MacFixIt has posted guidelines “aimed at reducing common issues that occur during as a result of the [Mac OS X Leopard] upgrade process, including pre-update preparation, proper installation, and post-update maintenance.”
Topics covered include:
• Backing up your data
• Preparing your startup disk
• Other pre-update precautions:
– Make sure all devices are synchronized prior to updating
– Disconnect all external devices, update firmware
• Install options:
– Upgrade
– Archive and Install
– Erase and Install
• Upgrade applications to Leopard-ready versions, if they are available
• Disable plug-ins and other application add-ons (or upgrade them)
• Check for, and delete, corrupt .plist files
• Do not run DiskWarrior and other directory utilities after updating
Full article here.
See also, “Installing Leopard to an external firewire drive,” here.
the only issue I’ve ever had installing a new mac os was when I didn’t unplug an external hd. other than that it’s been fine over the years.
They forgot the most important one: Wait until 10.5.2 before installing Leopard.
Why does any body need a “preparing guide” for OS X?
I’ve en using Mac OS X since the leopard, cheetah, tiger, etc and NEVER, but NEVER need it to “prepare” anything. You just insert the disc, if you do not want to loose your data, select upgrade, and if you already have a backup, format and reinstall everything and that is it. Only Windows losers, sorry, users need “Preparation” but not for the installation, but for the resignation of the windows “upgrade” disaster.
Hah! Fool! You would install such an early version? Everyone knows you should wait until 10.5.3!
Viktor, if you’ve never had a problem, count yourself fortunate, OS X is great and wonderful, but most people will run into problems eventually and MacFixit just gives some nice hints (mostly common sense).
Most won’t have problems, but 10 to 20% probably will, Apple can’t test for the millions of set ups out there.
If you like to live dangerously, fine, but don’t come crying to MDN or Macfixit if something goes wrong and you lose all your data.
What you’re saying is akin to someone saying “Backsups? Hah. I don’t need backups. I have used Macs for years without a hard drive failure.”
“OS X is great and wonderful, but most people will run into problems eventually…”
“Most won’t have problems, but 10 to 20% probably will,”
So are most people going to have problems or not then?
Macfixit does it right, but you Viktors or whatever your name is, dont.
It’s ignorant not to backup files and aybody should know.
I am sorry for all AppleCare staff, who has to listen to whining and complaining customers not saving important files before installing Leopard.
The hotline has far better things to do than educating dumb people.
I think I’ll do a combo of the two approaches.
Back up first then just do the upgrade. I also have never ran into issues upgrading OS X but backups are essential either way.
And I will be in line tomorrow too. What can I say, I Iike Mac t-shirts
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He said “eventually” most people will run into problems. The 10-20% figure was for each OS upgrade, the “most people” was cumulative.
Or…I can just get the OS for free when i buy a new Macbook Pro….
Slapped every update-panther to tiger, tiger incremental updates-on as soon as it became available without a single issue.
Will do the same when I get my copy of leopard tomorrow.
If I break it, I will fix it-no whining, crying and pointing my finger at everyone else blaming them for it.
Is this a joke? Since when is upgrading from OS X to OS X dangerous? It’s always just worked, almost perfectly, maybe a few minor hiccups. You should have a backup anyways, but I wouldn’t agonize over it.
This guy must being coming from the Windows world, where upgrading OS can lead to all sorts of disaster. It can be difficult to break old Windows habits.
I’m with Viktor, never had a problem and I’m sure I never will, always do an Archive and Install, cause an upgrade takes too long. Guys it’s a Mac, not Windows, yeah human error can slip in, but for gods sake how long have Apple been sitting on Leopard, if the Install doesn’t work there’s something far wrong. And waiting for .2 or .3 ain’t gonna help the install any, cause you’ll need .0 first!
Be warned: Little Snitch is very incompatible to the point of kernel panics.
Consult the publisher’s website for more details.
I’ve done every update and upgrade since 1984…I’m ready for this one too!
Every one is right, I may be lucky because I never had problems installing or upgrading. But installing Windows is ALWAYS painful and dangerous. So may be this is not “lucky” it is simple that statistically speaking, it is a lot more probably that you will run into problems upgrading a windows computer that a Mac one.
Should I buy 1K copies of Leopard or a Porsche 911 Turbo?
1K copies of Leopard, save money and buy the family packs!
a porsche is such a mid-life crisis cliché, don’t u think?
The three most important things you can do: backup, backup, backup!
You guys reckoning that upgrading an OS is always going to be flawless have obviously never ever worked with a broad spectrum of Mac users in a tech support/repair capacity. You may be right that your own installs –just like my own– have been problem free for the most part, but you’d be surprised at the crapware that people install in their Macs over time which causes no end of headaches when the upgrade comes along.
Furthermore, a point update (eg. 10.4.4 to 10.4.6) is far more likely to be problem free than a change of cats, like from Panther to Tiger for example. People do all kinds of stupid things with their machines, and I thank the folks at MacFixIt for being kind enough to take the time to try and help people out.
In fact, Viktor, Ultra-Visitor, and the rest should read those words of advice and take them to heart. How easily we forget the FireWire drive firmware disasters of the past; how little we know of the idiots that try to run DiskWarrior 3.0.0 on a Tiger system right before updating to Leopard for example, or those with haxies up the ying-yang that go blaming Apple when their “upgrades” don’t work. Most Mac users –yes, Mac users– haven’t got a clue of the difference between an “update”, an “archive and install”, and a complete wipe and “clean install”. These are the people MFI are trying to help.
So cool your jets, boys, and thank MacFixIt for being good net citizens.
Viktor,
Yes, there will be issues.. You can count on it.. You don’t believe me? Take a look at the MacFixit and Apple’s Leopard discussion boards over the next couple of weeks. Preparation and preventitive measures such as the ones listed above will avoid the majority of upgrade disasters..
Remember when Panther came out and thousands of people lost all the data on their external Firewire drives? I do, I was one of them…
I learned the hard way to always disconnect drives and any external devices before doing any OS upgrade.
I’m waiting for 10.6 … just to be sure … maybe I should wait for 11 … yeah that would be really safe …
“…Most Mac users –yes, Mac users– haven’t got a clue of the difference between an “update”, an “archive and install”, and a complete wipe and “clean install”. These are the people MFI are trying to help.
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I agree with you, however, it would be nice if Apple provided a bit more guidance when it comes to updates.. A fail safe upgrade requires a few more steps than sticking in the DVD and clicking “install” as Apple would like us to believe.