02-01-2007, 06:53 PM

As a former windows guy, my purchase of Leopard will be the first time that I install a new OS on a mac. In the Windows world, whenever this occurred I would always wipe my harddrive clean by formatting it, and then instal the latest OS fresh.

I assume this is still a good idea on a Mac? Are there any issues I would run into and is anyone aware of any instruction on how to do this? I'm not even sure how I would proceed with formatting my mac harddrive and reinstalling Leopard clean.

Help!

02-01-2007, 07:02 PM

Originally Posted by sph

As a former windows guy, my purchase of Leopard will be the first time that I install a new OS on a mac. In the Windows world, whenever this occurred I would always wipe my harddrive clean by formatting it, and then instal the latest OS fresh.

I assume this is still a good idea on a Mac? Are there any issues I would run into and is anyone aware of any instruction on how to do this? I'm not even sure how I would proceed with formatting my mac harddrive and reinstalling Leopard clean.

Help!

I plan on doing this as well. Not only will this give me a good clean install to work from, it will help in resolving any rookie mistakes I'd made when I first started using my Mac and was messing about in the guts of the OS (especially the printer subsystems). The timing couldn't be better.

One would assume that the install CD gives you the option to wipe the drive before starting. If not, I'll just boot from my backup drive (which is a bootable firewire device) and run Disk Utility to wipe it.

02-01-2007, 07:16 PM

I installed Tiger over top of Panther and didn't notice any issues. That's not to say that it isn't a good idea to install a clean copy of your OS anyway, but that may be more effort than you care to go through. At least it's far less painful with OSX than it is with Windows. Generally, you can install to a new folder and just drag your applications in rather than having to go through the install process that Windows forces upon you.

02-01-2007, 07:23 PM

I think it's best to do a fresh install. But, it's a major pain in the butt.

Anyway I too have heard people say they installed Tiger right over Panther but then they had a "cat fight".

02-01-2007, 08:30 PM

There really is no need or benefit gained from erasing and then doing a fresh install. I have never done that with a Mac in the 20+ years I have been using them. You will be just fine doing the upgrade option when you get Tiger.

02-01-2007, 09:34 PM

Originally Posted by D3v1L80Y

There really is no need or benefit gained from erasing and then doing a fresh install. I have never done that with a Mac in the 20+ years I have been using them. You will be just fine doing the upgrade option when you get Tiger.

I'm sure that's true, but old habits are tough to break! Being that I've got regular backups that are easily accessed from my firewire Maxtor drive, I can easily put all of my documents and applications back on.

02-01-2007, 09:38 PM

Backups are just plain good sense, no matter what OS you use. :blackimg]http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/mac_images/images/icons/icon14.gif[/img]

While I don't bother wiping the drive, I do make sure to backup all my important data before an upgrade... just in case.

02-01-2007, 10:32 PM

What software does everyone use for backups?

02-01-2007, 10:38 PM

Originally Posted by DeathtoToasters

What software does everyone use for backups?

I use SilverKeeper. Works great for me. I backup to an external HD every night.

02-01-2007, 10:44 PM

Originally Posted by DeathtoToasters

What software does everyone use for backups?

I really like and recommend SuperDuper, which is free. Registering enables additional features like incremental backups. But it's easy to use and makes a bootable backup (i.e. you can boot up from the external drive you backup since it's a complete clone of your system drive). MacWorld reviewed it very well which is what lead me to try it out - it's the best backup software I've used to date. It's even possible to configure it to use Maxtor's "OneTouch" button which is pretty sweet. Plug it in, hit the button and you're done.

02-01-2007, 11:01 PM

Originally Posted by cwa107

I really like and recommend SuperDuper, which is free. Registering enables additional features like incremental backups. But it's easy to use and makes a bootable backup (i.e. you can boot up from the external drive you backup since it's a complete clone of your system drive). MacWorld reviewed it very well which is what lead me to try it out - it's the best backup software I've used to date. It's even possible to configure it to use Maxtor's "OneTouch" button which is pretty sweet. Plug it in, hit the button and you're done.

Well I will try them out. I backup to my server in my rack. So it usually is a long process for me as it is over the wifi.

I just cannot stand to have my laptop attatched to another drive. Personality flaw...

02-01-2007, 11:16 PM

I have always done backups the "cheap and cheerful" way. It is even easier with Macs than it was on my PC.

I get an external hard drive. To back up, I plug it in, turn it on and then create a new folder in its root called todays_date_backup. Then I simply use Finder (or PathFinder in my case) to drag my home folder into my newly created backup folder. This copies ALL of my personal data. It does not create a full blown image of my current disk, but I tend to view the system setup as transient. It is my personal stuff (music, photos, files, etc.) that cannot be easily replaced and hence quite valuable.

To make this really useful, I use a system of two hard drives, which I rotate between work and home. Each time I do a backup, I take the hard drive with the fresh backup to work and exchange it with the one there. That way, I always have two full backups at two different locations. Hence, even if some terrible disaster should befall my house (tornado, flood, fire, whatever), I still have a full backup "off site".

Note that no incremental backup software is involved or needed. Hard drives are so big and so fast these days that this works great and it is so simple. It has always been my philosophy that in order to be done regularly, backing up must be easy. Apple clearly agrees with me - I think that this is the whole premise behind Time Machine (... a FAR more elegant solution than what I do of course!).

02-01-2007, 11:21 PM

I wish I had another HDD to back my stuff up on. I will probably just install over Tiger whenever I get Leopard, mainly due to the fact I'm lazy

02-01-2007, 11:22 PM

I do more or less the same as mac57. There really is no need for software to do backups. I just drag the important info to my external periodically. Usually at least once a week.
For me, adding extra software into the mix is just a hassle. I only backup the important data, not clone my entire HD or even my entire Home folder. I do a weekly personal data backup (schoolwork, downloads from iTunes, etc) and a monthly app data backup (browser bookmarks, mail, chats, etc).