osx how to backup photos for clean install

Osx Backup Photos For Clean How To Install Mavericks

It used to be that if you upgraded to a major new version of OS X, installing over an existing OS X installationfor example, installing 10.3 over 10.2entailed some degree of risk, as existing applications, add-ons, and support files could conflict with the new OS.

For this reason, many people performed a clean install: wiping your hard drive (after backing it up, of course), installing the latest version of OS X, and then either using SetupMigration Assistant to restore your applications and data, or manually reinstalling programs and copying over your data.

The Mac OS X 10.2 installer debuted an Archive And Install option, which preserved your original 10.1or problematic 10.2installation in a special folder while installing a completely new, fresh copy of Mac OS X 10.2.

This feature was eliminated in the Snow Leopard OS X 10.6 installer.).

But a new download-and-install procedure debuted with Lion (OS X 10.7) and has continued through Mavericks (OS X 10.9).

Instead of using a bootable installation DVD, you download the latest OS X installer to your Mac and install the new OS from the same drive.

With the debut of Mavericks, as with Mountain Lion and Lion, many Mac users are asking two related questions: (1) Can you perform a clean install of Mavericks (2) Should you Heres my take on each of these questions, which is essentially the same as with Mountain Lion last year.

First, the technical question: Given that the OS X 10.9 installer doesnt include an official clean-install option, is it possible to perform such an installation The simple answer is yes.

As explained in my main article on installing Mavericks, the installer will let you install the new OS on a blank drive.

Osx Backup Photos For Clean How To Install Mavericks

In fact, you can use the instructions in my article on how to install Mavericks over Leopard.

Specifically, scroll down to the section called The brute-force method and perform Steps 1 through 7, substituting Mountain Lion, Lion, or Snow Leopard for Leopard; the result is a clean install.

Once youve done this, if you want to use SetupMigration Assistant to restore data from your backup, proceed with Step 8.

If you want a truly clean start, youll instead need to manually copy your personal data from your backup to your new Mavericks installation, and then reinstall all of your software.

In this situation, the more apps youve purchased through the Mac App Store, the betteryou just launch the Mac App Store app and click a few buttons to automatically reinstall everything youve purchased.).

OK, so you can, but should you Prior to Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6), I generally recommended a clean install.

But the Snow Leopard installer and SetupMigration Assistant were pretty good about not transferring incompatible software, and subsequent OS X installers have gotten even better.

In fact, Lion, Mountain Lion, and Mavericks automatically detect some incompatible programs and system add-ons the first time you log in, as explained in my main installation article.

What about stuff the installer and SetupMigration Assistant dont catch Ive installed 10.9 many times over a variety of existing Mountain Lion, Lion, Snow Leopard, and even Leopard installations, and Ive had little trouble that I could trace directly to incompatibilities with transferred code.

Upgrading to Mavericks has gone even more smoothly than the many Mountain Lion upgrades I performed last year.

Last year, I said the same thing about upgrading to Mountain Lion compared to Lion the year before, but its true The process seems to get better each year.) Based on that experience, and on similar reports from my Macworld colleagues, I feel comfortable saying that as long as youve properly prepared your Mac before installing Mavericks, you should be just fine installing directly over Mountain Lion, Lion, or Snow Leopard.

Because Mavericks, Mountain Lion, and Lion have so much code in common, upgrading from Lion or Mountain Lion to Mavericks seems to entail even less risk than upgrading from Snow Leopard.).

The first is if youve done some funky partitioning of your Macs startup drive that prevents the Mavericks installer from creating the special Recovery HD partition.

Given how useful recovery mode can be, I recommend performing a clean install (with a good backup) in this situation just so you can erase your Macs drive and restore it to a standard configuration, thus allowing the installer to create the Recovery HD partition.

If you dont want to manually reinstall everything afterward, you can use Setup or Migration Assistant to transfer your data, applications, and other files from your backup to the new installation, as described above.).

The other situation is if youve been using your Mac for a while, installing and deleting many, many apps and OS add-ons, and your hard drive has become littered with lots of gunk and cruft: orphaned application-support and preference files, abandoned preference panes, and the like.

A new major version of OS X is a great opportunity to do some spring cleaning, so to speak.

Of course, if you perform a clean install for this purpose, you dont Setup or Migration Assistant to bring over all that cruft to your new installation.

Instead, you should manually copy your personal data and then reinstall just those apps and add-ons you actually use.

Macworld contributor Joe Kissell talks extensively about such procedures in his ebook Take Control of Upgrading to Mavericks.).

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Osx How To Backup Photos For Clean Install