Thanksgivingbomb

Q: Moving files from a Time Machine backup manually vs restoring from a Time Machine backup

I have read several articles saying that contemporary Macs and OSs are built such that they clean themselves up - defragmentation, general sweeping, etc. I was told by the Genius, however, that there are many little files that are left lying around after installs, uninstalls, file making, and file deletion that will gum up the works. He recommended that I set up my computer as though it's brand new and manually transfer files over from my Time Machine backup folder on my ExtHD.

 

Because I couldn't find a discussion of this specific topic online, I thought I'd bring it to the community myself. Is there an advantage to setting up the computer from scratch and manually moving the files (provided I use Migration Assistant for applications)?

 

For background:  My Mac was running slowly, and after doing some research and talking to a "Genius", I thought it would be wise to reformat my HD and restore my system. Aside from sluggish performance, I was experiencing strange symptoms - like free disk space remaining the same even after deleting huge files, permissions errors, etc. I tried doing a permissions repair (a process I'd been told to do before when experiencing issues, even though I never knew what that really did), and read that I should verify my disk as well. Disk Utility told me that I had to reboot from the repair disk to perform the necessary repairs. The repair disk Disk Utility told me that my disk had some major issues and needed to be reformatted and restored.

 

HOURS LATER: I am back up and running now and Disk Utility is showing the appropriate amount of free disk space.

MacBook Pro, 17", Mac OS X (10.5.1), 2.16 GHz, 2GB RAM

Posted on May 29, 2014 1:24 PM

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Q: Moving files from a Time Machine backup manually vs restoring from a Time Machine backup

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  • by dianeoforegon,Helpful

    dianeoforegon dianeoforegon May 29, 2014 1:44 PM in response to Thanksgivingbomb
    Level 5 (5,487 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 29, 2014 1:44 PM in response to Thanksgivingbomb

    Let's start with some basics.

     

    Check under the Apple in the Menu bar About this Mac > More Info

     

    How much Memory do you have installed?

    What size is our hard drive and how much free space?

     

    You'll find the term Genius does not necessarily mean they are expert. Even on this forum, you'll find varying difference of opinions and levels of expertise.

     

    I have read several articles saying that contemporary Macs and OSs are built such that they clean themselves up - defragmentation, general sweeping, etc.

     

    This is true. Apps like MacKeeper, CleanMyMac, TuneUpMyMac, Washing Machine or anything like these apps might appear to be helpful, can do too more harm than good. As a result of the 'cleanup' it can leave your Mac non-functional Mac. The forums are full of users with computers that no longer work correctly after running these so call 'cleaners'

     

    https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4171

     

    Your Mac runs maintenance in the background for you > Mac OS X: About background maintenance tasks

     

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2319

     

     

    I was told by the Genius, however, that there are many little files that are left lying around after installs, uninstalls, file making, and file deletion that will gum up the works.

     

    I'm going to disagree here. Get rid of the installer from downloads after installing. After removing an app, most of the little files do no harm and take up very little space. However some applications mostly crapware/cleaners will leave files that continue to run silently in the background takeing up resources.

     

    Don't install stuff you don't really need. There is no magic bullet to clean up your messes.

  • by Thanksgivingbomb,

    Thanksgivingbomb Thanksgivingbomb May 29, 2014 1:57 PM in response to dianeoforegon
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 29, 2014 1:57 PM in response to dianeoforegon

    I have 8GB ram and a 750GB internal. Before I did the reformat & restore, I was showing only 74GB free, even after deleting over 100GB worth of files. After the restore, Disk Utility and System Information both show 295GB free.

     

    Re Geniuses: that's why I had the term in quotes... ; )

     

    On my previous Mac I had a bad experience with a sweeper my dad recommended. Left me dead in the water just like you said. I swore a silent oath to never endorse a program that purports to trim my Mac down ever again.

     

    So if I understand you correctly: now that I restored from my Time Machine backup, my Mac is as clean as it's going to be (unless I do some more manual file deletion myself).

     

    Provided that Disk Utility gives my disk a clean bill of health, I am hoping that reformat & restore fixed the issues I was having.

  • by benwiggy,Helpful

    benwiggy benwiggy May 29, 2014 2:06 PM in response to Thanksgivingbomb
    Level 4 (1,430 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 29, 2014 2:06 PM in response to Thanksgivingbomb

    Do you actually have a problem? "Lots of little files" are not in themselves a problem.

    Unless your computer is slowing down or something, then a clean install and migration is pointless.

     

    Repair Permission is not the fix-all for every problem: it does very little and is not a routine or occasional maintenance task.

     

    I've never done a clean install since 2002, and migrated all my apps and data over across five Macs. No problems here.

  • by Thanksgivingbomb,

    Thanksgivingbomb Thanksgivingbomb May 29, 2014 2:13 PM in response to benwiggy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 29, 2014 2:13 PM in response to benwiggy

    My computer was really slowing down and I couldn't figure out why. When I used Disk Utility to verify the disk, I got a message saying I couldn't complete it unless I booted from the repair partition. I did that and attempted the verify process again and it told me I needed to reformat and restore. After doing the restore, my computer seems like it's running faster, but I didn't/don't know how to run a diagnostic to check for sure.

     

    I ask about the little files because the "Genius" told me that restoring from the Time Machine backup would bring all the unnecessary gunk along with the desirable files. I know that devices will seem to slow down after a few years as new software is written for the latest, most powerful hardware, so maybe that's part of what I'm experiencing. It's good to know that your migration across multiple computers still has you going strong. I was always told to start from scratch, but there was so much re-setting up to do that migrating would be a much nicer option.

    Repair Permission is not the fix-all for every problem: it does very little and is not a routine or occasional maintenance task.

    Is there a routine maintenance task that one ought to run? Or does Apple pretty much take care of that for us automatically now?

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root May 29, 2014 2:23 PM in response to Thanksgivingbomb
    Level 9 (71,411 points)
    iTunes
    May 29, 2014 2:23 PM in response to Thanksgivingbomb

    Apple pretty much takes care of it automatically.

  • by dianeoforegon,

    dianeoforegon dianeoforegon May 29, 2014 2:33 PM in response to Thanksgivingbomb
    Level 5 (5,487 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 29, 2014 2:33 PM in response to Thanksgivingbomb

    Backup is critical if your data is important. Apple gives you Time Machine but you have to buy an external drive. I also suggest a clone backup in addition to Time Machine. Just like a seat belt and an air bag protect you in different ways when driving, you need both Time Machine and a clone for full protection.

     

    Other than using the combo updater when Apple releases an OS X update, Apple takes care of routine maintenance as described in the link I provided. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2319

     

    MORE INFO ON WHY RUNNING COMBO FIXES ISSUES

     

    Apple updates available from the Software Update application are incremental updates. Delta updates are also incremental updates and are available from Apple Downloads (software updates are generally smaller than delta updates). The Combo updates contain all incremental updates and will update files that could have become corrupted.

     

    Combo updaters will install on the same version as they're applying--no need to roll back or do a clean install. So if you think you've got a borked 10.8.4 install from a regular update, just run the 10.8.4 Combo Updater on that system.

     

    "Delta" updaters can only take you from one version to the next. For example: 10.9.1 to 10.9.2. If somehow the 10.9.2 is missing something it should have, and that something isn't changed between 10.9.1 and 10.9.2 it will still be stale after the delta update.