Mac OS 10.9, Mavericks, was released recently, and surprise: it’s free! Let’s just start downloading, amiright? Well, sort of. Here are some things to consider before updating that Mac.
Take it from someone who was a littttle too excited to get ‘er done. I ran home to get started, and I violated the golden rule, “thou shalt always back up [before upgrading].” I’ll skip some of the gory details and say that ultimately, I dodged a bullet and ended up with all of my data intact, but it wasn’t a smooth ride. The Reader’s Digest version goes like this:
- Girl selects “Update” (Note that it says “Update” rather than “Upgrade” from the App Store — another cue to your subconscious that it’s no big deal.)
- Mavericks begins installing
- Girl gets weird error toward the end and is given the option to go back and start again
- Girl goes back, finds no option to back up or cancel, and starts process again
- Install succeeds* but the prompts indicate that it is setting up a NEW USER account
- Girl proceeds (there’s no going back now) and ends up starting fresh, only to find that Mavericks appears to have installed on her external backup instead** (at the very least, User #2 ends up installed on that drive)
- After some sleuthing, girl finds that all of her original User data is still on her internal drive and is able to get Mavericks cleanly installed there
- Girl has a few minor heart attacks and then begins using Mavericks happily
Obviously, the moral here is that all users may not be so lucky(?) and with any OS installation, proceed with caution and a good backup in your proverbial quiver. With that said, I LOVE IT so far, and it’s well worth the upgrade update.
For more Mavericks installation tips, including steps to take before the install, check out these articles:
via CNET
via Mashable
*I’m theorizing that the first install was thwarted by my iMac’s sleep settings — I let it go overnight.
**Not confirmed that it’s actually a boot volume. I’m no tech, but that just doesn’t seem likely…does it?