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I usually install macOS updates from scratch on my MacBook Pro and install from a backup on my iMac. If you are too busy to spend time re-downloading apps and retweaking your system settings, a standard installation makes more sense than starting from scratch. If your furniture was all rearranged, you'd have to turn on the lights to see where you are going. If you know where your bed is, your head will hit the pillow without you even having to think about it. It's like coming home late at night, in the dark. It is much faster to go from installation to being productive again when all of your apps and files are right where you left them. You will already be signed in to all of your apps and you won't have to redownload pictures from iCloud. When you download and install macOS Big Sur without starting from scratch, all of your apps, settings, files, and documents will be in the exact same spot that they were before. That's why restoring from a backup might be the best choice for you. Sound alerts, display options, keyboard settings – all of it will be reset to factory settings. Trying to figure out what happened to it could take a long time.Īll of the tweaks and adjustments you've made over the years to your computer will be gone. Similar to moving to a new house, there may have been a box in the garage that you never opened, but once you move, if you didn't take it with you, it's gone. Why a standard installation of macOS Big Sur is goodĪ clean install also means you lose everything. If you have the patience and some free time, a clean installation of macOS Big Sur can be somewhat cathartic in its own right.
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