With the OS X Mountain Lion set to launch on Wednesday as announced by the company's chief financial officer on Tuesday, Apple users around the world will be pumped to get their Macs upgraded. But what are some things they must keep in mind in order have successful transitions to the new operating system? Here are a few tips.
Check requirements
First off it is essential that every Mac user make sure that their computer is compatible with the new Mountain Lion operating system. Apple recently announced that six models of Macs will not be able to support the OS X Mountain Lion. They include:
- Macs introduced in January 2006
- MacBooks made prior to the introduction of the all-aluminum models in 2008
- MacBook Pros made prior to June 2007
- MacBook Air model introduced in January 2008
- Mac Minis made before 2009
- Mac Pros made before 2008
- Xserve hardware made before 2009
Also ensure that you have at least 4 GB of RAM in your computer. Most systems running Mountain Lion were shipped with 2GB of RAM, the bare minimum for using the system. Having extra will ensure optimal performance from the new OS.
Back up Your System
You never know how any of these downloads will work out and in the event of the worst possible scenario (a crash) it is essential to backup all important information onto a backup drive. Apple offers the Time Machine App to create a fully restorable backup of the system onto the hard drive. Other options include SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner. Once you have made a backup copy to make sure to test the system to ensure that it has been save. To do this, connect the drive, restart the Mac, and hold down the Option Key. Mac will display a list of bootable volumes from which you can click on the backup to ensure proper saving of information.
Clean Up Hard Drive and Optimize it
A good idea is probably deleting all those files you don't want to on the new OS X including applications not used any more and old files. By optimizing it, you help your machine run better.
Free OS X Mountain Lion Upgrade
If you are among the consumers who purchased a Mac on June 11, 2012 or later, then Apple will concede a free-of-charge upgrade to Mountain Lion. Just make sure you remind yourself that Apple will give you a grace period of 30 days starting Wednesday.
Here is what Apple states on its website regarding the grace period:
The OS X Mountain Lion Up-To-Date upgrade will be available at no additional charge from the Mac App Store to all customers who purchase a qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller on or after June 11, 2012.
Customers who purchase a qualifying Mac between June 11, 2012 and the date when Mountain Lion is available in the Mac App Store will have 30 days from the date Mountain Lion becomes available to make their Up-To-Date request.
Customers who purchase a qualifying Mac after Mountain Lion becomes available in the Mac App Store will have 30 days from the date they purchase their Mac to make their Up-to-Date request.
When Mountain Lion becomes available in July, come back to this page to request your copy of Mountain Lion.
To learn about the top features of Mountain Lion, click HERE.
To go to the page click here.
Here are the upgrade steps from Apple's website:
Step 1:
Your Mac must be one of the following models:
- iMac (Mid 2007 or newer)
- MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or 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:
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:
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.
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