When you’re ready to upgrade to Leopard (OS X 10.5), you will need to decide what type of installation to perform. OS X 10.5 offers three types of installation: Upgrade, Archive and Install, and Erase and Install.

The Archive and Install method takes the middle ground. The installer moves your existing OS to a folder, and then creates a clean installation of OS X 10.5 Leopard. This method also offers the option to copy the existing user data, including any user accounts, Home directories, and all user data to the fresh install.

Lastly, all network settings used in the previous OS will be copied over to the new installation of OS X 10.5 Leopard. The end result is a clean system installation that retains your user data. Additionally, you get a folder that contains all of your old system data, including your applications and their preferences files, which you can copy over to the new installation, if needed.

It’s important to understand what doesn’t get copied over. Applications, preferences files, and any changes or additions made to system files or folders are all left behind in the previous system folder.

If you’re ready to perform an Archive and Install of OS X 10.5, then gather up the necessary items and we’ll get started.

What You Need

• A Mac with a G4, G5, or Intel processor, 512 MB of RAM, a DVD drive, and at least 9 GB of free space.
  
  
• A Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Install DVD.
  
  
• A half hour to two hours of time. The amount of time the installation will take depends on the type of Mac you’re installing OS X 10.5 on.
  
  

Installing OS X Leopard requires you to boot from the Leopard Install DVD. There are multiple ways to start this boot process, including a method for when you’re unable to access your Mac’s desktop.

Start the Process

1. Insert the OS X 10.5 Leopard Install DVD into your Mac’s DVD drive.
   
   
2. After a few moments, a Mac OS X Install DVD window will open.
   
   
3. Double-click the ‘Install Mac OS X’ icon in the Mac OS X Install DVD window.
   
   

1. When the Install Mac OS X window opens, click the ‘Restart’ button.
   
   
2. Enter your administrator password, and click the ‘OK’ button.
   
   
3. Your Mac will restart and boot from the installation DVD. Restarting from the DVD can take a little while, so be patient.
   
   

Start the Process - Alternative Method

The alternative way to start the install process is to boot directly from the DVD, without first mounting the installation DVD on your desktop. Use this method when you’re having problems and you’re unable to boot to your desktop.

1. Start your Mac while holding down the option key.
   
   
2. Your Mac will display the Startup Manager, and a list of icons that represent all of the bootable devices available to your Mac.
   
   
3. Insert the Leopard Install DVD into a slot-loading DVD drive, or press the eject key and insert the Leopard Install DVD into a tray-loading drive.
   
   
4. After a few moments, the Install DVD should show as one of the bootable icons. If it doesn’t, click the reload icon (a circular arrow) that’s available on some Mac models, or restart your Mac.
   
   

1. Once the Leopard Install DVD icon displays, click it to restart your Mac and boot from the installation DVD.
   
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After it restarts, your Mac will guide you through the installation process. Although the guided instructions are usually all you’ll need for a successful installation, we’re going to take a little detour and use Apple’s Disk Utility to make sure that your hard drive is up to snuff before you install your new Leopard OS.

Verify and Repair Your Hard Drive

1. Select the main language OS X Leopard should use, and click the right-facing arrow.
   
   

1. The Welcome window will display, offering to guide you through the installation.
   
   
2. Select ‘Disk Utility’ from the Utilities menu located at the top of the display.
   
   
3. When Disk Utility opens, select the hard drive volume you wish to use for the Leopard installation.
   
   
4. Select the ‘First Aid’ tab.
   
   
5. Click the ‘Repair Disk’ button. This will start the process of verifying and repairing, if necessary, the selected hard drive volume. If any errors are noted, you should repeat the Repair Disk process until Disk Utility reports ‘The volume (volume name) appears to be OK.’
   
   
6. Once the verification and repair are complete, select ‘Quit Disk Utility’ from the Disk Utility menu.
   
   
7. You will be returned to the Welcome window of the Leopard installer.
   
   
8. Click the ‘Continue’ button to proceed with the installation.

OS X 10.5 Leopard has multiple installation options, including Upgrade Mac OS X, Archive and Install, and Erase and Install. This tutorial will guide you through the Archive and Install option.

Installation Options

OS X 10.5 Leopard offers installation options that allow you to select the type of installation and the hard drive volume to install the operating system on, as well as customize the software packages that are actually installed.

1. When you completed the last step, you were shown Leopard’s license terms. Click the ‘Agree’ button to proceed.
   
   
2. The Select a Destination window will display, listing all of the hard drive volumes that the OS X 10.5 installer was able to find on your Mac.
   
   
3. Select the hard drive volume you wish to install OS X 10.5 on. You can select any of the volumes listed, including any that have a yellow warning sign.
   
   
4. Click the ‘Options’ button.
   
   
5. The Options window will display the three types of installations that can be performed: Upgrade Mac OS X, Archive and Install, and Erase and Install.
   
   
6. Select Archive and Install. The installer will take your existing system and move it to a new folder called Previous System. Although you will not be able to boot from the previous system, once the installation is complete, you will be able to move data from the old system to your new OS X 10.5 Leopard installation as needed.
   
   
7. With Archive and Install selected, you have the option to automatically copy user account information, including each account’s Home folder and any data it contains, and your existing network settings.
   
   

1. Place a check mark next to ‘Preserve Users and Network Settings.’
   
   
2. Click the ‘OK’ button.
   
   
3. Click the ‘Continue’ button.

During the installation of OS X 10.5 Leopard, you can choose the software packages that will be installed.

Customize the Software Packages

1. The OS X 10.5 Leopard installer will display a summary of what will be installed. Click the ‘Customize’ button.
   
   
2. A list of the software packages that will be installed will display. Two of the packages (Printer Drivers and Language Translations) can be pared down to reduce the amount of space needed for the installation. On the other hand, if you have plenty of storage space, you can just leave the software package selections as is.
   
   

1. Click the expansion triangle next to Printer Drivers and Language Translation.
   
   
2. Remove the check marks from any printer drivers you don’t need. If you have plenty of hard drive space, I suggest installing all of the drivers. This will make it easy to change printers in the future, without worrying about installing additional drivers. If space is tight and you must remove some printer drivers, select the ones you’re most unlikely to use.
   
   
3. Remove the check marks from any languages you don’t need. Most users can safely remove all of the languages, but if you need to view documents or web sites in other languages, be sure to leave those languages selected.
   
   
4. Click the ‘Done’ button.
   
   
5. Click the ‘Install” button.
   
   
6. The installation will begin by checking the install DVD, to make sure it’s free of errors. This process can take some time. Once the check is finished, the actual installation process will begin.
   
   
7. A progress bar will display, with an estimate of the time remaining. The time estimate may seem much too long to begin with, but as progress occurs, the estimate will become more realistic.
   
   

1. When the installation is complete, your Mac will automatically restart.

With the installation completed, your desktop will display, and the OS X 10.5 Leopard Setup Assistant will start by displaying a ‘Welcome to Leopard’ movie. When the short movie is completed, you’ll be directed through the setup process, where you can register your installation of OS X. You will also be offered the opportunity to set up your Mac, and to sign up for a .Mac (soon to be known as MobileMe) account.

Because this is an Archive and Install, Setup Assistant only performs the registration task; it doesn’t perform any major Mac setup tasks.

Register Your Mac

1. If you don’t want to register your Mac, you can quit Setup Assistant and start using your new Leopard OS. If you choose to quit Setup Assistant now, you will also bypass the option to set up a .Mac account, but you can do that later at any time.
   
   
2. If you do want to register your Mac, enter your Apple ID and password. This information is optional; you can leave the fields blank if you wish.
   
   
3. Click the ‘Continue’ button.
   
   
4. Enter your registration information, and click the ‘Continue’ button.
   
   
5. Use the dropdown menus to tell Apple’s marketing folks where and why you use your Mac. Click the ‘Continue’ button.
   
   
6. Click the ‘Continue’ button to send your registration information to Apple.

If you chose to bypass registration and quit Setup Assistant in the previous step, then you can skip this step. If Setup Assistant is still running, you’re only a few clicks away from accessing your new OS and its desktop. But first, you can decide whether to create a .Mac (soon to be known as MobileMe) account.

.Mac Account

1. The Setup Assistant will display information for creating a .Mac account. You can create a new .Mac account now or bypass the .Mac signup and move on to the good stuff: using your new Leopard OS. I suggest bypassing this step. You can sign up for a .Mac account at any time. It’s more important right now to ensure that your OS X Leopard installation is complete and working properly. Select ‘I don’t want to purchase .Mac right now.’
   
   

1. Click the ‘Continue’ button.
   
   
2. Apple can be very stubborn. It will give you a chance to reconsider and purchase a .Mac account. Select ‘I don’t want to purchase .Mac right now.’
   
   
3. Click the ‘Continue’ button.

Your Mac has finished setting up OS X Leopard, but there’s one last button to click.

1. Click the ‘Go’ button.
   
   

The Desktop

You will be automatically logged in with the same account you were using before you started installing OS X 10.5, and the desktop will display. The desktop should look much the same as it did when you last left it, although you will notice many new OS X 10.5 Leopard features, including a slightly different-looking Dock.

Have fun with your new Leopard OS!