[nJm]

A friend of mine has an iBook G3 800 with 640mb ram. It currently has OS 10.2.6 and 9.2 on it. She is interested in upgrading to Panther as she can't install Office 2004. Are there any things I need to know before I install it for her? I gather you can just upgrade the OS? She has far too much crap to be backed up

Thanks for any tips.

[Parky]

You can just install and you should have no issues.

I would recommend the following though :-

1. Backup all your important files and anything else you can't easily reinstall.
2. Write down any preferences you don't already have somewhere (e.g. ISP settings)
3. Make sure you are using mains power and not battery
4. Make sure you select the 'update' option when you install Panther

For more information have a look here :-

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25735

Other than that you should be fine, it's very unusual for people to have a problem doing an update, but better safe than sorry.

Ian

[bergy]

Highly recommend "Archive and Install"
Gives you a clean system folder .... everything else left untouched ..

Apple - Archive and Install
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120

Before Installing

1. Backup valuable data

2. Boot from the Panther "Mac OS X Install CD 1" go to upper left of screen to "Installer" menu in order to open the "Disk Utility". Then, click on "First Aid" and repair the hard drive. Then Repair Permissions.


If you wanted to be super careful you could run Disk Warrior if you have it ..

Unplug all your peripherals except your mouse and keyboard before installing


Also ....
After updating to Panther and after any update .. Repair permissions: Close all files and applications on the disk you want to repair. Go to Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility and double click it. Then select your hard drive in the left panel and First Aid at the top. Then click on "Repair Permissions." It will take a few minutes.


Here is a document that goes into more detail about installs in general, and the options if you choose to customize ... very well written.

Panther Installation Process
http://discussions.info.apple.com/We...f1.0@.599b3b48
Good luck ... You will love Panther!