Roundhere

Q: Back up first for upgrade 10.6.8 to latest

I want to back up my OS and music to an external hardrive usb.

 

i asked a similar question a month or so ago but a few things have changed.

 

here are the specifics of what I'd like to accomplish and need advice please.

 

1. I have an external usb hardrive. I want to back up the OS (10.6.8) and music (iTunes) on the external hardrive.

i Only want to backup in case the update to el capitan does not run smoothly. I am trying to install on the very last minimally required iMac ....so this is risky but just meets apples requirements. Mid 2007 iMac with 4ghz ram.

 

2. Will time machine back up 10.6.8 and iTunes via time machine? I don't want to have to purchase cloning software at this time if time machine will back upnmy OS and iTunes music.

 

3. Should I wipe the iMac after backing up and before attempting to upgrade to el capIran? Or keep the OS as is and try to upgrade from 10.6.8 to el capitan.?

 

4. Can someone send me the exact Apple link to el capitan. The exact version I need when updating from 10.6.8 to el capitan

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jan 31, 2016 2:47 PM

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Q: Back up first for upgrade 10.6.8 to latest

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  • by Roundhere,

    Roundhere Roundhere Feb 6, 2016 7:30 AM in response to Acm001
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Feb 6, 2016 7:30 AM in response to Acm001

    I Will try both ways although I wish didn't have to. Thank you for your patience and time.

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Feb 6, 2016 8:16 AM in response to Acm001
    Level 7 (32,103 points)
    iPad
    Feb 6, 2016 8:16 AM in response to Acm001

     

    You can use the time machine backup on the drive to restore your mac back to 10.6 if you wish.

     

     

    As Time Machine is not bootable, I do not believe you can revert back to an OS that was not obtained via download. Since you need to erase the hard drive if you want to revert, TM has to activate download of a fresh OS in order to restore to it. At least that is how I understand it and SL is not and was not available via download. I also understand that you can use it to restore newer OS versions, but I do not think it can reinstall Snow Leopard. If it can, I'll be glad to have been proven wrong.

     

    For machines that had Snow Leopard (or earlier) originally, my testing showed that the only way to safely and consistently reinstall Snow Leopard was to boot from a clone, erase, and clone back.

     

    One last time forget about the bootable clones they are a totally different form of backup.

     

    There is absolutely nothing wrong with having bootable clones. Of course they are different; that is what makes them valuable: it is a much quicker and better way to recoup from a disaster.

  • by Acm001,

    Acm001 Acm001 Feb 6, 2016 9:12 AM in response to babowa
    Level 3 (623 points)
    iPhone
    Feb 6, 2016 9:12 AM in response to babowa

    I agree having bootable clones is a good choice. Its just the OP had some confusion about time machine and adding bootable clones to the conversation just mixed him up more i believe. Time machine not being bootable has nothing to do with restoring your mac. Neither does having to download the software. Example i have a macbook that came with 10.6 i have a time machine backup. I install 10.11 and find i can't use a program i use for work i insert my sl disc boot from it pick restore from time machine attach the hard drive that has the backup. I can restore the mac back to day one or last week. I can use the usb installer from 10.7 or later to also restore.

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Feb 6, 2016 9:31 AM in response to Acm001
    Level 7 (32,103 points)
    iPad
    Feb 6, 2016 9:31 AM in response to Acm001

    Have you actually reverted back to Snow Leopard? I have tested it and was not able to boot from my SL disk since my Mac had its firmware updated to allow internet recovery. I'm aware of the fact that you can use your install disk, but do not know if the OP is (or if they even have an install disk); not do I know if the Mac was updated - in which case, booting from the SL install disk will not work (at least in the six tests I performed).

  • by Acm001,

    Acm001 Acm001 Feb 6, 2016 9:56 AM in response to babowa
    Level 3 (623 points)
    iPhone
    Feb 6, 2016 9:56 AM in response to babowa

    I have not had any of my clients that have internet recovery on the Mac ask to revert to 10.6 so I've not encountered that issue you mention. I'll have to try to restore back to sl on one of my macs with internet recovery and see the result. I was referring just to the OP's case. We would hope he does have his sl disc. Hopefully he will post his results from all the good info we've passed on.

  • by Roundhere,

    Roundhere Roundhere Feb 6, 2016 10:01 AM in response to Acm001
    Level 1 (4 points)
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    Feb 6, 2016 10:01 AM in response to Acm001

    I do have 10.6 disk. Would this suffice ?

  • by Roundhere,

    Roundhere Roundhere Feb 6, 2016 10:06 AM in response to Roundhere
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Feb 6, 2016 10:06 AM in response to Roundhere

    The only disk I can not locate is 10.5 ...I have 9, 10.4, 10.6 and now (10.11.3 via internet download )

    cant locate 10.5 and have been looking for weeks

  • by Roundhere,

    Roundhere Roundhere Feb 6, 2016 10:17 AM in response to Roundhere
    Level 1 (4 points)
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    Feb 6, 2016 10:17 AM in response to Roundhere

    so if I needed to wipe out my imac and recover OS 10.6.8....I could do it as long as I have my 10.6 disc?....then I could use my 10.11.3 usb backup and recover 10.11.3 or ???

  • by Acm001,

    Acm001 Acm001 Feb 6, 2016 1:19 PM in response to Roundhere
    Level 3 (623 points)
    iPhone
    Feb 6, 2016 1:19 PM in response to Roundhere

    Yes the 10.6 disc for the 10.6 backup. The 10.11 backup i would use a usb installer http://arstechnica.com/apple/2015/09/how-to-make-your-own-bootable-os-x-10-11-el -capitan-usb-install-drive/

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Feb 6, 2016 1:41 PM in response to Roundhere
    Level 7 (32,103 points)
    iPad
    Feb 6, 2016 1:41 PM in response to Roundhere

    Exactly what year/model is your iMac? I did all my testing on a mid 2010 which came with SL (10.6.x) (and I no longer have that iMac); I had updated it to be able to use Internet Recovery - see below:

     

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202313

     

    Unfortunately, after that, it would no longer boot from my SL install disk. I tested several different scenarios. So, if you have NOT upgraded it, you should be able to boot with it - you can check that easily: simply insert the disk and restart or boot with either the C key (which will boot the install DVD) or the Option key (which is the startup manager where you can choose which one to start from). If that works, then yes, you can use that. In my case, it would not boot from the DVD - the only way to reinstall SL was to have the clone.

     

    And, you do not need your 10.11.3 usb backup - after you reinstall 10.6 and update it to 10.6.8, you can simply re-download El Capitan and install it.

  • by Roundhere,

    Roundhere Roundhere Feb 6, 2016 2:08 PM in response to babowa
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Feb 6, 2016 2:08 PM in response to babowa

    imac mid 2007

    maxed out ram

    i don't have the rest of the spec in front of me.

     

    so ironically other than backing up  my videos, pictures and music which I usually do separately all I really need is my 10.6 disc to re-establish the OS? Too funny if that's true...I just backed up both 10.6.8 and 10.11.3. Now I don't even wanna mess with it as its running.

     

    my whole purpose was to make it easy but I totally made it harder. I hope I do not need my 10.5 disk as well to get back to 10.11.3 of my main hardrive tanks out....  Because I think that's lost....!!!! Been looking everywhere ...only disc I can not locate.

     

    i really need an external FireWire clone most of my older PPC 2.0 ghz non Intel  G5 running 10.4.8 and Logic Pro version 7.2  . That's the computer that I actually need everything to be restored exactly the same. Seems there's no support for this anymore. I'm looking into older non supported versions of CCC and super duper but I don't want to mess anything up....the iMac seems ok and a bit newer.

    I have all my install discs for my old G5 and logic but the personal settings would be hard to deal with and also a major hardrive failure is more likely as that's an older computer....this issue was the original reason I even thought to back up with an external in the first place.

    I Realize this thread went all over the place but if anyone can offer advice regarding a clone with an older system 10.4.8/late 2004 G5 PPC/dual core 2.0/Logic Pro 7.2 I'd appreciate it. The system runs smooth and any further updates would just compound the problem. Just need to clone the OS and preferences etc...thank you very much everyone for putting up with all my questions

  • by Acm001,

    Acm001 Acm001 Feb 6, 2016 3:44 PM in response to Roundhere
    Level 3 (623 points)
    iPhone
    Feb 6, 2016 3:44 PM in response to Roundhere

    Step by step instructions to use disk utility to create a clone of your 10.4.8 PPC

    You need an external drive that can be erased just for that purpose.

    http://macs.about.com/od/backupsarchives/ss/diskbackup.htm#step1

  • by Roundhere,

    Roundhere Roundhere Feb 6, 2016 4:46 PM in response to Acm001
    Level 1 (4 points)
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    Feb 6, 2016 4:46 PM in response to Acm001

    tthanks for the link. I'll check that out. I had read somewhere at some point that the G5 main hardrive gets wiped when doing a clone?  Otherwise this seems great. And thanks!

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Feb 6, 2016 5:33 PM in response to Roundhere
    Level 7 (32,103 points)
    iPad
    Feb 6, 2016 5:33 PM in response to Roundhere

    Your Mac is too old for internet recovery, so you should be able to use your install disk.

  • by Roundhere,

    Roundhere Roundhere Feb 6, 2016 7:21 PM in response to babowa
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Feb 6, 2016 7:21 PM in response to babowa

    So could I  ditch the 10.6.8 backup file and the 10.11.3 on the external hardrive and just use the 10.6 install disk if the HD dies ? Then update from 10.6 via online?

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