Reset works

glb613 · ‎03-09-2010

I spoke with a friend last night and she was asking about buying a Kindle Fire. I asked why she was looking for a new tablet and she said her iPad ran out of memory and she couldn't use it. A neighbor told her it's no good and she needed a new device. Well, I knew that wasn't true, told her to do a reset, talked her through the process and it is now working like new. She didn't have much on it and yet it still had a full hard drive. The same thing happened to me with my iPad. It was full of files in the "other" category and was barely running. She was able to reinstall everything without any problems.

What I've been preaching here for years is true. Computers really do need to be reset or restored after years of use. A reset can breathe new life in a computer, tablet or phone and give you years of additional use. Before you think your slow or sluggish device is no good, do a reset and see if the performance improves.

dooBdoo · ‎06-27-2010

I agree completely, @glb613. I've been advocating this for years and years, too, here on the forums (particularly trying to convince people to erase/reset/restore their iPads) and elsewhere in my life, too. It's probably at least one major reason my iMac and iPad (5 1/2 years old) and iPhone (5 years old) still work beautifully, even after heavy, daily use. I've found it hard to convince some people do to this, and I've found that many don't have a good backup and might be hesitant to reset, erase, and restore -- that's why I always caution everyone to be sure they're confident in the process or ask a professional to help them at least through the first time they do this. It's well worth it, unless people simply want to keep purchasing the "latest and greatest" new devices. (Don't get me wrong... it's fun to play with new gadgets, and new features can be useful depending on our needs, but I'm happy with the older ones as long as they perform well.)

Few things reveal your intellect and your generosity of spirit—the parallel powers of your heart and mind—better than how you give feedback.~Maria Popova

glb613 · ‎03-09-2010

I'm doing a restore or reset on both my iMac and Macbook. I'm also going back to Sierra on both because I think they are too old for the latest operating system and work well. As soon as I get my iMac back from being serviced, I'm restoring my Macbook.

I find people who aren't computer savvy, like my friend, really don't know if advice they get is good or bad. I told my friend she should have called me before believing her iPad was no good. I've posted repeatedly on this forum people should try a restore/reset before giving up on a computer. There does come a time when a computer is too old to be safe to use but, there is no need to get rid of a perfectly good computer just because of a slowdown.

If a person simply wants a new computer or tablet that is still usable, donating it to a charity or someone who can't afford a computer is an option. You will need to scrub or erase the hard drive (overwrite the data multiple times making it impossible to recover files) before reinstalling the operating system. I've done this with all of my old computers and haven't had a single security breach. I gave 2 computers to The Boys and Girls Club and 1 to a friend. Another option is installing a new hard drive then reinstalling the operating system.

IMW · ‎06-15-2014

Thanks so very much for sharing this info.

Happy Thanksgiving

glb613 · ‎03-09-2010

@IMW wrote:
Thanks so very much for sharing this info.
Happy Thanksgiving

You're welcome. Rebuilding my computer is not difficult but, It does take time. I decided not to use a backup because I was worried about reinstalling the problem that caused it to run so slow.

I would encourage everyone to not only create a backup every month or two but to also use the drag and drop method to save files. I was able to get my Apps through the app store and there were several I decided I didn't need or use. The biggest challenage will be adding my photos. I have thousands and thousands of photos and most I don't need on my iMac.

I am so pleased with my iMac's improved performance. I wish I had done this months or maybe even a year ago. I was hesitant to do the task on my main computer because of no experience. As many know, you depend on your computer for so many things. If anyone is thinking about resetting or restoring the Apple devices, go for it. My friend's iPad and my iMac are running like new.

kcladyz · ‎04-30-2012

I consider this everyday knowledge. LOL It blows my mind that many people do not know about it. You can reset anything computer related like a kindle, a cel, phone, desktop pc or tablet.

Resetting makes your computer or device like new. I had to reset my PC and lost 800 GB of movies that I can not redownload I am so mad I di dnot back it up first. At least I have a working PC