Installing Leopard in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,8 9, ....steps
- From: Tommy <tom_elam@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2007 20:37:36 -0700
If this quick and easy, I never want to see involved and difficult....
The following guidelines are aimed at reducing common issues that
occur during as a result of the upgrade process, including pre-update
preparation, proper installation, and post-update maintenance.
Backing up your data: A prerequisite Performing a backup prior to
embarking on a major Mac OS X upgrade is essential.
Apple offers some excellent tips for standard backups that can be
accomplished using the Terminal, or the .Mac Backup application in
Knowledge Base article #106941, but for most users, a cloning utility
like SuperDuper! proves more useful.
SuperDuper! (and other utilities like Carbon Copy Cloner or
Synchronize! Pro X) allow you to create a bootable, full backup of
your current Mac OS X installation.
If you have an extra volume (external FireWire or USB drive, extra
internal drive) handy, you can ensure that even in the case of a
complete system failure -- an inability to startup, loss of critical
application usage -- an exact copy of your exact prior system can be
immediately booted. In addition, you'll have an exact mirror of your
current file structure for reference when setting up your Mac OS X
10.5 installation after updating.
Preparing your startup disk Before installing Leopard, check your
startup drive for damage, and repair it if necessary. The easiest way
to do this is to boot from the OS X Install DVD and run Disk Utility
(from the Installer menu). Click the First Aid tab, select your hard
drive in the drive/volume list, and click "Repair Disk."
Other pre-update precautions
Make sure all devices are synchronized prior to updating If you use
mobile devices that synchronize with iSync or another application,
make sure that the data is updated on the Mac before upgrading to Mac
OS X 10.5. Some applications, iSync (the Leopard release) included,
will not seamlessly adopt data synchronization for existing devices.
In other words, iSync in particular, will either re-initialize the
device from the data on the computer (losing any changes made on the
device since the last synchronization) or merge the two data sets,
creating duplicates.
Making sure that the latest data is on the computer side will allow
you to re-initialize your device without losing anything.
Disconnect all external devices, update firmware This may seem like
overkill, but disconnecting all external USB and FireWire devices
before applying Mac OS X 10.5 can save you from some serious but rare
problems including drive corruption/failure and system startup issues
caused by problematic devices.
Disconnecting all FireWire devices before updating is especially
important, and is a procedure we've recommended several times in the
past. Apple even recommended this procedure for some incremental Mac
OS X updates, stating:
"If you have a third-party FireWire hard drive connected, turn it off
and disconnect it before installing this update. Reconnect it and turn
it back on after installation is complete and you've restarted."
This includes iPods.
After successfully installing Mac OS X 10.5, attach each device
individually and check for issues.
Also, make sure that you are using the latest firmware, usually
available from the manufacturer's Web site. Updating the firmware can
resolve a host of mounting and access issues that can occur under Mac
OS X 10.5.
Archive and Install: A Hassle eliminator Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
offers several install options: basic Upgrade, Archive and Install,
and Erase and Install.
For most users, a basic upgrade will suffice. This option will examine
your existing file structure, and replace the necessary system
components and Apple applications with updated Mac OS X 10.5 versions,
leaving you with a system set-up that is ostensibly similar (in terms
of file location, user configuration, and various other settings) to
the one you had prior to the update process. It's a relatively quick,
and usually successful process.
Given the dramatic changes (including modifications to file structure
and key system components) apparent in Mac OS X 10.5, however, the
time saved up front by using the basic upgrade option may result in
time spent troubleshooting later. Using the Archive and Install option
will require some extra set-up time after the update has taken place,
but will eliminate vulnerability to a number of issues that
unexpectedly appear on some systems.
The Archive and Install option will perform a clean install of Mac OS
X 10.5, while transferring most of your Applications and user account
information to the new system installation (provided you check the
"Preserve Users and Network Settings" option).
After you have performed the Archive and Install process, you will be
left with a set-up that is surprisingly similar to your old
configuration. A folder named "Previous System" will reside at the
root level of your hard drive -- it contains several user added system
components (third party add-ons, etc.), some old versions of Apple
applications, and other user settings.
Some users comb through the "Previous System" folder, moving old
components to their appropriate locations on the new installation.
However, in the case of a major system upgrade like Leopard, it often
proves more prudent to manually re-add any third-party add-ons by
downloading fresh copies from developers' Web sites. Doing so allows
you to check documentation for each add-on, ensuring it is Mac OS X
10.5-compatible, and also allows you to check for any new problems
that manifest after the installation of each individual add-on.
Likewise, it's not a good idea to move old .plist (preference) files
from a "Previous System" folder to the new installation unless you
have spent significant time configuring them or they store important
data. These files tend to become corrupt when introduced to new system
installations, and can cause problems with application launching as
well as other issues.
Performing an Erase and Install is time consuming (in terms of after-
upgrade set-up) and not necessary for most users. First, attempt and
Archive and Install, and if you are still having issues, you can
perform an Erase and Install process later.
Make sure you've upgraded all of your applications to Leopard-ready
versions, if they are available Dozens of applications have already
been updated for Mac OS X 10.5 compatibility, and many wide-usage
applications require minimal, or no code changes for acceptable
operation under Leopard.
If you experience problems with an individual application after
upgrading, check the manufacturer's Web site or VersionTracker for
Leopard-compliant releases. Several developers have also posted
notices indicating that Mac OS X 10.5-compatible releases of their
applications are on the way.
If you experience a compatibility issue with an application under Mac
OS X 10.5, please let us know.
Disable plug-ins and other application add-ons (or upgrade them)
Several new versions of Apple applications (included as part of Mac OS
X 10.5) will react adversely to the presence of third-party add-ons
carried over from a previous Mac OS X installation.
If you experience problems with an Apple application after the update,
uninstall any third-party add-ons you may have added. In some cases
this can be accomplished with the aid of a developer-provided
uninstall application, or uninstall instructions (check the
developer's Web site). In other cases, you will need to manually
uninstall the add-on from the ~/Library folder or another location.
Mail.app bundles, for instance, are located in ~/Library/Mail/
Bundles.
Fortunately, many developers have already released new versions of
their Apple-app add-ons that are compliant with their Leopard
versions. Again, check manufacturers' Web sites or VersionTracker.
Check for, and delete, corrupt .plist files As noted above, .plist
files tend to become corrupt when introduced to new system
installations and can cause problems -- particularly with application
launching.
Mac OS X uses .plist (preference) files to store various information
about applications. Applications routinely interact with their
respective .plist files, and when these small dockets become corrupt,
individual programs may be more prone to the spinning pinwheel.
If you are having these slow-down issues with a specific application,
try deleting its .plist file. It will generally be located in the ~/
Library/Preferences folder, and labeled as follows:
com.(name of developer).(name of product).plist [For instance,
com.adobe.Reader7.0.plist for Adobe Reader 7.0].
Simply drag the potentially offending .plist file to the trash, re-
launch the hampered application, and check for continuation of
problems. In some cases, applications will have several .plist files,
so make sure you check for any that contain the product name. Also,
note that you may lose some settings or other personal data used by
specific applications when these files are deleted.
Alternatively, if you're not sure which application is slowing down
your Mac or you'd like to check for any existing, but unnoticeable
issues, there is a freeware utility called "Preferential Treatment"
that will check for some elements of .plist file corruption.
Hold off on running DiskWarrior and other directory utilities after
updating You may want to hold off on running any of the popular disk
directory repair/optimization utilities under Mac OS X 10.5 until
further word is released by their developers. These include
DiskWarrior and TechTool Pro.
Previous major Mac OS X releases have made significant disk directory
changes that can react adversely to the processes used by these
tools.
=
If startup fails after updating See this tutorial for a number of
workarounds, including checking for problematic login/startup items
and kernel extensions that may conflict with Mac OS X 10.5.
.
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