Clean-Install Assistant 1.5.1
Dan Knight - 2001.02.05
I don't know when I first discovered Clean-Install Assistant (C-IA), but it's been an invaluable tool ever since.
Before C-IA, moving a user to a new computer or replacing a damaged System could be a real nightmare. You'd do a clean install, then compare the new System Folder with the old one on a folder-by-folder, file-by-file basis. It was tedious - something I discovered last week when moving from Mac OS 9.0.4 on my SuperMac S900 to OS 9.1 on my titanium PowerBook.
Over the weekend, Marc Moini (also the author of Startup Doubler) released C-AI 1.5.1, the first version to support Mac OS 9.1. It would have made my upgrade a lot faster, easier, and more thorough.
What C-IA does sounds remarkably simple: It wades through every item in your System Folder, identifies non-Apple items, and moves them to a new folder. It also does the reverse, putting all those items in the proper place in a new System Folder - but refusing to overwrite files that are already there.
It's a brilliantly simple concept, but the program has to be updated for each version of the Mac OS. If not, it wouldn't handle additions to the System Folder properly.
One of my favorite C-IA tricks is manually wading through the folder of items removed from the System Folder and removing unnecessary files. That includes preferences for long gone games and applications, drivers for hardware that's not in your new computer, and control panel and extensions not needed with the new OS.
Then you use C-IA to reintegrate all those files with your new System. Brilliantly simple!
Other uses for C-IA include:
- Extract non-Apple files, back them up, then put them back.
- Create a master set of additions for use on multiple Macs.
- Remove non-Apple files so you can restore an older version of the Mac OS.
Clean-Install Assistant has one of the more unusual price structures: it's free if you have 1-3 Macs, cost $50 if you have 4-10, jumps to $500 for all Macs within 100 miles of your site, and hits $1,000 for a worldwide license.
C-IA isn't the kind of program you'll use every day. If you're lucky, you may never need it. But when you have to do a clean install to replace a damaged System, C-IA could save you hours by having the computer do all the tedious work of moving system additions from the old System Folder to the new one.
My check is in the mail. 
Resources
- Download from Mac Moini's site.
- Review: ATPM, 12/99
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Lion and the End of Bootable OS X Installers, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 2012.05.23. Mac OS X Lion is only available as an upgrade from Snow Leopard. Is this the end of bootable installers from Apple?
- Mac Pro on the Way Out or Changing with the Times?, Dan Bashur, Apple, Tech, and Gaming, 2012.05.22. No other desktop Mac offers a wide range of expansion options, but is that enough reason for Apple to keep the behemoth powerhouse Mac Pro around?
- iPhone 3D: Stereo Photography and 3D Movies for the Rest of Us, Anne Onymus, The Rumor Mill, 2012.05.22. Until now, stereo photography and 3D movies required expensive dedicated equipment. With the iPhone 3D, Apple will make it available to the masses.
Latest Deals on Low End Mac
About LEM Support Usage Privacy Contact
Follow
Low End Mac on Twitter
Join Low End Mac
on Facebook
Low End Mac Reader Specials
Macsales Add 2nd Hard Drive or SSD to Mac mini, MacBook or MacBook Pro. 1TB of Hard Drive or SSD Capacity from $64.99! Video Guides Make it easy - OWC DataDoubler - Macsales.com
Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Macpokeronline.com will show you how to download and play Poker on a Mac natively on your Mac in just minutes.
Favorite Sites
MacSurfer
Cult of Mac
Shrine of Apple
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac Museum
Deal Brothers
DealMac
Mac2Sell
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End Mac FAQ
Affiliates
Amazon.com
The iTunes Store
PC Connection Express
Parallels Desktop for Mac
eBay
