Lose Storage if Upgrading to Mavericks?

[rikardors]

Hi Fellows:

I own a MacBook Air with 256 which I regret now that I realized that I need more storage anyways my question is the following.

If I upgrade from Mountain Lion to Mavericks am I going to lose storage in the mac? I mean does the new software replaces the old OSX? I dont want to erase it all and then install I just want to upgrade so...to those who has experiences upgrading their machines am I going to lose if upgrade?

Thanks Forum!

 

[Mrbobb]

A new OS installs "on top of" the old one, so REPLACE. If you are not sure you want to stay with it and would like the option to UNDO if necessary then you have to make a FULL backup, for later restore.

New software always take more room than the old, expect to lose another 200 MB (my guess) or so after the update.

 

[andrewlgm]

Hi Fellows:

I own a MacBook Air with 256 which I regret now that I realized that I need more storage anyways my question is the following.

If I upgrade from Mountain Lion to Mavericks am I going to lose storage in the mac? I mean does the new software replaces the old OSX? I dont want to erase it all and then install I just want to upgrade so...to those who has experiences upgrading their machines am I going to lose if upgrade?

Thanks Forum!

I never do upgrades. I've seen too many problems develop due to upgrades, not to mention the wear, tear and slow down that happens to an OS as time passes. So whenever a new OS is ready, it's always a FULL, CLEAN INSTALL for me. Of course you must be ready to do a full clean install by backing the heck out of your data, and having a way to reinstall your previously used applications. You shouldn't lose much space though. Not more than 1GB. Just make sure to delete the install file when the installation is complete.

 

[mouthster]

I actually gained a couple GB installing Mavericks GM over ML.

When I upgraded my PC from Windows 8 to 8.1 I got a whopping 10GB back.

Nice to see that refinement is taking precedence over bloat these days.

 

[maflynn]

I never do upgrades. I've seen too many problems develop due to upgrades

For Windows, I agree, for OSX, they've perfected upgrades and I think this advice is misplaced in 2013. I've worked on multiple machines and I see no differences in upgrading OSX vs. installing as new.

I understand where your coming from, you clean out all the cruft from prior installs but all things being equal, the work required for a clean install does not match the benefit received, either in stability, performance or storage savings.

As for the OP's question, I'm sure Mavericks is a bit bigger then its predecessor, though I'm not completely sure since its not out yet but from what I've read in the Mavericks forum its a good step up and as others stated. Upgrading replaces the system files that exist so OSX footprint is not doubled.

 

[benwiggy]

If I upgrade from Mountain Lion to Mavericks am I going to lose storage in the mac? I mean does the new software replaces the old OSX? I dont want to erase it all and then install I just want to upgrade so...to those who has experiences upgrading their machines am I going to lose if upgrade?

No, you will not lose a significant amount of space. It's probably around the same -- maybe a fraction less, maybe a fraction more.
Just install the OS, and it will replace your existing system, leaving all your user files, apps and settings in place.
You still need a backup, of course!