New to Apple, trying to do a clean install?

Hi,
20 year pc user that has just been given an old ibook g3 to use. It has osx 10.4.11 but that isn't the original software, I believe it had os 9 on it. Anyway, I would like to completely clean the hard drive and do a clean install of 10.4.11. On a pc I know exactly how to do this. I am clueless on a mac. I don't have any disks so I am aware I may have to buy a copy even though the computer currently has 10.4.11 on it. I also think it only has a cd drive, but it may have dvd. Working on finding that out now. Anyway, could anyone point me in the direction of how to best do what I'm looking for here?
Thanks,
JMG

Neil,
Thanks so much. I bought a retail version of Tiger and got everything loaded last night. Things are working much more smoothly and faster without all the old junk on it. Now I am having a second problem with internet connectivity. My router uses WPA-PSK as a security protocol. I was having trouble getting my airport card to connect, I kept getting, "There was a problem connecting to..." After about an hour of trying everything else I know, I made my router "unsecured," that is, no WPA, and the ibook immediately connected. Does OS 10.4.11 not have WPA ability, or is it possibly that this has an old airport card? Is there anything I can do to get WPA ability? There are some older security protocols but they will require a longer and more difficult passcode, anyone have any thoughts?
Finally, this ibook came with 256 of Ram. Does anyone know if this is upgradeable to more or if that is the max for this ibook? If it is upgradeable what kind of ram and where do I get it. Does normal sdram or ddram work in a Mac?
Thanks for all your help....

Similar Messages

Help Please! Trying to do a clean install of Snow Leopard on a new drive

I'm trying to help a family member with his Mac Mini.
He installed a new HD and we're trying to do a clean install of Snow Leopard from the DVD. I've tried booting to the DVD by holding the C key during boot up and that does nothing. I've tried mounting his HD on my Macbook and installing that way and that doesn't work either.
How do I install this if you don't have an OS on you drive to boot up to?

Michael Brown1 wrote:
I was able to boot it in target disk mode by holding T. I formatted the drive as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) I've read in a couple places about GUID but I can't find that as an option on the Disk Utility.
Partition tab, Options button.
Is it possible to load the OS onto the Mini from my Macbook? I can see the installation DVD and the HD on the mini from my Macbook, but when I try to install I get a warning that it can't be installed on that volume.
It's been a while since I tried something like that, but it worked in the past. It may be complaining because the partition table is not set correctly.
I couldn't find anything about installing on another drive. I did find this old [MacFixIt article|http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-10329087-263.html] that you might find useful if you've got an external drive. Essentially, you partition it (not necessary for what you want), make an image of the Installer and then restore the image to the external drive. You can then use that drive as the boot drive. That was for Leopard, so I don't know if it will work.

I am trying to do a clean install MacBook Pro

I am trying to do a clean install on my Dad's older MackBook Pro. He downloads things he shouldn't and after frustrations trying to wipe ou trojans and bad files I just decided that the only way to make this thing work again is to clean install it. It was already running yosemite when I started.
I followed the directions at
www.osxdaily.com/2014/10/18/clean-install-os-x-yosemite/
I used a flash drive to install os x yosemite installer and made it bootable per the instructions on the site.
Everything seemed to work fine, I loaded the drive as the statup disk, I erased the partitions and the hard drive with disk utitilies using the installer flash drive.
However when I try to start to Install Os X it runs for about 10 minutes and then gets stuck at "one second left" I accessed the log errors and got this
Apr 19 21:01:40 MacBook-Pro.local InstallAssistant[415]: Can not connect to /var/run/systemkeychaincheck.socket: No such file or directory
Apr 19 21:01:41 MacBook-Pro.local Unknown[397]: 2015-04-19 21:01:41.054 InstallAssistant[415:17320] Failed to connect (keyReceivingView) outlet from (IASetupWindowController) to (PUKDiskPickerHorizontalView): missing setter or instance variable
Apr 19 21:01:41 MacBook-Pro.local Unknown[397]: 2015-04-19 21:01:41.054 InstallAssistant[415:17320] Failed to connect (loadingDistProgress) outlet from (IASetupWindowController) to (NSProgressIndicator): missing setter or instance variable
Apr 19 21:01:41 MacBook-Pro.local Unknown[397]: 2015-04-19 21:01:41.054 InstallAssistant[415:17320] Failed to connect (loadingDistView) outlet from (IASetupWindowController) to (NSView): missing setter or instance variable
Apr 19 21:01:41 MacBook-Pro.local Unknown[397]: 2015-04-19 21:01:41.055 InstallAssistant[415:17320] Failed to connect (subtitle) outlet from (IASetupWindowController) to (NSTextField): missing setter or instance variable
Apr 19 21:01:41 MacBook-Pro.local Unknown[397]: 2015-04-19 21:01:41.055 InstallAssistant[415:17320] Failed to connect (keyReceivingView) outlet from (IAContentView) to (PUKDiskPickerHorizontalView): missing setter or instance variable
Apr 19 21:01:49 MacBook-Pro.local Unknown[397]: 2015-04-19 21:01:49.708 InstallAssistant[415:17328] ***storageTaskManagerExistsWithIdentifier:withIdentifier failed: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=4099 "Couldn’t communicate with a helper application." (The connection to service named com.apple.nsurlstorage-cache was invalidated.) UserInfo=0x7f981cbde640 {NSDebugDescription=The connection to service named com.apple.nsurlstorage-cache was invalidated.}; {
Apr 19 21:01:49 MacBook-Pro.local Unknown[397]: NSDebugDescription = "The connection to service named com.apple.nsurlstorage-cache was invalidated.";
Apr 19 21:01:49 MacBook-Pro.local Unknown[397]: }
Apr 19 21:01:49 MacBook-Pro.local Unknown[397]: 2015-04-19 21:01:49.712 InstallAssistant[415:17328] ***cachedResponseForRequest:key:handler failed: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=4099 "Couldn’t communicate with a helper application." (The connection to service named com.apple.nsurlstorage-cache was invalidated.) UserInfo=0x7f981ce92fe0 {NSDebugDescription=The connection to service named com.apple.nsurlstorage-cache was invalidated.}; {
Apr 19 21:01:49 MacBook-Pro.local Unknown[397]: NSDebugDescription = "The connection to service named com.apple.nsurlstorage-cache was invalidated.";
Apr 19 21:01:49 MacBook-Pro.local Unknown[397]: }
Apr 19 21:01:50 MacBook-Pro.local InstallAssistant[415]: GetDYLDEntryPointWithImage(/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CacheDelete.framew ork/CacheDelete,CacheDeleteCopyPurgeableSpaceWithInfo) failed.
Apr 19 21:01:50 MacBook-Pro.local Unknown[397]: Keyboard Layouts: duplicate keyboard layout identifier -16899.
Apr 19 21:01:50 MacBook-Pro.local Unknown[397]: Keyboard Layouts: keyboard layout identifier -16899 has been replaced with -28673.
Apr 19 21:01:50 MacBook-Pro.local Unknown[397]: Keyboard Layouts: duplicate keyboard layout identifier -16900.
Apr 19 21:01:50 MacBook-Pro.local Unknown[397]: Keyboard Layouts: keyboard layout identifier -16900 has been replaced with -28674.
Apr 19 21:03:44 MacBook-Pro.local Unknown[397]: 2015-04-19 21:03:44.052 InstallAssistant[415:17320] Layout still needs update after calling -[NSScrollView layout]. NSScrollView or one of its superclasses may have overridden -layout without calling super. Or, something may have dirtied layout in the middle of updating it. Both are programming errors in Cocoa Autolayout. The former is pretty likely to arise if some pre-Cocoa Autolayout class had a method called layout, but it should be fixed.
I already have his pertinant files back up. I just need to install a new system on this empty hard drive. What did I do wrong?
Matt

Click on the blue Internet Recovery in nbar's post. That is a link to what computers can run Internet Recovery.
Do a backup, preferable 2 separate ones on 2 drives. Boot to the Recovery Volume (command - R on a restart or hold down the option/alt key during a restart and select Recovery Volume). Run Disk Utility Verify/Repair and Repair Permissions until you get no errors. Reformat the drive using Disk Utility/Erase Mac OS Extended (Journaled), then click the Option button and select GUID. Then re-install the OS.
OS X Recovery
OS X Recovery (2)
When you reboot, use Setup Assistant to restore your data.

I am trying to do a clean install of Snow Leopard on an Intel Macbook Pro. (Need to partition for Boot Camp) I have done it in the past so I know it works but whenever I select the install disk as the boot device it gets stuck on the Apple logo/pinwheel.

Prety much what the question says. HELP!

stephenfromlynchburg wrote:
No the mac had come with Leopard. Then I bought the snow leopard DVD and did a clean install of snow leopard.
If you just stuck the disk into the Leopard Mac and run the upgrader, you didn't do a "fresh install" you basically upgraded from 10.5 to 10.6 leaving all the programs and files intact.
The white Snow Leopard disk was the right one for that machine as it had Leopard (10.5) on it previously.
So you already have Snow Leopard installed, if you want to erase the entire drive (along with all your programs, files and OS X) and want to install Snow Leopard again, you hold the c or option/alt key down and boot the machine off the disk. Then use Disk Utiltiy to erase the entire drive, then quit and install Snow Leopard.
How to erase and install Snow Leopard 10.6
Once Snow Leopard is installed you log in and use Apple Menu > Software Update until clear to get to 10.6.8 and fix security issues.
Now I can't get it to do the install again.
To install Windows into BootCamp, you read and run the BootCamp Assistant located in the Applications > Utiltiies folder
It's important to change the drive format from FAT32 to NTFS before installing Windows using the Windows disk.
Windows is rather complicated to install, if you boot to a blinking line with "press any key to continue" you need to press and hold the power button down and reboot holding the Option/Alt key down to get back into OS X.
https://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/
If your Windows programs are not going to be as CPU/GPU demanding, you may rather prefer to use a virtual machine instead
Windows in BootCamp or Virtual Machine?

Where to download OS X mavericks (trying jan/2015) for clean install

hello,
i heard mavericks is not available for downloading anymore, any other web (safe) or way i can get Mavericks to download? specially for a clean install usb - emergency reason, since i am going to attempt to install yosemite on my late 2013 mac retina, (which has mavericks already)
If i didn't prev download it with an apple ID
I appreciate any help

To answer your questions:
1. That is correct
2. TimeMachine backs up all files to another disk (it can backup to the local disk also but if the disk fails you've lost your TM backups as well as the original stuff so not much good to do TM backups locally). Everyone has a different opinion of how large of a Time Machine disk you need - read this and decide for yourself
http://pondini.org/TM/1.html
Pondini is an expert when it comes to all things related Time Machine.
3. Read my other post (from 2:00pm) - it explains that if you do the Command+Option+R right after you power up the system (and before it's booted up) you can do the Mavericks install if that is what your system came with. You need an internet connection for this to work as it downloads the version of OS X that came with the system when it was purchased. Are you the original owner? Do you remember if it came with Mavericks or ??? You will still need to have your App Store user login and password to complete the download of the real OS X. See these two articles for a good explanation of the Internet Recovery as well as the regular Recovery methods (it talks about "Lion" but think it's the same for all OS X versions with the newer recovery type installs):
http://9to5mac.com/2011/07/20/what-is-os-x-lion-internet-recovery-and-how-does-i t-work/
http://osxdaily.com/2014/12/14/reinstall-os-x-mac-internet-recovery/
4. Yes, you need an external disk to use Time Machine effectively. You can install Mavericks - IF the system was purchased with Mavericks (I've no idea how Apple knows or keeps track of this, but they do. You can try the Command+Option+R during power-on and you will see the "Starting Internet Recovery" message with a sort of revolving globe icon and a status bar showing how much time remains to download the installer. I just tried it on my old MacBook from 2010 and it looks like the Recovery Boot mode - only the download image came off the Internet/Ethernet connection instead of off the disk - much slower than booting off disk, but if you have a good internet connection speed shouldn't take too long (it's probably the same 650MB image stored on the Maverics Recovery partition (or something very similar).
All recent Apple computers can do Internet Recovery - plus a few older ones that have updated firmware. Here is a link explaining which older Apple systems can do the Internet Recovery if their firmware is updated (your Retina system is fairly new so it works with Internet Recovery without needing any firmware update):
Computers that can be upgraded to use OS X Internet Recovery - Apple Support
Good luck - ask more questions if you wish...it's important to understand how all this fits together so you don't end up with more problems than you started out with.

New MBP comes with Mavericks - Upgrade vs Clean Install of Yosemite at this point?

Bought a New 13" MBP today from my local Apple Store. It came with Mavericks instead of Yosemite. I realize there is probably a lot of advantages to doing a clean install of any OS, especially when you have a lot of usage on it which creates files all over. However, I'm wondering if that advantage is minimized by doing an upgrade with a pristine OS. If very few, if any, files are left behind from Mavericks that are no longer needed does it matter?
Obviously upgrading saves me from having to go through the hassle of creating a bootable USB (wherever that thing is in one of the many junk drawers).

If it were I, I would just di a clean install if you have not configured it already...it's good to have a bootable USB hanging around just in case. It's easy to make one in Terminal if you have at least an eight (8) GB available with this (I just finished one):
sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app --nointeraction

Trying to do a clean install on iBook G4 - Freezing

I received a G4 iBook and want to do a clean install to erase the previous owner's hard drive and add all my own applications.
When I put the disk in it asks me to use a password, which I have and the computer restarts. But just as the grey apple icon appears in the center of the screen, it slighly shifts tot he right, a line of pixels appear to burn out, and the screen is frozen. I then have to restart holding down the mouse button and the eject button to get the disk to eject. When it restarts without the disk inside the computer runs fine and the pixels are no longer "burned out"
The laptop has 10.3.9, the disk I am using to clean install is the original 10.3 disk (I was planning to update after the install)
Can anyone help?
ibook G4 Mac OS X (10.3.9)
iMac G4 flatscreen Mac OS X (10.3.8)
iMac G4 flatscreen Mac OS X (10.3.8)

Hi eric
Does it start up normally without any problem?
You won't need to use a password if have the disk inserted and choose restart and then hold down the C key until the grey screen/apple logo appears.
roam

UK Apple store cannot do a clean install of Mountain Lion

I was in Bromley Apple store on Friday, and asked for a clean install of my mac-mini. The genius said it will restore to factory default - Lion, not Mountain lion as the UK shops dont yet have ML on their servers.
So I didnt get the clean install I was hoping for, but the corrupted index appears to be re-enabled.
I cannot get Spotlight to see the Applications or mail.
Any thoughts

Yes, that makes a difference...indexing has been disabled.
Launch Terminal and at the prompt copy & paste this line of code...
It is a scroll so be sure to copy the entire line.
Code:
sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist
Press return.
EDIT: Or perhaps better...
sudo mdutil -i on /

New iMac slow - should I do a "clean install"?

I recently bought an iMac 27 inch. I used the migration assistant to move my old accounts and stuff across to it from my old (now sold) Mac Pro. Which was updated using migration assistant from the previous Mac Pro.
I find it's not all that 'snappy'. And one thing I notice is that other Macs on my network see the iMac as Mac Pro (I guess a legacy of the old Mac Pro). I have it all backed up onto an external hard drive using Time Machine.
Is there a way to reinstall the system software while keeping my settings, accounts and stuff (if possible)? Something like a 'clean install'? Or some other way.
Cheers,
David

You've migrated old files from your Mac Pro that are not compatible. My suggestion is to reinstall:
Reinstall OS X without erasing the drive
Do the following:
1. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
2. Reinstall Snow Leopard
If the drive is OK then quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed with reinstalling OS X. Note that the Snow Leopard installer will not erase your drive or disturb your files. After installing a fresh copy of OS X the installer will move your Home folder, third-party applications, support items, and network preferences into the newly installed system.

Where are files for my applications kept? I'm trying to do a clean install.

I have an intel imac OS 10.6.8. I have to do a clean install and need to transfer my files to a USB flashdrive because time machine hasn't backed up in 3 months. Where are files for my applications kept?

Since you mentioned Time Machine, I'm assuming you have an external hard drive? So why not make a complete backup - either with Time Machine or a bootable clone with CarbonCopyCloner or SuperSuper? Applications sometimes transfer well, but not always - it depends how many files/parts they have on the hard drive in different locations. There is no simple answer to your question because of that - it depends on the individual application. I'd back up all of it, do the install, and then use Setup Assistant to port things back.

Problem trying to do a clean install of Yosemite

A friend of mine installed windows 8.1 on my macbook but he somehow managed to wipe out the original yosemite installation and now when I try to reboot it and install from a usb stick windows goes right through it and I believe it doesn't even recognize the usb, anyone know of anything I could do? Like formating the windows 8 and installing the OS X? Please help

If you have access to another Mac computer, go to the App Store, sign in with your Apple ID, and download Yosemite.
You can make a bootable USB stick to install using this free program which will do all the work for you.
Bootable USB Flash Drive – Diskmaker X
Go back to your computer, boot off that Disk, and reinstall Yosemite on the Yosemite partition.

Trying to do a clean install of OSX ML but failing. Please help.

Greetings,
I just did a factory restore on my 2012 MBA and upon attempting to reinstall ML I get errors. I just changed my internet service provider so I'm sure it's related to that. Can anyone tell me what ports, etc. need to be set on my router? Appreciate it.

Michael Brown1 wrote:
I was able to boot it in target disk mode by holding T. I formatted the drive as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) I've read in a couple places about GUID but I can't find that as an option on the Disk Utility.
Partition tab, Options button.
Is it possible to load the OS onto the Mini from my Macbook? I can see the installation DVD and the HD on the mini from my Macbook, but when I try to install I get a warning that it can't be installed on that volume.
It's been a while since I tried something like that, but it worked in the past. It may be complaining because the partition table is not set correctly.
I couldn't find anything about installing on another drive. I did find this old [MacFixIt article|http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-10329087-263.html] that you might find useful if you've got an external drive. Essentially, you partition it (not necessary for what you want), make an image of the Installer and then restore the image to the external drive. You can then use that drive as the boot drive. That was for Leopard, so I don't know if it will work.

I cannot get itunes to open on my sony vaio after i updated to new version. i tried to uninstall and re install but hasnt fixed problem. any help?

Please someone help...
I updated Itunes a while ago from 9. something to 10.3
When i did this my computer usage went to 100% and basically froze. The only way to get computer working was to end tasks and processes in task manager.
I uninstalled itunes and then reinstalled it. since doing this i cannot even get itunes to open???
I cant update my phone to change handset from iphone 4 to 4s that ive had for a month now.
Any help?

Hello there, Tricia.
You may have to find the download folder for the browser you are using and launch the installer from there. Another option you may want to try is using another browser to download and install iTunes. The following Knowledge Base article offers up some steps for how to download iTunes using Windows Internet Explorer:
iTunes: Downloading iTunes for Windows using Internet Explorer
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3212
Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities.
Cheers,
Pedro.

Problems when trying to do a clean OS X install

I have some problems when I'm trying to do a clean install of my 15" MBP. I'm using the Install DVD that came with the computer, but it seems like it won't read it. I find it very weird since it has no problems with reading audio CD's, and even the Snow Leopard upgrade DVD works just fine. But when I'm holding down the option key as the computer boots up, the Install DVD is not listed as a bootable device, and if I do nothing at the boot up I can hear the drive spinning and then stopping, and it happens continuously until I restart the computer and force ejects the DVD.
Can anybody tell me if I'm doing something wrong or my MBP has a malfunction?
Thanks in advance!
//Raun

KXsig wrote:
hold C after Power button and let it go for "as long as it takes" - by "as long as it takes" I mean till absurds 5~10 minutes or so. The slow reading in boot DVD's/CD's is usual, here I performed more then 5 installations using the same DVD and in more then one occasion this symptom was presented. Be patient.
I agree with KXsig that the boot off the installation DVD is abnormally long, each and every time. I find sometimes it can take upwards of 3 minutes to go from the Apple logo to the language selection screen. However, the machine should acknowledge the disc and begin booting to it (Apple logo with spinning gear) within a few seconds. If it's getting hung up on a solid gray screen or if you're at the EFI boot drive selection menu it should acknowledge the disc almost immediately.
If all other media is fine, then I suspect the issue would be with the disc versus the optical drive.

How to Clean Install but then retrieve & restore my Keychain and Mailboxes.

For months now, there have been a large number of irritating problems with my system - and I'm not enough of a techie to resolve them.
It is as though my machine is stuck in the past.
Spotlight doesn't index well - and fails to find up to two thirds of my files - including most of the newer ones.
Dashboard remains at the point at which I upgraded my disk drive. I know this, because a clip from Safari (a web-page with drives for sale) comes up - laboriously slowly - every time I open dashboard; when I delete the clip, it simply reappears the next time I open dashboard after a reboot. Similarly, post-it-style notes made in the Stickies app just vanish after a reboot.
When I open TextEdit, the same untitled file I was working on back in the early summer opens with it; I close it, it's back again the next time I open TextEdit. Alterations I make to Text substitution disappear the moment I close the panel.
All new bookmark additions to Safari vanish from my bookmarks when I restart Safari.
Every time I open iTunes, it thinks I am opening it for the first time. I can't tell you how many times I have agreed to their Software License.
My iCal alarms go off ad infinitum even when I turn them off and for months after the event in question.
And so on, and so on. It's like living with an Alzheimer's patient who keeps asking you what day it is.
I have twice reinstalled Snow Leopard (and rebooted my way through all those software updates) to no avail. My system - or at any rate my applications - still think it's early summer 2010 and any changes since then are forgotten; and Spotlight continues to be virtually useless.
It seems intuitive that some of these problems might be associated with individual preference files and caches for the various applications. But, even if I knew how to correct such problems, I'm concerned it might take me days - even weeks - of messing around but without solving all of my problems.
I have to say, I am tired of having half a Macintosh at my disposal. And I'm inclined to do something drastic.
The obvious solution to these pernickety system problems is completely to reinstall Snow Leopard (onto an erased hard drive) and start from scratch. What has stopped me doing this so far is the fact that, together with the various keycodes that came with my applications, I would also lose all my e-mails and accounts from the Mail application - and all the various passwords in my Keychain.
Surely there must be some way to retrieve just these select items alone from backup after a clean install? (And - yes, techies - I KNOW that Apple doesn't offer a "clean install" these days but you know what I mean: I want to reset everything; then retrieve a few select items - but WITHOUT the complete migration - which would likely, in the process, reinstate all those corrupted preference files or permissions or whatever it is that is messing around with my machine's short term memory.)
So here's my question again:
How - following a "clean install" - do I locate and retrieve the specific ingredients that will restore my mailboxes and keychain to their current state, whilst leaving everything else "clean"?
Message edited by: Eric M Colvin
Message was edited by: Eric M Colvin

An alternative proposal I'm going to make is to set up a new user account. It seems highly likely to me that all, or almost all of these issues are related to the account preference files in ~/Library. Certainly the iTunes issue, Safari, TextEdit, iCal etc. suggest that your account is having trouble with saving any changes to its preference files which would result in anything you tried to do being forgotten the moment the application was closed.
So for a start, make a new account, log in to it and do a couple of experiments - make some bookmarks in Safari, change some TextEdit options, open iTunes - then close and reopen them, or even restart the machine. If the changes are saved, then it's definitely an account problem and there is no need to reinstall Mac OS. Worst case scenario then would be you might need to move your documents and settings over to the new account; however it's also worth taking a couple of steps to see if the original account can be fixed. Try the above step and if it works; if so, go to /Users and right click your home folder, then 'Get Info'. Under the section dealing with permissions, ensure that your username has both read and write permissions, then use the cogwheel to apply this setting to all folders and files inside your home folder (you may need to use your password to unlock the padlock for this).
There are other things that can be attempted even before moving to a new user (or reinstalling if the new user test failed) so it's still worth checking back here in case other people suggest steps, it just depends how much time you want to invest.
As always, back up all your data before troubleshooting.

New to Apple, trying to do a clean install?

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