Moving to Version 10.2 from Previous Versions of Mac OS X

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Although the upgrade from previous versions of Mac OS X to version 10.2 takes you from version 10.1.x to 10.2, the change is a lot more than just .1 would indicate. Version 10.2 is a major update (in my opinion, it should have been called version 10.5 or even 11), and moving to it requires more thought than the minor updates that had been released previously. It takes some thought and work to get into version 10.2's world, but the benefits are well worth the effort.

What You Need to Know Before You Install Version 10.2

Before you jump into the installation process, take a few moments to read through the following sections to ensure that you can make the transition smoothly.

Assessing Your Situation

Most major Mac applications that required an update for version 10.2 have been updated, but some have not. If you use an application that has not been updated for 10.2, it might work fine, it might not run at all, or you might experience problems when you run it. Check the software developers' Web sites, and download and install any updates for version 10.2. You might have to pay upgrade fees for some applications.

If applications you need are not available in version 10.2 compatible versions, check the software's Web site for the known issues when running the application under version 10.2. If you can live with those issues, proceed with the upgrade. If not, you might have to wait until those applications have been updated or switch to an alternative application that has been made "version 10.2 aware."

Choosing an Installation Method

There are three primary options, each having its own pros and cons:

  • Upgrade your current version of Mac OS X. Using this option, you let the Mac OS X installer overwrite or revise your current Mac OS X installation as it sees fit. The benefit of this approach is that it is the easiest and most straightforward method. The downside is that various problems have been reported when this option is used.

    The reported problems are related to specific situations, and there is no way to list all the possible conditions that might cause you problems. So using this option is a bit of a crapshoot.

  • Perform a clean install on the same partition as your current version of Mac OS X. Using this option, the installer creates a brand-new installation of Mac OS X; then, you transfer files from the previous installation to the new one. The benefit to this method is that the OS itself is likely to be installed better and cause you fewer problems. The downside is that you have to do some manual labor to finish the configuration.

  • Install a new version of Mac OS X on an empty partition or on a partition you will erase. This path is basically the same as the one you follow when upgrading to Mac OS X from Mac OS 9.x.x or earlier. The only difference is that if you need to create a new partition, you will use Mac OS X tools to create the partition on which you will install Mac OS X version 10.2. The benefit to this method is that you get a "fresh start" and rebuild your system from the ground up. The downside is that it requires the most work in that you have to reinstall all your applications, reconfigure your entire system, and so on.

To learn how to use Mac OS X tools to prepare and partition a disk, see "Choosing, Installing, and Using a Hard Drive," p. 688.

To learn how to install Mac OS X on an empty partition, see "Installing Mac OS X," p. 835.

If you are comfortable mucking around in the Mac OS X system files, I strongly recommend that you adopt the second approach and perform a clean install. This will help you achieve the best results and will also get you more knowledgeable about the OS. If that process doesn't appeal to you, you can let the Mac OS X installer perform the required upgrades for you. For some people, this will work just fine, but problems with this approach are not uncommon. If you are determined to rebuild your system or if you need to repartition your drives anyway, the third option is for you.

NOTE

To share some personal experience, while researching the various upgrade options while writing this book, I experienced several problems with the versions of the OS that I installed over an existing one, such as Microsoft Word quitting unexpectedly, losing all of my personalization (such as Dock and desktop preferences), and so on. Hopefully, future versions of the installer will manage this process better. But as of the time of this writing, I recommend that you stick with the Clean Install option.


Creating a Backup of Your Data and Applications

Although the risk of losing all your data during the upgrade is small, the results of that happening could be unrecoverable if you don't have everything backed up properly. For example, imagine losing your iPhoto library. Without a backup, your photos would be gone forever. Performing the upgrade without a backup system is about like playing Russian Roulette. The odds are with you, but if you lose, you lose big.

To learn more about backup options, see "Backing Up Your System," p. 780.

Upgrading to 10.2 from Earlier Mac OS X Versions

CAUTION

Because of problems I experienced when writing this book, I can't recommend this approach to upgrading to Mac OS X version 10.2. Using the Clean Install approach provided much better results for me. So if you choose this method, proceed with caution. Hopefully, the installer will get better over time and this will become a more viable option. I was using an early version so this improvement is likely.


As you read earlier, you can install version 10.2 directly over a previous version. The installer manages all aspects of the upgrade for you and attempts to maintain as much of your current configuration as it can however, don't expect it to retain much in the way of personalization because you will have to reconfigure most of the user interface after the upgrade is complete. When this method works properly, this is an easy and fast way to upgrade. When it doesn't work, you can experience problems such as applications quitting unexpectedly. If you want to have the installer perform the upgrade, perform the following steps:

  1. Start up in the Mac OS X environment you want to upgrade.

  2. Insert the first Mac OS X version 10.2 installation CD.

  3. Open the Install Mac OS X application.

  4. Click Restart at the prompt.

  5. Confirm that you are an Administrator for the machine. Your Mac will restart and boot from the installation CD, and you will move right into the Mac OS X installation process. The system will go through several checks that will be different from the startup process under previous versions of the OS. Eventually, you will see it begin to prepare the installation process.

    As things begin to progress, you will see the Install Mac OS X Select Language window.

    NOTE

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    When your Mac is starting up under version 10.2, you won't see the Happy Mac icon as with previous versions of the OS. That icon has been replaced by the Apple logo. Apparently, Apple felt that the Happy Mac had outlived his usefulness and didn't look version 10.2 compatible. Oh well, rest in peace, Happy Mac!

  6. Select the language you want to use as the primary Mac OS X language and then click Continue. You will move into the Mac OS X Installer, and you will see the welcome message.

  7. Read the information in the next several windows; click Continue to move ahead in the process.

  8. When you reach the Software License Agreement window, click Continue, and click Agree when prompted.

    The installer will check the disks installed in your system. When it finishes, you will see the Select a Destination window. In this window, you will see all the volumes on your machine.

  9. Choose the volume on which the current version of Mac OS X is installed. The volume you selected will have a circle and green arrow on it to indicate that it is the currently selected volume. In the lower pane, you will see a message stating that you have elected to update Mac OS X on this disk.

  10. Click Continue. You will see the Easy Install dialog box.

    TIP

    If you aren't concerned about installing things you won't ever use, click Upgrade instead to use the Easy Install option (skip to Step 15). This installs every possible file on your machine. It is really an easy install, but you will probably end up storing lots of files you will never use (thus, wasting valuable disk space).

  11. Click Customize to move to the Custom Install window. Use the tools in this window to deselect any files you don't want to install.

  12. Click the triangle next to the "Additional Printer Drivers" check box to see a list of the printer brands that Mac OS X supports. If you aren't ever going to want to use any of the brands of printers shown, uncheck their check boxes.

  13. Click the triangle next to the "Localized Files" check box to see a list of the languages that Mac OS X supports. If you aren't ever going to want to use any of the languages shown, uncheck their check boxes. Or you can uncheck the "Localized Files" check box to unselect all of them at once.

  14. Uncheck any of the other options you won't use.

    TIP

    At the least, leave the BSD Subsystem and Additional Applications options selected.

  15. Click Upgrade. You will see a progress window that displays information about the various steps that the installer goes through to upgrade Mac OS X. This information includes an estimate of how long the process will take, but, of course, this is only an estimate. When the process is complete, you will be prompted to restart your Mac.

  16. Click Restart. Your Mac will start up in Mac OS X version 10.2. After the system starts up, you will see the Additional Software window (assuming that you chose to install the additional software, of course).

    TIP

    If you don't click Restart, your Mac will restart itself after about 30 seconds.

    NOTE

    Mac OS X comes in a variety of ways depending on how you purchased it. For example, if you bought the complete upgrade package, you will have two Mac OS X CDs. If Mac OS X came with your Mac, you will have a variety of Software Install and Restore CDs (in which case, you won't have to do an initial install, but you might reinstall it some day). Just insert the appropriate CDs when prompted to do so.

  17. Remove the Mac OS X Installation CD and insert CD #2. The additional software will be installed and progress information will be displayed in the window. When this process is complete, you will move to a new version 10.2 login window.

When you login and move to the version 10.2 desktop, you might see that few of your preferences are saved from the previous version of Mac OS X. For example, you might have to reset your Dock location, desktop photos, and so on. This was the case when I wrote this appendix hopefully the installer will be improved in the future so that more of the personalized settings are maintained. But even if some of your personalization is lost, that is okay because you will want to take advantage of Mac OS X version 10.2's improved tools to do this. The chapters in this book will help you configure various aspects of the OS.

NOTE

Although version 10.2 will likely maintain your network configuration, you might have to re-add any printers that are on your network or that you have connected to your Mac directly.


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If your system is not working properly after installing 10.2 over a previous version of Mac OS X, see "The 10.2 System I Installed Is Not Working" in the Troubleshooting section at the end of this chapter.

Performing a Clean Install from a Previous Version of Mac OS X

Performing a clean install of version 10.2 on your current Mac OS X volume is the safest way to make the leap. Under this method, you use the installer's archive option to save your current system while it installs a clean version of Mac OS X version 10.2 on your machine. Then, you re-install any files you need from your current version in the 10.2 version. This method is a bit more work than the others, but you are likely to end up with the best results.

There are two major parts to this upgrade process:

  1. Perform a clean installation of Mac OS X version 10.2 on your current Mac OS X volume.

  2. Move needed files from the previous version of Mac OS X to version 10.2.

The first part is rather simple, as you can see in the following steps:

  1. Start up from the first Mac OS X version 10.2 installation CD by inserting it into your Mac, restarting the machine, and pressing C while the machine restarts.

    NOTE

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    When your Mac is starting up under version 10.2, you won't see the Happy Mac icon as with previous versions of the OS. That icon has been replaced by the Apple logo. Apparently, Apple felt that the Happy Mac had outlived his usefulness and didn't look version 10.2 compatible. Oh well, rest in peace, Happy Mac!

    As things begin to progress, you will see the Install Mac OS X Select Language window.

  2. Select the language you want to use as the primary Mac OS X language and then click Continue. You will move into the Mac OS X Installer, and you will see the welcome message.

  3. Read the information in the next several windows; click Continue to move ahead in the process.

  4. When you reach the Software License Agreement window, click Continue, and click Agree when prompted.

    The installer will check the disks installed in your system. When it finishes, you will see the Select a Destination window. In this window, you will see all the volumes on your machine.

  5. Choose the volume on which the current version of Mac OS X is installed. The volume you select will have a circle and green arrow on it to indicate that it is the currently selected volume. In the lower pane, you will see a message stating that you have elected to update Mac OS X on this disk.

  6. Click Options. You will see the Install Options sheet.

  7. Click the "Archive and Install" radio button.

  8. Check the "Preserve Users and Network Settings" check box. This causes the installer to move all the existing user accounts, network configurations, and so on to the new version 10.2 installation. You should choose this option unless you have a very good reason not to do so, such as you want to start out with a new set of user accounts. When you use this option, you will skip the Setup Assistant application because the installer will carry all that information over for you. (The rest of these steps assume that you have used this option. If not, you can review the "Installing Mac OS X" section earlier in this appendix to help you work through the Setup Assistant.)

  9. Click OK to close the sheet. In the Select a Destination window, you will see a message stating that you are installing a new version of 10.2 while saving the previous version and moving all user accounts to the new version.

  10. Click Continue. You will see the Easy Install dialog box.

    TIP

    If you aren't concerned about installing things you won't ever use, skip to Step 15 to use the Easy Install option. This installs every possible file on your machine. It is really an easy install, but you will probably end up storing lots of files you will never use (thus, wasting valuable disk space).

  11. Click Customize to move to the Custom Install window. Use the tools in this window to deselect any files you don't want to install.

  12. Click the triangle next to the "Additional Printer Drivers" check box to see a list of the printer brands that Mac OS X supports. If you aren't ever going to want to use any of the brands of printers shown, uncheck their check boxes.

  13. Click the triangle next to the "Localized Files" check box to see a list of the languages that Mac OS X supports. If you aren't ever going to want to use any of the languages shown, uncheck their check boxes. Or you can uncheck the "Localized Files" check box to unselect all of them at once.

  14. Uncheck any of the other options you won't use.

    TIP

    At the least, leave the BSD Subsystem and Additional Software options selected.

  15. Click Install. You will see a progress window that displays information about the various steps that the installer goes through to upgrade Mac OS X. This information includes an estimate of how long the process will take, but, of course, this is only an estimate. When the process is complete, your Mac will restart in Mac OS X version 10.2 and move into the Additional Software installation part of the process.

    NOTE

    Mac OS X comes in a variety of ways depending on how you purchased it. For example, if you bought the complete upgrade package, you will have two Mac OS X CDs. If Mac OS X came with your Mac, you will have a variety of Software Install and Restore CDs (in which case, you won't have to do an initial install, but you might reinstall it some day). Just insert the appropriate CDs when prompted to do so.

  16. Remove the Mac OS X Installation CD and insert CD #2. The additional software will be installed and progress information will be displayed in the window. When this process is complete, you will move to the Mac OS X 10.2 login window and you will be running under a clean version of Mac OS X version 10.2. In the login window, you will see all the accounts that existed in the previous version.

NOTE

If your accounts have pictures associated with them, you might see placeholders instead. Version 10.2 does not include the same set of images that previous versions did, so you might have to choose new images for some user accounts.


When you log in to version 10.2, you will find that many of your configurations from the previous version have been maintained, such as your login items, desktop photos, and Dock configuration. Some will not be (for example, my time and date settings were not maintained). Usually, it takes only a few minutes to set these back to the way you want them.

The only downside of installing a clean version is that you have to move files you still need from the previous version to the new version. Mostly, these are the files related to specific applications you have installed.

Before you bother looking for files to move, try to work with the system as it is. You might find that everything works just fine and you don't need to do the second part. After you are confident that you don't need the previous versions of the OS, you can just trash them. If you do find some things that aren't working as you expect, proceed with the second part of the process.

Finding and moving all the files you need from the old system to the new one can be a bit tricky, but with some patience and a bit of luck, you can work through it.

  1. Open the volume on which you installed version 10.2. In addition to the folder called System, you will see a folder called Previous Systems (see Figure A.3). This contains the previous versions of OS X that existed when you did the clean install.

    Figure A.3. The Previous System folder contains, amazingly enough, the previous version of Mac OS X.

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  2. Open the Previous Systems folder and then open the most recent previous system folder contained within that folder. For example, if this is your first clean install, open the folder called Previous System 1. You will see the set of folders that were contained in that version of the OS (see Figure A.4).

    Figure A.4. These folders contain the files you might need to move to your clean installation of Mac OS X.

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  3. Drag the files you think you might need from the folder in the Previous System folder to the corresponding folder in the 10.2 System folder.

You might or might not need any of these files and folders it all depends on your specific setup. In my testing, I found that my system worked fine without any of the old files, but in the event you need to move some files over, consider the following folders:

  • Applications This folder contains the previous versions of Apple and other applications that were part of the default installation. If you used the Additional Software install option, it is highly unlikely that you will ever need these older versions.

  • Library This folder contains the library files that provide functionality for various areas of the OS, such as Audio, Fonts, Java, and QuickTime.

  • System This folder contains only one folder, which is the system Library folder. In this folder, you will find core application services and frameworks, such as Classic, Displays, and OpenSSL.

  • Users If you chose to move all user accounts to the clean installation, this folder will contain only the Shared folder from the previous installation. You can use this to re-create any files that were shared under the previous OS.

Various applications can store individual files within these folders as well, so if something doesn't seem to be working properly, explore these folders to see whether you can find files for those applications. Then, move those files to the corresponding folders in 10.2 system folders.

After you have used 10.2 for some time and are confident that it is working properly, you can dispose of the previous system folders to recover some disk space.

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If an application does not work properly after you have installed Mac OS X, see "An Application Doesn't Work Under OS 10.2" in the Troubleshooting section at the end of this chapter.

If an application has lost your preferences after you install 10.2, see "An Application Lost My Preferences Under OS 10.2" in the Troubleshooting section at the end of this chapter.



Special Edition Using Mac OS X v10. 2
Special Edition Using Mac OS X v10.2
ISBN: 0789729040
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 260
Authors: Brad Miser

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