misc. downloads etc clogging up space.

The only things I bring back over are Photos, Docs, Music, Movies.

 

[rhett7660]

I have been noticing my os has been getting sluggish also. I haven't done a install since I got my mac in feb 08.

Maybe it is time to do this.

 

[rick3000]

My 5 year old 1Ghz eMac is running Leopard right now. It works very well, but gets very annoying at times. I have considered downgrading to Tiger to speed things up, but will probably wait until I get a new MBP in June.
For most Mac's downgrading for speed is not necessary. But there are not many people still using a 1Ghz Mac.

I actually didn't start noticing my eMac was slow compared to newer Mac's until about a year ago, which fits since the life span (before they become excruciatingly slow if you upgrade the OS) of most Apple's is about 3-4 years.

 

[MacBoobsPro]

Usually on a big update i.e. 10.x I will do a fresh install and then just update the 10.x.x updates as usual.

Rarely have I ever had a problem with the OS.