Over the past few months I’ve been having some issues with my MacBook Pro. Random freezes and kernel panics were happening more than once a month, which is very uncommon for my laptop. I decided it was time to do a complete erase and install of OS X on my Mac. I was hoping to wait until OS X Lion was released, but the issues were really starting to annoy me so I just decided to go with it.

Quite frankly, the installation of OS X is the easy part. The backing up and preparation took longer than the install itself I believe. Below are the steps I used and I also included some good guidelines to limit any potential data loss. I made a conscience decision not to use Migration Assistant. Using Migration Assistant makes the process much easier, but I didn’t want to bring over any software or settings that might have been causing my issues.

Preparation
- Make sure you have installation media for all programs and OS X (.dmg or CD/DVD)
- Have all serial keys handy; I use 1Password to keep track of my serial number information
- Take a screen shot of your Applications folder, it makes a good reference for adding your applications back after you install OS X
- If any programs make use of a library file (many do), make note of the location of that file
- De-authorize iTunes (do this just before shutting down for the final time before installing OS X)

Backup
- If you have an iOS Device, sync it with iTunes and sync any additional programs you can. I used my iPhone to sync 1Password, Money and MacGourmet data so that I could restore from my iPhone if necessary. This also works well for iCal and Address Book.
- If any important programs have an export feature, use it to export your data to your Documents folder (or elsewhere)
- Run Time Machine
- Use SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner to create a bootable backup. Also, test the clone to make sure you can properly boot from it.
- Make sure your off site backup is up to date (I use Backblaze)

Restore
- Install OS X
- Begin to install applications
- Restore Data
- Once you have all data restored and are comfortable with everything, begin your normal backup procedures

So that’s it. I hope this was a help to some of you. It should be very useful once OS X Lion comes out this summer.

To see what programs start at boot up, we just need a quick visit to System Preferences. Open System Preferences -> Accounts -> Your User Account -> Login Items.

If you see applications that you no longer need to open at boot, just highlight the application and click the minus button. You can also add applications by clicking the add button and browsing to the application and choosing it.

Want to read other articles for Mac Beginners? Just visit the Beginner Mac section here at Apple Mac HQ.

Unless you have been hiding in a secret underground lair, you probably know that Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard hits stores today. What you might not know is whether or not you should upgrade. The three most notable technology journalist have weighed in with their thoughts and they are fairly positive, though most conclude Snow Leopard isn’t a huge update.

Ed Baig, USA Today: “With Exchange and other technologies, Snow Leopard adds bite, especially for business. But as upgrades go, this one is relatively tame.”

Walt Mossberg, The Wall Street Journal: “Apple already had the best computer operating system in Leopard, and Snow Leopard makes it a little better. But it isn’t a big breakthrough for average users, and, even at $29, it isn’t a typical Apple lust-provoking product.”

David Pogue, The New York Times: “Either way, the big story here isn’t really Snow Leopard. It’s the radical concept of a software update that’s smaller, faster and better — instead of bigger, slower and more bloated. May the rest of the industry take the hint.”

Have you upgraded to Snow Leopard yet? If so, share your comments below!

If you’re running the newest big cat, Leopard, you might want to run Software Update. Apple released OS X 10.5.4 today. You can find a moderately detailed list of changes in this Apple Support article.

Among the notable changes:

• Additional RAM image support
• Addresses Airport reliability issues with 5GHz networks
• Improves iCal reliability for meeting requests, cancellation notices, delegation, and syncing with iPhone
• Addresses an issue in which To Do’s cannot be marked private
• Addresses a potential performance issue when loading secure web pages in Safari
• Expose and Spaces improvements

The OS X 10.5.4 update is recommended for all previous versions of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. It includes general operating system improvements that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac. The 10.5.4 standalone installer weighs in at 88MB. On my MBP, the 10.5.4 combo update (yeah, I never installed 10.5.3) is a whopping 560MB. If you come across any issues installing the update, drop them in the comments.

If you’re sporting the newest OS X cat, Apple has a major treat for you. Fire up Software Update because 10.5.2 has landed. For me the update weighs in at 180MB, but your milage may vary. Apple has updated a slew of things in 10.5.2. Here are some of the highlights:

• Improved Airport connection reliability and stability
• Adds support for more third party routers with Back to my Mac
• List view, folder view, and an updated background with grid view in the Dock
• Ability to turn off menu bar transparency
• Addresses stability issues related to .Mac syncing of iCal calendars
• Improved accuracy of the Data Detectors feature
• Improved printing performance when using some Microsoft Office applications
• Adds support for certain printers connected to the USB port of an Airport Extreme or Airport Express base station
• Adds RAW image support for several cameras
• Improved accuracy of the grammar checker
• Adds a menu bar option for accessing Time Machine features
• Improved external drive recognition in Time Machine

It was just over a month ago when I named Quicksilver one of the applications I couldn’t live without in 2007. What a difference a month can make. I’m currently flying Quicksilver free and haven’t noticed a difference. So what’s different? Spotlight.

With the upgrade to Leopard a few weeks ago, I’ve found myself using Spotlight as my application launcher. A quick command + space and I’m tying in Spotlight as it’s narrowing my results. The vast majority of the time the first result is the applications and a quick stroke of the enter key has the application popping open.

In Leopard I have the added benefit of one less application taking up system resources and not having to wait until Quicksilver finishes loading before I can use my Macbook Pro after logging in. If you’re a Quicksilver user running Leopard and only used it for application launching, you should give Spotlight a try to see if it can replace Quicksilver. While I loved Quicksilver in 2007, I’m loving without it in 2008.

If you’re like me and still running with the old cat, you’re in for a surprise the next time Software Update is run. Apple released 10.4.11 yesterday and it contains a number of updates and fixes. You can find the entire table of updates listed here; but most notably included is:

• Safari 3
• Improved syncing between iPhone and Yahoo! address books
• Improved reliability when mounting external USB hard drives
• Allows the use of the special keys on aluminum Apple Keyboards to control Aperture slideshows

Looks like Tiger will continue to get some love even though Leopard has shipped.

Most Mac applications are downloaded as a .dmg file. The .dmg file is a disk image that contains the compressed application files. After downloading the dmg file, Safari will automatically open and mount the file in the finder and on your desktop unless you have changed the default preferences. If you are using another browser, just double click the file and the disk image will mount on your system.

From this point, application installation can vary a little. Some applications, like Adium, provide you with a pointer (alias) to the applications folder in the installation window. Just drag the application icon and drop it on the applications folder alias. The application will now be installed to your applications folder.

Other applications, like Camino, provide you with a windows and the application icon. To install applications like this, just drag the application icon from the window to your local applications folder.

Some larger applications, like Boot Camp, are installed via an installer. Much like setup.exe on windows, the installer provides you with a few options and after clicking a few buttons here and there, the application gets installed. While the application is still installed in your applications folder, it will often install additional files on your system. For example, the Microsoft Office 2004 installer will install additional fonts on your system.

There are a few other ways applications can be installed, but they are mainly variants of the first method. Some developers package their applications in a zip file, and then after uncompressing the application you just drag it to the applications folder. Others package the disk image in a zip file and after uncompressing the disk image you just install it like you would a regular disk image.

That should cover the vast majority of ways to install applications on OS X. If you know of any other ways applications are installed, drop it in the comments below.

I posted a question on Mac-Forums last week about the speed of Leopard vs. Tiger. I had heard from others that previous OS X versions actually increased the speed of machines. I was very intrigued by this concept since my pervious dealings with Windows were quite the opposite.

Of those that responded to the forum question, 75% said they experienced faster performance on their Mac after installing Leopard. A few people said they experienced slower performance with the remaining few saying they saw the same performance or couldn’t tell the difference. This is pretty amazing since Vista makes all but the fastest machines crawl.

It’s worth nothing that nearly the exact same percentage of those who saw speed increases in Leopard were running on an Intel processor. One user upgraded 4 Macs (2 PPC and 2 Intel) and saw speed increases with Leopard, but the increase was not as noticeable on PowerPC processors. Obviously your milage will vary based on system configuration. However, the majority agree that Leopard is faster. Go forth and upgrade!

I decided to stop by the Apple Store on my way home from work Friday to try to get one of those free t-shirts I wrote about the other day. I was going to make it to the store about 6:15PM so I thought I would miss any line if there was one. I was completely wrong! I forgot my camera, but Lenox Mall looked like the mall in this TUAW photo gallery from Knoxville.

I estimated there was about 150 people waiting outside the Apple Store with a number of people already in the store. The scene looked a lot like the iPhone launch but with about half as many people. I couldn’t tell from where I was standing, but I think the Apple Store was only letting in a number of people at one time and as people left, they would let more in. The Apple Store had a cop posted outside the store with Apple fans lined up and down the mall hallways (like this). I decided not to stick around since I needed to be home by 7:00PM.

I was able to make it to the store today and there was no line outside, unlike the day after the iPhone launch. Other than a little sign at the front door (far left in this picture), you couldn’t tell anything was going on until you got inside the store. I jumped on a Macbook near the front door and played around on Leopard for about 15 minutes. I liked what I saw, but I’ll probably ask for it as a Christmas or Birthday present instead of buying it. I just got a new MBP around mid September so I don’t really want to go through the hassle again of setting everything up again. I’ll be ready by December though!

If you’re curious what the Leopard t-shirt looks like, you can see it here.

The newest cat to the OS X pack will lauch this Friday at 6:00PM. If you’re one of the first 500 guests to your local Apple Store, Apple will give you a “speical edition” Leopard T-shirt. Though the Apple Retail page is sparse with details, I’m hoping the systems they have setup will all run Leopard as well. I’d really like to test drive Leopard before buying it. I’m leaning towards waiting until 10.5.1 hits, but I’ve been sucked in by the Apple marketing machine before so there’s a chance I’ll walk away with Leopard.

[Via TUAW]

Apple has announced that OS X 10.5 Leopard will be available on October 26th, 2007. Pricing for Leopard is consistent with previous OS X upgrades. Leopard is priced at $129USD for a single user license and $199USD buys a family pack, good for 5 licenses in the same household (not for business or commercial use). You can pre-order Leopard now and get free shipping with an October 26th delivery date.

This being my first OS X upgrade, I’ll probably wait a few months before I buy Leopard. I’m very excited about some of the new features though. Of the new features, Quick Look, Finder, Stacks, and Spaces are the most appealing reason for upgrading.