Q: Upgrade Leopard to Maverick?

Yes, you must start with Snow Leopard or Lion.

Upgrading to Snow Leopard

You can purchase Snow Leopard through the Apple Store: Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard - Apple Store (U.S.). The price is $19.99 plus tax. You will be sent physical media by mail after placing your order.

After you install Snow Leopard you will have to download and install the Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1 to update Snow Leopard to 10.6.8 and give you access to the App Store. Access to the App Store enables you to download Mavericks if your computer meets the requirements.

     Snow Leopard General Requirements

       1. Mac computer with an Intel processor

       2. 1GB of memory

       3. 5GB of available disk space

       4. DVD drive for installation

       5. Some features require a compatible Internet service provider;

           fees may apply.

       6. Some features require Apple’s iCloud services; fees and

           terms apply.

Upgrading to Lion

If your computer does not meet the requirements to install Mavericks, it may still meet the requirements to install Lion.

You can purchase Lion at the Online Apple Store. The cost is $19.99 (as it was before) plus tax.  It's a download. You will get an email containing a redemption code that you then use at the Mac App Store to download Lion. Save a copy of that installer to your Downloads folder because the installer deletes itself at the end of the installation.

     Lion System Requirements

       1. Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7,

           or Xeon processor

       2. 2GB of memory

       3. OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended)

       4. 7GB of available space

       5. Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.

Upgrading to Mavericks

You can upgrade to Mavericks from Lion or directly from Snow Leopard. Mavericks can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for FREE.

Upgrading to Mavericks

To upgrade to Mavericks you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion installed. Download Mavericks from the App Store. Sign in using your Apple ID. Mavericks is free. The file is quite large, over 5 GBs, so allow some time to download. It would be preferable to use Ethernet because it is nearly four times faster than wireless.

    OS X Mavericks- System Requirements

      Macs that can be upgraded to OS X Mavericks

         1. iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 7,1 or later

         2. MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 5,1 or later

         3. MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

         4. MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 2,1 or later

         5. Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

         6. Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

         7. Xserve (Early 2009) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

To find the model identifier open System Profiler in the Utilities folder. It's displayed in the panel on the right.

     Are my applications compatible?

         See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps.

No. The DVD is hardware specific to the laptop. It will not work on the iMac.

Sorry, but the DVDs that come with each computer are machine specific. You can give it a try, but if it is not able to install on your model, then it will reject it and stop. It won't cause any harm to try it. Just don't be alarmed if it rejects the hardware.

I have seen where a user tried that thinking he had a good install only to discover later that in fact it was not and was causing problems.

After calling Apple and getting the correct DVD and reinstalling, all of the problems were gone.

So I would be extremely careful about using DVDs from other Macs to do installs on different Macs.

As I stated, Allan: "You can give it a try, but if it is not able to install on your model, then it will reject it and stop. It won't cause any harm to try it. Just don't be alarmed if it rejects the hardware."

I don't know about why "exteme care" is required. At best it works. At worst it won't install. Somewhere in between it may install but not work properly. It won't hurt the machine. It all depends upon just how machine specific the disc happens to be. And, it has a better chance of turning out OK if the machine you install it on is several models older. I've done this a number of times - some with success and some without.

I can't comment specifically about the anecdote you related because there are no facts related to help understand what was done and how it was done and what happened thereafter.

As I said I have had to help 2 Mac users who thought they had good install but in fact they were not good. So I know it can appears to install correct only to cause problems later.

I thought that Gary should be aware of that.

I thought I made that clear to him in my original statement. My first sentence made that clear. I only took exception to your "extreme care" remark that seems to imply a danger involved which it does not. I told him quite clearly, however, that it might not work.

Gary Schnetter wrote:

 

My question is, I have the install disk for Snow Leopard from my laptop.

Did you purchase this Snow Leopard install disk from Apple for use on your MacBook, or is it the grey restore disk that came with your MacBook?

White retail disc will work on your iMac; grey disk will not and you must purchase for $20 Snow Leopard white retail install disc:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard

If you were previously a subscriber to MobileMe, you might get lucky and call Apple (800-SOS-APPL) and they might still honor their "free" copy of Snow Leopard to previous MobileMe subscribers.

YES:

NO: