It’s time to geek out a bit:
If I can be so bold, I would like to toss my hat into the “Erase and Install” camp when it comes to installing Mac OS X on a Mac. The merits of performing an Erase and Install of Leopard on my old 1st generation Macbook Pro were worth the time invested.
Let me back up (ha! ha!) and say that when I first purchased my laptop, it came with Tiger (10.4.x) already installed. When Leopard came out a year later, I was not in a situation or place where I could wipe the drive and start fresh. I opted to go with the “Archive and Install” option, which backed up my previous System folder and contents while installing the new OS, leaving all the applications and data files untouched.
There were no immediate problems with this approach. In my day to day usage, the MBP seemed to run all the applications I threw at it. Certain apps would feel sluggish, but I just chalked that up to the processor and the gaggle of pro apps that were on the hard drive. Over the span of a few months, however, I noticed that the laptop would run increasingly hotter – with fans idling at 5000 RPM even when all applications were closed.
Not so good.
Alas, I didn’t have the time to deal with the issue – until this weekend. The arrival of my new MBP last week meant that I would be giving my old MBP to Aarti. (It’s her first-ever Mac, and she’s excited.)
I wiped the hard drive clean (after making two back-ups using SuperDuper and Time Machine), and reinstalled Leopard and other apps on the now virgin 100 GB 5400 RPM drive.
Performance, particularly in the areas of Finder operations and application launches, are much, much improved. The machine also runs much cooler, with the fans idling at 2000 1000 RPM, even when multiple applications are running. The old Macbook Pro honestly feels like a new machine again.
My only thought on the whole matter is: why did I wait so long?
What about you? If you’re running a Mac – what methods / approaches do you take when installing a new version of the OS?
-Krishna
Despite what Apple says, it may be worthwhile to defrag your disk every now and then, especially if you frequently create and then delete large files.
I use iDefrag. Along with defragging files, it can also rearrange them, placing the system files at the top (faster access) part of the disk.
A free alternative is to clone the disk with Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper, delete the original, and then clone back. I use CCC, and looking at the resulting clone with IDefrag, it seems pretty clean.
I totally forgot about iDefrag. I have that application as well. In the end, wiping the drive probably made the most sense for me, as the MBP will be used by Aarti. Her computer needs are much more modest than mine.
I usually “Erase and Install”, even when I get the hankering to simply re-install for no real reason except to clean out the cruft. I usually make my own back-up, in addition to my Time Machine disk, and subject any restored program or file to a “how often do I use this” requirement, (usually once a month or more) before restoring. Old stuff gets archived to DVDs or a backup drive, and I do make exceptions for digital photos and whatnot.
I also find it helps because I’ll usually learn a lot about the OS and what apps I need since the last re-format, and starting fresh lets me undo the consequences of some applications that aren’t easily removed (such as MacFUSE and Ntfs-3g, or rEFIt), and I can start fresh.
I haven’t done this in probably 5 months now, having found that kind of “sweet spot” where everything is as it should be, and tends to stay that way, no matter what I throw at it.
Man Krishna, you’ve been macin’ it up this week haven’t you? But nice story. Erase and Install is the way to go, although most people may not have the patience. hehe see ya in class
Hey Julian – thanks for the props! Loving the new MBP and iPod Touch. I’ll write more about them in the next week or so, once I’ve had a chance to play with them more.