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reinstall and time machine

  • 18-01-2010 12:55pm
    #1
    Duck Soup
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,996 ✭✭✭


    Last few days, my MacBook Pro running 10.6.2 has been giving me grief. Screen freezes, green tint on screen and when I re-boot for the first couple of attempts I get an Apple icon that looks as though it's got zig-zag TV interference on it and I'm told to hold down the power key and try again. Eventually though, it starts up. It's ticking over in another room as I type this on my old warhorse of a PowerBook G4.

    It occurred to me that perhaps the easiest thing to do is a re-install. The docs are backed up etc. So I basically have a couple of questions, one arising out of the other.

    First, if I do an erase and install, does that mean that I've effectively lost all the software I've paid for that I don't have a disc for, including relatively expensive ones like Toast all the way down to 5 euro widgets?

    Second, if that would be the case, can I get an external hard drive and back up the system as it is today, do an erase and install and then bring back the applications, documents and widgets intact, complete with the paid-for software, address book etc via Time Machine?


Comments

  • #2
    Sad Professor
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 22,693 CMod ✭✭✭✭Sad Professor


    Leave the clean install for now, that sounds like a hardware problem. Run a hardware test:

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1509


  • #3
    Duck Soup
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,996 ✭✭✭Duck Soup


    Thanks Prof! I fear you may be right. I phoned up one of the Mac shops, described the symptoms and they said that it's probably a graphics card problem with MacBook Pros that's well-known to Apple. I'll keep you posted.


  • #4
    Sad Professor
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 22,693 CMod ✭✭✭✭Sad Professor


    I assume it is one of the affected machines:

    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377


  • #5
    Duck Soup
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,996 ✭✭✭Duck Soup


    Sad Professor wrote: »
    I assume it is one of the affected machines:

    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377

    Yep, MacBook Pro, 15-Inch, 2.4GHz. I checked and the graphics processor on it is a NVIDIDIA GeForce 8600M GT, which seems to be the one at fault. The hard disk was created on 22 June 2007, which would also fit in with the manufacturing dates of the MacBook Pros with problem graphic cards being between May 2007 and September 2008. I'll lash it in to Apple and see what happens.


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