Technique to avoid formatting and transferring data

[britpoprule]

I'm in this situation. My macbook pro is full of stuff. I would like to get rid of everything but keep the apps (and maybe even reinstall the OS on it as it is/would it work better?). Is there a way to do it without individually copy/paste each individual thing to to the external hard drive to empty the space?
Thank you

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Most backup software will backup everything and restore everything back as you have it right now. Since this isn't what you want, you'll have to go through the process of..

• Backup all your important data
• Make a note of all of your currently installed applications (grab the installers if you still have them)
  • Make note of all license keys, and other information necessary to activate the application
• Reboot into the Recovery Mode (CMD+r when powering up)
  • Erase the HD
  • Re-install the current version of macOS
• Update/upgrade to the latest version
• Re-install the apps you want and restore any data you want back.

I go through this process when I jump machines. I did this from 2009 iMac -> 2018 Mac Mini -> 2022 Mac Studio. That way I don't bring along any junk that I don't need and it's a good opportunity to prune down to JUST what I need.