Upgrading iMac OS

[anonymity]

Do we have any power mac users here? - I am looking to upgrade an intel based iMac machine from 10.4.11 (latest Tiger) to OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard. Apple website says that the box set (169$ per machine) is required to upgrade. It comes with a bunch of iSoftware that I wouldn't install anyway. So, is it possible to just buy regular SnowL and upgrade from 10.4 with those?

[i luffs yeww]

You could always torrent it, couldn't you? ;D

[anonymity]

No, that is not quite what I was going for. I am wanting to know about the upgrading process more that the where to 'obtain' the softwares. - but that could be a good point ;)

[i luffs yeww]

Umm.. I assume you just let it do it's stuff. :p Sorry, I'm not quite sure what you're asking?

Are you wondering if it will wipe everything and do a fresh install of the newer OS? If so, I don't see why it would need to. I know that when upgrading from Vista -> Windows 7 you could just select upgrade and I believe you could keep most things (but I chose to do a fresh install so I'm not sure). If that's what you're wondering, I'd suggest to save everything you need on an external HDD or a few CDs or USB or anything like that, just in case.

Also, for future stuff, I watched a video of some guy and he stored all of his stuff on his D: drive (it could be E: or F: or whatever you wanted, I suppose), and had Windows 7 on a 60GB (it could be smaller) C: drive and another 60GB drive for Ubuntu. I thought it was pretty nifty, especially since I change operating systems every few weeks.. :p But I don't ever keep anything too important on my computer so I didn't take the time to remap/move/change everything. It's also good in case you somehow mess with your operating system's drive (for him, his C: drive) and you can easily reinstall the OS without losing any files. :)

[Brain]

if you prefer to buy the software, I would suggest pirating it first to make sure it works.
I upgraded my GF's macbook from 10.4 to 10.5 a year ago or so. I like to do fresh installs as opposed to letting the computer roll over previous data (which it had the option to, and it would stick it in a folder in the new OS).

In any case, I HIGHLY advise backing up all important information, because if you don't, you'll hit a problem, and lose it all

[anonymity]

Macs don't act like windows machines... they tend to be quite different when it comes to un/installing softwares and OS. - :) i luffs yeww, I do the same thing. I have 4 linux distros, windows 7, xp, 32 bits, 64 bits, and others on cds. This last weekend I wiped my baby (computer) and threw on win 7, will dual ubuntu onto it this weekend though.

What I am/was asking is can I upgrade a Mac OS from 10.4 (Tiger) to 10.6 (Snow Kitty)?? According to the Apple website, I need to buy the box set (which is 169$ instead of 27$ for just Snow Leopard). It comes with a bunch of crapware that I wouldn't install and Snow Leopard.. Do I need to buy the dumb box set and waste moneys or can I just buy SLprd?

I asked a power mac friend of mine, called an 'official' Apple tech store, and was told this: "Snow Leopard will work just fine on any Intel based machine (doing a fresh install is best.. but upgrades will still go regardless of what Apple's website says)."

Thanks fors input. I will post how it goes later.

[i luffs yeww]

Well in Australia you couldn't buy an iPad opening day with cases, accessories, etc., due to some sort of pseudo-company policy, apparently. So I wouldn't be surprised if you had to buy all the separate junk to upgrade.

[Brain]

Macs don't act like windows machines... they tend to be quite different when it comes to un/installing softwares and OS.
Well, it seemed pretty familiar to me when I installed 10.5, about the same as installing windows/ubuntu.

[Shuttleu]

you should be fine to just upgrade
but like other users i prefer a fresh install
it gives a sense of nothing being there to bung or clutter the os up
and it is also nice and speedy as well as getting rid of the crap that you have somehow lost and stored up over the years in the depths of your hdd that you never even see anymore

~shut