HOLY COW!! clean install light years faster than archive!

alcimedesalcimedes
Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
i initially went with the archive install on my powerbook, because i had too much stuff to really safely back up.



however, our lab just got a 17" iMac in that had nothing on it. it was updated to 10.2 through an archive install as well, but for kicks i decided to do a clean install on it, and wipe the drive.



after doing this, i noticed that my 800Mhz iMac was significantly faster than my 800Mhz powerbook.



i finally bit the bullet, backed up my stuff and did a clean install on the powerbook. i can say without question that it is noticeably faster than it was with the archive install. to anyone who's riding the fence and not 100% sure which way they want to go, i highly recommend the clean install.



anyone else out there have a similar experience? i was shocked at the speed difference. :eek:
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 31
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    The only reason you should to get a faster experience from clean rather than archive is if your Mac's hard drive was already pretty fragmented before installing.



    I've done both and didn't notice any difference performance-wise between the two (probably because the drive I used "archive" on had just been defragged).
  • Reply 2 of 31
    producerproducer Posts: 283member
    I am doing my install tonight...I thought archiving is pretty much the same as doing a clean install?



    can some more people comment?



    <img src="confused.gif" border="0">
  • Reply 3 of 31
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    Clean install erases your drive before installing. So, you'd better make some backups beforehand!



    Archive install moves your files into a separate folder and installs the system files in a new directory (rather than writing over the old files, which is what the upgrade option does).
  • Reply 4 of 31
    alcimedesalcimedes Posts: 5,486member
    brad, i don't think that it has anything to do with a HD being fragmented. you forgot, the reason i did this in the first place was because i had a new machine, with basically nothing on it. (the widescreen iMac).



    now when i ordered it, it was before OSX 10.2 came out. so it shipped with 10.1.5, and had cd's to upgrade to 10.2



    i had a copy of the full 10.2 though, so i decided to just install off of that and do an archive. it was fast, but nothing that great. for kicks i then did a clean install and it was a ton faster.



    this was a machine that had been on for a total of 4 hours tops, and had mabye 5 apps. installed on it. there's no way it was fragmented.



    i noticed the same thing with my powerbook. they're both about the same speed. they were approx. the same speed when they both had the archive install, and the same speed when they both had the clean install, but would have had totally different amounts of usage.



    -alcimedes
  • Reply 5 of 31
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    Strange. Well, I dunno. <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />
  • Reply 6 of 31
    the pie manthe pie man Posts: 425member
    [quote]Originally posted by alcimedes:

    <strong>anyone else out there have a similar experience? i was shocked at the speed difference. :eek: </strong><hr></blockquote>



    I had the same experience. I initially opted for the archive and install option, and although I was amazed that everything just worked right after I installed, I noticed very little speed difference between 10.1 and .2.



    I said screw it (even with deadlines hanging over my head) and backed up everything important and wiped the drive (I have always noticed a fresh install makes things really fast - caveat to come). And yes - huge difference in speed. 10.2 was screaming.



    That was what? A month ago? At most. Speed is back down to the levels I originally was having with 10.1. Or maybe I have just gotten used to the small speed bumps 10.2 gives? This is on a Dual 500 with OEM radeon (QE is running).



    All I can say is the initial wipe and install is awesome. Things tend to slow down after that.
  • Reply 7 of 31
    producerproducer Posts: 283member
    hmmm...guess I will do a clean install without archiving since i will probably not have to do this again for another 18 months!



    So I have been backing up...I am going to deauthorize all my music apps on OS 9 since it is currently on the same partition and I am going to repartionion the drive into 2 partitions..

    then install 10.2 clean on one partition and then intall OS 9 on the other and then reninstall all my software and reauthorize my hardisks...



    I guess will also need to redo all my net configurations so I can get my dsl back up...



    then I am going to go to love@aol and find a hotbabe to chat with so I can test ichat..



    then I am going to bug the shit out of the music developers to get the rest of my software on OS X so i can dump OS 9 for good



    ok on to installing...
  • Reply 8 of 31
    thinkingdifferentthinkingdifferent Posts: 1,604member
    I've noticed the same thing. I upgraded my 550TiPB to 10.2 but I performed a clean install on my B&W mac. 10.2 on my B&W Mac certianly feels quicker.. BTW my B&W Mac is a 300Mhz G3..
  • Reply 9 of 31
    colonel paniccolonel panic Posts: 15member
    bad disk permissions can slowthings down and lead to spinning beachballs. for the archiev installs, might be worth tying "repair disk permissions" in Disk Utility to see if that gets you closer to clean install speed.
  • Reply 10 of 31
    shawnpatrickjoyceshawnpatrickjoyce Posts: 2,417member
    I've read here about hard drives being badly fragmented on a NEW machine...
  • Reply 11 of 31
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    I've got to second the opinion (or third...I lost count) that a clean install makes for a faster computer. BUT so will making a new user from scratch. I tried both.



    I had be using my same user since 10.0 pretty much, moving my library folder with me as I upgraded. So I decided I'd create a new user to see if that made any difference in speed. It made a huge difference. I then decided that I would just migrate my mail, music and documents over from my other account. I did, but permissions were all screwed up and for some reason my old user didn't get deleted right. Anyway, I've now done a clean install after all that and the speed is the same.



    So, an archive install and using a new user == clean install. Trust me. BTW, this was on my Ti667, 512 megs.



    The clean install option has made me happier though. I've gotten rid of a lot of excess stuff.
  • Reply 12 of 31
    dygysydygysy Posts: 182member
    When I upgraded from 10.1.5 to 10.2 I did a basic upgrade, I stupidly didn't even delete the other languages and printer files I didn't need.



    Even though 10.2 seems pretty speedy on my 933Mhz Powermac I'm sure doing a clean install would make it even faster.



    So I will do a clean install, I'll backup what I need to DVD and then do the clean install.



    My questions are, other than my home folder is there anything else I should be sure to backup?



    And if I want to reinstall OS 9.2.2, I know I should install it first, but a guy at my local Apple Store said I should enter it as a OS X extension (didn't quite understand what he meant).



    One last thing, I don't have any software that doesn't run on OS X, should I still install OS 9 or do you think it's safe to eliminate it?
  • Reply 13 of 31
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    Good questions.



    Anyone know why there's a speedup?
  • Reply 14 of 31
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    Based on my experiences (see my post earlier in the thread) and others' account of new users being a lot faster, I'd suspect it the result of some (possibly corrupt) preferences slowing things down. That's why a new user after an archive and install is just as fast as a clean install.



    Keep in mind, that if you just do a clean install and then restore your previous account (particularly your Library folder) from a backup, the system will be just as fast as it would have been with an archive and install. There is absolutely no technical reason why it would be any faster with a clean install if you do things that way. If it seems faster, it's just a matter of perception (unless the fragmented HD has something to do with it, which I doubt).
  • Reply 15 of 31
    mimacmimac Posts: 872member
    Heres a question..

    I want to do a clean install of jaguar but my superdrive mac came with iDVD and I don't want to lose it as it wont be included on Jag, so, do I drag and drop the iDVD icon to a cd and burn a copy and will this copy work ?
  • Reply 16 of 31
    stevesteve Posts: 523member
    There should be a disc that came with your Mac, which has all applications bundled with your system. iDVD is doubtlessly on that disc.
  • Reply 17 of 31
    rodukroduk Posts: 706member
    Thats enough about the clean install being faster than archive, now tell us some more about the holy cow. <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" />
  • Reply 18 of 31
    vistagovistago Posts: 54member
    I am a new mac user. When I bought my iMac Jag wasn't out yet - but it is being shipped to me via the Up to Date program. My question is - if I do a clean install - other then my personal files - what should I back up?



    Someone mentioned Library files???



    Vistago.
  • Reply 19 of 31
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    [quote]Originally posted by Vistago:

    <strong>I am a new mac user. When I bought my iMac Jag wasn't out yet - but it is being shipped to me via the Up to Date program. My question is - if I do a clean install - other then my personal files - what should I back up?



    Someone mentioned Library files???



    Vistago.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Just backup your home folder. Everything you need is in there. The way OS X is set up, you've got a Library folder located in [your home directory]/Library/. This folder has all your preferences and other various settings (like bookmarks, etc.). The system also has a Library folder, located in [HD root]/System/Library/. This folder you don't need to worry about because the only modifications that are made there are those by Apple. So, that will be fine when you do a clean install. There is also another Library folder, located at [HD root]/Library/. This is where applications make changes if they need to. So fonts for PS will go there, etc.



    In all, you've got 3 library folders on your computer. The only one you need to worry about is the one in your home directory. HTH.
  • Reply 20 of 31
    vistagovistago Posts: 54member
    That is SO much better then windows.
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