Default Settings - How to preserve or revive them?
I've only had my iMac 20" Dual Core for a short time. I've noticed that several of the settings have a little button which will reset them back to what they were when I first turned the Mac on. Others do not offer this - which is a bit scary! Is there a way easily to revert to original settings without a total reinstall.
How long does a reinstall take and is there a risk involved?
If I change users, will all the settings revert for that user?
Is there a set of files that I can backup so as to prevent screwing things up again?
How long does a reinstall take and is there a risk involved?
If I change users, will all the settings revert for that user?
Is there a set of files that I can backup so as to prevent screwing things up again?
Comments
Originally posted by Skeptik
I've only had my iMac 20" Dual Core for a short time. I've noticed that several of the settings have a little button which will reset them back to what they were when I first turned the Mac on. Others do not offer this - which is a bit scary! Is there a way easily to revert to original settings without a total reinstall.
Don't worry Skeptik, it is very unlikely that you will be able to do any harm to your computer or installation through the settings, Apple works hard to make it so that, unlike in the PC world, you can take control of your computer, play with it, try out what different options, settings, and commands do, download sketchy looking little shareware/freeware programs without having to fear that you will have to reinstall or call your computer geek friend over to fix things because you got a virus or messed up your preferences. Now, to answer your question about wether there is an easy way to revert to original settings without a total reinstall: absolutely. You can revert all of your settings and saved information simply by going into your home folder and trashing the "Library" folder within, a new one will be generated containing all of the files in their default state.
I warn you though, a few pieces of data such as your Address Book information are stored within the Library, if you would like to make sure that you can retain program data, move the folder "Application Support" out of your Library folder before you delete the library, log out and then log back in to ensure that the library has been regenerated, and copy your Application Support folder back into the new Library, replacing what is already in there and you should be all set! This is not always necessary if you don't have important data in your address book or the handful of other programs that store their data there.
How long does a reinstall take and is there a risk involved?
A complete reinstall is not very difficult to do, and should take you about an hour depending on the speed of your computer. You can choose wether to do a clean install, remove everything from your hard drive and start over, or to retain your data and simply reinstall the system, if you choose to do the latter you really have nothing to worry about. Also, I assure you that even the most novice of computers users can make it through the simple installation procedure, not that you should have to!
If I change users, will all the settings revert for that user?
Yes, if you create a new user that user will have all of the default settings as your user account had at install. Unfortunately though, you can not completely remove the first admin user that was created when the operating system was first installed without a little bit of work, although you don't really need to since you can simply trash the library to restore that account to it's original settings.
Is there a set of files that I can backup so as to prevent screwing things up again?
Although, as I've already said, you'd have a better chance of winning the lottery than screwing up your Mac by fooling around with settings, you could always back up your Library folder once your settings are in a state you like. Furthermore, all of your data should be held inside of your home folder, so if you would like to backup your settings and all of your documents, music, images, etc. you can simply backup your home folder!
I hope this helps you and enjoy your Macintosh experience!