Do I need my previous system folder?

Hi guys,
I reinstalled OSX a month or so ago, but retained my 7GB "previous system" folder. Do I need it? Does my current system use it at all? Or can I erase it to reclaim some free space?
Thanks!
Alec

Alec,
After an Archive and Install, the Previous Systems folder contains the prior OS X system. You will never be able to boot from this previous system folder, and therefore from that aspect it is completely useless. The Previous Systems folder may contain third party items, but when you are satisfied with the performance of your new system it is unlikely that anything of value will remain.
I got rid of mine after a couple of weeks. Be aware that the mere presence of this folder may lead to problems in the future.
This is what Apple says about the Previous System folder: You might wonder, "What do I do with the Previous System folder?" It may contain items that you need. To determine this, once you've finished configuring, installing, and updating your applications, compare the Previous System to the new System. If there are things in the Previous System folder that aren't in the new System folder, just copy them over. If you're not sure what some items are (and don't seem to need them), leave them in the Previous System folder. Once you're comfortable that you've got everything you need out of it, you can delete the Previous System folder (or leave it around if you're not low on disk space).;~)

Similar Messages

  • Do I need "Previous System" folder?

    About a month and a half ago, had internet issues and upon consulting with an Apple rep, one of the things he had me do was reinstall OSX from the disk. Of course we used the "save previous system" option or whatever it's called. At this point, everything still appears to be fine on my system.
    My question is now the "previous system" folder remains on my Mac HD, and as it's taking up about 10gb of memory, I'd like to delete it. With everything running fine, is there any reason to keep it?
    Derek P

    In a word, no.
    As long as all your files are in the right places after the reinstall, I would see no reason to keep this any longer.

  • How do I do back to previous system folder after archive and install?

    Did an archive and install (retaining my existing user account), only to discover it was unnecessary. (Turns out the problem was hardware-related.)
    How do I go back to using my previous system folder?

    FloydianSlip wrote:
    Huh. Hardly seems to be worth "archiving" if you can't go back to the archive.
    The purpose of an *Archive & Install* is to install a fresh, known-good copy of the OS, while preserving in the archive all the files from the previous copy of the installed OS that you might potentially need for some reason. (This is why it is called an Archive & Install.)
    However, since any of these archived files might have been damaged in some way since they were installed or created, or in some way conflict with a freshly installed OS, they cannot be considered "known-good" without further testing & should not be reintroduced haphazardly into the "live" system.
    The value of this install method should be obvious if you consider that if the OS is sufficiently damaged it will not run the computer, either at all or well enough to recover from whatever damage is done. Without this option, you would have to erase the existing startup disk completely (with the *Erase & Install* method), losing everything created or installed besides what is contained in the OS installer.
    The closest equivalents to the kind of archive that you can "go back to" are cloning the entire drive or using the 'restore from Time Machine' option from the installer DVD's Utilities menu, assuming you use Time Machine.

  • Deleted previous system folder, now I'm a-havin' problems.

    Hi all!
    I found a "Previous Systems" folder from a months-old archive and install hanging around my hard drive taking up space; figuring it was devoid of anything I needed, I trashed it. The next day, when I tried to open up Mac Mail, to my surprise it gave me the initial setup screen you get when you open the program for the first time, asking me for my account info!
    So, I re-set up my accounts and it at least got my mailboxes from my Library folder correct, but without any of the messages. So, I imported my mailboxes as they stood on my computer in User>library>mail. This seemed to import everything correctly, and I thought the problem was solved.
    However, when I search for the odd message, many say this:
    "The message from Alec Quig <[email protected]> concerning “Submission” has not been downloaded from the server. You need to take this account online in order to download it."
    These messages are most definitely not on my email servers. Anyone know how can I get them back?
    Thank you!
    Alec

    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.
    4. If that works, you can delete the old Envelope Index file on your Desktop.
    Mulder

  • After 10.5.3 update I have a "Previous Systems" folder (1976-04-01_0145)

    After my terrible experience with the 10.5.3 update on Friday (and getting locked out of system, see thread http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1542395&tstart=0) I have my machine up and running again.
    However, I've now discovered that I now have a 'Previous Systems' folder - which is essentially an ENTIRE system, with apps, utilities, etc. - on my machine and it is dated 1976-04-01_0145.
    Because of this duplication I am barely able to run my machine as the startup drive is out of memory, all of my apps thing I've never used them before today, etc. . However, I am terrified of deleting one or the other of these two system folders.
    I can't even properly backup as the scan takes FOREVER.
    Help! What should I do?
    Thanks,
    Jennifer

    Yes, You should have a previous system folder after an archive and install.
    Can you backup everything to a second HD? Or, were you running Time Machine (a good idea). If you can, then you can safely delete many things from the previous system folder. Or, at least enough to begin testing to see if your apps work.
    I routinely do and A&I when I upgrade. Then I test all my apps (or at least the important ones and a sample of the lesser ones). I move the previous system folder to a spare disk and keep it around for a few weeks incase I need to copy something over (like fonts).
    BTW, I suspect your start up disk is out of space, not memory. Again backing stuff up, particularly on a laptop is a very sound idea and also allows you to manage your stuff better -- older stuff goes on the backup. Despite some problems, Time Machine works well for this as do a number of commercial products.

  • 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.

  • Can't Delete Previous Systems Folder

    I did an archive and reinstall some time ago, and got what I needed from the Previous Systems folder. So I tried to delete it (Secure Delete), and got most of it gone. What is left is a "Previous Systems" folder, with an "Previous System 1" folder inside, which shows up in the window as empty. When I try and delete it, I get a message that I can't because "html" is in use. I went in via Terminal, and found a series of directories under my "empty" Previous System 1:
    usr/X11R6/lib/X11/doc/html, with a ton of ".html" files in the "html" folder. I got rid of all those files, then tried to get rid of "html", but it tells me that it isn't empty. I used sudo rmdir, and sudo rm -rf, and I get the same message. What gives, and what can I do about it?

    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:
    1.) The battery/power meter doesn't update.
    2.) Once I try and click the cursor on anything on the screen (Locations, a window, the Airport menu bar), I get a spinning beachball that goes on for minutes. When it goes away, I try clicking again, and back it comes. Eventually, the machine "catches up" and works, but it's very inconvenient. Usually, this happens after the machine has slept over night. It could be a network issue (i.e., it's looking for the network it saw the night before), but it doesn't happen everytime. It's enough to make me wonder why I bought a Mac.

  • Post Leopard Installation - Transfer data from "Previous System" folder

    After the first attempt to install Leopard and got the evil blue screen, I had to reinstall my old Tiger from the original installation disks, then attempted a new installation of Leopard. This time I chose Archive and Install as one support article suggested, and chose Preserve user and network settings as instructed. This time the Leopard installation was successful, but now how do I retrieve my data (photos/itunes/mail)etc. from the "Previous System" folders?

    There should be no need to sync the files. A previous system folder happens when you do an archive and install, so what's in that folder is identical to what your Mac was when you last did one. Presumably you've changed a lot of things since then and wouldn't want to go back.
    Unless there are a few files you deleted and want back, then just copy them over. Then delete the entire thing, it's using up disk space.
    Kevin

  • Removing Previous Systems Folder after Leopard upgrade....Receipts get lost

    After archive and install of Leopard I noticed the "Previous Systems" folder which also happens to contain ALL the receipts from Tiger days. It's over 3GB and I temporarily moved it to an ext hd. Is this OK??? I'm wondering how future update notifications will be handled if old receipts can't be found.
    If I need to move the receipts back to my sys hd do I have to move all the other folders in Previous Systems folder back too, or just Receipts?

    jimbo60640 wrote:
    I thought future installers need to see these (old) receipts to determine update versions.
    Yes, but the installer only needs to see 1 previous receipt not all of them. (i.e. once you have a receipt for 10.5 you no longer need all the receipts for 10.4). The receipts you will need have been copied to your receipt folder.
    -mj

  • Trashing Previous System Folder??? Question

    Did a archive/install of OS about a week ago.. It was successful.]
    Fixed my corrupt issue/Everything is working great.
    I've reinstalled applications that I need to...
    I've checked to see that everything I want to be here now--is here.
    (Music, Photos, Documents, Bookmarks, etc.)---It's all here.
    My question is: Is it safe to trash the "Previous Systems" Folder?????
    It's presently sitting on my HD. It's (understandably) a big file---I'd like to toss it.
    Can I? Safely?
    Thanks for your help.

    jonnylovemac,
    Apple Says:
    You might wonder "What do I do with the Previous System folder?" It may contain items that you need. To determine this, once you've finished configuring, installing, and updating your applications, you can compare the Previous System to the new System. If there are things in the Previous System folder that aren't in the new System folder, copy them over or reinstall. If you're not sure what some items are (and don't seem to need them), leave them in the Previous System folder. Once you're comfortable that you've got everything you need out of it, you can delete the Previous System folder (or leave it around if you have enough free disk space).
    Based upon what you listed in your post, you can safely trash the Previous System folder.
    ;~)

  • Trashing "previous systems" folder - applications in use by current system

    Hi, Ive made a total mess of reinstalling tiger (probably cos I didnt do a clean install).
    everything is working fine, but now ive got a "previous systems" folder on my hardrive that weighs something like 40GB. I was advised it was okay to trash this folder as so long as i'd got any user prefernces out of application support and copied them to the new system. I did this, but next time I went to open my email I was told I couldnt because the application was located in the trash. i tried opening text edit also, and the same problem. so the new system is clearly running applications out of the previous system folder. why?
    can someone please tell me how to sort this out? my harddisk is now overflowing due to this folder, and I dont know what i can and cant delete from it (or even where to put the stuff I DONT delete). Help!

    There may be a way to get the previous Home Directory files from
    the old Previous System folder; and under certain conditions, this
    is possible. The error in your current situation appears to be due
    to not selecting to save old user accounts & settings in the new one.
    "How to get files from previous home directory - after Archive & Install"
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107297
    "About installation options - Mac OS X 10.4, 10.5..."
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1545
    "Peachpit: Installing, upgrading, Backing Up, and Restoring..."
    http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=454796&seqNum=3
    Some ideas, not all valid, as found in a search of these terms:
    { restoring previous system Mac OS X } - Google Search
    http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=restoringprevious+system+Mac+OS+X&btnG=GoogleSearch
    There are times where it is preventative to have a backup clone on
    some external bootable hard disk drive; and test it before proceeding
    in an upgrade or update, then you could revert back by bringing the
    clone back into the computer's hard disk drive, if needed. Without a
    cloned system, or ideally a complete hard drive clone, this is harder.
    Good luck & happy computing!

  • 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

  • Archive and Install: "Previous Systems" Folder?

    I had to do an archive and install a few days ago on my iMac. Thankfully it hasn't ever been necessary before on any of my systems in the many years I've been using Macs.
    Firstly: what would be the consequences — if indeed there are any at all — of deleting the "Previous Systems" folder? I desperately need to free up some disk space to install some rather large apps that I need for work; however, owing to my unfamiliarity with how OSX organises the system after an archive and install, I'm averse to just deleting the folder if doing so might possibly result in system instability.
    Secondly: The archive and install seems to have gone well; the user accounts seem to work fine and I have just finished updating without any significant issues (other than sometimes not being able to hide apps/finder — but this is only a minor irritation). Also, I tried to move some of my plugins from the archived system folder to the new one; however, it doesn't appear to have been any use — the plugins are either not recognised or simply don't work. Again, this is only a minor issue as I can always download and re-install all of my codecs as and when...
    Thanks.

    although I verify the internal HD that computer boots from roughly once every one to two months and it never seems to indicate that there are any problem.
    Oh, that fine then if it Verifies OK.
    It might be prudent to mention at this point that I haven't been able to make a full system back-up of the main/boot HD either. Mainly because I don't have a third party app to do it...
    PS. Safe boot may stay on the gray radian for a long time, let it go, it's trying to repair the Hard Drive.
    Get carbon copy cloner to make an exact copy of your old HD to the New one...
    http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html
    SuperDuper...
    http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/
    Or the most expensive one & my favorite, Tri-Backup...
    http://www.tri-edre.com/english/tribackup.html
    PS, it can be done with the OS, but a real pain, even more to restore it.

  • 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.

Maybe you are looking for