iMac Reformat

[dsnort]

I'm thinking of doing an erase and re-install of Tiger on iMac, to get back that clean, fresh feeling. I don't want to lose all my stuff though, iTunes library, Photo's, documents etc.

What folders do I need to back up so I can reload them after re-install?

 

[dsnort]

I'm still running Tiger, don't have time machine.

Right now I'm copying home folder to external, when finished will do Apps folder.

Or would the back up utility be better?

 

[QuantumLo0p]

I'm still running Tiger, don't have time machine.

Right now I'm copying home folder to external, when finished will do Apps folder.

Or would the back up utility be better?

If you are not using Time Machine then just about any decent backup software can suffice but...be very careful. I would back up your all users folders. Do not trash your backup until you are quite sure you have everything you need from it.

Most apps should be fine to backup but some, such as CS, will not. Try to export your address book, bookmarks, and anything that will allow you to do that. If not, you will have to sift through your user/library folder to locate things. If you use pop email it may take some effort to get everything back and working. Mine was sort of fickle for a while. Count on recreating new passwords for the keychain. I changed a user password and, even though keychain prefs were set to use the current user password, it became totally hosed up. After making a new login keychain with new passwords everything worked fine.

 

[dsnort]

I using the Back Up program that came on the Mac, backing up Home Folder and anything else I think I might need!

 

[gr8gatzby]

At the erase/install option screen in Leopard setup, you have the option to keep your old home folder and transfer to the new one.

 

[JediMeister]

gr8gatzby: You're talking about the Archive & Install feature to preserve users & network settings. The OP is planning to reformat the iMac HD and start anew, just migrating back whatever he's got on the external drive.

 

[longwood]

ChronoSync or SuperDuper will make an exact copy of your hard drive and also make it bootable. This will allow you to copy everything back over from the external to the internal after the reformat.