I got a used MacBook Pro with the Tiger OS 10.4.11. I want to upgrade. Can I go straight to the newest OS, or must it be done in stages? If the latter, what would be the preferred and least expensive method. Thanks.
MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.4.11)
Thanks Neil. I have a couple of questions. In Step 1: I don't know the year of manufacture; can it be derived from the serial number? In Step 2: It says that if I were running Leopard, I would need to first upgrade to Snow Leopard before I could upgrade to Mountain Lion. Since I am running Tiger, can I still go directly to Snow Leopard and then to Mountain Lion?
Just looked around for other clues and I see that Snow Leopard comes as a DVD, no download online. Problem: the DVD drive doesn't function. Question 3: am I sunk until I get the DVD drive fixed then?
1. Append the last three characters of the serial number to http://www.everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/?search_keywords= and load the modified URL. This will tell you the model year and the maximum compatible OS.
2. Yes.
3. Yes, or use an external one.
(80032)
Can I use the DVD player from another MacBook Pro to download Snow Leopard? How would I connect the two?
Also, my MacBok Pro is from early 2006, so it seems I cannot upgrade to Mountain Lion, but I cannot determine if I can upgrade even to Snow Leopard. Do you know or know what I need to know to make that determination.
1. Only through FireWire Target Disk mode.
2. All Intel Macs which shipped with 10.5.8 or earlier and have at least 1GB of RAM can run Snow Leopard.
(80034)
I have exactly 1GB of RAM. I've looked up FireWire Target Disk mode and it looks eminently do-able even by me. I can't thank you enough, Neil, for helping navigate this terrain. All the best to you.
Got a used laptop with OS 10.4.11. How do I update it? Can I go straight to Mountain Lion, or must it be done in stages?
