Preparation for a 10.7.3 upgrade

just backup your data before you install 10.7.3 (as suggested with any major o/s upgrade). If you have any problems, you can revert back to 10.7.2. I have had no problems with 10.7.3 myself.

Yes, even though it specifically states you should back up your data when you run software update to install 10.7.3, you are correct, most users ignore this advice. Also, as you know this is a help forum, so you will almost always only read about people who have problems with the Lion update, no one is going to create a post about how they had no problems with it (although one post was created stating that and that is very rare).

Always a good idea to run the items you specify. At least

at that level, it insures your directory system is in good shape.

I usually do a clone before any system updates as additional

insurance. Even though there may be no issue with the update,

things can just plain happen during the process that can screw

things up.

The other thing I do, is run a check on the whole system for

corrupted files. And for major upgrades (like 10.6->10.7) I

also run a surface scan on the disk to make sure there are

no bad sectors and if so fix things.

Lots of Mac veterans also ignore the software update application and download the Combo Updater. 10.7.3 has been one of the bigger hiccups along the update trail of OS X (but by no means the worst) and re-updating with the combo updater is often the solution for many of us, just as it has been this time.

The difference between the standard (or delta) updater and the combo updater is that the combo will update any computer from any version of the base OS. This is why the combo updater is larger, it has more code to install. The standard updater will update only the version that came previously but has the code needed for every computer model. The updater that is downloaded through the Software Update mechanism is a variation of the standard updater - but it contains only the code for that specific computer model. Many people with more than one computer have noticed that the download filesize for their iMac was different from their MBP and that's why.

Running a check of your boot drive is probably a good idea and before an update seems like a good way to remember to do that, kinda like checking your smoke alarm batteries on the turn of the clock to DST and back.

Permissions? Don't bother unless you've found a specific reason to check them. Or you just like watching your computer do things.

And I agree about the combo updaters; they seem to be more reliable.

And check the boards: the Rosetta blunder in the recent update was something no amount of futzing on your computer could have prevented. The only way to avoid it was to check the forums for the poor souls that did Apple's beta testing (without being aware of it) and seeing that there were problems.

I have a question about this latest update (and I apologize if I am hijacking this thread!):

I successfully updated to 10.7.3 on my iMac, via Software Update, and I have had no issues.

But I am wondering -- should I *re-install* 10.7.3 as a combo updater to avoid any issues down the road, or is no news good news here, i.e., if it ain't broke don't fix it?

Thanks for any advice!