How do I install mountain lion onto my 2009 macbook?

Just bought my first Mac and not sure what I'm doing.

Thedhelmer44 wrote:
Just bought my first Mac and not sure what I'm doing.
Then, before doing anything, especially upgrading, peruse these:
Switching from Windows to Mac OS X,
Basic Tutorials on using a Mac,
Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts,
Anatomy of a Mac,
MacTips,
Switching to Mac Superguide, and
Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Lion Edition.
Additionally, *Texas Mac Man* recommends:
Quick Assist,
Welcome to the Switch To A Mac Guides,
Take Control E-books, and
A guide for switching to a Mac.

Similar Messages

  • How do I install mountain lion but keep snow leopard as a bootable os

    I'm caught in a vicious circle.
    I need mountain Lion to be able to use iCloud and to be compatible with a couple of apps on my iPad. However some of my major apps on my mac Pro won't work under Lion or mountain lion.
    SO the answer is to have both Snow Leopard and Mountain Lion on my Mac Pro.
    Does anyone know of any instructions on installing Mountain Lion onto one SSD, whilst leaving Snow Leopard on another, allowing me to boot from either.
    Also - any advice on the cleanest way of installing my apps under Mountain Lion (those that are compatible). I'm confused to how I can install my apps twice, especially if I have all ready registered Unser Snow Leopard.
    Thanks

    I'm assuming that you currently have an SSD with Snow Leopard on it, and another SSD with no operating system. Is that correct?
    What I would do is use the Snow Leopard DVDs to install a fresh copy of Snow Leopard on the SSD that currently has no operating system, and "migrate" your data and applications from the other SSD. (alternatively, you could use something like Carbon Copy Cloner to duplicate one SSD onto the other - but that's probably only an option if one SSD is completely blank or you're willing to erase it).
    Then upgrade to Mountain Lion on the original SSD.
    When you're done, hold down the option key when you start up to select which OS to use.
    For many applications, it won't matter which SSD they're on - you'll be able to run them from either system without worrying about where the app is installed (each will have it's own preferences, stored on the current startup drive). But some applications are more complex, and rely on additional files that are scattered around the Library folders on the startup drive. Since you migrated your applications and data, you should have everything that's needed on both systems, including license keys, etc. I did this for a little while with Quicken, and I actually left the Quicken app on the Lion drive - it worked just fine even though I started up from an external Snow Leopard drive (I skipped the migration step entirely, and reentered my Quicken license code when starting up from Snow Leopard).
    How successful this will be depends on exactly which applications you're using. Most of them will be OK, but if you're using something that has some esoteric copy-protection mechanism, you might run into a little bit of trouble. Consider upgrading the "new" Snow Leopard install to Mountain Lion, if that's the case, so you're original system SSD will remain Snow Leopard, with no changes.

  • Hi, I have a late 2008 iMac with a new hard drive. How do I install Mountain Lion from my bootable USB flash drive.

    How do I install Mountain Lion to a new hard drive without having the recovery partition on it.
    I have the USB flash drive with software on it but when I switch my Mac on all I have is a white screen & a flashing question mark.
    ATB,
    Steve.

    Did you use LionDiskMaker or DiskMaker X?
    Boot the machine with the option key down until you see your bootable USB stick.  Select the latter, and reboot.
    When the installer boots up, you will first need to choose Utilities and Disk Utility. Select the target HD device name and then the partition tab. Select 1 partition, name it Macintosh HD. Format is Mac OS Extended, and option is GUID. Apply. Exit Disk Utility and return to the installer, which will now show your newly partitioned HD as available for install.
    When OS X is installed and all updates applied, press shift+command+U and run disk utility again. Verify/repair permissions and verify the boot disk.

  • How do I install Mountain Lion on both my iMac Desktop and my wifes MacBook

    How do I install Mountain Lion on both my iMac Desktop and my wifes MacBook Pro?

    Open the app store, purchase ML. go to second computer open app store select purchases at the top and click download.  This is provided both computers use the same account. 
    http://www.apple.com/osx/how-to-upgrade/

  • How do I install Mountain Lion on a thumb drive?

    How do I install Mountain Lion on a thumb drive when my computer is running Mavericks? I downloaded the Mountain Lion installer, but when I attempt to run it I get a message that says "You cannot install OS X 10.8 on this computer." I don't want to install it on the computer, I want to install it on the thumb drive—but it won't give me a choice of drives.
    The reason I want to do this is I want to be able to boot my iMac into Mountain Lion in order to test a hardware/software combination I suspect might be incompatible with Mavericks.
    (Note: there are plenty of instructions online for how to create a bootable thumb drive with the Mountain Lion installer, but that's not what I want. I want to install ML on the thumb drive itself.)

    Sure you have a proper installer application. When I start it I get:
    Clicking on Continue, then accepting the licensing stuff, gets me to:
    If you click on Show All Disks, then all mounted disks will be presented including your flash drive.
    Now the above is a Mavericks installer, but it's the same for Mountain Lion.

  • How do I download mountain lion onto new hard drive

    My IMac 2.4  mid 2007 was starting to get very slow in opening applications. I rebooted the machine, it displayed the apple and then a circle with a line through it and would go no further. I have put it down to the hard drive, and have purchased a new one. My question is, how do I install mountain lion that I have already purchased to the new hard drive. I would appreciate any help on the matter

    You need to get your computer up to at least 10.6, using the original installer for your Mac, or a retail copy of 10.6.3. Then update to 10.6.8, and using the App Store, sign in with your AppleID, go to Purchases, and re-download and install 10.8.
    Matt

  • HT1338 how do i install mountain lion

    how do i install mountain lion the system will not allow me to "app it" as the Mac OS is older than 10.6

    If your Mac is compatible, the upgrade path for you would be to purchase Snow Leopard from the Apple Store: http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
    After installing that, you would run Software Update to bring it up to 10.6.8.
    Then, you'd access the App Store from Snow Leopard and purchase Mountain Lion.

  • How do I install mountain lion over maverick

    how do I install mountain lion over maverick

    Before the install
    Ensure your data (at least all Home folders) is backed up before you install. Hard disks can fail at any time so it is important to regularly backup to an external disk with Time Machine or a third party alternative. Inexperienced users should follow Apple's install advice but experienced users may prefer to do a clean install.
    OS numbers and names
    OS X 10.4.x - Tiger
    OS X 10.5.x - Leopard
    OS X 10.6.x - Snow Leopard
    OS X 10.7.x - Lion
    OS X 10.8.x - Mountain Lion
    More about Macs
    The Apple History site has specifications for every Mac ever produced: http://www.apple-history.com
    Upgrade to Leopard
    Those wishing to upgrade to Leopard should be aware that install disks can be expensive. Details: http://lowendmac.com/deals/best-os-x-leopard-prices.html Standard Leopard installers impose several hardware limitations including speed and RAM size but all these restrictions can be overcome. Google for details. Leopard works well at 500 MHz with 1 GB of RAM and many happy users have less than this.
    Upgrade beyond Leopard
    OSs beyond OS X 10.5.8 require an Intel processor. If in doubt click the apple at the top left of your screen and select 'About this Mac'. This will give you your OS number. Then click 'More Info' to see which processor you have. If it says PowerPC you cannot upgrade to Snow Leopard and above. If you have an Intel Mac it is well worth upgrading to Snow Leopard now and then considering other options after that. You can buy Snow Leopard here: http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A
    Upgrade to Lion
    Information about upgrading Snow Leopard to Lion: http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD256Z/A
    Upgrade to Mountain Lion
    Information about upgrading Snow Leopard or Lion to Mountain Lion: http://www.apple.com/osx/specs/
    Important
    Check that your Mac complies with any requirements.
    If you are not in the US you should use the Change Country link at the bottom of Apple pages.

  • How do you install mountain lion on additional macs?

    How do you install Mountain Lion on additional Macs?

    Log in to App store on other computer with the apple ID that Mountain Lion was purchased with.
    Click on Purchases icon at top of page.
    Download and install.
    R

  • How do you install mountain lion on all your macs in the household using one 20 dollar license?

    how do you install mountain lion on all your macs in the houshold with the same license (you only pay 20 bucks for all your macs) is that right?

    As long as they're all logged into the Mac App store with the same Apple ID, you can re-download the installer to all the Macs.
    Or you can save a copy of the installer file before you run it and use that to update the other Macs. The ML installer file will appear in your Applications folder when it's done downloading. Copy it to another location (don't move it).
    If you don't copy it before you upgrade, it will disappear when ML is finished installing.

  • Installing Mountain Lion onto an external hard Drive

    Hi
    I am running snow Leoprd and what to keep this as my main OS on my internal HD due to work, I want to install Mountain Lion onto an external Hard Drive and boot and run from an external HD as opposed to my internal
    I will be likely to be using a thunderbolt connection for the external HD
    Has anyone had any experience with this and any tip or faults?
    I will be using Logic mainly]

    Works just like installing on an internal drive. Just be sure to choose the correct target before clicking on the Install button.
    If you have sufficient space on your internal hard drive you could also make a partition on it in which to install Mountain Lion. This will be faster and more convenient that an external drive.

  • While trying to instal Mountain Lion OS on my macbook pro, I got the error message that my HD was damaged and it reverted to my Lion OS. Why does this happen? I bought the OS online through the app store

    While trying to instal Mountain Lion OS on my macbook pro, I got the error message that my HD was damaged and it reverted to my Lion OS. Why does this happen? I bought the OS online through the app store.

    The Mountain Lion installer looks at your internal drive to make certain that it's error-free before continuing installation. You should have an application named "Install OS X Mountain Lion.app" in your Applications folder now so you shouldn't have to download it again. Do this...
    Boot to your Lion recovery partition by holding down both the Command and the R keys while booting. Open Disk Utility from the Recovery partition and select your hard drive (usually named "Macintosh HD" unless you've renamed it) and click on Verify Disk. If you come up with any errors, click on Repair Disk. At the end of the cycle you will get a message that the disk was successfully repaired or a message that the hard drive could not be repaired.
    If you're able to repair the disk, just reboot as normal and open the "Install OS X Mountain Lion.app" and the installation will proceed. If Disk Utility was unable to repair the disk, you need to get to your local Apple Store as soon as possible so that they can see if the disk is salvageable or beyond repair.
    Good luck,
    Clinton

  • How do I download Mountain Lion onto my other iMac, after the initial install?

    I am wondering how to download Mountain Lion onto my second iMac, after the initial install.  I understand the purchase is for multiple computers, but I have completed the install on my first iMac.

    Once you’ve purchased Mountain Lion, find the installer on your Mac. It’s called Install OS X Mountain Lion.app and it should have been downloaded to your main Applications folder (/Applications).
    Right-click (or Control+click) the installer, and choose Show Package Contents from the resulting contextual menu.
    In the folder that appears, open Contents, then open Shared Support; you’ll see a disk image file called InstallESD.dmg.
    Launch Disk Utility.
    Drag the InstallESD.dmg disk image into the bottom (empty area) of Disk Utility’s sidebar (on the left).
    In Disk Utility, select InstallESD.dmg in the sidebar, and then click the Open button in the toolbar to mount the disk image’s volume in the Finder. The mounted volume is called Mac OS X Install ESD, and it also appears below InstallESD.dmg in Disk Utility.
    Select Mac OS X Install ESD in Disk Utility’s sidebar, then click the Restore button in the main part of the window.
    Drag the Mac OS X Install ESD icon into the Source field on the right (if it isn’t already there).
    Connect to your Mac the properly formatted hard drive or flash drive you want to use for your bootable Mountain Lion installer.
    In Disk Utility, find this destination drive in the left-hand sidebar and then drag it into the Destination field on the right. (If the destination drive has multiple partitions, just drag the partition you want to use as your bootable installer volume.) Warning: The next step will erase the destination drive or partition, so make sure it doesn’t contain any valuable data.
    Click Restore, and then Erase in the dialog box that appears; if prompted, enter an admin-level username and password.
    How to make a bootable Mountain Lion install drive
    https://www.macworld.com/article/1167857/how_to_make_a_bootable_mountain_lion_in stall_drive.html

  • How can I download Mountain Lion onto an external disk?

    Hello everyone
    My macbook pro hard drive was failing and at a genius appointment the technician said I could either pay for them to do the replacement or do it at home, since it would cost me nearly three times less. I bought the hard drive which is physically installed but my mac was not working before the replacement so I couldnt create any copies of the content, sofware, etc which means that now I have no idea how to install the sofware again... I've read about downloading Mountain Lion off the Apple Store onto an external disk and then rebooting the Mac from the external disk but I cant use my apple ID on any other Mac that isnt mine so I'm totally lost... Any help, please?

    I'm assuming the grey disks are installation CDs that came with the mac?
    Correct. But since you're trying to get back to Mountain Lion, you don't need them. If you had created a Mountain Lion bootable flash drive from your original download, you could have started up to that and installed ML directly.
    Since it appears you don't, than what you do need is a retail Snow Leopard disk. If you don't have one, it can be purchased directly from Apple for $20. Install that and update it to at least 10.6.6 to get the App Store app on the drive. Then you can login to your App Store account and retrieve and install Mountain Lion.

  • How do I Install Mountain Lion on a Mac with 2 Drives

    Good day ALL,
    I am upgrading my Mac mini to add a second hard drive (solid state).  After the HD install is complete I plan to re-install Mountain Lion and transfer my Applications, Files, etc from my backup.  I am very comfortable with installing Mountian Lion on the solid state drive and making it the bootbale drive, my questions are:
    1.  It is a 120G soloid state hard drive, so I only plan to use it for the OSX system, Library and Applications.  Should I include other files?
    2.  I plan to use my 750G SATA drive for the Users.  How do I set up the User Folder archive on this drive?  Do I just move it?
    3.  Then how do I ensure the User Folder on my backup, gets retored on the right drive?
    Thanks

    GreyWullf wrote:
    Good day ALL,
    I am upgrading my Mac mini to add a second hard drive (solid state).  After the HD install is complete I plan to re-install Mountain Lion and transfer my Applications, Files, etc from my backup.  I am very comfortable with installing Mountian Lion on the solid state drive and making it the bootbale drive, my questions are:
    1.  It is a 120G soloid state hard drive, so I only plan to use it for the OSX system, Library and Applications.  Should I include other files?
    2.  I plan to use my 750G SATA drive for the Users.  How do I set up the User Folder archive on this drive?  Do I just move it?
    3.  Then how do I ensure the User Folder on my backup, gets retored on the right drive?
    Thanks
    Regarding 1:
    $ cd /Users. sudo ditto myname /Volumes/TimeMachine/myname  copies everything in $HOME to non-TM backup.
    Ensured latest SSD firmware up to date.
    Clean install of ML to SSD from 8GB USB stick created by Lion Diskmaker.
    $ cd /Users. sudo ditto /Volumes/TimeMachine/myname myname (see part 2 for /Users on another drive)
    Added latest Xcode and command-line tools. Added VirtualBox 4.1.20. Put the 65GB VirtualBoxVMs folder on the second drive. Edited the ~/Library/Virtualbox/VirtualBox.xml file for the new mount points. Beware that many SSD (including Vertex) warn not to exceed 50% drive capacity or they will invoke slower drive controller algorithm. After some clean-up and re-arrangement, I have 98GB free on this SSD. It sings.
    Files that are heavily accessed/shared by users would be consideration for the SSD
    Regarding 2:
    If you have sufficient external storage, back-up your pre-ML /Users either with ditto as I did, or with TM, somewhere other than the 750GB drive.
    Use DiskUtility and repartition the 750 as one (or more) GUID HFS+Journaled partitions depending on planned usage.
    Reverse the back-up to put your user(s) on the 750GB drive
    In System Preferences > Users & Groups, unlock, then right mouse button click on individual user names. Advanced options ... will appear. For Home directory, Choose ... the particular mount point for individual user accounts now on the 750GB drive. Done.
    Regarding 3:
    Because you have moved individual user accounts from the internal drive where your last TM backup occurred before ML installation, TimeMachine will not understand (as far as I know), the new /Volumes/750GB/User/you home directory location that you just changed in #2. Another reason I used ditto(1).
    If you do not want Spotlight to index that 750GB drive, you need to inform Spotlight Preferences > Privacy to exclude the drive.
    Hope this helps.
    PS: Darn advanced editor eating bullet formatting!!
    Message was edited by: VikingOSX

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