Reinstalling Your Computer's Software is part one of chapter 4: Reinstalling Your Computer's Software of the Troubleshooting Handbook.

If you are having issues with the system software or applications that came with your computer, you can replace software in the following ways:

• reinstall system software-if you encounter system software issues or you want to add or remove system software components
• reinstall individual applications-if you inadvertently erased an application on your hard disk, are having issues with an application, or an application is damaged
• restore your hard disk with its original contents-if you want your computer to have its original system software, factory settings, and applications that came with the computer

The Mac OS Install application, located on the software install CD, lets you reinstall the Mac OS (or specific components of the Mac OS) on your computer. This CD also includes a Read Me document that describes how to reinstall custom system software settings and application software that came with your computer.

Before Installing System Software

Before you begin the installation, do the following:

• Customized preferences and settings: If you have preferences or settings in control panels and individual applications, make a note of them so you can easily reset them if necessary, after you install system software.

• Software that runs in the background: If you are using software that runs in the background, such as virus protection software or access control software, you may need to turn it off before you reinstall system software. For instructions, see the documentation that came with the software.
• If you are installing the Mac OS on a PowerBook: Plug the PowerBook in, open the Energy Saver control panel, and set the PowerBook so it doesn't go to sleep. Turn off password protection in the Password Security control panel.

Using the Installer

Note: If something goes wrong, see "Problems During Installation."

1. Start up from the software install CD-ROM disc. (See Chapter 2, "Starting Up From a CD." )

2. Double-click the Mac OS Install icon.



Figure 1, Mac OS Install icon.
A Welcome screen describes the steps in the installation process.



Figure 2, Mac OS Install Welcome screen.

3. When you're ready to begin, click Continue.
The Mac OS Install application guides you through the steps necessary to install the software. For help during installation, click the Help button in the upper-right corner of the window. If you encounter issues, see "Problems During Installation"

4. To perform a clean installation, skip to "Performing a Clean Installation" . Otherwise, continue with the following step.
In a clean installation, the Installer creates a new System Folder on your hard disk. Performing a clean installation can be a complicated and lengthy procedure, but if you are experiencing issues or your computer seems slow, it may help.

5. Choose the destination disk from the pop-up menu and click Select.
A dialog box appears asking if you want to reinstall or add/remove software.



Figure 3, Add/Remove software dialog box.

6. Do one of the following:

• To install all the software you need for your computer, click Reinstall and follow the onscreen instructions. This is the best choice to solve system software issues.
• To add or remove specific system software components, click Add/Remove. Proceed to the next section, "Custom Installation."

After selecting a disk, you need to decide between a standard or a custom installation. The standard installation installs all the software you need for your model of computer and is the best choice to solve system software issues. A custom installation lets you add or remove specific system software components.

Note : Keep in mind that the more components you install, the more memory, or RAM, is used and the greater the potential for software conflicts. Install only the items you expect to use.

Standard installation: Click Reinstall. Proceed to "Standard Installation" below.

If necessary, use the pop-up menu to choose another destination disk.

Custom installation: Click Add/Remove. Proceed to "Custom Installation" below.

Custom Installation

1. In the window that appears, select the software to install, the software to remove, or both.

2. To install or remove specific items within a component, open the "Installation mode" pop-up menu and choose Customized Installation, or Customized Removal.
The Recommended Installation option installs all items within the software component.



Figure 4, Customized Installation/Removal options

3. If you choose Customized Installation or Customized Removal, a list of the available items within the software component appears. Select the items you want to install or remove. Click the triangle on the left to see individual features within each item. To get information about an item, click the box in the right column with the letter i in it.



Figure 5, Customized Installation/Removal software components

4. Repeat steps 1-3 for each software component you want to install.

5. When you're finished, click Start. If you see messages about issues with your hard disk, see "Problems During Installation"

6. When a message appears saying that the installation process finished, click Quit to close the program or click Continue to install or remove other software.

• article 43034: Performing A Clean Installation
• article 43035: Problems During Installation
• article 43036: Reinstalling Individual Applications & Restoring All Original Software