Anybody have problems updating from Leopard 10.5.8 to Snow Leopard 10.6.3, or can I expect an easy update?

Question

Anybody have problems updating from Leopard 10.5.8 to Snow Leopard 10.6.3, or can I expect an easy update?

Answer 1

rrk224 wrote:
Anybody have problems updating from Leopard 10.5.8 to Snow Leopard 10.6.3, or can I expect an easy update?
You shouldn't have too much trouble provided you have a relatively clean system.
You should backup your personal users folders off the machine to a regular storage drive (not TimeMachine) and disconnect.
10.6 upgrade strips out the 10.5 PPC code your not using and offers faster video drivers and some neat features like Exposé and Spaces which is highly productive as you can have 4-16 desktops visible at once and move stuff around between them (10.7 ripped that out)
10.6 is the fastest OS X version Apple has made, 10.5 is universal (more code and older video drivers) and 10.7 is slower than 10.6 in tests on the same hardware.
Your 10.5 install disk should be working, (check it first) stick it in and reboot holding the c key down, you should be able to boot from the disk. Apple isn't offering replacement 10.5 disks anymore so it needs to work in case you want to downgrade from 10.6.
You can learn how to make copies of your 10.5 disk online. I would do so.
You might decide to Carbon Copy Cloner (free/donations) your present 10.5 system to a blank external powered drive, you then can hold the option key and boot from it, erase and reverse clone back to your internal drive if you wish.
10.6 will run all your 10.5 software (some may need a update) as it has Rosetta, a compatibility system for 10.5 code. 10.7 does not, it will not run your present Rosetta/10.5 software at all, you will have to buy all new versions. Also older hardware likely won't work neither, like printers, scanners and all-in-ones etc as their drivers either won't get a update or they won't make one to force a premature hardware turnover.
If your upgrading your older 10.5 machine to 10.7, I'd advise against it, there isn't as much software ready for 10.7 (like 10.6) because it's forcing developers to rewrite their PPC based code
10.7 is slower and more glitchs than 10.6, more depressing gray all over and strange UI changes.
Also 10.8 is due out this summer and may not run on older hardware, so it's looking like you will be best off with 10.6.8 and leaving it at that to get the most software choice/performance and leave 10.8 for a new hardware/software purchase.
If your going to 10.7 anyway, then check this database to make sure the software your going to have to buy is ready or not. IMO, Lion for you and your older machine is a wasted effort and better the new software on a new hardware purchase.
http://roaringapps.com/apps:table
I must admit though I throughly hate OS X Lion, as do a lot of other people,  it's only because it's quality is absolutely terrible and unbecoming of Apple, likely why Mountain Lion 10.8 is being released this summer a year in advance and only a year after Lion. However my opinion about Lion's poor quality isn't relfected in my advice to you. For you it's more of a older hardware/have to buy all new software type deal which a newer machine with 10.8 and promises to be better/more refined OS than 10.7.
So in other words, upgrade to 10.6.8 and stay there, save your pennies for a new machine Early 2013, by then 10.8 would have several months and a lot of software/bugs worked out for it.