Questions on Reinstalling the OS

thinedude · Dec 26, 2010

Its that time. Time to reinstall my OS. But before i do, i want to make sure of a few things first. If i backup my drive onto an external hard drive with time machine, then bring it back to my laptop after i've reinstalled my OS, will it restore all of my applications too? I have some apps that i'm not sure if i still have the install disks and serial numbers for and if i lost the apps i would be screwed. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

harryb2448 · Dec 26, 2010

G'day and welcome to the forums.

What do you mean 'that time'? No restore is required unless you are experiencing major problems such as a failed hard drive. If you do not use a utility such as Onyx, download it and run the cleaning and maintenance scripts and see if you notice an improvement for whatever reason you wanted to do a restore for.

This is not Windows and such steps as a format and clean install are usually unnecessary. Download from here:-

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/system_disk_utilities/onyx.html

6string · Dec 26, 2010

If you're running an older OS than SL, you can get the version you need from here:
Download OnyX for Mac - OS X maintenance & optimization tool. MacUpdate.com

thinedude · Dec 26, 2010

my macbook is running really hot sometimes and my webcam doesn't work anymore. i had a professional look at it and she said that nothing looks wrong with the hardware so it might be a software problem.

cwa107 · Dec 26, 2010

thinedude said:
my macbook is running really hot sometimes and my webcam doesn't work anymore. i had a professional look at it and she said that nothing looks wrong with the hardware so it might be a software problem.

UNIX-based Operating Systems rarely, if ever, need to be reinstalled. This is a bad habit many of us bring with us from Windows, where inevitable registry corruption often leads to a need to do a clean install periodically.

At worst, you may need to create a new user account, but a full reinstall should not be necessary.

Heat can be caused by a number of factors, most notably in older machines, dust can build up in the ducts that are used to bring cool air in, and exhaust warm air. A few quick blasts of compressed air into the vents can work wonders for this.

Also, if you have programs that are running in the background unbeknownst to you, the added CPU cycles can lead to excessive heat. Try opening Activity Monitor and sorting the processes list by CPU utilization. That can often clue you into what's going on.

As far as the iSight cam, there's really not enough detail in your post to take a stab at what's going on there. Are there any error messages when you open programs that take advantage of it? Is the malfunction limited to one particular program, or all of them? Does the problem occur in Photo Booth?

thinedude · Dec 28, 2010

cwa107 said:
UNIX-based Operating Systems rarely, if ever, need to be reinstalled. This is a bad habit many of us bring with us from Windows, where inevitable registry corruption often leads to a need to do a clean install periodically.

At worst, you may need to create a new user account, but a full reinstall should not be necessary.

Heat can be caused by a number of factors, most notably in older machines, dust can build up in the ducts that are used to bring cool air in, and exhaust warm air. A few quick blasts of compressed air into the vents can work wonders for this.

Also, if you have programs that are running in the background unbeknownst to you, the added CPU cycles can lead to excessive heat. Try opening Activity Monitor and sorting the processes list by CPU utilization. That can often clue you into what's going on.

As far as the iSight cam, there's really not enough detail in your post to take a stab at what's going on there. Are there any error messages when you open programs that take advantage of it? Is the malfunction limited to one particular program, or all of them? Does the problem occur in Photo Booth?

My computer is a macbook pro. I got it new in the fall of 2008. The heat issue happens even if i'm just playing videos or playing a browser based game. I've been checking the activity monitor for a while now and a lot of times my browser and mail are the only things open and the browser might be running at upwards of %90. Is clearing the vents something i can do on my own?

My cam doesn't work in any program, including photo booth. Nothing even recognizes that a camera is connected. When i open photo booth a picture of a camcorder with a slash through it replaces where the video should be.

Slydude · Dec 28, 2010

Are the games and videos that you are watching when the CPU use climbs Flash based? I ask that question because I have a 2998 MacBook Pro and I have noticed that Flash video often causes my fans to rev quite a bit when other tasks are moving along quite nicely.

harryb2448 · Dec 28, 2010

Ahh Sly a 2998 MBP? You are always out in front my man!

dmordigal · Dec 28, 2010

Yes, your Time Machine restore disk can restore anything, including applications. I have done this myself before.

cwa107 · Dec 28, 2010

thinedude said:
My computer is a macbook pro. I got it new in the fall of 2008. The heat issue happens even if i'm just playing videos or playing a browser based game. I've been checking the activity monitor for a while now and a lot of times my browser and mail are the only things open and the browser might be running at upwards of %90.

Probably because those games and videos are Flash-based. Flash is a hog, which is why Apple doesn't allow it on the iPhone/iPad. What you're experiencing is completely normal.

Is clearing the vents something i can do on my own?

Sure. Take a can of compressed air. With the lid closed, you should be able to see the vents at the back of the machine, just beneath the lid. Give it a few quick blasts with the compressed air and you should see some dust blow out.

My cam doesn't work in any program, including photo booth. Nothing even recognizes that a camera is connected. When i open photo booth a picture of a camcorder with a slash through it replaces where the video should be.

That sounds more like a hardware issue to me. Does the camera show as installed in System Profiler? (Applications => Utilities => System Profile).

Slydude · Dec 28, 2010

harryb2448 said:
Ahh Sly a 2998 MBP? You are always out in front my man!

Didn't know I had mastered time travel did you Harry? You should see this thing. It's a real beast.

6string · Dec 28, 2010

Slydude said:
Didn't know I had mastered time travel did you Harry? You should see this thing. It's a real beast.

Does it make you coffee in the morning?

thinedude · Dec 28, 2010

cwa107 said:
That sounds more like a hardware issue to me. Does the camera show as installed in System Profiler? (Applications => Utilities => System Profile).

I dont see anything about the camera in the hardware section of the profiler. could it be listed as something else?

6string · Dec 28, 2010

thinedude said:
I dont see anything about the camera in the hardware section of the profiler. could it be listed as something else?

The only place I found it is if I select USB in the left column under Hardware.

harryb2448 · Dec 28, 2010

Ahh got you Sly. You is really Rod Taylor with his Time Machine lol!

Slydude · Dec 28, 2010

6string said:
Does it make you coffee in the morning?

Not yet but I'm working on that. There's probably an OS upgrade required.

thinedude · Dec 28, 2010

yep, mine's not there

Questions on Reinstalling the OS

thinedude

harryb2448

6string

thinedude

cwa107

thinedude

Slydude

Well-known member

harryb2448

dmordigal

cwa107

Slydude

Well-known member

6string

thinedude

6string

harryb2448

Slydude

Well-known member

thinedude

Shop Amazon