from-scratch Mac OS X Yosemite install help

[Head_Unit]

I have a MacBook Pro with some slowness and MS Office misbehaviors (suddenly all windows are small, red, and frozen, among other things). So I want to do a from-scratch install, i.e. back up everything, reformat the hard drive, install onto a blank HDD, and get rid of accumulated crud.

I want to update, and got an Office 11 installer. I can download Yosemite. However, I am wondering a few things:
1) Is the commonly downloadable installer capable of installing onto a blank drive? Or only for "upgrades"?
2) Are iTunes, iPhoto (or Photos), iMovie (or whatever new version) included in the installer? Or would I have to buy these all over again? Mostly I stream, but I do want to be able to play music on the machine sometimes, and maintain the default Apple ecosystem.
3) Any other advice or things to watch out for?

 

[pigoo3]

I have a MacBook Pro with some slowness and MS Office misbehaviors (suddenly all windows are small, red, and frozen, among other things). So I want to do a from-scratch install, i.e. back up everything, reformat the hard drive, install onto a blank HDD, and get rid of accumulated crud.

What OS version is currently installed on this computer?

- Nick

 

[Head_Unit]

Ah, sorry: OS 10.9.5, MacBook Pro 13" Early 2011, 2.3 GHz i5 processor, 6GB RAM. I wonder if I need more ram, but the indicator from I forget which program never shows it full.

 

[harryb2448]

1. You can download Yosemite and burn a copy to an 8GB USB thumb drive (Use LionDismaker).

2. Boot from the thumb drive, erase and format the hard drive, back to installer and do a clean install of Yosemite (of course backup to an external drive if you do not do that).

3. Update to OS X.10.2 and all those applications mentioned will be in the Applications Folder. Yosemite and all applications are f.o.c.

 

[pigoo3]

Ah, sorry: OS 10.9.5,

Thanks for the info. Wasn't sure from the 1st post if you were reinstalling Yosemite…or upgrading from another OS version. Looks like an upgrade if it currently has Mavericks on it.

- Nick

 

[Head_Unit]

Thanks for the info. Wasn't sure from the 1st post if you were reinstalling Yosemite…or upgrading from another OS version. Looks like an upgrade if it currently has Mavericks on it.

- Nick

I had realized I could just uninstall Office and install the new copy, and see what happens.

Similarly, I could upgrade instead of do a total clean install, and see what happens. But…isn't it almost as much work? If I'm gonna do the OS should I really just do it from scratch?

 

[pm-r]

Try the simplest methods first.

A lot of useful and wanted data can often get lost with a clean install, which is often overkill, but make sure you have a backup regardless.

 

[harryb2448]

Just be aware of the steps to go through removing Office 2011 as it has no uninstaller and do not drag to Trash. Suggest you print out the instructions and receiver half an hour for the job.


https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2398768

 

[pm-r]

I find Find Any File can be very useful for complete removal and it's fast for any seek and immediate destroy of files etc. if desired or used:
Thomas Tempelmann - Find Any File

 

[chscag]

I find Find Any File can be very useful for complete removal and it's fast for any seek and immediate destroy of files etc. if desired or used:
Thomas Tempelmann - Find Any File

I love and use that app also, however, forget about using it to help uninstall Mac Office 2011 because it won't find everything that needs to be uninstalled.

 

[pm-r]

I love and use that app also, however, forget about using it to help uninstall Mac Office 2011 because it won't find everything that needs to be uninstalled.

Hmmm…??? I'd sure be surprised if FAF couldn't find and delete all the MS Office 2011 stuff, and I didn't see anything in the suggested article that it would have any trouble finding and deleting:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2398768

But regardless, I'd be lost without Find Any File.app

 

[chas_m]

Head_Unit: you haven't by any chance recently downloaded or used a "cleaner" sort of app that promised to free up space by deleting "extraneous" languages, have you?

 

[chscag]

Hmmm…??? I'd sure be surprised if FAF couldn't find and delete all the MS Office 2011 stuff, and I didn't see anything in the suggested article that it would have any trouble finding and deleting:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2398768

You mean you actually believe that Microsoft included everything that needs to be uninstalled in that article? Having removed it twice now, I can guaranty that article falls short and "Find any File" won't work to find everything. The most important thing that "Find any File" misses is the hidden activation code for Office 2011 plus a bunch of other hidden stuff in hidden folders that don't even resemble "Microsoft". But I agree, it's the best at finding things especially when comparing it to Spotlight.