[wawa1979]

I have a PowerBook that is currently running 10.3.9. I really want a new computer but I don't think I can stretch to a new iMac so my next option is to just upgrade the PowerBook for $130. But I have heard horror stories about people who have done this and their computer died. Does anyone have any experience upgrading from Panther to Leopard?

Do you think that I should bring it into the new Apple Store in Sydney and get them to upgrade it so that it is done properly?

Also stupid question, but will I lose all my iTunes music and programs etc? I have a lot of apps that I got from someone else and installed but I no longer have the original discs to load them again.

Thnks

[leon]

You can just do an upgrade and it will keep all of your Apps on their. Personally I like to do a clean install and wipe the system before installing a new operating system.
I don't think you need to go to an Apple store to get them to do it. It is a very simple upgrade. I would just confirm that the apps you "borrowed" off a mate are compatible with 10.5 before you upgrade.

Also if you use OS9 in classic mode, Leopard no longer supports this mode of function. Therefore you will lose OS9.

[NORMANDY]

Originally Posted by wawa1979

I have a PowerBook that is currently running 10.3.9. I really want a new computer but I don't think I can stretch to a new iMac so my next option is to just upgrade the PowerBook for $130. But I have heard horror stories about people who have done this and their computer died. Does anyone have any experience upgrading from Panther to Leopard?

Do you think that I should bring it into the new Apple Store in Sydney and get them to upgrade it so that it is done properly?

Also stupid question, but will I lose all my iTunes music and programs etc? I have a lot of apps that I got from someone else and installed but I no longer have the original discs to load them again.

Thnks

I have done 12 Macs now to Leopard, and only one had a hitch, to where I had to a custom install, but at no time did I ever loose data.

I WOULD HIGHLY recommend that you clone your drive first onto a external drive with super duper or cloner (all free tools), then do a upgrade install, if anything goes wrong you still have a fully bootable drive on an external drive. If an upgrade install fails, then you can do a custom install or a clean install. I did this will all macs I have done upgrades on, Backup first, then upgrade. Safe option.

[wawa1979]

Thanks for that. The "borrowed" apps are the CS2 suite (InDesign, Illustrator etc) and Microsoft Office so they should be ok on Leopard.

So is it that easy to upgrade my computer? I just buy the disc from Apple, and select either a complete clean install or a upgrade? Approx how much would an external drive be and where do you recommend I buy one to back up on?

So can I really keep all my apps if I just upgrade? Sorry to ask but how does this work? I have no idea?

[Huy]

It is easy to upgrade. Pop in the disc and follow instructions.

I would do a complete clean install if I was you, but if you want to keep your settings etc, then go with an upgrade.

External drives? Pay more for more storage. Pay the amount you're happy with (for the storage space). Use staticICE :: Australia's comprehensive computer hardware and gadget price comparison search engine to look for the best prices.

And you keep your apps if you upgrade. The upgrade replaces system files and moves you from Panther to Leopard while keeping the rest in tact.

[wawa1979]

This sounds promising, thanks for your help.

So would I need to buy iLife then too as I assume that by ugrading my OS, I will just have the old versions of iPhoto and iDVD etc? Would you recommend buying iLife for the new versions of iPhoto and iChat? I will need to buy a USB webcam too as there is none built in to this computer.

Stupid question - but why do you recommend a clean install? Is it to ensure that I have nothing on my computer that could affect the new OS or is it just so that it will run better?

[Huy]

If you don't want to upgrade iLife, use your existing discs.

iChat is included with Leopard. iPhoto is part of iLife (and so is not part of Leopard).

I don't use iPhoto so I can't say anything about recommending it.

About the clean install, yes, that's right. Both cases.

If you are happy with an upgrade, do so.

[wawa1979]

I think I might have to do the clean install just to be safe. So I can save all my iTunes music to a hard drive and them re-load them on to the new install?

One question about Leopard - does Bootcamp come with it? If so, to run Windows do you need to install Windows first from a Windows installation disc? I have a Windows XP disc so that should work shouldn't it?

Also will a 32GB external hard drive be enough to copy my 10.3.9 system onto?

[Huy]

Yes you can save your iTunes and reload it after.

Yes Boot Camp comes with it, 2.0.
Yes you need to install Windows first in order to run it.
If it is an XP SP2 or greater disc, then yes. It must be a full version disc as well.

See this article for more details on Windows and Boot Camp:
Mac OS X 10.5: System requirements for Boot Camp and Microsoft Windows

If your system is < 32GB then yes. Otherwise no. You can just buy a 80GB or 120GB, 160GB, 200GB external disk and back up to it. You can then use it for Time Machine later (part of Leopard).

If you have the money, get the biggest disk you can afford. This will back up your system currently and also serve as a Time Machine backup drive. You can easily buy 500GB, 750GB, 1TB, etc as required.

[astr0b0y]

PowerBook owners cannot run Windows via BootCamp or virtualization.

[Huy]

...whoops I forgot he was on PowerPC.

No virtualization or Windows for you, then.

[Brains]

Second the comment about making a full backup of your existing install first (use CarbonCopyCloner v2.3) to an external drive before you do the install of 10.5, just in case things don't go quite right.

Note that some programs you may have installed will not work with 10.5, so if you have things like MainMenu, MenuMeters, SharePoints, Little Snitch or Diablotin installed, you will need to un-install them before you upgrade.

[NORMANDY]

good advice Brains.

here is the link for the other cloner that I find better http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/

have at it

[ghettro]

Like the others have said first thing to do is to backup the existing system. You could even see how an archive & install goes, if anything screws up you can always do a clean install again. I did the upgrade from tiger to leopard on a macbook and after a day or two it bluescreened and wouldn't boot. Archive & install worked fine for me since then.

External drives are cheap, you could use it for time machine anyway once you've finished upgrading.

[stefanlod]

Talking from experience, my first install of Leopard on my PowerBook didn't go quite as I had hoped (blue screen thingie at startup), but an Archive and Install fixed everything.

How much of a drama could it be? Chances are that with an Archive and Install it'll go fine. Plus with 1GB of RAM, Leopard runs beautifully on PowerBooks.

[W9cae]

I havn't worked with a powerbook before but did find the upgrade of leopard to give my G4 mini issue with disk permissions. It wasn't untill I did a wipe & install that I was able to fix the problem. I highly recomend leopard. Since moving to the new platform I can't be botherd with tiger. For me it's been the OS to truely forget about micro$.

Good luck keep us post how you go.

[kim jong il]

Originally Posted by Brains

... Note that some programs you may have installed will not work with 10.5, so if you have things like MainMenu, MenuMeters, SharePoints, Little Snitch or Diablotin installed, you will need to un-install them before you upgrade.

As usual it is almost impossible to add anything to a Brains post (but I'll try). After upgrading, some of those third party applications (that Brains mentioned) might appear to work just fine but may have lost some of their functionality (features that don't work). As always it is worthwhile having the latest version of 'helper' type software (third party system extensions/plugins) that your OS supports. View this as an opportunity to get the latest versions of your favorites (manually if they don't have a "check for updates" button) or check out some new stuff. VersionTracker and MacUpdate are kind of like software candy stores for me.

While some people have complained about huge numbers of bugs in Leopard (I'm a Leopard nOOb) I have found it to be very nice and stable so far. You also have the benefit that you can upgrade to the latest point release straightaway so a few common issues have been dealt with already.

PS. MenuMeters v1.3 which is a bit of a favorite of mine (iStat menus or Pro seems more popular these days with it's pretty interface and different feature set) has not been updated since Jan' 2006 and works flawlessly in Leopard.

[Captain Mal Ren]

Thats good advice Normandy, I had a whole system go down during an upgrade, and lucky I had a backup, thanks to your advice. Got it back and then did a Clean install, and moved things back.

[NORMANDY]

No problem, glad it all worked out for you.

[psyke]

Another (pay for) source of information is the venerable Macintosh publisher TidBits who have an eBook called :

Take Control of Upgrading to Leopard

Sure it costs US$10 to download, sure it contains basically the excellent advice you've read above
in these forums - but if you're looking for the extra security of a hand hold through the process then it might be just the ebook for you.