[VisualPurple]

(Sorry if this has been covered, I searched but couldn't find anything)

I just got the Tiger Installation CDs, and obviously want to upgrade, but have some questions first:

1. Is the Archive & Install option available on the CD version of Tiger, or only on the DVD version?

2. If it isn't and I have to do an upgrade, what're the chances of it screwing up (ie. Kernel Panic), considering I've had my eMac for a year and have made lots of modifications to it. None of them are major or system-altering, but I've got tons of 3rd party apps, some hacks (like ClearDock), some menubar items, some custom preference files (like SizzlingKeys4iTunes), and have made lots of little modifications to iApps (eg. httpmail, different bundles I've added to iTunes) etc. Would simply deactivating those apps before I upgrade ensure nothing goes wrong?

3. If Archive & Install is available, how much is preserved, assuming I enable the Preserve Network & User Settings option? For example, would my iTunes playlists be preserved? My iCal calendars? My iPhoto albums? My Address Book entries? Same goes for upgrade, if I upgrade will those be preserved?

4. I plan on making a bootable backup of my HD to an external HD using CarbonCopyCloner, but I'm a little confused as to what exactly that means/allows me to do. Say everything goes well with the upgrade but my video files aren't copied over to Tiger, could I mount the external HD and just drag them over to my internal HD? Or does the fact that the external drive is bootable prevent me from mounting it like a regular drive and copying things over?

Thanks in advance

[Randman]

1) Dunno.

2) If you do a clean install or Archive & Install, the chances of something happening are much lower than a simple Upgrade. According to most people here, Tiger went by pretty easy. Not al though.

3) I did 2 Archive & Installs, one my PB and one on the family mini and both went well. Shapeshifter reverted to Aqua and I had to wait for Transparent Dock to work with Tiger. Most of these type apps are Tiger ready now. Everything else was identical, even down a bookmark on an Audiobook I was listening to in iTunes.

4) CCC isn't officially Tiger ready yet but if you get the Pseudo app, you can make a bootable clone using CCC even on Tiger.

[Randman]

Edit: Cool nickname, I always liked the term visual purple after learning it in human biology.

[VisualPurple]

...bump...

[chris v]

Carbon Copy Cloner will duplicate your files on the backup drive just fine, and it'll mount just like a backup drive, as before. Yes, should something go sour, you'll have everything at your fingertips on the backup.

Also, when you Archive and Install (recommended), you will have a "Previous Systems" folder, so if you need to root around in it for files, there they'll be. One case-in-point is the "Adobe Unit Types" file that will get moved to Previous System, and break drag-and-drop with Photoshop until you put it back.

You'll have to re-install CLearDock, too, but all your user prefs will remain, so long as you tell it to keep them in the Options... dialog in the installer.