Luddite Alert! Trying to upgrade to 10.6.3-please help!

[princeplanet]

OK, not expecting much sympathy nor respect for this, but I have a mid 07 MacBook Pro 3.1 and I've been on 10.5.8 for quite a while now. Too long it seems, as some of my programs that get automatically updated no longer work because my OS is so outdated. Anyhoo, here's my sitch, been trying to upgrade from 10.5.8 to 10.6.3 from a DVD i purchased and it gets half way there before it says it can't finish. Luckily I backed up my old OS, which is why I'm able to type this . I had 10 GB free space, yes it's an intel machine and yes it should by all accounts take 10.6.3.

I read somewhere that I should try erasing my old drive first as that might help. Indeed it did, problem is - it also erased all my old programs!

So, how the heck do I retain all my old programs, software. apps etc and manage to update to 10.6.3 ? I've done all the researching and reading I can in these last 24 hours and am now at your mercy......

 

[benwiggy]

I read somewhere that I should try erasing my old drive first as that might help. Indeed it did, problem is - it also erased all my old programs!
So, how the heck do I retain all my old programs, software. apps etc and manage to update to 10.6.3 ? I've done all the researching and reading I can in these last 24 hours and am now at your mercy......

You say you have a backup. Does this not include your apps?

Snow Leopard should use less space than Leopard on the disk, so there will be a saving. You can then use the Migration Assistant to copy your data, settings and apps over from your Time Machine backup. If you start from a clean install, you should be prompted for this.

 

[Fishrrman]

One way to do it:

Backup your internal drive (OS and all) first, to an external drive.

I recommend CarbonCopyCloner to do this. Since you're using an older version of the OS, you can still download and use the FREE version of CCC from this page:
http://www.bombich.com/download.html
The version you want to download is 3.4.7.

Creating a bootable backup clone with CCC is easy. Just pick your "source drive" (internal) on the left, and your "target" (external drive) on the right.

When CCC is done, you'll have a bootable backup "clone" of your internal drive.

But before you do anything else, TEST YOUR BACKUP CLONE. Do this:
- restart
- as soon as you hear the startup sound, hold down the option key and KEEP HOLDING IT DOWN
- in a few moments, the startup manager will appear
- select the external backup and hit return
- the MacBook should boot from the external clone (boot time will be a little slower).
- when you get to the finder, choose "about this Mac" and be sure you actually are booted from the external.
- do this, and you will KNOW that the cloned backup is "good".
Now, on to the next steps.

Next -- reboot the MacBook from the 10.6.3 DVD.

I would choose to RE-initialize the internal drive (remember, you have a bootable and "tested" clone on your backup drive).

Then, I would let the DVD installer "do it's thing", and install a clean copy of 10.6.3 on the internal drive.

At this point, I would reboot and create a "dummy account" (probably just named "administrator"). This gets the MacBook fully operational.

Next -- go to apple.com and download the 10.6.8 updater:
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1399
… and apply it to your OS.

Connect the external drive, then launch Migration Assistant.

You will want to bring over your accounts, apps, etc.

NOTE: When done, you will have TWO user accounts -- your old original one, and the new "administrator" account. So switch over and make your own account the "main" one. You can either retain the "adminstrator" account, or delete it.

I guess that's a few more steps than others might take, but it will give you a completely clean re-install of the OS, with your accounts and data migrated over. Another benefit is that if you do it this way, the OS and data will have been installed "contiguously" on the MacBook drive, eliminating any fragmentation that has accumulated through the years.

 

[Gregg2]

It says it can't finish because.... ?
Or doesn't it tell you why?

 

[princeplanet]

One way to do it:

Backup your internal drive (OS and all) first, to an external drive.

I recommend CarbonCopyCloner to do this. Since you're using an older version of the OS, you can still download and use the FREE version of CCC from this page:
http://www.bombich.com/download.html
The version you want to download is 3.4.7.

Creating a bootable backup clone with CCC is easy. Just pick your "source drive" (internal) on the left, and your "target" (external drive) on the right.

When CCC is done, you'll have a bootable backup "clone" of your internal drive.

But before you do anything else, TEST YOUR BACKUP CLONE. Do this:
- restart
- as soon as you hear the startup sound, hold down the option key and KEEP HOLDING IT DOWN
- in a few moments, the startup manager will appear
- select the external backup and hit return
- the MacBook should boot from the external clone (boot time will be a little slower).
- when you get to the finder, choose "about this Mac" and be sure you actually are booted from the external.
- do this, and you will KNOW that the cloned backup is "good".
Now, on to the next steps.

Next -- reboot the MacBook from the 10.6.3 DVD.

I would choose to RE-initialize the internal drive (remember, you have a bootable and "tested" clone on your backup drive).

Then, I would let the DVD installer "do it's thing", and install a clean copy of 10.6.3 on the internal drive.

At this point, I would reboot and create a "dummy account" (probably just named "administrator"). This gets the MacBook fully operational.

Next -- go to apple.com and download the 10.6.8 updater:
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1399
… and apply it to your OS.

Connect the external drive, then launch Migration Assistant.

You will want to bring over your accounts, apps, etc.

NOTE: When done, you will have TWO user accounts -- your old original one, and the new "administrator" account. So switch over and make your own account the "main" one. You can either retain the "adminstrator" account, or delete it.

I guess that's a few more steps than others might take, but it will give you a completely clean re-install of the OS, with your accounts and data migrated over. Another benefit is that if you do it this way, the OS and data will have been installed "contiguously" on the MacBook drive, eliminating any fragmentation that has accumulated through the years.

Thanks so much for this (and to other responders too) ! 2 questions though- how do I launch Migration Assistant, and do I just follow the prompts or is it a bit trickier than that? Also, you say : "...you will have TWO user accounts -- your old original one, and the new "administrator" account. So switch over and make your own account the "main" one..."

I'm not sure what you mean, why 2 accounts? how do I switch over? Should I delete the admin acc ?

Thanks again!

 

[Fishrrman]

Migration Assistant is in the Utilities folder. Launch it, and it will guide you through what is necessary.

Two accounts means two "user accounts".

You control these settings through "Accounts" in System Preferences.

I suggested that you create a new "administrator" account during the re-installation process because doing it that way, you can "get your OS up-to-date" without running Migration Assistant at that point.

This will get you to 10.6.8 (last version of 10.6). After that, you run migration assitant and "get your stuff" over.

Some people suggest that having a second "clean" user account around as a spare can be useful if you ever have problems.

ALTERNATIVE SCENARIO (if you don't want to do this)
When you install 10.6.3, after it reboots and you get to the "Welcome" sequence, it will ask if you want to import your accounts/data from somewhere else. (This is actually the equivalent of migration assistant)

In this case, you can connect your external drive (with the clone on it), select that as your "import source", and let migration assistant do its thing.

When done, you will be at 10.6.3 with just your [old] account (no "administrator" account). At this point you can download the 10.6.8 combo update and apply it.

 

[princeplanet]

This is some of the best help information I've ever received on any forum about anything. God bless you Fishman! Will endeavor to report back with my results.