Upgrading to M.Lion from S.Leopard (Urgent Help Needed)

[Joeytpg]

first off, thank you in advance for taking time to answer.

I run a music studio on an iMac 2010 i7 27". This machine is running Snow Leopard still. I usually don't upgrade ofter since some plugins for music softwares and such don't get an upgrade soon so I avoid crashes and all.

But now I'm two versions back and I'm starting to need the new features in the newer systems.

I have iPhoto 11 that I use all the time as well as iMovie 11, as well as out of date Pages and such.

My question is:

How can I upgrade the system (Mac OS) as smoothly as possible without loosing my data.

I want to move my iphoto and itunes libraries to an external drive to free space and avoid loosing my data is something crashes.

This leads to a second question:

How can I upgrade iLife without things getting messed up??

Should I just go to the app store and purchase the upgrades and it'll be smooth sailing afterwards?

What should I watch out for?


THANK YOU.

 

[satcomer]

If you move your iTunes Library to an external make really sure you keep that iTunes library backed up. Remember it is not if a hard drive will fail, it is when it will.

Now to move your iTunes Library DON'T just copy & paste. The article How to move an iTunes library to an external drive (watch the video too).

In 10.8.x you use the Mac App Store app and in that program just click on the Update button and it will go get Apple updates.

Yes you can update but Mac point upgrades usually require a restart. If Software Update is just updating applications it usually doesn't require a restart.

Plus bookmark the page Configuring OS X Mountain Lion Time Machine to Work With CIFS (SMB) Share if you want to use a networked version of Time Machine (like on a NAS).

One more thing. As an Audio person just remember the application /Applications/Utilities/Auto MIDI Setup in your music travels. Most people forget that handy audio program.

 

[benwiggy]

How can I upgrade the system (Mac OS) as smoothly as possible without loosing my data.

1. Purchase and download the 10.8 installer app.
2. Run installer app.
The new OS will be installed in place of the old one, and your data will be intact. But you have a backup in any case, right?

I want to move my iphoto and itunes libraries to an external drive to free space and avoid loosing my data if something crashes.

Here's the Apple Support Article on how to move your iTunes library:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449
Here's more details for iTunes and iPhoto:
http://mac.tutsplus.com/tutorials/media/how-to-move-your-itunes-iphoto-or-aperture-library-to-an-external-drive/

Also, even if something crashes and causes you to lose data, it won't be a problem, because you have a backup, don't you?

How can I upgrade iLife without things getting messed up??

1. Purchase and download new versions of iLife.
2. That's it.