Question

OS X 10.2.8 to OS X 10.5

Asked by: ReD-DaWg-OnE

I have a customer who has a PowerPC G4 laptop and i need to get the most current version of OSX on there.  Is there a way to download the software to do the update or do i need the CDs?  Can I do an upgrade without a risk to their data or do i need to back it up?

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Asked On
2009-04-22 at 00:23:39ID24344150
Tags

OSX

,

Apple

,

Update

,

PowerPC G4

,

Jaguar (OS 10.2)

Topics

Mac OS X

,

Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard)

,

Apple Laptop

Participating Experts
3
Points
250
Comments
8

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Answers

 

by: Philip_SparkPosted on 2009-04-22 at 00:39:16ID: 24202090

discussions here

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1243741&tstart=0

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5824054

You need to buy the disks
backing up would be sensible
possibly even wiping the disk

double check the spec requirements speed req etc. to make sure it will run, some of the discussions hint at regret on upgrading due to weak machine specs.

If it ain't broke don't fix it, idea

 

by: lamaslanyPosted on 2009-04-22 at 00:39:36ID: 24202091

10.2 to 10.5 (or even just to 10.3) is an upgrade rather than an update.

Apple charge for upgrades; updates howver are free.

 

by: lamaslanyPosted on 2009-04-22 at 00:45:40ID: 24202114

PS:  I upgraded my partner's iBook to OSX 10.4 a while ago and it is (still) running fine - her's is a G3 PowerPC (800 MHz; 384MB RAM).  

 

by: ReD-DaWg-OnEPosted on 2009-04-22 at 01:01:42ID: 24202210

Could i buy the 10.5 discs and use those to do the upgrade or do i have to start with 10.3?  Also could i use the discs from their other Mac?

 

by: eoinosullivanPosted on 2009-04-22 at 01:01:49ID: 24202211

ReD-DaWg-OnE - Please check VERY carefully the minimum requirements as only certain G4 macs can be upgraded to 10.5 (http://www.apple.com/macosx/techspecs/).

You can probably upgrade to OSX 10.4 pretty easily though.

You will need to buy a RETAIL copy of OSX 10.4 Tiger or 10.5 Leopard .. (you may track down the older 10.4 Tiger on eBay or craigslist)

Remember to BACKUP the entire G4 to an external USB drive before performing the upgrade.

 

by: ReD-DaWg-OnEPosted on 2009-04-22 at 01:02:31ID: 24202215

Sorry one more thing, i am a PC guy... where is most of the stuff stored in that needs to be backed up in a Mac?

 

by: eoinosullivanPosted on 2009-04-22 at 01:04:50ID: 24202227

1. You can upgrade straight to 10.4 or 10.5 (if your G4 is up to the task). You DO NOT need to upgrade to 10.3 in between.  Going from 10.2 to 10.5 is like going from Windows XP to Vista.

2. You CANNOT use the discs that came with their other Mac as the DVDs that come with new Macs are usually "model-specific" and lack the drivers and add-ons to cope with the entire range of Macs and designed only to restore the specific model of mac to factory-condition.

 

by: eoinosullivanPosted on 2009-04-22 at 01:07:25ID: 24202245

Most of the user-related settings and other documents and stuff related to the User is stored in the "/Users/username" Folder on the root of the Hard Drive.  
This is the equivalent of the the "Documents and Settings/username" folder

Some system-wide settings and preferences are located in the "/Library" folder.

Of course all the Applications are in the "/Applications" folder.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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