Every once in a while it becomes obvious that there's a bit of confusion about which versions of Mac OS are available for free and which are not. The recent thread about OS 8.6 punctuates this. Here's everything you need to know about what's free and what's not.....
Generally speaking: .0 and .5 releases are never free, everything else is a free upgrade from the previous paid upgrade. Exceptions are System 7.6, which was a paid upgrade, and OS X 10.1 which (at this point) you pretty much have to buy unless you can find the free CDs still laying around somewhere. Nomenclature: "upgrade" refers to an upgrader app or CD, where a previous version is REQUIRED for the upgrade to be install, and no method of clean install is provided. "full install" indicates the CD includes the entire OS, and can be used to install onto a blank hard drive. Mac OS 7.6 -> paid upgrade from System 7.5. Mac OS 8 -> no upgrade, paid full install. Mac OS 8.1 -> free upgrade from OS 8 Mac OS 8.5 -> paid upgrade from OS 8 OR paid full install Mac OS 8.5.x -> free upgrades from OS 8.5 Mac OS 8.6 -> free upgrade from OS 8.5.x Mac OS 9 -> no upgrade, paid full install Mac OS 9.0.x -> free upgrade Mac OS 9.1 -> free upgrade Mac OS 9.2.x -> free upgrade Hope this helps! Jeremy -- PCI-PowerMacs is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Sonnet & PowerLogix Upgrades - start at $169 | & CDRWs on Sale! | SPECIAL LIST PRICES - Apple PCI Video Cards from $19.99, MacOS 8.5 CD $79.99 Replacement Parts IN STOCK, Apple CDROMs from $19.99 <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> PCI-PowerMacs list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/pci-powermacs.shtml> Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive:<http://www.mail-archive.com/pci-powermacs%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
