I Erased My Whole Hard Drive…

…On purpose!

As mentioned in a previous post, my 4+ year-old laptop was starting to exhibit behaviors typical of an older machine:

• Slow start up times
• Weak multitasking
• Slow internet transfer
• HUGE applications folder
• Etc.

It was time for a refresh.

I backed-up my computer twice, using Time Machine for one backup, Carbon Copy Cloner for the other.

(As a side note, everyone who uses their computer should adopt a similar strategy – have a consistent, historical backup for easy retrieval as well as a fully-bootable clone of your hard drive).

Once I felt secure about the backups, I generated a list of applications, utilities, and data that I would reinstall after I reinstalled the OS.  The list was under 25 items.

Then, the process began.  I used the system restore disk to wipe the hard drive and then reinstall Mac OSX Snow Leopard (10.6), ran updates, and began installing my important data and necessary software.  The entire process took less than a day altogether.

The results?  My 4+ year-old machine feels as good as new.  I regained 65+ GBs of hard drive space, load times decreased dramatically, and switching between the various programs I have open is fast, responsive, and I’m efficient again.  It’s a beautiful thing.

So…for any of you out there who are working on an older machine that’s been through the ringer a few times, perhaps the restore strategy could be a nice solution for you.  Don’t forget about those backups!  And definitely have a plan in place for after the restore, so you won’t leave anything out.  Your computer, and your workflow, will thank you for it.