Question: a Directory Called "Previous Systems"

Today I found something really interesting in my macbook: a directory called "Previous Systems"... aparently most of the applications I have in my laptop are in this directory so it means that I have duplicated programs. As I think that it's not a good idea to have duplicated programs to save some space in my HD, I'd like to remove this sheet. Question: can anyone tell me why this directory was created and can I delete it whitout damage any other component in my computer? Thanks for the help.

Should be ok to delete.
Have a look here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1545,
which says
"After installation
You might wonder "What do I do with the Previous System folder?" It may contain items that you need. To determine this, once you've finished configuring, installing, and updating your applications, you can compare the Previous System to the new System. If there are things in the Previous System folder that aren't in the new System folder, copy them over or reinstall. If you're not sure what some items are (and don't seem to need them), leave them in the Previous System folder. Once you're comfortable that you've got everything you need out of it, you can delete the Previous System folder (or leave it around if you have enough free disk space).
You can’t start up your computer using the Previous System folder, but settings, preference files, fonts, plug-ins, and other items remain available in case you need to access them (which you probably won't, if you use "Preserve Users and Network Settings")."
charlie

Similar Messages

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?

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

Previous systems on HD

i am getting ready to clone my HD to a new bootable disk and i noticed that there is a folder called Previous systems on Hd. which there are 2 inside this folder one is 2008-01-02_1746 and the other named previous system1 . they both inside that folder have apps..library .. private .. system..users. my question is can i delete this folder? seems to be taking up like over 64gb of HD space and when i clone to new drive dont wanna take over no garbage if not needed.

Those are old systems kept after an Archive and Install installation. If your system is working without problems and you don't expect to need to recover any old settings, fonts, or application components, you can delete that folder.
Message was edited by: Dave Sawyer

Do I need "Previous System" folder?

About a month and a half ago, had internet issues and upon consulting with an Apple rep, one of the things he had me do was reinstall OSX from the disk. Of course we used the "save previous system" option or whatever it's called. At this point, everything still appears to be fine on my system.
My question is now the "previous system" folder remains on my Mac HD, and as it's taking up about 10gb of memory, I'd like to delete it. With everything running fine, is there any reason to keep it?
Derek P

In a word, no.
As long as all your files are in the right places after the reinstall, I would see no reason to keep this any longer.

What is "Previous Systems"? Should I keep it?

Along with "Applications," "Library," "Users," etc, there's another large folder on my iMac called "Previous Systems." It's apparently a large folder consisting of my entire HD - or at last, an earlier version.
What is the point of this folder? Can I delete it without any ill effect? I back up regularly and already have a clone of my current hard drive. Why do I want, or need, the previous system on my HD?
Thanks!

Hi.
Most of what is in the Previous System Folder is indeed just duplicates (but later versions of your installed operating system and standard applications) and indeed can be safely trashed.
However...
Before you dump everything, go through the "Library" folder and compare contents of the folders - in particular, Audio, *Application Support*, Contextual Menu Items, Internet Plug-ins, Dictionaries, Documentation, Mozilla & Thunderbird (if you use Firefox - or the specific support folder for your browser), PDF Services, Preferance Panes, Preferences, Printers (if you added new printing software), Quicktime, Receipts (just copy the ones for software you installed separately), StartupItems, and Widgets. These are the Library folders most likely to have been changed by your own program usage preferences and software that you had added yourself.
If you trash the previous system without checking these, you might find yourself having to re-enter software serial numbers and re-doing all the preference choices you've created through using the computer.
Note: Be careful when replacing things in folders that contain data created by the version of the operating system you re-installed - updated packages in the "Receipts" folder for example. When you do a clean install, you've in effect gone back to an earlier version of the operating system (the one on the install disk), which has not yet gone through all of the downloaded Software Updates. If you replace items that have not yet been updated with a newer OS versions, then the apple os updater could get confused and you wouldn't be able to automatically update to the latest versions of your software. If you're not sure, I'd recommend you go through all the downloaded updates before you start comparing the contents of the Library Folder. Software you yourself have installed (ie photoshop, firefox, toast, word office, and such...) won't be affected by the auto apple updates - whether you installed it by cd or downloaded it yourself from the internet.

OK to delete "Previous Systems" file?

I noticed that after installing 10.5 (or maybe 10.5.1, because of the date), I have a folder called "Previous Systems" with a folder inside that called 2008-01-27_1835. Is it okay to delete this? It's taking 15 GB of space on my disk. Everything is working fine.

Hi J Micael;
If the Previous Systems folder was from either 10.5 or 10.5.1, then the chances of it being of any use are really slim. I think that deleting it will be a good thing.
Allan

HT1710 If I click archive and install and it says moves existing system files to a folder named previous system , will this save my photos tol

I have to restore my Mac mini and i want to click on archive and install and it says it will move existing files to a folder but I need to know wether my photos will be moved too because I have 5 years worth of photos on there. If my photos will not be moved could I take it too a store and they could put them onto a USB stick for me.

"Archive and install" is an option in early versions of OS X installers. It moves some parts of the previous system to a folder called "Previous System" and installs the new OS.
There is also an option to presever user data and settings. See this document. http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1710
If you have 5 years' worth of photos and you do not want to lose them, then you NEED to have a backup. Hard drives can fail. Suddenly. Particularly on aging hardware. Computers can get stolen, set on fire or have drinks spilt over them.
If you do not have a backup, you should EXPECT to lose your files.
You should not need a store to make a copy of your files. Get an external drive, or use DVDs and move the files in the Finder. If you're using Leopard already, then you have Time Machine.

Previous Systems

I have just updated my iMac from a Nov '06 G5 iMac to the latest 21.5" iMac 1Tb, ATI version with 8Gb of RAM, I used Migration Assistant and moved everything across except Applications. All's well (to date) but I was wondering what the general feeling is regarding the folder called "Previous Systems", do you just leave it where it is (a folder on the HD) or do you delete it once your happy everything has settled in.
I have a cloned back up of the G5 iMac and intend keeping that for at least a month or so. If I needed anything from the "Previous System" I would be able to get it from there I guess.
Regards
Andy

The +Previous Systems+ folder is not something that was on the new iMac (when it came out of the box). It gets created when you do an +Archive and Install+ installation with Leopard and earlier. Therefore, if you had the option to migrate +Other files and folder...+ checked in Migration Assistant, I think that folder just got transferred from your old iMac (where you must have done an +Archive and Install+ at some point).
So I think you should delete it. If you haven't needed anything from that folder by now, you won't need it going forward (especially on the new iMac).

Previous System

Under MacintoshHD I have a folder called Previous Systems and inside that System I. It takes up 2GB of memory - can I ditch it without harm? Thanks Ron

the Previous System folder comes from having done an archive and install of the syste,. most likely the 2 Gb in the System folder are swap files or virtual memory which can be deleted with impunity, but (assuming you did the archive and install) it's worth looking to see.

"Previous System" - can I delete it?

at some point last year something went wrong with my macbook. it asked if i would like it to make a back-up of everything before moving on. i said yes.
i just noticed that in my HD folder, there is a folder called "Previous System", which i assume is a complete copy of the system i had last year before whatever problem i had occurred. thing is, this folder is over 10 GB.
id like to free up this space, since i have only 80 GB to play with. can i delete the folder without losing any valuable data or screwing my system?

Hi connectiwthdamien,
This from Apple's docs:
"After installation
You might wonder "What do I do with the Previous System folder?" It may contain items that you need. To determine this, once you've finished configuring, installing, and updating your applications, you can compare the Previous System to the new System. If there are things in the Previous System folder that aren't in the new System folder, copy them over or reinstall. If you're not sure what some items are (and don't seem to need them), leave them in the Previous System folder. Once you're comfortable that you've got everything you need out of it, you can delete the Previous System folder (or leave it around if you have enough free disk space)."
Hope that helps to clarify some,
littleshoulders

Ok to delete "previous system" ?

I recently had my 'system' reinstalled at the genius bar, a file called 'previous system' was created on my HD of about 6.5 gigs, can I delete it? thanks

Often the easiest thing to do is reinstall the software from the original installation discs. A really complex application may store files in all kinds of places, including some hidden ones with cryptic names. In order to provide assistance, Cary Magnum, we would have to know what specific problems you were having with the programs. You could also get much better assistance on the software issuer's own support site since it would also require some familiarity with the applications themselves. Since they are not Apple applications you can' be guaranteed that familiarity here.
The other thing not to forget is to run all updaters again. A program that ran previously because the computer had been updated to 10.4.11 may suddenly have problems if you don't restore it to 10.4.11.

Can I delete previous system?

Hey all.... I've tried to look up the answer, but haven't completely understood posts. So:
I upgraded to Leopard (not Snow Leopard) about a year ago.
I am trying to clear up some space on my hard drive. What issues might I face if I delete the previous systems folder on my hard drive? I have everything backed up on an external. I am running some CS2 programs (soon to upgrade to CS4).
Thank you!

If you are referring to a folder called Previous System then yes you can delete it. It is a dysfunctional appendage of an Archive & Install installation. Other than that please be more specific with titles of folders.

Installing Leopard - Previous Systems

Hi there,
Ages ago, I installed Leopard on my Macbook, and I chose the option to "Archive and Install", so I could back up all of my data incase anything dodgy happened. Thankfully, everythings fine and dandy, and I've found in Finder a folder called "Previous Systems". Am I able to delete this, or is this implemented into the current OS now?
Any help appreciated, thanks

Robert,
You can delete the "Previous Systems" folder if you have everything out of it that you needed.
It contains some of your old preferences, applications, etc..
If you have everything out you need, then delete it.
Joseph Kriz

"Previous Systems" question

i was having some problems on my macbook so i reinstalled tiger, without erasing my past folders. now it's working fine but all the settings default and none of my apps work well, i have to look for them under previous systems. I had also backed up my HD on my external HDD how could i just restore everything to look, act and feel like my old system

Hello alberto:
Welcome to Apple discussions.
If you did an archive and install, you should only have one previous system folder (a very large one).
In any event, in answer to the second part of your question:
+I had also backed up my HD on my external HDD how could i just restore everything to look, act and feel like my old system+
it depends on what method you used to back things up. If you made a bootable clone, you would just restore it. If you used other methods, the answer is "it depends."
Barry

Question: a Directory Called "Previous Systems"

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for