Installing your Operating System from scratch

We all have fallen victim to software rot from time to time. If you have the same operating system installed for a long period of time, you’re bound to run into problems eventually. Your apps and/or operating system will either stop working properly, or they’ll just grind to a stop. When this happens, your best bet is too simply back up your data, and then wipe the computer completely.

First of all, get yourself SuperDuper!. The free version will do for the purposes of this post, but it is the best $27.95 you could possibly spend for your sanity. After having tried Carbon Copy Cloner and Apple’s Time Machine, I am the most pleased with SuperDuper!.

Next, do a complete bit-for-bit copy of your drive. Set SuperDuper! to back up all files from your computer’s internal hard drive to your external hard drive. Let this run, and don’t fiddle with it. It’ll take quite a bit of time.

When you’re done, you need to test out your backup. Restart your computer, and hold down the option key. Chose to boot from your external drive. If everything comes up normally, you’re good. Make sure your important files work, and then insert your Snow Leopard DVD.

Launch the program from the disc, and then boot into the disk. At this point, I think it for the best to unplug your external drive. There is no real reason to do this except for my paranoia, but your data is worth it. Now, follow the on-screen instructions to install a fresh operating system. This really is the scary part. Let the installer do it’s magic, and then open the migration assistant. There are different points in which you can migrate your data, but that doesn’t really matter.

Plug your external drive back in, and then move back your data as you like it. The migration assistant really has gotten much better over the years. Don’t expect this to go fast, though. Even if you’re working with FireWire 800, it will take a long time.

Now you should have a spanking new OS install with all of your data back into place. Whew! Now it’s time to make sure your OS is up to date. Head over to Apple Support, and download the latest patches. Alternately, click the Apple logo in your menu bar, and then select “Software Update.” Now you’re good to go!

Have you ever done this before? Run into any snags? Let us know about the pitfalls you’ve discovered. Comment on this port or hit me up on Twitter.

Photo Credit: CarbonNYC