Before Lion ( OS X 10.7 ) debuted last year , installing the latest major adaptation of Mac OS disco biscuit have in mind buying a disc and slipping it into your Mac ’s optical drive . But Lion changed all that by shit OS X available for direct download . OS X 10.8 — well make out as Mountain Lion — inherit Lion ’s distribution method acting . More specifically , it ’s availableonlyas a download from Apple ’s Mac App Store . This earn it easier and more convenient to upgrade your OS than consume to buy and use a DVD or thumb cause , but it also raises a number of questions , and it presents upgrade obstacles for some users . As I did last class with Lion , I ’ve compiled this template to getting and installing Apple ’s latest oculus sinister .
comely warning : If you put in Mountain Lion mighty when it ’s release , keep in mind that you ’re set up version 1.0 of a major new OS . Itcouldbe microbe - gratis , but if the chronicle of OS X is any indication , we ’ll see the first update , containing a turn of bug fixes , within a few week . If downtime is n’t an pick for you , you might view holding off for OS X 10.8.1 .
Purchasing and downloading Mountain Lion
simulate you meet the necessity , get down Mountain Lion is easy — for most people ( more on that below ) . You simply launch the Mac App Store software , click the OS X Mountain Lion banner on the store ’s master pageboy ( or search forMountain Lion , or clickthis lineal nexus ) , click the $ 19.99 button at the top of the screen , then click the Buy App push button that appears .
( Note : If you buy a Mac between June 11 and July 25 , 2012 , but it did n’t derive with Mountain Lion pre - instal , do n’t buy it from the Mac App Store this path — you’re entitled to a loose transcript of the new OS . Visitthis Apple vane pagefor detail . )
After providing your Apple ID and password , Mountain Lion will begin downloading . Specifically , the 4.4 GB installer software , calledInstall OS X Mountain Lion.app , will be saved to your main Applications folder ( /Applications ) and , if you ’re kick upstairs from Lion , added to Launchpad . On my Mac , the installer even automatically launched after it terminate downloading . On cable - simulation connections around the U.S. the sunup of Mountain Lion ’s release , the download read between 35 and 55 proceedings forMacworldeditors .
Note that unlike with Lion , which continued to use the bequest Software Update feature ( incur in the Apple Menu ) to cater group O updates , updates to Mountain Lion will be provided through the Mac App Store app . In fact , if you take Software Update from the Apple Menu under Mountain Lion , the Mac App Store app is launched .
Downloading the installer onto other Macs : Once you ’ve purchased Mountain Lion , you’re able to download the installer onto any 10.8 - open Mac authorized to use your Mac App Store account — just like covering purchased from the store , a undivided leverage of Mountain Lion allow you put in it on all your personal Macs . To download the installer on a Mac other than the one on which you buy it , you just set up the Mac App Store program , click the Purchases button in the toolbar , and flick the Download clit next to OS X Mountain Lion in the listing .
copy the Mountain Lion installer onto other mackintosh : instead , once you ’ve download the Mountain Lion installer onto one computing machine , you could replicate it — over your local web or by using a heartbeat driving force , DVD , or external hard drive — to your other Macs . This is patently a much riotous approach than re - downloading the 4.4 GB installer onto each of your Macs . You wo n’t even be motivate to authorize the installer on each Mac , as you are with other Mac App entrepot - distributed software — the Mountain Lion installer does not utilise digital - right management ( DRM ) .
download the installer onto a Mac already running Mountain Lion : If you already have Mountain Lion — either the official exit or the gold master ( the concluding developer discharge , a.k.a . , the GM)—installed on a Mac , you may have problems downloading the installer onto that Mac , as the Mac App Store app may imagine you already have it and , thus , not offer to permit you download it . ( This was a common publication with Lion , although in our experience the daylight of Mountain Lion ’s release , severalMacworldeditors were able-bodied to download Mountain Lion without tussle onto Macs running Mountain Lion . ) If this happen to you , launch the Mac App Store app and Option+click the Purchases tab in the toolbar ; that should show the Download clit next to Mountain Lion in the Purchases list . If that does n’t work , Option+click Mountain Lion in the list and then Option+click the Installed button on the Mountain Lion page . One of these two method acting should let you download the installer .
likewise , if you ’re a developer who antecedently downloaded the “ golden maestro ” ( GM ) of the Mountain Lion installer , the Mac App Store app may claim Mountain Lion is “ Installed ” on your Mac — and thus not let you download the official release — if the Mac App Store app detects that installer onanyconnected volume . ( Again , this happened frequently with the Lion installer , but in my testing so far , has n’t been a problem with Mountain Lion . ) If this come about to you , the solution is either to delete the GM installer ( after compact it or copying it to a removable drive if you want to keep it ready to hand ) or , if possible , to disconnect the crusade on which the GM resides .
Keeping the installer on hand
Before proceeding , here ’s an important tip : If you start the installer from its default location in the Applications folder , the installation processdeletesthe installer , presumably to release up the over 4 GB of drive space it occupies . So if , as explained above , you project to use the installer on other Macs , or if you just want to keep the installer on hand , before installing you should imitate the installer to another campaign — or at least move it out of the Applications pamphlet .
Installing Mountain Lion
Like Lion — and unlike early versions of OS go — Mountain Lion offers only a single facility option : where to instal the new atomic number 8 . In fact , you do n’t need to make any decisions until it ’s time to set thing up and start using your Mac . You do n’t even take to boot from a different disc or volume — the Mountain Lion installer runs as a standard program .
Once you ’ve purchased and downloaded the Mountain Lion installer , here are the simple steps involved :
That ’s it — unlike old OS X installers , Mountain Lion ’s does n’t make you decide what sort of installation you want to do , which spoken language translations or printer drivers to install , or whether or not you ’ll ever use X11 or QuickTime 7 . The installation process is easier and quicker than ever .
Initial setup
When the installation procedure stop , what you ’ll see depends on whether you ’ve instal Mountain Lion on a clean drive , or if you ’ve installed it on a driving force hold Lion or Snow Leopard with survive account statement , setting , and datum .
Lion : If you ’ve upgraded from Lion ( or install 10.8 onto a blank driveway and imported your Lion data and setting ) , the first thing you ’ll see when you lumber in to your account under Mountain Lion depend on whether or not you were already using iCloud under Lion . If you were , and if Location Services and Find My Mac were antecedently enable , there ’s a good hazard you ’ll be able to get right to work with no further interruption .
If did n’t already have iCloud configured under Lion , or if you did but Location Services and come up My Mac were n’t enabled , your initial experience will be much like the one I depict for Snow Leopard upgraders in the next paragraph .
Snow Leopard : If you ’ve upgraded from Snow Leopard ( or installed 10.8 onto a blank campaign and imported your Snow Leopard information and configurations ) , the first thing you ’ll see when you lumber in to your account under Mountain Lion is an Apple ID concealment . Enter your Apple ID and password — you may create an Apple ID if you do n’t have one — and accord to the Apple ID Terms and Conditions , and you ’ll then be prompted to set up iCloud . Assuming you want to do so , click Continue ( twice ) . You ’ll then be prompted to enable observe My Mac using your iCloud account ; if you choose to do so , you must also allow Location Services . Finally , you ’ll see a Thank You sort with a button to commence Using Your Mac .
Note that if you want to employ different Apple ID for iCloud and iTunes , the Mountain Lion setup assistant let you do so . On the first Apple ID covert , you just cluck the data link that reads “ need to use dissimilar Apple ID for iCloud and iTunes ? ” You ’ll be prompted to enter your credentials
Blank driving force : If you installed Mountain Lion onto a vacuous drive , you ’ll be walked through the new - system setup procedure . First you ’ll prefer a system language and keyboard layout . Next , you ’ll opt a Wi - Fi internet and provide the meshing password . ( Click Other connection Options to use Ethernet rather . ) You ’ll then be asked if you require to transfer accounts and data from another Mac , a Windows PC , or another campaign ( which includes a Time Machine backup or a clone backup ) . If you choose to do so , you ’ll be given the choice to select what to remove — unless you really desire to start anew , you ’ll believably want to transport everything .
If you prefer to transfer write up and background from a Snow Leopard or Lion Mac or drive , the apparatus procedure will continue much as if you upgraded from Snow Leopard or Lion , severally . If you select not to transfer — so you ’re essentially start fresh — you’ll be asked to enable Location Services , to provide your Apple ID and countersign ( and to agree to the Apple ID terms and conditions ) , to set up iCloud , and ( take over you enable iCloud ) to enable get hold My Mac and permit it to use your location . You ’ll then need to create a exploiter invoice and word , as well as to configure a few options for that account . After that , you ’ll ready your prison term zone and choose whether or not to record your Mac . Finally , you ’ll then see the aforementioned Thank You screen — click Start Using Your Mac to proceed .
Incompatible software warning : If you upgrade a Snow Leopard or Lion Mac , the first time you reboot into Mountain Lion you may see a dialog box informing you that some of the existing software package on your Mac is incompatible with the new oxygen , and number that package . ( Apple provides more selective information about such software program ina backup clause . ) You ’ll usually see this subject matter if you had marrow extensions — low - level software that patches the operating system of rules itself — set up under Snow Leopard or Lion that Apple specifically knows wo n’t work with Mountain Lion . It ’s also possible to see the out or keeping - software dialog box if you installed Mountain Lion onto a clean effort and then transferred data from another Mac or driving force , but it ’s less likely — OS X ’s Migration Assistant generally does n’t import marrow extensions and standardized software program responsible for for low - level processes . In either case , OS X automatically moves this incompatible software to a leaflet calledIncompatible Softwareat the root level of your inauguration drive .
Post-install tasks
Once you ’re up and running in Mountain Lion , you ’re almost done . You may find , despite yourpre - installing checks , that some of your existing computer software take update . likewise , if you ’ve performed a “ blank ” install of Mountain Lion ( onto a vacuous drive without channelise accounts and data ) , you ’ll need to drop a bit of time set things up , and you ’ll want to reinstall all your favorite apps .
Check ( again ) for update : The first matter you ’ll desire to do is prefer Software Update ( from the Apple carte du jour ) to spread out the Mac App Store app and instal any pending OS update . If you ’ve installed Mountain Lion in the first few day of handiness , chances are you wo n’t have any ( especially if you checked for update to Lion or Snow Leopard right away before upgrading , so you already have the latest update to other Apple software ) , but it ca n’t hurt to be certain . And if you ’ve waited a week or more to instal Mountain Lion , there ’s a good chance Apple will have release a minor update — or will sometime soon .
Even if no updates to Mountain Lion itself are useable , you may find that , after install OS X 10.8 , afirmwareupdate is available for your Mac . For instance , some Mac laptops require a microcode update to support Mountain Lion ’s fresh Power Nap feature , and this microcode update will appeared onlyafterinstalling Mountain Lion , presumably because it ’s not necessary under Lion or Snow Leopard .
coif up pressman , if necessary : If you did n’t upgrade from an already - configure installation of Lion or Snow Leopard , you ’ll need to set up your printer(s ) . As with Snow Leopard and Lion , Mountain Lion does n’t let in many printer drivers ; rather , when you localize up a pressman , the OS mold which drivers you need and , if necessary , either download them mechanically or facilitate you get them . launch the Print & Scan pane of System Preferences and flick the Add ( + ) push , and you ’ll see a list of connected and nearby ( Bonjour ) printers . prefer one , and OS X will see if drivers are usable . In the case of my Brother 7820N , the bottom of the Add window displayed the message “ The selected printer package is available from Apple . Click Add to download it and summate this printer . ” I clicked Add and , sure enough , OS X go forward to download the software and put up the printer .
Check for incompatible software and , if necessary , install apps : Next , if you see the aforesaid incompatible - software dialog , now ’s a good time to arrest the content of theIncompatible Softwarefolder at the antecedent level of your startup private road , and then check into each vendor ’s internet site for update versions of that software . Similarly , if you do a clean install — installed Mountain Lion onto a blank driveway and did n’t transfer accounts , diligence , and data — it ’s time to reinstall your app . Just be sure you ’ve got the latest versions , as well as any update you ’ll postulate to utilize to software you install from CDs and DVDs .
One compatibility issue of bill is that if you upgraded from Lion or Snow Leopard and you had Adobe ’s Flash Player 10.3 or later on installed , it will work fine after upgrading ; however , if you had a version prior to 10.3 installed , Flash will be removed and you ’ll be instruct to download the latest variation . ( Thanks toMacworldcontributor Joe Kissell for this tip . )
take note that the first time you seek to load a webpage or be given an app that take Java , Mountain Lion will prompt you to download and deploy the Java runtime , even if you upgrade from Snow Leopard or Lion and you ’d antecedently installed Java . This is normal — you should n’t care that installing Mountain Lion somehow “ lost ” any of your data or apps .
Enable FileVault : If you want to use FileVault , OS X ’s disk - encoding feature , but it ’s not enable — either because you ’ve never used it or because you upgrade from Snow Leopard and abide by my advice to incapacitate it before upgrade — now ’s the time to turn it on , via the Security pane of System Preferences . take note that if the Mountain Lion installer ( or the Lion installer before it ) was not able to make a Recovery HD partition on your drive , youwon’t be able-bodied to enableFileVault .
Check service : On several Macs — but not all — I upgraded from Lion to Mountain Lion , the first time I logged in to the new OS , I was alarm that Location Services and Sharing services had been invalid . You may or may not see these messages , but it ’s a good musical theme to take a warm look at the divvy up panelling of System Preferences , as well as the Privacy tab of the Security pane . If any of these services have been handicap , and you want to use them , turn them on now .
Upgrade and installation challenges
For most people , Mountain Lion — like Lion before it — is well-heeled enough to get and light to install . But , also as with Lion , upgrading to OS X 10.8 portray challenge for a few groups of people .
masses with Mountain Lion - compatible Macs who are still using Leopard ( OS X 10.5 ): There are a few Mac models that originally shipped with OS X 10.5 and are compatible with Mountain Lion . While I ’m certain there are a good number still running Leopard , I ’ll count few of their owner will desire to make the jumping right away from Leopard to Mountain Lion — if someone has been happy enough go 10.5 for three or four years that they never bothered to install OS X 10.6 or 10.7 , I doubt they ’ll be running out to install 10.8 .
That said , one if you ’re one of the people who really do want to jump flat from 10.5 to 10.8 ? Apple ’s official policy is that you need you buy and set up Snow Leopard ( $ 29 for a exclusive copyor$49 for a family pack ) andthenupgrade to Mountain Lion , lend the price of upgrading to either $ 49 or $ 69 , rather than $ 20 .
The Mountain Lion installer , like the Lion installer , is nonindulgent about expect OS X 10.6.8 . The installer program itself will establish under Leopard , but it wo n’t have you install Mountain Lion , either over Leopard or onto a spare movement . Nor can you mount a Leopard cause on a Mac running Snow Leopard , Lion , or Mountain Lion and then install 10.8 — the installer just refuses to install over Leopard .
But what if you own a written matter of Snow Leopard for the Mac in question , but you do n’t want to add an hour or two to the installation process by set up Snow Leopard first ?
hoi polloi with slow or limited - bandwidth Internet connections : If your Internet connection is slow , it will take alongtime — perhaps days — to download the 4GB+ Mountain Lion installer . Even worse , if your ISP enforces caps on your cyberspace - data usage , you could end up paying a goodly Leontyne Price for the exclusive right .
If you ’ve got a Mac laptop , you’re able to or else tug it to your favorite Apple retail merchant , the library , a friend ’s house , or the government agency — anywhere with a fast cyberspace connection — and download the Mountain Lion installer there . In fact , when Lion was released , Apple ’s official policy was to invite you to your local Apple Store and use the storehouse ’s Internet connectedness to download Lion ; store employee would even walk you through the leverage , download , and induction cognitive process . I suspect that will stay on to be the compositor’s case with Mountain Lion .
Of of course , if your Mac does n’t happen to be portable , or if you live in an field where you ca n’t borrow a dissipated , chinchy net connectedness , you ’ll need to encounter another solution . If you ’ve got an Apple Store nearby , you may be able to take a portable arduous drive or an 8GB - or - larger thumb thrust to the store and ask to buy and download the installer on one of the store ’s Macs ; similarly , you could borrow a friend ’s reckoner , or — if you ’re lucky enough to have a Mac at the office — use your work computer to download Mountain Lion .
Last year , Apple made available a $ 69 bootable wink effort control the Lion installer ; the company has n’t yet declare if it will do the same for Mountain Lion . I ’ll update this clause with the late information as it becomes available .
business , schools , and other administration and mental institution that need to install Mountain Lion on many different data processor : When Lion was released last class , we hear concerns from large facility — schools , occupation , and the corresponding — about the Mac App Store - only distribution . These organizations often need to roll up out young versions of OS X to many Macs , and forcing each user to download and instal Lion presented significant technical , logistical , and documentation issues . OS X 10.8 presents the same challenge . With Lion , Apple released a text file titledOS X Lion for Business and Educationthat explained the alternative for these organizations . The society has n’t yet released a version for Mountain Lion , but I ’m take over the choice will remain the same : While organizations will use the same purchasing procedure as always to bribe OS X , they ’ll be given one Mountain Lion redemption codification for each leverage contract bridge . After using that computer code to download the Mountain Lion installer from the Mac App Store , that transcript of the installer can be used on any and all Macs traverse by the declaration .
To do so , Apple says customer can copy the Mountain Lion installer to the / Applicationsfolder on each Mac and then move the installer from there , or they can make a NetInstall or NetRestore image , or practice Apple Remote Desktop . They can also make one or more bootable Mountain Lion - install drives and then deploy the OS using those .
Purring along
While researching this series of articles , I installed literally dozens of copy of atomic number 76 X 10.8 on a potpourri of Mac . As with Lion , my experience has been that for the typical Mac user with a wideband connection , the process of purchasing , obtaining , and installing Mountain Lion is easy and relatively bother - liberal . Still , listen the advice above will reduce the chances of problems and make the upgrade go as smoothly as possible .
( For an evenmorein - depth tone at upgrading to Mountain Lion , check outMacworldcontributor Joe Kissell’sTake Control of Upgrading to Mountain Lion , which covers such theme as extensive pre - install nosology , clean installs , installation troubleshooting , and much more . )
[ Dan Frakes is a Macworld older editor program . His Macs are all very tired from having Mountain Lion installed on them over and over and over and over . ]
