If I erase and install will it remove my Boot Camp XP partition to?

Hi I got a new iMac at Xmas, 1st one ever, Im loving it!
Ive been messing about installing stuff, settings etc, I have set up my Boot Camp partition with X on and its working great. I havent run Time Machine yet as I knew I was going to be "testing" OS X out.
So what I really think I should do is wipe it all clean, get the OS X updates (v10.5.2 etc) and then do a backup and start afresh.But what will happen to my Boot Camp partition? will this get erased as well?
If so there is a free app called WinCLone that I could back it up with 1st I suppose, but am unsure if this works well?
So can someone help please? the only thing I need to backup ff OS X 1st is my iTunes music, as I finally have beenorganising it all with art, tags etc. this will just go onto a USB external HDD i have
cheers

I saw you said 32GB for your Boot Camp partition, I presume you formatted in FAT32. If this is the case, Winclone _will not_ work. It only works with NTFS partitions. I have used it before to resize my boot camp partition.
On a side note for anyone whom is trying to resize or change their file system on their BootCamp partition, your FAT32 partition can be converted to NTFS directly from Windows. This will allow the usage of Winclone (http://www.twocanoes.com/winclone/).
+1. Click Start, point to *All Programs*, point to Accessories, and then click *Command Prompt*.+
+2. At the command prompt, type the following, where drive letter is the drive that you want to convert:+
+*convert drive letter: /fs:ntfs*+
+For example, type the following command to convert drive E to NTFS:+
+*convert e: /fs:ntfs*+
+Note If the operating system is on the drive that you are converting, you will be prompted to schedule the task when you restart the computer because the conversion cannot be completed while the operating system is running. When you are prompted, click YES+
You can now use Winclone to make an image of the existing partition. Then use BootCamp to delete the existing partition and create a new larger partition.

Similar Messages

HT1544 If I choose erase and install, will my i-tunes library be erased?

Im running OSX 10.4.11 im upgrading to snow leopard, 10.6...from a "new" disc I bought used.If I choose to erase and install, am I going to lose my i-tunes music? I do want to erase the current administrator account and password, as I got my computer used without and discs or passwordes. my reason for going to snow leopard is to be able to download the current version of i-tunes. My 10.4.11 only allows me to go up to i-tunes 9.So i cant synch touch devices, ect. Also, i want to be the administrator with my own password. Will this work?

Yes, Erase will do exactly what it says... erase everything.
Just do an Install without erasing, but first...
Reset OS X Password Without an OS X CD...
http://theappleblog.com/2008/06/22/reset-os-x-password-without-an-os-x-cd/
Admin Hack...
http://www.hackmac.org/?q=node/4
Starts up like the first time you buy a new Mac, but after filling in all that info again, you should have access to the computer and the other Users & files will still be there... give the new User a different name than an existing one.

Downloading and Installing Office Professional 2007 in Boot Camp

I purchased an electronic download of Office Professional 2007; however, I cannot locate any source in Boot Camp to use in order to open the application. Any help out there? I really appreciate it.

Do you know what the file extension is?
I don't know much, but I'm thinking it might be an .iso file (when I downloaded the office 2010 beta it was one). If you have an iso file then you need a special disk-burning program like Nero (in Mac you can use Disk Utility although I have heard it is unreliable) to burn it to a cd or dvd, and then install the program from the cd.
If it's not an .iso file then most likely I can't help you.

Program installation after erase and install of Mac OS X.

Good day to you all,
A quick question to you Mac experts and enthusiasts. I am going to perform an erase and install on my 24" Aluminum iMac. I have numerous programs on my HD. If i copy them to an external drive and complete the erase and install, will I be able to just copy them back to my HD after, or will I need to reinstall them from the discs and .dmg files? Any help would be much appreciated on this topic. Thanks to all in advance for your time and input!
N8
Message was edited by: Nathan Barton

Nathan Barton wrote:
A quick question to you Mac experts and enthusiasts. I am going to perform an erase and install on my 24" Aluminum iMac. I have numerous programs on my HD. If i copy them to an external drive and complete the erase and install, will I be able to just copy them back to my HD after, or will I need to reinstall them from the discs and .dmg files? Any help would be much appreciated on this topic. Thanks to all in advance for your time and input!
*Hi Nathan, Welcome (Back)* to Apple's Users Help Users Forums.
Maybe I missed something—wouldn't be the 1st time—cuz I am surprised no one has suggesting making a clone prior to the E&I. You could then clone back your apps.
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html
Purchase at $27.95 will allow smart backups that look at the bu files and only move over new ones. It's quick at ~7 mins to change ~1 gig out of 20.
Be sure to test that the clone boots and apps behave properly.
Here are other popular cloners.
http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html
http://www.prosoftengineering.com/products/drivegeniusinfo.php?PHPSESSID=909c070fb2e13b35097fa9cc1340bfc0
Good Luck, JP

If I erase and install Lion, will my exisiting Time Machine Back-up be overwritten?

Since upgrading to Lion, I have experienced problems with permissions and having to repair the disk.
I have decided to do an erase and install of Lion, but would like to clarify a few things about the time machine back up.
Firstly, once the operating system has been re-installed (I do not intend to restore from backup), will my current time machine back up continue to operate or will a new back up need to take its place?
Secondly, rather than restoring from the back up (as I have alot of redundant apps), am I able to select certain apps/app data to restore? (If the answer to the above is 'Yes' then i assume that this could be done by entering time machine once I am up and running).
Thanks

First, it's unlikely that reinstalling Lion will solve your problems. But that's not the question.
If you do erase and restore, you won't lose your TM backups, but TM will need to back up all your files, even if they were previously backed up. That may result in the deletion of many snapshots to free up space.

Lion Kernel Panics - will an erase and install help?

Since upgrading to Lion and iCloud I have been experiencing kernel panics on my Macmini. I'm currently troubleshooting and believe I have concluded that the my USB or Firewire attached drives (a WD My Book 2TB and a Drobo 2G respectively) are not the cause (because the kernal panics still happen when these are disconnected and not powered on). I am discounting that RAM is issue for now, because this hasn't changed since I bought the Mini in 2010.
So my investigations are focusing on software - I've already uninstalled several apps which I have read may cause issues (Logmein and WD RAID manager). I have also tried using Lion Cache Cleaner (LCC) but this in itself seems to be causing kernel panics, particulalry when using Clam AV to virus check the home and download directories. I've experienced 2 kernal panics using LCC (always at the Clam AV step) so I've given up on that.
I've tried looking at the panic logs but I can't interpret them, so I'm thinking my last option is to completely wipe my Mini hard drive and do a fresh install of Lion and rebuild my system from the ground up. Given the lack of success with my troubleshooting, and the fact that I installed Lion on top of Snow Leopard in the first instance, leads me to believe this is the safest option.
Is this the best approach or is there anything else I should try first? I have a clone and my data is backed up.

So out of the three issues I did the following:
com.DataRobotics.driver.iSCSIInitiator - I followed a procedure provided by Drobo support to completely erase and then reinstall the latest Lion Drobo Dashboard
com.Logitech.Control Centre.HID Driver - I ugraded to the latest Lion version
com.iospirit.driver.rbiokithelper - I couldn't actually find this in the location expected (~/Library/Preferences/) or anywhere else in my library for that matter. I think it was an app I must have deleted some time ago (Remote Buddy). So I downloaded the latest version of Remote Buddy for Lion, thinking that I could install and then unistall that to remove the driver. However, I did find the following kext which I removed (/System/Library/Extensions/RBIOKitHelper.kext)
I decided this was enough so I retested everything by running a complete TimeMachine backup. Unfortunately I got another kernel panic this morning. From the log below it looks like the Logitech driver has updated. The datarobitics (Drobo) driver looks the same but I'm assuming this is ok for now as I completely reinstalled it, so that leaves me with com.iospirit.driver.rbiokithelper as the culprit. I've just got to find the d*mn thing to delete it!! When I do I'll try a backup again, and failing that, erase and install Lion.
Obviously I can't really interpret the error log, but is there anything else which may be causing the issue?
Thu Nov 3 06:29:38 2011
panic(cpu 1 caller 0xffffff80002c266d): Kernel trap at 0xffffff800028fff0, type 14=page fault, registers:
CR0: 0x0000000080010033, CR2: 0x0000000040000028, CR3: 0x0000000022ab1000, CR4: 0x0000000000000660
RAX: 0x0000000000000001, RBX: 0x0000000000262000, RCX: 0xffffff800c9c0740, RDX: 0x000000000004e163
RSP: 0xffffff8078c63640, RBP: 0xffffff8078c63660, RSI: 0x00000000258f96a0, RDI: 0xffffff80042010b0
R8: 0xffffff800de3a858, R9: 0x0000000000000000, R10: 0xffffff8078c63eb8, R11: 0xffffff80002d8220
R12: 0xffffff80042010b0, R13: 0xffffff800cce9808, R14: 0xffffff8013c97720, R15: 0x0000000040000000
RFL: 0x0000000000010206, RIP: 0xffffff800028fff0, CS: 0x0000000000000008, SS: 0x0000000000000010
CR2: 0x0000000040000028, Error code: 0x0000000000000000, Faulting CPU: 0x1
Backtrace (CPU 1), Frame : Return Address
0xffffff8078c63300 : 0xffffff8000220702
0xffffff8078c63380 : 0xffffff80002c266d
0xffffff8078c63520 : 0xffffff80002d7a1d
0xffffff8078c63540 : 0xffffff800028fff0
0xffffff8078c63660 : 0xffffff800028bcb5
0xffffff8078c63970 : 0xffffff800056e62b
0xffffff8078c639b0 : 0xffffff80002ee08d
0xffffff8078c63b20 : 0xffffff80002eed4f
0xffffff8078c63d50 : 0xffffff80004eac99
0xffffff8078c63dc0 : 0xffffff8000318e4d
0xffffff8078c63e10 : 0xffffff800031066b
0xffffff8078c63e60 : 0xffffff8000561711
0xffffff8078c63ef0 : 0xffffff8000561cf7
0xffffff8078c63f50 : 0xffffff80005caa9b
0xffffff8078c63fb0 : 0xffffff80002d8363
BSD process name corresponding to current thread: backupd
Mac OS version:
11C74
Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 11.2.0: Tue Aug 9 20:54:00 PDT 2011; root:xnu-1699.24.8~1/RELEASE_X86_64
Kernel UUID: 59275DFA-10C0-30B3-9E26-F7B5DFB1A432
System model name: Macmini3,1 (Mac-F22C86C8)
System uptime in nanoseconds: 9469092922359
last loaded kext at 1077524308432: com.apple.iokit.IOAVBFamily              1.0.0d22 (addr 0xffffff7f81003000, size 36864)
last unloaded kext at 131413126308: com.apple.driver.PioneerSuperDrive            3.0.1 (addr 0xffffff7f81bf9000, size 12288)
loaded kexts:
com.TrustedData.driver.VendorSpecificType00 1.4.0
com.iospirit.driver.rbiokithelper               1.8.0
com.DataRobotics.driver.iSCSIInitiator   1.4.33
com.Logitech.Control Center.HID Driver                3.5.0
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBCDC               4.1.15
com.apple.driver.AppleFireWireStorage               3.0.1
com.apple.driver.initioFWBridge              3.0.1
com.apple.driver.IOFireWireSerialBusProtocolSansPhysicalUnit 3.0.1
com.apple.driver.LSI_FW_500   3.0.1
com.apple.driver.Oxford_Semi 3.0.1
com.apple.driver.StorageLynx   3.0.1
com.apple.driver.AppleHWSensor           1.9.4d0
com.apple.filesystems.autofs    3.0
com.apple.driver.AudioAUUC    1.59
com.apple.driver.ApplePlatformEnabler               2.0.4d2
com.apple.driver.AGPM               100.12.42
com.apple.driver.AppleHDA       2.1.3f7
com.apple.driver.AppleUpstreamUserClient      3.5.9
com.apple.driver.AppleMCCSControl     1.0.26
com.apple.driver.ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin      4.7.5d4
com.apple.iokit.IOUserEthernet               1.0.0d1
com.apple.Dont_Steal_Mac_OS_X          7.0.0
com.apple.driver.AudioIPCDriver             1.2.1
com.apple.GeForce        7.1.2
com.apple.driver.AppleLPC         1.5.3
com.apple.AppleFSCompression.AppleFSCompressionTypeDataless      1.0.0d1
com.apple.AppleFSCompression.AppleFSCompressionTypeZlib                1.0.0d1
com.apple.BootCache   33
com.apple.iokit.SCSITaskUserClient        3.0.1
com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIBlockStorage      2.0.1
com.apple.driver.AirPortBrcm43224        500.36.11
com.apple.driver.AppleEFINVRAM          1.5.0
com.apple.driver.AppleFWOHCI               4.8.9
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBHub               4.5.0
com.apple.driver.AppleRTC        1.4
com.apple.driver.AppleAHCIPort             2.2.0
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBOHCI             4.4.5
com.apple.nvenet           2.0.17
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBEHCI              4.5.0
com.apple.driver.AppleHPET      1.6
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIButtons      1.4
com.apple.driver.AppleSMBIOS                1.7
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIEC 1.4
com.apple.driver.AppleAPIC      1.5
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagementClient         167.0.0
com.apple.nke.applicationfirewall           3.2.30
com.apple.security.quarantine 1
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement     167.0.0
com.apple.iokit.IOAVBFamily     1.0.0d22
com.apple.iokit.IOEthernetAVBController            1.0.0d5
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBMassStorageClass              3.0.0
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIBlockCommandsDevice   3.0.1
com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireSerialBusProtocolTransport 2.1.0
com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireSBP2               4.2.0
com.apple.kext.triggers                1.0
com.apple.driver.AppleHIDKeyboard     152.3
com.apple.driver.IOBluetoothHIDDriver               4.0.1f4
com.apple.driver.DspFuncLib     2.1.3f7
com.apple.driver.IOPlatformPluginFamily            4.7.5d4
com.apple.iokit.IOSurface           80.0
com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothSerialManager         4.0.1f4
com.apple.iokit.IOSerialFamily   10.0.5
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIParallelFamily      2.5.1
com.apple.driver.AppleSMC       3.1.1d8
com.apple.iokit.IOAudioFamily 1.8.3fc11
com.apple.kext.OSvKernDSPLib                1.3
com.apple.driver.ApplePolicyControl     3.0.16
com.apple.driver.AppleGraphicsControl               3.0.16
com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireIP     2.2.4
com.apple.driver.AppleHDAController   2.1.3f7
com.apple.iokit.IOHDAFamily     2.1.3f7
com.apple.nvidia.nv50hal            7.1.2
com.apple.NVDAResman             7.1.2
com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport              2.3.2
com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily            2.3.2
com.apple.driver.BroadcomUSBBluetoothHCIController               4.0.1f4
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBBluetoothHCIController        4.0.1f4
com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothFamily         4.0.1f4
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBHIDDriver               4.4.5
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBComposite 3.9.0
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIMultimediaCommandsDevice      3.0.1
com.apple.iokit.IOBDStorageFamily        1.6
com.apple.iokit.IODVDStorageFamily     1.7
com.apple.iokit.IOCDStorageFamily        1.7
com.apple.iokit.IOAHCISerialATAPI         2.0.1
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIArchitectureModelFamily              3.0.1
com.apple.driver.XsanFilter        403
com.apple.iokit.IO80211Family 411.1
com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireFamily            4.4.5
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBUserClient             4.5.3
com.apple.driver.AppleEFIRuntime         1.5.0
com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIFamily    2.0.7
com.apple.iokit.IONetworkingFamily      2.0
com.apple.driver.NVSMU            2.2.9
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBFamily     4.5.3
com.apple.iokit.IOHIDFamily      1.7.1
com.apple.iokit.IOSMBusFamily                1.1
com.apple.security.sandbox       165.3
com.apple.kext.AppleMatch      1.0.0d1
com.apple.security.TMSafetyNet             7
com.apple.driver.DiskImages     331
com.apple.iokit.IOStorageFamily              1.7
com.apple.driver.AppleKeyStore             28.18
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIPlatform     1.4
com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily       2.6.7
com.apple.iokit.IOACPIFamily    1.4

Mail will not recognize mailboxes backed up before erase and install.

Since my computer was starting to slow down, I figured it was a good time for the old erase and install. Rather than backup the whole "Mail" folder in the library as I should have done, I only backed up the "Mailboxes" and the "POP-address@..." folders. I also backed up the plist folder to go in /preferences/mail.
Now mail won't recognize my old mailboxes. The preferences list clearly worked, and my mailbox folders even appear on the left in mail, but none of my messages are there. When I try to use the "import mailboxes" command in mail, it says that "No valid mail for mac os x were found." The messages are clearly in these folders because if I double click on an individual message, I can see it.
Please help me to get back to my former world. I miss IMAP.

David Gimeno Gost wrote:
I also backed up the plist folder to go in /preferences/mail.
This doesn’t make sense. com.apple.mail.plist, if that’s what you mean, is a file, not a folder, and it should be in ~/Library/Preferences/, not in “/preferences/mail”.
When I try to use the "import mailboxes" command in mail, it
says that "No valid mail for mac os x were found."
Pay attention to the instructions that Mail displays when choosing Mail for Mac OS X as the data format. In the next step, Mail wants you to select the folder that contains the mailboxes to be imported (i.e. the folder where the .mbox folders to be imported reside), not the .mbox folders themselves nor the Messages folders within them. If you select the wrong folder, Mail says “No valid Mail for Mac OS X files were found” because it cannot find any .mbox folders within the folder you’re selecting.
Yes, sorry, the file is in library/preferences.
Your suggestion about paying attention to the folder that the mailboxes are IN worked like a charm. The only problem is that now I accidentally deleted my trash mailbox and can't figure out how to create a new one.
Thank you so much for your help, and I apologize for my ineptitude.

Want to erase and install + upgrade to Snow Leopard and remove virus.

Hi,
I'd like to do an erase and install after all these problems on my computer here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2751511&tstart=0
I'd like to upgrade to Snow Leopard at the same time.
I was thinking of making a clone with Super Duper to an external hard disk.
I was also thinking of making another clone to this Strato 500GB online storage offer here:
http://www.strato-hosting.co.uk/online-storage-hidrive/index.html
That way I'd have two backups if one went wrong.
Is there anywhere I can get step my step instructions on how to go ahead with the upgrade and how to import the files I need afterwards without importing any previous nasties?
Primarily I need to import:
1) Various files on my desktop, which consist of Adobe files, Word, Text, PDF and JPEGS etc. (easy, I can do this)
2) Data for the following applications: (I don't know how to do this and NEED to keep the files)
My iPhoto Library
my iTunes library
my Mail history
iCal
Photobooth pics
my Skype history
my aMSN History
"Things" data
Safari Bookmarks
Firefox Bookmarks
Address Book
Any tips on how to proceed would be much appreciated.
Many thanks.

Drag your home folder in /Users/ or elsewhere to another location, restart from the Mac OS X 10.6 DVD, use the Disk Utility in the Utilities menu to erase the drive, install the OS, and drag the items back from your old home folder as desired.
(56883)

Maybe it's time for an Erase and Install???

Things were getting a bit sluggish (like 90% speed drop, and beach balls every few minutes) on my main HD (MacHD), so I created a new backup on my external HD (MacBkup). This is a cloned, bootable copy, created via Carbon Copy Cloner. Sluggishness was especially prevalent in Safari and Apple Mail, but at some point would effect almost everything. First noted this after updating to 10.6.7 and Safari 5.0.5.
Some specs:
• 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
• 250 GB HD, about 100 GB not used
• 10.6 (or above)
I've tried a number of options, some of which worked for an hour or a few, but it wasn't long before the bad behavior returned.
First I tried all the basic stuff, like Repair Disk Permissions and Repair Disk in Disk Utility. Everything gets repaired. I used Reset Safari in the Safari menu and cleaned up a number of options there (caches, histories, and the like). Removed Safari extensions and similar, especially those from pre-Safari 5 days. Did the PRAM.
Did an Archive and Install of 10.6 on MacHD. Did Software Update to bring everything up to date. Worked somewhat well until Safari 5.0.5 was installed. Sluggishness returned big time. Did another Archive and Install of 10.6, but no further Software Updates. No matter. It's sluggish again.
Ran quite a few tests using Disk Genius (DG). Did repair disk and repair disk permissions using DG. Scanned for bad sectors. Found none. Did a Defrag. Supposedly never needed but did it anyway. The MacHD is still sluggish, sometimes even more so than before. Ran DiskWarrior. Created a new directory structure, which was only a slight modification from the existing one. Returned to MacHD, still sluggish. While doing all these tests on MacHD, MacHD seemed to be responding normally. No sluggishness. Only when booting from MacHD would there be a sluggishness problem.
Booted from MacBkup. The bootable copy on MacBkup is only 3 days old, so it's > 99% identical to MacHD. It runs fine. No sluggishness.
So here's where I am today...
• All hardware tests tell me MacHD is fine.
• MacHD is only sluggish when booted from. When accessed by utilities on disk or MacBkup, it seems to run fine.
• The cloned version, 3 days old and > 99% identical to the one on MacBkup runs fine, so that tells me my software is in good condition.
• All other tests run fine, except for small problems that get fixed, like permissions.
The only two options I can think of is reclone MacBkup back to MacHD. But the sluggishness was happening before this clone was made, so I don't what that will accomplish. Or I can Erase and Install, with all the resultant headaches that go with that.
So all you Mac Gurus. Any other ideas on this?

OK, well things are back to normal. As mentioned above, the backup I had made earlier this week, one that was already displaying problems, seemed to be working relatively normally on disk MacBkup. So I figured what the heck. Just copy it back to MacHD and see what happens. And it's working.
Anyway, the maintenance (Disk Utility, Drive Genius, DiskWarrior) I did on MacHD obviously did something. I thought that I would just copy the problems back, but no. I'm back to 10.6.7 and Safari 5.0.5 (although 5.0.5 definitely seems slower than 5.0.4).
Just another reason to keep not only a backup, but a bootable one.

IMac still broken after 10.5.7 problems and Erase and Install

I had written the following at the end of a "solved" post when it was suggested that I start a new post instead. So here is what I had...
Ok. I think my iMac was turned into a giant paper weight by 10.5.7.
Here's what happened with the Archive and Install. The screen said "Calculating Time Remaining" and stayed there for over an hour. I searched the boards and found that I should try to create a partition with Disk Utility and then try again.
So, I hard reset the computer and reboot off the Leopard DVD. I tried to make the partition but couldn't figure out how. Turns out I needed to click on the actual hard drive icon, not the existing Volume icon (which I discovered later). So, I checked the drive for repairs and it still checked out ok. I decided to erase the drive and go from there.
While tinkering in the Utilities I noticed the Restore from Backup option. So, I plugged in my Firewire Time Machine drive and began a restore from the last time my System was using 10.5.6. The restore completed successfully and I was hopeful that things would be ok.
I restarted the machine and it immediately went in to Open Firmware and the fans start spinning at full. So, I shake my head and decide to reset NVRAM. It tries to reboot and I have to hard restart it 3 or 4 times (as usual lately) and was able to reboot again off the Leopard install DVD.
That's it, I thought. I'm going to erase and install OS X.
I go back to Disk Utility and figure out how to partition the drive. I create a single partition and begin the process of Install OS X. It says starts fine and in about 40 minutes it is complete.
Restart with fingers crossed! New OS, wiped drive... it HAS to work, right?
Nope.
Same problems... freezing on boot, fans loud, etc. I reset PRAM and SMU(SMC).
Luckily I don't have any pressing work on my computer - someone who did would be quite angry with Apple that this was happening.
For my part... I now have a wiped hard drive... all iTunes content, iPhoto content, all my apps, games, docs... GONE. I do have the Time Machine backup... but did it really have to come to this? I suppose my hard drive could be failing... but wouldn't the multiple disk checks have shown something?
If there are any suggestions I'm all ears. I have reached the limits of my troubleshooting knowledge.
Thanks,
Jon
Follow-up:
After the computer had been off for several hours over night I decided to start it up again to see what would happen. At first it looked encouraging... got the startup chime, the Apple logo, the progress wheel.... then kernel panic.
Several hard restarts later (to get the Leopard DVD out of the drive) and the iMac now sits, packed in it's original box, ready to go to the Apple Store.
My question is this... does anyone think this might be a power supply issue?
The reason I ask is that I exhausted ALL troubleshooting procedures that I can think of. These include:
Replacing RAM, both DIMMs
Reset PRAM and NVRAM and SMC
Check hard drive using install DVD - OK
Restore 10.5.6 from Time Machine drive - did not resolve issues
Erase and Install OS X - did not resolve issue
Plug iMac in to wall outlet versus power strip
Removed all peripherals
etc, etc
I just can't believe that upgrading to 10.5.7 would hose my hardware. The iMac was working fine until 10.5.7 except the occasional crash of Halo on the larger maps.
Totally stumped.
Thanks,
Jon

Hello Joanne:
A suggestion - reset the SMU:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1767
If that does not help, let me try to answer your questions.
Wondering if I should roll back to 10.5.4 which is what I had, and, if so, how to do it?
If you have Time Machine, use that (a copy before the problem). If you do not have TM (or a bootable clone) the way to go back is to do an archive and install:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1710
Also, I've downloaded the Safari update, which I know won't run on that, so would I even be able to get the old Safari back?
The archive and install will do that. By the by, Safari 4 should run just fine on your system. It is faster than Safari 3.
Barry

Startup problems, even after erase and install

Hi, i have a polycarbonate black macbook (I think its of the last black ones that were sold), I used to have leopard 10.5.8, and windows xp on it with refit as the boot menu, recently I removed refit, and updated to snow leopard, around that time i started having problems at boot time, either i got stuck at the grey apple screen, or got a prohibitory sign, or most commonly, a kernel panic, that leaves no log by the way. About 1 in 5 tries actually boots up, so I thought I should go the windows way and erase and install. And the problem is still there, I ran a memtest from single user mode, and all ram ended ok.
I have since reinstalled rEFIt, and the problem at least changed, when I turn on the mac, at least the rEFIt logo comes up, sometimes it does load fine, and after that if i choose mac os its exactly as before, if I choose legacy os I get the no boot disk found error (which is what i expect since the computer only has mac os x)
As an aditional note, when the computer does boot, everything works completely normal, the only problems are at boot up time.
EDIT: Just to add that I cant seem to run Apple hardware test, it just doesnt boot holding the D key from either install disk, not before having installed refit, nor after
Hope someone can find some insight in this, im really worried that this could be some logic board failing, I really cant afford such an expense. Thanks, and sorry for the long post, I wanted to detail it as much as possible
Message was edited by: carlosjoan91

If your hardware test boot device was on the hard drive rather than the installer disc, then installing rEFIt may destroy the boot loader originally used causing the loss of an ability to boot into the test. You would likely need an old version of the installer disc that had the hardware test on the disc rather than on the hard drive.
At this point the best thing for you to do is the following:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Boot from your OS X Installer Disc.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (for Intel Macs) or APM (for PPC Macs) then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
Reinstall OS X and use Boot Camp Assistant to create a Windows volume instead of using rEFIt. You'll have fewer problems.

Erase and install - Can I select what I want to put back on from Time Machine.

I've been suffering from the super slow Yosemite problem. I have had two long sessions with the very nice people on Apple support and have we have made some progress - thank you Marie and Cheryl. They have suggested an 'erase and install' to resolve the problem.
I regularly back up my laptop to 'Time Machine' but I don't want to just reload everything as that may just bring the problem back again. So, the question is can I select which files and applications I want to recover from Time Machine?

Here's what you should do:
Install or Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion from Scratch
Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Erase the hard drive:
1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
2. After DU loads select your startup volume (usually Macintosh HD) from the
      left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
3. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Optionally, click on
        the Security button and set the Zero Data option to one-pass. Click on
      the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Install button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible
            because it is three times faster than wireless.
Once you know it's running properly you can begin re-installing your third-party software from the original media. Finally, restore your data from your Time Machine backup. This assures that all but your data files are freshly installed.

Erase and Install.. Is it now ready for new owner?

1 )   Hello, i think i saw the answer to my question in a previous post but as it is the first time i have installed a system i would like to make sure i understand properly. I am preparing a computer for sale or giveaway. At the end of the installation it carries on to the Welcome /Registration process, i presume it is at that point i stop, which i did, what baffled me was that there was no way to exit the page and no way to shut the computer down. I turned it off at the power button, is it ok now to pull the plug? And when it is turned back on will it start at the Welcome page and the new owner go on from there?
2 ) Before doing the Erase and Install i had a play around with removing my account. I deleted all private data and browsing history and anything i could find to delete, disabled auto login then i set up a fictitious account and used the admin rights given to that account to remove my proper account. That was all good except when the computer started again it still displayed my name on the panel that comes up saying e.g Joe Bloggs computer.   Is there a way to remove my name from that panel ?   The reason i ask is that a computer can be given away with the OS still in it ready to use with previous details removed but the new owner wouldn't want to see a previous owners name come up.( It didn't appear on the accounts page)
The name must have been put in during the configuration process, how or at what point do i avoid it or perhaps choose just to enter something general such as " my computer" ?    Thanks .

Gidday or i should say good evening.. i didn't leave a computer behind(?)... Before i did the Erase and Install i had as i described it a "play around". I think it was at that point my name still appeared on the start up pane. Then i put the disc in and yes the first time it was just an Upgrade ( i didn't realise) 10.3 to 10.4. I had a look and found the option to Erase and Install which has been done, it will have erased my name but that wasn't the first question... there was no way to exit the Welcome process so do i just pull the plug (its currently just been turned off at the machine itself) leaving it at that point of Welcome/ Registration, and is it now ready to go to a new owner?
As to the other query i am just curious to know if is there a way to remove the name from that pane? I presume i filled in the name somewhere during the Welcome process.
Yes i am aware that recovery can be done and that Erasing etc is the safest way but there was nothing to be of concern on the computer. I wasn't even doing internet banking back on the 10.3.       I have 3 eMacs and will be keeping the other two.

After erase and install, is the old data still recoverable?

Hello,
I'm doing an erase and install on a mini that I want to sell. Can I be sure that the old files are gone? After an erase and install can someone use a disk recovery program to get old files? Do I have to use Disk Utility to zero the drive?
Thanks
Bob

Here's a series of steps to prepare the computer for sale:
Follow these instructions step by step to prepare a Mac for sale:
First, back up the data:
1) Shut down all Virtual PCs. They cannot be in their "fast saved" state. They must be shut down from inside Windows.
2) Clone to an external drive using Carbon Copy Cloner.
Next, prepare the machine for the new buyer:
3) Deauthorize the computer in iTunes! Deauthorize both iTunes and Audible accounts.
4) Remove Open Firmware passwords
5) Turn the brightness full up and volume nearly so.
Install a fresh OS:
6) Insert the OS X install CD/DVD.
7) Restart the computer while holding down the C key to boot from the CD/DVD.
8) Run Disk Utility from the file menu and erase the internal hard drive (optionally zero all data).
9) Install OS X.
10) Reboot the computer.
11) From the welcome screen, you can skip the registration step by typing command-Q.
12) When prompted, create an account (it will be an admin account).
13) From your new admin account, configure networking.
14) Then use Software Update to bring your system and all of it's applications up to date.
15) From Disk Utility, repair permissions on the new volume.
Now delete the account you just created:
16) Boot from a different volume (e.g. a firewire drive, if available)
17) Clean up the image using the following terminal commands:
prompt> rm /Volumes/<imagevol>/var/db/BootCache.playlist
prompt> rm /Volumes/<imagevol>/var/db/volinfo.database
prompt> rm -r /Volumes/<imagevol>/var/vm/swap*
18) Now you can get rid of the admin account you used to set up the machine Use the terminal:
prompt> nicl -raw /Volumes/<imagevol>/var/db/netinfo/local.nidb -delete /users/<admin>
prompt> rm -r /Volumes/<imagevol>/Users/<admin>
prompt> rm /Volumes/<imagevol>/var/db/.AppleSetupDone
19) Shut down and ship it to your buyer. When they get it, it will boot to the Welcome screen just like a factory Mac, except that it's better because it's completely up to date.

Lost applications due to "Erase and Install" option in Leopard Installation

I bought a new Macbook this morning at my local Apple Store, and they gave me a Macbook running Tiger as well as a Leopard Installation Disk. I wanted my Macbook to be just like new, so I called Apple Support and they told me to do an "Erase and Install." After I followed their directions and was finally running Leopard, I noticed that I lost programs: Garageband, iPhoto, and iMovie to name a few.
How can I get these applications back?
And it is absolutely ridiculous if I have to buy iLife '08 because I had these programs already on my computer with Mac OSX Tiger before Apple told me to "Erase and Install."
p.s. I received 2 other disks that seem to be of no help...2 Tiger Installation disks.

Ok if you purchased a new macbook reload the original os x tiger restore cd's you have to hold the c key at startup to boot from it format and reinstall mac os x tiger then once os x tiger is installed update to the latest version of tiger first then connect a external hard drive and use carbon copy cloner to backup your hard drive the reason for this is when you upgrade from tiger to leopard the os has a high tendency to remove the idvd and garageband content so none of your ilife apps will function after the upgrade this is why you need the external with it the first time you install mac os x leopard it will ask do you want to transfer your settings from another partition on this mac select this option and select the external and everything will be fine

If I erase and install will it remove my Boot Camp XP partition to?

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