Is it a good idea to reinstall the OS on a MacBook on a regular basis ? I remember windows making this suggestion. On my MacBook I was having problems, I ran the "Verify & Repair" without success. Apple Help had me reinstall the OS and now the unit is working fine.
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Reinstalling OS X
- Thread starter chattahoochee
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You don't need to re-install OSx on a regular basis. I have been using Macs since 2005, now have or have gone through 8 macs and only once have I had to re-install osx and that was due to a bad software update.
OSx doesn't get cluttered the way Windows does.
Sometimes you can have a problem and need to re-install, but that is atypical.
OSx doesn't get cluttered the way Windows does.
Sometimes you can have a problem and need to re-install, but that is atypical.
And sometimes your hard drive will be failing and Apple guides you through a reinstall and it will work again...for a while. Usually until you are out of AppleCare.
As a person who works in IT and deals with this stuff every day. I think yearly OS installs are the way to go. I usually do them anytime a new OS comes out. With the way apple does OS releases now, this works out well.
With osx you do not need to reinstall on a calendar basis.
When new releases come out, an update install usually works just fine.
I know that you don't need to. There is a difference between best practice and necessity.
Very true!
A "best practice" reinstall of OS X is determined by need, not by the calendar.
The need is: You are having actual problems, and your troubleshooting has determined that a reinstall is needed.
A reinstall is a last resort, not determined by a calendar date, but by intended results.
A "best practice" reinstall of OS X is determined by need, not by the calendar.
The need is: You are having actual problems, and your troubleshooting has determined that a reinstall is needed.
A reinstall is a last resort, not determined by a calendar date, but by intended results.
A lot of individuals and organizations would disagree with this. A fresh install can also be used as a preventative measure. There is less down time in preventing problems, than there is in fixing them.
And, everyone is free to be wrong
and we can choose to disagree...OP was asking about routinely reinstalling on some regular schedule, which, in my view, is quite different from a "fresh install".
(and this isn't MS Windows, where a reinstall might be a good first step
) An OS X reinstall won't do anything to fix corrupted user files, for example. User issues may need some "fixing"/troubleshooting to find that, unless the user is some kind of network user that can easily be reset.
And, the OP did not mention any issues, and just asked about reinstalling.
When no issues are reported, it's just a waste of time, and results in unnecessary wear and tear on the boot drive.
In this we are in total agreement. The original post is too vague to actually debate if a fresh install was necessary.