mac os qns on backup/upgrading/reformatting

[pleeted]

currently i am using mavericks and realize dat i do not have any mac os dvd.

qns here:

1) how do i reformat my mac osx, by recovery partition?
2) is it possible to backup the whole hdd (clone) so that nxt time if my hdd fail, i can clone the image to a new hdd?
2.1) if yes, any recommended tool to use?
3) understand that the new os yosemite is coming this fall, may i know will it be a free upgrade again? as i plan to wait until this new os release then reformat. coz my mac is getting slower after upgrading from mountain lion to mavericks.

plz advise, thanx.

 

[trento]

Use time machine for backups.

When u reformat, load the OS thru USB, there will be options to restore to time machine backup.

If yr machine runs slow on mavericks, it probably be even slower on Yosemite.

 

[Kijori]

From what I can see, Mavericks use up more RAM than Mountain Lion.

 

[leinad]

From what I can see, Mavericks use up more RAM than Mountain Lion.

But it also has RAM compression. So technically, more RAM is usable to apps.

/Dan

 

[davidktw]

From what I can see, Mavericks use up more RAM than Mountain Lion.

How do you ascertain that ? It should since it has more features to offer Just curious what are you looking at to ascertain the more memory used : Total Memory - Free Memory ?

 

[davidktw]

currently i am using mavericks and realize dat i do not have any mac os dvd.

qns here:

1) how do i reformat my mac osx, by recovery partition?
2) is it possible to backup the whole hdd (clone) so that nxt time if my hdd fail, i can clone the image to a new hdd?
2.1) if yes, any recommended tool to use?
3) understand that the new os yosemite is coming this fall, may i know will it be a free upgrade again? as i plan to wait until this new os release then reformat. coz my mac is getting slower after upgrading from mountain lion to mavericks.

plz advise, thanx.

1) Apple - OS X Recovery restores your Mac with a few clicks.
2) Time Machine
3) Yes

 

[pleeted]

thanx 4 all de reply.

juz curious the Command + R recovery is inbuilt in mainboard not hdd rite?

 

[davidktw]

thanx 4 all de reply.

juz curious the Command + R recovery is inbuilt in mainboard not hdd rite?

Yes it's built into all recent firmware of the Apple laptop/desktop/workstation. You don't even need a recovery partition to recover from the Internet.

 

[pleeted]

Yes it's built into all recent firmware of the Apple laptop/desktop/workstation. You don't even need a recovery partition to recover from the Internet.

dats cool, and internet recovery is awesome too, if possible will try internet recovery to reformat my mac.

thanx davidktw 1nce again.

 

[davidktw]

dats cool, and internet recovery is awesome too, if possible will try internet recovery to reformat my mac.

thanx davidktw 1nce again.

Just to warn you that the pre-requisite to good experience Internet Recovery is you need good Internet bandwidth. Apple is using CDN for the download and access to it is fast only for those with large Internet bandwidth. It's roughly 4GB for the full download.

It's just to let you know that Mac OS X can allow full installation directly from the Internet, I have done it before on my 300Mbps home line and it feels pretty okay.

 

[pleeted]

Just to warn you that the pre-requisite to good experience Internet Recovery is you need good Internet bandwidth. Apple is using CDN for the download and access to it is fast only for those with large Internet bandwidth. It's roughly 4GB for the full download.

It's just to let you know that Mac OS X can allow full installation directly from the Internet, I have done it before on my 300Mbps home line and it feels pretty okay.

i am on 100Mbps Fibre, hope it is good enough, waiting to give it a try when Yosemite is out.

 

[davidktw]

i am on 100Mbps Fibre, hope it is good enough, waiting to give it a try when Yosemite is out.

That's ok. Even at 50% effective, it should take roughly <15mins to finish download.

 

[pleeted]

cool! but i think when Yosemite is out, apple server will be lagging. hehe.

 

[davidktw]

cool! but i think when Yosemite is out, apple server will be lagging. hehe.

Could be, but normally those that are very keen on getting the latest Apple Mac OS would have installed the GM version which is normally the same as the 1st official release. So far, I personally have no issue downloading the 1st official version.

Just that I don't install it. I like to wait out and let the early birds tell me if it's safe at all

 

[zitseng]

OS X's Internet Recovery is really awesome. It's baked into EFI (i.e. the "BIOS"), so even if you totally trash the disk or replace it with a new one, Internet Recovery still works. Newer Macs already come with EFI supporting Internet Recovery, but older ones may need an EFI update. Yes, Cmd-R during power on to start Internet Recovery.

 

[derrickgoh]

You can use Acronis or other stuff to clone your HDD but I would rather use Time Machine. Faster and easier. The first back up takes the longest but subsequent back up are faster as they just back up the changes made since the last back up. And its smart enough to know how to delete older back ups to make space for more recent ones.

If you are kiasu like me, get those external HDD that come with 2 HDDs in one enclosure and run it in RAID 0. Unless you are super sway, unlikely both HDD will conk out together.

 

[davidktw]

You can use Acronis or other stuff to clone your HDD but I would rather use Time Machine. Faster and easier. The first back up takes the longest but subsequent back up are faster as they just back up the changes made since the last back up. And its smart enough to know how to delete older back ups to make space for more recent ones.

If you are kiasu like me, get those external HDD that come with 2 HDDs in one enclosure and run it in RAID 0. Unless you are super sway, unlikely both HDD will conk out together.

RAID 1 or 0 ? RAID 0 is one HDD conk and gone is your backup.