What are some useful items to save when doing an erase and instal?

[benlangdon]

I am going to do a clean install when i get leopard and i wanted to see if i remembered everything to do before i delete everything.

so if you guys have anything i should remember to do please tell.

so...

- Take screen shot of
1. dock
2. menu bar ( istat )
3. application folder ( program icons )

- all documents

- Programs
1. full list of programs
2. firefox - add-on's, pref, themes, bookmarks
3. candybar - icons
4. photoshop - stencils, workspace's, disk image
5. garage band - jam packs disk image
6. system pref - video codecs ( apple qmaster, divx, flip4mac, perian), logitech control center, istat

What are some other items you guys have found really useful to have when redoing everything?
i have all my itunes music on my external, is there anything on my computer that i should keep?

 

[satcomer]

Well use the Archive & Install so it will save your Applications, Network settings and Home folder while fresh install System Files. It will also put a you previous System putting it into a new folder called "Previous Sytem". Take out what you need then throw the reset out to save space.

In OS X the Archive & Install is just short of a fresh install.

 

[Shake 'n' Bake]

Here's what I'll be doing:

1. Identify apps I want to keep.

2. If those apps come on a .dmg, place them in a burn folder and burn it.

3. Do a TM backup in addition to the ones I already have for good measure.

4. Take pics of Dock, menu bar, etc and place them in the external HDD.

5. **THIS, I LEARNED, IS SUPER IMPORTANT!** Deauthorize iTunes account. I'll reauthorize it later.

6. Save all the URLs in my bookmarks bar to a .pages document.

7. Disconnect ALL peripherals, excluding monitor, keyboard, and mouse; you never know.

8. Say goodbye to my current setup, and restart holding "c."

9. Do a full install.

10. Reauthorize iTunes account and point iTunes to my server so I can have some music.

11. Reinstall iLife and iWork.

12. Reinstall .dmg apps.

13. Restore documents, iPhoto library, etc a la carte from TM.

14. Reorganize/rearrange/add icons to Dock/menu bar/Finder, change Finder prefs.

15. Add bookmarks to Safari.

16. Fiddle with other settings.

 

[Nero Wolfe]

The main things I save besides docs, pics etc are my preference files and stuff from application support in the library. This saves a ton of time setting up apps. Take Firefox. With 15 extensions, varying preferences and preferences for each of the extensions re-setting it up can take 30+ minutes. But if you back up the right files and copy them back after the reinstall of OS X then you're up and running just as you were in about 10 seconds.

 

[Shake 'n' Bake]

The main things I save besides docs, pics etc are my preference files and stuff from application support in the library. This saves a ton of time setting up apps. Take Firefox. With 15 extensions, varying preferences and preferences for each of the extensions re-setting it up can take 30+ minutes. But if you back up the right files and copy them back after the reinstall of OS X then you're up and running just as you were in about 10 seconds.

But you have to hunt down the plists if you don't know where they are. Unless you're dealing with a super-complex app, like those in FCS, or a bunch of extensions, I don't think it's worth it.

 

[benlangdon]

o ya forgot about all the plists.
last time i did this i copied my whole library to a drive and if i needed anything i could just go look for it, but after a while i just deleted it.

good call.

 

[zombieflanders]

Do I need to worry about any of this if I used the Migration Assistant between two Macs, both with Leopard installed? It looks like all of my apps, documents, and downloads were transferred, but I just want to make sure there's no additional steps necessary for anything hidden.

EDIT: Also, does the Migration Assistant copy over my iTunes library and account? And will it stay synced with my iPhone?