[xCraftyx]

Hey, so I'm using OS X and I've recently upgraded to Lion. I've noticed some incompatibility issues when working with older libraries and whatnot and it seems that my system freezes MUCH more often than normal. My regular reaction with Windows would be to back up and reformat, but I'm a little more hesitant to do so since I have things like Subversion source control branches in my system. I know you're supposed to be able to restore your entire system with time machine and I'd like to do that, but I want to reinstall my system files and get rid of the old libraries that I don't need/use anymore. My python installations, for example, have not been cooperating and I'd like to give them a clean start. My question is if I go and reformat my hard drive and then install snow leopard and then lion immediately after, can I restore my applications and command line tools like subversion from Time Machine without overwriting the system files I've just replaced? Or is it just not worth it?

[DimitriV]

xCraftyx,
It's really up to you to decide if you can be bothered.
Yes I believe you can use time machine to restore these applications, just so long as you know where the files are located and how to install them again. I use a Mac myself, and I used time machine to restore some corrupt iWork installations a while back.
Hope this answers your question.
P.S - you just click the Time Machine icon in the Dock and you can browse your previous versions of files. It's a really cool technology.

Oh, but before you do that, check that your apps are compatible with your version of OS X and if so check if they have updates.