Ive been told somewhere, that it is a good idea to reinstall OSX on a brand new mac. What would the advantages and disadvantages be?
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Fresh install OSX on new mac?
- Thread starter the_insider
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Advantages: you can uninstall the printer drivers that take up over a gig. You can uninstall all the languages you dont need which also take up over a gig.
Disadvantages: None.
I would advise a fresh install, you will save a lot of space. I did it when I got my iBook.
Disadvantages: None.
I would advise a fresh install, you will save a lot of space. I did it when I got my iBook.
The custom install mostly benefits those with smaller laptop drives.
The default factory format and install of OS X is about 12.5 GB
Custom installing frees up about 5 GB.
Printer drivers, language translators, GarageBand Demo Songs, iDVD themes,
iWork and MS office demos , games etc.
A few steps into the installer you'll see a "custom" button in the lower left window. Once you open the custom panel, you'll see the file sizes and also see why deleting this extra fluff can free up enough to run most of your primary applications.
If you have a 250 GB HD it doesn't matter, but if you have a 40GB iBook
drive it's critical.
The default factory format and install of OS X is about 12.5 GB
Custom installing frees up about 5 GB.
Printer drivers, language translators, GarageBand Demo Songs, iDVD themes,
iWork and MS office demos , games etc.
A few steps into the installer you'll see a "custom" button in the lower left window. Once you open the custom panel, you'll see the file sizes and also see why deleting this extra fluff can free up enough to run most of your primary applications.
If you have a 250 GB HD it doesn't matter, but if you have a 40GB iBook
drive it's critical.
I strongly recommend against reinstalling the OS. My recommendation is based on three facts. The first is that an OS install done by Apple at the factory is going to be much more reliable than one done by a user at home or work. The second particularly applies to Mac newbies. You need to understand your system before you customize it. The third reason is a consequence of the first two. A very large percentage of pleas for help on this and similar forums come from to newbies who deleted stuff only later to discover that they need it.the_insider said:
I'm going to have to disagree.
The less you have on your hard drive, the faster your system can search and access information.
If you have a 40 GB iBook drive with a default install, then add a few pro apps like CS2 and a few 1000 itunes, you're near you functional limit on free HD space.
If you have an HP printer, you do not need drivers for every other manufacurer under the sun.
If you and all your friends speak English, Spanish, German or French,
you probably don't need Chinese, Japanese or Korean, Ukranian as so on.
The custom install is a simple matter of unchecking the boxes of things you won't ever use.
The major priority is to do this BEFORE you set up all your personal preferences, internet connections, applications, address books and so forth, because you are running a complete fresh install.
If you are doing this after you've been running for a while, obviously you need to back everything up or lose it.
If you are NOOB, there's plenty of help here to guide you.
The less you have on your hard drive, the faster your system can search and access information.
If you have a 40 GB iBook drive with a default install, then add a few pro apps like CS2 and a few 1000 itunes, you're near you functional limit on free HD space.
If you have an HP printer, you do not need drivers for every other manufacurer under the sun.
If you and all your friends speak English, Spanish, German or French,
you probably don't need Chinese, Japanese or Korean, Ukranian as so on.
The custom install is a simple matter of unchecking the boxes of things you won't ever use.
The major priority is to do this BEFORE you set up all your personal preferences, internet connections, applications, address books and so forth, because you are running a complete fresh install.
If you are doing this after you've been running for a while, obviously you need to back everything up or lose it.
If you are NOOB, there's plenty of help here to guide you.
MisterMe said:
The last point is definitely the truth. Even if they're just cleaning up, they somehow delete things they need later just because they're not needing it at that time.
Unless there is a serious problem, there is no real reason to re-install the operating system.
There's a huge difference between deselecting "optional" software installers and dragging a file from your System, Library or User folders without knowing what you're doing.
My personal favorite box to uncheck is Microsoft Internet Explorer.
I know for a fact that I will NEVER use Internet Explorer.
My personal favorite box to uncheck is Microsoft Internet Explorer.
I know for a fact that I will NEVER use Internet Explorer.
I would advise on the side of caution for anyone new to Macs... in fact, I'd advise that for some people who have been using them for years. Most of my clients are long time Mac users and they still have me do any major system upgrades or reinstallations.
Honestly, the old adage "if it aint't broke don't fix it" fits this case pretty good.
Honestly, the old adage "if it aint't broke don't fix it" fits this case pretty good.
I'm not sure, but I think Apple dropped IE after 10.4.1
My Rev "B" came with Panther pre-installed and you had to build from there
with the Tiger drop in DVD.
This lean custom install does nothing to your primary system.
In fact, the base install is greyed out, so you can't mess with it.
As I said before, if you don't know what you're doing ASK!
This procedure is meant to free up critical hard drive space for small
40-60 GB drives, but can be used on any drive.
You also want to make sure that your installer discs are in perfect condition
and that you set your energy saver sleep settings to "Never" any time
you're installing OS information.
You must also remember to repair permissions.
My Rev "B" came with Panther pre-installed and you had to build from there
with the Tiger drop in DVD.
This lean custom install does nothing to your primary system.
In fact, the base install is greyed out, so you can't mess with it.
As I said before, if you don't know what you're doing ASK!
This procedure is meant to free up critical hard drive space for small
40-60 GB drives, but can be used on any drive.
You also want to make sure that your installer discs are in perfect condition
and that you set your energy saver sleep settings to "Never" any time
you're installing OS information.
You must also remember to repair permissions.
Simply to echo what everyone else has been saying...
Pro: You get to save some HD space and live with the mental reassurance that you're starting fresh.
Con: You have to re-install anything that didn't come on the install DVD. I'm not sure exactly what that is (depends on the hardware model) but it's usually like the iLife suite, trial software (Office, iWork), and the 2 games Macs usually come with. (XCode is on the install DVD though, right?)
Good luck either way! If you've got the time, I'd recommend starting with a fresh install. Usually improves "snappiness" and you never know when you'll need those few extra gigs.
Pro: You get to save some HD space and live with the mental reassurance that you're starting fresh.
Con: You have to re-install anything that didn't come on the install DVD. I'm not sure exactly what that is (depends on the hardware model) but it's usually like the iLife suite, trial software (Office, iWork), and the 2 games Macs usually come with. (XCode is on the install DVD though, right?)
Good luck either way! If you've got the time, I'd recommend starting with a fresh install. Usually improves "snappiness" and you never know when you'll need those few extra gigs.
MisterMe said:
OK I have to ask. First off isn't most "stuff" other then the demo "stuff" on the DVD's anyways? What would you be missing from a fresh install? Surely iLife is in the DVD or a sep installer disk.
Second. How hard can the install actually be? I've seen reviews of Tiger and the install method. Its a breeze.
Really you make it sound as if you have to go into the command line and scrub the partition from there.
Realistically I'm going to boot my PowerBook*, register it, dink around with it a bit. Make backups copies of most directories onto my 500GB home server, then blow everything away. I may hold off if there is progress getting Windows on the Mac. No point in redoing everything if I'm going to need to repartition the system in a few weeks anyways.
After recieving my new intel Imac on thursday - I used the migration assistant from my iBook which is 6months old and I'm fairly confident it screwed a few things up. So the next morning I just did a clean format - did not include any printer drivers other than HP and did not include any of the language packs or betaware and I dont know where anyone can say it was at all difficult.
For what its worth my iMac is running alot smoother and I'm loving it!
For what its worth my iMac is running alot smoother and I'm loving it!
MisterMe said:
You can't screw up an installation of OSX...Its just too easy. Pop in the CD, format the drive, select what you want to install and you're done. A blind monkey could do it.
Whenever I screw up too much stuff by plodding aimlessly (and, for the most part, carelessly) through the Terminal, I back up my documents and settings and wipe the hard drive. Having a firewire backup with Tiger on it keep this process moderately safe and simple and it does wonders for cleaning up my mistakes.
There's nothing quite as wonderful as that new "Mac OS Install" feel!!
That being said, I've never felt the urger to reinstall the OS on a new computer, right out of the box.
There's nothing quite as wonderful as that new "Mac OS Install" feel!!
That being said, I've never felt the urger to reinstall the OS on a new computer, right out of the box.