Going from Tiger to Snow Leopard.

[MykullMyerz]

Hey guys, I'm going out this week to buy Snow Leopard and I've never in my life upgraded an operating system before because usually by the time a new OS comes out I need a new computer anyway. However, that was when I was a Windows user. Now, I'm using a Macbook Pro that I've had since December of 2006 and it's still running like a champ, but I would like to have all the latest features that come with Snow Leopard. My questions are as follows:

Is there anything special I need to do prior to installing the new OS?

Should I do a clean install? If so, are there any special files I should back up outside of my iTunes and iPhoto libraries, and my documents?

Is there anything else I should take into consideration?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Gregg2]

If you have a complete backup and there's some reason you want to start fresh, then a clean install might be what you want. Otherwise, just do an archive and install and get it over with more quickly.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

The first thing you should do before attempting an OS upgrade, especially if you're going to Snow Leopard, is to check the compatibility lists out there for your applications. Update any that are incompatible, or at least download the updated installer.

Task number 2, once all (non-Apple) applications have been checked, is determining how to back up your data. I recommend creating an Address Book backup (ABBU) file from all your Address Book contacts, and creating an iCal backup (ICBU) from your calendars. These are easily done from the menus of each program. Once that's done, if you have <4 GB worth of data to back up, a DVD will suffice. Otherwise, I recommend an external drive. If you want to be extra-safe, get an external drive at least as big as your internal, and use Carbon Copy Cloner to make a bootable clone of it.

Task number 3 - go ahead with the install. A so-called "clean install" is not required, but is highly recommended if you have incompatible applications that install drivers or otherwise work with the system at a low level. Note that you must go into Disk Utility to do this now - Snow Leopard did away with the "choose install type" dialog in the installer.

If you have a complete backup and there's some reason you want to start fresh, then a clean install might be what you want. Otherwise, just do an archive and install and get it over with more quickly.

You can't do an archive and install with Snow Leopard, unless Snow Leopard is already installed. The choice simply isn't there anymore.

 

[Fishrrman]

"Should I do a clean install? If so, are there any special files I should back up outside of my iTunes and iPhoto libraries, and my documents?
Is there anything else I should take into consideration?"

Having an external backup drive would make things easy (you didn't say whether you have one or not).

What I would do:
1. Clone the contents of my internal drive to the external (using CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper)
2. Buy the $30 Snow Leopard DVD (you DO NOT need the more expensive version, the $30 one will do just what you need).
3. Boot from the install DVD.
4. Erase the internal drive (you DID back it up, right?)
5. Do a "completely fresh" install onto the internal drive.
6. Set up my new accounts - user, Mail, iTunes, etc.
7. Gradually "migrate" my stuff back over (Address Book, Mail mailboxes, iTunes library, iPhoto library, etc.

Again, having the external clone of the old drive makes this easy.

 

[MykullMyerz]

Thanks so much guys, your advice is extremely helpful. Yes, I do have an external drive and I have started to back up all my essential items. However, I wasn't aware that I could make a bootable copy of my harddrive, so I will definitely do that, which will save me a lot of time and energy.

And thank you soooooooooo much Fishrrman for letting me know that I could buy the $30 version of Snow Leopard because I was all geared up to by the box set. You've saved me $140! And as a college student, that's a whole lot!

 

[Gregg2]

You can't do an archive and install with Snow Leopard, unless Snow Leopard is already installed. The choice simply isn't there anymore.

Thanks for correcting me on that. I'm still using Leopard. I'm sure I've read that before, but that's not as good as experiencing it.

2. Buy the $30 Snow Leopard DVD (you DO NOT need the more expensive version, the $30 one will do just what you need).

And thank you soooooooooo much Fishrrman for letting me know that I could buy the $30 version of Snow Leopard because I was all geared up to by the box set. You've saved me $140! And as a college student, that's a whole lot!

I hear you, but you'll also be in violation of the EULA. When you install SL, you click through a screen that says you already have Leopard. Apple is just trusting the whole world to be honest. Obviously, that trust will not always be rewarded. The downside is that Apple might decide to stop being so trusting someday. It all depends on you! (...and millions of others.)