Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

ph0ust · Sep 1, 2007, 01:52 AM

hi all. well, i just got home with my new super imac- 24" 2.8ghz wonder machine that is replacing my g4 imac. seriously.... i'm so stoked. anyway, i was curious... when i bought my last imac it came with os x 10.3, which also had os 9 installed. i did a fresh install without os 9 and left out the foreign language packs. i am curious if that is common still with new macs. do i need to do a total drive format and reinstall? do many people still do that? hdd space is not a big deal (as in getting rid of the foreign language packs), but if the default apple image is sloppy please let me know. not a big deal to reinstall, but if it isn't necessary i can do better things with my time. thanks for the input!

Simon · Sep 1, 2007, 02:02 AM

There's a whole bunch of threads here on exactly this topic. Why don't you try a search?

There's nothing wrong with Apple's default install, but of course it contains stuff not everybody needs/wants. The default install comes with many language packs, fonts, all kinds of trial versions (MS Office and iWork come to mind), a boatload of printer drivers, etc.

If you want a lean and clean machine you can format it and set it up again to suit your specific needs. OTOH if you're lazy you can just leave it the way it is. There's nothing wrong with that either. It's simply a question of your personal preference. Personally, I want only the stuff installed I really need so I always do a format and manual install.

CheesePuff · Sep 1, 2007, 11:45 AM

I always do a fresh install when I get the machine and leave out half the stuff you already mentioned (language packs, printer drivers, etc) that really do add up to a couple GB of space.

imdipped · Sep 1, 2007, 04:56 PM

I’m wondering the same thing. What If I have enough disk space to not worry about an extra 2 gig, would I save boot time if I did a custom install?

Chongo · Sep 1, 2007, 05:13 PM

Is it possible to do a clean custom install and delete the previous system folder? I already loaded quicken an transfered the file to the new iMac.

MacosNerd · Sep 1, 2007, 06:51 PM

I reformat and reinstall OSX on any new Mac I buy.

Does it run faster no, but at least I install only what I want.

AC Rempt · Sep 2, 2007, 01:47 AM

Call me lazy. I use the Migration Assistant and call it a day. The extra gig or two isn't worth it to me, but more power to ya if it's an issue.

I've also used utilities that remove the language and printer stuff I don't use when I get bored.

I haven't seen a difference in performance either way.

Randman · Sep 2, 2007, 02:06 AM

Repair permissions, run Migration Assistant, repair permissions again, go to the pool and save hours in the headache of a clean install.

ph0ust · Sep 4, 2007, 11:12 AM

well, i bit the bullet and did another fresh install. probably my last one. you can simply delete the printer drivers folder if you want, and the language packs really don't take up that much space. that said, my new imac kicks a$$! so sweet to work on. i love the keyboard, it is super fast, screen looks spectacular!

CheesePuff · Sep 4, 2007, 11:34 AM

Originally Posted by Randman

Repair permissions, run Migration Assistant, repair permissions again, go to the pool and save hours in the headache of a clean install.

Hours? Even on my old G4 tower with OS X 10.4, I would put in the disc, restart, choose what I wanted installed and 20 minutes later it was done. Then I just transfer over my files, email, etc. from a DVD and call it a day.

Gee4orce · Sep 4, 2007, 01:39 PM

I always just migrate - it's incredibly easy.

But - next time I will probably NOT use the migration assistant, although I won't go so far as doing a clean install (there really is no point, it's easy to delete stuff if you really don't want it). The reason I wont migrate next time is just because I have crap on this machine that goes back to 10.1 public beta days or so. It just gets dragged a long each time, preferences, fonts, etc, etc . I have a feeling that it's just clogging my up, and I need a detox !

So next time, I'll probably just copy over my applications and documents manually, and then only preferences for applications that are actually currently installed on my computer.

ph0ust · Sep 4, 2007, 06:37 PM

Originally Posted by CheesePuff

Hours? Even on my old G4 tower with OS X 10.4, I would put in the disc, restart, choose what I wanted installed and 20 minutes later it was done. Then I just transfer over my files, email, etc. from a DVD and call it a day.

it wasn't nearly a twenty minute operation for me. i did do a disk overwrite, which took about 3 hours (single pass on 500GB hdd). then the install began, which reading the dvd alone took well over an hour (stupidly long time)... then the install really began, which was maybe 30 minutes.

ShALLaX · Sep 4, 2007, 08:28 PM

I always format+reinstall. Call it paranoia or control-freakishness, but I like knowing what I have installed.