Submit Hint Search The Forums LinksStatsPollsHeadlinesRSS
14,000 hints and counting!


Click here to return to the 'Create a new 'safety' user prior to upgrades' hint
The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
Create a new 'safety' user prior to upgrades
Authored by: acalado on May 07, '04 02:41:12PM

I suppose if you have had problems with your install in the past, or hack the crap out of it, this is a good idea. However, given that I have been using Mac OS X since the public beta and have installed every update since with no problems, and that I backup religiously, I can't say I feel paranoid about Apple's OS updates to do this.

Good idea though, and certainly could save your butt if something does go wrong with your profile. My suggestion for avoiding update problems: perform a clean install of every major OS update. I have performed a clean install of 10.0, 10.1, 10.2, 10.3 and then let Software Update take care of the rest or installed the combined updaters every so often and can say I have never had an update cause any major problems.

One thing I love about Mac OS X is how easy it is to migrate a user's folder to a new install. Makes performing clean installs a lot easier. The other benefit of clean installs is that it is an opportunity to clear out all the clutter from old unused software, which frees up a lot of hard disk space. I'd hate to look into the ~/Library folder of any user who has never done a clean install and has been using (and updating) Mac OS X since the 10.0 days on up through to 10.3.3.

Andy



[ Reply to This | # ]
Create a new 'safety' user prior to upgrades
Authored by: bdjones on May 07, '04 09:00:53PM

perhaps this is grossly naive but wouldn't a safe boot do much the same thing?



[ Reply to This | # ]
Create a new 'safety' user prior to upgrades
Authored by: krishna on May 08, '04 10:11:33PM
However, given that I have been using Mac OS X since the public beta and have installed every update since with no problems, and that I backup religiously, I can't say I feel paranoid about Apple's OS updates to do this.

As a relatively new user, that paranoia was exactly what I was trying to avoid. I too believe that Apple's OS updates are quite sound. Creating that uncustomized account and seeing it log in cleanly helps cement that belief with direct experience -- once I see the login with my own eyes, I know and remember that the OS install went fine.

[ Reply to This | # ]