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HiFiGuy528

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jul 24, 2008
1,874
64
Question on "clean install" of Snow Loepard. Since I an eligible for Snow Leopard "upgrade" for $9.99. Am I getting a full version for a clean install or do I have to reinstall Leopard first and then pop the "upgrade" Snow Leopard DVD in?

Also, Can I install Snow Leopard "upgrade" on my other Macs without buying a Family Pack? All the Macs are under my name.
 

Makosuke

macrumors 604
Aug 15, 2001
6,663
1,244
The Cool Part of CA, USA
Legally speaking on the second question, I'm pretty sure you'd be required to buy the family pack. That said, Apple has thus far been wonderfully nice about copy protection--meaning there is NONE on the home OS (Server has a serial #)--so unless things change significantly with Snow Leopard you will probably be able to.

As for the first question, I don't think anybody knows for certain yet. Apple has traditionally used the "upgrade only" OS install discs as CPU drop-ins, meaning they get tossed into the box of Macs preinstalled with the earlier OS--this lets Apple (and other retailers) clear stock of old models with nothing but an extra DVD tossed in the box. Apple has never sold these upgrade only discs separately to this point, however--anything you bought on its own was a full install (even, I'm pretty sure, the up-to-date discs).

I would say, though, that it's VERY likely they'll be full install discs. Certainly, they'd have to at least accept 10.4 installs, since someone could be buying Snow Leopard for an early 10.4 Mac that they'd never upgraded to 10.5, and I don't think Apple wants to bother making that small group of people buy a copy of 10.5 as well as a 10.6 upgrade. Given the relatively narrow range of machines it can be installed on I don't see Apple bothering with any sort of check.
 

pdjudd

macrumors 601
Jun 19, 2007
4,037
65
Plymouth, MN
Also, Can I install Snow Leopard "upgrade" on my other Macs without buying a Family Pack? All the Macs are under my name.

No. That 9.99 disc is going to be unique for your machine. The up-to-date discs will work on your model of mac and only your model.

Presumably the normal 29 Snow leopard discs will be full versions, but that has not been announced so we don't really know for sure how they will work.
 

surflordca

macrumors 6502a
Nov 16, 2007
818
0
Ontario, Canada
I would say, though, that it's VERY likely they'll be full install discs. Certainly, they'd have to at least accept 10.4 installs, since someone could be buying Snow Leopard for an early 10.4 Mac that they'd never upgraded to 10.5, and I don't think Apple wants to bother making that small group of people buy a copy of 10.5 as well as a 10.6 upgrade. Given the relatively narrow range of machines it can be installed on I don't see Apple bothering with any sort of check.

Apple made an announcement that Snow Leopard update will only work with Leopard 10.5 so Leopard 10.4 users would have to buy 10.5
 

Makosuke

macrumors 604
Aug 15, 2001
6,663
1,244
The Cool Part of CA, USA
Apple made an announcement that Snow Leopard update will only work with Leopard 10.5 so Leopard 10.4 users would have to buy 10.5
Ahh, I stand completely corrected. I either missed that part of the announcement or selectively edited it from my memory.

Though I still wouldn't be entirely surprised if the install discs didn't look for a 10.5 installation. Or at least I wish they wouldn't, since that greatly simplifies drive swap reinstalls.
 

Shaun.P

macrumors 68000
Jul 14, 2003
1,601
24
Omicron Persei 8
You can, I got my up-to-date disk.

The install procedure doesn't exactly make it obvious though. It installs when you're still in your current OS, without the option to clean install. So I simply rebooted my machine, held down the C button to boot from the disk. Then I opened Disk Utility, erased my drive and installed Snow Leopard and it worked.

No. That 9.99 disc is going to be unique for your machine. The up-to-date discs will work on your model of mac and only your model.


That is not true.
 
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