New mac, best practices as I install new software

Coming from windows. I'm not a programmer, but I'd consider myself a quasi-power user.

My procedure on a pc would be a clean OS install, full backup.
Install/authenticate major productivity software, full backup.
Install 'lower level' programs (adobe reader, utilities, online services, etc), incremental backup.

And so I would do a refresh every 6mo's to a year, due to Windows being the pos that it is. I'm about to do that right now on my netbook...sigh...


So what's the deal with mac? Do I really just need to make a backup "as I go"? Is it not common to have speed drops as the OS accumulates use? Is it not common to do 'refreshers' by restoring to earlier backups?

Just want to go in with best practices from the outset, instead of having to learn from mistakes, as I did with Windows, painfully.

thanks for the suggestions!

Typically with Macs, reinstalling the OS is something you would do if there was a major problem and you had to fix something. It's not required as maintenance. Your Mac could possibly, maybe slow down a teeny tiny bit over time if you run a lot of heavy-processing apps simultaneously and fill up the internal HDD. But that's not very likely.

Keep at least 15% - 20% of the HDD free.
Format an external drive (just about any brand - Seagate, Western Digital, etc.) to work with Time Machine (included backup app). Instructions here: How to Format a Hard Drive in Mac OS X | eHow.com
If you ever want to remove an app that you've installed, first see if it came with an uninstaller and use that. If not, it's usually as simple as dragging the app from your Applications Folder to the Trash and emptying the Trash.

Also wanted to add, be sure to read the 3 stickies at the top of this forum.
And have a look at Switch 101 and Mac 101 on Apple.com.

Welcome to the Mac Forums.

Smart computing requires making backups regardless of which platform you happen to be using. Get in the habit of doing so on your Mac. The built in Time Machine application is excellent for this purpose. Learn how to use it and take advantage of it. A good source of info regarding Time Machine can be found at this web site. LINK

Unlike using Windows (any flavor) the Mac operating system does not have to be reinstalled to clear away junk, registry overflow, etc. Mac OS X for the most part takes care of itself.

Stay tuned to our forums and don't be afraid to ask questions.

townsend said:

Coming from windows. I'm not a programmer, but I'd consider myself a quasi-power user.

My procedure on a pc would be a clean OS install, full backup.
Install/authenticate major productivity software, full backup.
Install 'lower level' programs (adobe reader, utilities, online services, etc), incremental backup.

And so I would do a refresh every 6mo's to a year, due to Windows being the pos that it is. I'm about to do that right now on my netbook...sigh...


So what's the deal with mac? Do I really just need to make a backup "as I go"? Is it not common to have speed drops as the OS accumulates use? Is it not common to do 'refreshers' by restoring to earlier backups?

Click to expand...

It's always a good practice to keep backups, since drives do often fail with little to no warning. The absolute best way to do incrementals is to use Time Machine (it's built in to OS X). It'll do hourly backups of any files that have been changed, and has a very intuitive interface for "going back in time" to restore a file that you may have deleted earlier, or if you need to revert to an earlier version of it. One you've used this, anything else will seem primitive. If for any reason your internal drive crashes, you can migrate your user data on Time Machine to a new installation of OS X on a new drive and pick up where you left off. Some people periodically make a complete backup of their system onto a backup drive, to restore completely if the internal fails. While this will save the step of re-installing OS X to a new drive and get you back up faster, it still traps you at the last point you made that backup, unless you also maintain an hourly Time Machine backup that you can import also. Personally, I just keep a Time Machine backup, but there are good reasons to go either way.

Now the purpose of the Time Machine isn't to simply roll back to earlier "clean" versions of OS X. There's no point to that. In fact it is rarely necessary to ever reinstall OS X. There is no registry that bloats and bloats. It is possible to have some support files accumulate if you delete an app and leave behind their preference and other support files, but they are negligible in size and have zero impact on your system performance since they are only loaded when called for. If you have deleted the app that calls for them, they just sit there. There are some tools for periodic housecleaning tasks, and others to help delete those support files along with their app. Here are a couple recent threads that you should read:
http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/os...8152-best-free-software-clean-out-system.html
http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/os...tions-speeding-up-cleaning-up-my-macbook.html

Just want to go in with best practices from the outset, instead of having to learn from mistakes, as I did with Windows, painfully.

Click to expand...

Just relax and not sweat it. OS X is so much simpler to deal with that it's just hard to believe and accept early on. I'm a switcher myself, and was long accustomed to troubleshooting and managing Windows for myelf and others. Once I got a taste of OS X, I switched and never looked back.

When uninstalling, rather than dragging the application to the trash, download a program like AppCleaner which will search for and delete the associated preference or document files with the program. Not deleting this will cause your computer to bog down over time or use up needed space.

Search for small, productive applications; there are a myriad of them that increase productivity and efficiency when using the system.

MYmacROX said:

Typically with Macs, reinstalling the OS is something you would do if there was a major problem and you had to fix something. It's not required as maintenance. Your Mac could possibly, maybe slow down a teeny tiny bit over time if you run a lot of heavy-processing apps simultaneously and fill up the internal HDD. But that's not very likely.

Click to expand...

Keeping in mind when you do have to do it, drop in the DVD a couple of clicks and 40 mins later you will be quasi-power using again. Simple and simple is all i can say.

@OP just a few to add to MYmacROX 101

MacTricksAndTips ~ 100 Essential Mac Apps

Mac OS Menu Bar Items

Mac OS KeyBoard Shortcuts

So there is a bit of reading there. As i goes for Apps we dont know what you are into, but ill list a few that most people have and you can look them up in the 100 Essential Apps URL i gave ...

Adium ~ Chat Client
Growl Notifications
SuperDuper or CarbonCopyCloner ~ Both make bootable copies of your HD
HandBrake ~ Video Converting
Burn ~ As it says A Burning App
Transmission ~ p2p client
Skitch ~ Screen capture and more
VLC ~ Video player that plays most codecs and does a lot more
Perian and Flip4Mac Makes watching certain codecs easier ... This is Essential IMHO
Audacity ~ Play with Music App
CandyBar ~ Mods all your icons, and dock
MainMenu or Oynx ~ Does the same as Disk utility only more thorough
Quicksilver ~ Works like Spotlight but way way better and does so much more
StuffitExpander ~ Opens Zip and rar files and more
Lil Snitch ~ Firewall type App that looks at your incoming and outgoing traffic
and last but certainly not least .....
AppTrap ~ Once installed it sits in System Preferences and deletes all associated files of anything that you put in the trash ...


EDIT

AlfredApp ~ This does what Quicksilver does and so much more. I have recently dl this and love it. So much better than QS with so many more actions. Waiting for it to come in a Bundle then ill purchase it for the extra features
Cheers

Young Spade said:

When uninstalling, rather than dragging the application to the trash, download a program like AppCleaner which will search for and delete the associated preference or document files with the program. Not deleting this will cause your computer to bog down over time or use up needed space.

Click to expand...

The amount of space those files take up is extremely trivial and has zero impact on your system performance. It's not bad to want them off, but it's really more a matter of wanting to be tidy.

Excellent thread! Thank you for all the great links.

I just purchased a MacBook Air after buying a MacBook Pro for my son last year. I am very proficient with the Windows (Since the days of Win 3.1 UGH I am old) world but this is my first foray into the Mac. After using his I was hooked. Much better graphics, ease of use and performance.

I signed up on the forum today in hopes of searching around to find answers to the most obvious question (that is how I found this page).

I will post a more formal introduction later, but for now I am going to sit back, search and read.

Great replies. Thanks, guys!

This pretty much confirms what I've read, but... it's hard to let go of old habits.

I've read the switching stickies, but I really had to ask.


I'm really won over by this OS... For years, I assumed that it was the hardware to pay for or not, but it's really whole-integrated-approach which carries the value.

Cheers!

townsend said:

Great replies. Thanks, guys!

This pretty much confirms what I've read, but... it's hard to let go of old habits.

I've read the switching stickies, but I really had to ask.


I'm really won over by this OS... For years, I assumed that it was the hardware to pay for or not, but it's really whole-integrated-approach which carries the value.

Cheers!

Click to expand...

Wish more thinking about switching folk could see this ......... Sums it up beautifully . . .

Twitter mention maybe ??

You got my rep mate. Glad your happy and can really see why Mac People are so happy with there machines.

Cheers