Can I install new operating system without wiping out all of my programs- some of which were free

Question

Can I upgrade my OS without clearing out all programs such as Adobe Creative Suite, Office, etc as well as all files that I do not want to lose because many of the programs were free and do not have portable storage drive?

Answer 1

brandon43 wrote:
Can I upgrade my OS without clearing out all programs such as Adobe Creative Suite, Office, etc as well as all files that I do not want to lose because many of the programs were free and do not have portable storage drive?
You can upgrade the OS without clearing out your programs or files, however that's no guaranty that those programs will continue to work in the new OS.
And if you plan to jump over operating systems, like going from 10.4 to 10.6 or 10.5 to 10.7 that that will require wiping the drive of all programs and installing the new OS fresh.
So perhaps you better start by telling us some details about your present hardware specifications, your computer model (like MacBook Pro 3,1) your OS X version, your RAM amount, your hard drive size, software you absolutely need, others that you can perhaps do without, and what and where you want to go etc. Also if you want to spend money and how much.
You can find out about your machine by Apple Menu>About this Mac>More information.
Your question is rather lacking on details, and people don't update their signatures so we can't go by that.