Reinstall Snow Leopard/Windows 7 Help!

[SiskoKid]

Hey, guys!

I really need some help so please stick with me on this story.

So sorry for this long story, but I installed FCP X, and my buddy told me in order to trick it to save its files and projects to my secondary HDD, I should delete my Movies folder in my User folder. He did that remotely by going into Terminal and typing something out to remove my Movies folder.

Anyway, his trick didn't work and it ended up being you can make FCP X make folders on another drive without doing that anyway.

After he did that, my computer started choking and acting weird. So I figured it had to do with that Movies folder he deleted, but I couldn't get it back. So what I did was create a new user profile, deleted my old one, and then recreated my old one (because I liked the name it had). But for some reason when I go to delete the placeholder user profile, and I put in the password, it says the password is incorrect. I can make an unlimited amount of other admin user profiles and their passwords work, but the user profile when it matches my old user name, doesn't have a password that works. I did this multiple times, and I'm getting frustrated.

Here's where I need help. I want to just start over and just reinstall the OS from scratch. However, I have a Boot Camp drive with Windows 7 OEM.

- I've been told I can only install the OEM disk once. Am I screwed out of $100 now that I bought the OEM? Is there a way to reinstall it without detriment?
- Once I reinstall OS X, will iTunes now think I'm registering yet another computer or will it recognize this as the same one?
- Instead of reinstalling everything from scratch, if you read my issues above, do you by any chance have a solution that doesn't involve starting over?

Let me know!

Thanks so much for any help

 

[jtara]

(Comedy of errors)

Wow, is this ever a case of a comedy of errors, the tail wagging the dog, blind leading the blind, unintended consequences, forest and trees, digging yourself in deeper... Need some more metaphors? I got more.

Anyway, worst case, you'll have to use the "telephone" activation option when you re-install Windows 7.

And get somebody other than your "buddy" to help you with it. You don't need buddies like that! I'd suggest getting professional help. (Meaning: Apple Store Genius, independent computer tech with a decent reputation, etc. And any other professional help that you feel might be useful, hint hint.)

No way deleting your Movies folder caused your troubles, though a more accurate description than "choking and acting weird" would be useful.

So, now, you need to consider that there is something ELSE wrong with your system. Perhaps a failing hard drive, perhaps just a buddy with fat fingers.

 

[SiskoKid]

Wow, is this ever a case of a comedy of errors, the tail wagging the dog, blind leading the blind, unintended consequences, forest and trees, digging yourself in deeper... Need some more metaphors? I got more.

Anyway, worst case, you'll have to use the "telephone" activation option when you re-install Windows 7.

And get somebody other than your "buddy" to help you with it. You don't need buddies like that! I'd suggest getting professional help. (Meaning: Apple Store Genius, independent computer tech with a decent reputation, etc. And any other professional help that you feel might be useful, hint hint.)

No way deleting your Movies folder caused your troubles, though a more accurate description than "choking and acting weird" would be useful.

So, now, you need to consider that there is something ELSE wrong with your system. Perhaps a failing hard drive, perhaps just a buddy with fat fingers.

I think it may have been something FCP X did too. I didn't think the folder would mess anything up, but I thought since it needed terminal, which is scary to look at, it may have been an important component.

But FCP X was acting weird too. After some time it wouldn't even scrub my video anymore no matter how many times I made sure the setting was on. So I deleted it and reinstalled it, and then it worked fine but then my Safari started beach balling, so I basically was like something happened during or after installing FCP X and all I can think of was what happened in Terminal hence why I thought maybe it had to do with the Movies folder.

Either way, since the computer is brand new, I didn't have much installed on there other than games on Windows 7. So that's really my main concern. Mac will be easy to get back up and running since all my files are on my second HDD (music, photos, docs, etc).

But, ya, I kinda wanted to start over anyway because I gave too little space to Windows 7. It takes up over 20GB of space on its own!!!

I had no idea Win 7 was such a huge hog. But now I'll just start over and hope Microsoft will let me reinstall it. I'd hate if I just pissed away $100 cause of a stupid mistake.

Hopefully once everything's reinstalled I don't run up against anymore issues.

 

[SiskoKid]

In 2 and a half hours, I've reinstalled Snow Leopard, CS5, Final Cut Pro, Office 2011, a bunch of smaller programs like VLC, MPEG Streamclip, JES Deinterlacer, etc. All my email accounts and bookmarks and stuff are downloaded thanks to MobileMe. Also Windows 7, Left 4 Dead 2, Windows Updates, and other various Windows Software has been installed. I'm now working on downloading Portal 2, Starcraft II and Rift. Just another couple hours and it'll be like I never messed up my computer.

I am at a loss for words for how fast my brand new iMac is.

Yay!! Problem solved

 

[Unkei]

In 2 and a half hours, I've reinstalled Snow Leopard, CS5, Final Cut Pro, Office 2011, a bunch of smaller programs like VLC, MPEG Streamclip, JES Deinterlacer, etc. All my email accounts and bookmarks and stuff are downloaded thanks to MobileMe. Also Windows 7, Left 4 Dead 2, Windows Updates, and other various Windows Software has been installed. I'm now working on downloading Portal 2, Starcraft II and Rift. Just another couple hours and it'll be like I never messed up my computer.

I am at a loss for words for how fast my brand new iMac is.

Yay!! Problem solved

Glad it worked out for you! Plus 1 on your buddy. Would not want anyone but me using Terminal on my iMac!
Unkei