Leopard hits Apple retail tomorrow night and in my opinion is a worthy upgrade. I have been running Leopard Preview for sometime and although, I have not played with the final version yet I like it a lot. For many users upgrading to Leopard on their existing machines should not be that hard. I do not anticipate anywhere near the problems poor Windows users have trying to move to Windows Vista (many have returned to XP). There should be few driver issues and most application software will work with some needed updates.

I have been asked by several readers, friends and clients for some suggestions and guidance for performing the upgrade. So here we go.

First make sure your Mac is capable of running OS X 10.5 Leopard. Apple says Leopard requires:

• Mac computer with an Intel, PowerPC G5, or PowerPC G4 (867MHz or faster) processor
• 512MB of memory
• DVD drive for installation
• 9GB of available disk space
• Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply.
• Some features require Apple’s .Mac service; fees apply.
• Time Machine, the new back-up feature in Leopard requires an additional hard drive (either internal or external).
• Photo Booth requires an iSight camera (built-in or external), USB video class (UVC) camera, or FireWire DV camcorder; and an Intel or PowerPC G5 processor. Backdrop effects require an Intel Core Duo or faster processor. Backdrop effects when using a DV camcorder require fixed focus, exposure, and white balance.
• Boot Camp requires a Mac with an Intel processor and Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista (sold separately).
• Screen sharing in iChat and in the Finder requires a 128-Kbps Internet connection (300-Kbps recommended).
• Front Row requires a Mac with built-in IR and an Apple Remote.
• DVD Player requires a 1.6GHz processor or faster for improved de-interlacing.
• iChat requires a microphone and a 56-Kbps Internet connection for Audio chats, Video chats require an iSight camera (built-in or external), USB video class (UVC) camera, or FireWire DV camcorder; and 128-Kbps upstream and downstream Internet connection.

Here are some more things to consider before you make the plunge:

• Professional users, I would do not install Leopard on your “production” machine, first perform a test on a similar configuration, wait for couple of days as users with variable peripherals, plug-ins and installations will report bugs and problems. This way you do not screw around with your livelihood just yet.
• If you rely on compatibility with some specific peripherals, printers, scanners, etc., as above perform a test on a similar hardware to ensure a total support, as some Leopard-compatible drivers will only become available from third-parties after Leopard is officially released.
• If you rely on compatibility with some specific third-party applications (not made by Apple) make sure to check with those developers to see if their software is Leopard ready.
• FileMaker Pro is NOT yet Leopard compatible.
• Classic Mode is not supported at all in Leopard. If you need to use Classic/OS9 apps you must update these apps for Leopard.
• Some utilities or system optimizing add-ons might not be yet compatible with OS X 10.5 Leopard. So you may need to live without them if they are not.

OK, now that I got the warnings out of the way let’s prepare for a Leopard install providing you are alright with all the points above.

What Do You Need
Well you will need to have OS X Leopard. If you do not want to stand in line and would like to receive a discount consider buying OS 10.5 Leopard from Amazon at $109 (with free shipping) from this link and support ReelSmart at the same time. If you just have to have it on launch night I understand. If you intend to set up Time Machine you will also need an additional hard drive at lease as large as your the hard drive you plan on installing Leopard on.

It is a fantastic idea to back-up your Mac before installing Leopard. Cloning your Mac using an external (or an additional internal HD, if you own a Mac Pro) using either SuperDuper (free for cloning, $27.95 to unlock scheduling and other advanced features) or Carbon Copy Cloner (donationware). You will want to “clone” your entire Macintosh HD by connecting an external hard drive (usually Firewire or USB) and using the software I recommended. See OS X Tip #20: Clone Your Mac and Never Lose a Thing for some more info. If all goes bad, you can always boot your Mac with this clone and even clone it back to your original hard drive.

Before installing Leopard on your Mac it is a good idea to repair all disk permissions on your HD and volumes using the OS X Disk Utility applications located in Applications -> Utilities -> Disk Utility. See OS X Tip #61: Repairing Disk Permissions for more info.

Now for the install. Make sure you have the time to do this. It may take you a few hours to install Leopard and move your files and applications.

OS X Installation Choices
There are three methods to install Leopard. The default method is an “Upgrade” install if a previous version of OS X is already present on your hard drive. This is the easiest method with the least amount of choices as you will not have to configure a lot of settings afterwards. But, if your Mac has been having some issues with your currently-installed version of Mac OS X, you might benefit more from doing an Archive and Install installation described below as using the “Upgrade” (default) method may not resolve those issues.

An “Archive and Install” moves existing System files to a folder name ‘Previous System (the archive part) then installs a new copy of Mac OS X. Preserve Users and Network Settings option that is selected by default will import existing user accounts, their Home folders, and your network settings into the new system after installation. If you deselect this, you will want to make sure you have a current back-up of you data, network settings, and user Home folders available (that is what the clone was for).

I suggest you perform a “clean install” also called “Erase and Install” if at all possible. This is the best way to insure a perfect installation of Leopard without picking up any of your Mac’s possible previous problems. This method completely erases the destination volume, then installs a new copy of Leopard (make sure you have your data backed up) and your Mac will much like it came from the store. This is the fastest way to install Leopard, but it may take some time to set up your computer after installation adding each one of your software applications (after checking for Leopard compatibility) one at a time. This is better that an “upgrade” install or the “archive and install” method to insure a “fresh install” of Leopard and the method I will use.

You have to configure all of your computer settings, install your third-party and iLife applications, and restore your personal files from the backup you made on the clone I asked you to maker.

Add Your Applications, Settings, and Files
You have options for moving your applications and files (for clean installs). The best way is to load each application with Leopard updates as described by the developer for each of your software applications. Manually add each setting and connect the hard drive you cloned. You can drag your data over to the new location on your new Leopard powered Mac. Although, this is time consuming it is the best method. If absolutely, insist you can use the built-in OS X Migration Assistant application. See OS X Tip #92: Moving Your Stuff to Your New Mac.

Time Machine
If you plan on using Leopard’s new Time Machine feature you will need an external hard drive at least as large as the hard drive you have Leopard installed on. You may be prompted to connect the external hard drive and set up Time Machine depending of the type of install you performed.

Leopard’s Time Machine feature saves serial backups of your computer so you can restore files and applications lost from a user-friendly interface that allows you to look into the past backups and pull out whatever is needed. Apple has done a nice job of taking the “geeky-ness” out of backing up your Mac.

You can set up Time Machine in Leopard by connecting the external hard drive and launching Time Machine from the Dock or Application folder. Now just switch on Time Machine and follow its instructions that will ask you to identify the hard drive you want to use. Generally this works well for desktop machines with the back up HD directly attached via Firewire.

Time Machine Does Not Clone
Remember that SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner app I told you to use? You may just find these still very useful as Time Machine back-ups are generally not bootable until they are restored. Time Machine can restore a full system requiring you to actually start up from the OS 10.5 Leopard DVD and spend the time to restore the back up in full. This requires a working, entirely separate destination device. Since Time Machine does not create a bootable clone of your system, and in cases of catastrophic drive failure, a bootable clone would be the fastest way to get your system up and running in seconds.

If this is what you need, say if you are a pro user, than still making “clones” with SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner may still be quite worth it. I suggest using Time Machine for its strength or incremental back ups and fast retrieval and using SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner on a separate hard drive at intervals of once a week or month for full disaster recovery. This is my plan.

    | Tags: Leopard, Macintosh, os x