Here is the clean install procedure which can be performed at least every time a new version of macOS is released: However, it has been shown in recent times that in the vast majority of cases if you simply run a clean install, then duplicate your old home folder to your new disk, you will get all of the same advantages as a clean install followed by manual migration, with a small fraction of the effort. It used to be common practice to occasionally run a clean install, and then manually migrate all the files and settings over in order to get a completely fresh start. That will make your Mac run blazingly fast for a few months or more, and many people report that it fixes longstanding problems they’ve had too. When you install a new major version of OS X, or after some time has passed, it is a good idea to do a clean install (that is, to erase the disk you are installing OS X onto as part of the installation process).