Barring sufficient information there, you'll have to visit the developer's website.Ģ.4 Some simple apps can be copied back to the Applications folder in El Capitan and run just fine. That's because the personal Library folder is one place that typically needs a thorough housecleaning.Ģ.3 Take note of all your mission critical apps and make sure they're all compatible with El Capitan. I use BBEdit.Ģ.2 If you try to take a short cut and just copy back in your Library folder, to make licensing easier, you'll be defeating the idea of a Clean Install. ![]() That way, you can always mount that external drive, access and copy over individual files.Ģ.1 You may want to have a log of all your application licenses in a copyable format so that when you restore your apps, you'll have this information handy and can paste it in. This is a preferred tool by many for making an exact copy of your boot drive to an external Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or Solid State Drive (SSD). ![]() You'll be back where you were before you started.įile by file with Carbon Copy Cloner. ( Menu Bar > Time Machine > Backup Now.) Later, if you have a curent Time Machine backup and something goes very wrong, you can boot from the recovery partition (CMD-R) and do a complete erase (Disk Utility) and then restore from your Time Machine archive. This will make sure your Time Machine backup doesn't get scrambled. Use Disk Utility to make sure your boot drive permissions are all repaired and that the disk directory is verified as good. Identify which items are backed up to iCloud. Try to work with just attached drives and a wired mouse and keyboard. Disconnect any unnecessary peripherals such as printers, tablets, microphones, etc. Steps #5 and #6 require some preparation, are particularly tricky and must be handled with care. I suggest you read this entire article first, understanding all the steps before you begin. That means email, photos, music.everything. Restore your network settings, user accounts and all data.Install OS X El Capitan (or macOS Sierra).Make thorough backups of your entire boot drive in several ways.However, there is a way to do a Clean Install and restore all your data if you really want to. Every application and its license files will be gone.Every document, movie, song and photo will be deleted. All the files in all the user accounts (spouse, children, family cat) will be deleted.Those who still pursue the thought of a Clean Install usually reconsider when they realize that everything they own will be deleted from the Mac. ![]() We both agree that an over the top is generally the best idea. For example, in OS X Yosemite, unless a kernel extension is digitally signed by Apple it won't load.Īdam Christianson ( has written "If you aren’t really having any issues or problems then just download the new OS, install over the top and go on your merry way." On the other hand, over the years, we've learned that OS X is pretty good about ignoring things that are no longer applicable. In addition, sometimes the normal housecleaning process with apps like Spring Cleaning and App Zapper can't solve a particularly difficult issue, and the only way to get a fresh start is a Clean Install.īut First, Let Me Talk You Out of Doing ThisĪ Clean Install, as you'll see below, can be a time intensive process. See, for example: " How to Manage the Secret Software That Google Chrome Installs on Your Mac." Over time, a lot of cruft, that is, unused extensions, app support files, preferences and other files in your Library folder or System Library folder can become troublesome or even a security issue, like Java. There are some users who suspect that a Clean Install is a good way to approach a complete new version of OS X or macOS. This article, after a brief introduction, will list the steps needed for that Clean Install. However, there are occasions when a user needs to do what's called a "Clean Install." This is like setting up a Mac as if it first came out of the box and then personal data is restored. With this kind of upgrade, all user data, settings and accounts remain as before, and that works for most users most times. Apple has designed OS X/macOS so that one can just upgrade to the next version, "over the top," seamlessly.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |