This guide will be posted in my Problem Solving thread
Going to format your Mac?
I will make a list of things that you should backup. I hope this will become useful to anyone who may want to format immediately, and may miss things in their backup process. Missing items can cause problems because once you format -- It's gone.
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iTunes
Back up all your music. For information on how to do it, see Here
Photos
Do not forget your pictures. Use CDs/DVDs or External HDDs. iPhoto: Copy the "iPhoto Library" file (which should contain all pictures). To restore -- copy the file back, and point iPhoto to the file.
Hold "Option" when starting iPhoto and tell it to "use existing library". Point it to the file, and you're done. The same can be done with iTunes.
Documents
All of your word, textedit, or other documents. Don't forget those.
Programs
Personally, I keep a copy of all install files (.dmg) for my programs. You may not want to waste the space, however I suggest keeping at least the install files for purchased programs such as "Snapz Pro X" or "Keyboard Maestro". (whatever you purchased).
for those with VisualHub, it has been discontinued. To back up VisualHub:
Copy the Application in the "Applications" Folder, and:
-The Techspansion folder located in:
HDD/Library/Application Support/
-the Preference File "com.techspansion.visualhub.plist" in:
/Users/yourname/Library/Preferences/
Saved Items:
Bookmarks. These can be exported from Safari or firefox.
Mail Back up on the mobileme server, or find a way to save the e-mail.
Chat Logs If you care about the logs in your IM Client, find them and save them.
Torrents Save the torrent files even if they're not done. That way they won't have to start from the beginning again.
Misc Items RSS Feeds, Macros, iCal Events, Contacts, etc. Don't forget those back those up.
I think this covers most things. you may have additional items you may wish to backup, but those are the main things that some people may forget to think about when formatting.
Going to format your Mac?
I will make a list of things that you should backup. I hope this will become useful to anyone who may want to format immediately, and may miss things in their backup process. Missing items can cause problems because once you format -- It's gone.
----------------------------------------------
iTunes
Back up all your music. For information on how to do it, see Here
Photos
Do not forget your pictures. Use CDs/DVDs or External HDDs. iPhoto: Copy the "iPhoto Library" file (which should contain all pictures). To restore -- copy the file back, and point iPhoto to the file.
Hold "Option" when starting iPhoto and tell it to "use existing library". Point it to the file, and you're done. The same can be done with iTunes.
Documents
All of your word, textedit, or other documents. Don't forget those.
Programs
Personally, I keep a copy of all install files (.dmg) for my programs. You may not want to waste the space, however I suggest keeping at least the install files for purchased programs such as "Snapz Pro X" or "Keyboard Maestro". (whatever you purchased).
for those with VisualHub, it has been discontinued. To back up VisualHub:
Copy the Application in the "Applications" Folder, and:
-The Techspansion folder located in:
HDD/Library/Application Support/
-the Preference File "com.techspansion.visualhub.plist" in:
/Users/yourname/Library/Preferences/
Saved Items:
Bookmarks. These can be exported from Safari or firefox.
Mail Back up on the mobileme server, or find a way to save the e-mail.
Chat Logs If you care about the logs in your IM Client, find them and save them.
Torrents Save the torrent files even if they're not done. That way they won't have to start from the beginning again.
Misc Items RSS Feeds, Macros, iCal Events, Contacts, etc. Don't forget those back those up.
I think this covers most things. you may have additional items you may wish to backup, but those are the main things that some people may forget to think about when formatting.
