Upgrade to High Sierra via the Mac App Store, or clean install?

[ErnstStavroBlohard]

Which is the better option, and which will you be doing when the GM is released to the public?

If you're opting for the MAS upgrade, are there any downsides (read: risks) versus the clean install method?

 

[The Weatherman]

Subsidiary question: if you do it via USB, which app would you recommend to create a bootable installer? I've had bad experiences with Diskmaker X and Install Disk Creator previously. And I'm too lazy for the Terminal way.

 

[polbit]

Which is the better option, and which will you be doing when the GM is released to the public?

If you're opting for the MAS upgrade, are there any downsides (read: risks) versus the clean install method?

It really depends on how much time you invested in installing everything before the upgrade. Of course clean install is the best, but if your current setup is very customized, I don't think clean install is an option, unless required.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Unless your machine is running slow due to a lot of unnecessary lost system and program files left over from installs and deletes, there really isn't any reason to do a clean install from your current OS, unless you are currently running a beta of High Sierra. If you are, I recommend you do a clean install.

 

[dacreativeguy]

Upgrade install has been reliable for several releases now. Apple does a great job of separating the OS from apps, preferences, an other files. If you back up first, you can always try the easier path first and still have the option of clean install if you aren't happy.

 

[Ledgem]

I've been doing upgrades since OS X 10.4... that's about ten years without a clean install. (Whenever I bought a new computer, I'd use Migration Assistant, which essentially copied the old system over.) Now I get occasional weird glitches, though, so I was thinking to use this as an opportunity to clean things up with a fresh install. But if it weren't for my glitches, I'd say to just do a basic upgrade instead of a clean install.

 

[AnTaR3s]

Sorry if this has been asked before: I am currently running the latest public beta. Can I do a clean install of the GM (when it comes) to step off the beta program, or do I have to wait for the official release in two weeks or so?

 

[Morpheo]

The only reason I made clean installs recently was because I wanted to install 10.9, 10.10 and 10.11 on my 2,1. On my other macs I've been installing them directly from the App Store for years. No reason to change, and my system is already "clean".

 

[johannnn]

I never use Migration Assistant on new devices since I don't want to copy over all the crap from the old machine. I never do a clean install for the yearly macOS updates though.

I guess it just depends on your situation?
(-) you have tons of custom settings which will take a long time to duplicate
(+) you notice weird glitches

 

[MarcoB]

I going to make a clean install because I have a MacBook 15" TB 2016, and since I bought it gives me some problems that any previous updates of Sierra fixed. If those problems are related to some preferences files or strange behavior in Sierra, I don't want to carry it on to High Sierra.
From what I have been reading about High Sierra, it went a broad transformation in it guts. That rises a lot of warning signs in my head.

One doubt I still have is if High Sierra will read my external hard drives and USB Flash formatted in HFS+.

 

[TheNorthWaves]

I always do a clean install on my own machine. On others machines I haven't run into a problem doing an update install, with one exception. I think it had been upgraded to 4 different releases, at which point, it choked.

 

[Fishrrman]

I've come to the conclusion that the following works best:

1. Download the installer via the Apple Store, but DON'T run it when offered the opportunity to do so (it should download to the Applications folder). Just quit it.

2. Have on-hand a USB flash drive of sufficient capacity (at least 16gb).

3. Now, use either "Install Disk Creator", "DiskMaker X", or the terminal app to create a bootable copy of the installer on the USB flashdrive (both of these apps are free)

4. Next, move the installer app from the Applications folder to somewhere else (an "archive volume", perhaps) for safekeeping. You may need it again someday.

5. Now, boot from the USB flashdrive.

6. At this point, you can either do an install "over" your existing installation, or re-initialize the drive and do a "completely fresh" install. YOUR CHOICE.

7. When done, put the USB flashdrive installer somewhere for safekeeping.

 

[EugW]

I had a weird wake after sleep lag on Sierra that a clean install may have fixed, but I'm glad I tried the upgrade because the upgrade to High Sierra fixed it. System overall is running very smoothly and I didn't have to waste all that time reconfiguring everything.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/high-sierra-fixed-my-wake-from-sleep-lags.2072551/

Now I just need to make the decision whether or not to delete Office 2011, since I have both Office 2011 and Office 2016 on it.