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Upgrade vs fresh install?
- Thread starter discofuel
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Upgrading from Leopard to Snow Lep didn't cause me any problems. What I'll do is backup twice (Time Machine plus a whole, bootable backup just in case) and upgrade. If I have problems I can erase the disk and install 10.7 from scratch.
I would anticipate getting a disc copy of Lion next week and do a Fresh install. Upgrades can always lead to files that don't belong... My experience with upgrades has left me with tons of junk on my computer. A fresh install gave me an opportunity to ironically start fresh.
I upgraded leopard to SL and tiger to SL without any hitches.
A bit of pain for tiger since it doesn't have time machine back then.
In both cases they feel faster (much faster with leopard to SL, less so with tiger).
I'm not sure if Lion is the same.
A bit of pain for tiger since it doesn't have time machine back then.
In both cases they feel faster (much faster with leopard to SL, less so with tiger).
I'm not sure if Lion is the same.
That was what i was wondering. Actually I've only just reformatted my computer. Took me 2 solid days to install all my software and audio plugins. Not really looking forward to doing that again!
How did that go for you? Do you feel your machine any faster? I used to do that with Windows from time to time but I gave that up when I switched.
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Well something had happened to my system and I was getting major problems. Most likely due to fragmentation and lack of free space as I only had 2GB free! I moved all my data onto an external and reformatted my internal just for system.
It completely transformed my iMac. It feels like brand new now!
It completely transformed my iMac. It feels like brand new now!
Ah... I see... It might not be entirely because you formatted the drive that it got faster, it might even be because you freed the space as well. Rule of thumb is you should have about 10-15% of your drive free for swapping (store apps when your RAM is not enough).
At any rate I don't think you need to do fresh install for lion. Just keep some free space around
Yup, although even after transferring all my data to my external and deleting it from the internal performance didn't improve.
Installing an SSD this week so performance is about to take another leap forward
Actually I'll probably wait to see how Lion shapes up before upgrading my system.
Installing an SSD this week so performance is about to take another leap forward
Actually I'll probably wait to see how Lion shapes up before upgrading my system.
Yup, although even after transferring all my data to my external and deleting it from the internal performance didn't improve.
Installing an SSD this week so performance is about to take another leap forward
Actually I'll probably wait to see how Lion shapes up before upgrading my system.
Ow, I see! The problem for me is just safari is too slow and gives me a lot of spinning wheels! Other than than my 2008 macbook is really really good
I might be upgrading to SSD as well when 320GB does not burn my pocket
it must be a bit difficult upgrading to SSD on an iMac.You could replace the optical drive with an 80GB SSD for $179 at Amazon and then have all your data on your current HDD. That's what I'm doing with my iMac. Makes a huge difference keeping system and data on separate drives.
Looks fairly advanced on the iMac but lots of guides here. MB is so easy!
Looks fairly advanced on the iMac but lots of guides here. MB is so easy!
Yeah I heard about that a while back. I don't know if I have the courage to do it... On the other hand I still use my dvd drive quite often too for movies and other stuff.
Is this what you bought ?
Is this what you bought ?
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I just upgraded my MBP HDD to a 500TB 7200 RPM and added 8GB RAM. I was worried about doing it myself but it was so easy and took less than 10 mins! Replacing the optical drive might be a bit more work but probably still very easy.
I actually bought this caddy for my iMac on the recommendation of a forum member here, but you might need a specific size for the MB/MBP.
And then this enclosure for my optical drive. $5.39!
I actually bought this caddy for my iMac on the recommendation of a forum member here, but you might need a specific size for the MB/MBP.
And then this enclosure for my optical drive. $5.39!
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I swapped out my hard drive before, that was easy. What I haven't done is the optical drive. But I still need the optical drive nevertheless...
Upgrading does what was once called Archive and Install, which backs up the existing system, installs a fresh copy, and imports your user account into the new installation. So it's already a fresh install.
Archive & install wasn't on 10.6.x. You best bet would be get an external firewire 800 (or the fastest port on you current Mac) and clone to it using something like Carbon Copy Cloner. Then do a fresh install and during the install it will launch Migration Assistant. Then with the clone attached import the data you want (stay away from networking installs because those older Airport settings always gets messed up). Import the programs, pictures, music, documents, etc. you want and then rock on.
If it doesn't as planned you could always boot back to cloned external. OS X will let you that.
If it doesn't as planned you could always boot back to cloned external. OS X will let you that.
10.6 actually used a modified version of the same concept. Instead of moving the files to a "Previous Systems" folder like in 10.5 and earlier, though, it simply deletes them. Thus, just running the standard install will give you basically the same result, without needing to delete any files afterwards.
jW
What if I have bugs in my current Snow Leopard system, such as my MacBook Pro's backlight dimming then coming back on for no reason on its own (it should stay dimmed if I don't use the computer for a few minutes). Would such bugs risk affecting the Lion install?
I have so much stuff on my computer and I simply don't know what to delete... It seems to me that hard drives fill up no matter what, and it's very hard to keep track of what exactly it is that's eating up the space.
I don't want to have to reinstall all my preference panes, plugins, applications, settings, Safari extensions, re-teach Safari all my logins and passwords, widgets, hardware drivers, WiFi passwords, etc...
It took such a long time to get the system to be perfectly the way I like it, I would hate to have to start over again.
I use a Time Machine backup and I think I'll just upgrade to Lion. If something's wrong or too slow, I can always go back to Snow Leopard with Time Machine or I could do a fresh install...
I have so much stuff on my computer and I simply don't know what to delete... It seems to me that hard drives fill up no matter what, and it's very hard to keep track of what exactly it is that's eating up the space.
I don't want to have to reinstall all my preference panes, plugins, applications, settings, Safari extensions, re-teach Safari all my logins and passwords, widgets, hardware drivers, WiFi passwords, etc...
It took such a long time to get the system to be perfectly the way I like it, I would hate to have to start over again.
I use a Time Machine backup and I think I'll just upgrade to Lion. If something's wrong or too slow, I can always go back to Snow Leopard with Time Machine or I could do a fresh install...
If it's a bug I.n the OS, it will probably be fixed in Lion. Otherwise if it's not fixed that means it's either not a bug or they didn't realize it was.
To see which files are taking up space, use GrandPrespective or Omni Disk Sweeper. For me it's usually the music or movies folder. I just move them to a DVD or cd and never hear or miss those music anymore (I just burn the ones I don't like or podcasts I've already heard)
Don't start over. It's a pain
I feel you.
If it's a bug I.n the OS, it will probably be fixed in Lion. Otherwise if it's not fixed that means it's either not a bug or they didn't realize it was.
To see which files are taking up space, use GrandPrespective or Omni Disk Sweeper. For me it's usually the music or movies folder. I just move them to a DVD or cd and never hear or miss those music anymore (I just burn the ones I don't like or podcasts I've already heard)
Don't start over. It's a pain
Thanks! Great tips
Edit: GrandPerspective is amazing! I always felt like I knew what things take up most of the space, but now that I can SEE it, it makes it so much easier!
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