ken10820

Q: Get back to original performance

Is there a mac equivalent to the PC procedure of reformatting the hard drive and reinstalling the original operating system to get back its original performance?

iMac, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on May 14, 2012 8:53 AM

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Q: Get back to original performance

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  • by a brody,Helpful

    a brody a brody May 14, 2012 9:04 AM in response to ken10820
    Level 9 (66,781 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    May 14, 2012 9:04 AM in response to ken10820

    Yes, it is called Erase and Install.  Typically not necessary.  The first step is to backup your data at least twice:

    https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-1992

    Once done, we can look at what may be slowing you down.

  • by ken10820,

    ken10820 ken10820 May 14, 2012 9:13 AM in response to a brody
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 14, 2012 9:13 AM in response to a brody

    Thank for the response. Where would I find details about Erase and Install. Also - you say "typically not necessary" - what should I do before taking this step. Do you recommend Maccleaner or something like that?

  • by a brody,

    a brody a brody May 14, 2012 10:11 AM in response to ken10820
    Level 9 (66,781 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    May 14, 2012 10:11 AM in response to ken10820

    Nope...First backup your data, then we'll talk.

  • by ds store,

    ds store ds store May 14, 2012 11:00 AM in response to ken10820
    Level 7 (30,395 points)
    May 14, 2012 11:00 AM in response to ken10820

    What is your Mac model (iMac 7,2 for instance), how much RAM and what operating system are you running.

     

    Look under the Apple menu for details.

     

     

    Use this to help you understand backup methods,

     

    I'd advise the Basic Emergency Quick Copy method for now as your reporting problems, later if your machine is well then setup a TimeMachine drive or bootable clone.

     

    Most commonly used backup methods explained

  • by ken10820,

    ken10820 ken10820 May 15, 2012 5:51 PM in response to a brody
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 15, 2012 5:51 PM in response to a brody

    Sorry for the delay - two copies of backup done and I have Time Machine.

    Hardware Overview:

     

      Model Name:          iMac

      Model Identifier:          iMac5,1

      Processor Name:          Intel Core 2 Duo

      Processor Speed:          2.16 GHz

      Number Of Processors:          1

      Total Number Of Cores:          2

      L2 Cache:          4 MB

      Memory:          1 GB

      Bus Speed:          667 MHz

      Boot ROM Version:          IM51.0090.B09

      SMC Version (system):          1.9f4

      Serial Number (system):          W8******VUV

     

    <Edited by Host>

  • by a brody,

    a brody a brody May 15, 2012 5:55 PM in response to ken10820
    Level 9 (66,781 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    May 15, 2012 5:55 PM in response to ken10820

    First off, the serial number is never necessary on the forums and a moderator has been informed to edit it.  It is a late 2006 iMac, which is capable with 1 GB of RAM of taking on Snow Leopard, if you use the retail installer disc.

     

    It can also compatible with every retail release of 10.5, and shipped with some version of 10.4 that is labelled iMac Intel.       The retail 10.5 disc looks like and the retail 10.6 looks like .  Only those three discs can erase and install Mac OS X directly.   Before you go that route, do you still have a retail 10.5 to work with?  If you do, you can attempt boot off it with the startup manager in this article https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-2532 and select the language, and go to the Utilities menu.  From it you can repair disk using the Disk Utility's First Aid section.  If that repair disk is not able to repair disk, purchase Alsoft Disk Warrior.  And if it can't repair the disk, you may be forced to replace the hard drive.    If the disk can be repaired, make sure it isn't too full*: http://www.macmaps.com/diskfull.html and that permissions have been repaired with Applications -> Utilities -> Disk Utility. And lastly, you have addressed the Flashback malware, which was just addressed for 10.5.8 as of yesterday:

    https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3261

    If it is still running slow, then the question is, what is running slow?  And what software are you trying to run on your system?