[Ti] reformatting question

[S. Moussly]

Very useful advice, thanks :)

-- 
OS 10.3.2
Tibook G4 867 MHz,
1GB RAM, 32MB Video,
60GB HD
30GB iPod
iChat: iSambouka

> From: T Molnar <tam at em.ca>
> Reply-To: "PowerBook G4 Titanium List"<Titanium at lists.themacintoshguy.com>
> Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 17:33:22 -0800
> To: "PowerBook G4 Titanium List" <Titanium at lists.themacintoshguy.com>
> Subject: Re: [Ti] reformatting question
> 
> Denis,
> thanks for the advice,
> makes sense.
> cheers,
> tim
> On Jan 27, 2004, at 2:53 PM, Dennis Fazio wrote:
> 
>> --On Tuesday, January 27, 2004 11:33 AM -0800 T Molnar <tam at em.ca>
>> wrote:
>> 
>> [...]
>>> 
>>> 1. Is it better to reinstall all 3rd party app software separately or
>>> can I
>>> clone this tibook drive (i have cross over internet cable) on my Emac
>>> and
>>> drag applications  back over from my Emac once I have a new system?
>> 
>> It's better to reinstall since some apps may place files in various
>> places. Most of your installs will be simple drags to the Application
>> folder.
>>> 
>>> 2.  Even if I install totally new 3rd party app's how do I go about
>>> bringing things like my files in Imovie, iphoto, mail etc...back on
>>> to my
>>> tibook from my Emac.  Can I drag particular folders back to the tibook
>>> which will have all the source files for these things?
>> 
>> These should all be in your home directory. You should back that up
>> completely before reformatting and then restore it. All your
>> application and system preferences are stored there.
>>> 
>>> I am particularly worried about losing all my email address info,
>>> other
>>> things I can burn to dvd I suppose and cd as needed.
>> 
>> That should all be in your home directory folder.
>>> 
>>> 3.  I have a lot of app's that are downloads with passwords, is it
>>> possible
>>> to drag specific folders over that will keep the passwords intact so I
>>> don't have to re input them all.  I have a lot.
>> 
>> Not sure what this means. If you mean you need a password to download
>> the application again, you should have a record of that so you can
>> download again and reinstall.
>> 
>> 
>> Reinstalling Panther is a very big and time consuming job if you have
>> a lot of applications and customizations. To ease the pain in the
>> future:
>> 
>> 1. Get an external firewire disk for backup. Consider it mandatory and
>> part of the cost of your system. One of the portable bus-powered ones
>> are really nice and recommended, but you can get a desktop model with
>> more storage for less $$ that will work just as well. Some day down
>> the road your internal disk will crash and become completely unusable
>> and all your data will be forever unavailable. Count on it.
>> 
>> 2. Partition your internal disk (and external backup disk) into System
>> and Home Directory volumes. You'll need 8GB minimum and preferably 12
>> or more depending upon the number of Apps you have.  That way you can
>> reformat the System volume and reinstall if necessary without touching
>> your home directory files. 12GB or more will also give you room to do
>> a future archive and install for 10.4, etc. Additionally, the separate
>> partitions allow you to mess with your home directory volume without
>> having to reinstall the system. I use NetInfo to reset my home
>> directory location, but there are other ways like symbolic links which
>> may or may not work as well.
>> 
>> 3. When you have a stable OS working with all Applications configured
>> and running OK, make a clone on your firewire disk. Then, you can
>> reformat your system volume and clone back the working system. No need
>> to reinstall again. I use the commercial Tri-backup, but Carbon Copy
>> Cloner and several other freeware/shareware choices work well also.
>> Test your clone by booting from it after creation.
>> 
>> 4. NEVER EVER update your OS or install apps that mess with the system
>> (kernel extensions, etc.) without first cloning it to the external
>> disk. If the update screws up your system, wipe it and clone back the
>> previous working version. No need to reinstall again.
> 
> 
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