Official Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Thread & FAQ

fryke

fryke

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Mac OS X 10.6 Installation FAQ

Please read the FAQ carefully. If you have supplemental questions or have answers to other questions, add them in the thread and ask me to include them. (No PMs necessary!)

Does my Mac support Snow Leopard?
This one is really simple to answer. Any intel Mac with at least 1 GB of RAM supports Snow Leopard. There are no workarounds and no exceptions.

Which version do I need?
It depends on what you have now. If you're running Tiger, you'll require the Mac Box Set (169 USD), if you're running Leopard, the Retail version of Snow Leopard (29 USD) will do. You can simply upgrade, or (via Disk Utility from the menubar within the installer) clean install. (There are also more expensive family packs for up to 5 computers in the same household.)

Will my Mac run the full 64-bit experience?
You shouldn't care. You really shouldn't. Anything but an Xserve will boot into the 32-bit kernel (and extensions) per default, and switching to the 64-bit kernel (and extensions) has no real user benefits, which is the reason that Apple didn't choose it as the default on supported machines. There are lists on the internet about which machines theoretically can boot into the 64-bit kernel, but best simply ignore those. Even with 32-bit kernel and extensions, a 64-bit processor (any intel Mac that's not a Core Solo or Core Duo, i.e. the Xeons and the Core2Duo processors) in Leopard and Snow Leopard can still run 64-bit software in its full glory.

Will XY (PowerPC application) still work?
Rosetta (Apple's PowerPC-to-intel translation engine) is included with Snow Leopard, but not installed per default. Should an application require it, a message appears telling you about it. The Mac will then get Rosetta through Software Update, install it and the application should run fine.

Will YZ (any application) still work?
There's a list on the internet that is continually expanded, showing you whether a specific app or tool is running okay on Snow Leopard. If the application in question is not on that list, best look up the developer of the software. There might be a newer version that works on Snow Leopard, or there might be information about whether (or when) an update will become available for compatibility with Snow Leopard.

Is 10A432 really the Golden Master? It's buggy!
It is the Golden Master, i.e. the final version, i.e. the very same thing as will be on the Snow Leopard discs. And it's not buggy at all. Some people consider the missing 64-bit kernel as the default a bug, but it's not. Some say Quicktime X is missing preferences, but since there's nothing to be set, there are no settings needed. So that isn't buggy either. As with all "final" software, there are always some bugs still to be found, and Apple will probably fix them with 10.6.1 in about a month, or with 10.6.2 a couple of weeks (or months) later. And Apple will continue to fix bugs until they take Snow Leopard off the shelves. And then they'll still release security updates through Software Update.

I have a Quicktime 7 Pro license. What happens to it when I upgrade to 10.6?
Nothing. You'll have both Quicktime X and Quicktime 7 Pro in Snow Leopard. Quicktime X is a nice free player which also allows you to trim and export. You'll still be able to use all the pro features of Quicktime 7 Pro for which you've paid for. However, there won't be anymore "Pro" version enhancements in the future, as it seems. Those days are gone...

Should I wait for 10.6.1 before installing?
Some people will say yes (or even wait for 10.6.2 or 10.6.3 or whatever is going to be the next version that will be released on DVD), some will say no. I haven't met a single real bug (only a translation glitch or two, but I've already forgotten about them again). But then again: Take _any_ user comment with a grain of salt. I haven't tested upgrading _your_ machine and software to Snow Leopard. I can only tell you about _my_ experience with the new operating system. If your current setup works just fine, it probably won't hurt to wait and see what other people say.

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(The following is my original first post in this thread, I've added the FAQ later.)

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There's a lot of information flying around about the latest seeded developer build 10A432. Many, many people are calling it the "GM build", which would mean it's the build that's going to be released on DVD.

Additionally, rumours pinpoint a release date around 2009-08-28 now, which would be _ahead_ of the anticipated September release. This part makes sense if 10A432 is indeed the GM build, because it contains iTunes 8.2.1, and iTunes 9 is expected to be released in early September. (Wouldn't make much sense to release Snow Leopard with iTunes 8 if it was released _after_ iTunes 9, now, would it...)

I'm currently using the build on my MacBook Air and am about to plunge into it on my iMac as well. The few seeds before this one felt as final as I needed them to get, but then I'm not the haxie-installing, oldest-software using guy out there, so my chances of getting burned by the new system are a tad more limited.

There seems to be much confusion about which machines will get full 64-bit support and which machines won't. Just so you know: None of my machines has full 64-bit support in Snow Leopard, i.e. they're running a 32-bit kernel and 32-bit extensions. They can still run 64-bit applications, though.

15" and 17" MacBook Pros are apparently running 64-bit two generations back, but even the newest 13" MacBook Pros have to make do with the 32-bit kernel. According to all my information, that's not _really_ something the general user should concern him-/herself with, but still, it sounds like there'll be a few "foul" cries and quite probably a massive-multiplayer-lawsuit from owners of the first generation Mac Pro, dubbed "64-bit workstation" by Apple, that won't run the 64-bit kernel and extensions.

Any more news, rumours, ideas, questions? :)
 
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I just installed BootCamp 3.0 on my Windows 7 partition, and have tested the HFS+ support for the first time. Reading some Quicktime files from both my system volume (Mac OS X) and an external HFS+ drive worked just fine. I'm still hesitating to _write_ stuff to Mac OS X drives in Windows, but I guess I'll try it sometime... On a memory stick or something, so I don't lose important files. ;)
 
That seems odd that a 64 bit Core 2 Duo laptop won't run the 64 bit kernel. I wonder what the reason for that is.
 
fryke said:
Just so you know: None of my machines has full 64-bit support in Snow Leopard, i.e. they're running a 32-bit kernel and 32-bit extensions. They can still run 64-bit applications, though.
Click to expand...

Hey Fryke - Can you comment on what version of Python is included, and whether it is 64-bit?
 
Yes, and it won't be for a little while. I've gone back to using my MacBook Air for most of my writing purposes as of now. But I'm sure I'll get around to updating it nicely (or re-installing).

Btw.: I used "upgrade" as the method for all of my Macs. I always test this first, until serious problems arise, but none have so far. Interesting, I find. Performance, overall, is up, I think.
 
Upgrade is reliable. Good news. I just ordered the upgrade DVD. We'll see when I receive it.
 
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--J.D.

P.S. I have normally waited about a year or two for "upgrades" just to see that the "bugs" get worked out. Worked for X initially. Also, I could get the OS cheaper--from reputable Mac Dealers--when I am an "OS behind."

But . . . now . . . I am tempted.

So will it be faster? I heard rumors--from a Mac Guru who is an idiot in many ways--that it will "sap your processor" and may even "let the terrorists win!" Will it be better? Will all of my 10.5.8 programs run on it? Will it make me popular? How is it on acne and halitosis?

And I have this rash. . . .
--J.D.
 
I guess he either meant through amazon or via the Apple up-to-date program for when you've bought a Mac recently. He's bought an MBP 13", so I guess it's the latter.

About whether to upgrade at 10.6.0 or 10.6.5 (or something):

I have Adobe CS3 and CS4 running fine, Office 2008 running fine. I haven't encountered a real incompatibility yet other than iStat menus, which probably will be updated once it's actually released.

But I _have_ to say: If you're planning on installing in a production environment and rely on that machine, you'll probably want to listen to problems in the first week of its release at least. I can only voice my experience on three machines so far (two of which handle very basic tasks that don't offer much incompatibility-issues, my MacBook Air is for TextEdit, my Mac mini is for running VLC, iTunes and Quicktime), and the experience has been only _good_. I've had Flash Player Plugin crash in Safari one time (and one time only!) and it didn't bring Safari down. Just showed me a message about it that I could click away. (Obviously, the Flash content on the page I was on did get removed from the layout and I had to reload the page.)

In my opinion, there is exactly _one_ straight way of going to Snow Leopard from Leopard that is safe:

1.) Make sure you have an up-to-date Time Machine backup or clone (via CCC for example) of your 10.5.x installation.

2.) Disconnect the harddrive your backup is on.

3.) On the 10.5 desktop, pop in the 10.6 disk and start the installer. Choose upgrade if asked (it's the default, anyway) and customize it, so you can deselect stuff you don't really require. (And admire what they've done to the printer driver installation. It defaults to installing printers you've previously used and printers available on the network.)

4.) Start working on your upgraded Mac and look for _any_ problems. If problems crop up that seem like they stem from the upgrade process, you can now do a clean install and move stuff back from the backup later and safely, or you can try the upgrade process again by clean installing using your Time Machine or clone backup.

For me, it's been the cleanest upgrade I've ever seen on a Mac OS X release. In the past, there have been a lot more incompatibilities with smaller utilities and larger applications. Granted, Apple themselves call Snow Leopard "Leopard Refined.", so it might seem like a "smaller" upgrade of some kind, but actually, they're just saying it's not about large user-seeable features. Under the hood, Snow Leopard is as big an upgrade as any of the past.
 
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No, that is helpful.

I mainly surf and write papers. I am willing to wait, of course, for the responses. It just seems that what I can glean from discussions HERE and on other pages that the responses to those testing it have been good.

--J.D.
 
Of course you have to use your country's Apple site. The American store or uptodate page wouldn't work for Switzerland, for example. But for the uptodate-page you'd just add "/chde" or "/chfr" (for Switzerland) after "www.apple.com". -> http://www.apple.com/chde/macosx/uptodate/ for the Swiss German page for example.
 
I sold my AppleTV and put an older Mac mini (see sig) there. While I had certainly enjoyed the AppleTV for a while (and for its simplicity), the Mac mini does much of the same but more. Its sleep-mode seems to be much more efficient than the always-on, always-hot AppleTV. I believe the next _hardware_ version of the AppleTV will at least have a power button, so they can simply add a "shutdown" menu item. But of course a real sleep mode would basically be enough. (But really: This has _nothing_ to do with 10.6, chevy...) ;)
 
Unless the AppleTV next rev of the SW is moved to 10.6 (it is 10.4 today as far as I know). The 10.6 being much smaller than 10.5, it would make sense.
 
I fear the current hardware simply doesn't support a deep-sleep mode. 10.4 already _had_ support for other machines to sleep correctly (like, for example, every intel Mac, but PPC notebooks as well), so it's not simply a system software issue. It's either a design decision (we don't _want_ AppleTV to ever go into a deep sleep state, because maybe it crashes or something) or a hardware problem. Since Apple is not currently making much money off of AppleTV, apparently, Apple hasn't updated the hardware much yet. (Only had the harddrive upgrade to 160 GB.)

Oh, and I doubt AppleTV contains PPC code in its version of 10.4, so I doubt moving to 10.6 codebase would make it _that_ much smaller (if it doesn't even grow bigger).
 
fryke said:
Btw.: I used "upgrade" as the method for all of my Macs. I always test this first, until serious problems arise, but none have so far. Interesting, I find. Performance, overall, is up, I think.
Click to expand...

One of the touted features of Snow Leopard is the smaller footprint it uses on your hard drive -- there are reports that it can save you around 6GB.

When using an upgrade install, did you notice any space freed on your hard drive? I would think that it would replace the universal binary versions of many Apple apps with Intel-only binaries, and that would definitely save space... just wondering if the upgrade install saves you the same amount of space that a clean install would (not that I'm hard up for space now that WD 1TB Elements drives are under $90 now and I've got 5 of them!).
 
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