My iMac fails when I try to upgrade from Snow Leopard 10.6.8. I have to boot up from disk. Does anyone know how to overcome this problem? I need to upgrade in order to install latest software.
Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)
It would be lovely to know what your talking about. Upgrading from Snow Leopard does not involve discs.
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 Mountain Lion
To upgrade to Mountain Lion you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion installed. Purchase a redemption code at the Online Apple Store: OS X Mountain Lion. Mountain Lion is $19.99 plus tax. Use the code to redeem a download of Mountain Lion from the App Store. The file is quite large, over 4 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 Mountain Lion - System Requirements
Macs that can be upgraded to OS X Mountain Lion
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.
Upgrading to Yosemite
You can upgrade to Yosemite from Lion or directly from Snow Leopard. Yosemite can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for FREE.
Upgrading to Yosemite
To upgrade to Yosemite you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion installed. Download Yosemite from the App Store. Sign in using your Apple ID. Yosemite 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/Yosemite- System Requirements
Macs that can be upgraded to OS X Yosemite
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?
OK. After I attempted to upgrade, the iMac locked up everytime I tried to reboot or turn off and turn on. So I had no choice but to boot from disc. I had to reload Snow Leopard using the disc. But when I did this, it went back to version 10.6.3. So now I have to upgrade to 10.6.8 before upgrading to Yosemite using the instructions you pasted. The instructions are pretty easy; clicking the apple icon and selecting Software Update. But it doesn't work either. It locks up and I have to turn off and on again. I'm worse than when I started because what I have now is a bare bones computer. Now the MS Office programs aren't even showing. I hope I can revert back. Would appreciate any thoughts. Thanks.
So, then, you installed 10.6.3 which you then updated to Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1, and that did not work? Did you do this:
Clean Install of Snow Leopard
1. Boot the computer using the Snow Leopard Installer Disc or the Disc 1 that came
with your computer. Insert the disc into the optical drive and restart the computer.
After the chime press and hold down the "C" key. Release the key when you see
a small spinning gear appear below the dark gray Apple logo.
2. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue
button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
After DU loads select the hard drive entry from the left side list (mfgr.'s ID and drive
size.) Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window. Set the number of
partitions to one (1) from the Partitions drop down menu, click on Options button
and select GUID, click on OK, then set the format type to MacOS Extended
(Journaled, if supported), then click on the Apply button.
3. When the formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed
with the OS X installation and follow the directions included with the installer.
4. When the installation has completed your computer will Restart into the Setup
Assistant. After you finish Setup Assistant will complete the installation after which
you will be running a fresh install of OS X. You can now begin the update process
by opening Software Update and installing all recommended updates to bring your
installation current.
5. If you are planning to sell or give your computer away, then do the following:
After you reformat your hard drive and reinstall OS X, the computer restarts to a
Welcome screen and asks you to choose a country or region. If you want to leave
the Mac in an out-of-box state, don't continue with the setup of your system. Instead,
press Command-Q to shut down the Mac. When the new owner turns on the Mac,
the Setup Assistant will guide them through the setup process.
Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.
Thanks for the instructions. I actually managed to restore from Time Machine, and so I now have my computer with version 10.6.8. This should be good enough for upgrading to Yosemite, but it doesn't work. After downloading Yo and going through the installation process, the machine locks up when it tries to re-boot. The first line reads:
devfs_kernel_mount: failed to find director '/dev' , 2panic(cpu 8 caller 8x47f5ad): "Process 1 exec of /sbin/launchd failed. errno 2\n"@/SourceCache/xnu/xnu-1504.15.3/bsd/kern/kern_exec.c:3145
There are additional lines. If anyone knows what this means and what I need to do to overcome it, I would appreciate the help. ac
What iMac model do you have?
Macs that can be upgraded to OS X Yosemite
1. iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 7,1 or later
To find the model identifier open System Profiler in the Utilities folder. It's displayed in the panel on the right.
I have model identifier 10,1
I have a Macbook that is a little older than my iMac and I was able to upgrade that one to Yosemite.
There must be some kind of bug in my specific HDD or OS that doesn't allow upgrades. I can try wiping my HDD and inserting the original OS, then upgrading. However, when I do that, I can't upgrade from 10.6.3 to 10.6.8. This is done by clicking on the apple icon and selecting 'Software Update'. If I can download that update and install it manually, maybe that will work, but I don't think Apple offers that option.
So you can't update to 10.6.8 after installing Snow Leopard from the DVD? Try using this: Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1. Be sure to disconnect all peripherals except the Apple keyboard and mouse. Repair the HDD and permissions:
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
This is great advise. I'll try this soon. Will let you know how it turns out. Really appreciate the help. Best Regards. ac
Hello Kappy. Your suggestions worked masterfully. I followed the hard drive repair instructions and successfully re-loaded Snow Leopard from my disc. Then I upgraded using the link you provided to download. The other way (from the apple icon) didn't work. Afterwards I was able to upgrade to Yosemite which I need so that I can use new programs, such as Photoshop Elements 13. I thank you greatly for your helpful advice. Best Regards. ac
My Imac fails when I try to upgrade from Snow Leopard 10.6.8. I have to boot up from disk. Does anyone know how to overcome this problem?
