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Information Technology News Some Leopard installation woes self-inflicted?
Information Technology News Some Leopard installation woes self-inflicted? | Some Leopard installation woes self-inflicted? |
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| by Stephen Withers | |
| Monday, 29 October 2007 | |
      
Apple provides three ways of installing Mac OS X. When upgrading from one version to the next, it's tempting to do just that - an 'upgrade' installation. What happens is that the old system software is replaced with the new, but everything else remains untouched. It's clearly the most convenient, but choosing it is tantamount to saying "I'm sure all the software I've installed that modifies the way the system works is compatible with the new OS." And that is a dangerous assertion. If you really are sure, then go ahead. Just don't blame Apple if you've forgotten about the third party kernel extension or system tweaker that you installed a year ago, and haven't updated or checked for Leopard compatibility. For example, Unsanity tells its users "please make sure you have Application Enhancer 2.0.3 or later installed before you upgrade to Mac OS X 10.5." It seems that 2.0.3 doesn't work with Leopard, but it is smart enough to detect the new OS and decide not to load. Unsanity offers a whole bunch of software to change the appearance or behaviour of Mac OS X, but as of this writing none of them are Leopard compatible according to the company's web site. (I'm not picking on Unsanity, just using it as an example.) An 'archive and install' of Mac OS X 10.5 is a safer bet. Essentially, it moves the existing installation to one side and puts a pristine copy of the OS onto the drive, leaving user accounts intact. That way, the system is practically guaranteed to boot up properly. Only 'practically'? - well, there's always some room for things to go wrong. The downside is that you may need to move some third-party components from the archive folder, having first checked their compatibility with Leopard. In some cases, it may be easier to reinstall the relevant software to ensure all of the components are in the correct folders. The third type of installation - 'erase and install' - completely clears the hard drive and starts from scratch. Ultimately, this involves the most work but may be beneficial in the long run. It's always a good idea to back up before an upgrade, but it is absolutely essential if you take this route as all user files and settings will be deleted, and you will need to restore them after the upgrade. After a 'clean' installation, you'll need to reinstall the applications as well. Strange though it may seem, this can be one of the big advantages of a clean install. How many of the applications on your Mac do you actually use? Many of us try various programs (especially freeware) but never get around to removing those that never become part of our regular toolkit. Even if we do, some applications leave behind various library and other files. A clean install is a good opportunity to clear away the accumulated cruft and restore the squeaky-clean feeling you get with a new Mac, but it is time consuming and you will need to make sure you have a record of software serial numbers, key user settings, passwords and so on before taking this measure. For most users, archive and install is the best option. It is safer than an upgrade install in terms of leaving you with a functioning system, and quicker and less effort than a clean install. On the other hand that it requires more free disk space than an upgrade install (but that shouldn't be an issue unless you're already running close to capacity), and you may need to reinstall some other pieces of software (or, if you're reasonably happy messing around under the hood, move their components from the archived system to the new one). If you do opt for an upgrade install and then run into problems that stop your system from starting up properly, an archive and install may be the simplest way to recover. |
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