OSX Upgrade

Hi guys and gals,

I'm a newb and I don't know a whole lot. I have an older iMAC with OSX 10.4.11 I love it! It has never crashed and it works fast. I use it for email, web forums, photobucket, Ebay purchasing/pay-pal with an occasional you tube video or other videos like SNL and Southpark etc...

A while back I upgraded to the latest version of Firefox and it was incompatible with the older OS I have so I ended up going back to an older version of Firefox so I could function but recently the forums I belong to have upgraded their software to be more mobile phone friendly and photbucket is getting ready to do the same and I'm getting a lot of error messages and the older Firefox I run won't play certain media.

I want to upgrade my OS but I don't know if Snow Leopard is good enough or if I should get Lion, and also, if I do upgrade, I can install it so I keep all my bookmarks and passwords right?

Specs:
Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac4,1
Processor Name: Intel Core Duo
Processor Speed: 2 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache (per processor): 2 MB
Memory: 512 MB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: IM41.0055.B08
SMC Version: 1.1f5

Thanks for any advice.

Dave

scooterguy said:

I want to upgrade my OS but I don't know if Snow Leopard is good enough or if I should getl Lion

Click to expand...

With your computer you can upgrade to Snow Leopard (OS 10.6)...but you can not go any further. For Lion (OS 10.7) your computer needs a Core 2 Duo cpu (your computer only has a core duo).

HTH,

- Nick

Unless I am misreading the Lion system requirements you will not be able to upgrade that for because it requires the Core 2 Duo processor. Snow Leopard will run on your machine but the memory would need to be upgraded to at least 1 GB.

You shouldn't loose any data during the upgrade but it is always best yo have a backup just in case.

Wow! You guys are great. I didn't expect such quick replies.

I have just a few more questions for you and I'll shut up:

1. If I do the Leopard upgrade how many years you guys estimate til I'm screwed?

2. Adding memory requires taking the computer apart and replacing a board correct? Is that something I can do? I repair Vespa scooters for a living so I'm pretty good with the whole hand/eye thing.

3. Does backing up the data require burning a CD or what?

Thanks again.

I can answer part of the question for you. Adding memory is pretty easy for this model. The door covering the memory slot is underneath the base of the iMac. Installation video

Backing up your data could be done by burning CD/DVDs but it is probably easiest to use another hard drive.

scooterguy said:

Wow! You guys are great. I didn't expect such quick replies.

Click to expand...

We aim to please. On top of Lion not being an option for that older machine, it's also no longer available in any form so Snow Leopard is your only remaining option. Luckily, it's $20 (order from Apple or check with your local dealers).

1. If I do the [Snow] Leopard upgrade how many years you guys estimate til I'm screwed?

Click to expand...

Year and a half, maybe two. I could be wrong -- Snow Leopard is/was an important reference platform and those tend to work longer than interim/first of its kind releases.

As I tell my clients, if you think of the iPhone 4S as the "perfected" iPhone 4, then Snow Leopard is kind of like the "perfected" Leopard. It may be some time before it becomes REALLY HARD to find compatible programs for SL, but I would expect most major software names to start moving to having 10.8 as the minimum sometime in the next two years.

2. Adding memory requires taking the computer apart and replacing a board correct?

Click to expand...

No -- not with your machine. It's insanely easy.

Is that something I can do?

Click to expand...

You or a well-trained monkey. There's a little "trap door" on the bottom of the machine. Open that with a phillips screwdriver, pull out the old modules with the lever, push the new modules in, close trapdoor. Five minutes, tops.

IIRC that machine uses PC5300 and has two slots so you can put in a maximum of 2GB.

3. Does backing up the data require burning a CD or what?

Click to expand...

I suppose you could, but what would be much easier and faster is buying a little USB2 external hard drive (get one about 2x or more larger than the built-in drive) and using something like SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner to make a "bootable clone" of everything on the drive. I would advise this BEFORE doing any upgrades.

Once you install Snow Leopard, you can use the included Time Machine and the external drive to do routine, automatic backups.

Let me just add that even though that machine is performing well for you now, and will work fine using Snow Leopard too -- its time is coming to an end. It's a very old machine to start with and while you're extending its life a bit with Snow Leopard, this is a band-aid not a cure. You should really be thinking and saving towards your next machine BEFORE your current one starts to be unable to meet the demands of modern software or web standards.

Thank you chas_m for that concise and complete answer. With all the input I have received here I feel empowered rather than powerless. You guys rock! I'll be sending people here in the future.
Thank you so much! Thank you.

scooterguy said:

I have just a few more questions for you and I'll shut up:

1. If I do the Leopard upgrade how many years you guys estimate til I'm screwed?

Click to expand...

Be very careful with terminology. "Leopard" is actually OS 10.5..."Snow Leopard" is OS 10.6. So if you really mean Snow Leopard...please don't abbreviate it to Leopard...because then everyone all be confused!

- Nick

Yeah I meant Snow Leopard. I'm gonna go for it.

THNX

scooterguy said:

Yeah I meant Snow Leopard. I'm gonna go for it.

THNX

Click to expand...

Can't beat it for $19.99:

Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard - Apple Store (U.S.)

- Nick

p.s. Since you only have 512meg of ram...don't forget the ram upgrade. Need min. 1 gig of ram. Good ram suppliers:

- www.macsales.com
- www.crucial.com

FYI...your iMac max's out at 2gig (2 slots).

So I called the local Apple store and the guy tells me that I can't just walk in and buy Snow Leopard. I have to order it online he tells me. Then with proof of purchase, they will install it free. I can buy it online and have it sent to the local store but I really don't wanna transport my 'puter if I don't have to. Seems silly that you can't buy Apple software at an Apple store.

Anyway, I have to make a decision here cause there are several choices at the link below with several prices. I'm leaning toward the 1 GIG $21.99 set. Keep in mind I only do e-mail and web surfing so I think 1 GIG is gonna be plenty but the 2 GIG isn't much more so...what do you think?

Apple iMac Intel Memory up to 2GB Upgrades for Intel Core Duo equipped iMac 17" and iMac 20" 1.83GHz and 2.0GHz Models

Read pigoo's post agin. You get it from Apple Online ONLY and then do the install yourself. Great learning experience. 2GB over 512MB will be a great boost.

Definitely get the 2gig of ram...especially if it's not much more $$.

- Nick

I hear and obey!

Another question

I have a Power Mac G5 (PowerMac 7.3) @ 2Ghz

Currently running Mac OS X 10.4.11...

Can I confirm that I cannot update the OS any further?
Mike

PS... read Lion shipped with PCC binaries/

Michaelo said:

I have a Power Mac G5 (PowerMac 7.3) @ 2Ghz

Currently running Mac OS X 10.4.11...

Can I confirm that I cannot update the OS any further?

Click to expand...

You can upgrade to OS 10.5 (10.5.8).

Michaelo said:

PS... read Lion shipped with PCC binaries/

Click to expand...

Nope...fiction.

- Nick

As Nick posted OS X.5.8 and that is it.

Snow Leopard OS X>6 and later are Intel only.

Michaelo said:

I have a Power Mac G5 (PowerMac 7.3) @ 2Ghz

Currently running Mac OS X 10.4.11...

Can I confirm that I cannot update the OS any further?
Mike

Click to expand...

You can upgrade either of those models (there were two of them with that ID and that proc speed) to a maximum of 10.5.8. Good luck finding a *RETAIL* copy (which is what you're going to need), they're extremely scarce ...

PS... read Lion shipped with PCC binaries/

Click to expand...

You need better information sources.

Re. read Lion shipped with PCC binaries ... should have been Leopard shipped with both binaries...

Looks like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place...
I wanted to change my web development from my Win 7 machine (i7 3 Ghz 8 core) to my Mac but it appears only half of the programs will work with 10.5 (should I manage to find the retail DVD), others require OS X 10.6...

Looks like I will have to find another Mac machine (a pro with Intel processors) before I can go that route...

No luck finding Leopard either...

You'll need at least a machine that can run 10.6. The good news is that you can probably find one for not a lot more than it would cost you to find a copy of Leopard.

*Leopard* (10.5) came on DVDs that had both binaries (Intel and PPC) ... Snow Leopard and up didn't. I think that's where your source is getting confused.