I am a music producer, and if I lost the data on my computer, there would be thousands of dollars lost. I cannot afford anytime of external hard drive at all. How much of a risk is there of losing all my data when I update? I have a macbook 4,1, on 10.5.8, and I have the DVD for SL. Is it safe to update?
Macbook 4,1-OTHER, iOS 5
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It's not safe. The Mac OS X upgrade finishes properly, but if something goes wrong during the upgrade, you will lose everything.
Always make a backup of your files before upgrading. Don't upgrade if you have important files and you haven't got a backup of them because you may lose them. Wait until you can afford an external drive (they are cheap) and make a backup of your files. Then, you will be able to upgrade
See these before embarking on your venture:
http://www.macmaps.com/upgradefaq.html
http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html
Another precaution I've taken since Mac OS X 10.3, I've kept my backups detached from the computer before applying any updates. And I've always used cloning software. Mac OS X 10.3 had the peculiar reaction of making hard drives disappear that didn't have the right firmware installed, and it happened more often when they were attached during the upgrade.
You have thousands of dollars worth of data, but you can't afford $200 or less for an external hard drive to make a backup?
ALL hard drives eventually fail. Not having a backup is foolish.
Is there any risk of wiping my computer in updating my computer from 10.5.8 to Snow Leopard?
