OS clean install, time machine and old files

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bigboy529

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Hi all
So a noob question as this is the first time I'll be doing a clean install of Mac OS on my machine since owning a Mac.
I have Timemachine backups which will make restoring all my data after the clean install seamless according to what I read. However from what I read Timemachine will restore all apps, settings etc, but is this really then a clean install?
I guess it will also restore old preference files and things, stuff that's not used anymore and which acumilated over years of use, but isn't the whole point of a clean install to get rid of that old and unused things to have a fast, streamlined machine again?

So should I rather manually restore all my documents, music, and pictures from my external drive after the clean install even though this will be more effort and take more time, or is the Timemachine process smart enough to only restore essential and used files?
 
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A colleague got a new Mac, attached to Timemachine and then got the choice of whether to restore the existing backup, or start a new one. He chose the existing one, and it restored everything; documents, network settings, email settings, the lot. It was just like his old Mac, which was what he wanted, but if you are looking for a fresh start, I suggest manually restoring only what you want.
 
If you don't have a whole lot of things to restore, manually selecting file will be okay. But if you have lots, then you'll be in trouble. Also having to reinstall and reactivate/ register certain apps count against a clean install.
 
Stop using the ridiculous Time Machine
Get Carbon Copy Cloner or Suer Duper.
These will save your bacon guaranteed.
And u can choose how, when and what files u need backed up AND restored at any time
All my Mac Pros and Macbook Pros have CCC installed and its are truly a Godsend
 
mastermamo said:
Stop using the ridiculous Time Machine
Get Carbon Copy Cloner or Suer Duper.
These will save your bacon guaranteed.
And u can choose how, when and what files u need backed up AND restored at any time
All my Mac Pros and Macbook Pros have CCC installed and its are truly a Godsend
Click to expand...

Why is Time Machine "ridiculous"?
 
Time Machine doesn't back up everything. And it won't let u completely clone your drive. It's Apples version of a backup. Try CCC. Trust me it's the best thing since sliced bread
 
mastermamo said:
Time Machine doesn't back up everything. And it won't let u completely clone your drive. It's Apples version of a backup. Try CCC. Trust me it's the best thing since sliced bread
Click to expand...

It backs up everything for me. I've used Time Machine to backup and restore my Macs without missing anything. What exactly does it leave out?

Even if that is so, Disk Utility can image a drive perfectly fine.
 
vinodh said:
It backs up everything for me. I've used Time Machine to backup and restore my Macs without missing anything. What exactly does it leave out?

Even if that is so, Disk Utility can image a drive perfectly fine.
Click to expand...

Like I mentioned time machine backs up almost everything. If u r restoring back to the same drive that was faulty or u r just doing a clean backup to the same drive u will be ok. If, however u r restoring to another drive or maybe doing a clone Time Machine leaves out certain user preferences. This especially holds true for licensing of lots of software especially Adobe products. However CCC will clone a drive and create a 100% identical copy of EVERYTHING. Time machine doesn't clone, it simply copies what's most needed and leaves out certain items Apple and software vendors feel are limited per machine due to the unique UUID and MAC address each machine has. Hope this makes sense and explains the difference between TM and CCC
 
Makes sense then. My Adobe stuff runs off Creative Cloud so licensing is not an issue.

Also, Time Machine is a backup solution, not a disk imaging solution. Disk Utility will image drives perfectly fine if you need to duplicate drives. I prefer using built-in tools wherever possible unless there's a specific feature that they don't have.

Something else that also works really well when it comes to installing OS X/MacOS without having to re-install all your apps is AutoDMG. You can build custom installers that have all your apps integrated into OS X/MacOS.
 
If you are doing a clean install, TimeMachine should be fine. The other restores might just put a lot of crap back that you didn't need.
 
I always keep a CCC backup drive which gets incrementally backed up every day in the event the main OS drive fails or gets corrupted. I love the incremental backups and it can be automated. To say it's saved my a$$ a few times would be an understatement. Built in tools are ok but some really lack added functionality
 
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