[P1] how do I back up for a re-install?

[david]

On 2/3/03 1:58 PM, "Guy McMickle" <fierose8608 at fuse.net> wrote:

> 
> On Monday, February 3, 2003, at 01:26 PM, david wrote:
> 
>> Are we talking OS X or older (OS 8 or 9)? If OS X don¹t think about a
>> fresh
>> install yet. If OS 8 or 9 you¹ll find most of the stuff you want in the
>> prefs folder but it depends on what you are using for email and
>> browsing. So
>> more info is needed.
>> 
> 
> Whoops, I can't believe I forgot to mention OS X.  I found a little
> applescript called "back up user prefs", which claims to back up all
> that I'm interested in...bookmarks, prefs, and mail...but it doesn't
> seem to back up the mail.app prefs.  Thanks!
> 
> -Guy
> 
Before you conclude you need to reinstall the OS, log in as root or create a
new user account and log in to the new account. If you logged in as root
don¹t do any configuring or install any new software. But if there is a
particular program that causes trouble, go ahead and run it. If the problem
involves going online or printing, I¹d say go ahead and creating a new user
account and do some basic configuring - set up the printer, configure your
internet settings, etc. You are likely to find that in this virgin account
(or the root account) that your system is no longer flaky. If that is the
case then probably it is a preferences issue and killing off the offending
preference will solve the problem.

Figuring out which is the offending pref can be a pain in the neck. When I
can¹t figure it out in 10 minutes or so I just move my data folders to the
newly created account and accept that I¹ll have to reregister a few
applications. (Most applications place their serial information in the
preferences files so switching to the new account will require some
reserialization.)

david
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All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost;
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davidwb at spymac.com