OS X upgrade to Panther

CS
Posted By
carl_sutherland
Nov 12, 2003
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371
Replies
13
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Closed
I have in my possession the CD’s for the upgrade to Panther from 10.2.8. I have been busy elsewhere lately and unable to read all the posts. Any suggestions on how to make the transition? I see there are some choices about installing. Any experience good or bad would be appreciated. I see one thread that seems its OK with PSE but I don’t identify a broader experience.

Many thanks

Carl
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MR
Mark_Reibman
Nov 12, 2003
Carl,

I was out of town from the 1st through the 10th, but before I left there didn’t appear to be any problems. I myself, have had none. There was a thread here when Panther was first released and everything seemed to be going well.

You can do a clean install (entirely erase your hardrive) or simply just do the easy upgrade. I’m really loving Panther as I have upgraded from 10.1.5 so it is a big leap for me.

BTW, there is already an update. 10.3.1 is available.
JH
Joe_Henry1000
Nov 12, 2003
Carl,

I did (and usually do) the simple upgrade. It took about 30 minutes and I was up and running Panther. No problems what so ever.

However, don’t install with any Firewire 800 drives connected. If you own a Firewire 800 drive update the firmware before installing Panther. Also, don’t use FileVault until you update to 10.3.1. There were some major issues with Firewire drives and Filevault but both have been addressed with the 10.3.1 update and firmware updates from drive vendors.

Oh and don’t do like I did when I first installed Panther: press the F8 key over and over while staring at the screen making swooshing sounds. Passer’s by might think you’ve gone loopy. My wife did. 😉

Joe
KW
Kyle_White
Nov 12, 2003
Carl,

I did the same thing as Joe. Upgrade install from 10.2.8 to 10.3.

I did get caught by FileVault saving some space and chewing through a bunch of prefs (including PSE2’s) and even some flat text files in my home space. Once I turned FileVault off and got all the prefs sorted out again – no problems. I don’t have any firewire externals so no problem there.

Am now running 10.3.1 and all is sweet.

And, yeah, F9, F10, F11, F9, F10, F11….. (with swooshing sounds). Fortunately my cat already knows I’m loopy. 🙂

This is on a G4 DP 1GHz MDD with 1GByte RAM. Panther is noticably quicker than Jaguar in many respects, especially the user interface.

Kyle
BB
Barbara_Brundage
Nov 12, 2003
Carl, remember you will lose your scanner if you upgrade. There is no panther-compatible driver for the microteks. If that isn’t an issue for you,

Also, if you have any firewire drives be very sure to get a firmware update from the manufacturer before updating and do not leave firewire drives plugged in/turned on when starting up and shutting down after you install panther.

I would check the 17" powerbook forum also, since there have been very, very serious monitor issues with some of the other laptops in panther. They are worst for the ibooks, but I have heard from a couple of 15" powerbook owners who also had trouble. Can’t think of any 17" users, but I haven’t been over to that forum recently.

There have been lots of problems with upgrade installs, guys, FWIW. I can speak from experience. Wound up having to zero and reinstall and I still have a bunch of problems.
KW
Kyle_White
Nov 12, 2003
Sounds like I’ve gotten off lightly, compared to others.

Kyle
CS
carl_sutherland
Nov 13, 2003
Boy am I glad I asked about this. I am so new at this game I didn’t even think about my peripherals. After going to all the time, energy, and money I spent on my Microtek scanner and i950 printer, then to render them inoperable by converting to Panther would have fried me. I read the good experiences and want to join in, but sounds like I need to stay with Jaguar until new drivers are released. Many thanks Barbara.

Thanks to all the respondents

Carl (putting the black box with Panther in it on the shelf)
BB
Barbara_Brundage
Nov 13, 2003
Hi, Carl. The printer will be fine, but that’s one reason why I’ve always been a little hesitant about microtek scanners-they always lag with their drivers, and sometimes just say, "so buy a new one, already."
LM
Lou_M
Nov 13, 2003
Well, Carl, if you ever do get around to installing Panther, there’s a safe compromise between wiping everything clean with a new install (very safe, but you have to have everything backed up) and a regular upgrade install. The compromise is called "archive and install".

What it does is back up your home & system directories, and then installs a completely fresh copy of Panther. Then it copies your home directory back where it belongs, and copies many preferences back to the new system. Anything it’s not sure what to do with, it just leaves in a Previous System folder.

It’s the safest and easiest way to do an upgrade, IMHO. I used it for both Jaguar and Panther and have not had any problems.

BTW, I have a 17" PowerBook, too, and haven’t had any PowerBook-specific issues.

And yesterday I read somewhere (MacFixit.com? MacInTouch.com? MacSurfer.com?) that there is a hack available to get Microtek scanners to work. Oh, found it, here it is:

<http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20031112021626342>

And one more thing. Apple has already released a fix (OS X 10.3.1) for the Firewire 800 and Filevault problems. So you should be safe.
BB
Barbara_Brundage
Nov 13, 2003
Hi, Lou.

Carl, it won’t hurt to try Lou’s link if already have panther, but even microtek admits it only works sometimes. If you really must absolutely have your scanner, stay in jaguar for now.

I have to say that I haven’t seen anyone at the apple forums reporting success with the microtek ‘fix.’
LM
Lou_M
Nov 13, 2003
Oops. OK, 86 that suggestion. Not having a Microtek scanner, I couldn’t test the "fix". It was weird because their web page said it fixed Panther, but was only supported for Jaguar?! Microtek needs new tech support methinks.

BTW, I have a Canon scanner (cheapie $99 variety) and it has no problems. It even runs off the power from the USB port and it’s about an inch high. In fact, it’s pretty close in all dimensions to a 17" PowerBook. Pretty slick.
BB
Barbara_Brundage
Nov 13, 2003
Hi, Lou. Yes, my little cheapie canon, while not the highest quality, has gone through every update without a hitch. It’s what made me decide on a canon printer this time–they do seem to have the best, most trouble-free support for X these days.
CS
carl_sutherland
Nov 13, 2003
Hi Barbara and Lou,

Many thanks for the additional information. I specifically want the Microtek 6800 for its digital Ice software for help in repairing old photos. I guess I could hook it up to my wife’s Windows 98 unit, get an inexpensive Canon for routine work, and upgrade to Panther and wait for the Microtek driver before attaching the Microtek to my Mac. I would have never thought of that. I’m sure glad I put up this post!

Thanks again

Carl
MR
Mark_Reibman
Nov 13, 2003
Hey Lou,

I just bought that Canon scanner last night at the apple store. Working okay with Panther.

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