Will it be possible to install the $29 Snow Leopard through a clean format, or would I have to upgrade an installed copy of Leopard to to the $29 SL copy?
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$29 Snow Leopard question.
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I believe it recognizes Leopard and then let's you install. Otherwise the Leopard requirement would be irrelevant.
You will be able to do an Erase and Install just like you would with a retail copy of Leopard or the Restore DVDs, but Leopard has to be on the machine you want to upgrade.
Actually, neither you nor anyone who doesn't work at Apple knows that, so don't post as if you have absolute knowledge.
OP, you'll have to wait until the disks are available, but chances are high that you will be able to do a clean install, and you may or may not be able to do it onto an already blank drive.
jW
The simple fact is that it makes no sense to sell a $29 upgrade through Amazon that can be installed on a blank drive when Amazon how absolutely no way to verify if you own Leopard.
Apple would have be stupid or not care. I don't believe they will not care and they are not stupid. So....
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By the measure of most software vendors, no activation keys makes either careless or stupid as well, yet they keep doing it.
I still stand by the idea that in order to install Snow Leopard, you must have Leopard on your computer. Then you are given the option as to how you upgrade.
I can see that conversation:
"Yeah, I really do not want to pay to buy Leopard, am I just going to be able to install Snow Leopard on a clean drive or are there going to be some problems..."
Signal-11,
What company do you know that sells an "upgrade" to a software package requiring no activation keys, that is actually the full blown software, and does no checks to verify the person actually owns the software? Can you give me one example?
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I guess the $29 update, as the name suggests updates the current Leopard installation. For this I guess we need to have leopard installed.
However if a user of Tiger or whatever other OS wants to upgrade to SL it means he or she has to install leopard first. Now for this scenario I guess that Apple will also release a full version of SL (not an update) to serve these customers... if not Apple has to keep selling Leopard as well...
As he already said, Apple. You're on a forum dedicated to their products, I'd have thought Apple would be one of the first companies you'd filter through your assertion-checking-machine.
Signal-11 and Badandy,
What Product does Apple sell as an "upgrade" to a software package requiring no activation keys, that is actually the full blown software, and does no checks to verify the person actually owns the software?
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What Product does Apple sell as an "upgrade" to a software package requiring no activation keys, that is actually the full blown software, and does no checks to verify the person actually owns the software?
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Until we actually see (or they state) what's happening all this talk is just wild speculation since nobody knows.
We don't know if its an "upgrade" disc or a full blown OS that apple is selling for 30 bucks. I kind of doubt the latter but you never know and until we actually get it into our hands its pointless to argue either way.
We don't know if its an "upgrade" disc or a full blown OS that apple is selling for 30 bucks. I kind of doubt the latter but you never know and until we actually get it into our hands its pointless to argue either way.
Agree 100%
Apple has historically been a trusting company (unlike Microsoft). However, there will probably be some sort of verification of existing Leopard (though I am speculating here). However, Apple also knows some concumers like to erase and fresh install, so there will likely be a path to do this.
That having been said - if someone is asking the above question, it is possible they don't have Leopard, and are trying to cheat Apple by not buying the full price OS. If that is the case - SHAME ON YOU!
I bought my last iMac a month before Leopard came out and therefore got the update disk later for 20 bucks or whatever it was.
To install Leopard, you had to boot into Tiger, put in the Leopard disk and it verified that Tiger was installed. You could then restart and install 10.5 with all the normal install options including archive & install or clean install.
I'm assuming that SL will work the same way.
EDIT:The only difference between the Leopard upgrade disk and the full version disk was the bundling of the iLife software. I lost all of that when I moved to Leopard, but could reinstall the old versions from my Tiger OS disk.
To install Leopard, you had to boot into Tiger, put in the Leopard disk and it verified that Tiger was installed. You could then restart and install 10.5 with all the normal install options including archive & install or clean install.
I'm assuming that SL will work the same way.
EDIT:The only difference between the Leopard upgrade disk and the full version disk was the bundling of the iLife software. I lost all of that when I moved to Leopard, but could reinstall the old versions from my Tiger OS disk.
When you get a Mac the install disc only works on that model of computer. I'm hoping they do something like that here, where if your computer shipped with leopard then it will just install no problem, but if it's older it checks for Leopard installed or asks for the disc.
Requiring the Leopard disc and the Snow Leopard disc during fresh installs would be obnoxious.
Requiring the Leopard disc and the Snow Leopard disc during fresh installs would be obnoxious.
No. They are not sold as "upgrades". At least not until the Snow Leopard upgrade. They are sold as full blown packages. Apple does not offer "upgrade" packages for the OS or iLife. That is a regular complaint on this forum. Don't you pay attention??
Try again.....
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Hackintosh aside, you have to have purchased a recent Mac computer in order to install Leopard. Since Macs already come with OS X, you'd already have a legal copy of Mac OS X to upgrade from. Therefore, the only logical conclusion is that the Retail OS X disk is an upgrade disk. It also just so happens that this disk can perform a full install.
Please quit trying to place Apple and it's OS X distribution model into the same model that Microsoft uses for Windows.
I also think that there might be some confusion between terms. There is not only an upgrade disk (files that have changed) but also an upgrade license which grants the user the right to use the newer software because the user held the right to use a previous version. The Leopard disk (and presumably the Snow Leopard disks) are full installation media. A complete set of the OS files are contained on both the $29 retail and Box Set disk. However, the $29 version has an upgrade license, while the box set contains a full license.
jdechko,
Just because all Macs come with an OS, does not mean that Apple has been selling "upgrades" all along. Up to this point, each version of Mac OS X purchased is a full licensed version that have not required any particular previous version. For example, Leopard is not an upgrade. Your conclusion is not logical.
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Just because all Macs come with an OS, does not mean that Apple has been selling "upgrades" all along. Up to this point, each version of Mac OS X purchased is a full licensed version that have not required any particular previous version. For example, Leopard is not an upgrade. Your conclusion is not logical.
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