Inherited iMac - reinstall OSX & apps?

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After much nagging by my son to move from Windows, I am acquiring my first Mac. He is buying a new iMac and I am taking on his old one. If this were a Windows PC I would definitely reinstall the operating system to restore it's performance. Is this necessary / advisable with OSX?

Thanks
 
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It's up to you.

If you can find the right version of Mac OS X for your "new" iMac, then you can reinstall it as a fresh copy. (If he didn't give you the old OS X discs, which are grey, remember to buy the black OS X retail disc if you decide to reinstall Mac OS X).

Mac OS X doesn't suffer from bloat like Windows, but, if you feel the computer runs slow, then reinstall Mac OS X, or uninstall the apps you don't want/need (there are several third party applications for Mac OS X, such as AppCleaner and Clean App).

Is this an Intel Mac or a Power PC Mac? And what version of OS X are you running?
 

pigoo3

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After much nagging by my son to move from Windows, I am acquiring my first Mac. He is buying a new iMac and I am taking on his old one. If this were a Windows PC I would definitely reinstall the operating system to restore it's performance. Is this necessary / advisable with OSX?

Thanks

Usually it is not necessary to reinstall Mac OS X to "restore it performance".

If the Mac you're inheriting (your son's old Mac)...seems slow...it's either because:

- it's an older computer...and slowness "just happens"
- or the computer needs a little bit of maintenance performed to help it run a fast as it can...or at least as fast as it can in a modern world (depending on it's age)

Let us know the specs on this computer...so we know what we're dealing with.

Thanks,

- Nick
 

dtravis7


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MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
Do you know the basic specs on the Mac you are getting? Is it Power PC or Intel?
 
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Basic spec is:

Model Name: iMac

Model Identifier: iMac5,1

Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo

Processor Speed: 2.16 GHz

Number Of Processors: 1

Total Number Of Cores: 2

L2 Cache: 4 MB

Memory: 2 GB
 

pigoo3

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Model Identifier: iMac5,1

Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo

Processor Speed: 2.16 GHz

Memory: 2 GB

I would consider that still a pretty decent Mac...definitely fine for internet & e-mail.

Back to you original question...still no strong reason to reinstall the OS to improve performance. I think the only other bit of info that would be good to know is what version of the Mac OS is this computer running?

- Nick
 

pigoo3

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All I would suggest is popping in the Snow Leopard disc and changing the user name and pas To do this boot from the disc.
 
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All I would suggest is popping in the Snow Leopard disc and changing the user name and pas To do this boot from the disc.

Better yet, just create a new user account in your name.

Or, for good measure
1. Create a new Admin account
2. Delete all old accounts except for the new Admin
3. Create a new Standard account for yourself and use that from now on
 
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Back to my old 2.2GHz C2D MB after selling my MBP and wondering what my next Mac will be :)
Better yet, just create a new user account in your name.

Or, for good measure
1. Create a new Admin account
2. Delete all old accounts except for the new Admin
3. Create a new Standard account for yourself and use that from now on
Is step 3. just a safety precaution to a new Mac user?
 

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