Time to reinstall Snow Leopard.

[revelated]

Got a kernel panic. I believe it be caused by a small piece of software that powers some touch screen technology that my company works with - software I was testing with my MacBook. As with Audacity though, sadly, some apps just don't translate well over to Mac. The uninstaller won't work. Also, my drive is seeking way too much, and I've got a lot of clutter. This image on my 17" is actually a holdover from my 13" over a year ago. Kudos to Apple for the seamless transition, but I think it's time for a clean slate.

Here's my challenge.

I'm not worried about the apps. I've got a tally of what I need and I can go get them again pretty easily. I'm also not worried about custom configurations - the dock was easy to tweak as was some of the settings. What I need to make sure I grab is the files that are not system files.

Instead of restoring from Time Machine, I plan to reinstall the OS completely fresh, then install the latest versions of the apps, then copy back over my files. According to what I've read on Migration Assistant (and I did MRoogle it first), there is not an easy way to selectively pick and choose files that I want to migrate. Is that accurate?

 

[vansouza]

My understanding, which can certainly be corrected by others, or affirmed; is that any restoration from TimeMachine can bring unwanted circumstances that you are attempting to correct with a reinstall. Archive and Install may give you what you seek. You may want to try that first before a clean wipe of the slate so to speak... you will find tons of advice here on the forums to help you make your decision. Good luck.

 

[revelated]

My understanding, which can certainly be corrected by others, or affirmed; is that any restoration from TimeMachine can bring unwanted circumstances that you are attempting to correct with a reinstall. Archive and Install may give you what you seek. You may want to try that first before a clean wipe of the slate so to speak... you will find tons of advice here on the forums to help you make your decision. Good luck.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Archive and Install leave third-party (i.e. non-Apple) software intact if you choose to preserve settings?

 

[InfoSecmgr]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Archive and Install leave third-party (i.e. non-Apple) software intact if you choose to preserve settings?

Yes.

 

[vansouza]

Yes, but I was suggesting that you take baby steps toward your eventual solution. The Archive and Install often, ok always, works for me...

 

[revelated]

Yes, but I was suggesting that you take baby steps toward your eventual solution. The Archive and Install often, ok always, works for me...

Problem is, the problem software in question IS a third party software, and I can't get rid of it the conventional way, so that isn't an option for me.

Certified IT here, so trust me when I say I've eliminated the "baby steps" options already. I just needed to verify that Migration Assistant wouldn't be able to do what I was hoping it could do, which is selectively tell it certain files to move. After a tally though, I'll just journal a drive and copy the needed files there, and then copy them back after I restore. I was hoping to save a few steps, but that's alright.

Thanks for the help.

 

[vansouza]

If memory serves, it does indeed allow for selective restore but with not much granularity. I think I remember being able to choose to restore documents and nothing else... in any event... good luck..

 

[MisterMe]

... I think I remember being able to choose to restore documents and nothing else... in any event... good luck..

You remember incorrectly. Archive & Install allows the user to selectively restore software and settings. You may restore one file at a time. There is no finer granularity than that.

 

[revelated]

You remember incorrectly. Archive & Install allows the user to selectively restore software and settings. You may restore one file at a time. There is no finer granularity than that.

Interesting. Well, I like clean, and something tells me the drive could use it anyway, so I'm going to just do a wipe and reinstall, then move the files back. I'll then make sure everything is working as intended, especially my VMs which are the most critical part of my setup, then purge the old backups and snap a new one. I'll look into Archive & Install for later if I ever have to do this exercise again. Right now I just need to make sure it's as clean as I can get it.