Q: How to upgrade to 10.6 Snow Leopard?

Go to http://www.apple.com/osx/how-to-upgrade/

Better answers probably can't be posted here, per the TOS, but google is your friend.  I install Lion and Mountain Lion off a USB memory stick, no SL needed.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4905 mentions the thumb drive that is no longer officially for sale from apple.

If you call the online Apple Store, they may still have copies of Snow Leopard available though it's no longer listed on the web site. If they no longer have it available, as has been reported in a couple of recent threads, you'll need to look to private sellers, and the prices are rising quickly. If you buy from a private seller, make sure you get the retail disk set (white label with a picture of a Snow Leopard), not the system disks from another model of Mac (grey label).

The same applies to Lion; it Lion may still be available if you call the online Apple Store, though a couple of recent threads have reported it as no longer available. If the Apple Store still has it, they will ask for your Apple ID and credit card number and will then send you a code which you can redeem in the Mac App Store. You will need to have 10.6.6 or later installed on your system before you will be able to redeem the code.

Alternatively, you may still be able to find the Lion USB installer at a local Apple Store or an Apple dealer, though available stocks will probably disappear quickly if they have not already. Otherwise you'll have to look for the USB installer on the open market, such as through eBay or a Mac User Group. Those are starting to rise in price.

Regards.

Forum Tip: Since you're new here, you've probably not discovered the Search feature available on every Communities page, but next time, it might save you time (and everyone else from having to answer the same question multiple times) if you search a couple of ways for a topic, both in the relevant forums and in the Apple Knowledge Base, before you post a question.

Also, please confirm: Do you want Lion (10.7) or Mountain Lion (10.8) ?  Getting 10.8 is easier.

If so, find a friend or colleague with 10.6, 10.7 or 10.8, it'll be easier that way.  Then go to the app store and buy Lion...  no SL install disks needed. 

The first step is the SL disk, as varjak paw mentioned.  Only $19 for th disk, and then perform "Software Update" to get to 10.6.8 which gives you App Store -- a way to download software.

After that, you can either call again to pay $19 for a code to download Lion through the App Store (you can, even though it is not "visible"), or download Mountain Lion which is visible and also costs $19 though the App Store.

But ... check what you can download.  SL needs intel processor an 1 GB RAM.  Lion needs Core2Duo processor and 2 GB RAM.  Mountain Lion has higher requirements: http://www.apple.com/osx/specs/.

AppleMenu > About This Mac > More Info.  Report "Model Identifier" and "Memory".  We can help you figure out how high you can upgrade.

Lion, yes.  But upgrade the RAM ... macsales.com and crucial.com can sell you up to 8 GB RAM and ifixit.com or macsales.com have replacement instructions.

ML ... yes ... only just.  You are at the very earliest model that can run ML.

My advice is this, assuming you plan to keep using that system:

Upgrade the RAM to at least 4.  Ensure the system is stable at the new RAM level.

Buy the SL disk.  Make a very good backup of your system, then upgrade to SL.

Research what software does not run under Lion: http://roaringapps.com/apps:table

Then decide if you can (based on software you *need* to run) upgrade higher.

If you are detecting a "baby step" approach ... you get the right message.

Snow Leopard DVD:

You can get it only by phone now from Apple.

In the US, call 1-800-MY-APPLE and ask for a sales assistant. Last quoted price was $19.99 for the single-user and $29.99 for the family licence.

For other countries, check here; http://support.apple.com/kb/HE57

Don't forget to ask for Sales; the tech support guys can't help.

When you've installed SL it will be 10.6.3. You need to update that to 10.6.8 with the combo installer from http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1399

Lion is only available by phone also - same number and they'll give you a download code to use in the Mac App Store.

If you're going to Mountain Lion you don't need to install Lion first - you can do it straight from Snow Leopard 10.6.8.

1) CarbonCopyClone ($40 download) or SuperDuper ($30 download) make bootable copies of the HD on an external drive.  The iniital clone takes upwards of hours (based on space used) and subsequent clones "add to" that clone in smaller increments.  Plus, if the upgrade fails, you can boot to that external device and "clone back" to the internal.

2) Just checked ifixit.  Late 2008 "Unibody" have a fairly easy RAM replacement ... remove the bottom plate with #00 screwdriver and the RAM is exposed.

No problem.  Ask again if you need specifics.

starcollector wrote:

 

I would be fine with either 10.7 or 10.8, whichever is easier.

 

So to clarify, your suggestion is to find a friend who has the install disk for one of the more recent versions and borrow it?  This is my first Mac and even though I've had it for three years I literally have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to OS X software.

 

Thanks for your help.

10.8 is easier!

No, that's not what I was suggesting... I wrote:

If so, find a friend or colleague with 10.6, 10.7 or 10.8, it'll be easier that way.  Then go to the app store and buy Lion...  no SL install disks needed.

What I meant was : 1)While logged in on their computer, buy Lion.  Let it download.  Don't install it.

2)Either a)run /Applications/Install OS X Mountain Lion.app/ or b)make use of the InstallESD.dmg image inside it...

In order to to that, either a)Put their computer in Target Disk mode and use a firewire cable (fastest way), or b)copy over /Applications/Install OS X Mountain Lion.app/ or the InstallESD.dmg inside it some other way (e.g. file sharing, or external disk)

But you've already bought SL, so I can't legally save you $20 anymore, unless you return it... and at this point .... my reply is probably too late.  Perhaps it'll help you or someone else.