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Getting from 10.4.11 to Leopard

M

mikebatho

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Hi.

Just bought a second hand white macbook on eBay.

It comes with OS X 10.4.11 instlled, and the original discs. I need to get from this to Leopard - 10.5

Can I make this jump via download, do I have to pay?

I did try looking on the apple site before posting here, but I coud only see updates to snow leopard, which I don't really need (the software I'm after requires nothing more than 10.5.

Sorry if I'm being useless, but can anyone tell me how to move forward with this?

Thanks.
 
Keep in mind that the upgrade from Leopard to Snow Leopard was really inexpensive (US$29) and in many cases performs better than Leopard.

Strictly speaking you can't use that to install on a machine that only has Tiger, according to the license, but it does actually work.

If you also want to be fully license compliant and get iLife and iWork while you are at it you can pick that up for ~$110 via Amazon.

You probably can't beat $29 for a legit copy of Leopard. (Judging by eBay, the SL Box Set might actually be cheaper).

B
 
I agree and will add a bit to Balmw -
just back up your stuff and be sure you have enough RAM and HD space... the older (2006) White Macbooks came with 40GB HD's and 512MB RAM. So they are usually running out of HD space and not nearly enough RAM. HD's and RAM are cheap... a 500GB HD is about $60 and the RAm is about the same for 2GB, which the intel core duo will handle well as a matched pair of 1GB's.

Buy the $29 SNOLEO and iLife '11 you should be in good shape without spending $169. JUST back up if there is important data on the computer... if not erase the drive and install.
 
Leopard DVD not stocked by Apple Store

Hi, Leopard is not stocked by Apple Australia, only Snow Leopard, so I assume it is the same where you are.

So you will need to buy the full version of Snow Leopard or pick up a second hand Leopard DVD, hard to get cheaply, then purchase the $29 Snow Leopard upgrade DVD.

Best option to buy the bundle of Snow Leopard and iWork.
 
So what's the easiest & cheapest way to get to Snow Leopard, if I can't go to Leopard from 10.4.11?

I've enclosed a picture of my macbook's spec.

Cheers.
 

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Samford said:
Hi, Leopard is not stocked by Apple Australia, only Snow Leopard, so I assume it is the same where you are.

So you will need to buy the full version of Snow Leopard or pick up a second hand Leopard DVD, hard to get cheaply, then purchase the $29 Snow Leopard upgrade DVD.
Click to expand...
Did you read balamw's post? You can go straight from Tiger to SL without going to Leopard first. It's not licensed, but it does work.
 
mikebatho said:
Ahhh, bugger. So I have to buy the disc? I can't buy the upgrade as a download?

: (
Click to expand...

No. Because you need to boot from a DVD or external HD to upgrade/install the new operating system. You are basically reinstalling your engine in your car... you cant drive the car while you do that.
 
Aww. Well, I know what I need to do now, thanks guys.

Finally, is there only one version of the install discs, for all macs across the board, or is there different versions for desktops, laptops etc

It's just that I'm looking at some second hand install discs on eBay & they state "It's up to the buyer to make sure these discs will run on their mac" which makes me wonder....
 
Last edited by a moderator:
mikebatho said:
Finally, is there only one version of the install discs, for all macs across the board, or is there different versions for desktops, laptops etc

It's just that I'm looking at some second hand install discs on eBay & they state "It's up to the buyer to make sure these discs will run on their mac" which makes me wonder....
Click to expand...
The grey install disks that come with a Mac are model-specific and will not work on other models. The retail disks that you buy will work on any Mac.
 
The white retail DVD (£26) installs on all systems. Grey OEM DVDs are machine-specific.

Edit: GGJ is too fast...
 
mikebatho said:
It's just that I'm looking at some second hand install discs on eBay & they state "It's up to the buyer to make sure these discs will run on their mac" which makes me wonder....
Click to expand...

Looking at the eBay listings it's not clear to me that you can really beat $29 with free shipping from Amazon.

B
 
Yeah, I'd just bite the bullet and order from Apple/Amazon. Trying to buy the CD on eBay will likely end in you being sent a model-specific disk or spending more money than you would have anyway.
 
I think I'll probably go into town to Apple or Anvika & just buy it over the counter, then I'll avoid postage & won't have to wait...

Okaaaay. Went & bought it from the Apple store - £26. Done.

All up & running brilliantly.

Now, when my computer starts looking for software updates, do I have to ignore them, or will it now update as per.

Don't want to allow an update that knackers my OS, seeing as I went from Tiger to Snow Leopard direct....

Thanks.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
mikebatho said:
Okaaaay. Went & bought it from the Apple store - £26. Done.

All up & running brilliantly.

Now, when my computer starts looking for software updates, do I have to ignore them, or will it now update as per.

Don't want to allow an update that knackers my OS, seeing as I went from Tiger to Snow Leopard direct....

Thanks.
Click to expand...

You have Snow Leopard now. Not some hybrid of Tiger and Snow Leopard. You can let it install all updates (of course, if this is a mission-critical computer, it's usually best to wait on new updates until you've made sure all your critical software will work properly, but it doesn't sound like that's going to be a huge deal for you).

jW
 
mikebatho said:
Now, when my computer starts looking for software updates, do I have to ignore them, or will it now update as per.

Don't want to allow an update that knackers my OS, seeing as I went from Tiger to Snow Leopard direct.....
Click to expand...
After you've updated to Snow Leopard, Software Update will only prompt you for updates to SL, not Tiger.
 
mikebatho said:
sorted, thanks! : )
Click to expand...

That's great! Enjoy.

EDIT: People say that it isn't licensed from Tiger to Snow Leopard, but carefully reading the license, shows that Apple allows you to do it legally. In fact, many Apple Geniuses say that it is allowed. If it comes from Apple, then what more do you want?
 
"So what's the easiest & cheapest way to get to Snow Leopard, if I can't go to Leopard from 10.4.11"

Note: following assumes that you don't want to keep any of the content on the used MacBook:
1. Buy the $30 Snow Leopard "upgrade" DVD
2. Boot from the DVD
3. Use Disk Utility to erase the drive
4. Install a clean copy of Snow Leopard
5. Update via software update (suggestion: download the standalone 10.6.6 "combo" update and then install it)

That'll "get you there".

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE:
You do not (repeat DO NOT) "have to have a copy of Leopard already installed to install SL". It will install anyway. I've done it myself.
 
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