DT Database & hard disk formatting

DEVONthink Tips
1

Hi,
as the subject says: I’m considering formatting my macbook pro as after lion has increasingly gone slower but I’m not sure what’s going to happen with my DT database. Obviously I wouldn’t use Time Machine to restore my old mac and I’m wondering how will work restored databases.
I think for imported items there’ll be no problems (is it right?): so if I save my main db in an external hdd and put in the ‘new’ mac everything should work fine.
What will happen to indexed items?
Are there other problems I’m not considering?

2

If you have a full backup and restore your folder structure just as it was before you wiped and reloaded, then you should encounter any problems. I did this when I first installed Lion, and restored my files from a backup. Everthing DEVON worked ok.

So, for example, if you have indexed documents in /Volumes/Users/My Name/Documents/My DEVONfiles/… before and after your reformat operation, all should be good.

Reformatting a hard disk to fix performance is not as necessary with OS X as it is with Windows. Consider downloading the current Lion combo update (see support.apple.com/kb/DL1484) and installing it before you take more drastic steps. There were reported issues with 10.7.3 that were fixed in the combo update.

3

Thanks Korm,
actually I’m on 10.7.3 but with Devonthink and Sente (which are the apps I use most) searches and other operations have become really slow. Maybe has also something to do with RAM (4GB on a 2.53 intel core 2 Duo).
When you say a full backup you mean a TimeMachine Backup, isn’t it? Don’t know if I’m correct but if you format the hdd and then make a full restore, inside with data you take with them also possible problems from the ‘old’ HD, isn’t it? Or just formatting (& full restoring) can be good for the HDD? [I know, a little bit off topic :blush: ]

4

Not for me, I prefer to use ChronoSync or something like that and make a backup of my boot disk. That’s not to say Time Machine can’t be used, I suppose.

True, it’s off topic … I think you’ll find better advice at one of the harder-core OS X forums - TUAW, or apple.com, or MacWorld, etc.