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How to back up before installing leopard?

S

simoncoul

macrumors member
Original poster
Hey guys I'm fairly new to the mac world I just got a new imac in september. I ran linux for many years before and I know osx has a *nix core, so can I just copy my whole home folder to and external install leopard and then copy it back and keep all my preferences and libraries(for itunes and iphoto), that's what I used to do every time I changed my OS when I ran linux?

Thanks
 
Will the backups I make in tiger work on leopard once I install it? Like I just really care about making sure that my iphoto and itunes libraries get copied over to leopard correctly so I just have to make new playlists and albums and maybe some program prefs by that's not that much of a concern.
 
simoncoul said:
Will the backups I make in tiger work on leopard once I install it? Like I just really care about making sure that my iphoto and itunes libraries get copied over to leopard correctly so I just have to make new playlists and albums and maybe some program prefs by that's not that much of a concern.
Click to expand...
Both your iTunes and iPhoto libraries should be fine, considering your iLife version will not change.

You're upgrading to Leopard, and this backup is "just in case," correct? I wouldn't recommend relying on CCC alone if you're performing an erase and install.
 
Yes I want to do a fresh install, so ur saying I should make multiply backups of my home folder? Or use CCC and another type of backup? I've never done an install on a mac so I don't want to leave out some important part of my itunes and iphoto libraries, but since it's unix I just assumed they would be kept in the home folder like most other *nix OS's.
 
simoncoul said:
Yes I want to do a fresh install, so ur saying I should make multiply backups of my home folder? Or use CCC and another type of backup? I've never done an install on a mac so I don't want to leave out some important part of my itunes and iphoto libraries, but since it's unix I just assumed they would be kept in the home folder like most other *nix OS's.
Click to expand...
Yes, almost everything is kept in the Home folder.

Can I ask why you want a fresh install? As far as your system in concerned, there's no reason to go through the extra hassle; nothing is gained by erasing everything. ...I would just upgrade.
 
I want to do a fresh install because I've messed around a lot with the OS installing packages from mac ports and fink and using other libraries that aren't standard with osx. I just want a fresh start just incase these libraries that I've changed break something in leopard.

Then I can mess around with it again from the beginning D!

Thanks!
 
You can use the Migration Assistant after CCC'ing to the back up. When you're sure everything's working, use the same drive for Time Machine.
 
I looked at migration assistant but it looks like that is only useful if I am switching between macs. I have copied my whole home folder to an external and copied all my pictures and music to an different external(just in case).

Thanks for the help everyone!
 
simoncoul said:
I looked at migration assistant but it looks like that is only useful if I am switching between macs.
Click to expand...
If you use CCC it copies everything exactly, so when you hook up the external disk, it thinks it's your old computer. The way you did it is probably fine though. It just might not copy over your settings and programs.
 
I did this yesterday and all I did was drag-n-drop my home directory to my external drive. Once I was finished with the install I dragged everything back and so far no problems.🙂
 
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