Deleting Previous System Folder

Hello again,
I'm upgrading from Panther to Tiger on my Power Book G4. After I finish making a clone of my current hard drive, I plan to upgrade to Tiger by doing a Clean Archive Reinstall, preserve all network and system preferences settings. What I want to know is can I delete my Previous System Folder once I have upgraded to Tiger 10.4.11?
Can someone let me know?
Thank you
Phil

Yes. However, you may find that some information in the /Library/ folder may not be moved automatically during the Archive and Install. In particular you want to check these:
/Library/Application Support/
/Library/Preferences/
/Library/StartupItems/
/Library/InputManagers/
/Library/PreferencePanes/
These may contain items installed by third-party software that you will have to move manually from the PSF.
If you have Palm software installed there will also be one or two Palm related folders that you will need to transfer.
Once you are satisfied that you have everything then drag the PSF to the Trash and empty. If you get any warnings then simply restart the computer and then empty the Trash.

Similar Messages

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    Hi all!
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    However, when I search for the odd message, many say this:
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    Thank you!
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    Sounds like your Mail index is corrupted. To create a new one, do this:
    1. Quit Mail.
    2. Go to Home/Library/Mail and remove the Envelope Index file to your Desktop.
    3. Start Mail and let it import your messages. When that's done, you should be able to go back to those old messages and see the entire message again.
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  • Deleted Previous System Folder, No 10.5 Restart

    Apparently I've done a bad, bad thing. I installed 10.5 with the the archive and install option which created the "previous system" folder. Later I recovered what I wanted from that folder and deleted it. Now when I attempt to start in Mac OS I get a folder icon with a "?" and it starts up in Boot Camp. I tried starting up using the Install DVD for 10.5, but the computer will not recognize the DVD either in start up or while running XP through boot camp.
    Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

    The library alias is just a bug that all of us are experiencing. It has been around for a while and no one knows if or when it will be fixed. It does no harm and if you remove it it will come back so just ignore it. You had it in there before but probably just didn't notice it.

  • Can't Delete Previous Systems Folder

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    Just to follow up on my problem, I finally had to backup my drive onto another drive, reformat the disk, and copy everything back. The unempty-able Trash was then empty. I still have one other problem that I hoped all that would fix, but I'll post it as a separate question. Just in case someone's curious, the problem (which I had before) is that sometimes upon waking from sleep, I get no response from the machine in that:
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  • Is deleting previous systems folder save when looking for more HD space?

    Could I copy it to an external HD just in case?

    Your current running system isn't using any part of the Previous Systems folder. All of that folder's contents are just sitting there. If there were no old components you want to keep (most likely command line software you may have installed yourself) it is completely safe to trash that folder.

  • Deleted previous system folder and!

    I ended up with a alias of "library" in the network panel. Of the Finder. When checking for "more info" on this. None shows up. Should I be worried about this. It doesn't seem to effect any of the operating system. I wonder why this happened?
    I had to install 10.4 twice. When it first came out. For some reason the first time had problem. And that's how I ended up with previous system folder. I tried erasing with the finders "secure erase" feature. And it was taking forever. I had to back out and erase normally.
    Don
    iMac G5   Mac OS X (10.4.5)  

    The library alias is just a bug that all of us are experiencing. It has been around for a while and no one knows if or when it will be fixed. It does no harm and if you remove it it will come back so just ignore it. You had it in there before but probably just didn't notice it.

  • Can I delete 'Previous Systems' folder?

    I have re-installed Max OS X twice, first time 2 years ago, the last time was yesterday. This last time I noticed at some point a message that the previous system could not be used anymore for starting up (I hope I recollect this correctly).
    When I look on the HD there is a folder with '2 previous systems' folders, and both folders have 7 items, and each folder has 7 sub-folders. (Applications, Library etc.)
    I assume that this takes up space on the hard drive? Does the newly installed sw need these old items? If not, would it free space if I delete these old system folders?
    Thank you in advance for any information.
    Milli.

    Some people keep them for a little while in case there is a plugin or settings file that they had in their old system that they want to put in their new one. Once you have decided you don't need any of those you can just trash them.

  • Previous systems folder -- what can i delete?

    i had to archive my old system and now, in my hard drive, is the "previous systems" folder with the old library and whatnot.
    i have moved my personal files (desktop, itunes, word files) into my new system and i'm wondering if i can just delete the entire "previous systems" folder -- or if there are things in there that i should be sure to transfer (like any program or application files), or if deleting that folder might cause any problems.
    also, should i just delete the inner "previous system 1" folder (the only folder inside "previous systems") or can i delete the whole folder, prev systems? i don't think it was there before the archive so i assume i can delete it but i wasn't positive.
    help! thanks.
      Mac OS X (10.4.7)  

    emillie
    There are some things that might need moving: printer software that you added and so on. I suggest that you use the machine for a week or two and if you're content that all is working normally then you can trash it. That's what I did.
    Regards
    TD

  • Where did my Previous System folder go?

    I upgraded my G5 yesterday from 10.3.9 to 10.5. Everything works fine after the upgrade. But I can't find the Previous System folder that should be on my hard drive.
    When I upgraded, I planned to do an Archive and Install and preserve user settings, but I never saw that menu in the installer (I missed the "Options" button, duh). After the upgrade all my user accounts and data were still on the G5, so I'm assuming the installer did an "Archive and Install -- Preserve User Settings" by default.
    But I don't have a Previous System folder anywhere on my hard drive. Any ideas what happened?
    BTW, I have a clone of my 10.3.9 system on an external hard drive. I am considering doing an Erase and Install on the 10.5.7 internal G5 volume and using Migration Assistant to pull my user accounts from the clone to the internal hard drive. But my 10.5.7 system isn't broken, so maybe I shouldn't try to fix it. :-D

    But I don't have a Previous System folder anywhere on my hard drive. Any ideas what happened?
    The default installation method preserves your user accounts, data, and applications, but deletes and/or overwrites the previous system files.
    (45924)

  • New to MAC  -help with previous systems folder -this should be an easy one!

    My PowerBook G4 (running Leopard) recently crashed due to some corrupt files, per the Genius Bar. I got it up and running with the Leopard upgrade disc as they recommended. Everything went well and on the HD it created a "Previous Systems" folder and everything is in there... (old applications, documents, etc. ... Now what do I do?
    Do I just run the applications (iWork, MS Office, Adobe products, etc.) from that "Previous Systems" folder or should I drag and drop them to the new applications folder, or is it better to delete and reinstall all the programs again? And if I have already opened some of the applications from the Previous Systems" folder will this prevent me from moving them.
    I just want to clean up my laptop and keep it simple... What is the safe and easy thing to do?
    Thanks for all the help... this site is what influenced me to switch from PC to MAC !
    John

    Start with the description in http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301270
    Once you sort that out, see:
    Switching from Windows to Mac OS X,
    Basic Tutorials on using a Mac,
    MacFixIt Tutorials, and
    MacTips Learning Centre.
    Additionally, *Texas Mac Man* recommends:
    Quick Assist.
    Welcome to the Switch To A Mac Guides, and
    A guide for switching to a Mac.

  • How can I restore folders and files from Previous Systems folder

    I have been unable to migrate files (or even find the option to migrate files) located in my Previous Systems folder. I've been able to change the Privilege of these files to Read & Write (though my Permissions still indicate "You can only read.") and drag them from my previous Users folder to my current desktop, which creates a situation where I have them but am still unable to alter them (or delete them).
    thanks, all.

    Here's my exact issue: I've spent many hours converting vinyl records to mp3s, which were then stored in the iTunes folder of my previous system. Upon performing the Archive and Install, all of these files were located in my Previous Systems>Users>"X">Music folder, which initially could not be opened, prompting the notice, "The folder Music could not be opened because you do not have sufficient access privileges." So, I clicked "Get Info" and changed the Privilege from Read Only to Read & Write. From there I could open the folder, and as you pointed out, move these files wherever I chose. The problem is that I can't use them in any practical sense; I can't import them to my iTunes library and I can't delete them, being notified, "The operation can't be completed because backup items can't be modified." Which, would lead me to believe that I have yet to restore them properly.

  • Delete Previous System Settings?

    Ok, I posed this question in another Mac forum and they didn't seem to have an answer. Below are both of my posts, I clarified myself in the second one just in case the first one was a little confusing.
    Ok, here's my situation. After I updated to OSX 10.4.8, my MBP started making the whine again, it has always done it even after getting the logic board replaced twice, albeit it's much softer than it was. Nevertheless, I'd taken care of the issue by using the PhotoBooth trick, but since all the the updates, I keep having to reinstall the IOUSB Family to keep the trick working. Anyway, after I updated OSX and the noise came back, I went to reinstall the old IOUSB and I installed the wrong one, so then my keyboard, trackpad, and mouse would not work anymore. I used the install disc and installed 10.4.6 but it kept my previous system and said that it would revert back to all previous settings when I updated the latest version of OSX. My question is, when I update to 10.4.8, will I my keyboard, trackpad, and mouse stop working because of my mistake with IOUSB, and if that's the case, can I just delete the "Previous Systems" folder before I update OSX?
    I'm not sure that I fully explained myself in the first post. My computer is working fine right now, but when I did a restore to 10.4.6, it kept my previous system settings so that, when I update to 10.4.8, it will restore the settings I had the last time I had 10.4.8 installed. I'm concerned that it saved the USB information that wouldn't allow my keyboard, trackpad, and mouse to work.
    There is a folder under "Macintosh HD" that say's "Previous Systems," if I were to delete that folder, would I eliminate a problematic update to 10.4.8, or would I create more problems for myself?

    IL_Dem87:
    If you elected to "Preserve User and Network Settings" when you did Archive and Install your Preferences will be saved along with your data, third party apps in the Applications folder and others (see linked article). If you do not care about your data you don't have to migrate it and can just delete the Previous Systems folder. You can then restore from your backup of your data.
    Good luck.
    cornelius

  • OK to delete "Previous Systems" file?

    I noticed that after installing 10.5 (or maybe 10.5.1, because of the date), I have a folder called "Previous Systems" with a folder inside that called 2008-01-27_1835. Is it okay to delete this? It's taking 15 GB of space on my disk. Everything is working fine.

    Hi J Micael;
    If the Previous Systems folder was from either 10.5 or 10.5.1, then the chances of it being of any use are really slim. I think that deleting it will be a good thing.
    Allan

  • Can't delete Previous System File

    Hi,
    I did an archive and install and was left with a Previous System folder that is about 13G. I used "whatsize" app to move it to the trash where I then did a Secure empty trash. Trash can is empty, but when I run Whatsize again, the same previous system folder is still there, taking up 13G's of hard drive space. Any idea how to get rid of this file?
    Thanks!

    How To Fix Stubborn Trash and Why it Won't Delete
    http://www.osxfaq.com/Tutorials/LearningCenter/HowTo/Trash/index.ws
    Solving Trash Problems
    http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/trash.html
     Cheers, Tom

  • Deleting "Previous System" & Old Versions of iTunes

    Two questions:
    1. I've moved all my music to my iPod. I want to download the latest version of iTunes so my PB is compatible with the new iMac to be delivered soon. Is the latest version of iTunes an upgrade or a total replacement? In other words, can I delete everything on my hard drive related to iTunes 4.7 before downloading iTunes 6?
    2. Can I safely delete all files under "Previous System"? (I can't remember why it was created. It might have been created when I first got my PB, had a problem, went into an Apple store, and they were troubleshooting.)
    Thanks in advance.

    You can delete any itunes stuff as Itunes 6 is a complete installation. However there is no need to as these folders will immediately be replaced by the new installation.
    The Previous System folder can safely be deleted. At som point you have done an archive and install of your OS. The "Previous System" folder is left behind, just in case you neglected to save something.

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