Installing, Upgrading, Backing Up, and Restoring Mac OS X
- In This Chapter
- What You Need to Install and Run Mac OS X
- Installing or Reinstalling Mac OS X
- Restoring Mac OS Software
- What About Mac OS 9?
- Selectively Installing Mac OS X Files
- Upgrading Mac OS X
- Updating Mac OS X
- Downgrading and Re-upgrading Mac OS X
- Uninstalling Mac OS X
- Understanding Image, Installer Package, and Receipt Files
- Backing Up and Restoring Mac OS X Volumes
- Creating an Emergency Startup Volume
- Troubleshooting Tips and Hints: Installing Software
Chances are, you were using Mac OS X even before you bought this book, since few Macs sold in the past few years can boot into anything else. And even if you own an older Mac, the fact that you're reading this volume means you've probably already installed Mac OS X on it!
For that reason, I provided an overview of Mac OS X (in Chapter 2) before this description of how to install the operating system, believing that most of you are already up and running in Mac OS X. Even if that's the case, though, you may someday be called upon to install Mac OS X on an older Mac that's still running Mac OS 9. Or, even more important, you may need to re-install Mac OS X (to fix problems). Finally, as new versions of Mac OS X are released, you will need to upgrade your OS. For all of these occasions, this chapter explains what needs to be done (and why) and offers solutions to a variety of potential problems.
I start off by providing background information on installing Mac OS X for the first time, moving on to give more general information about installing, reinstalling, and restoring Mac OS X software. You'll also learn about upgrading Mac OS X and find recommendations about how best to back up Mac OS X.
In This Chapter
What You Need to Install and Run Mac OS X • 125
- Which Mac models can run Mac OS X?
- How much memory do you need?
- How much hard-drive space do you need?
- Will you be installing Mac OS 9?
- Other requirements
Installing or Reinstalling Mac OS X • 128
- The Mac OS X Install disc(s)
- Startup from the Mac OS X Install disc
- The Installer menu
- The File menu
- The Utilities menu
- The Window menu
- Introduction
- License
- Select a Destination
- Installation Type, Install, and Finish Up
Restoring Mac OS Software • 148
What About Mac OS 9? • 149
- Getting Mac OS 9 onto your Mac OS X Mac
Selectively Installing Mac OS X Files • 151
- Do a Custom Install/Restore
- Copying from the Mac OS X Install discs
- Reinstalling from a Web download
- Extracting from an expanded .pax.gz file
- Use Pacifist
- Cautions regarding extracting files from update packages
Upgrading Mac OS X • 155
- Before you upgrade
Updating Mac OS X • 158
- Updating from Software Update
- Updating from the Installer package (.pkg) file
- Skip the restart?
Downgrading and Re-upgrading Mac OS X • 166
- Archive and Install, then re-upgrade
Uninstalling Mac OS X • 168
- Manual uninstall?
- Using DesInstaller?
Understanding Image, Installer Package, and Receipt Files • 169
- Image (.dmg) files
- Image files vs. compressed files
- Installer package (.pkg) files
- Receipt files
Backing Up and Restoring Mac OS X Volumes • 181
- Backing up Mac OS X: Utilities for volume backups
- Backing up Mac OS X: Hardware strategies
Creating an Emergency Startup Volume • 197
- Bootable hard drive
- Bootable CD or DVD
Troubleshooting Tips and Hints: Installing Software • 203
- Can't start up from Mac OS X Install CD
- Cannot launch Installer successfully
- Cannot select a volume to install
- Java Update 1.4.2 will not install
- Software Update does not list or install an update
- Software Update quits unexpectedly
- Installed Updates does not list previously installed updates
- Install and Keep Package option doesn't keep
- Installation is interrupted
- Software installs but fails to work
- Third-party software will not install
- Can't install a Classic application
- Video issues warning
- A collection of basic tips