Snow Leopard YES or NO

Question

Hi ALL,
Why woul'd I install Snow Leopard on my new iMac Intel Core-2 duo
I installed Leopard 10.56 and upgraded to 10.5.8
Give me a good reason to do that.
Thanks for the advice ...
Dimaxum

Answer 1

According to this document, the model iMac 24" computer you have may not
be included in the "SuperDrive Firmware Update 3.0." Though I would ask an
expert or product specialist, if available; as I am neither of those. Perhaps
someone more familiar with the mid-2009 model you have may venture to
guess or provide more substantial proof of the production-point this covers.
{For those computers listed in the following information page, there are other
update links in that page to other items said to be pre-requisite installs; so the
3.0 version for some models needing it, may require some older ones, first.}
• About SuperDrive Firmware Update 3.0:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3744
_Products Affected:_
iMac (20-inch, Mid 2009), MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2009), MacBook (13-inch, Early 2009), MacBook (13-inch, Mid 2009), MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008), MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008), *iMac (24-inch, Early 2009)*, iMac (20-inch, Early 2009), Mac mini (Early 2009)
This update requires that the following EFI Firmware updates be installed first:
iMac EFI Firmware Update 1.4
Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.2
MacBook EFI Firmware Update 1.4
MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.8
To be sure what additional firmware upgrades may +(or may not)+ need to be installed
you need to do further investigation. If your computer does not require it, that would be
a good thing. Since I cannot advise in this matter, I will have to defer that question to
others, and recommend you consider a call into AppleCare (a fee may apply) and ask
the question of them, since they can access their database via the product serial number
and provide a better insight.
IF you get a confirmation from AppleCare or an Apple Specialist who can cross-reference
the serial number and product configuration of your computer's hardware, against the
database of products requiring the firmware upgrade, then it probably is a best bet to go
with the upgrade for the superdrive. But according to what little I could find, it may not
need this item.
On a different matter, I'd recommend getting the extended AppleCare plan to add the
additional two years service and an extension of the support aspects of coverage on
that computer. That would cover any incident of a hardware problem at least for the
longer possible duration, and the extended plan is generally considered to be tranfer-
able to an additional owner; so if the computer were sold, the additional purchased
plan coverage would follow the computer. That coverage is a second purchase and
adds a total combined duration of up to three years of service and support; and once
it is bought, a plan has to be enrolled to be in effect. This would cover AppleCare calls
under support, and covered repairs under service; an extension past the first initial year.
So, after consulting with my legal magpie (paid for by a handful of birdseed) my best
guess is to cautiously proceed with the hopes *you do not need* the Firmware upgrade
to the superdrive. But expert advice is recommended; then double-check to see if there
are any records from others with similar models, who had issues afterward. In some
cases, it can be impossible to revert from something as drastic as a firmware upgrade.
• I'd say you don't need it: +But who am I? Just another Apple Macintosh owner!+
Good luck & happy computing!
PS: Another note, if you have to reinstall the OS X, in order to have all the apps your
computer had in it when new, you would probably have to install the first disc set
and then upgrade over it with the Snow Leopard; to retain the Leopard-included apps
such as iLife and some others. Now that you have SL 10.6.x installed, some of those
specific apps that were included in 10.6 may see listed updates via Software Update;
if they are available or needed. Usually a Combo update adds more than the smaller
Delta update to an OS X step; then there are those security updates, java, & others.
So, given the circumstances of your upgrade from Leopard to Snow Leopard, you
should be careful and keep track of all the software install discs, in proper order.