Is it possible to back up my iMac and then individually select what to put back after a reset?

[streetfoldsfive]

Hey all,

So recently my late 2012, full specd out fusion drive imac has been slowing to a crawl. It isn't a lack of RAM, since I monitor that always.

I want to try restoring the computer to factor and starting from scratch. However, I wanted to know if there is a way to back up my iMac to my hardrive and then only put back the stuff I want after I factory reset.

restoring like normal would put all the junk I don't want back.

Thanks in advanced for all the help!

 

[cyclingplatypus]

I kind of did this recently - I didn't restore when I bought my new Mac I selectively moved items from the old mac to the new one. You could kind of take this approach by moving docs/photos/music/etc to an external device and then moving them back. It was a bit more work but I thought it was worth it.

 

[streetfoldsfive]

I kind of did this recently - I didn't restore when I bought my new Mac I selectively moved items from the old mac to the new one. You could kind of take this approach by moving docs/photos/music/etc to an external device and then moving them back. It was a bit more work but I thought it was worth it.

I was considering this method, but it has me concerned that i'll end up missing something important.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Hey all,

So recently my late 2012, full specd out fusion drive imac has been slowing to a crawl. It isn't a lack of RAM, since I monitor that always.

I want to try restoring the computer to factor and starting from scratch. However, I wanted to know if there is a way to back up my iMac to my hardrive and then only put back the stuff I want after I factory reset.

restoring like normal would put all the junk I don't want back.

Thanks in advanced for all the help!

Of course, you can do this using time machine or carbon copy cloner. There is even a migration assistant that allows you to choose what to migrate accross.

 

[austintg]

Yep super easy! This is how I do it every time. I backup with Time Machine, install new SSD, load the latest OS at the Apple Store Genius Bar in like 5 mins, hook up the external and go into the folders to transfer over what I want. It's a billiant and clean way to do it. They've left the backups navigable and hope they keep it that way.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"I want to try restoring the computer to factor and starting from scratch. However, I wanted to know if there is a way to back up my iMac to my hardrive and then only put back the stuff I want after I factory reset."

Sure, you can do this.

However, I would suggest the best way to handle the "old data" (what's on your drive now) would be to create a bootable cloned backup using either CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper.

Either of these will create a "finder-mountable" volume that you can easily copy from.
One file, a group of files, a folder, group of folders, etc.

Just keep handwritten notes as you go along...

 

[streetfoldsfive]

Yep super easy! This is how I do it every time. I backup with Time Machine, install new SSD, load the latest OS at the Apple Store Genius Bar in like 5 mins, hook up the external and go into the folders to transfer over what I want. It's a billiant and clean way to do it. They've left the backups navigable and hope they keep it that way.

So just create a regular time machine back up? That will let me go into every file individually?

 

[FreemanW]

Hey all,

So recently my late 2012, full specd out fusion drive imac has been slowing to a crawl. It isn't a lack of RAM, since I monitor that always.

I want to try restoring the computer to factor and starting from scratch. However, I wanted to know if there is a way to back up my iMac to my hardrive and then only put back the stuff I want after I factory reset.

restoring like normal would put all the junk I don't want back.

Thanks in advanced for all the help!

So this "slowing to a crawl" symptom. Tell us more. You say "full specd out fusion drive" which means a 3TB Fusion drive iMac.

You did have the 3TB Seagate hard disk drive replaced, didn't you? Because, unresponsive, lethargy, locking up, Beach Ball, . . . . all of those would indicate a FAILING hard disk drive.

Have you run Disk Utility or the Full Apple Diagnostics against your unit?

I've a late 2012 27" 3TB Fusion unit, drive replaced under Apple Recall, over 1TB used in storage, 32GB of system memory, just as snappy as the day I turned it on.

 

[streetfoldsfive]

So this "slowing to a crawl" symptom. Tell us more. You say "full specd out fusion drive" which means a 3TB Fusion drive iMac.

You did have the 3TB Seagate hard disk drive replaced, didn't you? Because, unresponsive, lethargy, locking up, Beach Ball, . . . . all of those would indicate a FAILING hard disk drive.

Have you run Disk Utility or the Full Apple Diagnostics against your unit?

I've a late 2012 27" 3TB Fusion unit, drive replaced under Apple Recall, over 1TB used in storage, 32GB of system memory, just as snappy as the day I turned it on.

Sorry I shouldn't have said full specd. I have the 1TB fusion, i7, with 2GB graphics. I've fun disk utility and diagnostics and got nothing.

 

[austintg]

So just create a regular time machine back up? That will let me go into every file individually?

Yes it absolutely will. If you'd like I can post photos of the file paths. But it is very very simple.