Is my bundled Leopard disk just an upgrade?

Kola · Dec 12, 2007

Hi got my new Mini today and it came reinstalled with Tiger on it along with a disk with a sticker on it telling me how to get Leopard on it by inserting the disk and following the instructions etc.

Id rather go for a clean install as opposed an upgraded tiger installation if poss.

Is there any way I can tell what this disk is?

bryphotoguy · Dec 12, 2007

There is only one disc, one version of each operating system. This is no such thing as a upgrade disc or anything like that. The disc that came with the mini will do everything for you.
Pop it in, follow the menu and it will let you do a clean install.
You ordered that thing Monday night, right?

AK47 · Dec 12, 2007

PC people always want to do a clean install which is interesting, they are used to the terrible upgrade option for windows.

Kola · Dec 12, 2007

@ bry - I ordered it Tuesday morning at 2am UK time. It arrived within 36 hours and postage was included for free. Excellent service. Not like I had to pay for UPS priority mail or anything like it was sent.

@ AK47 - is the upgrade route for Macs OK then?

D3v1L80Y · Dec 12, 2007

I don't have a recent Mac, but I can tell you from experience that when they do a "drop-in" OS disc... it is an upgrade disk. These discs are not the same as a retail version and there is no way you can purchase it. It only comes with Macs after a recent OS update.
Unless something has changed, it will only install if you have the prior version (10.4.x) installed first.
It is not a full on OS disk that you can do a clean install from.

EDITED TO ADD: Here is a perfect example. A Mac comes with the "drop-in" disc. Some dishonest soul tries to sell it on ebay. Some poor soul buys it thinking it is a full retail version.

If you look at the attachment closely, you will see it indeed says "Upgrade" on the disc.

bryphotoguy · Dec 12, 2007

Weird, I haven't seen anything like that before.
I popped in the disc that came with my Mac Pro, granted it 10.4.9 but the first menu let me choose between "Upgrade", "Archive and Install", and "Erase and Install."
Pop in the disc and see what it will let you do. Erase and install is best when going to 10.5. Some people experiences some issues if they did a upgrade. That might only be because they had weird apps on their computer though. Since it's new, you shouldn't have a problem either way.

bryphotoguy · Dec 12, 2007

I assumed there were only two discs, like I've always seen. Kola, do you have a 3rd disc that has the X with purple? (I assume the other two are gray and white)

brian67 · Dec 12, 2007

my "upgrade" disc let me do a clean install. Granted, I did have Tiger to begin with.

Stretch · Dec 12, 2007

The upgrade discs are full versions of OS X, except for one thing.

When you try to install from them, they check to make sure that there is at least 10.4 or higher already on the computer, that is the only catch. In all other ways they are identical to a full retail version.

bryphotoguy · Dec 12, 2007

So if a HD went bad, someone with these upgrade discs would have to install 10.4 just so they could install 10.5 on it using that disc?
That's just... a waste of time. Is Apple trying to prevent people from selling the disc for $100?

Stretch · Dec 12, 2007

Yea, pretty much. Or if you have a backup HD connected to the computer with a full version of OS X 10.4 or higher connected you can use that.

Besides, everyone has a full backup of their HD anyways, so this shouldn't even be a problem.

bryphotoguy · Dec 12, 2007

Stretch said:
Besides, everyone has a full backup of their HD anyways, so this shouldn't even be a problem.

They do?

I have 10.5 on one HD and I guess all my photos stored from iPhoto but I keep everything else on a second HD. I don't keep two copies of anything.
I have 10.5 on one 250GB HD, my stuff on another 250GB HD, data totaling 70GB or so. Can I use Time Machine to save everything I have on a 3rd HD if it's only 160GB? (All HD's are internal)
Sorry if this doesn't really relate, I am just unfamiliar with Time Machine.

nirvana · Dec 13, 2007

I have the upgrade DVD as Stretch said, i needed to have Tiger installed in order to go ahead with Leopard.

ki99 · Dec 13, 2007

AK47 said:
PC people always want to do a clean install which is interesting, they are used to the terrible upgrade option for windows.

why is that interesting. a lot of people here who have upgraded to leopard had a lot of problems, where doing a clean install fixed it. it doesn't matter what OS you are using, a clean install is always the best was to do it.

cgchambers · Dec 14, 2007

I had the same disk with my Mac Pro, and I to am an ex-PC person. I did a clean install only to realize iLife was not on this Leopard disk. So while it is a full OS copy, it does not have the iLife suite. So be aware if you are a clean installer.

Stretch · Dec 14, 2007

iLife never has been and probably never will be part of the OS. I'm not sure where people get this idea. iLife is a separate suite.

MS Office comes with most computers, but it doesn't come with Windows, this is exactly the same thing.

theonegod · Dec 14, 2007

Stretch said:
iLife never has been and probably never will be part of the OS. I'm not sure where people get this idea. iLife is a separate suite.

MS Office comes with most computers, but it doesn't come with Windows, this is exactly the same thing.

Hardly the same thing.

First, Office doesn't come on most computers. It comes on next to none of them and when it does it is usually a trial version. If you DO get a PC with office included you were billed for it as a separate line item and it was still selected seperatly as an install option by the person who put together the computer order for you. ILife on the other hand comes installed on EVERY new MAC purchase. Therefore anyone who has purchased a new mac but has not yet had to purchase a OS upgrade since their MAC purchase is very likly to think that ILife was just a part of their OS as it was included on their MAC, every other MAC sold, and not an additional line item cost.

bryphotoguy · Dec 14, 2007

theonegod said:
Hardly the same thing.

First, Office doesn't come on most computers. It comes on next to none of them and when it does it is usually a trial version. If you DO get a PC with office included you were billed for it as a separate line item and it was still selected seperatly as an install option by the person who put together the computer order for you. ILife on the other hand comes installed on EVERY new MAC purchase. Therefore anyone who has purchased a new mac but has not yet had to purchase a OS upgrade since their MAC purchase is very likly to think that ILife was just a part of their OS as it was included on their MAC, every other MAC sold, and not an additional line item cost.

I checked Dell and HP. Neither come with Office. It is a $150 upgrade. Last time a PC purchase was made in the household, like 7 years ago, the HP was a cheap base model and it came with Office but it had Works instead of Word. So I can see why Stretch came to that conclusion if he hasn't purchased a PC in many years.
It does say in a seperate line when ordering that it included iLife. I would think if iLife was a part of OSX and not a suite, it wouldn't get the recognition or be on a seperate disc.

It is Mac btw. Not to be a jerk but MAC is some networking address or something. Just a helpful note for future reference.

theonegod · Dec 14, 2007

A MAC is the physical address of your network card. I know this

I don't get all caught up in capitalization. You all know what I mean when I type MAC or Mac or mac on the mac forums I think. Works was never a part of Microsoft Office. It was a part of the Microsoft Works Suite. But no worries

Also, the line item you mention is only available if you buy from the web. And as it is not an item that can be selected or toggled it is not noticed by most. Especially on their first mac MAc MAC purchase.

My original post came as a result of him saying he can't understand where people get the impression that ILife is a part of the OS. I think it is extremely easy to come to that conclusion on your first Mac purchase personally and this IS after all...the switchers forum. So it is a safe bet that anyone here was on their first purchase.

bryphotoguy · Dec 14, 2007

theonegod said:
A MAC is the physical address of your network card. I know this

I don't get all caught up in capitalization. You all know what I mean when I type MAC or Mac or mac on the mac forums I think. Works was never a part of Microsoft Office. It was a part of the Microsoft Works Suite. But no worries Also, the line item you mention is only available if you buy from the web. And as it is not an item that can be selected or toggled it is not noticed by most. Especially on their first mac MAc MAC purchase.

My original post came as a result of him saying he can't understand where people get the impression that ILife is a part of the OS. I think it is extremely easy to come to that conclusion on your first Mac purchase personally and this IS after all...the switchers forum. So it is a safe bet that anyone here was on their first purchase.

Yea, Works is a program not bundled with Office. But I know there was some stupid disc we had that had Windows with some Office apps but no Word. Maybe it was a Windows 98SE disc or something. But I know we had PowerPoint and Excel but we had Works and not Word.
I can't say how I knew iLife wasn't a part of OS X. With the matching gray discs, it is hard to tell.
It should say on the box: Includes OS X and then on another line iLife. I assume this only because I only buy refurb so I don't have that fancy box to read the list of included items.
Sorry for dragging this on.