Archive and Install...the aftermath

I recently performed an archive and install. I checked the option to "Preserve home user and network settings", so all of my documents, pictures, movies, music, user settings, iTunes/iPhoto libraries, internet favourites, address book contacts et cetera were RIGHT where I left them after the procedure, which was handy. However, certain things (library files, and duplicates of Mac OS X applications) are now in the "Previous System" folder. Certain articles I have come across online lead me to believe that I can delete this folder. But I'm not so sure I've got everything back yet. Here's my question:
Certain widgets that I have installed that didn't come with OS X are missing, because they are in
Previous System/Library/Widgets
as opposed to
/Library/Widgets
When I tried moving them, it failed, because it said that the folder "Widgets" can't be modified. The dialogue box gave me the option to Authenticate (rather than just clicking OK), but when I clicked Authenticate, nothing happened (and I do mean nothing). Is this just a quirk? Do have to simply download the widgets from the web again? Or is something else wrong?

you might be able to use Terminal and UNIX commands to migrate files from the archived System, but I think it's safer to reinstall any missing/non-functional apps. While most are standalone and easy to find the needed files, some may have special file locations that aren't obvious and you might miss them, the original installer will put all the app's supporting files in the correct locations.
For example: WireTap Pro contains an .app in your Applications folder, but also needs a kernel extension somewhere in the System folder. If you did an archive and install this would wipe out the kernel extension and the .app would no longer work. Who knows how every single .app/Widget stores their needed files? If one is missing and doesn't work, just reinstall it.
Maybe in the event that the installed .app is not available on disc or the internet, then you have no other option but to go digging in the archived System and pull out all the bits and pieces to try to get it working again. I would wait to delete the archived System until you know you have all your existing third-party apps working again, just to be safe.

Similar Messages

Can I partition my HD when I Archive and Install the OS?

I may need to perform an Archive and Install of OS X 10.6 due to some glitches, and this was recommended by an Apple tech support. If I do go through with this (hassle), does anyone know whether it is possible, to choose at that time to create a 2nd partition on my HD? I have a new MacBook Pro and during the installation/migration process of retrieving my data and transferring it from a backup HD to the new computer, I did not have an opportunity to create a 2nd (or more) partition. Anyone know if this is possible when doing an Archive & Install without a lot of hassle?
Thanks!

Tara Hollander wrote:
I may need to perform an Archive and Install of OS X 10.6 due to some glitches, and this was recommended by an Apple tech support.
If you understood Apple's support people correctly, they seem to be a bit confused. Snow Leopard doesn't have an "Archive and Install" option. It has an upgrade install method. You can also launch Disk Utility early in the installation process to do the equivalent of an "Erase and Install" method.
If I do go through with this (hassle), does anyone know whether it is possible, to choose at that time to create a 2nd partition on my HD?
As soon as the installation process shows you a "Utility" menu, open Disk Utility and use it to partition the computer's disk. After the installation, copy your data from the backup drive.

The immense hassle of archive and install

I had to do an archive and install the other day; and while it solved my main problem, I happen to have hundreds of plug ins and add ons and sounds etc.
So when I create my previous system folder, with its 3 'Libraries' I inevitably put things in the wrong places.
So its all day reinstalling loads and loads of software.
An entire day.
What am I doing wrong; is there a simpler way to put important things back where they belong from previous to new system folder, or will I be vexed with always having to reinstall tons of important software and plugins.
thanks

Hi newmacG5,will I be vexed with always having to reinstall tons of important software and plugins.It sounds like you plan to do this often If your Libraries were messed up, you are betting off installing the software and plug-ins.
In the future, you can back up your Users to DVD which would be helpful. But an external hard drive is your best backup solution. Make sure it is firewire and that it is "bootable". Two good brands are the LaCie d2 and OtherWorldComputing's Mercury Elite drive.
You can use SuperDuper(Free for cloning) to clone your entire drive to an external firewire drive.
I keep mine with a complete clone of my internal, that way it is easy to boot from the external and run utilities like Disk Utility, TechToolPro, DiskWarrior, etc. on the internal and vice versa.
This way, if diaster ever strikes, you can even just start up from your external and keep right on working. Then, clone back to the internal when you have time.
Good luck.
-mj
[email protected]

Spell check issue after 'archive and install'

hi,
after doing an 'archive and install', the apple spell check doesn't work no more. whatever program i use with the spell check activated will give me a failure notice as soon as i start typing "spell check could not be detected" (or sthg similar, i get the message in german). the result is a close-to-freeze of that program until i 'okay' the notification.
anybody an idea how to properly (re-)instal the spell check so that my OS recognizes it?
thanks and greets!

Get Pacifist...
http://www.charlessoft.com/
then extract what you need from your Install Disk.
Or try reinstalling like the last big Combo update...
The combo update for PowerPC-based Macs...
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosx10411comboupdateppc.html
The combo update for Intel-based Macs...
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosx10411comboupdateintel.html
Repair Permissions afterwords, reboot.

Excessive HD usage after archive and install.

After I did an archive and install, the HD is usage is up to 70 something from 60 something gigs. I was warned that 15+ gigs would be needed to install OSX, but I was under the impression that it was temporary and would be deleted after it was done. Can I go delete something manually?

No, nothing is deleted automatically. The Previous System Folder conyains your old system until you delete it.

Installing leopard as an 'archive and install' and problems!

I have just made and archive and install of leopard on my macbook and although the programme told me the installing had been accomplished without problems, the computer could not start up. Instead of starting up it entered a sort of loop where it displayed the Mac apple and had a weel spinning for some minutes, then the screen went black as if it restarted the computer and then it went back to the mac apple on a grey/blue background and the spinning weel.
Can anybody help me with this problem? What has gone wrong and how can a save my computer!

This is just my disaster day! I finally managed to get Leopard installed, but despite the fact that I did an 'archive and install' the installation process had not kept my files intact - most of my work files have gone it seems and the Leopard did start all over keeping none of my settings at all.
I have now looked in the previous systems folder and only some files and settings are seemingly stored, but I don't know how to 'reinstall' them on my computer.
I must admit that Mac very much resembles macrisoft products in this case. What a disaster!

Forgot to 'Preserve New User' in Archive and Install

I archived and installed the other day and forgot to 'preserve new user' while doing it. Now when I log in, there is nothing anywhere on the desktop. No HD, no finder, no links to app's, just the blue background. I have no idea where to go from here, I've tried numerous ideas and nothing has worked. Including running DW, repairing permissions, repairing disk, reseting the Mac Mini, booting with no devices attached, even re-installing. Is there maybe a terminal command to move files to the desktop that can be used? I have so much important stuff, I really should have made a back up by now.
Thanks for helping.

Hi,
yeah when i put * in the set online filter i am able to see the users which i have created in weblogic. After all the users appear then i select Action-> close. Now again when i try to cross check it once again i again clicked on manage->indentity->now i dont see the users. what could be the issue?
Thanks,
RM

Archive and install: can't seem to do it

Mail 2.1.3, for incomprehensible reasons, has stopped download new emails from my hosting service. Nothing has changed, except for the get mail_ problem.
I decided to reinstall my system, so that I could get a clean copy of Mail. When I used the original 10.4 install disc and chose Archive and Install, the disc went through all the motions, including the creation of a Previous Systems folder. After restarting, however, the machine booted off a different hard drive, and the re-installed disk still had 10.4.11.
What happened, and how can I force this re-installation?
Thanks.

How to Archive & Install:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120
This document explains how to correctly reinstall a prior version of Mac OS X in the event that other troubleshooting does not resolve an issue:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25404
BUT: Don't install older versions of Mac OS than what comes with your computer:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25497
But before you do all that, check your settings in System Preferences/Network, as well as your account settings in Mail.

"The application Safari has unexpectedly quit." / "Archive and Install"

...The system and other applications have not been affected.
Would you like to submit a bug report to Apple?
I was working on my eMac last night when all of a sudden Safari shut down. I tried to open it again and I kept getting the above error message.
At first, I thought this was no big deal, as I just downloaded Mozilla Firefox. However, it seems that whatever error caused this corruption in Safari has also affected my MSN Messenger, and a few other internet related Apps.
I don't know if any of you have come across this problem before, but it would be greatly appreciated if you could email me your suggestions to fixing this problem.
I called Apple support, and the lady suggest looking for a way to "archive and install preserving" so that I don't lose any of my important files. I'm sure that this might fix my problem as well.
Please let me know if you have a solution for me!!
Eric.

Eric Jackson Wood,
Welcome to the Apple Discussions!
Doing an Archive and Install because Safari unexpectedly quit is roughly akin to using several sticks of dynamite to take out a housefly in the kitchen. How much RAM does your Mac have, and how long had Safari been running continuously before the quit? Safari does have a known memory leak problem (the Safari 3 beta may have fixed that; too soon to tell for sure); if you have a minimal amount of RAM (256 MB or less), run multiple applications simultaneously, and leave Safari running for several hours, you can expect Safari to bog down. If you then try to load some types of web page constructs, the unexpectedly quit message isn't quite so unexpected. (Quitting and relaunching Safari every few hours is a viable workaround; in sever cases you may need to restart the computer as well.)
How were other Internet apps affected? Slowdowns, unable to connect, unable to find sites, or what? What version of MSN Messenger are you using? (MSN Messenger isn't known for being overly robust in the first place.) If a number of online utilities all begin to act strange at the same time, my first suspect would be the local network and the ISP. Is the problem still persistent after restarting the computer and after several hours (to allow the ISP to fix any glitches on their end)?
If Safari continues to misbehave, launch Safari and before going to any website, try going to the Safari menu and select the commands to reset Safari and clear cache, then restart Safari and see it that helps. If you have Safari set to open going to a homepage rather than opening a blank page, first move /Users/ [your_username]/ Library/ Preferences/ com.apple.Safari.plist to the Desktop before launching Safari to reset it and clear its caches. If Safari then works, you can quit it and try moving you previous preferences back; if Safari begins acting up again, trash the old preferences and re-enter your desired settings in a newly-created preferences file.

Hey Guys. I have a 1st gen dual 2.3 powerPC G5. I just recently upgraded my OS to Leopard 10.5. I cannot for the life of me, get FlashPlayer to work. I Downloaded and installed the archived 10_1r102_64 version, but it still doesn't work. Help?

Hey Guys. I have a 1st gen dual 2.3 powerPC G5. I just recently upgraded my OS to Leopard 10.5. I cannot for the life of me, get FlashPlayer to work. I Downloaded and installed the archived 10_1r102_64 version, but it still doesn't work.
Everytime I click on a video it says I need to update to the newest version of flash, but my computer doesn't support the updated version. So I feel like I'm in a Catch-22.
Any suggestions?

Jay, you may very well be up a creek without a paddle.
See in each Browser which version of Flash it thinks it has...
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/155/tn_15507.html
Then Test Adobe Shockwave & Flash Players...
http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/welcome/
If it in fact says you do have 10.1.102.64, & some sites say you need higher, it is a catch 22.

I'm a Pro Tools user, who just did an "Archive and Install" installation of 10.5.8 over my 10.4.11 on my 2 Ghz G5, now Pro Tools won't launch. I checked the extensions folder and sure enough, the digidesign extensions were left behind. Can I revert back

I'm a Pro Tools user, who just did an "Archive and Install" installation of 10.5.8 over my 10.4.11 on my 2 Ghz G5, now Pro Tools won't launch. I checked the extensions folder and sure enough, the digidesign extensions were left behind. Can I revert back to the "Archive" of my 10.4.11 System from the "Previous Systems" folder? If not, what's the point of creating the "archive"?

Did you select "Preserve User Settings"?
Archive and Install installation automatically moves existing system files to a folder named Previous System, then installs Mac OS X again. (See tip 3.) You cannot start up your computer using a Previous System folder, nor can you "re-bless" the Previous System folder. (See tip 1.)
You can choose to preserve your user and network settings before installing. This option automatically moves existing users, Home directories, and network settings. This also skips the Setup Assistant after installation.
Note: Because the "Preserve user and network settings" option moves, not copies, existing users, Home directories, and network settings, from the Previous Systems folder to the newly installed System, these items will not exist in the Previous Systems folder after the Archive and Install is complete.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1710
Read this:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2196
BTW, it is never recommended to do a major OS change without having a full, bootable backup.

TS1394 Can't re-install Leopard. Trying to reinstall the OS because computer locks up. It is a 2008 iMac that came with Leopard. Upgraded to Snow Leopard. Tried to archive and install from original DVD that came with iMac. Installation failed, so tri

Computer locks up, so I want to reinstall the OS. I had upgraded to Snow Leopard.
Tried to do an archive and install from the DVD that came with the computer, but that failed.
Tried to do an erase and install, but the install stops somewhere near the end, 13 minutes to go. Tried several times, same result.
Can't reboot from the install disk, it just ejects the disk and I get the flashing question mark.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.

I think my hard drive is toast. When I boot in single user mode, I get the following text:
CSRHID Transition Driver: start booting in single user... will wait for window server
Then the following text appears, repeating itself over and over, except that the numbers (indicated by "xxxxxxx")
SAM Multimedia: READ or WRITE failed, SENSE_KEY = 0x03, ASC = 0x02, ASCQ = 0x00
SAM Multimedia: READ or WRITE failed, SENSE_KEY = 0x03, ASC = 0x02, ASCQ = 0x00
disk1s3: I/O error.
0[level 3] [READUID 0] [Facility com.apple.system.fs] [ErrType IO] [Err No 51] [IDType READ] [PB1kNum xxxxxxxxx] [LB1kNum 0] [FSLogMsgID xxxxxxx] [FSLogMsgOrder First]
0[Level 3] [READUID 0] [Facility com.apple.system.fs] [FSLogMsgID xxxxxxxxxx] [FSLogMsgOrder Last]
These messages keep repeating with the numbers (xxxxxxxxx) changing with each iteration.
Does this indicate a bad hard drive?
Thanks.

Archive and Install, Does it format the whole disk

If I ran an archive and install on my macbook, would it give me the option to reformat and repartition the entire hard disk, or only the volume where Leopard is currently installed. So if i have three partitions on my hard drive right now, one Leopard, one Ubuntu and one swap, and I did an archive and install, would it wipe out all three of those partitions and just make one big Mac partition again?

podsorcerer wrote:
If I ran an archive and install on my macbook, would it give me the option to reformat and repartition the entire hard disk, or only the volume where Leopard is currently installed. So if i have three partitions on my hard drive right now, one Leopard, one Ubuntu and one swap, and I did an archive and install, would it wipe out all three of those partitions and just make one big Mac partition again?
no. archive and install is done on one partition only and that partition has to have os x installed. in any event it won't touch any other partitions. that's true for any kind of install you do. there is disk utility on the leopard install dvd and you can use it to reformat and repartition the entire drive if you want but the installer itself doesn't do that.

Where is the "Archive" file from "Archive and install"?

I did an Archive and install when I upgraded to 10.5. I also made a bootable clone (external HD) of my Tiger.
Now, I'd like to know where the Archive file is? And is it ok to delete?
Need to free space on my internal HD.
Thanks

Open the folder Previous Systems on your hard disk, go through the highest numbered or most recent folder for items you want to keep; once done, throw it away and empty the Trash.
(25395)

Does "Archive and Install" really exists on the Snow Leopard install DVD ?

Well, Mr Magoo really needs your help.
I have an iMac late 2009 edition and the Snow Leopard DVD installer discs.
Reading the little baby paper book manual that came with the discs and the iMac it says on page 54 that i can re-install Snow Leopard by choosing "Archive and Install" or "Erase and Install".
Mr Magoo just can't find that "Archive and Install" choice and have concluded that this is a very bad reprint of a manual from years long ago when it was possible to archive and install or it some joke by Apple.
Unfortunately my 90 days of phone talk to Apple has expired albeit the two year warranty under apple sometimes care program i purchased is still valid.
Help/suggestions on how i can get to do an Archive and Install with the Snow Leopard installer DVD that came with this iMac ?

Dave Sawyer wrote:
You misunderstand what Carolyn wrote. In Snow Leopard, Apple engineered the installer so that any reinstallation over an existing copy is in essence an "archival" install in the sense that it replaces all the OS files while automatically preserving the applications and user settings, just as the old "archive and install" option did, though no longer with the option to not preserve the user settings. So all installations over an existing OS are in essence "archive and install", so Apple removed the extra, now-redundant option.
They also removed the "Erase and Install" option. The only way you get a "complete fresh" installation is if you use Disk Utility to erase the drive. Otherwise the 10.6 installer will install a new set of OS files but not remove your apps and user settings.
If you want to reinstall Mac OS X 10.6 and keep your applications and user settings and data, just do a normal installation over the existing one. If you want to do a completely fresh installation, either starting completely new or restoring user data from a backup, first run Disk Utility from the Utilities menu and erase the drive.
Well, have you tried an Snow Leopard installation on top of a previously installed Snow Leopard.
I must really be an idiot in using the snow leopard installer.
I loaded the optical slot with the Snow Leopard DVD installer and after it opened up on the desk top i double clicked the install icon. That restarted my iMac.
When I launched the installer after selecting my "Language" and then going thru the customization ( for example I don't need all those foreign languages ) and then selecting the drive to carry out the installation the installation starts.
Upon completion all my third party applications were zapped and i only had the Apple applications. There was no "previous" system folder as there used to be in previous operating system installers.
So, honestly, I have no idea how you folks manage to make an Snow Leopard installation over a previously installed Snow Leopard whereby all the third party applications are still there.
Please tell me the steps i should take to make an "archival" install over top of a previously installed Snow Leopard that retains all third party applications.
After my install of Snow Leopard I had to re-install all my third party software applications which in my case are mainly midi/audio programs.

Archive and Install...the aftermath

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