10.4.2 Tiger to Leopard?

[sparkntella]

Hello folks.

I'm sure this is an oft asked question so apologies! Just bought a 2nd hand G5 imac and tried to install Snow Leopard but was told that this version of the mac did not support that OS so I guess that we can only update to Leopard?

Can anyone tell us where the best place to get that from is at the moment please? We're in the UK...beyond that, we imagine that the upgrade is worth the money?

Any help would be much appreciated and thanks in advance for helping out a couple of noobs!

Love Chantelle and Martin

 

[toMACsh]

Wow! Good thing this is a bulletin board and not a billboard. That "ad" would really cost you!

You need the "retail* version" of Leopard, but, unfortunately, it is not available at retail stores. You might still be able to get one if you call Apple, but not sure about that in the UK. Otherwise, you're left with eBay, Craig's List, etc.

*That will be a black disc with a big X on it. Be sure you ask any seller if the disc(s) is(are) gray. You don't want that. Those are model specific.

By the way, how much RAM do you have? It could be that 10.4.11 is your best option.

 

[louishen]

Prices for second hand retail copies of Tiger and leopard are pretty high on the Internet

Your best bet is to call Apple as toMACsh said. While they don't market or advertise Leopard 10.5 anywhere, if you are a G5 owner they should be able to supply the disks, at a better price than what is being asked for on ebay

 

[hughvane]

Unfortunately, both Tiger and Leopard retail disks are in the 'extortion' price bracket at present. As advised - and cautioned - search the auction sites.

However, your stated specs say 10.4.2. I believe you can upgrade that incrementally to 10.4.11 with online updates from Apple. Check with your UK Apple outlet.

 

[sparkntella]

Thank you all so much!

Here are the specs:

Machine Name: iMac G5
Machine Model: PowerMac12,1
CPU Type: PowerPC G5 (3.0)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 1.9 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 2.5 GB
Bus Speed: 633 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 5.2.6f1

...we're pretty clueless beyond that it's fair to say!

 

[toMACsh]

That should handle Leopard just fine. Good luck!

 

[sparkntella]

Thank you...looking on ebay now and can see items to upgrade to 10.5.1 or 10.5.4...are we limited based on our spec?

Sorry to be a pain!

 

[toMACsh]

No. If you get any 10.5 disc, then you can update online to 10.5.8 (that's the latest update for Leopard)

...not feeling your pain

 

[cwa107]

Thank you...looking on ebay now and can see items to upgrade to 10.5.1 or 10.5.4...are we limited based on our spec?

Sorry to be a pain!

Just to clarify....

The operating system for Macs is referred to as "Mac OS X", the 'X' is not arbitrary, it stands for the roman numeral 10 (expressed as X). So each Mac OS "X" starts with 10 and when you read it out loud, you should refer to is as "Mac oh-ess ten", not "Mac OS ecks"

Mac OS X has had several major revisions, 10.1 - 10.6. Each major revision is a pay-for upgrade (in lay-mans terms, you must actually buy it to move up to the next number after the period). Each of these versions has had a "code name". For example, 10.4 was referred to as "Tiger", 10.5 as "Leopard" and 10.6 as "Snow Leopard". Snow Leopard, which was released in August of this year, is the first version of Mac OS X that only runs on newer, Intel-based machines. It is assumed that all subsequent major releases will also be Intel-only. As such, there is quite a bit of pent-up demand for 10.5, since that's the newest version that PPC Mac owners can upgrade to (and most Macs made prior to 2006 were PPC-only, so these are very much still viable for every day use).

For each major revision, there are multiple minor revisions (for example, 10.5.x). The minor revisions are mostly bug, security and performance fixes. These updates are free and done automatically through Apple's 'Software Update' mechanism.

So, if you buy a 10.5.1 disc, it just means that .1 is integrated into the disc. After you install it, you may then automatically upgrade to 10.5.8 (the last minor revisions to 10.5 to date).

I hope this clarifies things for you a bit and makes your search easier. Congrats on the new Mac.

 

[ibob]

Can't upgrade 10.4.11 to 10.4.8

I have a G5 PPC running OS X 10.4.11

I have been trying to upgrade to 10.4.8 so that I can program a new universal remote that has 10.4.8 as the minimum requirement for programming the remote via the internet.

Try as I might, whether using the combo 10.4.8 upgrade or trying to upgrade in installments to 10.4.2/10.4.3 etc, I can not seem to be allowed to do so. When I run any of the installers (This is the incremental 10.4.2 upgrade attempt) I am presented with the following :

I get this same warning window for the Combo 10.4.8 Upgrade as well.

My question is, what might the work-around for this issue be? What exactly might be the cause of none of my volumes meeting the requirements of the update?

• I have tried ejecting the back-up drives & rebooting with just the single NuBawb volume, all to no avail
• I have tried reinstalling 10.4.11 (worked just fine) & rebooting, all to no avail

As always, any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[cwa107]

I have a G5 PPC running OS X 10.4.11

I have been trying to upgrade to 10.4.8 so that I can program a new universal remote that has 10.4.8 as the minimum requirement for programming the remote via the internet.

I don't get it. 10.4.11 supersedes 10.4.8. Why do you need to downgrade?

 

[bobtomay]

You say you already have 10.4.11. To move to 10.4.8 would be a downgrade, not an upgrade. (Eleven comes after eight.) There should be no reason for you to be doing any of that.

With 10.4.11, you already exceed the minimum requirement of 10.4.8.
The system is not going to allow you to downgrade from 10.4.11 to 10.4.8 using the combo update.

edit: cwa beat me to it, that's what happens when you're watching TV while typing.

 

[toMACsh]

iBob, if you really mean 10.5.8 (and 10.5.2 10.5.3 etc.) then you have to buy it. It's not a free update. It's a for-a-price upgrade.

 

[ibob]

My apologies. I did mean 10.5.8. Too many decimal points confusing my frustrated brain. :— (

I didn't realize it was not a free upgrade. I guess because I have a PPC, I would be smartest to just order Leopard and be done with it.

Thanks again . . . for setting me straight.

 

[cwa107]

My apologies. I did mean 10.5.8. Too many decimal points confusing my frustrated brain. :— (

I didn't realize it was not a free upgrade. I guess because I have a PPC, I would be smartest to just order Leopard and be done with it.

Thanks again . . . for setting me straight.

No need for apologies. I should have inferred that from the thread title, my mistake.

Unfortunately, a lot of people with PPC machines are in the same boat as you - and since the release of Snow Leopard, Apple hasn't been selling Leopard. So, you will likely need to find Leopard in a retail package and that can be quite expensive due to demand.

Just a word of caution, not just any old disc will do. In particular, the gray system discs are model-specific (and since we're talking about Leopard, which shipped long after he PPC was retired, all of them are Intel-specific). What you need is a retail disc with the 'X' logo on it.

 

[ibob]

Thanks for the heads-up. I have contacted the ebay merchant I purchased Leopard from and cc'd him your comments re: a retail disc with an X on it. I think I read elsewhere that the disc should be black as opposed to gray. I hope to hear back that he is sending me the right disc.

 

[toMACsh]

Bob, go to Apple.com and find the link for the online store. Get the toll free telephone number and call to ask about a Leopard retail disc. They had an inventory of them after they stopped selling them in their stores. In the past (now maybe 6 months or more since I last saw a report of this) people have posted that they got one sent to them this way for about $90 or so. You may have to "kill them with kindness" to get one. But, they might finally be out of them. Let us know what you find out.

 

[ibob]

Thanks for the advice. I have, perhaps unfortunately, already purchased a disc off ebay for $160.00

http:////cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120585952646&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:US:1123

I've emailed the seller and asked that he make sure I receive the disc (I believe it is black) with the large X on it; not the gray disc. I'm still waiting to hear back from him. I'll be sure to post my results. Thanks again for all of the good advice.

 

[ibob]

Here is the response I received from the ebay vendor . . .

"The Mac OS X 10.5.6 is 100% legitimate, factory sealed 10.5 version. It indeed has the large X logo on it. I am aware of the gray ones you mentioned - we sell only legitimate software. You have absolutely nothing to worry about. Your order will be shipped tomorrow (as today is Labor Day).
Thank you for your business"

So, hopefully, aside from the big expense, I have nothing to worry about concerning the usability of the disc.

 

[toMACsh]

Ah, well. If it works, you're in business.

Apple might not have any left anyway. Don't fret, be happy!