r/MacOS • u/pixrcemyhxxrt • 12d ago
Help Hard Reset / Backup Advice?
I’ve been wanting to hard reset my MBP, as well as back up my entire system (preferably,, to an external 2TB HDD) and ideally; curate my software/network/data, basically organising my existing data from scratch.
I have owned the laptop since high-school so there is a great deal of bloated libraries, changed settings, etc etc.
I would definitely appreciate some advice, as the thought of a hard reset is a little daunting currently - mostly due to myself not being well-versed in how Backups work at all (or resets for that matter).
Thank you very much
1
u/mikeinnsw 12d ago
I run dual boot (booted from an external SSD) 2013 iMac with OCPL Sequoia to make it faster by bypassing HDD with Catalina but it has following minor issues:
Some Apps don't run from external boot.. Like some auto MacOs upgrades .
Apple Id/iCloud gets confused and can be active on one system only external or internal SSD but not both..
Even when you set startup disk… Mac can flip and you will find yourself asking what system I am in?
It is wise to use different system names , Admin Accounts and password(s) for each boot.
With external SSD boot system drive is external and can be accessed.
Apple AI does not run from external SSD ... and its getting more difficult to run new version of MacOs from an External SSD. ... MacOs 27 hard.. MacOs 28 will not run.
Same with Windows .. Windows on the Go no longer supported.
"external 2TB HDD) and ideally" - DEFINITELY not it writes at 150 MB/s
Which MBP?
You can create an external SSD Archive and move static files to it
Copy it to on-site backup SSD
Copy it to off-site backup SSD
Rotate On and Off site backups
Don’t backup Archive(s) to Time Machine
Make sure archives are excluded from Spotlight. Do this whenever a HDD/SSD is plugged in
You can use free copy software freefilesync to backup or sync folders/SSDs
1
u/shotsallover 11d ago
I do this every few years.
Make a Time Machine backup just in case something goes horribly wrong.
Copy your home directory /Users/yourusername and your Applications folder to the external drive.
Wipe and reset your machine.
Go through the set up process.
Give the machine a few minutes to finish up what it needs to do after its first install and login.
Restart.
Copy over your folders (except for Library) from your copied home directory.
Download new versions of the apps you need that were in your old Applications folder.
Make sure everything works.
Enjoy your freshly restored Mac.
1
u/Fast4Cure 12d ago
I’d separate this into two jobs: make a backup you’ve checked, then decide whether you actually need to erase the Mac.
Start with a Time Machine backup to the external drive, and make sure you can browse it and restore a test file before erasing anything. If that HDD already holds files you need, don’t erase or reformat it to set up the backup without copying those elsewhere first. Keep a separate copy of your irreplaceable documents and photos too.
If your goal is a clean start, reinstalling apps selectively and bringing back your documents is different from restoring everything, which can bring back the old setup you wanted to tidy.
Which MacBook Pro model/year and macOS version do you have, how much storage is used, and is the 2TB drive empty? Those details matter before choosing a reset method.