Installing my "new" Mac
Tags: watercooler
Published: 2021-09-02 13:24:50

---
title: Installing my "new" Mac
published: true
description: Last week, my hard drive was formatted and I needed to reinstall everything. These are the steps I followed and the apps I installed while setting up my computer.
tags: watercooler
//cover_image: https://direct_url_to_image.jpg
---

Last week, I had to take the laptop to the tech support and, when I got it back, the hard drive had been swept clean. No files, no apps, no anything. I knew that was a possibility and had done a backup of the most important files (but not all of them 😭).

Now, I had to get everything ready again. These are the steps I followed and the applications I installed. I will install more apps later, but these are the ones I _needed_ to hit the road and start doing what I wanted. 

**If you have any recommendations for apps/plugins/extensions I should check out and install, drop them in the comments**.

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1. **Updated the OS and apps**  

    This may take a while, but I prefer to do it first, just in case there's a compatibility issue with an app later.  

2. **Cleared the taskbar**

    Too many default apps in the taskbar, plus I needed to make space for my apps.

3. **Installed browsers**
    
    I do web development, so I like testing with multiple browsers and tools.
   - Brave
   - Chrome
   - Firefox
   - **...and browser extensions**:
       - WebAIM Wave
       - Accessibility Insights for Web
       - aXe: for accessibility testing
       - Chromevox / ScreenReader
       - Grammarly

4. **Installed development apps & tools**

    I installed different IDEs, although I plan on mostly using just one (Visual Studio Code). But, unfortunately, installing Android Studio/Xcode is the easiest way to get essential SDKs and tools for development. And I want to go back to developing for mobile... we'll see how that goes.
   - Visual Studio Code + extensions
   - Xcode + iOS 14 simulator
   - Xcode Command Line Tools
   - Android Studio
   - NodeJS
   - Git Desktop
   - Cordova
   - XAMPP

5. **Installing utils**

    This must be the first time I don't install Microsoft Office (I personally like that suite). So instead, I'll use Apple's default tools. Plus, adding some basic apps for photo and audio editions.
   - GIMP
   - Grammarly
   - Audacity

6. **Communication tools**

    I'm not a big fan of Zoom (and have strong opinions about why it should not exist)... but people use it for meetings. Slack is a common open-source project communication tool, and WhatsApp is convenient to talk to my family and friends.
   - Slack
   - WhatsApp Desktop
   - Zoom

7. **Updated the OS and apps (again)**

    After installing some of the tools, macOS realized that some of the apps were not updated and that the OS needed an update itself.

8. **Restored backed up files**

    Old projects into the new computer, plus personal files. Here I realized that some of the files hadn't backed up correctly and were lost forever. When you do a backup, double-check the files 😢

9. **Cleaned the desktop and emptied the Trash**

    After installing everything, there were a bunch of files in the Downloads and Desktop folders. So I deleted them and emptied the trash. The computer was then clean and ready.