I'm still running Tiger (10.4.11) on my BlackBook (see sig. for details). Can I find the old Tiger-to-Leopard upgrade disk somewhere? I'd get the Snow Leopard disk and do a clean install but (i) it seems a bit of a hassle and (ii) why lose Apple's support? I could always get the £25 Snow Leopard upgrade later, and in any case most of the stuff I want is in Leopard (Time Machine etc.). Am I getting something ridiculously wrong here?
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Old Tiger-to-Leopard disk
- Thread starter radicaldog
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Some people will no doubt disagree with me, but based on my experience with four different machines the only reason not to go to Snow Leopard instead of 10.5 is if you have some specific old program that has a 10.6 incompatibility and hasn't been updated. 10.6 is faster, smoother, and more stable for me, and you can get an upgrade for cheap.
That said, on account of 10.6 I wouldn't be surprised if 10.5 upgrade discs are available for cheap on eBay or a bargain hunter's store like MegaMacs.com--search and find out for yourself. Apple won't sell you one, though.
That said, on account of 10.6 I wouldn't be surprised if 10.5 upgrade discs are available for cheap on eBay or a bargain hunter's store like MegaMacs.com--search and find out for yourself. Apple won't sell you one, though.
Thanks for the response. I should probably just go straight to 10.6 then.
Now for a n00b question: what if I do a clean install using just the cheap Snow Leopard upgrade disk -- will I have iPhoto etc. or do I need to buy iLife?
Also, could someone point me to a simple, step-by-step, idiot-proof guide to a clean install of Snow Leopard from Tiger (how to erase/format the HD, etc.).
Thanks a lot!
Now for a n00b question: what if I do a clean install using just the cheap Snow Leopard upgrade disk -- will I have iPhoto etc. or do I need to buy iLife?
Also, could someone point me to a simple, step-by-step, idiot-proof guide to a clean install of Snow Leopard from Tiger (how to erase/format the HD, etc.).
Thanks a lot!
Although it may not now matter to the OP, that last statement is incorrect. You won't find it on the Apple Store web page, nor in an actual Apple Store, but if you call the number on the web page, you can order one. Just a few days ago, someone reported (either on this forum or another one?) ordering one for $80 but said you might need to "kill them with kindness" in order to get what you want.
Actually, others have disputed the first suggestion. Seems some people are viewing their Leopard discs as a gold mine, and are asking $150 and upwards for one. Unfortunately, some of these are the machine-specific gray discs. Buyer beware!
If you do a full clean install, including wiping the drive, it will of course erase iLife as well. However, I think the bundle discs the computer came with should include a separate iLife installer on them (though I confess to never having tried this--it may or may not work after an OS upgrade); if it does, and it works in 10.6, you could then go back to those discs and install just iLife. Of course, depending on which version you currently have it might be worth it to spend the money on a new copy (and remember that places like Amazon often sell iLife much cheaper than Apple).
As for a detailed guide, the related MacRumors guide for the MBA is essentially identical to any other Mac, so you can just use that. Or grab any of the top hits on a Google search for Snow Leopard clean install--they all look good (one says that my procedure above for getting iLife back will work).
Don't forget to backup your settings first, though!
Noted. Probably not surprising, given that it's (at least in theory, based on what you say) "out of print" and the last PPC compatible version.
Thanks. What's the best way to do this? Just a manual copy of my Mac HD into an external drive? I have kept the installers of all my apps, so I could then re-install them manually. Or is there a way to migrate and thus keep (say) Firefox with all my plugins, stored passwords, etc?
If you're set on doing a completely clean install, the best way to migrate your data is to use a cloning utility (Carbon Copy Cloner is donationware and much-loved) to clone your entire boot drive to an external. Then wipe and clean install. The first time you boot off the freshly installed OS it will ask you if you want to migrate data from an older install; say yes and point it to your cloned external drive. It should import your user(s) and all settings.
You can also have it import all your apps automatically, though were I going that far I'd probably reinstall everything from a fresh download; a little more time-consuming, but it will mean you won't reinstall anything you no longer care about, and it's a chance to make sure everything is updated to the latest version (particularly since you're doing a major OS update--in some cases you might need to update to get a particular program to work right).
Of course, you can also just do an "archive and install" (which is what you'll automatically get if you install Snow Leopard without specifically doing a wipe). That migrates all your old stuff but lays down a fresh copy of the OS.
Final note: If you're going to use the clone-wipe-migrate method of install (or really anything that involves erasing your data off one drive), you should REALLY have a second backup of any particularly important files. Good opportunity to burn all your irreplaceable photos and your novel to DVDs.
Because it's not a backup if there's only one copy in existence, even if only for a few hours--never forget Murphy's Law. Seriously--if you really care about the data, minimum two copies at ALL times, no matter what. Better paranoid than missing files you'll never get back (or out literally thousands of dollars to retrieve them).
You can also have it import all your apps automatically, though were I going that far I'd probably reinstall everything from a fresh download; a little more time-consuming, but it will mean you won't reinstall anything you no longer care about, and it's a chance to make sure everything is updated to the latest version (particularly since you're doing a major OS update--in some cases you might need to update to get a particular program to work right).
Of course, you can also just do an "archive and install" (which is what you'll automatically get if you install Snow Leopard without specifically doing a wipe). That migrates all your old stuff but lays down a fresh copy of the OS.
Final note: If you're going to use the clone-wipe-migrate method of install (or really anything that involves erasing your data off one drive), you should REALLY have a second backup of any particularly important files. Good opportunity to burn all your irreplaceable photos and your novel to DVDs.
Because it's not a backup if there's only one copy in existence, even if only for a few hours--never forget Murphy's Law. Seriously--if you really care about the data, minimum two copies at ALL times, no matter what. Better paranoid than missing files you'll never get back (or out literally thousands of dollars to retrieve them).