Mac OS X Leopard: The Missing Manual

Appendix A. Installing Mac OS X 10.5

If your computer came with Mac OS X 10.5 already installed on it, you can skip this appendix—for now. But if you're running an earlier version of the Mac OS and want to savor the Leopard experience, this appendix describes how to install the new operating system on your Mac.

Getting Ready to Install

For starters, you need to make sure that you and your Mac have what it takes to handle Mac OS X—specifically:

• A Macintosh with a G4, G5, or Intel processor. Those old Power Mac G3s and PowerBook G3s have finally fallen off the Mac OS X upgrade path. (And G4 machines require an 867-megahertz chip or faster.) Basically, most Macs manufactured since the end of 2004 are eligible, which isn't bad at all.

• Plenty of free hard disk space. You need 9 GB free to install the full Mac OS X 10.5—more if you install the Developer Tools, less if you decline to install all the optional languages and printer drivers (more on this in a moment).

• A lot of memory. Apple recommends at least 512 MB of memory, but Mac OS X absolutely loves memory. For the greatest speed, install 1 gigabyte—2 or more if you can afford it.

  (And these days, you probably can.)

• The latest firmware. Firmware describes the low-level, underlying software instructions that control the actual circuitry of your Mac. Every now and then, Apple updates it for certain Mac models, and it's very important that your Mac has the absolute latest. If yours doesn't, a message will appear to let you know during the Leopard ...