Planning to reformat and have some questions

1 - Insert snow leopard dvd - start disk utility from snow leopard dvd and tell it to format your internal drive - this is not reversable - everything will be lost - after the format is done, proceed with an install - you can tell it to restore your stuff from a time machine backup as part of the install
2 - I seem to remember it was about 45 minutes from inserting the SL DVD and starting disk utility to having the erase and install completely finished.
3 - On point number 3, don't you mean Time Machine backup?
4 - the only sure fire way I know to keep those apps around is an archive and install. I have not tried restoring from a Time Machine backup to see if all my apps would come back.

Bottom line: Slow down. You are on the brink of making a decision that could lead to the loss of all your data over a small nuisance "freeze" once an hour...

1 - Check the integrity of your TM destination by browsing to the file and opening it with disk utility. Then check it and if the check hangs and never completes, you don't have a backup you have a placebo!

2 - There is no reason to fall back to an older OS dvd. Use your Snow Leopard DVD to do an "archive and install". Save erase and install for another time. Freezing once an hour, eh? Use time machine editor to change your interval to 4 hours and see if the freezes happen once every 4 hours. Freezes caused by time machine are frequently caused by a corrupted destination volume. It would be a shame to do an erase and install to try to fix a freezing problem only to find out you don't get all your stuff back 'cuz it was backed up to a corrupted destination directory.

 

1) Applications>Utilities>Disk Utility

It's all in that application.

2) Under a minute usually.

3) if you load your iPhot Library and user files as they are on your backup, everything should be the same

BUT

4) I do not believe you can transfer applications such as these. They need to be reinstalled.

 

Scratch that YES...use the install DVD of Snow Leopard and run Disk Util from there.

While the formatting takes less than a minute, the install of the software will certainly take longer.

 

What software do you use for backup? Is it time machine run once a week or is it a third party program? If it's TM, everything I said about checking the destination before relying on it still stands, your backup might be nothing more than a nice looking placebo.

If it's 3rd party s/w, it might not allow you to "bring back" apps you have installed. If you cant locate your 3rd party sw disks, wiping and reinstalling you run the risk of losing those apps.

 

Here the thing.
If your face to do a reformat.You have to be cafefull.
If wipe the computer then perform a full restore,you back be exactly where u are.

Really you have other 2 options.

1-Troubleshoot your system how it is.
You can look at your logs.The issue might system wide or something inside your user account.


2-Erase the computer and only migrate your user account if the issue is system wide
(Copy the your home folder from the TM backup into your computer user folder.And create the accout with the same account name(short name).

With steps #2,you have a clean installed with all your personal information but with no 3rd party programs.