Sources detail changes to Snow Leopard installation process

[AppleInsider]

People familiar with Apple's upcoming Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard operating system are corroborating reports this week that the software has achieved Golden Master status, adding some additional insight on various enhancements and changes that users will notice during the installation process when compared to Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.

Build 10A432 reportedly went GM a bit earlier this week and is currently on its way to manufacturing, where it will pressed onto optical media ahead of a formal availability date next month. The GM build also began making its way into the hands of some Apple Care support representatives and Apple Technicians on Wednesday.

Some of the changes and enhancements to the Snow Leopard installation process are as follows:
Although Rosetta and Quicktime 7 are both included on the Mac OS X 10.6 installation DVD, both are designated as optional installs by default. However, if Mac OS X 10.6 is being installed on a Mac that contains a registration key for Quicktime 7 Pro, the installer will install Quicktime 7 automatically.
Options to "Erase and Install" and "Archive and Install" are no longer present in the Mac OS X 10.6 installer. According to those familiar with the software, this was done for convenience, so that users do not accidentally erase and install their Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard partitions. However, "Erase and Install" remains available through Disk Utility, which is also included on the installation DVD.
If you need to reinstall 10.6, it automatically archives and installs for you.
A reinstallation will not affect your Mac OS X version number. In other words, reinstallation of Mac OS X 10.6 on a Mac that contains Mac OS X 10.6.1 (when it becomes available) will not overwrite any new components delivered by 10.6.1. So when the re-install is complete, you will still be running Mac OS X 10.6.1. This will save users considerable time.
There is no "Previous System" folder at the root level after reinstalling.
If a power outage occurs, installation will pick up from where it left off.
To prevent the Blue Screen error that plagued some users when upgrading to Mac OS X 10.5, a software compatibility check is included that has a list of known "bad" apps, and disables them. Those programs are moved to an "Incompatible Software" folder.
Unlike Mac OS X 10.5, you cannot install Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard on computers where the hard drive reports a S.M.A.R.T. failure.
Installation initially triggers a large chunk of data to be copied from the installation DVD to the user's primary hard drive. The bulk of the installation is then managed from the hard drive, speeding up the installation process considerably. After a successful installation, that large chunk of data is automatically removed.
Mac OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard is priced at $29 for the single user license and $49 for the five-license family pack. The upgrade prices are available for users of the current version of Mac OS X, 10.5 Leopard. Snow Leopard will only be available for Mac users on Intel-based computers.

Also available is Mac OS X Server 10.6 Snow Leopard. Priced at $499, Leopard Server is said to be the most significant improvement to the server operating system since Mac OS X Server was launched. Amazon is also selling box sets with Snow Leopard, featuring the OS, iWork and iLife for $169 and the five-license family pack, iWork and iLife for $229.

For more on Apple's upcoming operating system, read AppleInsider's extensive Road to Snow Leopard series

For the sake of completeness, AppleInsider notes that it has heard some rumors that Snow Leopard could be released as early as August 24. However, these anecdotal tips cannot be confirmed with any degree of certainty at this time.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[Smiles77]

My first Mac, can't wait.

[Logisticaldron]

These are some nice tweaks. I’m still waiting for QT7 to be an option. There are just too many things that I miss about it that QTX doesn’t do. I still surprised that QTX is considered complete at this point.

[columbus]

Sounds like they have gone through with a fine tooth comb to make sure the Snow Leopard installation process is robust. This feature alone must have taken considerable time to engineer:

A reinstallation will not affect your Mac OS X version number. In other words, reinstallation of Mac OS X 10.6 on a Mac that contains Mac OS X 10.6.1 (when it becomes available) will not overwrite any new components delivered by 10.6.1. So when the re-install is complete, you will still be running Mac OS X 10.6.1.

If this same care extends throughout the rest of the release then we are in for a treat!

[mariofreak85]

Originally Posted by columbus

Sounds like they have gone through with a fine tooth comb to make sure the Snow Leopard installation process is robust. This feature alone must have taken considerable time to engineer:


If this same care extends throughout the rest of the release then we are in for a treat!

But if one of the components that needs to be fixed gets updated by the 10.6.1 update, don't u still have the broken component? Or in that case would you just need to reapply the update?

[techno]

Originally Posted by mariofreak85

But if one of the components that needs to be fixed gets updated by the 10.6.1 update, don't u still have the broken component? Or in that case would you just need to reapply the update?

My thoughts exactly. Often to fix problems we want to revert to an earlier version.

[winpple]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

For the sake of completeness, AppleInsider notes that it has heard some rumors that Snow Leopard could be released as early as August 24. However, these anecdotal tips cannot be confirmed with any degree of certainty at this time.

Hmm... If that turns true, then why not Arrandale-based MBPs around the corner (announced september, available nov/dec ahead of most PC makers) ?

[Logisticaldron]

Originally Posted by mariofreak85

But if one of the components that needs to be fixed gets updated by the 10.6.1 update, don't u still have the broken component? Or in that case would you just need to reapply the update?

Originally Posted by techno

My thoughts exactly. Often to fix problems we want to revert to an earlier version.

Perhaps there will be an option to resort to 10.6 or to keep the 10.6.x if you are certain the problem is not with the point update.

[emulator]

why do we have to go through the same thing at every OS rls. it's called Gold Master. Gold, GOLD! Golden is the egg from the fairy tale.

[ltcommander.data]

So is Quicktime X going to be Snow Leopard exclusive? And if so, do they intend to continue developing Quicktime 7 in parallel for Tiger, Leopard, and Windows?

[melgross]

Originally Posted by techno

My thoughts exactly. Often to fix problems we want to revert to an earlier version.

I was wondering about that myself.

The other thing I found interesting was that you can no longer install on a drive with a S.M.A.R.T failure.

This is why I keep telling people to check their HDDs before installing an OS update or upgrade. You never know what you might find.

This will help, but it still doesn't SOLVE that possible problem.

[Mr. H]

Originally Posted by melgross

I was wondering about that myself.

The other thing I found interesting was that you can no longer install on a drive with a S.M.A.R.T failure.

This is why I keep telling people to check their HDDs before installing an OS update or upgrade. You never know what you might find.

This will help, but it still doesn't SOLVE that possible problem.

I'm pretty sure that when the installer boots, the boot process includes checking of the disk structure. So that + checking SMART status would seem to have all the bases covered now, no?

[Mr. H]

Originally Posted by ltcommander.data

So is Quicktime X going to be Snow Leopard exclusive? And if so, do they intend to continue developing Quicktime 7 in parallel for Tiger, Leopard, and Windows?

Good question. I'd also like to know if it's possible to write plugins for QTX. I'm sure a lot of people currently use Perian and the WMV components from Flip4Mac. Will it be possible for those components to be re-written to work with QTX?

[columbus]

Originally Posted by mariofreak85

But if one of the components that needs to be fixed gets updated by the 10.6.1 update, don't u still have the broken component? Or in that case would you just need to reapply the update?

This is why it would take the time, solving problems like this!

From my interpretation:

[1] Install 10.6
... sometime in the not too distant future ...
[2] Install 10.6.1 via software update
... sometime later in the not too distant future ...
[3] Reinstall 10.6… system automatically figures out which components to alter/ammend/overwrite to get back to step 2.

[Logisticaldron]

Originally Posted by Mr. H

I'm pretty sure that when the installer boots, the boot process includes checking of the disk structure. So that + checking SMART status would seem to have all the bases covered now, no?

It’ll be interesting to see what the installer does to make this happen. It’s surely not something to greenlight willy-nilly.

[hillstones]

Originally Posted by emulator

why do we have to go through the same thing at every OS rls. it's called Gold Master. Gold, GOLD! Golden is the egg from the fairy tale.

And don't forget the Golden Eggs from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

[Logisticaldron]

Originally Posted by Mr. H

Good question. I'd also like to know if it's possible to write plugins for QTX. I'm sure a lot of people currently use Perian and the WMV components from Flip4Mac. Will it be possible for those components to be re-written to work with QTX?

All codecs work fine. The QuickTime folder for codecs is still in the same place and gets called teh same way.

[dsdevries]

Originally Posted by emulator

why do we have to go through the same thing at every OS rls. it's called Gold Master. Gold, GOLD! Golden is the egg from the fairy tale.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_master

[DCJ001]

Originally Posted by emulator

why do we have to go through the same thing at every OS rls. it's called Gold Master. Gold, GOLD! Golden is the egg from the fairy tale.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0qm0KUPeD8

[ecking]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

If you need to reinstall 10.6, it automatically archives and installs for you.
A reinstallation will not affect your Mac OS X version number. In other words, reinstallation of Mac OS X 10.6 on a Mac that contains Mac OS X 10.6.1 (when it becomes available) will not overwrite any new components delivered by 10.6.1. So when the re-install is complete, you will still be running Mac OS X 10.6.1. This will save users considerable time.

I hope that ability can be toggled off during installation, that's horrible for editors. I'm finishing up a job in FCP6 soon and I was thinking of giving fcp7 a try, imagine when I found a problem and wanted to go back to FCP6 my fcp6 disks were automatically giving me fcp7?

[vandil]

I just want to know if I have to have Leopard installed in order to install Snow Leopard. I tend to like to zero my drive and start from scratch with a new OS. While I own a copy of Leopard, it would be a colossal pain to have to zero, install Leopard, and then upgrade to Snow Leopard...

[LE Studios]

Pre-Order on Amazon.com already! I can't wait either!

[melgross]

Originally Posted by Mr. H

I'm pretty sure that when the installer boots, the boot process includes checking of the disk structure. So that + checking SMART status would seem to have all the bases covered now, no?

I don't know. It just says "failure". Long before you get a SMART failure, you get warnings. If the drive hasn't failed, but is on the verge, will it install? It doesn't say in the article. What about other drive problems? Some of them will not allow an install, but some will.

[John.B]

A reinstallation will not affect your Mac OS X version number. In other words, reinstallation of Mac OS X 10.6 on a Mac that contains Mac OS X 10.6.1 (when it becomes available) will not overwrite any new components delivered by 10.6.1. So when the re-install is complete, you will still be running Mac OS X 10.6.1. This will save users considerable time.

Add me to the list of people concerned that this will cause problems when trying to use a reinstall to fix a broken component or to revert to a previous version.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by vandil

I just want to know if I have to have Leopard installed in order to install Snow Leopard. I tend to like to zero my drive and start from scratch with a new OS. While I own a copy of Leopard, it would be a colossal pain to have to zero, install Leopard, and then upgrade to Snow Leopard...

Normally, when you do an install, you can have a wiped drive.

But this is a special pricing, so I wonder. It might require it.

[MsNly]

Originally Posted by melgross

Normally, when you do an install, you can have a wiped drive.

But this is a special pricing, so I wonder. It might require it.

It would also help stop fiends like Pystar.

[Logisticaldron]

Originally Posted by vandil

I just want to know if I have to have Leopard installed in order to install Snow Leopard. I tend to like to zero my drive and start from scratch with a new OS. While I own a copy of Leopard, it would be a colossal pain to have to zero, install Leopard, and then upgrade to Snow Leopard...

Originally Posted by melgross

Normally, when you do an install, you can have a wiped drive.

But this is a special pricing, so I wonder. It might require it.

Hopefully, at the very least, if you initiate the install from within the Leopard OS or that it detects Leopard as currently being installed it will flip a switch, thus allowing you to do a clean install.

[quinney]

Originally Posted by Mr. H

I'm pretty sure that when the installer boots, the boot process includes checking of the disk structure. So that + checking SMART status would seem to have all the bases covered now, no?

While the installer is checking things, it would be convenient to check to
make sure the computer is a genuine Apple brand computer too, rather
than a clone (if they have a way of doing this now or in the future).

[melgross]

Originally Posted by John.B

Add me to the list of people concerned that this will cause problems when trying to use a reinstall to fix a broken component or to revert to a previous version.

It's really no different from before. This is just for convenience when you're doing the upgrade.

As before, when doing a re-install, you just install the combo update afterwards.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by Logisticaldron

Hopefully, at the very least, if you initiate the install from within the Leopard OS or that it detects Leopard as currently being installed it will flip a switch, thus allowing you to do a clean install.

From the article, at least, you can do that from the Disk Utility once the installer is up and running on your machine just like you used the DU to check your drive before.

They just removed it from the basic menu choice.

[walshbj]

Does QTX have QT7 Pro-type features or none of them? Strictly a player? I haven't kept up on this...

[Logisticaldron]

Originally Posted by melgross

From the article, at least, you can do that from the Disk Utility once the installer is up and running on your machine just like you used the DU to check your drive before.

They just removed it from the basic menu choice.

I read that, but there is the off chance that the cheap upgrade disc will not have that option. I think it will as they can just check before hand and then offload the files to the HDD so you will have free reign after that, but it’s just speculation at this point.

Originally Posted by walshbj

Does QTX have QT7 Pro-type features or none of them? Strictly a player? I haven't kept up on this...

None at all. There is no Quicktime Preferences or a Prference Pane. The options are limited to exporting to a few multimedia outlets and few very simple trim settings.

[ghostface147]

At least I can format and reinstall....that's all I was concerned about.

[payeco]

One question I have about upgrading is what happens when I need to install OS X on, say, a new hard drive I may replace in one of my Macs. Will I have to first install 10.5 and then upgrade it to 10.6? That would be a big hassle. Hopefully there is a way around that.

[ad4m.phillips]

now that it's gone to gold, does that mean there is no chance of the whole look of the os being consistent?

[Logisticaldron]

Originally Posted by payeco

One question I have about upgrading is what happens when I need to install OS X on, say, a new hard drive I may replace in one of my Macs. Will I have to first install 10.5 and then upgrade it to 10.6? That would be a big hassle. Hopefully there is a way around that.

That is still the big question. They are obviously getting more sophisticated with their installation process, but the $29 version of Snow Leopard seems to indicate that you need to have Leopard installed so it can make the check.

Though I very much doubt it, it could be as clever as to ask you for the Leopard disc after it moves the install files to the HDD and before it actually does the install to at least verify that you have the disc.

Originally Posted by ad4m.phillips

now that it's gone to gold, does that mean there is no chance of the whole look of the os being consistent?

Nope. Except for some visual tweaks in Quicktime and contextual Dock menus very little has changed in the Snow Leopard UI. Yet another version of OS X that is quite mismatched across various apps.

[NOFEER]

how much $$$ from 10.4 to SN

[Mr. H]

Originally Posted by ad4m.phillips

now that it's gone to gold, does that mean there is no chance of the whole look of the os being consistent?

I think it makes most sense to update the GUI when they finally turn on Resolution Independence by default.

I think that 10.7 will remove all the parts of Carbon that make RI tricky (QuickDraw) (or perhaps completely remove Carbon) and have an updated GUI. Expect it to be previewed at the next WWDC and released 18 to 24 months later.

[mariofreak85]

Originally Posted by payeco

One question I have about upgrading is what happens when I need to install OS X on, say, a new hard drive I may replace in one of my Macs. Will I have to first install 10.5 and then upgrade it to 10.6? That would be a big hassle. Hopefully there is a way around that.

I imagine that the "upgrade" for 10.6 is just a full install. I think it would just be easier for Apple than dealing with an upgrade process. Much like the family pack for Leopard is identical to the single user. Apple just uses the honor system.

[Logisticaldron]

Originally Posted by NOFEER

how much $$$ from 10.4 to SN

$169 for current Tiger/Panther users, but that also includes the latest iLife and iWork. That is the only way it’s coming for those so you can save money by buying a cheap copy Leopard and the $29 version of Snow Leopard, assuming you don’t want the latest versions of iLife and iWork.