Generally, computers will run the operating system (OS) that they were shipped through the life cycle of the computer unless there is a compelling academic, business, or research reason to upgrade to a newer OS. If there is a reason to upgrade, the following guidelines are followed.
Important:Please do not attempt to upgrade a university Mac without assistance from Office of Technology Services (OTS) staff. The university network requires ceratin configurations and without assistance you may create a situation where the computer is inoperable and/or possibly lose your files or applications. Contact the Faculty and Staff Help Center at 410-7045151, menu options 2+2+2
if you are interested in upgrading your University Mac OS for assitance. Below are requirements and considerations to review before purchasing an upgade.
Upgrade Requirements for University Computers
University Macs must have a TU property tag to be considered for upgrades.
Upgrade Considerations and Preparation
OTS staff follow a standard Mac OS upgrade process for University computers. Upgrading a university Mac OS will completely wipe the Mac hard drive; all files, applications, etc. are deleted and a fresh installation of the standard Mac OS is done.. Below are tasks to complete before upgrading the OS.
Verify that the applications, printer, and other devices installed on the Mac are compatible with the newer OS; some software or hardware may need to be upgraded to be compatible with the new OS.
Upgrading a Mac OS will require the following:
All personal data files will need to be transferred from the Mac to a portable drive before the upgrade; after the upgrade is completed, the data will be and transferred back to the Mac. You can prepare for the file transfer by putting all your personal data files in a single location on your hard drive or H:\ drive and deleting any unwanted files.
All applications will need to be re-installed; client will need original installation media to re-install any applications that are not part of our standard image configuration. Generally, clients install their non-standard software on the Mac. OTS staff can assist with non-standard software installations but are not necessarily familiar with this software.
Upgrade Procedures
If you have questions or wish to proceed with a Mac OS upgrade, follow the procedures below.
Review the Upgrade Requirements below to verify that your Mac meets the requirements.
Contact the Faculty/Staff Help Center at 410-704-5151, menu options 2+2+2 and let them know you wish to purchase a Mac operating system upgrade. Your information will be taken and a member of the Mac Support Team will contact you to assist with the OS purchase and scheduling an OS installation appointment. The appointment will include: transfer of personal data; installation of the university Mac OS configuration; and setup of the Mac on the university network. The upgrade appointment takes one to two hours depending on how much data transfer, special applications, or devices are involved.
Note: Before OTS staff can proceed with the upgrade, the client will need to provide the Mac OS purchase receipt from Apple, as proof of purchase.
OTS staff will update the university Mac User Registry after completing the OS upgrade.
Apple Upgrade Requirements
Below are the requirements and procedures for upgrading an older Mac OS version to Mac OS 10.8
Verify that the Mac meets the Apple requirements for Mountain Lion below
Macs that will support OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion
As usual, the newer the Mac the better:
� MacBook Pro
� 13" from mid 2009 or later, 15" from late 2007 and newer, 17" from late 2007 and newer
� MacBook Air, late 2008 and newer
� iMac models from mid 2007 and newer
� MacBook 13" aluminum from 2008, 13" from 2009 and newer
� Mac Mini from early 2009 and newer
� Mac Pro from early 2008 models and newer
� XServe from early 2009 models and newer
Macs that are NOT expected to support OS X Mountain Lion
Older Macs and those with weaker GPUs will likely be left behind:
� Anything with an Intel GMA 950 or x3100 integrated graphics card
� Anything with an ATI Radeon X1600
� MacBook models released prior to 2008
� Mac Mini released prior to 2007
� iMac models released prior to 2007
� Original MacBook Air
Macs running Mac OS 10.5 Leopard or 10.6 Snow Leopard licenses, following the procedures below.
Verify that the Mac meets Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard and Mac OS 10.8 hardware requirements.
Purchase Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard by calling 800-692-7753. There is no education purchase available for Mac OS 10.6 and sales tax is charged. If you use a University P-card for the purchase let the Apple rep know that this is a tax exempt order, and they will inform you on how to be reimbursed for the sales tax on the order, for details, see http://store.apple.com/us/help/payments
Apple ships a Mac OS10.6 Snow Leopard DVD installation disk to purchaser. Verify that the Mac meets Mac OS 10.8 Mountain Lion hardware requirements, if you want to upgrade to Mac OS 10.8.
After purchasing Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard, Mac OS 10.8 Mountain Lion can be purchased by calling Apple Education Sales 800 800 2775, menu options 4 + 3 or OTS staff can purchase at the TU Apple Store.
Mac OS 10.8 Mountain Lion is the only current Mac OS upgrade available. Mac OS 10.7 Lion is no longer available as an upgrade
Note: It is not legal to purchase a Mac OS upgrade for a Mac then install an earlier Mac OS on the Mac. For example, you cannot purchase Mac OS 10.8 Mountain Lion and then install Mac OS 10.7 Lion.
After purchasing the Mac OS upgrade OTS staff will assist you to install and configure the OS
Upgrades for Personal Macs
Upgrades to personal Mac computers are the responsibility of the owner. Apple provides information on the Apple web site to upgrade the Mac OS at:.http://www.apple.com/macosx/
