Upgrade question - Should I upgrade from 10.3.7 to 10.3.9 or jump to Tiger?

Question

Hi. Thanks in advance for reading my thread.
Here's my dilemma.
Lately I've been unable to use certain programs and view some web pages which I believe is due to my OS being 10.3.7. For example, I can't upgrade to Quicktime 7 (which I need to perform some tasks - including fully use my video Ipod I think) and I've been having programs "Unexpectedly Quit" quite often. (I do repair permissions consistently and I use Mac Janitor weekly).
However, the main programs I run, Avid Xpress Pro 4.6, Final Cut Pro 4.5 HD, Adobe Photoshop CS 8, Microsoft Office 2004 all are running pretty well.
It appears that if I upgrade to 10.3.9 I will be able to upgrade to Quicktime 7.0 which would be helpful. But, upgrading scares me because I have 3 random firewire drives and I've read about problems with certain chip sets etc. In fact, in the recent past I lost a couple drives due (I think) to a chip set issue with a particular enclosure.
If I upgrade to Tiger I'm afraid of having issues with the programs I am currently using (like Adobe, FCP, and Avid).
I'm looking for any recommendations and opinions on what I should upgrade to. Keep in mind I'm a definitely not a Mac Genius.
Thanks for your help.
Steve K. in L.A.
Power Mac G5 Dual 2 ghz   Mac OS X (10.3.7)   2.5 gb Ram, ATI 128 mb

Answer 1

Upgrading would be a good idea. You can download the 10.3.9 Combo Upgrader directly from Apple's website (www.apple.com/support/downloads/.)
Photoshop and Office will work OK. I believe so should FCP. As for Avid you should check with their website to determine if the version you are using is compatible. If not you should be able to upgrade.
Upgrading to Tiger may be another matter. Although Adobe apps and Office will work OK, I'm not sure about FCP or Avid. Upgrades may be necessary for compatibility. Upgrading to Tiger will require purchasing the Tiger retail installer package.
To avoid any Firewire problems disconnect all FW drives before updating. Also be sure to do the following:
Boot from your OS X Installer. Be sure to use the installer for the version of OS X you have installed. After the installer loads select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (or Utilities menu if using Tiger.) After DU loads select your OS X volume from the list on the left, click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now shutdown the computer for a couple of minutes and then restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (3.0.3 for Tiger) and/or TechTool Pro (4.1.1 for Tiger) to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.