Snow Leopard Re-install

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Ok so my iMac has been going slow for a while now and i am thinking of giving it OS X Snow Leopard a Reinstall.

I have a back up via time machine but was wondering would it be better to reinstall from that or do a fresh and drag the stuff over i need..? If i drag stuff over how will this work for applications..? Would i have to find the system files as well..?

Also any other help regarding cleaning my mac up for it goes fast will help.

Cheers,

Tyler
 

pigoo3

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Ok so my iMac has been going slow for a while now and i am thinking of giving it OS X Snow Leopard a Reinstall.

Generally speaking...OS reinstalls on Macintosh computers are not necessary (not like with Windows computers). Sure an OS reinstall my help...but there are easier & less time consuming methods to fixing things.

Besides...if there's a "user issue" or a "maintenance issue" to be dealt with that is causing the slow-downs...then the slow down issue will resurface in the future.

An OS reinstall is not a cure for the disease...it's a band-aid.

Of course now your next question is..."Ok...so what should I do to solve my slow-down issues...instead of an OS reinstall?" As you must imagine...this is not the first time this question has been asked & answered. Give Mac-Forums a search...there's usually at least 4-5 things I ask a person (or suggest) to get things running better. We get this sort of question at least a few times each week (if not more).

- Nick
 
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Ok cheers i will have a look. But could it be my specs..?

I have a 2.4Ghz intel core 2 duo with 2gb of ram, generally ok but when i use things like Lightroom it slows down a lot. And a 4 minute video at 720p takes well over n hour to export out of Final Cut Pro.

Could it be that 2gb RAM isnt enough.?
 

pigoo3

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Ok cheers i will have a look. But could it be my specs..?

I have a 2.4Ghz intel core 2 duo with 2gb of ram, generally ok but when i use things like Lightroom it slows down a lot. And a 4 minute video at 720p takes well over n hour to export out of Final Cut Pro.

Could it be that 2gb RAM isnt enough.?

These are certainly possibilities when you're doing video editing & rendering work. This sort of work is VERY demanding...and sometimes even the BEST & FASTEST computers can take a while to get some projects done.

In your initial post you mentioned, "...my iMac has been going slow for a while now...". The important questions are:

- Have you been using "Lightroom" for a long time...and your computer only seemed to slow down recently?
- Have you been using "Lightroom" for a long time...and you're computer has always been slow (when using this program)?
- Or did you only start using "Lightroom" recently...and discovered that it just takes a while to get things done?

- Nick
 
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These are certainly possibilities when you're doing video editing & rendering work. This sort of work is VERY demanding...and sometimes even the BEST & FASTEST computers can take a while to get some projects done.

In your initial post you mentioned, "...my iMac has been going slow for a while now...". The important questions are:

- Have you been using "Lightroom" for a long time...and your computer only seemed to slow down recently?
- Have you been using "Lightroom" for a long time...and you're computer has always been slow (when using this program)?
- Or did you only start using "Lightroom" recently...and discovered that it just takes a while to get things done?

- Nick

Well i have just started using LR use to use PS which wasn't to bad as i generally only had one or two things open at a time. LR importing a file with the images will give me the beach ball and scrolling through the albums can be rather slow. But video has always taken ages for me.

Cheers,

Tyler
 

pigoo3

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Well i have just started using LR use to use PS which wasn't to bad as i generally only had one or two things open at a time. LR importing a file with the images will give me the beach ball and scrolling through the albums can be rather slow. But video has always taken ages for me.

It sounds to me like you've changed the tasks that you're demanding of your computer. The specs of your computer were probably fine for the things you were doing previously...but since it sounds like you're now using LR,PS, and Final Cut Pro...your computer's specs may not be enough for "speedy" progress of your projects.

You're current computer can certainly get the job done (as you're experiencing)...it will just take longer than a faster computer. Since you only have 2 gig of ram currently...a ram upgrade may help. But depending on how many of these video projects you have...and if you are doing them for "fun" or as part of your occupation...you could certainly use a much faster computer...possibly with at least a quad-core cpu.

All three of the programs you mentioned (Lightroom, Photoshop, and Final Cut Pro) require a lot of computing horsepower to run them quickly so you can "chug" through projects rapidly. Some folks doing this sort of work purchase the highest end Mac Pro's...and even these computers can sometimes slow down with BIG projects.

So back to the original statement in this thread...I do not think reinstalling Snow Leopard will do anything to significantly change the speed of your computer.

- Nick
 
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