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MBPiPTiMiP4S

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 5, 2012
84
2
Is that any software out there that will back up my installed programs only?
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,556
950
You can use Carbon Copy Cloner to make a clone of your entire hard drive, including apps, OS and user data. You can use 3.5.1 ($40) or 3.4.7 (free, and works well on OS X 10.6, 10.7 and 10.8). As apps may have components in multiple locations, just backing up the .app files may not be sufficient for your needs.
 

MBPiPTiMiP4S

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 5, 2012
84
2
You can use Carbon Copy Cloner to make a clone of your entire hard drive, including apps, OS and user data. You can use 3.5.1 ($40) or 3.4.7 (free, and works well on OS X 10.6, 10.7 and 10.8). As apps may have components in multiple locations, just backing up the .app files may not be sufficient for your needs.

shucks,
I was hoping for a program to just back up my installed programs and preferences for them.
I was planning to do a clean install.
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,556
950
shucks,
I was hoping for a program to just back up my installed programs and preferences for them.
I was planning to do a clean install.
If you want a truly clean install, also reinstall your apps. What are you hoping to achieve by doing a clean install?
 

MBPiPTiMiP4S

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 5, 2012
84
2
If you want a truly clean install, also reinstall your apps. What are you hoping to achieve by doing a clean install?

Im an graphic design student.
I make my own brushes in Corel painter and have many of settings.
I wish to keep my programs setup like that "as is" and re-install them.
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,556
950
Im an graphic design student.
I make my own brushes in Corel painter and have many of settings.
I wish to keep my programs setup like that "as is" and re-install them.
So why are you doing a clean install?
 

supermariofan25

macrumors regular
Feb 7, 2011
139
14
This may help

If you want to do a clean install im pretty shure you can backup you entire hard drive using time machine, do a complete clean install to Mountain Lion and then copy only your apps and their settings from the backup that you made using Migration Assistant after installing

hope this helps and good luck:)

EDIT: if that doesn't work for you then you still have the backup to do a full restore to Lion or Snow Leopard, what ever you are using
 

robgendreau

macrumors 68040
Jul 13, 2008
3,471
339
A "clean" install and keeping everything as is are incompatible. You are upgrading your computer which means things are gonna change. Even application specific prefs in some cases.

And without knowing what exactly you want to keep, it's hard to give advice. Adobe keeps things all over the place, for example. Other applications are much more tidy: move Application Support folders, prefs and the application package and you're good to go.

The safest and most efficient method would be to make a current backup, upgrade the Apple way, and then see if anything breaks. If so, fix those problems manually. Its usually pretty obvious, and easier than hunting all over for the files to manually move. I've migrated and the entire Adobe Master Suite and other messy stuff worked fine. Just had to enter a few serials.
 
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