How to upgrade to 10.6 Snow Leopard?

I'm currently running OS X 10.5.8 on my MacBook. How do I get 10.6 Snow Leopard? I want to get to Lion but I believe that I have to get Snow Leopard first.

If you call the online Apple Store, they may still have copies of Snow Leopard available though it's no longer listed on the web site. If they no longer have it available, as has been reported in a couple of recent threads, you'll need to look to private sellers, and the prices are rising quickly. If you buy from a private seller, make sure you get the retail disk set (white label with a picture of a Snow Leopard), not the system disks from another model of Mac (grey label).
The same applies to Lion; it Lion may still be available if you call the online Apple Store, though a couple of recent threads have reported it as no longer available. If the Apple Store still has it, they will ask for your Apple ID and credit card number and will then send you a code which you can redeem in the Mac App Store. You will need to have 10.6.6 or later installed on your system before you will be able to redeem the code.
Alternatively, you may still be able to find the Lion USB installer at a local Apple Store or an Apple dealer, though available stocks will probably disappear quickly if they have not already. Otherwise you'll have to look for the USB installer on the open market, such as through eBay or a Mac User Group. Those are starting to rise in price.
Regards.
Forum Tip: Since you're new here, you've probably not discovered the Search feature available on every Communities page, but next time, it might save you time (and everyone else from having to answer the same question multiple times) if you search a couple of ways for a topic, both in the relevant forums and in the Apple Knowledge Base, before you post a question.

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How to upgrade Mac mini server Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion

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What's involved? Buy and load OS X Server; that's now a Mac App Store app.
That'll get you Server.app.
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How to upgrade from Tiger to Snow Leopard

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popped in snow leopard (upgrade disc) -> installer rebooted -> i selected the language -> then Error: "Mac OS X Cannot be installed on this computer"
Anyone can help me? Thank you.

Toocool4 wrote:
Yes like V.K. said a retail copy is your best bet, but still check that you have an Intel Mac before you spend money on a new copy of Snow Leopard.
a PPC mac wouldn't be able to even boot from a Snow leopard DVD. as the OP has gotten as far as booting from the DVd it means he has an intel mac.

How to UPGRADE for FREE from Snow Leopard yo Lion

Bought a new iMac on 18/11/2011.
Came with Operating System 10.6.8
Have now found out that I should have had the Lion OS installed by updating for free.
Have tried for days now but no luck, I still have to pay for upgrading.
Does anybody out there have the same problem and could tell me where to go ??
Thanks a lot.

EDIT:
rkaufmann87 has the up-to-date info. My posting below is how it USED to work.
Only AppleCare (Call the 800 number) can fix this for you.
Any Mac sold by Apple (after about July I think) should have come with an Option for Lion, but they have to set it up for you.

Want to upgrade from Tiger to Snow Leopard

I spent over an hour through the apple store web site and cant find a way to upgrade directly from Mac OS 10.4 Tiger to the latest Snow Leopard version.
The Apple web site gives only one purchase possibility : to upgrade from Leopard 10.5 to Snow Leopard 10.6. But how to upgrade from Tiger to Snow Leopard ?

Francois Dormoy wrote:
I spent over an hour through the apple store web site and cant find a way to upgrade directly from Mac OS 10.4 Tiger to the latest Snow Leopard version.
The Apple web site gives only one purchase possibility : to upgrade from Leopard 10.5 to Snow Leopard 10.6. But how to upgrade from Tiger to Snow Leopard ?
this has been oft asked and answered. you can buy a Macbox set which will give you snow leopard, ilife and and iwork. or you can buy a $29 standalong snow leoaprd dvd although there is a big disagreement on the board whether using it to go from tiger to snow leopard directly violates ULA (I think it does). but the actual disk is the same as in the macbox set and either one will upgrade you to SL.

I upgraded to snow leopard but iphoto was not included. How do I install iphoto on snow leopard 10.6.8?

i upgraded to snow leopard but iphoto was not included. How do I install iphoto on snow leopard 10.6.8?

IPhoto is not included in any OS upgrade. It is a seperate application. Unless you choose to erase your drive when you upgrade no application including iPhoto is affected by the upgrade (except potential compatibility issues). If you need to reinstall iPhoto for and reason you do it from the original source. Either
1- the restore disks that came with your computer
Or
2- the iLife DVD upgrade that you purchased
Or
3- the App store
LN

After having upgraded my MacBook to Snow Leopard, the following error message pops when I try to access iTunes: "The file iTunes Library.itl cannot be read because it was created by a new version of iTunes". I cannot now access iTunes. How can I resolve

After having upgraded my MacBook to Snow Leopard, the following error message pops when I try to access iTunes: "The file iTunes Library.itl cannot be read because it was created by a new version of iTunes". So, now after the upgrade, I cannot access iTunes. How do I resolve this??
Thanks

zepel has it, but perhaps some more detail will help.
Empty/corrupt library after upgrade/crash
Hopefully it's not been too long since you last upgraded iTunes, in fact if you get an empty/incomplete library immediately after upgrading then with the following steps you shouldn't lose a thing or need to do any further housekeeping. In the Previous iTunes Libraries folder should be a number of dated iTunes Library files. Take the most recent of these and copy it into the iTunes folder. Rename iTunes Library.itl as iTunes Library (Corrupt).itl and then rename the restored file as iTunes Library.itl. Start iTunes. Should all be good, bar any recent additions to or deletions from your library.
See iTunes Folder Watch for a tool to catch up with any changes since the backup file was created.
When you get it all working make a backup!
tt2

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Just upgraded my system to snow leopard...now when I open documents from my memory stick, its in 'pages' not word...how do I fix that??

Did you click on the little triangle? Did you select one of the document files before pressing COMMAND-I to open the Get Info window? If the panel is closed it looks like this:
If you then click on that little triangle gadget you get this:
A temporary solution is to CTRL- or RIGHT-click on the document file, navigate to the Open With item, and select from the sub-menu.
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I am trying to upgrade from Tiger to Snow Leopard. When I insert the disk and install starts, it states "This disk is used for Time Machine backups" and Mac OSX can't be installed. Does anyone know how to correct this (since Tiger doesn't have Time Mach

I am trying to upgrade from Tiger to Snow Leopard. When I insert the disk and install starts, it states "This disk is used for Time Machine backups" and Mac OSX can't be installed. Does anyone know how to correct this (since Tiger doesn't have Time Machine)?

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2986

How do I get my new Snow Leopard 10.6.3 upgrade to be 10.6.8?

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Here you go, http://support.apple.com/downloads/#Mac%20OS%20X%2010.6.8

I want to upgrade from Tiger to Snow Leopard on my 2008 MacPro. How do I avoid problems with the upgrade process?

I want to upgrade from Tiger to Snow Leopard on my 2008 MacPro. How do I avoid problems with the upgrade process?

#1 Do a complete bootable backup of your drive before upgrading. That way should anything happen you can revert back to the start and try again.
Make sure you meet Snow Leopard 10.6 Technical Requirements - http://support.apple.com/kb/SP575
You might also want to make sure you don't have software issues with SL:
A Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Application Compatibility List - http://snowleopard.wikidot.com/

How can I upgrade from OS X Snow Leopard to OS X Lion?

How can I upgrade from OS X Snow Leopard to OS X Lion?

Well Mt Lion is the latest, but if your machine can't do 10.8, then call Apple via phone and order 10.7
However you really need to do your homework first, as a lot of software and drivers could stop in 10.7, no Rosetta like in 10.6, could cost you plenty.
Things to consider before upgrading OS X

After I upgrade from tiger to snow leopard, my macbook pro more often freezes. Any solution? Do I need to increase memory? If so, how?

After I upgrade from tiger to snow leopard, my macbook pro more often freezes. Any solution? Do I need to increase memory? If so, how?

After I upgrade from tiger to snow leopard, my macbook pro more often freezes. Any solution? Do I need to increase memory? If so, how?

Before upgrading my system from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion I had taken a backup of iPhoto in my external drive. But now when I try to open that package, I'm directed to app store to buy new iPhoto. How can I retrieve my photos without buying iPhoto?

Before upgrading my system from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion I had taken a backup of iPhoto library in my external drive. But now when I try to open that package, I'm directed to app store to buy new iPhoto. Why would apple install iPhoto by default with Snow Leapord and make us import all our photos in it at the first place, and now ask for money if we want to retrieve our photos back on mountain lion? What if they make contacts a paid app with the next OS upgrade, and then bully us to pay money if we want our contacts? This is something very dissappointing on Apple's part. I need answers here.

I fail to remember if the installer gave me an option to keep my applications.
The Mountain Lion installer will not delete applications. It will only mark applications, that are not compatible with your current system with a "forbidden" sign in the icon. And you cannot launch them.
Does your iPhoto icon in the Applications folder look like this?
Then your iPhoto version is incompatible and cannot run with Mt. Lion. If it is iPhoto '11, with a versionnumber starting with 9.x.x., you can upgrade it by downloading a newer version from the Apple downloads site http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1650.
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Regards
Léonie

How do I upgrade from Lion to Snow Leopard?

Snow Leopard has this great feature called Expose which is a great improvement on Lion's App Expose (and Mission Control).
Can someone point me to the steps I need to take to upgrade from Lion to Snow Leopard?

Written just for you (ok it's a paste)
Back to Snow Leopard from Lion install method
Read and print out these instructions, your computer is going to be offline and you wil be cutoff from help until your machine is restored.
Clear the Desktop, Downloads and Trash of anything you wish to keep by placing their files in the respective Documents, Music, Pictures, Movie folders.
Disconnect other drives except the backup drive as to avoid any mistake.
Backup ALL your Users folders (Documents, Pictures, Movies, Music etc) manually (drag and drop methods) to a (not TimeMachine) external powered drive (HFS+ journaled formatted in Disk Utility) and disconnect, your going to be wiping the entire disk of ALL DATA. (warning, everything will be gone and not recovered, OS, programs, files, Windows etc all gone.)
Note: You might want to hold c and boot off the 10.6 installer disk and use Disk Utility to format the new blank external drive instead of using OS X Lion that's hosed. Then reboot into Lion and copy files, be safer that way perhaps.
Here we go!
Hold c and boot off the 10.6 installer disk that comes with your computer and second screen in just STOP there, don't install OS X yet.
Look at the Utilities Menu for Disk Utility.
On the left is the name of your hard drive maker, click it and Erase (format HFS+ Journaled), give it the same drive name as before, and click Erase...
(note: if you want to "scrub" the drive of old files that haven't been overwritten yet, then use the Security Option > Zero Erase, takes a lot longer)
This should wipe the drive of ALL partitions (GUID, OS X and 10.7 Recovery, Windows if present)
When it's done, quit and install OS X 10.6. Then install all your programs from fresh sources and validate/update.
When you setup a first account, use the same user name as before, this way you can simply drag and drop the content of your previous Users folders from the external drive right back into the new Users folders and everything should work peachy. Links in iTunes to music, playlists and iPhoto links especially.
Update OS X to 10.6.8 using the Combo Update for best results.
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1399
(Note: If your original machine had 10.5 and you want the free iLife that comes with the disks with the computer, then you'll have to install 10.5 first using the same c boot/erase/format methods as above, then update to 10.6 via the disk, then Combo Update 10.6.8)
Final step optional but highly recommended.
A lot of people use a Carbon Copy Clone of their boot drive to a new HFS+Journaled external drive (used only for this purpose) as a "hold the option key" bootable backup in case something goes wrong with their boot drive or need to restore to a previous OS X version.. (in addition to TimeMachine drive for more immediate backups.)
It's not advised to have a Bootable Clone and a TimeMachine partition on the same external drive, as two drives gives hardware protection in case one fails.

How to upgrade to 10.6 Snow Leopard?

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