[AssassyN]

Well I know what happened from Win98 to XP, but how does OS updates on Macs work? Will all my apps remained installed, settings saved, etc. when Panther upgrades Jaguar, or will I need a fresh install? Can I dual-boot into Jag and Panther?

[dharknes]

Based on my previous upgrades, the mac upgrade process is much nicer the Windows upgrade process. Drop the CD in the drive reboot his enter 3 or 4 times, wait and reboot. Everything stays the same.

As for dual booting them I would assume that just like Windows you can install Panther to a different System folder. It would be like booting OS9. I've never set this up but it shouldn't be to hard. But I'm willing to bet that like Windows will this type of install will break some applications.

[JKT]

There are three ways to upgrade:

1) Totally wipe the disk and install fresh.

2) Update - just overwrite the current installation. This is the easiest but possibly least favourable way of upgrading, especially if you have installed lots of third party system hacks which could potentially have issues under a new OS.

3) You will also be able to choose an option called "Archive and Install" which will let you install Panther cleanly, but retain your internet settings etc. The old system is archived into a separate folder ("Previous System Folder", IIRC), from which you can cherry pick e.g. any third party fonts you installed into Jaguar. This is the best method of upgrading if you can't afford to wipe your drive, but do realise that you may need to reinstall some applications afterwards if they installed anything into the system folder in Jag.

Edit: Dual booting between Jaguar and Panther is not a very good idea - it will mess up badly your file/application associations and just isn't worth the bother.

[ryaxnb]

It depends on which option you use. This assumes you are installing Jaguar or Panther.
*Full HD wipe: Gets rid of all the data on the installation HD. Generally you don't want this option.
*Clean Install: May get rid of docs. However you can put them in other folders/drives. A clean install completely removes Mac OS X from your HD and then installs it again.
*Archive & Install: Places docs and settings in a special area, then gets rid of the mmain install. Then it installs Mac OS X again. My favorite option.
*Upgrade: Simply replaces old Mac OS X files with new ones.
Upgrade is often less stable then Archive&Install or Clean Install. The options are avaiiable under a options button in the Installer.
OR: *Install on other partition/drive. If you install Mac OS X v10.2 on "Hard Drive" and then install Mac OS X v10.3 (say) on "Second Drive" then you can use the startup disk system pref to change OSes. However settings and files will not be carried over to the second installation.
You can not, iBelieve, install two copies of Mac OS X on the same partition.
And Mac OS 9 (what the heck
*Can be installed on the same drive as Mac OS X.
*Can be installed on a disk image, if you don't need to actually boot into it (just use it in Classic.)
*Can coexisit on the same drive as other Mac OS 9 installations
*Has limited support for coexisiting with Mac OS 8.x or 7.x on the same partition
*Can be "clean installed" and lose all settings, hacks, and extensions (and be more stable,) or merely "upgrade" when going from Mac OS 8.x or so.
*Can be "upgraded" to Mac OS X by importing manny Mac OS 9 settings. However since Mac OS X is a completely different OS, it doesn't really "upgrade."

[K++]

Originally posted by JKT:
There are three ways to upgrade:

1) Totally wipe the disk and install fresh.

2) Update - just overwrite the current installation. This is the easiest but possibly least favourable way of upgrading, especially if you have installed lots of third party system hacks which could potentially have issues under a new OS.

3) You will also be able to choose an option called "Archive and Install" which will let you install Panther cleanly, but retain your internet settings etc. The old system is archived into a separate folder ("Previous System Folder", IIRC), from which you can cherry pick e.g. any third party fonts you installed into Jaguar. This is the best method of upgrading if you can't afford to wipe your drive, but do realise that you may need to reinstall some applications afterwards if they installed anything into the system folder in Jag.

Edit: Dual booting between Jaguar and Panther is not a very good idea - it will mess up badly your file/application associations and just isn't worth the bother.

Your confused. Update keeps all your third party apps and installations intact. Archive and Install just moves everything into a Previous System Folder and installs a fresh copy.

The best choice is upgrade, that keeps everything just how it was before.

[JKT]

Originally posted by K++:
Your confused. Update keeps all your third party apps and installations intact. Archive and Install just moves everything into a Previous System Folder and installs a fresh copy.

The best choice is upgrade, that keeps everything just how it was before.

Nope, wasn't confused... just worded it badly by saying "overwrites" when what I meant was updates the old files to the new ones etc.
What I meant when referring to third party apps is that they may cause conflicts with the new OS as they may need updating to work properly, especially anything that hacks the system (e.g. APE, clear dock etc). If you use these hacks then a simple update is potentially the worst possible choice for upgrading (IMO) as you will be asking for unnecessary trouble. Remember what happened with WindowShadeX and Jaguar when it was first released? (If you don't, it caused the system to slow to a 10.0 style crawl).

[Shaddim]

Unless you want to reinstall everything, or you have issues with your Jaguar install, choose the upgrade option. Just remember to turn off all your haxies and remove as many login items as possible (such as Norton, 3rd party pref panes, etc.). After Panther's installed you can then try each one individually and see whether each will still work. This'll potentially save you quite a few headaches.

[AssassyN]

Thanks a bunch gang, looks like I'll just doing the "Update" option. You guys have been most helpful