Upgrade to ML?

[Bilalo]

Hello

I have a MBP 13"
Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro7,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MBP71.0039.B0B
SMC Version (system): 1.62f7

It currently runs on Snow Leopard, do you think it will be ok upgrade it to mountain lion? Will it be slower? will it be manageable at all? Can I bring it back to SL if anything happens? And will anything be erased it I upgrade? I will not back up anythin.

 

[brop52]

Hello

I have a MBP 13"
Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro7,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MBP71.0039.B0B
SMC Version (system): 1.62f7

It currently runs on Snow Leopard, do you think it will be ok upgrade it to mountain lion? Will it be slower? will it be manageable at all? Can I bring it back to SL if anything happens? And will anything be erased it I upgrade? I will not back up anythin.

If you don't back anything up you will be destined to lose all of your data at some point.

Beyond that, I run ML on my Late 2008 Macbook. You'll be fine. Your computer came out two years later and it's a MBP. Only things you can do is upgrade the RAM (if necessary) and use a 7200 RPM vs. SSD drive. Nothing should be erased if you upgrade.

 

[Ledgem]

Hello

I have a MBP 13"
Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro7,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MBP71.0039.B0B
SMC Version (system): 1.62f7

It currently runs on Snow Leopard, do you think it will be ok upgrade it to mountain lion? Will it be slower? will it be manageable at all? Can I bring it back to SL if anything happens? And will anything be erased it I upgrade? I will not back up anythin.

I have a Macbook Pro 4,1 that started with OS X 10.5 and went through each operating system iteration. The only operation where I can say that OS X 10.6 was far faster than OS X 10.8 was in shutting down. It was practically instant on OS X 10.6, took a while on 10.7, and became faster in 10.8 (but still takes much longer than OS X 10.6). I don't shut down often, so it isn't a big deal to me.

Since a lot of people claim that OS X 10.8 is worlds slower than OS X 10.6 and you'll probably be looking for it when you upgrade, just note that after you upgrade, Spotlight will be running for a while and will slow your entire system down. Don't panic, it's temporary.

Regarding backups, there's something important to note here. If you're using Time Machine (which I'd strongly recommend), upgrading the operating system will cause Time Machine to be upgraded, as well. However, newer Time Machine volumes are not backwards-compatible. In other words, if you upgrade to OS X 10.8 and have your Time Machine volume plugged in at any time while OS X 10.8 is running, and then decide that you want to revert to OS X 10.6, your Time Machine volume will be unusable under OS X 10.6. You won't be able to restore or use it with Migration Assistant to recover your files and settings.

If you want to have the possibility of reverting to OS X 10.6 with ease, use software like SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner (both of which have free modes/limited free trials). This will make an exact copy of your disk, and the copy can even be bootable if you like. If you decide that you dislike OS X 10.8, you'll be able to revert to your copy quite easily. Again, Time Machine will still not be usable under OS X 10.6 if OS X 10.8 accessed your Time Machine volume at all.

My guess is that you won't feel the need to revert to OS X 10.6, though. Enjoy!

 

[Semiopaque]

I have a Macbook Pro 4,1 that started with OS X 10.5 and went through each operating system iteration. The only operation where I can say that OS X 10.6 was far faster than OS X 10.8 was in shutting down. It was practically instant on OS X 10.6, took a while on 10.7, and became faster in 10.8 (but still takes much longer than OS X 10.6). I don't shut down often, so it isn't a big deal to me.

Since a lot of people claim that OS X 10.8 is worlds slower than OS X 10.6 and you'll probably be looking for it when you upgrade, just note that after you upgrade, Spotlight will be running for a while and will slow your entire system down. Don't panic, it's temporary.

Regarding backups, there's something important to note here. If you're using Time Machine (which I'd strongly recommend), upgrading the operating system will cause Time Machine to be upgraded, as well. However, newer Time Machine volumes are not backwards-compatible. In other words, if you upgrade to OS X 10.8 and have your Time Machine volume plugged in at any time while OS X 10.8 is running, and then decide that you want to revert to OS X 10.6, your Time Machine volume will be unusable under OS X 10.6. You won't be able to restore or use it with Migration Assistant to recover your files and settings.

If you want to have the possibility of reverting to OS X 10.6 with ease, use software like SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner (both of which have free modes/limited free trials). This will make an exact copy of your disk, and the copy can even be bootable if you like. If you decide that you dislike OS X 10.8, you'll be able to revert to your copy quite easily. Again, Time Machine will still not be usable under OS X 10.6 if OS X 10.8 accessed your Time Machine volume at all.

My guess is that you won't feel the need to revert to OS X 10.6, though. Enjoy!

How much RAM is on your 4,1? I too am running 10.8 on a 4,1, and it was sluggish but useable before I maxed RAM at 6GB during normal use (it ran OK if I closed certain apps before opening others). Adding an SSD helped a lot as well, but 6GB RAM made the most noticeable difference in practice (after opening everything I wanted to use).

Interesting note about Time Machine, BTW. I didn't even notice that, thanks. Also, I concur regarding the use of SuperDuper or CCC. These have been staple tools for me prior to Time Machine and I continue to find value in using them in addition to Time Machine.

To the OP: Overall, I think you're safe with upgrading to ML. I would upgrade your RAM. I think your model can support 8GB, possibly more. 8 GB is probably good for the foreseeable future if you can (depending on your usage).

As mentioned in a previous post, you need to backup everything or you WILL lose something, someday. Even a cheapo flash drive (or CD or cloud - even to Facebook or something) to manually backup your most important documents, photos, music, etc. is better than nothing. I've heard too many sad stories about people losing all the pics of their kids etc. to not recommend this every time someone says they don't backup anything.

 

[Ledgem]

How much RAM is on your 4,1? I too am running 10.8 on a 4,1, and it was sluggish but useable before I maxed RAM at 6GB during normal use (it ran OK if I closed certain apps before opening others). Adding an SSD helped a lot as well, but 6GB RAM made the most noticeable difference in practice (after opening everything I wanted to use).

That system is maxed out at 6 GB. I had 6 GB before upgrading to 10.8 so I don't know how it would have handled with 4 GB, but the memory usage on a fresh boot was never particularly large. OS X 10.7 and 10.8 are a bit more aggressive about keeping things in RAM as inactive memory, though, so it always seemed like my RAM usage would be higher with them than with 10.6. Inactive memory doesn't slow things down so it's a non-issue, just new RAM usage numbers to get used to.