For over a decade , installing the latest major interpretation of Mac OS ecstasy meant buying a disc and drop off it into your Mac ’s optical drive . No longer . Mac OS X 10.7 — better known as Lion — is available for direct download . In fact , it ’s availableonlyas a download from Apple ’s Mac App Store . In many ways , this young method of distribution is easier and more convenient . But it also raises a issue of questions and face significant upgrade obstacles for some user . Here ’s a facial expression at the details of installing Apple ’s first - ever download - only group O .
Fair admonition : If you set up Lion now , keep in intellect that you ’re put in the very first release . Itcouldbe fully bake and bug - free , but if previous debut of major versions of Mac OS Adam are any indication , we ’ll see the first update , containing a figure of bug fixes , within a few weeks . If your Mac is commission - decisive — in other tidings , if downtime is not an option for you — you might consider defend off for the inevitable Mac OS X 10.7.1 .
Finally , before legal proceeding , be certain to show my article ongetting your macintosh quick for Lion , which covers system of rules requirement and recommendations , as well as a act of preparatory tasks that will help make the climb go smoothly . For example , you should update Snow Leopard to 10.6.8 and instal theMigration Assistant Update for Mac OS X Snow Leopard .
You purchase Lion through the Mac App Store app.
Purchasing and downloading Lion
assume youmeet the requirements , getting Lion is loose — with a few caution , noted below . You merely launch the Mac App Store app , sink in the Lion banner on the store ’s main page ( or hunt forLion , or clickthis direct link ) , click the $ 29.99 button at the top of the screen , then fall into place the Buy App clit that come out . After providing your Apple ID and password , the Lion installer icon will be sum to the Dock , and Lion will begin downloading . Specifically , the 3.8 GB installer diligence , calledInstall Mac OS X Lion.app , will be pull through to your principal Applications brochure ( /Applications ) . On my cable length - model connection the morning of Lion ’s press release , the download accept approximately 39 minutes .
You purchase Lion through the Mac App Store app .
( Three fast tone here . First , if you purchased a Mac on or after June 6 , 2011 , but it did n’t come with Lion pre - installed , you ’re entitled to a spare copy of Lion . Visitthis Apple internet pagefor details . Second , if you ’re a developer who previously downloaded the “ golden master ” [ GM ] of the Lion installer , the Mac App Store will take Lion is “ set up ” on any Snow Leopard Mac — and thus not let you download the official release — if it detects that installer onanyconnected volume . The resolution is either to delete the GM , after compressing it or copy it to a obliterable drive if you want to keep it ready to hand , or to disconnect the driving force on which the GM resides . Third , if you ’re trying to download the Lion installer onto a Mac that ’s already running Lion ( either the GM or the prescribed departure ) , the Mac App Store will take that Lion is already installed and , again , prevent you from downloading it . Try these trick : Option+click the Buy App release in the Mac App Store . If that does n’t wreak , switch to the Mac App Store ’s main Sir Frederick Handley Page and then Option+click the Purchases button in the toolbar . Ifthatdoesn’t work , stop the Mac App Store app and then bear down the choice key while launching the Mac App Store again . One of these three function should get rid of the “ Installed ” status for Lion and countenance you download it . )
The Lion installer if you’ve opted to show all disks.
If you ’ve get multiple Snow Leopard Macs , you may download the installer onto any of them — your leverage of Lion entitles you to set up it on any of your authorized Macs . To download the Lion installer on one of these “ subaltern ” Macs , you just found the Mac App Store program program on that Mac , click the Purchases push button in the toolbar , and penetrate the Install clitoris next to OS X Lion in the list .
Alternatively , once you ’ve downloaded the Lion installer onto one computer , you’re able to copy it — over your local electronic connection or by using a flash drive , videodisk , or extraneous difficult drive — from one Mac to another . You wo n’t be prompted to authorize the installer on each Mac , as you are with other Mac App Store - distributed software package — the Lion installer does not use digital - rights management ( DRM ) , which induce it well-off to use one installer to upgrade all the Snow Leopard Macs in your home .
However , there ’s a snap here : After download the Lion installer to your Mac , if you go forth the installer in the Applications booklet and employ it to establish Lion on your Mac ’s startup campaign , the installer willdisappearafter initiation — it ’s summarily cancel as part of the installation mental process , presumably to release up the nearly 4 GB of drive space it occupies . So if you contrive to use that installer on other Macs , and you do n’t want to have to download it from the Mac App Store again , be certain to copy the installer to another drive — or at least move it out of the Applications folder — beforeyou install .
After installing Lion on a blank drive, you can transfer your data from another Mac, a Windows PC, another hard drive, or a Time Machine backup.
Note that unlike all other software sell through the Mac App Store , subsequent update to Lion will be put up via Software Update , notthrough the Mac App Store ’s update feature .
Installing Lion
When I explained how to install Snow Leopard , I noted that , compared to installing premature versions of Mac OS X , it was the leisurely mental process yet . Well , Lion ’s installation function make Snow Leopard ’s look positively byzantine . Whereas previous versions of OS X let you customize your installation , Lion offers no such alternative — other than choosingwhereto install , you do n’t necessitate to make any decisions until it ’s time to set things up and start using your Mac . You do n’t even need to reboot from a different record or volume — the Lion installer runs as a standard program .
The Lion installer if you ’ve opted to show all disks .
Once you ’ve purchased and download the Lion installer , here are the simple footprint involved :
Lion helpfully explains its new scrolling behavior.
When instalment finish , what you ’ll see bet on whether you ’ve installed Lion on a white drive or if you ’ve install it on a drive bear Snow Leopard with existing account statement , place setting , and data .
If you installed onto a vacuous private road , the first thing you ’ll see will be the initial Lion welcome and apparatus screens , where you choose your land or region , your keyboard layout , and your meshing connecter . You ’ll then be asked if you want to transfer accounts and information from another Mac , a Windows PC — yes , Lion now has a Windows - specific migration lineament — a Time Machine drive , or another drive . ( Unless you really want to begin anew , I ’m adopt you ’ll want to transfer everything . )
After installing Lion on a blank drive , you’re able to transfer your data from another Mac , a Windows PC , another hard drive , or a Time Machine stand-in .
The first time you boot into Lion after upgrading, you’ll see this dialog if the OS has detected known-incompatible software.
After that , you ’ll be postulate to participate your Apple ID ( if you have one ) and enrollment information and , if you did n’t transfer history from another estimator or drive or a backing , to create an account ( including taking or choose an account picture ) .
Finally , after choosing your prison term zone , you ’ll see a Finishing Up screenland . If your Mac is a laptop , or if you ’ve got a Magic Trackpad or Magic Mouse connected , this window explains how to use Lion ’s newinverted - direction scrollingand shows a video demonstration of two - finger scrolling . Scroll through the text and snap Start Using Mac OS X Lion — or , if you ’re using a Mac without a trackpad or Magic Mouse , just click Start Using Mac OS X Lion — and your Mac will land up bring up .
Lion helpfully explains its new scroll behavior .
Lion can download the latest drivers for many recent printers.
Forupgradeinstalls , once you sign in to your account ( either mechanically or via the login screen door , depending on how your Mac was configured before the upgrade ) , you ’ll see a Mac OS X Setup Assistant window . Despite the unlike banner school text , this is otherwise the same as the Finishing Up windowpane I described in the old paragraph .
Upgraders may also see a duologue informing you that some of the subsist software on your Mac is incompatible with Lion , and list that software . ( Apple provides more information about such software ina backing article . ) You ’ll usually see this message if you had nitty-gritty denotation — low - level software that patches the operating system itself — installed under Snow Leopard that Apple sleep together wo n’t work with Lion . It ’s also possible to see the unfitting - software dialog if you perform a neat install of Lion and then imported your accounts and data , but it ’s less likely — OS X ’s Migration Assistant in general does n’t spell kernel extensions and other startup / desktop processes . In either case , OS X mechanically moves this incompatible software package to a folder calledIncompatible Softwareat the antecedent storey of your inauguration phonograph record .
The first clock time you reboot into Lion after promote , you ’ll see this dialog if the OS has detected jazz - antagonistic software .
That ’s it — unlike previous OS X installers , Lion ’s does n’t make you decide what kind of installation you want to do , which speech translation or printer driver to install , or whether or not you ’ll ever use X11 or QuickTime 7 . The installing operation is promiscuous and warm than ever .
Post-install tasks
If you ’ve upgrade from Snow Leopard , or if you installed Lion onto a blank drive but imported all of your information and setting , chance are you wo n’t need to do anything else — your Mac will be quick to go . But you may recover , despite yourpre - initiation arrest , that some of your exist software take updates . likewise , if you ’ve perform a “ uncontaminating ” install of Lion , you may require to spend a bit of meter setting things up , and you ’ll need to reinstall all your preferred apps .
The first thing you ’ll want to do is work Software Update ( from the Apple menu ) and install any pending updates . If you ’ve install Lion in the first few days it ’s available , chances are you wo n’t have any ( peculiarly if you ran Software Update beforehand , which have in mind you already have the former update to other Apple software ) , but it ca n’t hurt to be sure . And if you ’ve waited a workweek or more to install Lion , there ’s a good chance Apple will have secrete a minor update — or will sometime before long .
Next you ’ll require to set up your printer(s ) . As with Snow Leopard , Lion does n’t let in a slew of printer drivers . But , like Snow Leopard , Lion can find out which drivers you postulate and either download them mechanically or , using Software Update , help you get them . launch the Print & Scan pane of System Preferences and get across the Add ( + ) button , and you ’ll see a inclination of connected and nearby ( Bonjour ) printer . Choose one , and OS X will see if drivers are available . In the sheath of my Brother 7820N , I perplex a duologue informing me that “ software for this printer is available from Apple ” ; when I clicked Download & Install , OS X downloaded those driver , installed them , and mechanically arrange up the printer . ( Interestingly , on a Snow Leopard Mac upgrade to Lion , the Print & Scan preference pane alarm me toupdateddrivers , apprize me to melt down Software Update to download the raw software system . )
Lion can download the latest driver for many late printer .
Next , if you upgrade to Lion from Snow Leopard and saw the said antagonistic - software dialog , now ’s a good time to turn back the content of theIncompatible Softwarefolder at the etymon level of your inauguration phonograph recording , and then check each seller ’s website for updated versions of that software . likewise , if you performed a fair install , it ’s time to reinstall your apps — be sure you ’ve got the latest interpretation , as well as any update you ’ll need to put on to software package you install from CDs and DVDs .
If you desire to enable FileVault ( or re - enable it , as the caseful may be if you followedmy advice before installation ) , now ’s the time to do so , via the Security pane of System Preferences . Note that if the Lion installer was not able tocreate a Recovery HD partitionon your thrust , youwon’t be able-bodied to enableLion ’s fresh full - disk FileVault lineament .
Finally , if you ’re a Unix - y type who had files in / usr / includeunder Snow Leopard , Lion has a surprisal for you : When you installed Lion over Snow Leopard , that folder was summarily deleted during the induction process . Similarly , if you set up Lion onto a blank effort and then used Lion ’s Setup Assistant or Migration Assistant to transfer accounts and data point from another Mac or drive , the / usr / includefolder was n’t transfered . If this number will affect you — you’ll have sex it if it will — you should manually transfer that directory from your backup to your Lion installation . ( Thanks toMacworldcontributor Joe Kissellfor this tip . )
Upgrade and installation challenges
As the induction footfall above make vindicated , for many people Lion is much easy to obtain and install than premature major versions of Mac OS 10 — not to observe less expensive ! But it ’s not a walk in the park for everyone . regard the following mathematical group of multitude :
Those with Lion - compatible Macs who have n’t installed Snow Leopard . There are certain to be people who ’ve been merrily using Leopard ( Mac OS X 10.5 ) on an erstwhile , but still Lion - compatible , Mac . What if you ’re one of them , and you ’ve decided you ’d like to make the jump to Lion ? Apple ’s official insurance policy here is that you take you purchase and instal Snow Leopard andthenupgrade to Lion , bringing the price of Lion to $ 59 , rather than $ 30 .
While this requirement is in the software license agreement you match to when install Lion , the Lion installer is also a stickler about it . The installer software itself will found under Leopard , but it wo n’t let you instal Lion , either over Leopard or onto a simple drive . Nor can you mount a Leopard driving force on a Mac running Snow Leopard or Lion and then install Lion — the installer simply reject to instal Lion over Leopard .
But what if you conceive you have therightto install Lion on that particular drive ? In other Word , what if you own a copy of Snow Leopard for the Mac in question , but you do n’t want to lend an hour or two to the installation process by installing Snow Leopard on it first ? I explain how to get around this tussle in a separate article on put in Lion over Leopard . ( It would be big if Apple eventually provides — even if for a fee — a videodisk or flash bulb drive that Leopard users can grease one’s palms to raise at once to Snow Leopard . )
Those with deadening or circumscribed - bandwidth Internet connectionsIf your Internet connection is slow , it will take alongtime — perhaps Clarence Day — to download the nearly 4 GB Lion installer . And if your ISP enforces detonating gadget on your Internet data , you could end up paying a small luck for the privilege .
If you ’ve got a Mac laptop computer , you may alternatively tote it to your favourite Apple retailer , the program library , a ally ’s house , or the office — anywhere with a fast Internet connection — and download Lion there . Indeed , Apple ’s official policy is to tempt you to your local Apple Store so you’re able to employ the store ’s Internet connection to download Lion ; store employees will even walk you through the purchase , download , and initiation processes .
Of course , if your Mac does n’t bechance to be portable , or if you live in an expanse where you ca n’t adopt a truehearted , no - information - ceiling cyberspace connection , you ’ll ask to find another root . It turn out Apple will be ply one , although it wo n’t be usable straight off : Apple toldMacworldthat starting sometime in August , you ’ll be able to corrupt a $ 69 bootable flash thrust containing the Lion installer .
concern , school , and other organizations and innovation that need to install Lion on many different information processing system . We’ve hear a identification number of concerns from large installations — schools , businesses , and the like — about Lion ’s Mac App Store - only distribution . These organisation often need to roll out Lion to many Macs , and drive each user to download and install Lion presents important expert , logistical , and supporting issues . Apple late release a document titledOS X Lion for Business and Educationthat explain the options for these organizations . The essence of that document is that while organisation will practice the same buying procedure as always to buy Mac OS X , they ’ll be given one Mac App Store redemption codification for Lion for each leverage contract . However , once someone in the organization downloads a copy of the Lion installer , that copy can be used to instal the new bone on any and all Macs covered by the contract bridge .
To do so , Apple pronounce customers can simulate the Lion installer to the / Applicationsfolder on each Mac and then launch the installer from there . Alternatively , they can create a NetInstall or NetRestore image , or expend Apple Remote Desktop . They can also make one or more bootable Lion install discs or drives and then install Lion using those cause .
Up and running
While researching this article , I installed innumerable copies of Lion on a variety of calculator . Based on that experience , I have to agree with Apple that for the distinctive Mac user with a wideband connective , the process of purchasing , obtaining , and install Lion is easer than with any premature major upgrade to OS X. Still , heeding the advice above will reduce the chance of problem and make the upgrade go even more smoothly . Once you ’ve espouse Apple ’s latest cat , control out all our clause the new OS , which pass over its features , build - in apps , and more .
( For an evenmorein - depth look at upgrading to Lion , check outMacworldcontributor Joe Kissell’sTake Control of Upgrading to Lion , which covers such topics as extensive pre - install diagnostics , clean installs , installation troubleshooting , and much more . )
Dan Frakes is a Macworld senior editor program who ’s install more versions of Mac OS X over the years than he cares to remember .
Updated 7/20/2011 , 9:33am to provide more info about download the press release version of Lion over the lucky - master version .
Updated 7/20/2011 , 10:20am to add linkup to just - released Migration Assistant Update for Mac OS X Snow Leopard .
