What's the Upgrading Process Like?

Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
I'm going to purchase a Mac real soon, but am wondering about the upgrade process from Tiger. Will upgrading cause me to lose all my documents? Is it recommonded that I back up all my data before going through the upgrade progress? I haven't really upgraded an Operating System before (never had to), so am concerned about the backing up process (if any)?



Also, when you upgrade do you lose all your programs as well as documents?



I know this is a real silly question, but any (serious or non-serious ) answers would really be appreciated - thanks!

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 6
    g_warreng_warren Posts: 713member
    Fear not, Apple's upgrade processes tend to be safe and easy. Sure, it is always recommended to backup just in case, but you should find that all of your documents and own applications will be left intact. Of course, since I don't have Leopard, I could be wrong, but it if so, I promise to eat my hat.
  • Reply 2 of 6
    mattsmatts Posts: 37member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Michael528 View Post


    I'm going to purchase a Mac real soon, but am wondering about the upgrade process from Tiger. Will upgrading cause me to lose all my documents? Is it recommonded that I back up all my data before going through the upgrade progress? I haven't really upgraded an Operating System before (never had to), so am concerned about the backing up process (if any)?



    Also, when you upgrade do you lose all your programs as well as documents?



    I know this is a real silly question, but any (serious or non-serious ) answers would really be appreciated - thanks!





    Not a silly question, but don't worry.



    While nobody has yet had the opportunity to do the upgrade from 10.4.x to (the release version of) Leopard I don't expect any drastic differences compared to upgrading from 10.3.x to Tiger, which wasn't problematic.

    And yes, it's always recommended to do a total backup of all your precious files (especially documents but also programs, if needed) on regular basis _anyway_.



    So. No worries.

    You don't lose documents or programs. (Some programs might not work with 10.5 and might need an update to do so, but that's another story.)



    -matts
  • Reply 3 of 6
    mydomydo Posts: 1,888member
    I don't think I've ever done a backup before a major upgrade since OS X came out.



    Shoot when I moved from a G4 to a MBP the OS moved everything from the old to the new for me (and my wife). It's amazing.
  • Reply 4 of 6
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by matts View Post


    Some programs might not work with 10.5 and might need an update to do so, but that's another story.



    -matts



    this is what i'm wondering about. does anyone know if 10.5 is different enough of an os that older OsX applications may not work?
  • Reply 5 of 6
    Upgrading is not always completely problematic, I have had error with upgrade proses, luckily it was almost new computer at the time, so I lost nothing big, but still it wasn't enjoyable. Always keep backups, and if possible try to store your documents on different drive than your operating system and programs.

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Michael528 View Post


    I haven't really upgraded an Operating System before (never had to)



    Hopefully you weren't using any previous versions of Windows, I can't see how people were running them without complete reinstall half a year basis. In half year I always managed to get them running so slloooww. After reinstall it was tolerable again. Even with minimal setups and only few apps installed, windows managed to hang it's self.
  • Reply 6 of 6
    mattsmatts Posts: 37member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ghiangelo View Post


    this is what i'm wondering about. does anyone know if 10.5 is different enough of an os that older OsX applications may not work?



    I've heard that pre WWDC builds didn't break many applications - but I haven't heard anything in this respect about the WWDC beta.



    -matts
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