07-10-2011, 01:26 AM
Trouble's got it---recreate your experience on the external, to the extent you can comfortably erase everything on the internal and then simply clone it back. Get all the apps you want on there running correctly. Some apps keep settings and whatnot within the user directory, others do not. Trial and error might work as well as any recipe you're after.
One way to make sure is to live with only the external for a period of time. If nothing seems amiss, you should be ready to erase the internal.
Going forward ... a Time Machine backup could work as you intended. The day after a serious issue cropped up you could replace the entire System folder entirely, or a part of it to revert back.
One way to make sure is to live with only the external for a period of time. If nothing seems amiss, you should be ready to erase the internal.
Going forward ... a Time Machine backup could work as you intended. The day after a serious issue cropped up you could replace the entire System folder entirely, or a part of it to revert back.