Moving Previous systems folder

I have just upgraded my OS to Tiger on a G3 Tower that only has 12 Gig. I did an archive and install, which I now regret, but I did it. Now I am out of disk space. The "previous system" folder is 2.75 gig and I have been trying to move it to my external drive. It takes forever to "prepare to move" roughly 33,000 files. Then, when it actually starts to move them, I get a "permissions" error and a choice of skipping them. I choose to skip them and the "move" terminates. How can I move this folder to my external drive?"
Thank you.
G3 Tower   Mac OS X (10.3.9)   Turqoise

It is not necessary to move the entire Previous System. First delete the Apple apps and utilities from the Previous System, this will give you some space. The other Third Party apps and utilities have already been moved. Those found in the Previous System are not compatible.
The entire old System folder can be trashed. Drivers for your hardware have been upgraded or moved to a current location.
What you are most interested in are located in your Home folder. The Preferences for the Third Party applications can be moved from User/Preferences (previous) to User/Preferences (new).
Do the same for the Preferences located in Library/Preferences
Be sure to Fix Disk Permissions along the way.

Similar Messages

  • New to MAC  -help with previous systems folder -this should be an easy one!

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    I just want to clean up my laptop and keep it simple... What is the safe and easy thing to do?
    Thanks for all the help... this site is what influenced me to switch from PC to MAC !
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    Start with the description in http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301270
    Once you sort that out, see:
    Switching from Windows to Mac OS X,
    Basic Tutorials on using a Mac,
    MacFixIt Tutorials, and
    MacTips Learning Centre.
    Additionally, *Texas Mac Man* recommends:
    Quick Assist.
    Welcome to the Switch To A Mac Guides, and
    A guide for switching to a Mac.

  • Deleting Previous System Folder

    Hello again,
    I'm upgrading from Panther to Tiger on my Power Book G4. After I finish making a clone of my current hard drive, I plan to upgrade to Tiger by doing a Clean Archive Reinstall, preserve all network and system preferences settings. What I want to know is can I delete my Previous System Folder once I have upgraded to Tiger 10.4.11?
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    Phil

    Yes. However, you may find that some information in the /Library/ folder may not be moved automatically during the Archive and Install. In particular you want to check these:
    /Library/Application Support/
    /Library/Preferences/
    /Library/StartupItems/
    /Library/InputManagers/
    /Library/PreferencePanes/
    These may contain items installed by third-party software that you will have to move manually from the PSF.
    If you have Palm software installed there will also be one or two Palm related folders that you will need to transfer.
    Once you are satisfied that you have everything then drag the PSF to the Trash and empty. If you get any warnings then simply restart the computer and then empty the Trash.

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

    After archive and install of Leopard I noticed the "Previous Systems" folder which also happens to contain ALL the receipts from Tiger days. It's over 3GB and I temporarily moved it to an ext hd. Is this OK??? I'm wondering how future update notifications will be handled if old receipts can't be found.
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    jimbo60640 wrote:
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  • Previous systems folder -- what can i delete?

    i had to archive my old system and now, in my hard drive, is the "previous systems" folder with the old library and whatnot.
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      Mac OS X (10.4.7)  

    emillie
    There are some things that might need moving: printer software that you added and so on. I suggest that you use the machine for a week or two and if you're content that all is working normally then you can trash it. That's what I did.
    Regards
    TD

  • Where did my Previous System folder go?

    I upgraded my G5 yesterday from 10.3.9 to 10.5. Everything works fine after the upgrade. But I can't find the Previous System folder that should be on my hard drive.
    When I upgraded, I planned to do an Archive and Install and preserve user settings, but I never saw that menu in the installer (I missed the "Options" button, duh). After the upgrade all my user accounts and data were still on the G5, so I'm assuming the installer did an "Archive and Install -- Preserve User Settings" by default.
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    But I don't have a Previous System folder anywhere on my hard drive. Any ideas what happened?
    The default installation method preserves your user accounts, data, and applications, but deletes and/or overwrites the previous system files.
    (45924)

  • Missing Previous System Folder

    Hello,
    I have searched the forums and have not found an answer to my question, so I shall post it.
    I did an Archive and Install from my Tiger Install DVD. I was downgrading from 10.4.9 to 10.4 becuase I was having problems with FInal Cut.
    I took the necessary steps to save my old preferences. After the A&S I downloaded the 10.4.8 combo pack and installed that.
    Now I cannot find the "Previous System Folder" that is supposed to hold all of my old prefs. I have a folder called System Folder (from old mac) but it is dated 2006.
    Searches through the finder have not turned up anything.
    Any ideas on where the bugger might be hiding?
    Thank you

    That's because for the most part Spotlight (or Finder's Find) doesn't search outside the /Applications and /Users folders.

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

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

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

    I have been unable to migrate files (or even find the option to migrate files) located in my Previous Systems folder. I've been able to change the Privilege of these files to Read & Write (though my Permissions still indicate "You can only read.") and drag them from my previous Users folder to my current desktop, which creates a situation where I have them but am still unable to alter them (or delete them).
    thanks, all.

    Here's my exact issue: I've spent many hours converting vinyl records to mp3s, which were then stored in the iTunes folder of my previous system. Upon performing the Archive and Install, all of these files were located in my Previous Systems>Users>"X">Music folder, which initially could not be opened, prompting the notice, "The folder Music could not be opened because you do not have sufficient access privileges." So, I clicked "Get Info" and changed the Privilege from Read Only to Read & Write. From there I could open the folder, and as you pointed out, move these files wherever I chose. The problem is that I can't use them in any practical sense; I can't import them to my iTunes library and I can't delete them, being notified, "The operation can't be completed because backup items can't be modified." Which, would lead me to believe that I have yet to restore them properly.

  • Are Itunes playlists stored in Previous System folder

    I re-installed Leopard and my old files are stored in a folder called previous system. I tried to find back the playlists that I had running under Itunes, but I can not find them in this previous system folder. Therefore my questions: Are they backed-up into this folder and if so, where are they located.
    Thanks in advance.
    Jan

    Unless you made a separate backup, playlists are referenced in the iTunes Library file and the iTunes Library .XML file: iTunes: How to backup and restore playlists
    The iTunes Library (iTunes Library.itl in Windows) database file holds all the information about your songs (Playlists, Ratings, Play Counts, Last Played, Date Added, etc). You'll get more information including the Folder/File structure in this article: What are the iTunes library files?

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

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

    Sounds like your Mail index is corrupted. To create a new one, do this:
    1. Quit Mail.
    2. Go to Home/Library/Mail and remove the Envelope Index file to your Desktop.
    3. Start Mail and let it import your messages. When that's done, you should be able to go back to those old messages and see the entire message again.
    4. If that works, you can delete the old Envelope Index file on your Desktop.
    Mulder

  • Can I copy newer system (10.6.8.) from previous system folder after archive and install with (10.5.4)?

    Rightyho,
    had trouble with extensions in 10.6.8 and had to re-install with original disks 10.5.4.
    Did an archive and install.
    In my (dated) Previous System Folder are Appl / Library / System / User folders.
    Copied my User folder back no problem.
    Can that also be done with the newer system? No info in support.
    Time Machine won't migrate because of newer system and I have only a disk image of Snow Leopard and can't burn double layer DVDs.
    When I tried to order SL DVD from Apple they told me it'll take 3 weeks ...

    http://www.maciverse.com/install-os-x-snow-leopard-from-usb-flash-drive.html
    How to erase and install Snow Leopard 10.6

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

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

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

  • Previous System folder vs. system folder after archive and install

    Hi there - I am very new to mac but love the products and am excited to be a part of the culture.
    Because I am having battery-type problems I was told to do an archive and install to see if it was a software problem.
    My question is, I followed the instructions apple gave for doing the archive and install. And it says that you can delete the previous system folder if everything is the same or you can move stuff over.
    The problem is I want to delete the previous systems folder but it is very different than the new one and I don't even know what I would copy.
    Briefly, the new system folder just has one folder inside called library with a bunch of folders inside of that.
    The previous system folder called previous system 1 has folders entitled application, library, mach.sym, private, system, and users. Why are they different and what can I do?

    The previous system, in most cases can be safely deleted. You can't revert to it anyway, so there's no fall back option to worry about. If you've saved everything in your user folder (or home folder - same thing) your data is safe. The previous system may have some preference files for apps you run, perhaps even registration data for apps that require serial #'s when you install them. If everything runs fine, and your data is where it's supposed to be, you can safely delete the previous system. I'd suggest making sure everything runs OK for a week or so, make sure all your apps work and all your data is there, then delete the previous system.
    Jeff

  • Is deleting previous systems folder save when looking for more HD space?

    Could I copy it to an external HD just in case?

    Your current running system isn't using any part of the Previous Systems folder. All of that folder's contents are just sitting there. If there were no old components you want to keep (most likely command line software you may have installed yourself) it is completely safe to trash that folder.

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