lauren45
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: I want to upgrade to Lion...

....but don't have a start-up disk for iLife and only one activation for Microsoft Office- will I lose them?

 

I would prefer to use the installation disk so I can reinstall if ever necessary, but I don't want to lose my current software. Any way to do this?

MacBook Pro (13-inch Early 2011), Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Feb 17, 2012 8:52 PM

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lauren45

Q: I want to upgrade to Lion...

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  • by Ferretbite,Helpful

    Ferretbite Ferretbite Feb 17, 2012 8:57 PM in response to lauren45
    Level 4 (1,585 points)
    Feb 17, 2012 8:57 PM in response to lauren45

    You shouldn't lose your Microsoft Office license, nor your iLife suite. There is no installation disk for Lion either, though you can buy a USB drive to install and, should the need arise, recover your system.

  • by lauren45,

    lauren45 lauren45 Feb 17, 2012 9:00 PM in response to Ferretbite
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 17, 2012 9:00 PM in response to Ferretbite

    So I don't have to reformat to install (clearly I am not exceptionally tech-saavy)? 

     

    What if I do want to reformat eventually, will I lose the applications then?

     

    Thanks for the speedy response!

  • by Ferretbite,

    Ferretbite Ferretbite Feb 17, 2012 9:10 PM in response to lauren45
    Level 4 (1,585 points)
    Feb 17, 2012 9:10 PM in response to lauren45

    If you wish to perform a clean install via Lion Recovery then yes, because you'll basically give your Mac the tabula rasa treatment but you can always use a Time Machine Backup.

     

    Think of it as an update rather than an install. Similar to what Snow Leopard did to a Mac that was previously running on Leopard.

     

    ETA:  I strongly suggest you backup your stuff before performing an upgrade like this, it'll save you a world of trouble if anything should go wrong.  Same with every subsequent software update.

  • by lauren45,

    lauren45 lauren45 Feb 17, 2012 9:13 PM in response to Ferretbite
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 17, 2012 9:13 PM in response to Ferretbite

    Wait, time machine would back up the software, too?  I thought it was only files?  I apologize, I really don't know much but am trying to learn!


    I also want to upgrade my other, older Macbook to Snow Leopard (can't handle Lion) to give to my mom, but reformat before I give it to her- so I'm sort of trying to apply knowledge to both of these scenarios!

  • by Ferretbite,

    Ferretbite Ferretbite Feb 17, 2012 9:28 PM in response to lauren45
    Level 4 (1,585 points)
    Feb 17, 2012 9:28 PM in response to lauren45

    I'm fairly certain it does because I migrated the contents of my MBP into my MBA through Time Machine and my software was all there, no need to reinstall it.  Like I said, it's a real life saver.

     

    If you wish to install Snow Leopard on your old mac to give it to your moms, I suggest you check out this article:

     

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3910?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

     

    It's not as hard as it may seem. Check out this video too, it might help: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eazd4AB1fXw

  • by Michael Allbritton,

    Michael Allbritton Michael Allbritton Feb 17, 2012 9:33 PM in response to lauren45
    Level 6 (16,832 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Feb 17, 2012 9:33 PM in response to lauren45

    lauren45 wrote:

     

    Wait, time machine would back up the software, too?  I thought it was only files?

    Yes, Time Machine backs up everything on the HDD.