How do I reinstall backed up user folder after erase and reinstall of 10.4?

I had to erase and reinstall 10.4 on my g4 ibook. Prior to this I backed up my user folder on an external drive. Is there and easy way to get my machine the same as it was before the OS reinstall - library settings, files etc?

Is it assumed that apple users should have another apple machine and or a spare unused firewire hard-drive for system maintenance?!? Sure, if I were running it for buisness use, I'd have a mirrored drive, break the mirror, and upgrade one half of it, but this is the machine in my bedroom! I've got to say, I've rapidly going back of apple over these update QA issues. The fixes offered by people (and I appreciate the time and effort they put in to help others) so far all seem to involve creating other systems on spare drives, or using target mode from another mac. Come on Apple! You can't seriously expect your home users to have two machines, or a spare drive (personally, any drive I have, I use in something or other! I'd consider it a waste having a drive spare just for system upgrades to my Mac). It's about time Apple posted on this subject. It's unfair to expect your userbase to support your COMERCIAL OS for free so heavily.
I bought a mini because it was cheap, and I wanted to play with OSX. I bought the next OSX release because I had grown to like OSX. Now I'm rapidly going off it. I don't want to have to buy another device just to make it safe to upgrade.
Sorry for the Rant. Simon, this isn't meant as a criticism of your response. I just feel that apple should be more proactive here, having another disk is of course a good way to go, however, it takes the old TCO a bit to high for a home/play machine imho.
Anyone from Apple care to comment? (or will you simply edit out my post... afterall that would be easier than addressing the problem).

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How to bring in back up files/apps after erase and install? Thanks!

Don't let the first post fool you - new account, long time user; old account login details lost in a keychain somewhere...
Preparing for Leopard I had a good clean out and got to 21gb of free space on my 40gb HD.
Backed up files to Firewire AND USB external drives.
I tried an upgrade installation of Leopard.
Got the blue screen, tried the APE fixes.
Couldn't do an archive and install as the message said there wasn't enough space.
9gb plus 9gb = 21gb+ I guess....!
(Even tried a Terminal removal of some iTunes files, which I knew I had a back up of, but no luck increasing available space.)
So, did and erase and install which worked fine.
But now I am having trouble importing settings from the old files.
Mail for example wants me to start from scratch, and won't see the back ups I made.
I realize each application has library files, plists and other files associations - how to I get the virgin Leopard versions to recognize their older cousins?
Migration Assistant doesn't seem to see external drives except for Time Machine which of course has nothing I want...
How also to import 3rd party apps. with their previous associations and settings?
Hope I don't have to start from scratch...
Thanks so much in advance.
Stephen

You can't just replace the user folder with the one from before the 10.5 install. What you have to do is individually drag the items from each folder ie "Music" to their corresponding folders in the new home folder.
Put the Backup "Documents" files to New "Document" folder
Mail is located in username/Library/Mail and possibly also username/Library/Mail Downloads, drag both these to the new walts "Library".
Bookmarks is located in username/Library/Safari/Bookmarks.plst, once you find this go to the File Menu in Safari and go to "Import Bookmarks."
I would not recommend copying any settings from the backup to 10.5, this causes errors sometimes. These settings are also easily redone. If you must have them spotlight them or search for them in the preferences or Library/Application Support. Applications Mail settings can also be easily reconfigured for example.

Safe to move back a user folder after clean install

After a couple of years of cluttering up my system, i finally decided to erase my disc and do a clean install. I first backed everything up to an external hard drive with carbon copy cloner. Then i reinstalled the system and did all the updates. I reinstalled the major programs and moved back some precious favorites like photoshop plug ins. All is good. I'm happy to have left behind allot of clutter. My computer is like new again.
My user profile was recreated and of course the shared user is there.
But i need to move back my son's user files. How can i do this safely?
I hesitated to just drag his folders back, thinking i might mess up the permissions or something. Should I recreate him as a user first? If i do that will he still have the correct permissions to open his files when i move them over?
Please don't tell me i messed up my son's account!
thanks
kayla

oooh big sigh of relief!
you saved my son's files and my face!
he does not use my computer much, but when he does it's important to him. he uses my G5 to work on his video. he's staying with a friend for the semester, taking video classes so when he gets back I'm sure he'd want everything as he left it so he can do new things with old footage and work on new projects with everything as he left it.
Because he doesn't use it that often, he won't have all that junk in his library file like i did. So i'll copy it back whole
thanks for the quick response. the folks here are always so generous with their knowledge.
kayla

Backing up Users folder for Erase Install

Hi,
I need to do an Erase Install because of a disk error that Disk Utility cannot fix. I've backed up my iTunes Library and some other files, including Mac OS X combo update, to DVDs. My question is about the advice at this site:
[http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106941] concerning backing up and restoring the Users folder manually. It recommends enabling and using root user for this and Step 5 says: "+Copy the User folder to your backup storage location."+ Does that mean I can drag the User folder to the backup DVD in root user mode? Or could I drag and drop the User folder without going into root user, and then after reinstallation restore the User folder the same way? I am the owner/administrator and there is one other user. I don't have an outside drive or cloning software and anyway, cloning a faulty hard drive might not help much.
Regards

Or could I drag and drop the User folder without going into root user, and then after reinstallation restore the User folder the same way?
Ahem, that +may work+ as I've done it, but then I've always had Root User enabled first thing after disabling Spotlight & Widgits!
So, I wouldn't count on it.
I'd get an external drive and DiskWarrior, which handles most of these problems with a breeze... asap!

White screen after erasing and reinstalling OS X

HI there,
I have a 5 year old iMac that has been running perfectly up until a month ago. We had a power cut (not the first time the mac has been suddenly turned off), and after turning it back on I get the Apple logo and a progress bar for about 30 seconds before it turns into a white screen, with no cursor. I have called Apple 3 times about this issue and we have gone through all the steps you see in the forums here to solve this problem. Yesterday Apple told me to erase the HD and reinstall a fresh copy of OS X. I have everything backed up on time machine so I went ahead and did this. During the installation process I did not choose to transfer data from my external HD via time machine in case the problem i was having was due to something I had on my external HD. After installation was complete the computer restarted only for the white screen to appear again. I had to boot into safe mode to fully complete installation. After this was done, I restarted the computer only to encounter the white screen again. My question is, are there anymore steps I can take to resolve this problem, or is it time to take it to a Genius Bar?
Thanks in advance.

Thank you for using the Apple Support Communities
There's a few more things your can try. Press and hold Option + Command + P + R at the startup "Dong" and your computer will reboot again. When that is done Press and hold Command + V at the "Dong" and this will put the computer in verbose mode and allow you to see exactly what the computer is hanging up on while it is booting up.
-Zeph

My imac has os x installation error after erase and reinstall

i've just got imac g5 off a mate. he asked me to to wipe the drive and reinstall OS X 10.3.5 with the disks he gave me. Inserted disk 1 and there was an error reading disk. Tried holding down option key down when turning computer on and it booted from disc. chose erase and install which it did until 100% reached and it said there had been an error on installation. advised to reinstall - then the disk failed completely. got hold of black osx 10.3 panther installation disks and just got no entry sign after gray screen with apple logo. tried c on startup and the apple sign moves slightly to the right and has dodgy looking ligns across it - computer freezes. tried open fireware reset vdram and reset all. nothing. removed new ram from slot. nothing. swapped original ram to other slot. nothing. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!

siroberts, Welcome to the discussion area!
Not sure how you ended up in the iBook G3 discussion area since you are asking about an iMac G5??
The original iMac G5 shipped with OS 10.3.5 (7P35) and the last iMac G5 shipped with OS 10.4.2. So neither iMac will boot from a retail version of OS 10.3.
Depending on which iMac G5 you have, you may be able to get it to boot from a retail version of OS 10.4. Otherwise you need to contact Apple (or your mate) and get the original discs for that iMac.

How to get back pictures and music after erase and reinstall of OS X?

So.. My computer was working perfectly fine until I went to turn it on and it popped up saying that I restore or back up files and such. Well I ended up having to restore the system.. But it said it wouldn't delete pictures or music. I NEED it back! HELP!

Do you have a backup of your photos?

I have no hardware or external drives after erase and reinstall of Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6

How do I fix this?

If you have access to another Mac you could start your computer in Target Disk Mode (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/8443.html) and use the other Mac to install OS X on your computer. At the end of the install the other computer should boot off of your Mac, use Software Update to update your Mac to the latest OS. Once complete shut everything down and disconnect the firewire cable between the computers and you should be good to go.

I have a mid 2010 Macbook Pro running Snow Leopard and foolishly upgraded to Yosemite. Is it possible to go back in time with Time Machine and reinstall Snow Leopard. Then upgrade to Lion or Mavericks? Any other ideas on how I can exit Yosemite?

I have a mid 2010 Macbook Pro running Snow Leopard and foolishly upgraded to Yosemite. Now have numerous problems. Is it possible to go back in time with Time Machine and reinstall Snow Leopard? Then upgrade to Lion or Mavericks? Any other ideas on how I can exit Yosemite?

Once you get yourself back to Snow Leopard, if you still want to upgrade somewhat, I would suggest the following:
1. Get an external hard drive that you can use for experiments with new OS versions. You could partition it into 2 or 3 partitions. You could then clone your existing Snow Leopard system to one partition using Carbon Copy Cloner (well worth $40) or SuperDuper ($25).
2. Buy OS X Mountain Lion for $20, through the Apple online store (I don't think it's available through the App Store). Apple has decided to make it very difficult for anyone to get Mavericks unless they have already downloaded it.
You will receive two e-mails from Apple, one containing a PDF with a redemption code, and one with the password you will need to unlock the PDF. Using the code, you will download Mountain Lion from the App Store, where it will appear among your Purchased items.
After ML finishes downloading, its installer app will launch itself. When you see this launch screen, QUIT the install app immediately! Go to your applications folder, find the Install OS X Mountain Lion app, and copy it to a safe location outside of your Applications folder. Keeping one or more copies will allow you to reinstall without unnecessary aggravation if you later need or want to do that. At this point, you can re-launch the Installer in the Applications folder and let it run. You can install it on a clean partition on your external HD, or you can allow it to upgrade the Snow Leopard clone you created on your external drive, or you can do both. This should allow you to test how everything works for as long as you like.
3. If you left yourself a free partition on your test drive, try a clean install of Yosemite and set everything up from scratch (do not migrate anything). This will allow you to see whether your problems with it were related to something in your Snow Leopard system.

HT201240 Erased and reinstalled my operating system did i loos my lion ? if so how do i get it back?

I have erased and reinstalled my operating system in doing so i did not reinstall leopard but did install disc 1 an 2 and Snow Leopard! I had lion also! how do i tell if i have my lion dowm load installed or not and how can i recover my lion?

Try the following user tip:
Recovering your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device

Missing user folder from Workspace and FR studio

Hi All,
Recently we upgraded the workspace and applications... Initially there were all the folders, but i noticed that user folder from workspace and FR studio was missing... If anyone have come across this issue please let me know how to solve it.
Awaiting for response, Thanks in advance

Just to make sure I understand. When you double click the hard drive icon either in the sidebar or on your desktop (if you have it shown there) there is no users folder shown? If that is the case then it must somehow have become invisible. If there was in actuality no user folder at all your Mac would not boot.
If that is the case then you may have to use the terminal to get it back. I can't help you with that though, sorry. Another possibility is that there is some sort of corruption in a cache file. You could use a tool such as YASU or others to do a light cache cleaning which may solve the problem.

Every time i turn off my computer and back on i have to unistall and reinstall adobe flash player

Everytime i turn off my computer and back on i have to unistall and reinstall adobe flash player11.8 . I have tryed everything i could find on the internet, nothing helps. please help. I wish i could contact adobe directly but don't know how. Been trying to fix it for a week.

Download and save the uninstaller Save it to your downloads folder - DO NOT run it yet.
Download the Adobe Flash Player installer directly by right clicking one (or both) of the following links and selecting "Save Target as"(IE) or "Save Link as"(other browsers).
Flash Player for ActiveX (Internet Explorer)
Flash Player Plug-in (All other browsers)
Save the installer(s) to your downloads folder - DO NOT run it(them) yet.
Reboot your system.
BEFORE you run anything else, locate and run the uninstaller.
When it finishes, run the installer(s) to put Flash Player on your system again.
If you use IE see also:Enabling Flash Player in Internet Explorer and: ActiveX Filtering in Internet Explorer

I have bought macbook air first form other owner from few month,but after i try reinstall back lion os x..its cant reinstall back already..i try ask the owner he keep saying you need send repair..so i decide ask at here before i send to any service..

i have bought macbook air first form other owner from few month,but after i try reinstall back lion os x..its cant reinstall back already..i try ask the owner he keep saying you need send repair..so i decide ask at here before i send to any service..

StoneComputers wrote:
What about the incredable lag time from clicking on a program to the time it opens (or the time till the loading screen starts)? I wish I could record it and play it so I could see if thats normal from other members... the icon just sitting there for over 35 second (I just counted 36 till the loading screen popped up) at first I thought it was me not clicking hard enought cuz the mouse button I have is real stiff (any ideas on that?) but no it takes that long just to get to the app loading screen... this happens every time same amount of time with the 3 programs I use the most, prolly more but I know for a fact world of warcraft, uTorrent, and Google Chrome. I would just chalk it up to slow hardware but they load real quick in windows 7 and once this bad spot is loaded the program runs so fast and nice afterword. Maybe some tweeks? I wonder if this would happen in Snow?
The coment "few outdated programs" Ive seen alot its not just a few its a lot and since games are not Apple's strong point I would think they would want to keep as many as they could...
An example of the rants you will see from a lot here. Don't be put off as these problems are generally user specific, and these same old comments come out after the release of every OSX I can remember. When Lion is upgraded to the next OSX you can gaurentee these forums will be full of people screaming about how great Lion was. Happened with Tiger, Leopard and Snow Leopard.
So come to think of it you may be better off Googling sites that give you unbiased views on Lion, rather than expect any positive comments here. For every one complaint there are probably 100,000 people with no issues.
Cheers

Downloaded 3.6 version of firefox and it changed my favorites, quicken, other files back to 1.5 yrs ago. How do I get back the info it has erased or hidden from me???

Question
Today downloaded 3.6 version of firefox and it changed my favorites, quicken, other files back to 1.5 yrs ago. How do I get back the info it has erased or hidden from me???

What do you mean by '''''"changed my favorites, quicken, other files back to 1.5 yrs ago"'''''? More detail please.
 
You have an item installed that is considered malware/spyware/adware. To see the plugins submitted with your question, click "More system details..." to the right of your original question post.
*Ask Toolbar Plugin Stub for 32-bit Windows
Unfortunately, it is becoming more and more common for these kinds of "extras" (toolbars, security scanners, etc.) to be added to your browser/system/desktop when adding or updating other software, some from very well-know software vendors. You must carefully read information before downloading any "free" software and be very alert during the install process for any opportunity to opt-out of "extras" being installed.
'''If you have the Ask Toolbar''' 
* First try to disable or uninstall the Ask Toolbar in Firefox via "Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions". See: [[Uninstalling add-ons]] 
*In some cases, you may need to uninstall the Ask Toolbar using Windows Control Panel .
**See [http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Cannot+uninstall+an+add-on#Uninstall_from_Windows_Control_Panel Cannot uninstall an add-on - Uninstall from Windows Add/Remove Programs].
'''You '''MAY''' need to reset your homepage''' if an Ask search page opens when first starting Firefox. Firefox can open multiple home pages. Home pages are separated by the "|" symbol.
*See: http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/How+to+set+the+home+page
'''You ''MAY'' need to reset a preference''' if searches from the URL/location bar take you to an Ask search page. 
To reset the preference related to Ask search from the URL/location bar via about:config, specifically the keyword.URL preference - 
*Open a new tab or window.
*Type '''''about:config''''' in the URL/address bar and press the Enter key
*If you see a warning, accept it (promise to be careful)
*Filter = keyword.url
*Right-click on the preference below the Filter, and choose Reset
*Restart Firefox (File > Restart Firefox)
*See: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Keyword.URL for details.
Also see: 
* http://kb.mozillazine.org/Problematic_extensions#Ask_Toolbar
* http://kb.mozillazine.org/Uninstalling_toolbars
 
'''Other issues that need your attention'''
The information submitted with your question indicates that you have out of date plugins with known security and stability issues that should be updated. To see the plugins submitted with your question, click "More system details..." to the right of your original question post.
*Adobe PDF Plug-In For Firefox and Netscape "9.3.3"
**New Adobe Reader X (version 10) with Protected Mode just released 2010-11-19
**See: http://www.securityweek.com/adobe-releases-acrobat-reader-x-protected-mode
*Shockwave Flash 10.1 r82
*Next Generation Java Plug-in 1.6.0_19 for Mozilla browsers
**4 updates behind
#'''Check your plugin versions''': http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/plugincheck/
#*'''Note: plugin check page does not have information on all plugin versions'''
#'''Update Adobe Reader (PDF plugin):'''
#*From within your existing Adobe Reader ('''if you have it already installed'''):
#**Open the Adobe Reader program from your Programs list
#**Click Help > Check for Updates
#**Follow the prompts for updating
#**If this method works for you, skip the "Download complete installer" section below and proceed to "After the installation" below
#*Download complete installer ('''if you do NOT have Adobe Reader installed'''):
#**Use the links below to avoid getting the troublesome "getplus" Adobe Download Manager and other "extras" you may not want
#**Use Firefox to download and SAVE the installer to your hard drive from the appropriate link below
#**Click "Save to File"; save to your Desktop (so you can find it)
#**After download completes, close Firefox
#**Click the installer you just downloaded and allow the install to continue
#***Note: Vista and Win7 users may need to right-click the installer and choose "Run as Administrator"
#**'''Download link''': ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/reader/
#***Choose your OS
#***Choose the latest #.x version (example 9.x, for version 9)
#***Choose the highest number version listed
#****NOTE: 10.x is the new Adobe Reader X (Windows and Mac only as of this posting)
#***Choose your language
#***Download the file
#***Windows: choose the .exe file; Mac: choose the .dmg file
#*Using either of the links below will force you to install the "getPlus" Adobe Download Manager. Also be sure to uncheck the McAfee Scanner if you do not want the link forcibly installed on your desktop
#**''Also see Download link''': http://get.adobe.com/reader/otherversions/
#**Also see: https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Using+the+Adobe+Reader+plugin+with+Firefox (do not use the link on this page for downloading; you may get the troublesome "getplus" Adobe Download Manager (Adobe DLM) and other "extras")
#*After the installation, start Firefox and check your version again.
#'''Update the [[Managing the Flash plugin|Flash]] plugin''' to the latest version.
#*Download and SAVE to your Desktop so you can find the installer later
#*If you do not have the current version, click on the "Player Download Center" link on the "'''Download and information'''" or "'''Download Manual installers'''" below
#*After download is complete, exit Firefox
#*Click on the installer you just downloaded and install
#**Windows 7 and Vista: may need to right-click the installer and choose "Run as Administrator"
#*Start Firefox and check your version again or test the installation by going back to the download link below
#*'''Download and information''': http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/
#**Use Firefox to go to the above site to update the Firefox plugin (will also install plugin for most other browsers; except IE)
#**Use IE to go to the above site to update the IE ActiveX
#*'''Download Manual installers'''. Note separate links for:
#**Plugin for Firefox and most other browsers
#**ActiveX for IE
#'''Update the [[Java]] plugin''' to the latest version.
#*Download site: http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp (Java Platform: Download JRE)
#*Also see "Manual Update" in this article: http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Using+the+Java+plugin+with+Firefox#Updates
#* Removing old versions (if needed): http://www.java.com/en/download/faq/remove_olderversions.xml
#* Remove multiple Java Console extensions (if needed): http://kb.mozillazine.org
#*Java Test: http://www.java.com/en/download/help/testvm.xml

I still get plug in failure even after uninstall and reinstalled adobe flash to my mac os x 10.7.5 (4 bit) with flash 16.0.0.235 how do I get this fixed??? HELP

I still get plug in failure even after uninstall and reinstalled adobe flash to my mac os x 10.7.5 (4 bit) with flash 16.0.0.235 how do I get this fixed??? HELP

That crash appears to be casued by the Facebook plug-in.
Create a new account (systempreferences -> accounts or Users & Groups on 10.7 and 10.8), make a new Library in that account, import some shots and see if the problem is repeated there. If it is, then a re-install of the app might be indicated. If it's not, then it's likely the app is okay and the problem is something in the main account.

How do I reinstall backed up user folder after erase and reinstall of 10.4?

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