MAC OS question...

[DarkLordEnron]

I know this isn't the correct forum to be posting this in, but apple forums offer no support, and i just have been having a b*tch of a time trying to understand the answer to my question.

I am currently on 10.5.8 on my early '08 macbook pro. I want to update in july to Mountain Lion but I can't even update to Lion because my OS doesn't currently support the stupid "app" store thing on mac. (Which I still don't understand why it's needed, but I digress..)

Will I be able to buy a physical freakin' disc so I can finally get out of 10.5 or do I FIRST need to buy 10.6 SEPARATELY for full retail price, THEN purchase the newest version? I'm so confused and kind of pissed at Apple for not offering an easy way to update. It seems as if a lot of people are angry about this because if they missed out on a version update like I did, they now cannot update their OS.

Just thought I would post here first since everyone seems to know more about things like this since the majority of us have macs.

 

[dougrogers]

If you can't update to Lion, you can't update to Mountain Lion. You need a new computer.

 

[dhewson777]

Not sure if a 2008 MacBook Pro has enough oomph to run the newer Os's. Brand new to Macs (2 weeks), so not much knowledge.

Just found this with a quick Google search:


Step 1:
Make sure your Mac can run Mountain Lion.
Your Mac must be one of the following models:

iMac (Mid 2007 or newer)
MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)
MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
Xserve (Early 2009)
If you are running Lion, you can find out if your current Mac qualifies by clicking the Apple icon at the top left of your screen, choosing About This Mac, then clicking More Info.

Step 2:
Make sure you have Lion or the latest version of Snow Leopard.
While you have the About This Mac window open, check what version of OS X your Mac is running.

If you are running Lion (10.7.x), you’re ready to update to Mountain Lion. Go to Step 3. If you are running Snow Leopard (10.6.x), update to the latest version of OS X Snow Leopard before you purchase OS X Mountain Lion from the Mac App Store. Click the Apple icon and choose Software Update to install Snow Leopard v10.6.8, the latest version.

Step 3:
Download OS X Mountain Lion from the Mac App Store when it’s available in July.
Open the Mac App Store from your Dock to buy and download Mountain Lion. Then follow the onscreen instructions to install it. If you don’t have broadband access, you can visit any Apple Retail Store to get help with downloading.

Hope that helps.

 

[DarkLordEnron]

That would be bull**** if I have to start from scratch. Completely silly to spend like, 2k on a computer that is only supported for like, 3 years.. I won't do it again if that's the case and it gets phased out so quickly. Better off sticking to my PC and buying parts for it as it becomes outdated in that case! (which I'm now doing anyway of course.) Being in IT, of course I understand this. But I mean...c'mon. That's 2K either way and 2k now is more than it was in 2008..At least it feels like it's more, lol. I might have to start considering a windows laptop..shudder..at least they're affordable.

Via your google search: "MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)"

So, yes, it's compatible.
But the question is HOW DO I UPGRADE if I can't do it from the stupid app store? Is apple going to offer disc sets upon request or is that just absolutely not going to happen? Surely someone here knows of the problems people had with installing Lion when they inadvertently skipped the next OS?

 

[dhewson777]

That would be bull**** if I have to start from scratch. Completely silly to spend like, 2k on a computer that is only supported for like, 3 years.. I won't do it again if that's the case and it gets phased out so quickly. Better off sticking to my PC and buying parts for it as it becomes outdated in that case! (which I'm now doing anyway of course.) Being in IT, of course I understand this. But I mean...c'mon. That's 2K either way and 2k now is more than it was in 2008..At least it feels like it's more, lol. I might have to start considering a windows laptop..shudder..at least they're affordable.

Via your google search: "MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)"

So, yes, it's compatible.
But the question is HOW DO I UPGRADE if I can't do it from the stupid app store? Is apple going to offer disc sets upon request or is that just absolutely not going to happen? Surely someone here knows of the problems people had with installing Lion when they inadvertently skipped the next OS?

You can order Snow Leopard from the Apple Store (online). They send you the disc. $29US

From there you will have the App Store where you can purchase Mountain Lion when released.

Again, simple google search, straight to Apple. Enjoy!

 

[dhewson777]

PS, only been a Mac noob for 2 weeks.

 

[Goavs18]

Via your google search: "MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)"

So, yes, it's compatible.
But the question is HOW DO I UPGRADE if I can't do it from the stupid app store? Is apple going to offer disc sets upon request or is that just absolutely not going to happen? Surely someone here knows of the problems people had with installing Lion when they inadvertently skipped the next OS?

From what I understand after snow leopard, disc's wont be made you will only be able to download updates throught the mac app store. I believe snow leopard will come as a disc then the app store will be loaded and that is how all updates will come.

 

[f4780y]

as dhewson777 suggested, if your hardware is supported then you need to get yourself updated to Snow Leopard via a disk from Apple, and then you should be able to make the transition to Mountain Lion after that.

 

[col.bris]

I have moved this thread as it is about Mac OS not iOS The issue the user has is about upgrading from earlier operating system to lion. Yes you can buy snow leopard for a small fee then upgrade over the air to lion then mountain lion as F4780y has stated. Life is to short to stress out over upgrades at some point yes you will not be able to upgrade to later versions of OS but that's life. You and only you have to make the decision if it is worth it. At some point yes you will need to upgrade your older Mac to later models I know because I have a 2008 MacBook myself and frankly mountain lion will be the last upgrade I will do. I most likely will purchse a macbook air but frankly as my iPad provides 80% of what I need from a computer I may not bother upgrading. Best of luck if you need extra assistance just ask.

 

[DarkLordEnron]

I have moved this thread as it is about Mac OS not iOS The issue the user has is about upgrading from earlier operating system to lion. Yes you can buy snow leopard for a small fee then upgrade over the air to lion then mountain lion as F4780y has stated. Life is to short to stress out over upgrades at some point yes you will not be able to upgrade to later versions of OS but that's life. You and only you have to make the decision if it is worth it. At some point yes you will need to upgrade your older Mac to later models I know because I have a 2008 MacBook myself and frankly mountain lion will be the last upgrade I will do. I most likely will purchse a macbook air but frankly as my iPad provides 80% of what I need from a computer I may not bother upgrading. Best of luck if you need extra assistance just ask.

Thanks all, that was helpful. I'll splurge and spend the $30 on the new os on disc. I figure it will also be this laptops' last upgrade as the times they are achanging with the apple products. Sucks that we can't get physical copies any longer. I wonder how that's going to impact support. YOU KNOW people don't perform backups like they should...
Anyways thanks for all the help even though this didn't belong here.

(You really use your ipad that much? I find I just don't have a use for a tablet. Macbook Air might be the way to go for me, but I need a traditional computer methinks..)

 

[col.bris]

I would like to address both statements you made and if I may bring you up to date. I have worked for a major electrical supplier in Tech Zone in Australia for 4 years so I see the rapid changes occuring every day and prior to that I owned a VAR Apple reseller business for 22 years so I feel I can provide input on both platforms. I still sell Apple computers to a select group of clients outside of my day to day job.

Changes that are occurring with so called traditional pc (towers) and laptops regardless of platform is fast and furious. Many of the changes confuse older users or should I say mature people lol as they are use to traditional methods of doing things and don't like to rock the boat. The changes are simple .....DVD drives are dying fast in the mainstream new laptops as manufactures produce Apple look alike ultralight computers no DVD no VGA connections minimum number of USB and in many cases SSD solid state hard drives to max size of 512gb (if you can afford it) Battery life now around 8 hours instead of 2-4 if you are lucky... The other item that changes is the processors are slower by performance ie 1.6mhz to 2mhz. Yet the perormance overall is similar to a traditional laptops due to the SSD drive. The other changes are I call hybrid laptops where they have 500gb plus drives installed as well as a small SSD 64gb drive for the OS and some like Samsung have slot DVD drives however I suspect by 2013 that will disappear. . Lapt tops are out selling desktops by about 60 to one mainstream laptops are "have I got a deal for you" Under $800 computers. Except for gamers and business users the higher end laptops in our location at lease are slow moving. Keep in mind our core business is consumers not business and high end systems. What I find amusing is more than half teh buyers are buying cheap laptops for email, face book, banking, surfing the web, music and picture storage and limited word processing and oh using Skype. Hello !!! isnt this what the iPad can do...........!!!! . However compared to what we were selling 2 years ago this market is getting smaller... Why... THE IPAD Is killing this section of the market not to mention gaming, cameras, Portable DVD players etc etc. Our other stores whom sell the iPads are moving even now (off season winter) around 50 to 100 a week and theses stores are small. The traditional Towers are slow sellers also as again all in one computers are becoming more popular unless you are a hard gamer and want a rocket ship on your desktop that vibrates when you play on line games.....

So what does this mean like the millions of others buying iPads it is all about Apps which is why I can use my iPad 80% to 90% of the time. I donot need a laptop or tower except for home storage of music iTunes and some special quoting software I use in my consulting business. The laptop is used mainly by the family but not by myself.

All traditional consumer computers are shipped with backup partitions (pc only) and no longer include disks so recovery is done by combination of keys to start the process. Most manufactures offer some sort of backup as part of the package. Apple now offers as an option a USB memory stick with the OS installed. All updates and new versions of Apple OS are completed via the OS app store over the air..... This can cause problems if one has slow Internet however in most cases it just works with out issues. From what Incan understand windows 8 will also be over the air update similar to Apple so be prepared for that if you own a PC.

To answer your question about what you need to buy I suggest making a hot list of your requirements before spending your hard earned money and ask your self do you really want a windows laptop or tower when you can purchase a Mac and if you really want to also run windows 7 or 8 at the same time Decide what are you going to use the main stream computer for I asume something usefull like running Cad photography programs or heavy gaming. Hopefully then making that decision will be easier. In your case I would consider putting a SSD drive into the 2008 MacBook upping the ram to 4gb if you have not done so and sit tight for another year and see what comes along. Install the new mountain lion when it becomes available and if you need more storage use external drives and even. NAS (network drive) that can offer extra store for your iPad as well. Yes this is long winded but hopefully assist you and by the way we also have a sister forum (Appleforums.net) that may offer some answers..... Cheers. Colin