Newb Needs Help with Leo Install (Yes I've read the many threads)

Get those code things for all your apps. Find all your app CDs. Get your wireless settings and info...and make sure you have BACKED UP EVERYTHING!

Also, you need to get all your keychain password things and make sure you remember and Mac Mail info

 

If you've made some changes to apps' preferences, I recommend taking pics of the preference panes for reference in the recreation.

 

in your home library folder you might wanna backup

- application support (address book, ical, and 3rd party application files are in here)
- internet plug-ins (if youve installed any 3rd party plug-ins)
- input managers (if youve installed any)
- keychains
- mail
- preference panes (if youve installed any 3rd party ones in system preferences)
- preferences
- quicktime (contains youre codecs if youve installed perian/flip4mac etc),
- safari
- spelling (words you have added to OS X's dictionary in pages/word etc)
- widgets

 

sorry forgot to add the safari folder just has a bookmarks plist. to backup your bookmarks do file->export bookmarks in safari and then use file->import bookmarks in leopard's safari.

 

Macs don't seem to suffer the same fate.

Well to let you know doing a Clean Install while it is up to you. Macs don't seem to have the same fate of getting more slower and unstable over time. When I had windows 3.1 - 2000 I needed to reinstall the OS every 6 months or so just to keep things running smoothly. My old PowerBook which I used for 5 years I only had to reinstall the OS Clean once and that was because the Drive Crashed. and I went from OS X 10.2-10.4 (After the Crash) for 3 more years without reinstalling the OS Clean, with no huge problems. When I did upgrade to my MBP I did the firewire import of my files (generally giving me all my apps and file back and still things run fine and quick) Unlike windows which will run to a poky speed after being used as a normal desktop system for a few months where the Registry gets full of junk apps you don't need anymore and from the random spyware that gets on your system that never seems to go away, while you can disable it it still taking up space.

 

I use to feel the same way as you do - do a clean install, this way you can start fresh and weed out the junk. I did that twice and to be honest, there was always something that I either forgot, or didn't think to save or just didn't work as easily as I'd expected. For example, and I still can't figure out why, but some of my songs on iTunes show up as file not found. Not all of them, but enough.

The last time I decided NOT to do the clean install and it was the best, easiest time I've ever had.

Just consider going through you home folder and getting rid of some things and don't sweat the small stuff like some random preference files. Your mac will run great and if it doesn't THEN you could do your clean install.

Good Luck