I keep changing my mind on how I'm going to install Leopard...

[joelovesapple]

Can anyone help me out please by possibly outlining the pros and cons of each installation method...

Sorry but I keep changing my mind. I'm running on a 2.16 C2D iMac 24 inch White and have backups of my documents including all my music library and iMovie projects.

If I were to do a complete fresh install, is it easy to connect to your wireless network or are they any issues still pending? I know the password and stuff.

I appreciate any feedback, thanks.

 

[Samwise592]

i did a clean install on my macbook 2.16ghz

couldent be happier how it turned out. Everything i expected to work worked right "out of the box" including all my restored programs. You shouldent have a problem.

Good luck!

 

[koobcamuk]

Can anyone help me out please by possibly outlining the pros and cons of each installation method...

Sorry but I keep changing my mind. I'm running on a 2.16 C2D iMac 24 inch White and have backups of my documents including all my music library and iMovie projects.

If I were to do a complete fresh install, is it easy to connect to your wireless network or are they any issues still pending? I know the password and stuff.

I appreciate any feedback, thanks.

Go for archive install.

If this is a computer you need for work, rather than just toy about on, do not install 10.5 yet. You should wait until more issues have been addressed.

 

[scotthayes]

I did upgrades on three machines of different ages.

1. MacBook Pro, 6 months old and the most used of the three. ZERO problems
2. PPC Mini 21 months old, full of photos and music. ZERO problems
3. MacBook 2 months old and light use for web/e-mail. ZERO problems.

I can't see what is wrong with doing an upgrade. Yes I backed up my iTunes and iPhoto library on my MacBook Pro but didn't need it.

 

[AlexisV]

On the other hand, getting Time Machine for backing up stuff would be wiser sooner rather than later.

Archive and install works a treat. I think people are more comfortable with erase and install for psychological reasons sometimes

 

[Vanilla]

I've done archive and install on a macbook, macbook pro, Alu iMac and an old G4 Powerbook. All went without a hitch. Perfect.
Repairing permissions take an age but that seems to be down to a general bug rather than a feature of the installation mode.
Vanilla

 

[boz0]

I started out with an Archive & Install, then realized my Tiger setup had been somewhat flaky : too many useless apps I'd tried out and left in place, unexplained disk space used ... I went on to make a clean install on top of that, just to have a fresh start.

It's definitely not a necessity, but it's a good occasion to clean up the place if you need to.

 

[powerbook911]

Archive and install is really a fantastic option. I did archive on my iMac, runs absolutely beautifully.

I did an erase and install on my Pbook, worked fine of course, but no better than an archive.

 

[Sky Blue]

Do an Erase, that Previous System folder would do my nut in.

 

[Father Jack]

Must admit I picked the easy option, I just upgraded.
Glad to say it was quick and painless ..

p.s. I should have said it was "Very quick (just over 15 minutes) and painless"

 

[jellomizer]

If you have everything backed up I would say go for the Clean Install... But if you are not sure that everything is backed up Go with the Upgrade... Both are good options... It is not like windows where Upgradeing will add bulk to your system.

 

[Avatar74]

Whichever option you choose... you can cut out a LOT of garbage by customizing your install and leaving out the extra language and printer support that you don't need... checking off only those that you do.

 

[martinmartin]

I upgraded on Friday, everything appeared to be ok.

Then strange things started happening on Monday. Spotlight was gone, couldn't drag and drop, couldn't copy and paste...

I reinstalled a fresh copy and, of course, things are back to normal.

I had read so much about Macs being easy to upgrade without problems (unlike windows), but this was not the case for me.

Cheers.

 

[plinden]

I updated my bootable SuperDuper clone (so I'd have something to get back to) and just did an upgrade. It works perfectly. Including the clone update, I was using Leopard within 30 minutes of sitting down at my Mac.

I realize that there's a psychological comfort in having a "clean" install, but as long you have a bootable backup (you all do, don't you) why not just go for the fastest option? You can always do an archive and install, or an erase and install if it doesn't work out.