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With all the hoopla over Apple's newest OS, Tiger, one issue which seems to be getting scant attention is the proper way of saying goodbye to the Panther and hello to the Tiger.

Apple provides several choices for upgrading from Panther to Tiger: A simple upgrade, archive and install, or a clean install. Although any of these methods can lead to problems, there is a lot of anecdotal evidence which suggests a clean install tends to produce fewer problems and a smoother upgrade path.

The problem is a clean install wipes your entire system drive, and so unless done properly, can be catastrophic. As I'm so fond of saying, "You can never do too many backups!"

Before I set out to update three PowerBooks and a dual mirror door G4, it occurred to me it might be useful to generate a checklist representing the safest way, the "Best Practices" for upgrading from Panther to Tiger -- or I suppose from any previous OS to a newer major release.

Keep in mind, no upgrade path is entirely foolproof. This is why good backups are essential. Without them you risk losing everything: your business records, your family photos, all those iTunes you bought at the iTMS, everything.

This procedure takes time and a lot of extra disk space. Typically I'd suggest you plan for an afternoon and have at least 2 1/2 times the space of your system disk available for backups as you proceed. For example, if you are upgrading a PowerBook with an 80GB drive, you should have two 80GB FireWire drives (or a larger drive partitioned into two 80GB partitions) and another drive or partition big enough to hold your entire home folder.

With this in mind, the following is my recommendation for upgrading from Panther to Tiger, giving the greatest chance of success, minimizing the chance of disaster.

Part I: Disaster Prevention, Verifying System Disk Integrity

Step 1: Quiesce the System

Quit all running applications. Running applications while you perform the following steps is asking for trouble.

Step 2: Repair Permissions

Using Disk Utility, Repair Permissions on your current system disk.

Step 3: Repair the Disk

Run DiskWarrior (if you have it) on your current system disk (this requires booting from the DiskWarrior CD) and fix any problems which DiskWarrior finds.

Lacking DiskWarrior, you can boot from your Mac OS X (Panther or Tiger) install disc and run Disk Utility's Repair Disk. DiskWarrior is more thorough, but Disk Utility will work if it's all you have.
Part II: Disaster Prevention, Backing Up Your Files

Step 1: Clone the System Disk

Reboot your system and clone your system disk to an external FireWire drive (my preferred tool is SuperDuper!, though Carbon Copy Cloner, Disk Utility and other cloning tools will work as well). This clone is intended primarily as a fail-safe backup in case the install becomes a complete fiasco. Ideally you want to use a cloning tool which is supported in both the old version of the Operating system (Panther) as well as the new version (Tiger). Check the clone software manufacturer's web site to check for compatibility. As the clone is intended primarily as a fail-safe backup, it's not critical the clone program be compatible with the new version of the OS you are loading, however.

Step 2: Test Boot the Clone Disk

Test boot the clone you just made on your FireWire drive (if it doesn't work, it's useless). This step is very important. Any backup which you can't read is not a backup. After a successful test boot, reboot from your original system disk.

Step 3: Backup Home Folders

Back up your system's home folders to a separate backup disk (or partition) than you used in the clone steps above using a different backup program. Note we are now using two separate backup disks (or two separate partitions on one disk) and two separate backup programs. No one said Best Practices was Cheapest Practices. Remember, it's your data, your business. For this step you might use a backup program like Retrospect, Data Backup X, or the like.
Part III: Perform a Clean Install of Tiger

Step 1: Disconnect External Devices

Disconnect all unnecessary peripherals. This includes USB thumb drives, printers, mice, bluetooth keyboards & mice, disk drives, CD/DVD burners, iPods, etc. Get your system as close to its factory delivered state as possible.

Note: If you want to take advantage of Tiger's install feature which automatically copies all home folders and applications from another system disk, you may choose to leave the FireWire clone from above connected. "Installing" applications this way is not strictly Best Practices (see below) and entails some minor risk of losing your clone if an unforeseen disaster strikes.

Step 2: Read "Read Before You Install"

Insert the Tiger install DVD in your drive and read the Read Before You Install file. Pay attention to any caveats or special procedures Apple may recommend.

Step 3: Perform a Clean Install

Perform a clean install. Do not upgrade, update, archive & install or choose any other install choice. You are intentionally and deliberately wiping your drive and installing from scratch. This installation method has proven the most reliable over the last several Mac OS X releases.

Note: A clean install will completely wipe your system disk. Make sure you have a good, workable, proven backup first! You have been warned.

Step 3: Use Tiger's Copy File Feature to Install Applications (Optional, Not Best Practice)

To save time, you can use Tiger's built-in install feature of copying all your applications from your previous system onto your new installation. This requires you leave the FireWire clone drive connected to your Mac during the installation. The Tiger install will see the clone OS and offer you the choice of copying the applications and home folders to the newly installed OS drive.

This method, although faster than manually reinstalling applications, can lead to applications which won't start, or won't work properly. If you choose this method and have applications which are uncooperative, you will have to reinstall them manually anyway.
Part IV: Post-Install Cleanup

Step 1: Repair Permissions

After the upgrade has completed, you have filled out the registration forms and the system is up and running Tiger, use Disk Utility to Repair Permissions.

Step 2: Bring the System Software Up To Date

Run Software Update to get the system back up to date (10.4.1 as of this writing, for example).

Step 3: Repair Permissions

Repair Permissions yet again. In general, you should Repair Permissions after adding any new applications or system software updates to your Mac.
Part V: Reinstall Applications and Data Files

Step 1: Reinstall Applications from Original Media

If you chose not to user the installer's built-in application copying feature, you will need to reinstall all your applications manually. This is Best Practice.

Reinstall all your applications from their original media (CD, DVD, or downloaded file). As mentioned above, this has been shown to cause the fewest problems with applications running properly in the new OS.

Step 2: Repair Permissions

Using Disk Utility, Repair Permissions on your system disk.

Step 3: Bring Your Applications Up To Date

Using the appropriate application software update tool (some applications have built-in software update check tools, for others you should check the vendor's web site), bring your application software up to date following the manufacturer's recommendations.

Step 4: Repair Permissions

Yes, Repair Permissions -- again. Hey, when in doubt, Repair Permissions.

Step 5: Install Your Home Folder

Connect the FireWire clone drive and manually copy all important data files and folders over to Tiger from your old system disk. Typically these files and folders will all be in your old home folder.
Part VI: Backup, Backup, Backup

Step 1: Clone the Newly Installed System Disk

OK, so now that you've spent the better part of a day getting this done right, you'd probably rather not have to do it again -- well at least until the next cat is let out of the cage, right?

Clone the newly installed OS using a cloning tool which is safe for the new version of the OS. Bear in mind the tool you used to clone the old OS may not be work properly yet with the new OS. Sometimes software tools take time to "catch up" with new OS releases. Check the manufacturer's web site to make sure the clone software you will be using is certified for use with Tiger!

Put this clone on a different disk or partition than the one you used to back up your old Panther system disk. You should keep the old Panther clone for at least as long as it takes for you to feel sure all your applications are working to your satisfaction. Without the old OS clone, there is no easy way to go back if you find you need to. If you're real paranoid, you might even want to burn the old Panther clone to DVDs.

Step 2: Backup Home Folders

Using a backup program which is certified to work with Tiger, start a new backup set of your home folder(s). Do not write over your old Panther home folder backups, create new ones! This of course, requires yet another disk or partition on a disk.
Part VII: Miscellaneous

Step 1: Customization

Perform any other customizations you need to do. Set your desktop background, your screensaver, whatever other little things you like to do with your system or apps to make it "yours."
Enjoy Tiger!

Updates, changes, and corrections to this procedure will appear on the NCMUG web site.

Happy upgrading!
Appendix A: Disk Space Requirements

Proper upgrading requires several different clones and backups be maintained. Proper disk planning is essential to make the backup process smooth and easy.

In the guide above, four separate backup locations are discussed. These can either be on four separate disk drives, or four partitions on a single large disk drive, or any combination of the two. Assuming you have a large external FireWire drive (say 250GB or larger), the following four partition scheme would work well for upgrading a PowerBook with an 80GB internal drive.

If you have a larger drive, or a system with more than one drive, you will have to modify the following to suit your needs.

One large FW drive can be used if you want:

Partition 1: Panther Clone

This partition should be equal to or larger than the drive you are cloning.

Partition 2: Tiger Clone

This partition should be equal to or larger than the drive you are cloning.

Partition 3: Old Home Folder Backup

This partition should be large enough to handle your normal home folder backup needs.

Partition 4: New Home Folder Backup

This partition should be large enough to handle your normal home folder backup needs.

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Attribution Information:
This article originally appeared in NCMUG News, the newsletter of North Coast Mac Users Group, Santa Rosa, CA

This article may be reprinted by any Macintosh User Group in their newsletter or publication distributed on paper or online, with credit given to the author and original publishing user group. Commercial or other publication prohibited unless specific permission is granted by the author.