clean reinstall of snow leopard

Personally, I use and like Lion, no complaints. Yes, there are others on here who complain about Lion but I happen to like it. If your goal is to go to Lion, there is no need to bother with reinstalling SL. But keep in mind if you are using PPC legacy software that uses Rosetta, the support for Rosetta has been dropped in Lion so none of that software will work under Lion.

You can do a clean install from the SL install disk...will do the erase for you. You can upgrade on-line from 10.6.3 to 10.6.8, but it is not automatic, you have to deliberately click on Sortware Update to then download and install hte update.

CESNET wrote:

I'm facing some problems with my Macbook mainly slow perf video freeze.

Your video issue is likely software related.

I have ran time machine, I have the DVD Snow Leopard 10.6.3.

Restoring TM will only return the software issue, so you'll need the 10.6.3 DVD

the question is simple and it's what's the best way to do it.

Backup your personal data off the machine to a regular storage drive (not TimeMachine) and disconnect all drives.

Follow these steps in order and stop when your issue is resolved.

1: Hold c boot off the 10.6 disk and under the Utilities menu is Disk Utility, use that version to Repair Disk and Repair Permissions, reboot and see if your problem continues, if it does proceed...

2: Hold c and boot off the 10.6 disk and this time simply reinstall OS X (just does OS X and bundled programs) and reboot. See if that works. (a few programs that install Kext files into OS X will have to be reinstalled)

3: If your problems continue, it's either a hardware issue or something inside your Applications or Users folder.

Create a new Admin user in System Preferences > Accounts and log into it, does your issue continue?

If your issue doesn't continue, you can use the Shared folder on the root directory ("/") to transfer files from one account to the other and delete the old user eventually.

4: If it continues, then your going to have to do a "wipe and install" of everything as a last resort. Hold c boot off the 10.6 disk and use Disk Utility to Erase your entire boot drive on the far left (has manufactures name and size) quit and install 10.6 fresh, create the same user name, log in and update to 10.6.8, then repeat step #1 to fix a drive issue the 10.6.8 update causes. Then install programs only from fresh sources, files from backup (not TimeMachine)

5: If your STILL having issues, it's certainly hardware/firmware related and the machine requires service at the Genius Bar.

Note: Your issue may be related to using the Mon. XT, reports it's not reliable.

CESNET wrote:

do I have to format my HHDD prior to the install or is there an option when installing so it do it as part of the installation?

if I have to format, please tell me how

also my current ver. is 10.6.8 while my DVD is 10.6.3. I guess once finished it will update automatically ¿isn'it?

Finally, at the price of Lion, I'm thinking about taking the oportunity to upgrade but I have read a lot of bad things about it. what would be your recomendation. how much is true, or how much is solved by now.

You don't HAVE to format your HDD before an install - the default Snow Leopard behaviour is to do an "Archive and Install" which preserves all your user settings, apps, and data. If you DO do a format you will lose all your data unless you have a recent backup.

To upgrade from 10.6.3 you run Software Update and choose what's called a 'Combo Update' which updates your system to 10.6.8 in one go.

Lion is only a good idea if you don't have any PowerPC applications which you rely on - these run in the PPC emulator called Rosetta, which is not supported in Lion. These apps include Adobe CS up to version ?3, Photoshop up to all but very recent versions, Elements up to version 6, Microsoft Office up to 2004, AppleWorks, and several other expensive apps. If you upgrade to Lion, these will not run.

The big changes in Lion are :

1. Versions (but you get something very similar with Time Machine already)

2. Resume, which opens apps exactly how you left them. Personally I'd only find that useful for Safari and Mail and guess what? You already get that.

3. Autosave - yes, I'd find that useful, but FileMaker has always done that. However, I'd like it for Office and TextEdit too.

4. Mission Control - not for me. Just a gimmicky dovetailing of Spaces, Dashboard and Exposé.

5. Full screen mode - maybe useful on MacBooks, but anyone with an iMac would find enough screen estate to have very large windows. Anyway I LIKE seeing other windows I can click on if I need to.

6. Mail - a much expanded app more in line with Windows Live Mail. That would be nice, yes. But not at the expense of losing all my Killer Apps with Rosetta's demise.

"You don't HAVE to format your HDD before an install - the default Snow Leopard behaviour is to do an "Archive and Install" which preserves all your user settings, apps, and data. If you DO do a format you will lose all your data unless you have a recent backup."

Actually, if you're trying to Install 10.6.3 over 10.6.8 I think you will need to erase first. I had to to get back from 10.6.6 on my MB.

Finally, at the price of Lion, I'm thinking about taking the opportunity to upgrade but I have read a lot of bad things about it. what would be your recommendation. how much is true, or how much is solved by now.

My opinion of Lion is it's Apple's "Vista" and represents a drastic downturn in the evolution of OS X into iOS X and a locked down operating system where mother Apple controls where you get your software from.

I suspect Intel processors are soon going bye bye on Mac's in favor of A5/A6 (quad core coming) like processors that is on iPads and iPhones, this would mean Apple has to restrict software performance to keep their performance down and not overheat. Superdrive and hard drives to disappear as well.

Benefits are thinner computers that are less expensive to make, have 3G options like iPads, return more margins for Apple on basically the same carrier kickback type deal on iPhones.

Lion represents a transitional OS X between desktop UI and what's coming next in OS 10.8, heck it might not even be called OSX anymore.

Since 10.6 represents the best software range option for Mac users, the ability to run Rosetta based programs of 10.5/10.6 and printer drivers, scanners etc. If you can stay on 10.6 I would until Apple settles down with what's in store in the next few years concerning hardware, or risk buying allnew machines and software prematurely.

Apple is a hardware company and they already have burned their bridges with PowerPC users with mere four year old machines by not updating 10.5 for security and stability updates (Microsoft moves slower, still supports 10 year old XP), kind of forcing them to buy all new hardware to run current software, they are doing it again by not allowing Lion on 32 bit Intel processors and likely are going to do it yet again somehow with Intel processors as they switch to A5/A6/A7 or whatever.

So in the mist of so much radical hardware change to come again, I've decided to stay on stable 10.6 where there is plenty of software, rather than Lion where there isn't as much third party software as developers also see the hardware change coming and are waiting things out.

How you see things and what your needs are are different than mine, you migh be able to accept radical hardware, software and UI changes, I buy Mac's for their longterm stability and reliability, which unfortunately is no longer the case as it used to be, unless you chose to stop falling for Apple's latest changes.

As always my opinion is my own and I'm absolutely fed up with Apple's constant changes.

I have friend who's $1200 desktop PC has leasted 10 years and finally has to get a new one, I've spend close to $15,000 on Apple hardware in the same time period because of all the "changes".

Change is fine, it's just not supporting the older hardware with OS updates and features that annoys me lately about Apple, they just burn their bridges way too often.

Sorry about the rant. 😝

I suppose the other way to look at it is that Apple prefer to develop the latest cutting-edge technology and develop software that will take advantage of it. Hence the switch to Intel, and the past switches away from floppy disks (anyone miss them?) to USB, to FireWire, now to Thunderbolt, etc.

I've also been annoyed when apps I relied on wouldn't run in Leopard (no more Classic), nor that I've had to buy an Intel Core i5 that I had to get the reseller to replace Lion with SL on (no more Rosetta).

However, third-party software often proves much more the villain of the piece than Apple's. Look at it this way - almost the latest version of Safari (5.1) will also run on PPC Macs in Tiger. So will iTunes 10 (though not the very latest), so will Leopard and therefore Mail 2. Leopard doesn't look a lot different than SL, which was optimised specially for Intel Macs anyway. So Apple to a great extent does look after its heritage users, certainly as far as Safari, iTunes, Mail, and quite recent versions of iLife and iWork are concerned.

I can't see Apple abandoning the coolest and best desktops and laptops on the planet by 'nudging' them towards the iOS. I really can't. Remember - Apple laptops are all over the place now. Probably first port-of-call for most laptop buyers.

I do agree with you about one thing though. I think the next release (pure guesswork, moderators - I'm not in the business of starting or spreading rumours, ok? 😉) will see a Finder so radically redesigned that it won't be OSX anymore, possibly OSXI ? But Macs are just too powerful to go down the iOS route, and long may it remain so. I should hope that Apple's aim will be to get the iPad more in line with the Mac, not the other way around.