Complete erase and reinstall of a mid-2007 iMac possible?

Question

Complete erase and reinstall of a mid-2007 iMac possible?

I'm saving for a new iMac but, until then, I need to keep my current mid-2007 model going.

I'm not familiar with all the lingo, so I hope you'll excuse any mistakes I make asking this question! I did a complete erase and reinstall on this iMac several years ago and all went well. But, I'm wondering about now. Now, it runs very slowly, taking 20 seconds or so to go from page to page. I can't watch streaming videos in Firefox anymore because the video freezes for a few seconds about twice a minute. I've tried a complete re-install of Firefox to fix this but it didn't work.

#1. Will a complete erase and reinstall of my mid-2007 iMac speed up the computer at all? (I'm still going ahead and doing it, but I'm just wondering...)

#2. Most importantly, I think Leopard was the original OS on this model. How do I upgrade to the current OS without having to buy the inbetween OS's again?

#3. Lastly, is there a site that will give me a detailed "How To" list for a step by step erase and reinstall?

Any hints, tips, advice or warnings would be greatly appreciated.

iMac

Posted on Oct 17, 2015 9:32 AM

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Answer 1

poikkeus1

Level 4

2,474 points

Oct 17, 2015 10:22 AM in response to Simple Living

1. A complete erase and reinstall typically improves performance on older machines. First, it gets rid of old software that slows down performance; second, you'll typically be using a DVD installer of a previous OS, which can't help but be faster.

2. I don't know the original OS, but if you still have the disks, they should work fine. If you don't have the disks, you can order them from Apple; they can also confirm which OS you had on your machine. If you're doing a complete erase and install, you're going to end up with the OS that came with your machine; you update from there. I hope you have the installer disks.

3. Erase and install instructions for Mountain Lion:http://macs.about.com/od/macoperatingsystems/ss/Perform-A-Clean-Install-Of-Os-X- Lion-On-Your-Mac.htm

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Answer 2

Oct 17, 2015 10:44 AM in response to Simple Living

If things are as slow as you say, when things are slow, take a look at the Console messages

(Applications->Utilities->Console) and see if there are a lot of recurring error messages when you

see the slowdown.

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Answer 3

Oct 17, 2015 11:58 AM in response to poikkeus1

Thanks for responding. This is very close to what I need but I think I need to clarify what I need help with.

I checked and my mid-2007 iMac came with Tiger. When I do an erase and install, it will install Tiger again. I currently have Maverick and, after my reinstall, upgrade to El Capitan. How do I get to El Capitan? There were some free OS upgrades along the way, but I know there were one or two that I had to purchase BEFORE I could upgrade any further. I did purchase them, obviously, but I don't want to have to purchase them again to upgrade again. (This is precisely why I like DISKS and NOT digital upgrades!)

I don't have Mountain Lion currently, so I don't know if your erase and reinstall instructions would apply. ???

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Answer 4

Oct 17, 2015 11:59 AM in response to woodmeister50

Thanks Woodmeister. I went there but there's so much there I have no idea what any of it is. I'm afraid it's a bit out of my depth, not being much of a techie.

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Answer 5

Oct 17, 2015 1:39 PM in response to Simple Living

Never mind. I found this page and will try the instructions on it for

Erase your drive and install OS X

How to reinstall OS X on your Mac - Apple Support

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