Snow Leo-- Archive and Install?

[Frodo]

Has anyone seen an Archive and Install option for 10.6.4?

A&I was one of the best things about OSX through 10.5, but it's conspicuously absent in 10.6.x..... I just reopened the 10.6.4 Combo Updater a moment ago and do not see the option.

Perhaps it's only available on the 10.6 disc these days-- must investigate. It used to be so much easier, but I'm not ready to wipe my SL drive yet. Yarrggh.

[midiw]

Well i went thru this torturous question : Does "Archive and Install" really exists on the Snow Leopard install DV ?

My question was answered by one of the gurus at Apple's Discussion forum : http://discussions.apple.com/message.js ... 0#12142810" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; .


With a lot of in-trepidation i finally went ahead and ran the 10.6 Snow Leopard installer and did end up with fresh Apple applications and it moves any known incompatible software to a root level folder on the HD called "Incompatible items " and not a single third party application including their related files torched.

In the end it was a safe procedure but Apple does not make that clear or if they do i was unable to find that explanation.

Hope this is what you were asking because more then often i get the questions wrong.

[monkey man]

Facinating, Midiw.

Seems Apple has, yet again, built more common sense into its software. My guess is it's in response to the fact that said sense is no longer common. Provided one doesn't mind this dumbing down, it's one less thing to have to take into account, it would seem.

Flapster, I've always made images using DU prior to upgrades; that way files/settings/prefs can be dragged across should they be required. You're a freakin' genius at this stuff relative to my 2-bit abilities though, so the suggestion is likely redundant.

[Frodo]

Flapster, I've always made images using DU prior to upgrades; that way files/settings/prefs can be dragged across should they be required. You're a freakin' genius at this stuff relative to my 2-bit abilities though, so the suggestion is likely redundant.

Of course, my SL drive is safely cloned just in case, but I'm trying to avoid being a case study, if you know what I mean.

In the end it was a safe procedure but Apple does not make that clear or if they do i was unable to find that explanation.

Thanks for the info, midiw. It's always nice to know that I've not completely lost my mind.... not that there's much mind left to lose these days!!


From the link:

5. The OS can be reinstalled at any time with no effect on essentially all of the support items third party installers place in user or system Library folders. With the old A&I method, users often had to reinstall the software that created these items or laboriously sort through the "Previous Systems" folders & hope they found & replaced them all in the correct locations in the new system.

This still bothers me a little. That thread talks about using the gray discs that came with the computer. My MacPro shipped with 10.4. Naturally, I'd use the commercial discs of SL, but those are 10.6.0. Things like iTunes and Safari have been updated a gazillion times since 10.6.0-- IF the commercial discs will even allow a version downgrade without wiping the drive!! Of course, I'd need to run the four Combo Updaters again to complete the process if circumstances allow.

The only other thing I can think to do is to buy a set of 10.6.4 commercial discs if I can be assured that the discs are indeed current. The one halfway decent result of this is that SL only cost $29.

At least with the old Archive and Install, I knew what was going on and where to find everything. I don't think I've ever had a problem with apps not working after running A&I.

It's not that I've got a particularly dire need to do this at the moment. I've just been troubleshooting a stuck notes issue for the past few days and am wondering if something on the OSX level isn't causing it.

[midiw]

My 2009 late edition iMac came with two "grey" DVD's. One DVD had Snow Leopard and the other DVD had the additional special applications ( e.g. garbage band etc ) .

There is no mention of A & I install when you run the installer on a previously installed OS X.

So i then went and bought the commercial version of Snow Leopard as it was

only $29. at that time. Here again there is no hint of the A & I when you run the installer.

I still find it scary when I run the installer because there is no hint that this will be a archive and install.

[Frodo]

I still find it scary when I run the installer because there is no hint that this will be a archive and install.

+1.

Fortunately, I think I may have conquered my problem and won't have to restore the system right now.

It really is unnerving to see a sort of trend these days when major things get changed and info about the changes are scant at best. It reminded me of a book series I've not seen on shelves in a while.... "The Missing Manual". This book saved my neck in OS9 because it got into a load of features and useful goodies Apple doesn't really mention. I wondered if there might be a 10.6 version and there is:

THE MISSING MANUAL

Believe it or not, OSX is almost 10 years old. We developed good habits when dealing with OSX in all that time. I get the feeling that developers take it a little for granted that we've knocked ourselves out developing these good habits. So what happens? One day a new OS is released and those good habits become bad things-- bad ways of thinking.

Why should OSX tell you that the way you were expected to do things for a decade has suddenly changed? Remember that one click that used to wipe out all of your data? There's no need to talk about it. We changed that and we're not going to tell you about it.

That's why I'm eternally grateful when users who do not know each other personally are willing to share what they know online. I'm a little surprised that in this day of mugbook and teeter that someone at Apple hasn't figured out how software users get and share their info.

[monkey man]

Flapster, I've always made images using DU prior to upgrades; that way files/settings/prefs can be dragged across should they be required. You're a freakin' genius at this stuff relative to my 2-bit abilities though, so the suggestion is likely redundant.

Of course, my SL drive is safely cloned just in case, but I'm trying to avoid being a case study, if you know what I mean.

I know all too well; I've had much experience of this, Rugster.

[midiw]

Frodo,

I agree.

After getting the answer at Apple's Discussions forum i phoned apple about my apprehension in running the OS X installer to ask them "where's the A & I ?" but the person had no clue until i bulldozed my way up to the supervisor whereby he had to phone me back with the explanation. At that time i referred him to the "wee" booklet manual that came with my iMac actually makes reference to choosing "A & I" or "Erase and Install" BUT the actual installer does not indicate that the re-installation will be a A & I. His comment was that the book should be revised.

[Frodo]

Frodo,

I agree.

After getting the answer at Apple's Discussions forum i phoned apple about my apprehension in running the OS X installer to ask them "where's the A & I ?" but the person had no clue until i bulldozed my way up to the supervisor whereby he had to phone me back with the explanation. At that time i referred him to the "wee" booklet manual that came with my iMac actually makes reference to choosing "A & I" or "Erase and Install" BUT the actual installer does not indicate that the re-installation will be a A & I. His comment was that the book should be revised.

Oh, for crying out loud in a hanky! Are you kidding me?

"The book should be revised." From what? They revised the whole system software under the umbrella of "innovation" and didn't think it necessary to update the manual?

What does it say when developers work their fingers to nubs to change-update-improve OSX and then the marketing department decides that reprinting boiler plate rhetoric from the old manual will be cost-effectively adequate?

I surrender.

[monkey man]

Whatever happened to "Never give up, never surrender", Flabster? Isn't the alternative, as you like to say, unthinkable?

OK, OK, I'm being naughty and unfair.

[Frodo]

Whatever happened to "Never give up, never surrender", Flabster? Isn't the alternative, as you like to say, unthinkable?

In this case, I figured it better to redirect the energy to more useful endeavors. It's been a rough week with stuck notes, but I think that fighting one battle at a time increases our chances of success.

That reminds me-- I haven't seen "Galaxy Quest" in a while...

[monkey man]

Sensible call IMHO, Flopster.

Was that Mel Brooks?

EDIT: Just checked - I was thinking of space balls. The space part, not the balls, of course.

[midiw]

Ah yes, Sigourney Weaver in Galaxy Quest .

[frankf]

FWIW, I just did an A&I on my MacBook Pro 3,1. (w 10.6.4 and all current updates installed) After cloning with Superduper, I jumped in:
Inserted my commercial SL 10.6.0 DVD
Clicked on Installer (without booting from the DVD)
Installer installed 10.6.0, leaving non Apple files intact, without any intervention on my part.
Repaired Permissions
Installed 10.6.4 Combo Update
Repaired Permissions
Ran Software Update
Repaired Permissions
I then booted from my cloned drive and ran Diskwarrior on the HD to create a new clean volume directory.
Took about 40minutes not counting initial cloning time.
To do an Erase & Install one needs to boot from the SL DVD
Frank
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[midiw]

After cloning with Superduper

I would interested to know if DP still works ( was it still authorized to run ) and can open previously created projects.