So, how did your Snow Leopard install go? (success, problems, tricks, advice, etc.)

281 Comments

So, how did your Mac OS X Snow Leopard install go?

Let us know below about your successes, problems, tricks, advice, etc.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “silverhawk” for the queston.]

Related article:
Adobe: Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard users should update Flash Player – September 03, 2009

281 Comments

  1. With my ocz vertex 60gb flash drive on my MacBook pro y have very frequent crashes when exiting screensaver mode. Sometimes crashes directly In screensaver mode (I ask for a password).

    My Dell driver do not work anymore.

    Ecxept those problems, SL is really much spedier, and particularly when i boot the kernel In 64 bits.

    Very happy with this release In general.

    Reply

  2. Had 5 computers to upgrade, 1 Mac book, 1 iMac & 3 Mac minis. All but the last Mac mini went smoothly. The last Mac mini, would get about 3/4 of the way thru then quit. Did all the tricks I know about then called Apple. Bottom line, had to reinstall Leopard then upgrade to Snow Leopard.

    4 great installs, 1 problem child

    (I also have 3 PowerPC computers I will upgrade soon)

    Reply

  3. Install went smoothly, however I ran into 3 (minor) problems:

    1) Security System Preference won’t open (solved for me):

    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2135937&tstart=0

    2) MacBook Pro forgets Color Profile after long Screensaver activation (not solved, minor but annoying):

    http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=780224

    3) Snow Leopard freezes over time (not solved, annoying)

    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2141231&tstart;=-1

    Although I am still impressed by the mostly smooth sailing, not everything is great, and I am hoping for these issues to be solved by 10.6.1.

    Reply

  4. Installation was fine.

    Had to upgrade several esoteric apps (Summary, Lithium, InterMapper), re-install software for Xerox networked printer & Cannon 8800F scanner plug-in for PhotoSlop.

    Replaced CyberDuck with Fetch (free vs $29 Fetch).

    Main apps like CS4, FCP, VMWare Fusion “just work”.

    Give it an 8.5 out of 10

    Reply

  5. Upgraded Macbook and 24″ iMac. Went fast and smooth. I have only had minor display issues with Paperless. Have some font issues with Logos bible software, but I expect a fix real soon but does not keep me from using the software for its purpose. Photoshop CS4 works great. As does Acrobat Pro, had a problem with that one on the Leopard upgrade. No printer or scanner problems.

    Oh… when I try to use Sirius XM through Safari, it no longer works. It seems to be streaming the audio (ie. network traffic is active for Safari), but nothing comes out. It works fine in Firefox.

    Reply

  6. Bought the Family Pack of Snow Leopard
    Clean install on MacBook Pro 15″ C2D 2.33GHz – no issues.
    Upgrade install on MacBook 13″ C2D 2GHz – no issues
    Upgrade install on Mac Mini C2D 2GHz – no issues

    I’ve been using Mac OS X since the public beta back in 2000, and have rarely encountered any serious issues. Since probably 10.3, issues have been non-existant.

    Here’s my secret:
    10 Step Mac OS X clean install upgrade

    Reply

  8. Installed on a Unibody MBP, Macbook (White) and Alu iMac and have not run into a single issue. Installations all in and around 30 minutes.

    iStat menus was originally incompatible but a new release has since been issued that corrects compatibility!

    Overall, couldn’t be happier for $35 CAD. Faster, better, more advanced and a smaller footprint to boot.

    –mAc

    Reply

  12. Really smooth. Took about 45 minutes and left everything better than what I had hoped for. Gave me back about 10GB of memory so I’m happy. The only thing, my HP drivers were missing so i had to reinstall those but it’s great as can be now.

    Reply

  14. Upgraded an iMac that was purchased 3 days before Snow Leopard came out. Upgrade took 45 minutes.

    Got an error message from iCal about a Calendar Cache file and had to delete it before the program would work.

    Could no longer change my desktop background and had to delete the .plist file from Preferences.

    My 4 year old HP Laserjet 1020 no longer works. My 10 year old Acer scanner no longer works. I knew these wouldn’t work before I upgraded.

    Only real downside for me is that I am in the market for a new all in one laser printer and many companies don’t have updated drivers yet.

    Reply

  15. My Mac Pro no longer prints to my HP 8100 LaserJet. Apple lists a driver for this on their SL list, but it does not communicate properly with the printer. Also, there is no Bonjour in the printer setup. Printers that used to just show up on the network no longer do so. It’s been so long since I’ve had to set up a new printer, maybe I missed something. Did Apple remove Bonjour earlier than this? Or is it still there where I didn’t see it?

    Reply

  16. Install took ~45 minutes.

    Plus Side:
    -HDD lists 18gb more free space than before
    -systems seems more responsive, especially in Finder
    -might be my imagination, but display seems to look slightly better. Probably has to do with the default gamma change in 10.6
    -Changed an annoying iCal behavior to act more like I expect. Changing the due date on a task does not now move you to that particular date.

    Minus Side:
    -Mail would hang on launch. Had to remove the Mail directory, launch Mail, then move the directory back for Mail to do it’s import/conversion thing. After that, trouble free
    -Address Book would hang on launch. Had to remove a couple of preference files and remove all Smart Groups from the Metadata folder. Address Book would then work fine. Ended up moving all of the Smart Group files back into the Metadata folder, and haven’t had any issues.
    -Had to delete and re-add a couple of HP printers- a color lasernet over the network and an inkjet connected via USB. Both appeared in the Printers preference pane, but neither worked.
    -All of my third party screen savers no longer work. A few have already been updated to be compatible, though.
    -Had to do a hack re-install of Logitech’s LCC preference pane in order to use the programmable keys on a Logitech keyboard that I have.
    -Built-in Cisco VPN client doesn’t work with my employer’s Cisco VPN, so I had to reinstall Cisco’s VPN client (Snow Leopard broke the previous install)
    -Cisco Unified Messaging’s softphone no longer works.

    Reply

  17. Smooth installation on an iMac and MacBook. CopyPaste and iClock had to be replaced with new versions (with a “new” charge for each) — iClock remains inoperative, but the built-in clock/calendar item works fine. DYMO LabelWriter driver still not available for Snow Leopard — estimated replacement due in “late September.”

    Reply

  18. New unibody 13″ MacBook Pro was flawless. Old 15″ MacBook Pro had a distressing black screen after the initial restart during the installation, but a power cycle with PRAM reset fixed it. No problems found since.

    Reply

  19. On a summer MacBook Pro 15″ everything went well and installed quickly and efficiently.

    Also installed last night on my daughter’s new MacBook 13″ which needed the update. Thank god that I had seen or read somewhere about the screen going completely dark and using a flash light to shine on the screen and see that there was in fact a progress bar doing its thing. It did install but I am afraid to think what I would have done without that bit of install issue and how solved.

    Reply

  22. I’ve got a 20″ Core Duo 2GHz iMac, basically the first (modern) Mac made with an Intel chip.

    I have bought 4 used PPCs for family members since then, all with the latest version of Leopard plus iLife 08 installed by me (I’m a Family Packer).

    They run flawlessly (one 17″ iMac G4 1 GHz, two eMac 1.25 GHz, and one 17″ iMac G5 [1st gen] 1.8 GHZ), so I had no reservations about buying Snow Leopard on opening day (I believe I was the first in Little Rock to purchase it retail, save any Best Buy employees).

    The install was soooo good that I wanted a cigarette afterwards (I quit 3 years ago…..smoking, that is)

    One problem with some duplicate addresses in Address Book, which I deleted, only to find that they were actually older versions and not dupes, and that I actually deleted some of the newer cards, which would not work back out of the trash for some reason. Anyhow, Time Machine rescued me.

    And it greatly improved start up time, shut down time, app switching, and Handbrake, even though it just about maxes out both cores (thanks for the info, iStat Menus 2.0), I have no problems running other non-taxing programs, even with iTunes syncing to the TV after MetaX sends the files.

    It’s just sweet.

    Reply

  24. no problems here. installed on my iMac and black macbook, only thing i had to do was reinstall LaserjetP1006, other than NO PROBLEMS AT ALL.

    I am laughing my ass off though. my MS Windows drone friend just bought a new hard drive for a “clean” install of Vista Part Deux. I told him it’s still a “month” away. all he said don’t you remember how long it takes. all i said was no, get a mac, convert.

    Reply

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