Tech Bleg
Trying to upgrade an iMac from 10.4.11 to something in the 10.6.x range, but can’t seem to find any way to transition to 10.5.x (which is, apparently, required before 10.6.4 can be installed).
Apple presents files, but no instructions. Anyone done this? Or should I just keep treating 10.4.11 as something like Windows Vista–an OS without a future?
Is your iMac PowerPC or Intel ?
Power PC allows you to upgrade through Leopard (depending) but Snow Leopatd and points beyond requires Intel.and early iMacs (e.g.basketball don’t allow you to go that tar.
I gather that you can run the Snow Leopard upgrade disk on a Tiger machine and it will work, though it technically violates the EULA. This may not work for all machines though.
i aint got a clue, but i usually take that kind of question to a tech forum, & get expert help…
After years of Windows, my worst-case Mac experiences have, so far, been not so bad. If there doesn’t appear to be an ‘easy way’ to do this, the best way might be using SuperDuper to another drive, doing a ‘clean’ format/install with 10.6, and then using the backup drive to ‘migrate’ the old accounts back. Best thing about this is that even if you totally hose things up, you can still boot and run from that backup drive while you figure it out. I’ve done something similar three times (each one a bit different) and had no problems. Big difference from Windows where every time I had a ‘new install’ I would have to reinstall all apps and everything from scratch. Win7 is supposed to be different, but I switched to Mac about 4 years ago and haven’t looked back.
ben – I tried to figure that out yesterday. I fear it’s Intel.
Klaeberg, rjs – I saw that in in the tech forums (tried those first), but don’t have a DVD drive in the machine so was hoping to find another way. (The $30 licence is not an issue–a new OS is a tech advance and therefore very worth paying for, while JoeC’s path suggestion is the plan–but having to buy an external DVD drive for one use seems like an extra step.)
Aside to JoeC — Yes, it’s $29.99 to upgrade to Snow Leopard. And MSFT wonders why–after years of talking about TCO–they’re losing market share. But that’s for another post.
XP and forward have had the “files and settings transfer wizard.”
Works a charm for doing a fullbackup of everything for all users down to your wallpaper and favorite mouse cursors. The version of the wizard in Vista and 7 also gives you a list of programs that have not yet been installed on the new system that you previously had installed.
That’s only in the case where you actually need to do a clean install though, and there doesn’t seem to be that need so far with 7…I haven’t managed to destroy my system in any way that wasn’t recoverable from a system restore point (and I’ve only managed to destroy my system with a bad video driver, which has always been the number one source of problems in windows, since the drivers are provided by the chipset manufacturers and the cards themselves are sometimes not really compliant with the reference cards designed by the chipset manufacturers).
Seems like this should work?
http://osxdaily.com/2009/09/02/install-snow-leopard-from-external-firewire-or-usb-hard-drive-or-how-to-upgrade-to-106-without-a-dvd-drive/
Easy enough, make an image of the disc on another machine, drop it on a thumbdrive, mount it on the one you want to upgrade.
Ken, FYI, the box that pops up when you select ‘About This Mac’ from the Apple menu tells you the processor. Note that 10.6 requires an Intel-based CPU, and all models of Intel-based iMac have DVD drives. If your iMac never had one (as opposed to having one that just doesn’t work), then it is a PowerPC-based model and you are out of luck. Otherwise, see J. Goodwin’s link.