Nolan, It's really very easy to upgrade your OS. After all this is a Macintosh. (Read the last paragraph first.)
First you need to buy Tiger, $129. Your machine should meet all the requirements to install and run Tiger. (A PowerPC G3, G4 or G5 with built-in FireWire and a DVD player. (Actually you can get Tiger on CDs but you have to send off to Apple after you buy the DVD and it's an extra $10.) Make sure you have enough free memory for Tiger (256 MB RAM, more is better). First go to your System Preferences (Apple menu>System Preferences) and click on the Energy Saver. Set both your computer and display to never sleep (both sliders to the far right). This way your computer won't go to sleep in the middle of the installation. Next you want to disable your Login Items. Go to the Apple Menu>System Preferences>Login Items >your name. Click on Login Items and copy down what's there. You might also click and hold on each one to see the path to each item so you know where to find them later to replace if you want. (I didn't bother replacing whatever was there when I did my upgrade since none had been checked and I just checked-the only thing currently in my Login Items id some iTune?? and it is not checked. I don't really use Login Items. Anyway, select each item and click Remove until the list is empty. Also disconnect any non-Apple hardware attached to your computer like printer, USB Hub, external hard drive, etc. just go with the keyboard and mouse. Be sure you have a backup of your home folder or at least whatever you really don't want to lose inc case something goes wrong. (You already have a backup don't you? I have an external hard drive that I use to backup my important stuff. It is only connected to my computer and the power supply when I am backing up. The rest of the time it is unplugged so if my house gets hit with lightening it won't be zapped. Of course the computer is plugged into a super surge protector but lightening can zap that. Anyway I can sleep a little better through electrical storms. I just worry about the house burning to the grown.) Next, assuming you are currently using Mac OS X ( I think you said you had 10.2) and haven't been having problems with your current setup (no crashes, etc.) you should plan on doing an Archive and Install. The Tiger install DVD gives you three upgrade options: 1) Upgrade (the default), 2)Archive and Install and 3) Erase and Install. It is the last one that requires you to erase everything before you install Tiger. I assume you have Mac OS 9 on your computer since you are using AppleWorks. It doesn't come with Tiger. But you already have it. Check your disk for errors. Insert the Tiger Install DVD then Restart your computer while holding down the C key (this makes the computer restart from the DVD. After you choose English (again, I assume) you want to choose Utilities. And when the Utilities comes up click on Disk Utility. Select your hard drive on the left and click the First Aid Tab at the top right. Click Repair Disk and wait for it to finish and hopefully report all is fine. Now you are ready to install Tiger. Double click on the Install Mac OS X icon. selection the destination (your hard drive) AND read carefully: CLICK on the OPTION BUTTON. This is where you get to choose which of the three upgrade options you want. Click on the Archive and Install choice (the second button) AND click on the Preserve Users and Network Settings. (This way all your settings will be there when your computer becomes a Tiger.) Click on continue and then click on either Easy Install (the default and the one I used) or the Custom Install which requires you to choose what you want installed and what you don't want (like printer drivers you won't be using, etc.) Then WAIT while the computer does it's thing. Afterwards the Setup Assistant runs and you just follow through doing such things as selecting your preferred country, keyboard layout, signing up for a .Mac account if you want ($99). And registering your new software. Then you are ready to use your computer. It may take you a day or two to get use to the new appearance of Tiger. Plug in your printer, etc. Go online to see if there are any drivers you need to download (I have an Epson printer so I went to Epson.com and Downloads. Identified my printer and clicked to download the driver. Then my printer worked just fine.) Check out your major applications like AppleWorks. It should look and work just like AppleWorks. try all your other major applications. Have fun. In a week you'll be ready to go for iLife '06 or whatever. And before you start, wait for others in the group to double check what I have here and offer their advice. Then go for it. Have fun. Any problems or concerns, just send a message to MacGroup and well all chime in. Anne Cartwright NPfield at aol.com wrote: > > In a message dated 2/17/06 4:15:34 PM, Anne wrote: > >> Why not just upgrade your operating system to Tiger Mac OS X 10.4. I >> have a four year old iMac 800 MHz PowerPC G4 (1GB SDRAM) and recently >> upgraded from 10.2 to 10.4. Also bought and installed iWork '06 (but I >> still use AppleWorks mostly) and iLife '06. Your iMac sounds newer that >> mine and while I would like to buy a new computer I don't need to. > > Thanks, Anne. That makes good sense. But I haven't the faintest idea > how to upgrade to OS 10.4. Doesn't that require cleaning off (dunno > the technical term) your hard drive and reinstalling a bunch of > stuff? (I've had Apple/Macs since the Apple II days, but in upgrading > hardware only ever three or four years, I miss a lot of stuff that I > never find time to learn; still dunno what that "Go To" window on my > present Mac is all about.) Anyone willing to tell me that upgrading > OS is easy, and how to do it? > > Much thanks, > > Nolan > > | The next meeting of the Louisville Computer Society will | be February 28 at Pitt Academy, 6010 Preston Highway. | The LCS Web page is <http://www.kymac.org>. | List posting address: <mailto:macgroup at erdos.math.louisville.edu> | List Web page: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup>
