10.5: clean, archive or upgrade?

Generally speaking, firewire 400 is a little bit slower than USB 2.0, although it is better at sustaining transfer speed for large files. Firewire 800 is definitely the way to go if it's available on your machine. Otherwise, it's a toss-up.
 
Of course USB 2.0 has the advantage of being compatible with basically any computer out there. Although a little more expensive, those with FW _and_ USB are the way to go. If they have FW800 as well, the better.
 
I agree with Fryke, I'll definitely be going for the clean install. I haven't formatted my MacBook Pro once since I got it last December, so I'm thinking once I back up everything I need a total clean install of the OS and reinstallation of the apps is the best way to go. Better in the long run, too.
 
If you have time and want to control your environment, go for clean install. You will then have to re-install each of your applications (get all your registration keys ready). You will end up with a cleaner system, and often a slightly faster system.

If you are not sure, if you don't know what I am saying or if you want to be fast, just upgrade. That's what I am doing for years. I only clean install when I have an issue.
 
fryke said:
Of course USB 2.0 has the advantage of being compatible with basically any computer out there. Although a little more expensive, those with FW _and_ USB are the way to go. If they have FW800 as well, the better.
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Yeah, USB 2.0 is very compatible on the hardware level... but the format of the disk is system dependant.
 
MisterMe said:
Clearly you cannot upgrade the OS on a clean hard drive because it doesn't exist. The thing that some don't seem to understand is that the Apple OS installers are smart installers. They install only what is needed to bring your old software up to the new OS. Apple also provides the ability to for its installers to perform more radical surgery at the user's request.
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That's what I thought. So since it is a "smart" installer, it would detect whether a System folder is actually installed at all (I'm assuming it checks for the availability of some other "hidden" files/folders as well in case the System folder just got fubared). So you really can't say that it defaults to one specific installation type. The default chosen for the installation is dependent on the availability or health of an existing installation.
 
I think there was some consternation when Apple moved from 9 to X. With pre-MacOSX you knew what was under the bonnet ('hood' in North America).

The UNIX reformation brought with it a more complex arrangement, which may have initially dis-empowered some Mac devotees (to be short-lived).

What lived under the bonnet/hood may have seemed a little more unwieldy. A sort of quantum world. But, unlike Windows, one that was reliable.

Favouring the reformat and clean install approach may be about system performance, but I wonder whether there is also a sub-conscious need to maintain an orderly environment (pre-MacOS X conditioning)?
 
Actually, I'd say it's _post_ Mac OS X conditioning. Before, you could put stuff wherever you wanted on your harddrive, have two or three complete system folders merrying one or the other however you wished. OS X does _not_ allow you to be messy at all. The reformat and clean install approach for me started with OS X.
 
fryke said:
Actually, I'd say it's _post_ Mac OS X conditioning. Before, you could put stuff wherever you wanted on your harddrive, have two or three complete system folders merrying one or the other however you wished. OS X does _not_ allow you to be messy at all. The reformat and clean install approach for me started with OS X.
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I'm with you on this one, Fryke. Before OS X, I never really did fresh installs on Macs. The upgrades were usually problem-free. I learned the hard way that this isn't the case on Windows, especially going from a DOS-based Windows system to an NTFS-based one. And sometimes it's the case with OS X.
 
Reinstalling apps isn't always such a hassle with a clean install. Usually what I do with clean installs is copy back most of my applications folder, and then copy back most of my home folder, including its Library, where all my preferences are stored. For most apps, this is enough. Not many applications require extra system components.

Most shareware/freeware apps come in a simple disk image, and you just drag it where you want it to install. These will work just the same. You'll just want to copy back your preferences, which is fairly easy. The only apps that might give you problems are those that come in .pkg files or with dedicated installers. Even for many of these, just copying over the plainly-named items in your "Application Support" folders is enough.

Last time I did a clean install I only had to go out of my way to reinstall a few apps. The rest were mass-migrated from my old system cleanly and painlessly.
 
Iceman, having read your post that only 1/4 of the stuff on the install DVD goes on the hard drive, I'm wondering what the rest of the stuff is...
I did the upgrade on all three of my Macs, no problems so far.
Thanks,
Carl
 
It is all overwritten - ERASED - so be damn sure to back up your boot volume before you do it!!!
 
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