Restoring to clean install drive
 

I just got back my MacBook after it was serviced by Apple; I thought the hard drive was failing, but Apple fixed the problem by reformatting the drive and reinstalling Snow Leopard. I've updated all of the Apple software and now I'm ready to restore from my SuperDuper backup drive.

But I'm worried that the SuperDuper backup that I'm going to restore from includes the software problems that Apple just fixed with a reformat/clean install. Is this a valid worry? And if it is, how should I proceed with my SuperDuper restore in a way that doesn't re-create the problems that Apple just fixed?

I don't know what apple fixed, so it's hard for me to know what you might or might not be restoring.

In general, what you need to do is, when first prompted to 'copy from another Mac', point it at the backup. That'll bring in your applications and data. You'll then update your software.

If you're past that point, I'd actually suggest an erase-and-install of Snow Leopard again to 'reset' back to the prompt.

Thanks for the reply; an AppleCare rep suggested an option that spared me another clean install of Snow Leopard, which is to use Migration Assistant. This is restoring all my user accounts, settings, applications, and files via my SuperDuper backup but is leaving all of the fresh Snow Leopard system stuff alone.

Well, yes, that's what I'm suggesting - the Migration Assistant runs after that prompt. But if you have already created an account, Migration won't necessarily bring things in properly. That's why I suggested doing it the way I did.

I'll report back if the method I'm attempting results in any glitches; if it does I'll go back and do what you originally suggested. So far, so good however. Apart from prompting me to avoid repeating an already-used user account name, it seems to be working the same way it would have if I had been migrating to a new Mac.

Well, no, because the UIDs are going to be different. But we'll see.

dnanian,

Apart from the fact that I was prompted to rename my main user account in the process of setting up the Migration Assistant transfer, everything seems to be restored and more or less working properly. I tried a bunch of different applications and browsers, and I could see that few minor things went awry. (For example, iWork's Pages couldn't find a custom template I had made; I guess the application had stored it in a user-account place that failed to migrate.) But so far I haven't run into any non-trivial anomalies or big missing pieces.

But perhaps I'll run into more worrisome consequences going forward. Can you point me toward any serious concerns or specific issues I might look at as a result of my lazy-bones, new user i.d. fix?

Meanwhile, I'm going to hold off doing a new SuperDuper backup until I'm sure I won't need to play it safe and do a clean install and proper restore as you originally advised.

It's impossible for me to answer this definitively. I've noted various problems when the UID isn't the same. Your mileage may vary (or the Migration Assistant may have improved in the meantime).

Many thanks for hanging in there with me. As it turns out, a major issue quickly turned up (my iPod Touch wouldn't mount in iTunes), so I finally heeded your wisdom, went back to square one, and reinstalled Snow Leopard. The SuperDuper backup reinstalled smoothly via Migration Assistant, then I updated the Apple system software, and everything seems to be functioning fine.