Help! Restore Display Preferences after Archive and Install

Hi there, Tiger was acting up, so I did an Archive and install, but now have lost my display preferences. Any idea how I can restore them?
I have all my old preferences saved in the Previous System folder the Archive and Install creates, I'm just not sure what file to pull out and where to put it to restore my display preferences. The wife is a graphic designer, so she needs the display prefs the way she had set them up. Thanks!

First, did you Repair Persions since the install, then reboot... they really sould still be there, but it looks like it's here on mine...
Machintosh HD/Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.plist
Of course you'll need to look in Prevoius Systems.
Also, ColorSync and others may hold mor info.

Similar Messages

How do I restore previous settings after archive and install?

I had to do an archive and install (with the box unchecked about users) on Friday after I had a kernel panic issue, but now I don't know if there is a way to restore my previous settings and access my previous files. I found the "previous system" folders, but it restricts my access to almost all of the folders, and I can't even find all of my music (iTunes) files or my stickies. I also can't find all of my bookmarks and internet settings. I'm totally panicked...there is a lot of information for my business that I really can't afford to lose. Please help me!

See the following:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107297.
The following can also apply to locating and moving data from a Previous System Folder. The "Home" folder will be /Users/shortname/ where "shortname" is the user account name you created.
Because you did not transfer the users accounts when you did the Archive and Install you may have created a new user account and password that is not the same as the one you previously used. This means the PSF has different permissions associated with it.
<font "size=+1">Folders You Can Move to Your new Mac
From the Home folder copy the contents of Documents, Movies, Music, Pictures, and Sites.
In your /Home/Library/ folder:
/Home/Library/Application Support/AddressBook (copy the whole folder)
/Home/Library/Application Support/iCal (copy the whole folder)
Also in /Home/Library/Application Support (copy whatever else you need including folders for any third-party applications)
/Home/Library/Keychains (copy the whole folder)
/Home/Library/Mail (copy the whole folder)
/Home/Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist (* This is a very important file which contains all email account settings and general mail preferences.)
/Home/Library/Preferences/ copy any preferences needed for third-party applications
/Home /Library/iTunes (copy the whole folder)
/Home /Library/Safari (copy the whole folder)
If you want cookies:
/Home/Library/Cookies/Cookies.plist
/Home/Library/Application Support/WebFoundation/HTTPCookies.plist
For Entourage users:
Entourage is in /Home/Documents/Microsoft User Data
Also in /Home/Library/Preferences/Microsoft
Credit goes to another forum user for this information.
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HELP! Problem after Archive and Install

I need help. I did an Archive and install because I was having problems with my ical not opening. I did the archive and install without checking the "preserve settings" box. I want to know what I need to transfer from either the "previous system" folder that was created when I did the archive and install or a back up I have on a seperate hard drive so that I can get all of my info back (ie: mail, addresses, bookmarks etc.). I am also having problems with some 3rd party software. For instance, when I open password plus I don't have access to all of my saved info.
I am feeling overwhelmed right now and know I am not thinking clearly. Do I just copy and paste from the previous system folder to the new system folder?

No, making an image won't help. There isn't anything you really need to copy from the /Library/ folder unless it's in the /Library/Applications Support/ folder in which case you shouldn't have any permissions problems unless you reinstalled your OS and used a different username and password. In this case you will have to change to ownership and permissions to enable moving the folders. In some cases try moving the contents of the folder rather than the folder itself.

Recover mail after archive and install

Hey there good mac people,
I recently archived and installed on my ibook g4. It was successful, my problem is that I forgot to backup all the mail I had in my osx mail app.
The previous system folder (library<mail<mail accounts<com.mac.mailaccounts<English.lproj< file, but I don't know if this will help restore or not?
Some of the mail is still on the server, but it is set to delete from the server once a week, and thus only a weeks worth at best is still on the server.
Does anybody have any suggestions?
In the future, what's the best way to back up mail?

Hello art-is-work.
I don't understand your problem. Archive and Install should have preserved all your data, unless you told it to do otherwise. Did you?
Mail stores most preferences and all account settings in ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist. Everything else, including all your messages and mailboxes, is stored within the ~/Library/Mail/ folder.
If the problem is that you told the installer to not Preserve Users and Network Settings, then Archive and Install should still have saved a copy of your entire home folder in /Previous Systems/Previous System N/Users/, where N is a number. The old Mail folder and preferences file should be there. You can just copy them to the appropriate location of your current home folder, or follow the somewhat convoluted procedure described in the following article to safely restore them:
How to get files from a previous home directory after Archive and Install (Mac OS X)
Note: For those not familiarized with the ~/ notation, it refers to the user's home folder.

Finder not responding after Archive and install

I recently encountered my first problem ever with my mac(new in '05) This is the first mac I have owned; I have worked on G3's and G4's in the past. After reading through many message boards and support pages I don't believe my problem to be similar but different to previous posts.
My problem started off with an OS problem that I was able to diagnose in the "help" book I purchased when Leopard came out. It said I should Archive and Install to remedy the problem and keep my files. I ran the archive the install (it gave me no options to preserve user or network settings). After Archive and install my computer started up alright, but I got the permanent beachball and the finder does not work. it is constantly non responsive. I can relaunch finder, but after it restarts it goes non responsive immediately once again. So I can't actually access my "previous system" folder to move anything over. I checked my dock items and finder, they opened, but my itunes asked for an update. I list of update items came up; I did the non-restart items first. they updated fine, (my itunes old itunes playlists are viewable but not playable now) then I did the items that required a restart. That is when I found out that I could not shut down or restart my computer with std. procedures.
Currently I can only access my spotlight or apple pull down menu if I am in a functioning dock program (safari or itunes, quicktime. etc.) after reading some more support pages it looked like the common thing to do was check permissions and verify disk. I did, I repaired two permissions and the disk was OK. I did look at the HD files, they were as I remembered, but unaccessible (greyed out) and the "previous system" folder was present. +It didn't look like I would expect. The HD looked same as it used to just with a previous system folder.+ After checking the permissions and verified the disk I tried a hard restart. It came back the same as before, unresponsive finder and only the few dock items worked along with spotlight. I checked permissions and disk verify again and everything was OK.
Sorry to be long winded I am trying to be thorough...In short, My finder does not work after doing an Archive and Install to fix my original problem (which has been fixed)...the remedy for an unresponsive finder is to do an archive and install. Is another archive and install really going to fix my problem? Can I archive and install OSX 10.4 and work my way back up to 10.5.6?
Secondly is there a way to restart my computer without doing another hard restart?

It won't let me add a new account. I am locked out and when I try to unlock it gives me the beachball and becomes non responsive after it tries to authenticate.
I looked at the log file, I am not sure what exactly to look for. I am no programer. I see an awful lot of negative wording. I see some errors like "error (-4956) locating menu extra but they are mostly under system preferences...I see some stuff in the loginwindow that says is not a full path... Otherwise, the only reference I see to the finder is when I have force quit the finder.
2/8/09 8:59:55 PM com.apple.launchd[114] ([0x0-0x4d04d].com.apple.finder[304]) Exited: Terminated
2/8/09 11:10:17 PM com.apple.launchd[114] ([0x0-0x57057].com.apple.finder[321]) Exited: Terminated

Cd inserted but unrecognized after "archive and install"

After "archive and install" OS X.2 and clicking on "save settings", everything works fine, except sound cds are not recognized when inserted. iTunes works fine with the original files on hard disk, but doesnt see the cd (it did before).
I repaired permissions. I deleted the "previous systems" folder. still nothing.
I did notice that the "previous systems" folder has an "audio" file in it but the current "system" folder doesnt. I tried copying this audio file into the current "system" folder but I get the notice that it cant be changed.
I need to hear cds on this computer. Any ideas?
(It isnt a speaker problem as the itunes files play fine).
John in Vancouver

Hi John in Vancouver! And Welcome To
Discussions!
Open System Preferences > CDs & DVDs.
Adjust the appropriate setting there, and see if it
helps.
Good Luck!
ali b
Thanks, ali, but I did that early on. Didnt put it in the post. On insertion of a CD I have it set to open iTUnes.
I found a further problem which is that the midi set-up no longer locates my external keyboard. I will check the discussions under audio for this one, however. (I did check about the CD problem in the audio discussion but nothing there.)
John

Where is mail stored after archive and install?

Hello All,
I need to know where my old mails are stored after archive and install. To give a bit of background... This is a work computer. Its a MacMini which came with 10.4 installed. Before I joined the company boss upgraded to Leopard and thats what I have been using all this time. Recently it blue screened and I had to do an archive and install after trying various other options.
I only had the original install discs with 10.4 in them and not the Leopard discs. Since I needed to my computer up and running, I used those discs and did an archive and install.
I have all my old documents, etc but I couldn't open mail from the previous systems folder because its a different OS.
Is it possible to retrieve my old emails without having to install Leopard again?
Any help is appreciated.

When I started the computer up, instead of the login page with the account names coming up, there was just a blue screen. There are lots of articles that gave suggestions to try but nothing worked so I had to archive and install.

I need help to recover/relink mail after archive and install

I am helping my friend fix her 15" G4 PowerBook after memory failures caused many crashes. There was no recovering short of a reinstall via "archive and install". All that worked great, but now Mail doesn't recognize the accounts, mailboxes, signatures, etc. that are still located in the user/library/mail folder.
What's up with that? I can't figure out how to relink Mail to this stuff.
Here's more detail:
1) After lots of prior debugging (Disk Utility, Disk Warrior, Apple Hardware Test, single-user commands per Apple tech notes), I did the A&I to 10.3.4 from the original disks.
2) Per Dr. Smoke and The X Lab, I ran the 10.3.9 combo installer right away so that the "older" system would not get confused by the "newer" stuff in the Previous Systems folder.
3) I Launched Mail and it started anew, i.e. didn't recognize accounts and wanted to start over.
Thanks for any help.

The account settings are stored in HOME/Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist. It looks like that file became corrupt -- maybe its permissions went awry (Disk Utility cannot fix that) and Mail just deleted the file to create a new one.
If your friend doesn't have a backup copy of that file, just set up the accounts from scratch all over again. If given the option to import existing mailboxes or something like that, don't. Just enter the account information and Mail will automagically rediscover the data in HOME/Library/Mail/ when done.
You'll also have to re-configure most settings in Mail > Preferences. For spam-related security reasons, the first thing you should do is go to Preferences > Viewing and disable Display remote images in HTML messages if it's enabled.

Need help restoring original desktop after crash and new install

Question: is there a way to restore my original desktop?
My system starting giving me kernel errors. I was running Member when it crashed. I did a restart and the mouse would no longer work. Tried starting in safe mode. Mouse still refused to work. Removed most of my memory and restarted but mouse still would not work. Finally got the mouse to move in safe mode. Set my system to start from a different hard drive. This time the mouse worked fine. Ran memory check from this secondary driver and ALL memory checked out fine. Restarted computer with the original drive and once again the mouse would not work.
Finally, I re-loaded OS 10.4 plus ran all updates. I first tried to load it keeping all the setting but this made the system lock up and the computer would not restart without the CD. Finally, re-loaded 10.4 and archived original desktop.
Question: is there a way to restore my original desktop?
I found a folder that has the desktop stuff in it but some seems to be missing...
AND I cannot find any of my previous mail that had been saved. I'm sure (I hope) that it is here, but don't know where or how to set it back up.
I still don't know what caused the original problem...
PowerMac G4 Mac OS X (10.4.7) 3 HD totalling 400GB/ after market processor 1.6mhz

Hi, Edward.
1. You wrote: "I first tried to load it keeping all the setting but this made the system lock up and the computer would not restart without the CD. Finally, re-loaded 10.4 and archived original desktop.... I cannot find any of my previous mail that had been saved. "If you performed an Archive & Install of Mac OS X and did not use the "Preserve Users and Network Settings" option, then everything that was in your old user account, including your Mail, is gone. Before performing an Archive and Install without that option, you should have made a complete backup of the affected hard drive using a comprehensive Backup and Recovery solution.
While it's unclear what you mean by "archived original desktop." If you mean you used Create Archive to create an Archive (.zip file) of your previous Home > Desktop folder before performing the Archive & Install, then only the files and folders that were saved on the Desktop at that time would be preserved. Mail was saved in your Home > Library > Mail folder, which the Archive & Install replaced if you failed to use the "Preserve Users and Network Settings" option.
If any e-mail files are still on the hard drive in question, then the instructions in my "Data Recovery" FAQ may help you find them, but I suspect they are all gone.
2. You wrote: "I still don't know what caused the original problem..."Earlier in your post you noted:"My system starting giving me kernel errors."and"Finally got the mouse to move in safe mode."If by "kernel errors" you meant the following message:
That indicates a kernel panic.
See my "Resolving Kernel Panics" FAQ. This FAQ includes step-by-step instructions for identifying and resolving some of the most common causes of kernel panics. The FAQ is a roadmap: start at the beginning and work systematically through the end, i.e. the "If all else fails..." section.
Since the system appeared to work properly in Safe Mode, this would also imply an errant Startup or Login Item could have been the cause, which is addressed in Step 4 of the "Troubleshooting kernel panics" section of my FAQ.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

Restoring after archive and install

after using 'archive and install', what is the proper procedure for restoring applications, plugins, etc?
1. manually copy?
2. migration assistant?
3. reinstall using disks/installers?

If they are only in the former system you forgot to to preserve your user settings.
How to Archive & Install:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120

Help, I lost my system adminstrator account after archive and install

I did an archive and install and checked 'preserve users and network settings'. Prior to install I had two accounts: mine (adminstrator) and my son's. My iTunes and iPhoto are all on my account. After install, my normal desk top appeared. Software update informed me I had updates to download. I started the process and the password window appeared, but would not accept my password. I checked the users in the right hand corner of the menu bar and only my son's account appeared. When I clicked on that, a log-in window appeared (and my desktop disappeared). The only log-in option is my son's account. I can log into his account ok, but mine no longer shows up. I tried to access my account info in the previous system folder, but my son's account does not have sufficient access rights. How can I get my account back?
As a side note, I went to my old mac (a power pc G4 iMac) and could no longer log-in to iTunes Store or to .Mac. I changed my Apple ID password so I can now log into .Mac and the iTunes store. I don't know how to get my adminstrator account back on my Intel mac. My old Mac cannot be upgraded to Leopard and has no airport card.

Same thing happened to me! Now when I want to delete apps I get a window demanding my administrator password. I give it, but that is no longer correct. Actually, I suspect it is but the Administrator name has changed, but I have no idea what it now is. I tried to use the change password utility on the install disk, but it's just exactly that: a password changer, it won't change the administrator name, or even tell you what it is.
Any help would be greatly appreciated

FCP Studio 2 wont respond after archive and instal... please help

Hi I have been on the imac forum with the first half of this problem. Ill start from the beginning to give you some background.
I did a routine apple software update and when restarting my computer it got stuck on the blue screen and would go no further. After trying everything I had to do an Archive and Instal. This worked and I can now fully boot up.
However, after this process my FCP S2 will not work. When I click on any of the FCP S2 icons, they bounce and nothing else happens. It does not matter if I do this from the apps folder or on the desk top. The strange thing is that DVD Studio will open and works like normal.
Is there anything I can do to get my FCP S2 programs to work again and if not how should I go about reinstalling so I will not lose all my projects. What is the proper procedure for deletion and reinstallation.
Thanks so much for your time

backup project and all other work files
clean install Mac OS (this wipes the hard drive clean)
install from installation discs FCP Studio
reinstate the project files

FCP S2 wont start after archive and instal.... Please help

Hi I have been on the imac forum with the first half of this problem. Ill start from the beginning to give you some background.
I did a routine apple software update and when restarting my computer it got stuck on the blue screen and would go no further. After trying everything I had to do an Archive and Instal. This worked and I can now fully boot up.
However, after this process my FCP S2 will not work. When I click on any of the FCP S2 icons, they bounce and nothing else happens. It does not matter if I do this from the apps folder or on the desk top. The strange thing is that DVD Studio will open and works like normal.
Is there anything I can do to get my FCP S2 programs to work again and if not how should I go about reinstalling so I will not lose all my projects. What is the proper procedure for deletion and reinstallation.
Thanks so much for your time

The Previous System folder is just a folder. OS X just treats it like any other folder, so Final Cut Studio isn't technically installed. You don't need to necessarily remove it, although the purpose of performing an Archive and Install is so that you can retrieve files from the Previous System folder before removing it permanently.

Running Time Machine after 'Archive and Install'

I had a strange problem with my iMac with finder and dock crashing on booting and not being able to open any files. It's been off to an Apple centre for repair, they've done an archive and install to replace the OS, and I apparently now need to run Time Machine to restore my system (don't have the computer back yet).
Am I right in thinking I'll just plug in Time Machine hard drive, insert my Leopard CD and then use Utilities > Restore System?
What's worrying me is I'm going to reintroduce the problem that was fixed by the Archive and Install in the first place! Any help or thoughts very much appreciated,
Andrew

AndyAsb wrote:
I had a strange problem with my iMac with finder and dock crashing on booting and not being able to open any files. It's been off to an Apple centre for repair, they've done an archive and install to replace the OS, and I apparently now need to run Time Machine to restore my system (don't have the computer back yet).
as mentioned you don't have to do that after an archive and install.
Am I right in thinking I'll just plug in Time Machine hard drive, insert my Leopard CD and then use Utilities > Restore System?
What's worrying me is I'm going to reintroduce the problem that was fixed by the Archive and Install in the first place!
that's very likely to happen if the problem was not hardware. did they do anything with the computer besides doing an archive and install? if not, you most definitely should NOT do a full system restore from TM as this would bring your problems back.
Any help or thoughts very much appreciated,
Andrew

How can I add users after archive and install

Hi Gang,
I had a crash on Sunday and had to do an archive and install to get this computer back up and running.
It's a PowerBook G4 and I am running 10.4.
I reinstalled from my OS X 10.4 disc. After the install, the Login screen had none of my families user names. I had to go back to the disc and create a new password for a System Administrator.
I did a software update to OS X 10.11.
I am in now and can see the "Users" folder with everyone in it, but I can't figure out how to move it back into the system.
Please help.
Thanks,
Tom

Hi Gang,
If you go to "Users" in System Preferences, and add the user with the same name, it found the user and asked me if I wanted to import the data.
It worked beautifully.
Thanks,
Tom

Help! Restore Display Preferences after Archive and Install

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