How do I upgrade from MacOS X 10.5 "Leopard" to MacOS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard"? What about from MacOS X 10.4 "Tiger"?

It is quite simple to upgrade from MacOS X 10.5 "Leopard" to MacOS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" on an Intel-based Mac (PowerPC-based Macs are not compatible with Snow Leopard). Upgrading from MacOS X 10.4 "Tiger", likewise, is simple, it just formally requires one to purchase a "Box Set" bundled with iLife '09 and iWork '09 rather than the individual upgrade.

In fact, the instruction manual provided with Snow Leopard only has two steps -- amounting to little more than 1) insert the disc and follow the onscreen instructions and 2) click "Customize" if you want to customize anything and then click "Install". Consequently, a better question might be "What should I do before I install MacOS X 10.6 'Snow Leopard' on an Intel-based Mac?".

Before you install Snow Leopard on an Intel-based Mac, you absolutely should do the following:

• Backup everything. It's always a good idea to "clone" the entire hard drive to an external drive using Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper and make a second backup of individual files that are particularly important to CD or DVD. It's not a bad idea to make two full backups of the hard drive should you have the budget to do so.
• Verify that the backups were successful. This step is extremely important!
• Check to make sure that all of your software and peripherals are compatible with Snow Leopard. If you are running a Mac for "mission critical" purposes -- some users have reported crashes -- it is wise to wait until others have independently verified compatibility and any lingering bugs have been fixed.

Then, put the disc in the drive and follow the instructions. Other "how to" tutorials are available from Cult of Mac, Lifehacker, and Wired, as well.

Also see: What are the "pros and cons" of upgrading to MacOS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard"? Is it "worth it"? Is there any reason not to upgrade?

Site sponsor OWC sells a variety of quality, affordable external hard drives ideal for backup purposes.

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