Leopard Pre-installation Questions

No problem adding memory to your iMac yourself.
The booklet that came with your machine should have clear instructions.
The White Intel iMacs generally have 3 screws on the bottom of a door to access the memory.
The Aluminum iMacs have 1 screw on the door to access the memory.

I would recommend an Archive and Install and NOT save user settings.
Doing it this way sets the file and folder permissions correctly.
Your applications and preferences will still be saved in a folder called "Previous Systems". You can then move things out of this folder to your new system without having to reinstall them.

I'll see if I can help you with some of those questions.

1. You can do a clean install of Leopard although it will wipe your entire hard drive to do this (although I assume this is what you intend). A clean install is one of the options when you run the installation program.

2. There are no issues that occur frequently that I am aware of. I am running XP Home under boot camp and I have had no problems.

3. Your iMac comes standard with one 1 GB memory stick and one free expansion slot. You could upgrade to 3 GB by buying a 2 GB stick. It is very easy to install yourself. There is on screw on the very bottom of your iMac (below the screen) that you remove to gain access to the memory compartment. You just stick your new piece of RAM in and away you go. You could also remove the 1 GB stick and install two 2 GB sticks to give you a maximum of 4 GB of RAM

4. I buy all my memory from [http://www.crucial.com/mac/index.aspx]. They have a memory advisor tool to help you chose the right memory. As a general rule, you shouldn't buy the cheapest memory you see, but you don't have to buy the most expensive either. Kingston is one the better known high quality memory brands.

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask any more question if you need help with any of it.

I too would like at ask a question on this same topic. Will be installing Leopard on two white Duo2Core iMacs (10 mos old each) next week (currently at 10.4.10). I've gone from 10.1 through 10.4 (not on these machines obviously) by simply disconnecting everything but the keyboard and mouse, quitting all apps, turning off all automatic updates, repairing permissions, verifying disc and if anything turns up- fixing it, check firmware update, make a bootable clone (SuperDuper), sometimes - but not each time booting into safe mode, inserting the disc and doing a straight install over the existing system. Never had a problem. Maybe been lucky.

Anyway - why the suggestion of an archive and install without saving user preferences in this instance? Is Tiger to Leopard that radical it is recommended? Any insights will be most helpful.

Also have 2 brand new iMacs and a MBP (still in boxes) which were shipped with 10.5; after getting those set up I'll be going to 10.5.1. Anything new with Leopard I ought to know about that would affect the normal upgrade (above sequence and use the Combo updater)?

Most appreciated!

null

Adding to this thread and the cogent replies, I strongly suggest that you get a bootable, external HD, and make a bootable backup/clone before upgrading/updating and ensure that works like the original. That allows you to revert to the previous good state without having to reinstall anything. Then, peruse these

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106941
http://www.macmaps.com/upgradefaq.html
http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/installswupdates.html
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/backuprecovery.html
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5757385
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5666369
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5646414

Backed up is necessary, but not sufficient. That backup/clone should be bootable, contain everything on the original boot volume, and be tested.

You do not need to make the external HD bootable in order to copy files from it. Once you've got Leopard installed and running with your applications installed, then connect the external hard drive and you should be able to copy your files from that back to the desired locations on your internal drive.

Your choice. If you peruse the links I provided, you'll see having a bootable backup/clone allows immediate restoration to a known good state which obviates the need to do any manual moving of things or reinstalling apps.

I learned some time back that it's best just to wipe everything clean and start fresh and back up my personal files and copy and paste them in my new installation.

You're now in a different world and windoze experience only matters when you're running XP or Vista.

Since you're a newcomer to the Mac, peruse

Switching from Windows to Mac OS X,
Basic Tutorials on using a Mac,
MacFixIt Tutorials, and
MacTips Learning Centre.

Additionally, *Texas Mac Man* recommends:

Quick Assist.
Welcome to the Switch To A Mac Guides, and
A guide for switching to a Mac.

baltwo,

I completely 100% batting 1000 agree with you on the bootable clone. I recommend SuperDuper (though not yet fully Leopard compatible).

Anyway - I threw a bump in here earlier and would appreciate any reply concerning the statement: "I would recommend an Archive and Install and NOT save user settings." (See my query above). Thanks!

Message was edited by: pcbjr

pcbjr,

User Permissions, User Permissions, User Permissions......

I have done extensive searching about user file and folder permissions.
So far I have found that only 2 of the installs work properly for permissions.
1. Erase and Install
2. Archive and Install NOT saving user settings...

With both of the above, do NOT migrate files and folders either as these will also transfer over the "unknown" group... The "unknown" group will also be transferred over if you use the Upgrade Install and the Archive and Install and saving user settings....

Apple should address the complete User Permissions hopefully in a later update.
For now, that is why I recommend doing the Archive and Install and NOT saving user settings.
Unless of course a person wants to wipe out everything and start from scratch then they can Erase and Install....

Question for you?
Why would you recommend using Super Duper if it is NOT Leopard compatible?
The only one I recommend at this time is Carbon Copy Cloner as it IS Leopard compatible...
I certainly wouldn't use anything that isn't Leopard compatible including Disk Warrior which many of us are waiting to be updated for Leopard so we can fix other items...
Just curious.....

+*User Permissions, User Permissions, User Permissions......*+

+*I have done extensive searching about user file and folder permissions.*+
+*So far I have found that only 2 of the installs work properly for permissions.*+
+*1. Erase and Install*+
+*2. Archive and Install NOT saving user settings...*+

So - does this mean (and I ask humbly) - going from 10.4.10 to 10.5 will cause user permission issues without an archive and install not saving user settings? I use no 3rd party apps other the MS Office (Word/Entourage and Excel), AbiWord to open Word Perfect docs when I receive them from other folks in my professional field, Firefox as my browser, and OnyX to do scripts. If I install 10.5 over 10.4 with only these, do you see a problem? (I have an office to run, 5 computers to upgrade and don't want to spend unnecessary time - if necessary I'll do it till the cows come home, but I don't want to just to be neurotic about upgrading. Just trying to figure out what is efficient and safe all at the same time. I have had to A&I on a few occasions over the past years and it is an incredible investment in time - one I'd not like to make unless it's really a GOOD idea). So - what do you think?

*+Question for you?+*
*+Why would you recommend using Super Duper if it is NOT Leopard compatible?+*

If I was unclear - SD works in 10.4 - bootable clone before upgrade to 10.5 if for any reason I need to go back to 10.4 on one of the machines. SD will be Leopard compatible soon. CCC has always been a time consuming hassle, and they provide little help if you need it, whereas with any issue an e-mail to SD is usually answered with correct info in a matter of an hour or less. I didn't mean to suggest using SD with 10.5 until it is compatible - but it is, IMHO, the best way to roll back to the previous OS if the need presents itself.

Message was edited by: pcbjr

Message was edited by: pcbjr

I have 3 computers at home all of which I upgraded using the "Upgrade Install"..
The permissions for the User files and folders were mostly all set to "unknown" group...
This wasn't really a big deal for me in itself because I really didn't need to change permissions of a particular folder. However, I did reinstall Leopard using Archive and Install without saving user settings on one of my computers. It just bugged me... (In fact, I have installed Leopard about 6 times on my external HD in all the different ways just to see how the permissions were handled.)
The permissions were set correctly doing it this way as long as the files and folders were not migrated from Tiger.
It would be a real pain to do all the computers this way like you mention. Very time consuming.

In your office situation, I am not sure if some of the folder permissions would hinder you any.
There is a temporary fix for user permissions from Apple:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=307128
For me, I don't think the average user wants to go through all the above. They just want to turn on their machines and go. They don't want to even know about permissions or how the computer works, they just want it to work.

If you have a cloned copy of your Tiger system, I would try using the Upgrade Install and see if it works for you... If it doesn't, you can always put your cloned copy back and think about the next step....

SuperDuper...
Yes, great for 10.4 and below.
Thanks for the clarification...
All my machines are running Leopard so I can't use SuperDuper at this time.
Haven't had any problems with Carbon Copy Cloner at all though....

+I have 3 computers at home all of which I upgraded using the "Upgrade Install"..+
+The permissions for the User files and folders were mostly all set to "unknown" group...+

Can't that be fixed by going to Get Info, Ownership & Permissions, and selecting Owner? Or is that an Admin User issue?

After going 10.4.10 to 10.5.1 I definitely need all my computers to be able to "talk" to each other and for us all to be able to have access (read/write permissions) to docs in the various public folders (as we all can now with 10.4.10).

Additional thoughts?