Isn't Archive Install or Clean Install Kind of Overkill Now-a-days?

[MacGiver]

So an A&I is a more in depth upgrade? It will install Leopard just like a clean install but keep on the side your old setting and apps?

For my understanding why do we have the choice between upgrade and A&I? What kind of user would use A&I or upgrade?

X

 

[cohibadad]

the biggest advantage of a fresh install is it removes all the crap that builds up over time. A lot of this stuff little programs we have installed and now never use or programs that we put on bug forgot about that now eat up system resources and over time the computer just get very jumble full of crap.

After almost all fresh installs of an OS the computer will run faster and just work better (windows and OSX) just because the build up of crap is gone.

I agree with the biggest advantage of a fresh install. All sorts of stuff gets left behind on program installs and erasures. You can easily free up hard drive space with a clean install. I don't know that the computer will run faster but maybe. I've upgraded from 10.1 to 10.2 to 10.3 to 10.4. I did have strange things happen after 10.1 to 10.2 which disappeared after a clean install. I had no problems with 10.2 to 10.3 or 10.3 to 10.4 and plan on upgrading to 10.5 on all machines. I've also upgraded every Windows OS capable without problems except for XP to Vista which was flawless on one machine but totally screwed up and had to be clean installed on another.

 

[LoganT]

Question: I had UNO installed and then uninstalled it completely so I had no backup of my previous system. If I do an upgrade to Leopard will UNO affect anything?

 

[IJ Reilly]

No need to worry about anything that gets left in the user/library/... files?

Thanks by the way,

Jsam

Nothing you really need to be concerned about. They aren't executable files and don't effect any other applications or OSX. Some applications (the exception, not the rule) install kernel extensions which have to be removed using the original application installer. You'll know which ones have installed kernel extensions because the installer would have required a reboot after installation.

 

[TheSpaz]

So check this out:

If you choose to Archive and Install some Apps may not work properly anymore anyway! If some Applications install important files in the /Library or /System/Library folders, then those Apps most likely won't even open to run. I'll give you an example. If you have Adobe Apps installed such as Illustrator or Photoshop (definitely Photoshop) you'll be warned when starting the App that some of the important elements in Photoshop cannot be found and that you need to re-install Photoshop. What about Quark? Quark needs those files too and it will ask you to upgrade and re-activate (which is a pain and sometimes doesn't work, so you need to reinstall anyway). Also, there are plugin information for Logic and Logic Express in those folders as well. So after you do your nice archive and install, have fun trying to find where everything goes from the old System folder or reinstall those Apps. This is where upgrade comes in handy. You upgrade and everything is instantly back the way you left it except you have a beautiful new OS to use. I have ZERO problems with Tiger with 10.4.10 so it should be a smooth upgrade. I think if people just simply use their computers correctly and don't let them get overloaded with extras and background apps, your computer will run a lot better no matter what OS version you're running. Also, why do you need to wait for an OS revision to clean up your old files?

 

[IJ Reilly]

Also, why do you need to wait for an OS revision to clean up your old files?

An excellent question.

 

[oduinnin]

Reboot?

We are all so ready to fall into camps behind barbed wire and gates over what ever issue. OSX is not Windows; carrying logic from one OS to the other on the install issue seems to limp at best.

Here is the solution: if you want to do a Format and Install, an Upgrade, or Archive and Install; just do it. It's your machine, and it's your life so do what makes you happy. I used to install XP monthly to clean things up then every six months be that got just too time consuming. I do a fresh install of OSX about every six months as well because it makes me happy and I have the time.

Two things I would dearly love to know are has any one ever NOT reinstalled the OS, after some initial process and what is the longest up time without a reboot. I think I reboot about twice a week, mostly because Firefox is doing something stupid, so I moved to Netscape IX.

First, I have never had to do a "reinstall" after an initial install except one time when I lost my entire hard drive due to the computer falling off the desk while it was writing to the drive. I have owned and used 8 Macs since 1992.

Because I run a Distributed client application that very much depends on www communication with the "mother ship", I have run a PM G4 for 6-1/2 years only rebooting for system upgrades (no reinstalls here), an occasional reboot for power drops / spikes. I have had zero system problems with this computer. I am now running a new Aluminum iMac in the same manner. I expect that Leopard will be even more rock solid than Tiger since Apple has gone the extra mile to make Leopard Unix SUSv3 & Posix compliant.

 

[Ariez]

With any OS change I like to have a fresh start.

 

[mavis]

I wonder where all the 'there is no point doing a clean install these days' people are now ... ?

I'm glad I opted to do a clean install, given the number of problems upgraders seem to be having.

 

[xUKHCx]

I wonder where all the 'there is no point doing a clean install these days' people are now ... ?

I'm glad I opted to do a clean install, given the number of problems upgraders seem to be having.

I back tracked and did some major repairs on my Tiger install and then upgraded. Only one slight problem with airport.

 

[Genghis Khan]

Ummm...150Gb extra HDD space

I clean installed leopard and gained an extra 150Gb space out of a 250Gb drive

i knew i'd been lazy with movie and program files, but not that lazy

 

[cwedl]

I do it because I have in the past I've seen a difference between upgrading and doing a fresh install. besides because I normally install mac osx once, until the next upgrade, its nice to get rid of the rubbish that culmulates.

 

[byakuya]

With any OS change I like to have a fresh start.

me too...even though as a recent mac switcher I havent done a fresh install on a mac yet
I guess it's a matter of preference really.
in my case whenever I get something new I want to start new...and judging from many problems some people have with not compatible software after an upgrade I think a fresh install is more time saving (in case there are some issues)

 

[ichii]

I'm thinking about doing a format hdd and install, is there a way for me to back up my itunes and still retain the album artwork? Most of my music doesn't have album artwork through itunes. I'm planning to do the clean install, because videos seem to lag or playback choppy. It also takes a lot longer to boot up.

 

[IJ Reilly]

I wonder where all the 'there is no point doing a clean install these days' people are now ... ?

I'm glad I opted to do a clean install, given the number of problems upgraders seem to be having.

Right here. And still saying it's a complete waste of time for the vast majority of users.

A small number of people will always have problems with both major and minor OS upgrades, but these not necessarily solved by clean installing unless the problem was related to the user hacking OSX in some unconventional way. And even in that case, an archive and install should do the trick very nicely.

 

[yg17]

I always do a clean install when upgrading an OS. Whether it's Windows or OSX. One reason is to make sure some incompatible system software is gone and won't affect the new OS, and every now and then, I like to remove all the crap from my computer and start with a clean slate, and an OS upgrade is a good excuse. And I really don't spend much more time doing it.

 

[IJ Reilly]

I always do a clean install when upgrading an OS. Whether it's Windows or OSX. One reason is to make sure some incompatible system software is gone and won't affect the new OS, and every now and then, I like to remove all the crap from my computer and start with a clean slate, and an OS upgrade is a good excuse. And I really don't spend much more time doing it.

I have never understood this logic. How do you know which software is "incompatible" with new OS? Even assuming you had incompatible software installed, won't you just reinstall it and be back to square one?

Also, as someone else asked, why are you waiting for a new OS to remove crap from your drive?

Finally, and the biggest reason I think clean installing is terrible advice for most users, is the very real possibility that something important will be lost, unless they are completely careful and know exactly what they are doing.

 

[yg17]

I have never understood this logic. How do you know which software is "incompatible" with new OS? Even assuming you had incompatible software installed, won't you just reinstall it and be back to square one?

Also, as someone else asked, why are you waiting for a new OS to remove crap from your drive?

Finally, and the biggest reason I think clean installing is terrible advice for most users, is the very real possibility that something important will be lost, unless they are completely careful and know exactly what they are doing.

I don't know. But I'd rather not take the chance that something I already have installed hoses my OS.

I do a clean install of my OS about every year or so. I've been wanting to do one for the past couple months, but I was putting it off until Leopard. I like a fresh start every now and then.

Not a problem with me. I make sure to back my stuff up I just make a DMG of my hard drive, put the DMG on my external, and can restore whatever I need.

 

[masteroflondon]

I wonder where all the 'there is no point doing a clean install these days' people are now ... ?

I'm glad I opted to do a clean install, given the number of problems upgraders seem to be having.

I'm also doing fine, thanks. Just upgraded 3 macs with no problems.

Why the hostility toward upgraders? No one seems to takes offence at people saying you should fresh install, but there's this post and others saying users should be allowed to do as they please in response to anyone saying they recommend upgrading. My original post was prompted by someone saying they wanted to upgrade and just wanted reassurance it was ok, because all the fresh installers had worried them.

Of course people should do as they please, and that includes upgrading. When questioned on upgrading vs. fresh installing, it is legitimate for me and others to say that we don't think it necessary.

I was also interested to see, and indeed asked, if anyone had sound reasons for fresh installing rather than just referring to the system getting 'bunged up', which is a term I simply do not understand in this context.

 

[IJ Reilly]

I don't know. But I'd rather not take the chance that something I already have installed hoses my OS.

I do a clean install of my OS about every year or so. I've been wanting to do one for the past couple months, but I was putting it off until Leopard. I like a fresh start every now and then.

Not a problem with me. I make sure to back my stuff up I just make a DMG of my hard drive, put the DMG on my external, and can restore whatever I need.

I wonder how you know what software may be incompatible and how you avoid simply reinstalling it again.

The "fresh start" concept has always mystified me. One of the reasons the Mac has been so valuable to me over the years is because I've never had to start fresh, like Windows user have to do often because of Windows' habit of auto-hosing. On the Mac, the stuff I want I get to keep, and the stuff I don't want, I throw out. Frequent elective OS wipes seem to completely defeat that Mac advantage.

 

[yg17]

I wonder how you know what software may be incompatible and how you avoid simply reinstalling it again.

The "fresh start" concept has always mystified me. One of the reasons the Mac has been so valuable to me over the years is because I've never had to start fresh, like Windows user have to do often because of Windows' habit of auto-hosing. On the Mac, the stuff I want I get to keep, and the stuff I don't want, I throw out. Frequent elective OS wipes seem to completely defeat that Mac advantage.

I don't know. But if, in the process of reinstalling all my stuff, and something breaks after installing something, I know what caused it and can wipe again and choose not to install that program. Whereas if I just upgrade and something's f**ked, I have no idea what caused it.


And honestly, I don't know why you're so concerned with how I install my OS You choose to upgrade, I choose to clean install. Who cares?