Would you fresh install on a new iMac?

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I've seen that upon buying a new Mac some people immediately do a fresh install of OS X. I was just wondering what the advantages are of this, and how many of you think it's necessary.

Also, if I transfer my stuff from my mini to a new iMac using Migration Assistant, does it transfer "bad stuff" I don't want on a new system, such as anything that might be corrupt within an appliction, or will it only transfer the apps, preferences and files, etc?

All comments welcome.
 
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I would imagine the purpose for an immediate reload would be to NOT install alot of the iLife sounds, loops and instruments which take up alot of space, as well as the Office Trial and iWork trial.

Migration asst will move your home folder which contains all your mail, bookmarks and user settings etc. Applications can be moved but if they've installed as a service or put files in non standard places they would need to be reinstalled. OS corruption if any will not move over. There is the possibility of apps not working properly.
 
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I have only bought one mac so far, and I didn't fresh install. I think I won't do that wiht my MacBook either I'll be getting later this year.
 
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I've done a fresh install on every Mac that I've owned. Lets me remove things that I will never use, and so I can partition my HD.
 
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I moved my Microsoft User Data folder from the Documents folder because it really bugged me that it was there. It's now in Library/Preferences. Do you think this could cause a problem?

EDIT: I wonder if it'd be best just to copy that folder manually...
 
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Always. It allows me to get rid of the garbage I don't need. MS Office demo and the extra Language packs are the two big ones, but there are many others.
 
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All the "extra junk" that people don't want can just as easily be removed without the need for a clean install.
That is what I have always done.
 
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True, but it seems easier, at least to me, to simply clean install and never let them load in the first place. That way I can go through the install process and find all those things I don't want without having to root around in the system or download extra software to get rid of them. There's lots of stuff in there I don't need.
 
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All the "extra junk" that people don't want can just as easily be removed without the need for a clean install.
That is what I have always done.

Yeah I do the same thing.. then i delete the programs I used to delete some of the extra junk. Its faster then doing a fresh install.
 
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I never even considered a fresh install; but then, this was my first Mac. Still, it was so easy to remove the extra languages, trial software, etc. that I'm glad I didn't risk causing more trouble than I know how to fix. :)
 

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