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Reinstall OS X with 2 hard drives after 3 years to clean up?

S

snowleopard13

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 12, 2010
128
8
Austria
So... I was thinking about reinstalling my OSX on my Mid 2010 Macbook Pro without Super Drive, but two hard drives (SSD 64GB + 1TB SATA).
I am using it since May 2010 without reinstall.

When i installed the SSD i just cloned the system from the old HDD to the new SSD. My Users folder and therefore all my pictures, videos, documents, music is on my SATA non-system-drive. The SSD is used as boot disk and for the Applications folder.

All of this makes reinstalling a bit difficult. I want to get rid of some stuff i don't use anymore (apps and tweaks more or less) and want to start with a fresh system, because the free space on my SSD is down to a few GB's.

I would love to hear some ideas on HOW to do this best and most efficient.

What i want:
  • keep all my libraries in iMovie, iPhoto, Lightroom, Aperture, iTunes WORKING
  • have a backup of the current state, incase i can't get something to work (clone SSD on external drive)
  • get rid of all the stuff that clocks up the system over time and reduce used space on SSD again

Any help and input appreciated! :)
 
First of all, you should already have a backup of the current state, in case something goes wrong. A clone is a good idea, but you should at least have a Time Machine or other backup of the most recent state.

Second, you don't need to reinstall just because you've been using it for 3 years. Files do not "clog up the system over time". That having been said, there may well be some things you can get rid of.

However, ideally you want a drive that fits your software; you don't want to be limited to software that fits your hardware. It might be better to consider getting a bigger SSD. They are getting cheaper every day, and a 128 or 240 Gb drive is not very expensive.

If you installed 10.8, you could create a Fusion drive of the SSD and HDD.
 
benwiggy said:
Second, you don't need to reinstall just because you've been using it for 3 years. Files do not "clog up the system over time".
Click to expand...

Exactly. Unlike Windows, there's no common registry file that can get bloated or even corrupted over time.

I've never ever reinstalled Mac OS. Never had a need.

Windows? Lots of times, sadly.

That doesn't mean there aren't files you can get rid of. I did find one app that I thought did a good job, disclaimer, I haven't bought the app but the semi-functioning demo (can only delete up to a certain amount of files) looked pretty good, and that was CleanMyMac2.
 
benwiggy said:
First of all, you should already have a backup of the current state, in case something goes wrong. A clone is a good idea, but you should at least have a Time Machine or other backup of the most recent state.
Click to expand...
Good point. I never ever had an external hard drive just for backups. maybe it's time to get one.

benwiggy said:
Second, you don't need to reinstall just because you've been using it for 3 years. Files do not "clog up the system over time". That having been said, there may well be some things you can get rid of.
Click to expand...
smithrh said:
Exactly. Unlike Windows, there's no common registry file that can get bloated or even corrupted over time.

I've never ever reinstalled Mac OS. Never had a need.
Click to expand...

I always read about OSX not clogging up and never getting slower. But everytime I use one of those showcase Macbooks in Stores i am amazed by the faster speed :confused: Maybe my 3GB/s SSD really is a lot slower than MB Air SSDs. Or it makes a difference if EVERYTHING is on a SSD or just OS+Apps. Also i have that feeling that i get beachballs more often than one or two years ago. I upgraded to 8GB Ram in 2011 though.

If my system would not feel faster after install a fresh copy of 10.8.3 onto the SSD, as you guys suggest, i would definitely be mad. Because appearently it is a lot of work...


benwiggy said:
However, ideally you want a drive that fits your software; you don't want to be limited to software that fits your hardware. It might be better to consider getting a bigger SSD. They are getting cheaper every day, and a 128 or 240 Gb drive is not very expensive.

If you installed 10.8, you could create a Fusion drive of the SSD and HDD.
Click to expand...

I guess this would be a great update for my macbook. However, i would need to buy two new hard drives (one >1TB for backup + >128gb SSD = 200$). I plan on buying a new mac next year, so i'll have to figure if it's still worth it.

Is a self made fusion drive in a Macbook Pro really that much faster than an SSD for just OS and Apps?

I found a guide on how to do it in a another thread (in case i decide to do so):
http://blog.macsales.com/17624-os-x-10-8-3-provides-fusion-drive-setup-option-for-non-fusion-drive-equipped-macs
 
Last edited:
justperry said:
:eek:

Eek Says enough.
Click to expand...

Did you actually have something to say when you posted this? I ask as obviously you took time to write... something, anyways, then you hit the "submit" button but there isn't much of anything in your post to parse. Try again?

snowleopard13 said:
I always read about OSX not clogging up and never getting slower. But everytime I use one of those showcase Macbooks in Stores i the faster speed :confused: Maybe my 3GB/s SSD really is a lot slower than MB Air SSDs. Or it makes a difference if EVERYTHING is on a SSD or just OS+Apps.
Click to expand...

Well *of course* newer machines in the store are going to outperform your 3 year old model. It's not *just* SSD speed involved.
 
smithrh said:
Did you actually have something to say when you posted this? I ask as obviously you took time to write... something, anyways, then you hit the "submit" button but there isn't much of anything in your post to parse. Try again?
Click to expand...

Ah, OK it seems to me that smiley wasn't enough.

Stay away from CleanMyMac, MacKeeper and CCleaner, first of all they are not needed, second they are notorious for messing up the System.
There are plenty of threads here on MR about people messing up their system, sometimes we don't know yet but when I/We ask what is in the LaunchAgents/Deamons folder these sometimes show up, and we know.

Go ahead if you think it's a good idea to use these, it's not my Mac, but you would be better of not using them or use a better one like Onyx.

----

OP, sorry to have been Off Topic here.
 
If it's a bad app, links to back that assertion up would be nice. Not saying you're wrong, but posting more than what you did is needed. I know a lot of people like to boost their post counts...

Again, I've not bought it, but I have used it to remove some files successfully; it also identified other areas for me to investigate manually.
 
smithrh said:
If it's a bad app, links to back that assertion up would be nice. Not saying you're wrong, but posting more than what you did is needed. I know a lot of people like to boost their post counts...

Again, I've not bought it, but I have used it to remove some files successfully; it also identified other areas for me to investigate manually.
Click to expand...

Just the Top 3 searches when you use MRoogle to search MacRumours Forums

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/689232/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1411688/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1025835/

There are plenty more Links there to prove CleanMyMac is a bad App and can mess up your OS.

Bold: :confused:, I am helping people out here, you can see my History, not doing it to get a higher post count!
 
I have done it manually.
- backup each user's folders into external disk. I use command line "rsync" so the process can be interrupted / resumed
- create separate partition for /Users and the other folders. This will make the files more manageable, i.e. your have out of free space for Users or you want to reinstall again OS without touching the Users' folder
- Do the fresh install. Move manually the /Users by creating hard linked to the new /Users partition
- Copy back all data from external disk to each user folders using the same rsync command. I put in different folders "recover.sys", so each of them can grab their old files if needed.
- After 1 month running without any needs to get the old files from external disk, the external is formatted for other purpose.

I used few shell scripts to run it overnight and it takes around 2 days for everything (except the last steps). I knew, this is kind of old-fashioned way, but it worked - at least without 3rd party apps like CCC :)

snowleopard13 said:
So... I was thinking about reinstalling my OSX on my Mid 2010 Macbook Pro without Super Drive, but two hard drives (SSD 64GB + 1TB SATA).
I am using it since May 2010 without reinstall.

When i installed the SSD i just cloned the system from the old HDD to the new SSD. My Users folder and therefore all my pictures, videos, documents, music is on my SATA non-system-drive. The SSD is used as boot disk and for the Applications folder.

All of this makes reinstalling a bit difficult. I want to get rid of some stuff i don't use anymore (apps and tweaks more or less) and want to start with a fresh system, because the free space on my SSD is down to a few GB's.

I would love to hear some ideas on HOW to do this best and most efficient.

What i want:
  • keep all my libraries in iMovie, iPhoto, Lightroom, Aperture, iTunes WORKING
  • have a backup of the current state, incase i can't get something to work (clone SSD on external drive)
  • get rid of all the stuff that clocks up the system over time and reduce used space on SSD again

Any help and input appreciated! :)
Click to expand...
 
Isamilis said:
I have done it manually.
- backup each user's folders into external disk. I use command line "rsync" so the process can be interrupted / resumed
- create separate partition for /Users and the other folders. This will make the files more manageable, i.e. your have out of free space for Users or you want to reinstall again OS without touching the Users' folder
- Do the fresh install. Move manually the /Users by creating hard linked to the new /Users partition
- Copy back all data from external disk to each user folders using the same rsync command. I put in different folders "recover.sys", so each of them can grab their old files if needed.
- After 1 month running without any needs to get the old files from external disk, the external is formatted for other purpose.

I used few shell scripts to run it overnight and it takes around 2 days for everything (except the last steps). I knew, this is kind of old-fashioned way, but it worked - at least without 3rd party apps like CCC :)
Click to expand...

thanks for the how to. sounds rather complicated though, for someone who never did anything with terminal or shell scripts :-/
 
I agree with other posters who said that so long as your OS seems to be running ok, and so long as there are no acute problems, there's really no need to "reinstall the system".

What you probably DO need to do, is learn to run periodic system maintenance. Such things as:
- Repair permissions (Disk Utility)
- Repair drive (Disk Utility, you need to be "booted externally" for a full repair, although you can run the "Verify Disk" option without an external boot)
- Run the "cron jobs" (daily, weekly, monthly maintainence -- use OnyX"
- Clean logs and caches (again, with OnyX)

You already have Disk Utility.
You can download OnyX free from here:
http://www.onyxmac.com/

I would also recommend that you get control of cookies in your browser -- if you use Safari, Safari Cookies is a good one.

One other thing (if you don't already do it) -- get an external drive and use CarbonCopyCLoner to create a fully-bootable backup of your internal drive.
 
Fishrrman said:
What you probably DO need to do, is learn to run periodic system maintenance. Such things as:
- Repair permissions (Disk Utility)
- Repair drive (Disk Utility, you need to be "booted externally" for a full repair, although you can run the "Verify Disk" option without an external boot)
- Run the "cron jobs" (daily, weekly, monthly maintainence -- use OnyX"
- Clean logs and caches (again, with OnyX)
Click to expand...
Err.... No.
Repair Permissions does very little and does not need to be run regularly. Permissions are not made of cheese; they do not wear out or rust. Most of the files that RP "restores" the permissions of are read-only system files anyway. (To say nothing of the problematic reporting that RP gives.)

Periodic maintenance tasks should run normally anyway, without encouragement. If your machine is asleep when they are scheduled, they will run shortly after the next wake.

You do not need to clean logs -- that's what the periodic tasks do.
Cleaning caches on a regular basis is also not necessary, and a bad idea, as caches are there to help. Occasionally, they can get corrupt, and Onyx is a great tool when you have a problem, but pre-emptive cache emptying will just slow down your Mac regularly.

So, apart from that:, yes Verify your disk every now and then.

MacWorld: Five Myths of Mac Maintenance.
 
"Err.... No."

Say whatever you wish.

The procedures I outlined above (combined with routine defragmenting) kept my PowerMac g4 running for NINE YEARS without ever having once to "re-install" the OS.

Nine years on the original OS -- must have been doing something right. Actually, that's really a testament to the stability of OS X itself.
 
Fishrrman said:
The procedures I outlined above (combined with routine defragmenting) kept my PowerMac g4 running for NINE YEARS without ever having once to "re-install" the OS.
Click to expand...
And this rock that I have keeps away elephants. Look - No elephants!
Nine years is good going, but not unheard of, and I wouldn't attribute it to all the "maintenance".

Fishrrman said:
Actually, that's really a testament to the stability of OS X itself.
Click to expand...
Agreed. With or without maintenance. Perhaps more to the hardware, though.

I've also kept and used many Macs for several years WITHOUT cleaning caches (and NEVER defragging, which is also unnecessary).
 
Last edited:
okay, so obviously there are a lot of distinct opinions on the topic.

outcome so far:

- a reinstall of the system is not needed
- i should by a backup drive asap and start using time machine or CCC
- repair permissions once in a while can't hurt
- buy bigger SSD if i really want to make things a little faster (pictures, documents and music stored on it too for faster file access)
 
I use Yasu for running exactly those tasks (except booted externally). It's very simple and not too complicated. IMO. I did it once a month or whenever I felt system slowdown.

Fishrrman said:
I agree with other posters who said that so long as your OS seems to be running ok, and so long as there are no acute problems, there's really no need to "reinstall the system".

What you probably DO need to do, is learn to run periodic system maintenance. Such things as:
- Repair permissions (Disk Utility)
- Repair drive (Disk Utility, you need to be "booted externally" for a full repair, although you can run the "Verify Disk" option without an external boot)
- Run the "cron jobs" (daily, weekly, monthly maintainence -- use OnyX"
- Clean logs and caches (again, with OnyX)

You already have Disk Utility.
You can download OnyX free from here:
http://www.onyxmac.com/

I would also recommend that you get control of cookies in your browser -- if you use Safari, Safari Cookies is a good one.

One other thing (if you don't already do it) -- get an external drive and use CarbonCopyCLoner to create a fully-bootable backup of your internal drive.
Click to expand...
 
Sophia. said:
You should try "Clean My Mac 2". The first time I ran it I deleted 15GB from my OS HD.
Click to expand...
I would not recommend CleanMyMac, based on the number of complaints that have been posted in this forum and elsewhere. As an example: CleanMyMac cleaned too much. Here's a recent example. While you may not have experienced problems yet, enough people have that it's wise to avoid it, especially since there are free alternatives that have better reputations, such as Onyx.

You don't need "cleaner" or "maintenance" apps to keep your Mac running well, and some of these apps can do more harm than good. Most only remove files/folders or unused languages or architectures, which does nothing more than free up some drive space, with the risk of deleting something important in the process.

These apps will not make your Mac run faster or more efficiently, since having stuff stored on a drive does not impact performance, unless you're running out of drive space. In fact, deleting some caches can hurt performance, rather than help it, since more system resources are used and performance suffers while each cache is being rebuilt.

Many of these tasks should only be done selectively to troubleshoot specific problems, not en masse as routine maintenance.

Mac OS X does a good job of taking care of itself, without the need for 3rd party software. Among other things, it has its own maintenance scripts that run silently in the background on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, without user intervention.

 
Thanks for clearing some of these myths up.

I will just keep deleting single apps that i don't use anymore and live with the speed until i upgrade to a newer mac. I think there will be some nice improvements on my next mac (usb 3.0, thunderbolt, sata III/faster flash storage, fusion drive, processor architecture).
 
snowleopard13 said:
Thanks for clearing some of these myths up.

I will just keep deleting single apps that i don't use anymore and live with the speed until i upgrade to a newer mac. I think there will be some nice improvements on my next mac (usb 3.0, thunderbolt, sata III/faster flash storage, fusion drive, processor architecture).
Click to expand...
The most effective method for complete app removal is manual deletion:
If you're having performance issues, this may help:
 
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