How to upgrade form Snow Leopard to Mavericks

[Rod]

Thank you for that reply, now I understand. I wish your dad all the longevity he can get.
My thinking was that to update would make things difficult for him for no apparent reason but with potentially another 6 years to go your decision to update now is, in my mind. a good one.
You can create a bootable Mavericks installer on your Mac Mini although it is technically outside the conditions of the End User Liscencing Agreement (EULA). Still as it is a computer you administer I cant see any problem.
You will need to download Mavericks again on your Mini. Then use either Disk Utility or Terminal to create a bootable install drive on say a thumb drive. The instructions for this can be found here;
http://www.macworld.com/article/2056561/how-to-make-a-bootable-mavericks-install-drive.html Scroll down to 2. Disk Utility Method
Or Here:
Create a bootable installer for OS X Mavericks or Yosemite - Apple Support
Thanks again for your reply, good luck, best wishes to your dad.
Rod

 

[Mali]

Nick,
If you are still out there. I am ready to go to Mountain Lion OS 10.8. Any suggestions for a smooth transfer? Will my software still work, pages and Microsoft Word in particular without having to get newer versions? Can I go directly from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion skipping Lion on the way?
Thanks for any help.

Randy

 

[Slydude]

Yes it's possible to skip from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion. Whether you will need to upgrade the applications you mentioned depends upon the specific versions involved. You can check specific app versions needed here.

 

[pigoo3]

Nick,
If you are still out there. I am ready to go to Mountain Lion OS 10.8. Any suggestions for a smooth transfer?

Hey Randy. Slydude already took care of you…good luck with the upgrade.

- Nick

 

[Mali]

Skydude and pigoo - Thanks!

Randy

 

[Blazbo]

Wanting to upgrade / update from ML to Mavericks - do the same issues apply?
Mainly because I'm still unsure about Yosemite.

What about OS downloads (Mavericks) from CNET - any opinions?

 

[Slydude]

If you're asking whether to download the Mavericks installer, I wouldn't. First off, there have been a number of suggestions recently that many CNET downloads now contain adware. Second, the only legit source of the OS download you need is the Mac App Store.

As far as compatibility issues use the link from my previous post to check things out.