Copyright 2007, 2008 Claire J Rottenberg

Are you wondering if you should upgrade to Leopard, the newest Mac OS X system software? I recently upgraded one of my drive partitions to Leopard and I've been discovering some of the bugs in the software along with some of the new delights that come with the upgraded system. In this article, I describe some of the pros and cons of switching from Mac OS X 10.4 to OS X 10.5 and perhaps these comments will help you decide if upgrading is the right option for you.

Pros of Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5)

One of the first things I noticed about Leopard is the subtle change in its appearance. Some people don't seem to like the new look but I think it makes my display brighter and clearer. I also like the Dock's new three-dimensional, transparent look. It makes the Dock less obtrusive.

The second thing I noticed soon after first using Leopard is its increased speed. This is especially noticeable on my computer (Mac Mini, 1.83 GHz Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM) when connecting to the Internet and when multi-tasking (i.e., using several applications at the same time).

My favorite new feature of Mac OS X 10.5 is Spaces and that feature alone is reason enough for me to switch systems. Spaces lets me work more efficiently with fewer hand movements since switching between applications with Spaces is smooth and quick. I've set my mouse's scroll button to Spaces and now switching among applications is effortless. The option to assign applications to specific spaces makes it even easier to work efficiently on a project that requires the use of several applications.

Other features of Leopard that I like are small, yet significant changes. For example, disk burning from the Finder gives clearer information on the space available on a CD or DVD.

Cons of Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5)

The previous section of this article may have convinced you to upgrade to Leopard, but wait - this cat has had some mean bugs that have affected a significant number of users. Some of these bugs have been causing major problems, such as programs crashing or freezing, unbootable drives and data loss and/or drive corruption. Apple is, by now, aware of most, if not all, of these issues and the developers are working on solutions. Some of the initial bugs were fixed with the first two updates, Mac OS X 10.5.1 and 10.5.2, and, hopefully, the rest will be fixed in the next update. If you do decide to install Leopard, be certain to first download the 10.5.2 combo update so that you can install it before experiencing bugs that have already been fixed.

Examples of problems people have experienced include:

1.  System freezing sometimes occurs when USB devices are hot-plugged into the computer. For example, plugging in an iPod or USB key on my computer caused the system to stop responding. I have not experienced this problem with the 10.5.2 update but turning off my USB laser printer sometimes causes freezing of my mouse and keyboard.

2.  iDisk syncing is out of sync on some computers with Leopard. People have found their mounted iDisks grow to ridiculously large sizes while eating up their hard drive space. Apple has posted a short article and temporary solution to the problem on its support site. This problem was fixed for me with Mac OS X 10.5.2.

3.  Time Machine, the new instant backup program included in Leopard, has been responsible for corrupted drives. I like Time Machine and wanted to add it to the pros for Leopard until it corrupted my external hard drive and I had to reformat the drive. The problem comes without warning and, a drive that is functioning fine one day, suddenly is listed as a "Read only" drive in Leopard. In my case, I was able to write to the drive in Mac OS X 10.4, but Disk Utility found an error in the drive's volume and it couldn't repair it. Again, this is a problem I have not experienced with the 10.5.2 update.

4.  People have experienced problems with printers and scanners not working correctly and, in some cases, not working at all.

Some of the other bugs in Leopard are less serious. For example, verifying and fixing disk permissions takes a very long time. If you are happy with the stability and responsiveness of Mac OS X 10.4, you might find these smaller problems annoying.

Recommendations for Upgrading

Perhaps you've now decided to upgrade to Mac OS X 10.5 but you're concerned about the problems you might encounter. What precautions should you take?

First, be sure you have at least one backup partition or drive of your current Mac OS X 10.4 boot drive. This will make it easy for you to revert to Tiger if Leopard doesn't work well for you and it will provide you with a working startup disk if Leopard freezes and doesn't let you boot.

Next, decide on the type of installation of Leopard you want. You have three options:

1.  Erase & Install - This option will erase everything on the selected drive and install a new, clean system. You will lose all your previous preferences and settings and you will need to reinstall all third-party applications. After the installation, you can try to use the Mac OS X 10.5 Migration Assistant to restore some of your previous settings, but some users have had problems with the Migration Assistant, so it might or might not work for you.

2.  Upgrade - This option will retain all of the data and settings on your hard drive. Before using this option, however, you should remove all third-party hacks and plug-ins you have installed on your system, including plug-ins for Apple applications (for example, plug-ins for Mail or Safari), preferences panes and contextual menu plug-ins. Make certain that you do not have APE (Application Enhancer by Unsanity) installed on your Mac. Even if you never installed it, certain applications might have installed it (for example, the older Logitech Control Center, Audio HiJack). Apple has a knowledge base article on how to remove APE.

3.  Archive & Install - With this option, a new, clean system will be installed and your old system files will be placed in a separate folder called "Previous System." You can choose to retain your previous settings and preferences so you won't need to migrate them over from your old system files. However, third-party plug-ins and add-ons, such as contextual menu plug-ins or preferences panes, will not be placed in the new system folder, but they will remain in the "Previous System" folder. The disadvantage to this option is that it requires double the disk space of the other two options.

After deciding on an install type, disconnect all external devices except for a keyboard and mouse and insert the Leopard Install disk into your computer's optical drive and carefully follow the onscreen install setup instructions.

Disclaimer: All trademarks and products mentioned in this article are assumed to be the property of their owners and no infringement of rights is intended through mention of the products in this article.

For detailed instructions on upgrading to Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard), see my tutorial, Upgrading to Leopard Successfully.