01-18-2011, 01:23 AM

Hello!

I have a Mac mini that has older version of Leopard (before the Snow Leopard) and I want to install the full version (not upgrade) version without losing any files on the HDD.

How do I do that in steps?

Thank you for your help!

01-18-2011, 08:18 AM

First question: is this an intel Mac mini?

(this is my nice way of saying you need to give us more details about your system before we can properly advise you)

01-18-2011, 08:21 AM

Originally Posted by aslazz

Hello!

I have a Mac mini that has older version of Leopard (before the Snow Leopard) and I want to install the full version (not upgrade) version without losing any files on the HDD.

How do I do that in steps?

I'm really confused what you're saying or trying to do!

OS 10.5 IS a FULL version...and OS 10.6 is a FULL version...they're just DIFFERENT versions of the Mac OS (OS 10.5 is older & OS 10.6 is newer).

Like "chas" asked...is your Mac-mini PPC or Intel (if you don't know, tell us what Mac-mini model you have).

- Nick

01-18-2011, 11:36 AM

Chas and Nick (pig003)- yes, it's intel Core 2 Duo aka mini 2.1.

What I meant is that I'm not sure if the files including programs (the ones that are pre-installed and no CDs to re-install) will be affected if I install the new version. Also, the photos and videos I've saved on HDD....would they be affected as well or not? I'm not well knowledgeable with the installing part or whatsoever.

So I'm hoping that since I only have full versions, no upgrade, I could change the versions while still having all of the stuff on HDD and not losing some of the pre-installed programs as I don't have the CDs to re-install them.

Thanks for your replies and help.

01-18-2011, 12:03 PM

Originally Posted by aslazz

Chas and Nick (pig003)- yes, it's intel Core 2 Duo aka mini 2.1.

What I meant is that I'm not sure if the files including programs (the ones that are pre-installed and no CDs to re-install) will be affected if I install the new version. Also, the photos and videos I've saved on HDD....would they be affected as well or not? I'm not well knowledgeable with the installing part or whatsoever.

So I'm hoping that since I only have full versions, no upgrade, I could change the versions while still having all of the stuff on HDD and not losing some of the pre-installed programs as I don't have the CDs to re-install them.

Thanks for your replies and help.

Thanks for the info. Both "chas" & I were wondering if you had an "Intel" Mac-mini...since all Macintosh computers need an Intel cpu to run OS 10.6 "Snow Leopard".

If you're thinking of upgrading from OS 10.5 to 10.6...99% of the time there is absolutely no problem when doing the upgrade. You just insert the 10.6 install disk...and follow the onscreen instructions. The install process will leave all your programs & files untouched.

But...to protect yourself against the possibility of a problem...you should backup all important applications & files...just in case. Which is what you should have already done anyway...because hard drives can crash at any time...so it's always good to have your hard drive backed up.

The other important thing to consider is. Some programs that run under 10.5...may not run after the upgrade to 10.6. So you should verify that all your important & expensive programs will run under 10.6...or that there's an free updater program to help them run under 10.6. Otherwise (sometimes) you may need to purchase a program upgrade for the programs that won't run under 10.6.

I hope this helps,

- Nick