Preparing for Snow Leopard - fresh install or upgrade?

I have two Mac's at home currently running 10.5.8 that I will be upgrading to Snow Leopard. My question is, do I need to do a fresh install or upgrade over the existing OS and is there a preferred approach?
Mac 1: Macbook Pro (late 2007)
Key Applications in use:
- VM Ware Fusion
- Bootcamp (Vista)
- Logic Express 8
- MS Office 2008
Mac 2: Mac Mini (2009)
Key applications in use:
- Plex
- MacTheRipper
Thanks in advance!
Message was edited by: mapexvenus

Since no one yet has SL to determine what options are available you will have to wait until Friday.
But in the most general terms a fresh install is always preferable. You can prepare by doing the following:
1. Repair your hard drive and permissions.
2. Make and test a bootable clone to another internal or external drive.
Because you have two Macs you will need to purchase the Family Pack. You cannot install a single-user license on more than one CPU at a time.

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Steve

Hi Steve,
Go to the Safari Menu Bar, click Safari/Preferences. Make note of all the preferences under each tab. Quit Safari. Now go to ~/Library/Preferences and move this file com.apple.safari.plist to the Desktop.
Relaunch Safari and see if that makes a difference. If not, move the .plist file back to the Preferences folder. If you can install the Google Reader extension, move that .plist file to the Trash.
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Snow Leopard Fresh Install With Time Machine Restore

Alright so I have been having problems with my MacBook. For the last few months it has been really slow and laggy. I have tried almost everything to speed it up. I have run anti-virus software, I have deleted any Apps that I thought could have caused the problem. After all that I still can not figure out what is causing it to be so slow. So I decided a fresh install would be the way to go, only I have a few concerns. The first was my music and movies, I didn't want to loose those so I backed them up to an external harddrive that has 2 partitions (one for files the other for Time Machine). So thats not a concern any more. My next concern was for Final Cut Studio. I have it on my MacBook, but I do not do much editing on it because I use my Mac Pro for that. But I still need it on my MacBook for when I'm out of my office and need to work on something. I do not currently have the installation disk for Final Cut Studio (my boss does so I could get it if I really need it) and I'd really also like to not have to go through the 8 and a half hour installation of it again. So would it be possible to restore the entire Final Cut Studio through Time Machine after a clean install? (I would use an old backup from before it got slow so that it wouldn't restore what ever is messing it up) I have read on some forums that you can not restore the Pro Apps such as Final Cut Studio and Aperture... etc., but on other I have read that you can. If this is possible can some one walk me through the process so that I don't have to reinstall it all? Much Thanks if you can!

timcrenshaw wrote:
First off I'm just trying to restore the pro apps from way before the problem first started
Most likely, your only choices are a full restore of your entire system from an earlier date; or reinstalling those apps with their original installers. Unless you know what and where all the other things those installers put on your system are, you'll have pieces missing, and the apps won't work properly, if at all. Worse, they may appear to be fine at first; you may not notice problems for a while.
and really the only other thing I want to restore is my music which as said before its all backed up.
Depending on how that was done, you should be able to restore the entire iTunes folder.
As for anti-virus I had Norton back when I first tried to figure out what was wrong but since then the subscription has run out and I have been using iAnti-Virus (it was CNet's top choice for mac)
Both of those are notorious for causing all sorts of problems with Macs. Norton, in particular, is almost impossible to remove entirely, as it puts all sorts of things in all sorts of places, and a number of background jobs that interfere with your Mac if you don't exterminate them. There are similar reports about iAnti-Virus, too. Search the +Snow Leopard+ forum for them -- you'll see what I mean.
Many of us run no anti-virus software at all (again, there aren't any for OSX, although there are some Trojans). For those folks worried about passing PC viruses among their PC friends, the (free) ClamXav is most often recommended in these forums, for being as effective as any others, but without much negative impact. For more detail, see this post by Klaus1: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=10942146&#10942146 or: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2307964
Take the time to be sure you've really eliminated all the leftovers, or don't inadvertently restore them -- they may very well be part of your problems.
As for deleting Apps if it had an uninstaller I used it but if not then I used AppCleaner.
That's good for most of them, but as I understand it, won't get all the Norton stuff. I don't know if it will get all the iAnti-Virus pieces.
The problem seem to really be bad when I open Firefox and iTunes
As for deleting caches I have not
You might want to try that. Download the free OnyX app from: http://www.titanium.free.fr/index_us.html
Click the Cleaning icon in the Toolbar, and each of the tabs it shows (I omit the +Form Values+ and Cookies items in the Internet section, and some of the log; you may want to select or omit others).
and I haven't looked at the logs either
That may be worthwhile. Use the Console app (in your Applications/Utilities folder).
When it starts, click +Show Log List+ in the toolbar, then navigate in the sidebar that opens up to your system.log and select it. If it's grayed out and you can't select it, the account you're using doesn't have permission to view them. Sign on with an Admin account.
That will open the current log at the end (bottom). Scroll upwards to view more of it. Don't be alarmed -- most of what you see there is gibberish to us mere mortals!
What you're looking for is anything dire-sounding, such as +*failed, exited with code, exited abnormally, I/O error,+* and, especially, +*throttled respawn,+* or anything repeated over and over.
If you see anything like that, copy and post a reasonable amount of it here.

Snow Leopard fresh install - iTunes broken

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Now what is this again? After all the hassle with the iOS4 upgrade on my 3G and carloads of other problems i had with Apple stuff recently, this really makes me angry, as the only reason for the new hard disk was the need to put the whole iTunes library onto this machine, as the MP is a bit bloated to listen music via Airtunes.
...Michael

oh my goodness - i have had same problems today - on brand new imac. Not used mac before and was well stressed. I could not install itunes kept getting locked out and installation failures. Had to resort to trashing the whole lot- music too - and forcing shut down then reinstalling itunes from installation disc, selecting applications. Tried downloading latest version with so many errors I just gave up. So by using the installation disc I am using itunes 9 and it appears to be without problems. Don't think I'll upgrade to 10 just yet!! Still trying to sort out the windows library transfer though!!

I've paid $ 3,99 for Xcode for Snow Leopard. Now there is a new Xcode for Lion, so I downloaded the new one but the installed continued to be the old one. Now App Store says "Installed" and don't allow me to re-download Xcode. How can I proceed?

I've paid $ 3,99 for Xcode for Snow Leopard 12 days ago. After installing Lion I saw there is a new FREE Xcode for it, so I downloaded the new one but after installing automatically Xcode for Lion the Developer folder contained the old one. I deleted the old Xcode but the App Store says "Installed" and don't allow me re-download Xcode.
How can I proceed? I'm guessing whether this problem will occur each time I buy an application from App Store.

Yes, that's righ, Xcode installer was in the Apps folder. I assumed it had been automatically installed and the installer deleted after installation (the same way as Lion is installed).
I tried also the procedure for redownloding applications, and MAS showed both Xcodes (Lion and Snow Leopard) and OS X Lion. We see that buttons for Lion and Xcode for Snow Leopard say 'Install' but Xcode for Lion says 'installed' because there is an Install Scode in the Apps folder.
Thank you.

Elements 6 for Snow Leopard?

I am using MacBookPro 10.5.8. I have all the requirements for Snow Leopard and I have upgraded my memory to 4 GB. I use Photoshop CS with Painter X for all my digital art and other corrections. Would Elements 6 be similar enough with Photoshop for resizing and other drawing capabilities?

Elements is not a drawing program rather a photo organizer and editing program. Check the usage at the Adobe web site.
"What is Photoshop Elements?
Adobe® Photoshop® Elements 10— the newest version of the #1 consumer photo editing software— helps you turn everyday memories into sensational photos you'll cherish forever. Easily edit photos and make photo creations using automated options, share photos with your social network, and find and view all your photos and video clips.

I bought a MacBook Pro 13" last week with Snow Leopard pre-installed. Now I am looking to upgrade to Lion. Is there a 30 day window to do that for free? I cannot review my App Store id since I do not have a Credit Card. What to do?

I bought a MacBook Pro 13" last week with Snow Leopard pre-installed. Now I am looking to upgrade to Lion. Is there a 30 day window to do that for free? I cannot review my App Store id since I do not have a Credit Card. What to do in this case to install Lion. Please help.

Hi,
Use this Info to Contact Apple Support in your Country
http://www.apple.com/in/support/
(91) 1800 4250 744 or (91) 80-4140-9000

How do I reinstall Lion if I get a new hard drive? My mac came with Leopard and I cannot find my upgrade disk for Snow Leopard

My MacBook Pro originally came with Leopard. I have the OS and Applications disks for Leopard but I cannot find my upgrade disk for Snow Leopard. I would like to perform a clean install of Lion on the new hard drive and restore some data from my Time Machine backup. I am not looking to restore the current image to my new hard drive. I have not yet removed the exisiting hard drive nor have I wiped my data.

The only way to do that is to buy a New SL Retail DVD. Or you could buy the Lion Install USB thumb drive from Apple for $69.
You must have SL installed to then install Lion or have a thumb drive with the Lion installer.
You could also create a Lion USB Recovery thumb drive using Lion Disk Assistant. But you need to have Lion already installed and the Lion RecoveryHD Partition on your drive to make the Recovery thumb drive.
Lion Recovery Disk Assistant

I have an older 13" macbook with snow leopard, I want to upgrade to the newest mountain lion, can i just purchase and instal?

I have an older 13" macbook with snow leopard, I want to upgrade to the newest mountain lion, can i just purchase and instal?

Upgrade Paths to Snow Leopard, Lion, and/or Mountain Lion
You can upgrade to Mountain Lion from Lion or directly from Snow Leopard. Mountain Lion can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $19.99. To access the App Store you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.6 or later installed.
Upgrading to Snow Leopard
You can purchase Snow Leopard through the Apple Store: Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard - Apple Store (U.S.). The price is $19.99 plus tax. You will be sent physical media by mail after placing your order.
After you install Snow Leopard you will have to download and install the Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1 to update Snow Leopard to 10.6.8 and give you access to the App Store. Access to the App Store enables you to download Mountain Lion if your computer meets the requirements.
     Snow Leopard General Requirements
       1. Mac computer with an Intel processor
       2. 1GB of memory
       3. 5GB of available disk space
       4. DVD drive for installation
       5. Some features require a compatible Internet service provider;
           fees may apply.
       6. Some features require Apple’s iCloud services; fees and
           terms apply.
Upgrading to Lion
If your computer does not meet the requirements to install Mountain Lion, it may still meet the requirements to install Lion.
You can purchase Lion by contacting Customer Service: Contacting Apple for support and service - this includes international calling numbers. The cost is $19.99 (as it was before) plus tax. It's a download. You will get an email containing a redemption code that you then use at the Mac App Store to download Lion. Save a copy of that installer to your Downloads folder because the installer deletes itself at the end of the installation.
     Lion System Requirements
       1. Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7,
           or Xeon processor
       2. 2GB of memory
       3. OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended)
       4. 7GB of available space
       5. Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
Upgrading to Mountain Lion
To upgrade to Mountain Lion you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion installed. Purchase and download Mountain Lion from the App Store. Sign in using your Apple ID. Mountain Lion is $19.99 plus tax. The file is quite large, over 4 GBs, so allow some time to download. It would be preferable to use Ethernet because it is nearly four times faster than wireless.
     OS X Mountain Lion - System Requirements
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         1. iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 7,1 or later
         2. MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 5,1 or later
         3. MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         4. MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 2,1 or later
         5. Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         6. Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         7. Xserve (Early 2009) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
To find the model identifier open System Profiler in the Utilities folder. It's displayed in the panel on the right.
     Are my applications compatible?
         See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps.
     For a complete How-To introduction from Apple see Upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion.

Install Disk for Snow Leopard will not boot on an iMac 27in

My Install Disk for Snow Leopard will not boot on my iMac 27in. The Apple Logo is the only thing the user will see. The current OS on the system is 10.6.6. Upon placing the Snow Leopard DVD in the system, the DVD players spins for a few seconds and displays the Apple Logo. Nothing happens after 20 minutes.

Yes, it is ridiculous how it is impossible to install Snow Leopard. I have two Snow Leopard DVDs: one that I purchased for a Macbook soon after it's release (10.6.0), and one that came with my iMac (10.6.4). Both of these boot up my Macbook (running 10.6.7) just fine. My SL 10.6.0 DVD mounts onto my iMac (Lion 10.7.0), but you cannot run the install. I attempted to boot from this DVD and got the infinite white screen and Apple logo, as some have reported above. The other SL 10.6.4 DVD will not even mount in Lion, and will not even show up as a bootable drive when I attempt to select it after holding alt/option on reboot.
I created a bootable external drive from SL 10.6.0, attempted boot, same infinite white screen/apple logo.
I created a bootable external drive from SL 10.6.4 on my macbook. I attempted to boot from this drive, and got the white screen of death, except that this time I actually got the loading symbol underneath the Apple logo. After about a minute of attempting to boot, the Apple logo changed to a circle with a diagonal line through it (the "NO!" sign).
I took my iMac to the genius bar. They inserted SL 10.6.0, which would not boot. Then they determined that my computer had to run 10.6.4 and later. So, they restored an image of SL 10.6.4 onto my partition (not an install from an image, but an image of SL already installed). Hurray! Snow Leopard was successfully shoved onto my iMac!
I then deleted a third partition on my hard drive I did not need anymore, which somehow screwed up my SL partition (even though it said "Will not erase partition SL or Macintosh HD). Now I am back at square one, and I guess I need to take my flippin iMac back to Apple for them to do what I should be able to do.
I like Apple, but sheesh do I hate Lion right now.

How do I erase my hard drive? My initial operating system was Snow Leopard but I have upgraded to Mavericks OS. My Snow Leopard install disk ejects when I try and use it.

How do I erase my hard drive? My initial operating system was Snow Leopard but I have upgraded to Mavericks OS. My Snow Leopard install disk ejects when I try and use it.

Do a backup, preferable 2 separate ones on 2 drives. Boot to the Recovery Volume (command - R on a restart or hold down the option/alt key during a restart and select Recovery Volume). Run Disk Utility Verify/Repair and Repair Permissions until you get no errors. Reformat the drive using Disk Utility/Erase Mac OS Extended (Journaled), then click the Option button and select GUID. Then re-install the OS.
OS X Recovery
OS X Recovery (2)
When you reboot, use Setup Assistant to restore your data.

After I installed 10.6.8, my HP Officejet lost the ability to print 2-sided. I installed the latest HP drivers for Snow Leopard, but the 2-sided option is turned off and greyed out.

After I installed 10.6.8, my HP Officejet 7310 lost the ability to print 2-sided. I installed the latest HP drivers for Snow Leopard, the 2-sided option shows up in the print window but is turned off and greyed out. Also the scan function won't let me scan at any density greater than 150 dpi. I have talked to Applecare and to HP tech support and been told "too bad." Any help would be appreciated.

THANK YOU! And who are you? I spent a couple of hours on the phone with Applecare and with HP Tech Support and they couldn't fix what you did in a few words. Many thanks! John

Aperture 3.3 for Lion, but... how to install 3.2.4 for Snow Leopard?

New version Aperture (3.3) is not available on Snow Leopard (only Lion). Ok... but how to buy/reinstall Aperture 3.2.4 on my Mac of Snow Leopard?

You still might be able to buy a boxed version of Aperture 3 at a local Apple store, but that will be much more expensive than the download from the App Store.
Since you cannot upgrade your machine to Lion, I'd stick with iPhoto, until you will invest into a new computer. iPhoto libraries now can be opened by Aperture, so any work you invest into an iPhoto library will not be lost, once you transit.
No, I dont' want iPhoto. I need Aperture 3. It was available in the Mac App Store for Snow Leopard for a good price. At this moment I feel just cheated. Many people have a problem now - they have bought and can not update / reinstall. I can not buy. It should not be so. I'm sorry for my english.

I bought a new HD to install into my 2009 macbook pro. I cannot find my install disk for Snow Leopard. Can I install one of the newer OS's without a disk?

Is there a way to either reinstall the OSX version that is currently on my Macbook Pro, onto the new HD or do I have to have the Snow Leopard disk and then upgrade to the newer versions all over again?

Depending on your processor and RAM installed, you can install lion from the app store under the apple drop down menu. You have to have at least 2 GB of RAM installed and you have to have an intel core 2 duo processor to run Lion. This you can find out in "About This Mac" under the apple drop down menu. That is the only OS that's newer than yours and one that isn't installed from a disc
hope this helps

Cant find fresh Safari download for Snow Leopard

I know this should be easy, but my old Safari got deleted and I wanted to download and install the latest version for Snow Leopard. I downloaded the link on the front page of the downloads page and it doesn't work at all. It opens a page and does nothing. I have to force quit to stop Safari.
Where can I find Safari 4? I would then download the update for Safari Snow Leopard, correct?

HI,
I downloaded the link on the front page of the downloads page and it doesn't work at all. It opens a page and does nothing. I have to force quit to stop Safari.
Safari relies on the OS X framework called WebKit so it's not exactly an application that runs on it's own so just downloading Safari from the Apple site doesn't do the job.
*Reinstall Safari from your Snow Leoaprd disc or your Mac install disc.*
Insert the Snow Leopard install disk. Open the Optional Installs folder, then open Optional Installs.mpkg
An Installer will start... click Continue. When you get to the Installation Type in the window on the right you will see: Applications. Click the Disclosure triangle so it faces down. Select the apps you want to install and click Continue.
When you are finished installing Safari, go to the Apple Menu and click Software Updates. That will bring your new Safari up to date.
Then repair disk permissions...
Quit any open applications/programs. Launch Disk Utility. (Applications/Utilities) Select MacintoshHD in the panel on the left, select the FirstAid tab. Click: Repair Disk Permissions. When it's finished from the Menu Bar, Quit Disk Utility and restart your Mac. If you see a long list of "messages" in the permissions window, it's ok. That can be ignored. As long as you see, "Permissions Repair Complete" when it's finished... you're done. Quit Disk Utility and restart your Mac.
Carolyn

Preparing for Snow Leopard - fresh install or upgrade?

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