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MBookPro - reinstall Office 2008?

CooperBox

CooperBox

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 28, 2010
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France - between Ricard & Absinthe......!
I've just purchased a MacBookPro1,1. Great condition but it has loads of junk on it. In the past with other purchases I've always done a clean install of the OS, as I have original copies of most OS's up to Snow Leopard.
However this MBPro has MS Office 2008 installed which if possible I'd like to keep - (ok it's the French version, which I can live with). If I were to make a clone of the HD, and then do a clean install of OS 10.6 Snow Leopard, could I reinstall the Office 2008 app over firewire?
Failing that can I install MS Office 2004 on an Intel PB running OS 10.6.8?
 
eyoungren

eyoungren

macrumors Penryn
Aug 31, 2011
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CooperBox said:
I've just purchased a MacBookPro1,1. Great condition but it has loads of junk on it. In the past with other purchases I've always done a clean install of the OS, as I have original copies of most OS's up to Snow Leopard.
However this MBPro has MS Office 2008 installed which if possible I'd like to keep - (ok it's the French version, which I can live with). If I were to make a clone of the HD, and then do a clean install of OS 10.6 Snow Leopard, could I reinstall the Office 2008 app over firewire?
Failing that can I install MS Office 2004 on an Intel PB running OS 10.6.8?
Click to expand...
Your 'clean' install won't affect anything already installed.

Apple changed the way a reinstall works with Snow Leopard. When you attempt to reinstall a new system it analyzes what is currently present, the updates available to system files and then reinstalls new/updated system files only. It doesn't touch anything else. That means there is no need to run combo update installers when finished as SL is already drawing from those changes.

In other words, the files won't be wiped during the clean install unless you specifically erase the hard drive before doing so.
 
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CooperBox

CooperBox

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 28, 2010
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France - between Ricard & Absinthe......!
Very rapid reply, thanks.
So do I understand I'd have an updated system but with all the old 'junk' still installed, if so that would seem to defeat the object of doing a clean install.
There are so many apps I've never seen before, so I presume these could be removed using AppCleaner or completely removed manually - rather a long process.
Believe I could be missing something here though......
 
eyoungren

eyoungren

macrumors Penryn
Aug 31, 2011
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Yes, you assume correctly on all points.

Unless you wipe the drive before hand this would be the case.

If you don't have serial numbers for the installed apps then it's either dealing with the hassle of removing apps one by one or using AppCleaner, or backing up, wiping the drive, clean install and then transferring apps and their various preferences manually.
 
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