Clean install of Final Cut Studio 3

Hi Everyone -

I would really like to upgrade to Final Cut Studio 3.

What's stopping me is remembering what a pain in the ass it was to upgrade last time. I was told the right way to upgrade was to wipe my drive clean and reinstall the operating system, and all my applications from the original install discs. Then run the all the upgrades on each of the apps. Like most of you, I have several applications. This process took me days and it was at least a week before I had everything running smoothly.

I know it's not wise to install the upgrade over the existing FCS, but is there another way to get a clean install of FCS3 without having to start from scratch? I have a Time Machine backup HD. Can I erase my internal drive, then restore all my apps and OS from Time Machine drive EXCEPT FCS2 and then just install FCS3?

I really love all the new features FCS3 has to offer but if I'm looking at three days of down time to do it then I'll hold off.

Anybody know another way to get a clean install without wiping my hard drive clean and reinstalling EVERYthing again?

Thanks.

Shelley
MacBoo Pro 2015
16 GB Ram
OS X 10.13
Premiere Pro CC

Don't look for shortcuts installing programs. That way lies heartache and downtime.

Get a second system drive.
If it's for a MacPro get a SATA drive that can eventually be swapped out for the current system drive. Install everything new on that, (OS, FCS, Upgrades) take your time, do it methodically. I like doing this at the end of a day for an hour or so. You can boot from it to test it out. When you have everything on it ready to go you can swap it out with the current system HD.

If you have a laptop, an external FW drive can work the same way except when you're ready to commit to the new version you have to copy the image over (using Superduper or Carbon Copy Cloner).

You can also by a replacement laptop system HD and a SATA FireWire dock and do the same method as a Mac Pro, but you might want to get a certified apple tech to replace the HD for you if warranty is an issue.

This way you're not without a working system for very long and you can take your time building the new system disk, comparing it to the old one and finding all those utilities that you forgot you needed . You always have your old system drive to go back to if things get messed up. Eventually, when the old system disk is no longer needed you can use that disk to make a backup image of the newer one.

I personally keep an up to date image of my laptop drive on a replacement ready HD and a partition of a FW drive using CCC.

ak
Sleeplings, AWAKE!

Hi Andrew,

I appreciate your frankness.

I do have another internal drive that I could use once I back it up. Then I could just erase that, install my OS and take my time reinstalling all the application software when I have a few hours here and there -- then eventually switch over to that drive for my main operating system.

That's a really good idea.

Thanks,

Shelley

Shelley
MacBoo Pro 2015
16 GB Ram
OS X 10.13
Premiere Pro CC

I ran the FCS install discs and it took about 20 minutes to install FCS 3 over FCS2. And although it is useful I've personally not done a clean OS and FCS install from scratch for years... Go for it.

Noah

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Shelley,

Look into getting a spare HD. I won't presume that you are made of money but it's the best $150 bucks you can spend to keep your system in working mode and properly backed up.

ak
Sleeplings, AWAKE!

i'm in the same camp as noah.

did my FCS3 upgrade over the top of FCS2
no problems so far.


nick

As I mentioned in a previous post, I do have my internal OS hard drive completely backed up on a bootable external drive and it updates every day with TimeMachine.

Sure would like to take the short cut like Nick and Noah, but am too busy to have a lot of down time if there are problems. Are the odds very high that there will be problems installing on top or minimal?

So if I did the FCS 3 install on top of FCS2 and run into glitches later, couldn't I just go back to an earlier version in Time Machine? I've never had to restore anything from the Time Machine backup drive so not sure about that.

Shelley
MacBoo Pro 2015
16 GB Ram
OS X 10.13
Premiere Pro CC

Quote

As I mentioned in a previous post, I do have my internal OS hard drive completely backed up on a bootable external drive and it updates every day with TimeMachine.

You should triple-check that. Time Machine backup drives are not bootable. Though you can restore from one by booting the Mac OS X install DVD.

Thanks, Jeff. I thought the Time Machine Back up was bootable -- but I double checked and you were right -- it is NOT. So I cloned my entire HD to another free internal HD and have a complete up to date bootable copy. Now that I have a safe back up, I'm going to "Go for it" as Noah and Nick suggested and install FC3 over FC2 and see what happens. I have so many 3rd party plug ins for FC and Motion, it will take a long time to get everything operating if I start from scratch. But if things get jacked then I have a back up in place that works.

I'm feeling lucky. I'll let you know how it goes.

Shelley

Shelley
MacBoo Pro 2015
16 GB Ram
OS X 10.13
Premiere Pro CC

Go for it Shelley. If all goes to hell we can blame Jeff for bad karma.




Michael Horton
-------------------

>did my FCS3 upgrade over the top of FCS2. no problems so far.

Well, you guys might be one of the exceptions. It works for some, but not for others. I myself had issues going from FCS 1 to FCS 2. But I covered myself by cloning my system drive first. And on this and the many other forums out there, I see issue after issue where people just installed on top of the current install. And a clean install on a fresh OS install solved the issue.

So why tempt fate? The original plan is good. Fresh drive, new OS, install in bits and pieces until you are up, using the current setup until you get all done.


www.shanerosseditor.com

Listen to THE EDIT BAY Podcast on iTunes
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Okay here is my report back:

I used FC Remover, then installed FCS3 (with FC7) over FCS2. My performance seemed slower so Digital Rebellion recommended also running FCS Housekeeper and Autosave Cleaner (this comes with the FCS Maintenance Pack - you can get a 15-day free trial). I also ran Singular, free software that deletes duplicate files and frees up space. After performing those tasks, my current system seems to be running fine so far.

Now since I have another free internal drive, I decided to upgrade to Snow Leopard on this one building from scratch. I will eventually transfer to that drive once I'm sure everything is working in harmony. Now my question is, what is the best way to move/transfer my home folder files from the Leopard Drive to the new Snow Leopard Drive? Should I use Migration Assistant or Carbon Copy Cloner?

Shelley
MacBoo Pro 2015
16 GB Ram
OS X 10.13
Premiere Pro CC

how did it end up? i need to install fc3 now