Apple made is real easy to upgrade your Mac OS X with the introduction of the App Store in the Snow Leopard (10.6.6) update. If you go to the “Upgrade your Mac” page on Apple.com they tell you how to upgrade “right from your mac” but they don’t tell you how to upgrade if you don’t have the App Store installed.
I just went through a little bit of pain to get my MacBook Pro upgraded from Leopard (10.5.8) to Mountain Lion (10.8) so I thought I’d put together a series of posts to save you some time.
Currently running the OS X 10.5.8 Model identifier imac 9.1 – Processor Intel Core 2 Duo – Speed 2.66 GHz – 1 Processor – 2 cores 0 Memory 4 GB. Hoping that we can go to Leopard Snow then to 10.8.2 or latest. Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8) is out today, available in the Mac App Store for just $20. Unfortunately, installing Mountain Lion requires that you already have a Mac running Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6) or Lion (OS X 10.7).
If you do download and install Mac OS X Snow Leopard, you can continue to obtain combo updates all the way through Mac OS X 10.6.8 through Apple Support, and they should still be available through the Software Update mechanism on the older Mac OS X release as well. If you wish to upgrade TO Snow Leopard (OS 10.6), make sure you have an Intel-based Mac (Snow Leopard will not run on a PowerPC processor) with at least 1GB of memory and has Mac OS 10.5 or earlier. To find out go to Apple Menu and select “About This Mac”. To upgrade: Purchase the Snow Leopard Retail DVD. Boot From The OS X Installer Disc: Insert OS X Installer Disc into the optical drive. Restart the computer. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the 'C' key. Release the key when the spinning gear below the dark gray Apple logo appears.
Here are some things I learned while upgrading:
1. The App Store was introduced in the Snow Leopard (10.6.6) update. From there you can install OS X directly from the App Store.
2. You can only get to Lion or Mountain Lion via Snow Leopard, you can’t go from Leopard to Mountain Lion directly.
3. It costs $20 to upgrade from Leopard to Snow Leopard and another $20 to go from Snow Leopard to Lion or Mountain Lion. You’ll find all versions online somewhere (Amazon, eBay, etc) but they are double or triple the price. Just order from Apple directly to have piece of mind about what you are getting and the lowest price.
4. Calling Apple directly at 1-800-MY-APPLE (1-800-692-7753) is very helpful. Very little wait time and they are more knowledgeable then calling your local Apple store. Maybe they are considered “super geniuses”? :)
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5. Mountain Lion doesn’t really have any features that I need. AirPlay isn’t supported on my MacBook Pro version (too old), Power Nap, Dictation and Game Center….all not interested in. So just make sure you want to upgrade for those features before you spend the $20 now. If you can upgrade to Mountain Lion now, maybe you should just wait until the new version of OS X comes out.
6. The Snow Leopard DVDs are only available by calling Apple. You can’t buy in your local store.
7. The Lion upgrade isn’t available on the App Store any more. You need to call Apple to purchase and they’ll send you an email with a link to download Lion.
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Here are all the posts that I created over the last couple of days to help you get up and running quickly:
Jon
Without warning (or clues that the release was so close), Apple has posted the eighth incremental update to its Leopard operating system – Mac OS X 10.5.8. The update, available in both Client and Server form, is free to download and install on Macs running any version of OS X 10.5 (Leopard and Leopard Server). As usual, the company has also released a separate Mac OS X 10.5.8 Combo Update, as well as the 2009-003 Security Update for OS X 10.4 (Tiger) Intel and PPC users.
“The 10.5.8 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac,” Apple says. The new software update also addresses compatibility and reliability issues when joining AirPort networks, which could cause some monitor resolutions to no longer appear in Displays System Preferences, and issues that may affect Bluetooth reliability, the company reveals.
But this is just what the Mac OS X Software Updater shows, hence Apple links to a couple of Support articles for detailed information on the update, as well as on the security content of 10.5.8.
For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3606.For information on the security content of this update, please visit: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222.
On its web site, Apple explains more thoroughly the contents of the update, and says that Mac OS X 10.5.8 also “includes Safari v4.0.2 and will upgrade your system to Safari v4.0.2.” On an even more detailed note, Apple reveals that Mac OS X 10.5.8 packs over a dozen important changes, which are listed as follows, in the Support section of its web site.
What's included in this update:- Upgrades Safari to version 4.0.2.- Improves the accuracy of full history search in Safari 4.- Resolves an issue in which certain resolutions might not appear in the Display pane in System Preferences.- Dragging an Aperture image into Automator now invokes an Aperture action instead of incorrectly invoking an iPhoto action.- Resolves an issue that could prevent importing of large photo and movie files from digital cameras.- Improves overall Bluetooth reliability with external devices, USB webcams and printers.- Addresses an issue that could cause extended startup times.- Improves iCal reliability with MobileMe Sync and CalDav.- Addresses data reliability issues with iDisk and MobileMe.- Improves overall reliability with AFP.- Improves overall reliability with Managed Client.- Improves compatibility and reliability for joining AirPort networks.- Improves Sync Service reliability.- Includes additional RAW image support for several third-party cameras.- Improves compatibility with some external USB hard drives.- Includes latest security fixes.
Since 10.5.8 includes Security Update 2009-003, Tiger users are strongly encouraged to download the package and proceed with the installation of the update. More detailed articles about Mac OS X 10.5.8, the security side of update 2009-003, and other related topics are coming soon. In the meanwhile, choose your appropriate update from the download links below, and feel free to report any improvements / issues that you experience.