New installation -v- upgrading

Question

Would I be better off doing a clean install of Snow Leopard instead of upgrading on my iMac and MacBook Air, both 6 weeks old. As I am new to the world of Mac I already have my documents on a 3rd party disk drive, so I have no issues other than installing a few programs such as iWork.
Would I benefit more to clean install?

Answer 1

akcarrington wrote:
Would I benefit more to clean install?
You should know that Apple recommends the default install method, which is not what most users call a "clean" install unless the target volume has no OS on it -- for instance, if it is erased or reformatted. Among experienced Mac users, there is no consensus of opinion if a 'clean install' is better or worse, prudent or a waste of time, or whatever.
My own opinion is that among those that recommend a clean install of some sort, many are basing their opinions on the old (& no longer entirely applicable) install methods of pre-Snow Leopard installers or on vague ideas about "old bits & bytes" that should be purged from the drive that would otherwise somehow cause problems with the new OS. Some just seem to prefer a "hands on" approach or trust their own skills & understanding about what to install more than they trust the programming built into the new installer. Many just don't like the idea of any unused files taking up hard drive space.
However, some reasons are more specific, suggesting a clean install is necessary in certain circumstances, for instance when the HD has formatting or file system problems, & that in effect it is better to be safe than sorry, since users might not know these problems exist.
If this was all there was to it, then it would unquestionably be the best general advice. But it isn't.
For one thing, the new installer has built-in features that depend on a previous installation to decide what to install, such as Rosetta, QuickTime Player 7, & some print drivers. For another, the installer will move certain incompatible applications from an existing installation to an "Incompatible Applications" folder. It also checks the target disk (much like Disk Utility's "Verify Disk") & "phones home" for Leopard-to-Snow Leopard compatibility updates. These steps can be done separately by knowledgeable users & to some extent can be considered no more than conveniences, but that is what many users like about Macs vs. PC's, so that should be taken into account on a user by user basis.
More importantly, a clean install requires recreating or migrating existing system & user settings & such, sometimes manually, & this is both time consuming & potentially a source of errors or unnecessary hassles, especially among less knowledgeable users.
My advice is to consider both the pros & cons of a clean install & decide what is best for you.