Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Want to improve performance? Clean install ML
- Thread starter rangen
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I'll append my earlier post to say that after using the clean install for a day, this iMac flies in comparison to the upgraded method I tried. Beachballs are non-existent.
I maintained my iMac weekly with verifying/repairing permissions and such but I guess migrating from a SL laptop to a upgrade to Lion and now ML definitely slowed it down.
Not to say that you should do this but if you are having issues, it is definitely worth doing.....and it's easy with the guide from this forum should you need a guide.
Selectively restoring is the key, just don't do a migrate, you'll be astounded by the new space you've created.
I maintained my iMac weekly with verifying/repairing permissions and such but I guess migrating from a SL laptop to a upgrade to Lion and now ML definitely slowed it down.
Not to say that you should do this but if you are having issues, it is definitely worth doing.....and it's easy with the guide from this forum should you need a guide.
Selectively restoring is the key, just don't do a migrate, you'll be astounded by the new space you've created.
So, what you're saying is a fresh install is faster then an install that's been untouched for years. This is the same as saying people should reformat their hard drives ever so often to increase performance. Do you have a good idea of how often one should do this, or does it just happen to coincide with major OS releases?
Not trying to be funny, just trying to make sure the arguments are okay.
What people are saying now is like "I drive a red car in the summer and a blue car in the winter, the red car is better because I never need to scrape the windshield from frost and ice"...
Clean install FTW. I had performance issues after upgrading to Lion and a clean install fixed it, so the clean install was a no-brainer this time. Plus, why not create a bootable USB to have on hand just in case?
Glad I'm not the only one! I always do a clean install too. It's better to do things right the first time rather than half-ass it. Plus I've found that often times people exaggerate how much "extra" time it takes to set everything up, when in fact it only takes a couple hours at most.
People will refute or argue that you don't have to anymore, and that's fine for some people, but honestly it's more likely that they're just lazy and don't want to do it.
I upgraded from Lion and everything was fine, but I decided to do a clean install just because. It was not a good decision, many odd glithces now 
Yes I am. Here is how I associate it. You have a 10 x 10 closet and you keep throwing stuff in it. After a few years, it's difficult to locate your Christmas decorations. This year you decide to clean it out, throwing away things you'll never use again and when Christmas arrives, you open the door and you clearly see your box of lights and you can grab and go.
Reformatting, even using the same OS has always been a standard windows practice, we just accepted it. Mac however was always known to be "tight" and never needed the clean sweep. Well.....things aren't always what they seem I suppose and even a Mac could stand to be cleaned up once in a while.
You can maintain it as much as you want but when you do a clean install and look at what your time machine has stored, you can clearly see the junk you had left over and did not need.
As for association with OS releases, I do think there is some cross confusion going on with file names and variables stored within those files. Either they are abandoned, duplicated, etc. but it makes for some issues that cannot clearly be explained. With a fresh install, it is much easier to get to the root of an issue but more likely to not have an issue at all.
Once again, if you are having issues, I would highly recommend a clean install. Even if it does not fix your issue, it will give you a greater understanding of how your system works. This however is very qualified with first having a fully backed up time machine. Coming from the windows world, time machine absolutely rocks and gives me complete confidence that my data is always recoverable.
Or not 18 years old and/or not interested enough to feel like it's worth reinstalling a system that already feels faster after an upgrade?
----------
Why does it improve performance?
Placebo effect or they really had a cluttered system.
I keep a clean OS which is why I don't have to reinstall windows on a monthly basis like most windows users. Same goes for OSX. Keep permissions fixed, clean out temp files, know which apps are running.
I keep a clean OS which is why I don't have to reinstall windows on a monthly basis like most windows users. Same goes for OSX. Keep permissions fixed, clean out temp files, know which apps are running.
Me too, I was young enough to know everything and believe that what I perceived as reality was The Objective Truth... Today, I'm just too old to take "holy **** bricks, clean install makes the computer flyyyyyyyy and if you don't do it you're dumb as a coconut" as an argument you just can't question.
I do hear what you're saying. However, anecdotal or not, i'm basing my perspective on my own experiences, which ultimately, is the only matter of concern to me. I am pleased with the results I have achieved, and that's all there is to it.
If others have excellent results from upgrades, then that is equally, if not more good.
What does age have anything to do with this? And how could you possibly know whether or not a system is going to be faster when not using a clean install? That excuse can work in either argument you know
It took me forever to get my clean Lion install from SL setup so all of my apps and settings were just like I like them. I just did the Lion install in April. I don't have the cash for a huge drive to backup my 2 drives. I didn't like how I had to trick the system into letting me create the new install with the same user name. I installed Lion on a new SSD and kept my data (pictures, music, documents, etc) on the 750 HD.
Question, if I upgrade will ML break all of my settings so that my Pictures and Music directories are linked to the data drive?
Thanks
Question, if I upgrade will ML break all of my settings so that my Pictures and Music directories are linked to the data drive?
Thanks
The younger you are, the more likely it is that you have a lot of time on your hands and no family or other responsibilities to worry about. It was a reply to those of us not doing a clean install being lazy. I rather spend time playing with my kids, then spending time with my wife, than sitting in the office, doing a clean install of my system.
I can't, it might very well be faster. The question is, why would I even bother if I've already noticed an improvement and I'm not in any way bothered by the performance? I'm not chasing a two point improvement in Geekbench, nor do I reformat my drive ever so often just to make my system as free as possible from unnecessary junk files.
The argument "dude, it might be faster, you have to do a clean install" just isn't a valid argument for me to waste any time what so ever over doing it. And I really can't see why people are getting so upset over others questioning that a clean install is some kind of universal solution to achieving maximum performance, or that it would be what everyone is always after.
Also, how can the argument "I don't see why I should do a clean install since my system already feels faster with an upgrade" work in both ways?
The sad truth is, they don't see significant improvements. They've done a lot of work to do a clean install therefore it 'must' have some benefits ergo they 'magically' see so called 'significant' improvements. It's all subjective and a self fulfilling prophecy. Notice, that none of these 'Clean Installers' (they're a cult) offer no objective proof, it's about what they 'feel' and the god they worship is named Snappier.
This. So much this.
I've asked for proof earlier that a clean install is indeed better, but so far the only argument is "but dude, seriously, one really, really, really should format one's hard drive to get rid of unnecessary files".
I don't think it makes any difference at all!
I'd upgraded Lion to ML GM on my iMac and everything worked fine. When it was released downloaded from the App Store on my MBA and created a bootable SD card before updating on the MBA.
Decided to wipe the iMac and install from the SD card then restore from TM (not settings) and can't see any difference in performance.
Don't think ML is that much faster than Lion on the MBA either, but it no slower with a few new features I might use from time to time.
This upgrade-bad install-good is a throw back to Windows which just slows down overtime regardless of upgrade or install. New OS was always a good reason to start with a clean registry and a faster experience.
I'd upgraded Lion to ML GM on my iMac and everything worked fine. When it was released downloaded from the App Store on my MBA and created a bootable SD card before updating on the MBA.
Decided to wipe the iMac and install from the SD card then restore from TM (not settings) and can't see any difference in performance.
Don't think ML is that much faster than Lion on the MBA either, but it no slower with a few new features I might use from time to time.
This upgrade-bad install-good is a throw back to Windows which just slows down overtime regardless of upgrade or install. New OS was always a good reason to start with a clean registry and a faster experience.
I just did an upgrade from Lion. I went from Snow Leopard to Lion via upgrade and had no issues. Then went from Lion to Mountain Lion. It finished pretty fast. Works just as well as before. Maybe better dare I say?
I like thinking of this upgrade as taking my car and adding a bigger turbo With lion a new turbo. With Mountain Lion, maybe a whole new exhaust system.
I like thinking of this upgrade as taking my car and adding a bigger turbo
With lion a new turbo. With Mountain Lion, maybe a whole new exhaust system.I upgraded from Lion and everything was fine, but I decided to do a clean install just because. It was not a good decision, many odd glithces now
How is that possible?
I upgraded from Lion and everything was fine, but I decided to do a clean install just because. It was not a good decision, many odd glithces now
You will be excommunicated from the Church of CleanInstallogy for such blasphemy and their enforcement agents will break into your home and replace all your Apple devices with a single PC running Windows95.