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User profile for user: StratDude
StratDude Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

Mavericks to Yosemite upgrade issues

Hi all,


First, the info. I am dealing with an early 2008 20" iMac, with a 1TB WD Blue SATA drive


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I'll try to be as concise as possible. This iMac came to me with Mavericks installed but no recovery partition. I keep stringent backups, so it has survived the death of three hard drives with no loss of data (worked in IT for 10+ years).


I used Recovery Partition Creator 3.8 to create a recovery partition (no issues, no Core Storage drives to deal with).


If I go to Terminal and issue diskutil all I can see the recovery partition. Startup keys still don't work (option, ctrl+r). The real problem is when I try to update my machine to Yosemite (USB Yosemite Installer) I seem to only get a full install option. Shouldn't I see an option at some point just to upgrade?


Sorry for the noob-sounding question. Burned out in IT, now I just want it to work!

Any input greatly appreciate. Namaste...

iMac, iOS 10, Mavericks 10.9.5

Posted on May 12, 2018 6:38 AM

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User profile for user: macjack
macjack
User level: Level 10
111,168 points

Posted on May 12, 2018 10:36 AM

It can be done from a Time Machine backup but not from Recovery Mode. Enter TM and choose just your own files to restore. I would not restore your ~/Library folder just Documents.

Another approach would be to create a clone. You can use a cloning software like SuperDuper! or CarbonCopy Cloner.

Then, you can also drag and drop files with the clone because it is the identical file structure on your primary drive. Also. the advantage of the clone is that you can boot from it and use the system. So, if your hard drive fails you can just boot from the backup and keep on working until you have the time to repair or replace the internal drive.


The advantage of TM is that it creates recursive backups, so you can restore a file or the entire drive from a certain point in time.

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User profile for user: macjack
macjack
User level: Level 10
111,168 points

May 12, 2018 10:36 AM in response to StratDude

It can be done from a Time Machine backup but not from Recovery Mode. Enter TM and choose just your own files to restore. I would not restore your ~/Library folder just Documents.

Another approach would be to create a clone. You can use a cloning software like SuperDuper! or CarbonCopy Cloner.

Then, you can also drag and drop files with the clone because it is the identical file structure on your primary drive. Also. the advantage of the clone is that you can boot from it and use the system. So, if your hard drive fails you can just boot from the backup and keep on working until you have the time to repair or replace the internal drive.


The advantage of TM is that it creates recursive backups, so you can restore a file or the entire drive from a certain point in time.

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User profile for user: macjack
macjack
User level: Level 10
111,168 points

May 12, 2018 6:57 AM in response to StratDude

I'm not sure what you mean by a "full install". Upgrading would require a full install of Yosemite. But it shouldn't wipe your disk, just replace the OS with the newer one. I wouldn't be worried as long as you keep good backups. Even if it does wipe the disk and install, you can recover your own data and any third party apps from the backup.

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Mavericks to Yosemite upgrade issues

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