Should I bite the bullet and upgrade from Snow Leopard to Mavericks?

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Level 3

912 points

Should I bite the bullet and upgrade from Snow Leopard to Mavericks?

I'm one of those people who believe "if it ain't broke don't fix it". :-)

I always upgrade my IOS devices, but my computers are a different story.

So here is my plan... I have a spare firewire drive. I plan to clone my internal to a partition (read how to do that) and

upgrade that drive to Mavericks.

Comments anyone? I would just stay on SL but I see that new applications coming out no longer work on Snow Leopard.

I would like to upgrade to Mountain Lion, but I don't see an option available for that. So Mavericks is it...

Has anyone ever done what I'm thinking of doing?

Thanks

iMac 3.06 GHz Intel Core i3, Mac OS X (10.6.8), 12GB RAM, iPhone 3gs, iPhone 4s

Posted on Jan 22, 2014 10:29 AM

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Answer 1

Jan 22, 2014 10:34 AM in response to Alfredo Jahn

That is a very good game plan. On my MacBook Pro, I have Lion on the internal hard drive, and on an external drive a partition with Mountain Lion and a partition with Mavericks. Lets me take advantage of features of the Mac OS X I need at the moment. And with all partitions showing on the desktop it is possible to directly access the content of each...files, etc. By using cloning it is also possible to just use any partition for syncing of an iOS device since they all have the same base setup info on the device...the iOS device doesn't know it did not setup with the Mavericks partition and happily syncs.

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Answer 2

Jan 22, 2014 10:37 AM in response to Alfredo Jahn

Two question come to mind. Will your Mac run Mavericks? Will your applications still run with Mavericks?

Mavericks does not run applications that are written for PowerPC.

Allan

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Answer 3

Jan 22, 2014 10:40 AM in response to Allan Eckert

An i3, 3.06 GHz iMac is Mid-2010 and meets the Mid-2007 or later requirement from http://www.apple.com/osx/specs

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Answer 4

Alfredo Jahn Author

Level 3

912 points

Jan 22, 2014 10:48 AM in response to Allan Eckert

I have a late 2010 iMac. It will run Mavericks. The only thing I need Rosetta for is to install my Apple Loops (that came on DVD many years ago). Since I plan to "upgrade", and not do a "clean install", I'm hoping that that will be a non-issue, since the loops should already be there. Once I go to Mavericks I will probably upgrade to the newest version of Logic Pro X (I currently use Logic Express), which includes all the Apple Loops as part of the application. But for right now, I want to just make sure all my "important" applications work.

I plan to create serveral partitions. I will clone my Snow Leopard internal to one 500GB partition. My external is a 2TB. Since I already have 2 other 2TB external, this one is just for play (for now).

At some point, after I'm happy that Mavericks works on the external, I will apply the update to the internal drive. But before I do that, I will make another clone of Snow Leopard (just to have a way to go back).

I have the 2TB in a USB case now, but I've ordered a OWC FW case and will wait for that before begining the process.

Wish me luck!!

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Answer 5

Jan 22, 2014 10:51 AM in response to Alfredo Jahn

It does not matter if you clone the current content running under Snow Leopard and then build Mavericks on top of that...the applications that need Rosetta will not run under Mavericks. Lion, Montain Lion and Mavericks do not have Rosetta incorporated and cannot run any legacy software that reuires Rosetta.

Good luck with setting up another drive, take your time and pay attention to what you are doing and all should go well.

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Answer 6

gumsie

Level 4

2,179 points

Jan 22, 2014 11:00 AM in response to Alfredo Jahn

I used Mavericks momentarily and did enjoy it. It seems like it's quick and polished.

That said make sure that your current software will work on it and that any features you depend on are still there as some have been removed.

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Answer 7

Alfredo Jahn Author

Level 3

912 points

Jan 22, 2014 11:12 AM in response to Ralph Landry1

Ralph Landry1 wrote:

It does not matter if you clone the current content running under Snow Leopard and then build Mavericks on top of that...the applications that need Rosetta will not run under Mavericks. Lion, Montain Lion and Mavericks do not have Rosetta incorporated and cannot run any legacy software that reuires Rosetta.

What I meant was, Rosetta is required to "install" the Apple Loops from the original DVDs. But they are already installed on my drive. By cloning and then updating over it, it should leave the loops alone, since Rosetta is not needed to "use" the loops, just to "install" them. As far as other programs, I'm hoping that doing what I'm planning will help me figure out what still works and what doesn't. At some point it won't matter anyway. Once Apple stops supporting 10.6, we'll all have to move :-)

Thanks!

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Answer 8

Jan 22, 2014 11:18 AM in response to Alfredo Jahn

You're welcome, good luck and take your time.

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Answer 9

Jan 22, 2014 11:24 AM in response to Alfredo Jahn

Just remember that older software normally is a problem and unless the Developers of the older software have made an effort to update there software to be compatible with Mavericks. Apple released the Beta Version of Mavericks to all the software developers months before the release to the public and they have had more than ample opportunity to make there software compatible with Mavericks.

So don't be disappointed if your older software doesn't work properly.

Good Luck with your choice.

Don

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