Will installing Snow Leopard erase existing data already on my computer

My Software is at 10.5.8 and I'm about to install Snow Leopard (pretty behind on the updates). My question is: Will installing this erase my existing data on my computer? I have a lot of .ai files and such I need for my business that I have to keep. I have an external hard drive that I just backed up on using time machine but I'm not 100% trustworthy of that.

How to Install Snow Leopard Successfully
A. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions:
Boot from your OS X Installer DVD. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. Then select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) 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 restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger) and/or TechTool Pro (4.5.2 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.
B. Make a Bootable Backup Using Restore Option of Disk Utility:
1. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
4. Check the box labeled Erase destination.
5. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the
      Destination entry field.
6. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the
      Source entry field.
7. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the external backup drive. Source means the internal
startup drive.
C. Important: Please read before installing:
1. If you have a FireWire hard drive connected, disconnect it before installing the update unless you will boot from this drive and install the update on it. Reconnect it and turn it back on after installation is complete and you've restarted.
2. You may experience unexpected results if you have installed third-party system software modifications, or if you have modified the operating system through other means. (This does not apply to normal application software installation.)
3. The installation process should not be interrupted. If a power outage or other interruption occurs during installation, use the standalone installer (see below) from Apple Downloads to update. While the installation is in progress do not use the computer.
D. To upgrade:
Purchase the Snow Leopard Retail DVD.
Boot From The OS X Installer Disc:
      1. Insert OS X Installer Disc into the optical drive.
      2. Restart the computer.
      3. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the "C" key.
      4. Release the key when the spinning gear below the dark gray Apple
          logo appears.
      5. Wait for installer to finish loading.
E. Update to 10.6.8:
1. Download and install update: Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1

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If I install snow leopard does my data easily transfer, If I install snow leopard does my data easily transfer, If I install snow leopard does my data easily transfer

If I install snow leopard does my data easily transfer- wont loose documents files etc?

Are you upgrading or erasing the drive first? If you upgrade then you won't lose your files. See the following:
How to Install OS X Updates Successfully
A. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions:
Boot from your current OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. Then select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) 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 restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger) and/or TechTool Pro (4.5.2 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.
B. Make a Bootable Backup Using Restore Option of Disk Utility:
Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
Select the destination volume from the left side list.
Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
Check the box labeled Erase destination.
Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the external backup drive. Source means the internal startup drive.
C. Important: Please read before installing:
If you have a FireWire hard drive connected, disconnect it before installing the update unless you will boot from this drive and install the update on it. Reconnect it and turn it back on after installation is complete and you've restarted.
You may experience unexpected results if you have installed third-party system software modifications, or if you have modified the operating system through other means. (This does not apply to normal application software installation.)
The installation process should not be interrupted. If a power outage or other interruption occurs during installation, use the standalone installer (see below) from Apple Downloads to update. While the installation is in progress do not use the computer.
D. To upgrade:
Purchase the Snow Leopard Retail DVD.
Boot From The OS X Installer Disc:
Insert OS X Installer Disc into the optical drive.
Restart the computer.
Immediately after the chime press and hold down the "C" key.
Release the key when the spinning gear below the dark gray Apple logo appears.
Wait for installer to finish loading.
E. If updating:
Download and install update(s)
Use Software Update, or
Download standalone updater(s).

Just installed snow leopard and office for mac - now my computer is running very slow. Why?

I've recently installed snow leopard and office for mac - now my computer is running very slowly - why?

Which version of office did you install? If its 2008 the early version had some problems and you will want to update the office software to i think it is 12.3.0
If it is 2011 you might want to do the same thing.

Will installing Snow Leopard delete my files?

Hello.
I am currently running 10.5.8, but have Snow Leopard to install. I have heard that I need to "Upgrade" rather than "Install" to keep from deleting files. I have the disk in, but am only getting a prompt to "Install." I have no way to back up my files. Will I lose them if I proceed?
Thanks!

It should not delete them but you should always back up your computer before installing new items.
Archive and Install not available in Snow Leopard - http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2677260 - No longer needed in Snow Leopard which does it automatically unless the drive has first been erased.

Can I install Snow Leopard on Mac Mini Server hardware?

What I would like to do is buy the Mac Mini Server but I don't need the server OS. I want the desktop OS on the Mac Mini Server. Will installing Snow Leopard on the server hardware be just like installing it on a regular Mac Mini?
Or should I just wait and see how Lion shakes out?

Thanks Indy, I already had proceeded the installation according your tip. Just an objection related to the updates: I was able to install the OS updates only while in target mode, as when I made 2 attempts to update the version 10.6.6 to the current one (10.6.7 - the combo one and the MBP version too) it was not permitted. I had to plug the FW cable into the MBP again and update the Mini's OS (using the special MBP version of 10.6.7) in target disc mode. I want to use the Mini as a media server and intend to install Windows 7 on the other HD which now hosts the server OS. However, according to one poster (Sven G) there are some problems (I don't know exactly what they are) related to Boot Camp software. Have you any information about these problems?
I have maintained both OS (standard and server) living side by side on the Mini, is there any problem with that?
Again many thanks, you were succinct, right to the point, and your tip just proved itself correct.
Cheers
Marola

Will it work to un-install Snow Leopard (booting from original disks) and then reinstall, then upgrade without erasing hard drive on iMac?

I have both a bootable backup exernal hard drive and the original system disks. I have read on these support pages that you cannot get snow leopard freshly installed without erasing the whole whole drive since the original installation disks are older than the current updated version. I have also read here that it is possible to get the system newly installed (though it's wise to have a back up of the rest of your files). I need to know which can work. Is there an un-install function after booting from a different source? If I can get the system filess off the main hard drive and then install Snow Leopard from my original disks, then go through the upgrades, and end up with the rest of my files intact, that would be wonderful. I have all the adobe design premium software on the system with their updates and would like to not spend hours and hours restoring it all. And since I don't know where all the little bits and pieces of the Adobe programs get installed, perhaps it won't work anyway?
thanks,
Kahty

I have read on these support pages that you cannot get snow leopard freshly installed without erasing the whole whole drive since the original installation disks are older than the current updated version.
That is incorrect. You can install an older version of the same OS over itself. With Snow Leopard and later, unless you intentionally select to erase the drive, the OS removes and replaces all remnants of the current OS and leaves all of your third party apps, personal files and settings intact.
I have also read here that it is possible to get the system newly installed (though it's wise to have a back up of the rest of your files).
That is the correct information.
Is there an un-install function after booting from a different source? If I can get the system files off the main hard drive and then install Snow Leopard from my original disks, then go through the upgrades, and end up with the rest of my files intact, that would be wonderful.
No, there is no way to remove just the OS files from a drive. At least, not in any manner you could call easy. There are thousands of hidden files and folders related to UNIX. Many apps won't even run correctly, or at all, if they're not on the same drive you are starting up to. So trying to separate your third party apps from the drive the OS is on is not a good idea.
I have all the adobe design premium software on the system with their updates and would like to not spend hours and hours restoring it all.
If your end goal is to simply get the contents of the external drive onto a new internal drive in a bootable form, you can use Disk Utility to clone the drive, or use one of two excellent third party apps; SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner.

Why can't I erase my hard disk or install Snow Leopard?

I have a 2010 imac Intel Core i3 running OS X. The computer has been running really slow lately, presumably because the hard drive was nearly full. I backed up and deleted most of my data on an external hard drive.
I would like to reformat, but I haven't been able to. When I use disk utility, the option to erase the hard drive is not available (it is in grey). When I try to install Snow Leopard from the desktop using the DVD, it says "Cannot install Snow Leopard on this computer." When I boot from the Snow Leopard disk holding C upon startup, it gives me the same message.
This may not be related, but I lost the Install DVD that came with the computer. I downloaded an ISO for Snow Leopard and burned it on to a disk. There don't seem to be any problems with this disk, though.
I appreciate any help that anyone can offer.
-Tom

I downloaded an ISO for Snow Leopard and burned it on to a disk.
I would not trust this disk to work, even if your Mac seems to be able to read it. There has never been an official, downloadable version of Snow Leopard. I suspect the ISO image lacks something necessary to OS X, causing it to fail when you run it. Someone other than Apple created that download and it's a pirated copy of OS X. (sorry to have to say that, but it is.)
My suggestion is to buy a legitimate copy of Snow Leopard on eBay or from Apple or an Apple reseller. Snow Leopard is still available from Apple ($19.99 USD).
The 2010 i3 iMacs came with 10.6.3 pre-installed. Generally speaking you cannot install a version of OS X that is earlier than what was factory pre-installed on the Mac. The OS X installer checks for this. The version of Snow Leopard delivered on the retail packages varied over time as updates were released, but at this time a new Snow Leopard package is most likely to be 10.6.8.
One final thing you might try - install CarbonCopyCloner and clone your hard drive to an external hard drive. Once the clone is complete, boot from the external hard drive. If everything works fine from the external drive you can use it to erase/reformat the internal drive in the iMac and then reverse clone your system back from the external drive. IMPORTANT NOTE: As far as I know, using CCC to "self-clone" the drive you are booted from will work, but I have never done it this way myself. I have always booted from an external drive that already had OS X installed on it so that the source drive I was cloning was NOT the same drive I was booted from at the time. It may work or not, but there is no harm in trying.

Trying to get icloud, installed snow leopard, now it says I need OSX, but my processor isn't right for it. Is this possible? Do I need to buy a nw computer? will I loose all my mobile me storage?

Trying to get icloud, installed snow leopard, now it says I need OSX, but my processor isn't right for it. Is this possible? Do I need to buy a nw computer? will I loose all my mobile me storage?

You will lose the entire contents of your iDisk whether or not you migrate to MobileMe as there is no equivalent in iCloud and MobileMe will be terminated at the end of June. You will need to download any data which you don't have on your Mac already.
Snow Leopard is not compliant with iCloud and most of the facilities will not work. You can migrate from MobileMe to iCloud at http://me.com/move even with Snow Leopard: when asked to confirm that your Mac is running Lion just lie and say 'yes'. Of course you won't be able to access iCloud directly from your Mac.
If you have MobileMe mail set up to collect mail from external POP accounts you should cancel this before migrating, or you may find it still working in iCloud (where it isn't supposed to) and with no way of stopping it.
This will be the situation with Snow Leopard when you have migrated:
Your email, calendars, and 'Find my iPhone' will be migrated to iCloud. Contacts and Bookmarks cannot be migrated from a Snow Leopard Mac.
Your iDisk, together with website hosting and Gallery, will continue to work as before until next June.
Syncing of Dashboard Widgets, Dock Items and Keychains between Macs, and Mail Accounts, Mail Rules, System Preferences, Signatures & Smart Mailboxes between Macs & iOS devices, will cease altogether.
You will be able to access email and calendars on the iCloud website at http://icloud.com provided your browser is reasonably up-to-date.
You will not be able to sync contacts or bookmarks from a pre-Lion Mac.
You will be able to enter the server settings for email manually in the Mail application and access your email.
You will not be able to sync your calendars directly.
Some people have been able to set up calendar syncing by using the method detailed here - this is an unsupported hack and may not be reliable, and may stop working at some future point.
There appears to be no method of syncing contacts (though Address Book on a Mac can be synced with Google or Yahoo address books - I don't know how reliable this is).
There are a couple of third-party solutions which may be of interest.
BusyCal is an iCal-like calendar application with extra facilities: it can sync with the iCloud Calendar while running on Leopard, Snow Leopard or Lion. A single user licence (two machines allowed) is $49.99.
Soho Organizer can sync Calendars and Contacts with iCloud on Leopard, Snow Leopard and Lion. A single user licence (multiple machines allowed) is $99.99.

I accidentally downloaded lion. I did a timemachine back-up and tried to reload snow leopard. It will not accept. How do I re-install snow leopard over lion?

I accidently installed lion on my mac book pro. I did a time machine back-up. When i try to re-install snow leopard, it won't take. Any suggestions on how to install snow leopard over lion?

Accidentally, eh? How, might I ask?
Downgrade Lion to Snow Leopard
1. Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Quit DU and return to the installer. Install Snow Leopard.
This will erase the whole drive so be sure to backup your files if you don't have a backup already. If you have performed a TM backup using Lion be aware that you cannot restore from that backup in Snow Leopard (see below.) I suggest you make a separate backup using Carbon Copy Cloner 3.4.1.
If you have Snow Leopard Time Machine backups, do a full system restore per #14 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions. If you have subsequent backups from Lion, you can restore newer items selectively, via the "Star Wars" display, per #15 there, but be careful; some Snow Leopard apps may not work with the Lion files.

Can't erase and install SNow Leopard on old MacBook Pro

I am trying to erase and install Snow Leopard on a MacBook Pro3,1. I boot up with the installation disc, get to pick a language but then a window pops up that says "Mac OS X can't be installed on this computer" and gives me the options to Restore from Backup or Restart.
I had upgraded to a 500GB hard drive on this machine which I used for months, but it is currently running off the hard drive of a new MacBook Pro that got fried. The installation disk I am using is the one I got with that unfortunate machine. Could this be the problem?
Any other suggestions?
Other info: Mac OS X 10.6.1 (108504)
Other History: The machine I am trying to erase and install on recently had its logic board replaced under warranty because of the NVIDIA graphics card issue. I have not found the service centre in South Africa to be very trustworthy, in fact the first time they claimed to have replaced the logic board, the computer (which had been intermittently failing to boot up) immediately started displaying the same problems. Another mac shop said to me that the "new" logic board looked so dusty that it seemed extremely unlikely that it had been replaced a week prior. Anyway, it has ostensibly been replaced again, along with a faulty superdrive.
When it went back to the service centre, they put in the hard drive of another, new, MacBook Pro of mine that got fried in an unrelated incident
Please help! I want to give this machine to an employee but
a) want to make sure it's stable and functioning properly, and
b) want to give it a clean slate with my personal data and settings erased.

You need a retail Snow Leopard installation disk. Available for $29 USD. http://store.apple.com/us/product/MACOS_XSNGL
Once you install it onto the old machine, you can use the setup assistant to migrate your stuff and apps from the other machine.

Am running Tiger 10.4.11; just got Snow Leopard 10.6.3 (regular OS disk, not an upgrade); when I install Snow Leopard, will it wipe everything? overwrite Tiger? Do I need to make backups of applications and files to reinstall after Sno Lprd loads? thx!

Am running Tiger 10.4.11; just got Snow Leopard 10.6.3 (regular OS disk, not upgrade). When I install Snow Leopard, will it wipe everything? overwrite Tiger? Do I need to make backups of applications and files to reinstall after Snow Leopard Loads? thanks!

Hi Donald,
No it doesn't erase anything by default, it does what we used to call an Archive and Install feature, which can give you a new OS, yet preserve your files and settings if you have enough room on your HD...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120
But it does it automatically unless you specifically erase the Disk, but will replace Tiger completely for the OS & several Apple Apps like Safari, Mail, etc, yet preserve your old settings for those!
If you think you may need Tiger to run any APPs that do not work in SL/10.6, then clone or backup first.
I would recomend 2 things before installing though...
Make sure you have enough RAM & HD space.
Snow Leopard/10.6.x Requirements...
General requirements
   * Mac computer with an Intel processor
    * 1GB of memory (I say 2GB at least)
    * 5GB of available disk space (I say 30GB at least)
If it's a core Duo & not a Core2Duo, then it'll only run in 32 bit mode.
"Try Disk Utility
1. Insert the new Mac OS X SL/10.6 Install Disc, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Select your Mac OS X volume.
5. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214

Since installing Snow Leopard and Lion two weeks ago, my iTunes program opens seemingly at will. It usually starts playing music, too. What is causing this?

Since installing Snow Leopard and then Lion on my Intel-based iMac two weeks ago, my iTunes program seems to open at will whenever the computer is on. It often begins playing music, as well. What is causing this and how do I make it stop?

There are ways to minimize, mitigate, and help avoid a lot of problems.
Bootable backups.
Zeroing a drive twice before using, and format it with SL DVD Apple Disk Utility for sure.
Even a clean install should import old apps without having to reauthorize.
If you must do an upgrade, do it from the SL DVD, after repairing the drive and be sure to use the SL version of Alsoft Disk Warrior (4.2).
Wait six months before jumping on a new OS.
10% is still too many. Yes, it is more sensitive to RAM and hard drive errors, doesn't like some controllers; most ext hdd cases; and enough software to make for test-only status. And it only IDs some known incompatible applications, drivers, extensions, etc and does not remove even those always in best manner.
Plus, there are problems with the new Rosetta and the cache files it now uses. So some apps and plug-ins will cause more trouble. Not all are ready. Good reason to hold off for the months it takes.
Other devices act different as far as on/off behavior.
(Migrating from G5s to Mac Pro can cause all kinds of problems, weird behavior, sluggish system, and why anyone that went down that road was strongly recommended to NOT use Migration Assistant for any of their applications, and to ONLY do clean/fresh installs of any apps. If you skipped that day, didn't read the Guide to M.A., or didn't want to do fresh installs then, your system could have been on borrowed time. If you did do clean install of applications, great.
Installing SL can result in a corrupt directory - I think and it "seems" to be happening, but no real proof, just gut feeling and instinct (underlying file system problem? weak sectors that pre-existed waiting to happen?).
Remember all the "there just aren't a lot of 64-bit drivers" for Vista and XP? it's come home to roost.
... my guess is not enough incense and offerings. To hop into TimeMachine and SuperDuper backup images and pull the 1TB for another day (week, month, year).

Need to reinstall 10.4.7 over recently installed snow leopard... will this be a problem?

need to reinstall 10.4.7 over recently installed snow leopard... will this be a problem?

I don't use it much, but Quicken 6 still runs fine for me in Snow Leopard?
Have a look at > snow leopard and rosetta: Apple Support Communities and see if anything there helps.
Optionally you might want to consider installing Tiger on a properly formatted External Hard Drive partition > Apple Tips: Using Disk Utility 1. Format, Erase, or Reformat a Drive, then boot into it for running those PPC App's and keep your iMac on 10.6.

TS2986 I installed Snow Leopard, upgraded it to OS X 10.6.8, paid for and spent the hours necessary to download Lion, but Lion will not install. Even though it says the requirements are 10.6.6 or greater, when I try to install, it says I need 10.7.

I installed Snow Leopard, upgraded it to OS X 10.6.8, paid for and spent the hours necessary to download Lion, but Lion will not install. Even though it says the requirements are 10.6.6 or greater, when I try to install, I get a message saying I need 10.7. to install Lion. What should I do?

Hi..
Make sure your Mac meets Lion's requirements.
Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor
2GB of memory
OSX v10.6.6 or later (V10.6.8 recommended)
7GB of available spare
From here > Apple - OS X Lion - Technical specifications
If your Mac meets the requirements, installing the Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo reinstalls the App Store for you which may help.
Restart your Mac after instaling the combo installed. It's ok to do this even though you are already running v10.6.8.
If you have anti virus software installed, you may need to disable that in order to install Lion.

About to Erase and Re-Install Snow Leopard. Anything I should know?

I'm about to erase and re-install Snow Leopard on my 2009 21.5' iMac. Something got snarled up during the migration process from my old 2006 iMac to this new one and things have been steadily getting more and more "weird" over time, so it's time for a clean slate.
I have a few specific questions and would be grateful for any other tips you may have regarding this operation as I've done it on Windoze computers many times but never done it on a Mac for obvious reasons
My specific questions are as follows:
1. If I archive my various Mail inboxes, can I just put them back after the re-install and have all my messages back again?
2. Does anyone know how to save Firefox Bookmarks, as it doesn't have an export option like Safari.
3. Any other things I should be aware of.
Your help and suggestions will be much appreciated

After what you want to do, you'll still get the same permissions repair report. Ignore it as detailed in http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1448 (which doesn't include the recent JavaVM warnings).
Your bootstraps solution doesn't hold water. OK. Since the issue is specific to your original user account, you can proceed in two ways. One is to log into your test account, make a list of the preference files (plists) located in /username/Library/Preferences/, including any in the ByHost subfolder, log back into the original account, move everything on that other account's list from the original account's Preferences folder into a newly created folder on the Desktop, log out and back in, and see if the problem goes away. If so, you can copy the ones in the Desktop folder (one at time) back into /Preferences/, restart, and see if the problem returns. If so, you've identified the corrupt/conflicting one. Continue with all of them until isolating the bad ones. That'll save you the trouble of resetting preferences.
The second way is much more detailed and I'll not burden you with the steps unless the above doesn't fix the issue.

Will installing Snow Leopard erase existing data already on my computer

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