Is there a benefit in restoring a 2 year old computer to factory settings

I have had a MacBook Pro since June 2006. My dad has recently got a Mac Book Air and my mom an iMac. It has been exciting for me to set up their computers while everything is like a clean slate.
I was wondering if there is a benefit to just backing up all my information and starting over so I could just have a clean slate. I am sure my computer has acquired a lot of junk. I am very organized with my computer files and it bugs me to know that there is a bunch of crap taking up space on my hard drive.
Is it worth doing?
How do I do it?
and will it restore it back to Tiger? (I bought it with Tiger but I installed Leopard on it)
Thanks in advance.

The easiest way to get a clean slate (and to be sure you don't lose anything like license keys for shareware that you might have stored ONLY on your computer) is to first make a bootable clone of your hard drive to an external drive. Then keep this external drive for reference.
Then, If you WANT to go back to Tiger, use the Tiger installation disc(s) that came with your computer and "Erase and Install". If you'd rather stay with Leopard, just "Erase and install" from the Leopard installation DVD. In either case, be sure to update to the most recent version of Tiger or Leopard using the "combo" updates found on the Apple website. Install only compatible apps for whichever OS you are installing. If you use migration, you may bring some incompatible "garbage" along that you don't want or need, since you can't pick and choose very much, and this defeats your purpose of cleaning up, so I would reinstall everything from scratch.
I cut out 30GB of unneeded stuff by not using migration, and went from a highly unstable, leg-burning overloaded-processor Leopard installation to my current state in which the computer running well, is no longer crashing or panicking, and is running WAY cooler with more apps open.
It is a lot of work, but I do think it is well worth it to get the best operation.

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Can you help I was having problems with my iPod so I restored it but I accidentally set it up as a new iPod is there any way to restore it from an old backup when I right click iPod in iTunes there isn't one anyway to recover one or find it on computer

Hi can you help I was having problems with my iPod so I restored it but I
accidentally set it up as a new iPod is there any way to restore it from an old
backup when I right click iPod in iTunes there isn't one anyway to recover one
or find it on computer

The following says how to restore from backup.
iOS: How to back up
If you go to iTunes>Preferences>Devices you can see if you have an iTunes backup. You need one dated before or the exact time you started the restore.

How the **** do I restore my grandaughter's ipod touch to factory settings? Please help. I have tried the itunes thing and it just goes in circles!!

Can anyone out there please tell me how to restore my grandaughter's ipod touch to factory settings? Her mother has it blocked to her name. omg
<Edited By Host>

I had the same problem a few days ago - just let it keep circling as it will eventually stop. Make sure it's plugged into the computer and walk away. Check on it periodically and do whatever the stupid thing says to do. I think mine "circled" about 5 times before it finally worked. . .

How do i restore my wifi setting back to the factory settings? I have changed it somehow :/ and now my wifi will not connect. My Airport is on and showing full strength but will not connect.

How do i restore my wifi setting back to the factory settings? I have changed it somehow :/ and now my wifi will not connect. My Airport is on and showing full strength but will not connect.

Ok, if other devices are connecting but just not your MacBook then let's start troubleshooting the MacBook to possibly find out why.
Please try each of the following, in order, until hopefully resolved:
Note the following are excerpts from an OS X Daily article.
* Turn Airport on & off – You can do this via the Airport menu bar or from the Network Preferences. This is the first thing you should try when troubleshooting Mac wireless problems.
* Make sure Wireless/Airport card software & firmware is up to date – This is usually done just by going to the Software Update menu, if there are any updates available for your Mac or Airport, install them.
* Delete and recreate connection – Try deleting and recreating/reestablishing the wireless connection, sometimes a setting can be corrupted and this may fix it.
* Create a new Network Location – Similar to the above suggestion, try creating a new and different wireless network location to see if it resolves the connection problems.
* Change DHCP auto settings to manual – sometimes there is a problem with the DHCP server, and if you manually set an IP address on the network you can be fine. Remember to set the IP to a high number so it wouldn’t interfere with other DHCP machines. As long as you have the subnet mask, router, and DNS settings configured manually as well, this shouldn’t be a problem.
* Flush the DNS cache – Launch the Terminal and enter the following command onto one full line within the Terminal: dscacheutil -flushcache
* Zap the PRAM – Reboot your Mac and hold Command+Option+P+R during restart until you hear another chime, let the Mac boot as usual.
* Delete Wireless Config files – Delete com.apple.internetconfigpriv.plist and com.apple.internetconfig.plist files from ~/Library/Preferences and reboot
* Trash your home directories SystemConfiguration – Remove all files within ~/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/ and then reboot your Mac.
* Reset your Mac’s System Management Controller (SMC) – For MacBook and MacBook Pro’s: Shutdown the MacBook/Pro, remove the battery, disconnect the power, hold the Power Key for 15 seconds. Replace the battery, reconnect power, and zap the PRAM and wait for 2 chimes before letting the keys go. Let boot as usual.

After Restoring your computer to Factory Settings How do you restore backups from Time Machine? Help!

I have Restored my Computer to Factory Settings and Now I'm trying to restore the backups from my Time Matchine. I've already done the Migration Assistant things. But I dont know where to find my details or where my files are.
Everything is in different spots then where it was when i started this process.
HELP

Restoring from Time Machine and using Migration Assistant are either/or options... either restore from a Time Machine backup or restore by using Migration Assitant. You don't write which version of OS X you're running, so it's kind of difficult to tell you where to begin (or start over).
If you're running Lion or Mountain Lion, I would boot into the Recovery partition (holding down the Command and R keys whilst booting) and use Disk Utility to erase your boot volume. Then, with your TM drive connected, restore your latest backup to your newly formatted volume. You can do the same by using the installation disc that has Snow Leopard on it, just with a few extra steps.
See http://www.pondini.org/TM/14.html.
Good luck,
Clinton

I had to restore my computer to factory settings. It wiped out my itunes and it was not backed up. How do I get the music, including music I did not buy from itunes back on computer?

I had to restore my computer to factory settings, this wiped out my itunes and I did not backup. How do I get the music (including music not purchased from itunes) back on my computer?

Assuming the music is sitting on your iPod, try Detune:
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/35334/detune
Just be careful that you don't allow the "empty" iTunes to wipe your ipod.

I restored my iPhone 3 g to its factory settings and I tryed to connect it to iTunes on my laptop and it said This iPhone cannot be used because the required software is not installed. Run the installer to remove iTunes. Then install iTunes again. HELP!!

I restored my iPhone 3 g to its factory settings and I tryed to connect it to iTunes on my laptop and it said This iPhone cannot be used because the required software is not installed. Run the installer to remove iTunes. Then install iTunes again. HELP!! PLEASE!! Because I cannot get on my iPhone!!

Hi, Mommacat26.
Thank you for visiting Apple Support Communities.
This usually means that a required component is missing. Start with completely uninstalling iTunes and all of it's components in the order specified in the article below. Once this is done, download and install iTunes.
Removing and reinstalling iTunes and other software components for Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1923
Removing and Reinstalling iTunes and other software components for Windows XP
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1925
If you receive any errors when uninstalling any components of iTunes, try the steps in the article below for each component that gives you an error.
"The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is unavailable" alert appears when removing Apple software in Windows
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3704
If the issue persists, try installing the Apple Mobile Device Support driver. See the section labeled Verify that the Apple Mobile Device USB Driver is installed > For Windows XP or Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 > Update the Apple Mobile Device Driver.
iOS: Device not recognized in iTunes for Windows
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1538
Cheers,
Jason H.

How do i reset/restore computer to factory settings???

how do i reset/restore computer to factory settings???

Follow these instructions step by step to prepare a Mac for sale:
Step One - Back up your data:
       A. If you have any Virtual PCs shut them down. They cannot be in their "fast saved" state. They must be shut down from inside Windows.
       B. Clone to an external drive using using Carbon Copy Cloner.
          1. Open Carbon Copy Cloner.
          2. Select the Source volume from the Select a source drop down menu on the left side.
          3. Select the Destination volume from the Select a destination drop down menu on the right
              side.
          4. Click on the Clone button. If you are prompted about creating a clone of the Recovery HD be
              sure to opt for that.
               Destination means a freshly erased external backup drive. Source means the internal
               startup drive.
Step Two - Prepare the machine for the new buyer:
          1. De-authorize the computer in iTunes! De-authorize both iTunes and Audible accounts.
          2, Remove any Open Firmware passwords or Firmware passwords.
          3. Turn the brightness full up and volume nearly so.
          4. Turn off File Vault, if enabled.
          5. Disable iCloud, if enabled: See.What to do with iCloud before selling your computer
Step Three - Install a fresh OS:
     A. Snow Leopard and earlier versions of OS X
          1. Insert the original OS X install CD/DVD that came with your computer.
          2. Restart the computer while holding down the C key to boot from the CD/DVD.
          3. Select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu; repartition and reformat the internal hard drive.
              Optionally, click on the Security button and set the Zero Data option to one-pass.
          4. Install OS X.
          5. Upon completion DO NOT restart the computer.
          6. Shutdown the computer.
     B. Lion and Mountain Lion (if pre-installed on the computer at purchase*)
         Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because
                   it is three times faster than wireless.
          1. Restart the computer while holding down the COMMAND and R keys until the Mac OS X
              Utilities window appears.
          2. Select Disk Utility from the Mac OS X Utilities window and click on the Continue button.
          3. 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.
          4. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Optionally, click on the Security button
              and set the Zero Data option to one-pass.
          5. Click on the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.
          6. Quit DU and return to the Mac OS X Utilities window.
          7. Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Install button.
          8. Upon completion shutdown the computer.
*If your computer came with Lion or Mountain Lion pre-installed then you are entitled to transfer your license once. If you purchased Lion or Mountain Lion from the App Store then you cannot transfer your license to another party. In the case of the latter you should install the original version of OS X that came with your computer. You need to repartition the hard drive as well as reformat it; this will assure that the Recovery HD partition is removed. See Step Three above. You may verify these requirements by reviewing your OS X Software License.

I purchased music from Itunes and I had to restore my computer to factory settings and now I have no music. Can I download it again?

I had purchased music on my computer and iphone and I had to restore my computer to factory settings and I smashed my iphone. Can I get my music back?

If you are in the U.S. or Canada and install iTunes 10.3, you can re download your iTunes purchases to your computer.
Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store

TS4062 I had to restore my computer to factory settings now i can't sync my phone to my computer,help please

I had to restore my computer to factory settings now I can't sync mine and my husbands IPHOne to my computer

See Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.
tt2

Restored my computer to Factory settings

I recently (yesterday) restored my computer to factory settings. I downloaded I-Tunes to my reformatted computer and it works just fine and I can get on my I-Tunes account just fine. The only problem is that I cannot for the life of me figure out how to reauthorize my computer to copy my songs from my I-Pod back onto my computer. I did not de-authorize my computer before reformatting my computer though ( I didn't know).
Does anybody know how I can go about reauthorizing my computer?

If you still have any free authorisations then open iTunes and go to Store>Authorise Computer. However, if you've reached your limit of 5 you have the option to deauthorise them all in one go from your iTunes Store account and start over again. *Just note that you can only use this option once a year*: About iTunes Music Store Authorisation and Deauthorisation
To deauthorise all computers associated with your account:
1. Click iTunes Store in the Source pane.
2. If you're not signed in to the store, click the Account button, then enter your account name and password.
3. Click the Account button again (your ID appears on the button), enter your password, and then click View Account.
4. In the Account Information window, click Deauthorize All.
See also this article: One computer using multiple iTunes Music Store authorizations

I restored my computer to factory settings and then my itunes totally erased i put my ipod in and everything erased from my ipod how do i get everything back

i restored my computer to factory settings and then my itunes totally erased i put my ipod in and everything erased from my ipod how do i get everything back

You can redownload iTunes purchases by:
iTunes Store: Transferring purchases from your iOS device or iPod to a computer

HT201263 I was trying to restore my ipod to it's original factory settings. I can't restore it because i don't have permission request a permitted resource. What can i do in this situation?

I was trying to restore my ipod to it's original factory settings. I can't restore it because i don't have permission request a permitted resource. What can i do in this situation?

What is the exact wording of this error message? Perhaps it's one of the errors listed in this article.
iOS: Resolving update and restore alert messages
B-rock

How do I restore my Mac OS 9 to its factory settings?

how do I restore my Mac OS 9 to its factory settings?

Insert the install disk, restart with the C key held down, select the internal drive, choose Erase Disk from the Finder's Special menu, and install an OS onto it. If you are shown an installation screen instead of the Finder straight away, erase it from Drive Setup if not given an explicit option by the installer.
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How to restore mac air late 2010 to its factory settings?

How to restore mac air late 2010 to its factory settings?

To restore the Late 2010 MacBook Air to factory settings:
1. Insert the OS X thumb drive that came with your computer, hold the Option (Alt) key while your computer is starting and choose your USB drive.
2. Choose your language, and go to Utilities menu > Disk Utility.
3. Select "Macintosh HD" on the sidebar, go to Erase tab and erase the disk. This will delete everything that it's in the hard drive.
4. Close Disk Utility and reinstall Mac OS X. Remember to install the iLife applications from the thumb drive after installing OS X

Is there a benefit in restoring a 2 year old computer to factory settings

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