Restore Missing Components with Archive and Install

After purchasing your Mac you may notice some components of the OS missing, as did I. This may be because of a faulty Leopard installation on the Mac that didn’t install all the applications or utilities. The easiest way to restore them is to do an Archive and Install. This is similar to doing a repair installation on Windows; it installs a new copy of Mac OS X whilst giving you the option to preserve your settings.

The following explains how to do an Archive and Install:

1. Insert Disc 1 of your Mac OS X install disc into your computer (it should have come with your Mac).
2. Restart your Mac (Apple menu > Restart…).
3. As your Mac is booting, hold down the C key on your keyboard. This forces OS X to boot from the disc.
4. Once the disc has booted, select your language of preference and continue.
5. After accepting the license agreement, select the destination disk OS X is installed on and click on the Options button.
6. Make sure the Archive and Install radio button is selected, and preferably the Preserve Users and Network Settings checkbox as well. This will import existing user accounts, their home folders, and your network settings into the new system.
7. Accept the settings and click on continue to complete the installation.

Once the installation is complete, there will be a new folder on the Macintosh HD entitled Previous Systems, which contains existing system files before the Archive and install. This folder can be deleted if unneeded as it just takes disk space.