How to Download Mountain Lion on Mac
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Earlier Lion (OS X x.vii) debuted final year, installing the latest major version of Mac Bone Ten meant ownership a disc and slipping information technology into your Mac'due south optical bulldoze. But Lion inverse all that by making Os X bachelor for direct download. Os Ten x.8—better known as Mountain Lion—inherits Lion'southward distribution method. More than specifically, it's available only equally a download from Apple's Mac App Store. This makes it easier and more user-friendly to upgrade your OS than having to buy and use a DVD or thumb drive, but it likewise raises a number of questions, and it presents upgrade obstacles for some users. Equally I did final yr with Lion, I've compiled this guide to getting and installing Apple tree's latest Os.
Fair warning: If you install Mountain Lion right when information technology's released, keep in mind that you're installing version one.0 of a major new Os. Information technology could be bug-gratis, but if the history of OS X is any indication, we'll see the first update, containing a number of issues fixes, within a few weeks. If downtime isn't an option for you lot, you might consider holding off for Bone 10 10.8.1.
Purchasing and downloading Mountain Lion
Assuming y'all run into the requirements, getting Mountain King of beasts is easy—for near people (more on that below). You simply launch the Mac App Store awarding, click the Os Ten Mountain Lion imprint on the shop'south main page (or search for Mountain Lion, or click this direct link), click the $19.99 button at the top of the screen, and so click the Buy App button that appears.
(Note: If yous purchased a Mac between June 11 and July 25, 2012, only it didn't come with Mountain King of beasts pre-installed, don't purchase it from the Mac App Store this way—you're entitled to a free copy of the new Bone. Visit this Apple web page for details.)
After providing your Apple ID and password, Mountain Panthera leo volition brainstorm downloading. Specifically, the 4.4GB installer application, called Install OS X Mount Lion.app, will be saved to your main Applications folder (/Applications
) and, if y'all're upgrading from King of beasts, added to Launchpad. On my Mac, the installer even automatically launched afterwards it finished downloading. On cable-model connections effectually the U.Southward. the morning time of Mount Lion's release, the download took betwixt 35 and 55 minutes for Macworld editors.
Note that unlike with Lion, which continued to utilize the legacy Software Update characteristic (found in the Apple Menu) to provide Os updates, updates to Mountain Lion will exist provided through the Mac App Store app. In fact, if you lot cull Software Update from the Apple Carte du jour under Mountain Lion, the Mac App Store app is launched.
Downloading the installer onto other Macs: Once y'all've purchased Mount Panthera leo, you can download the installer onto whatever 10.8-capable Mac authorized to use your Mac App Shop business relationship—only like applications purchased from the shop, a single purchase of Mountain Panthera leo lets you install it on all your personal Macs. To download the installer on a Mac other than the one on which y'all purchased it, you just launch the Mac App Store awarding, click the Purchases button in the toolbar, and click the Download button next to Bone X Mountain Lion in the listing.
Copying the Mount Lion installer onto other Macs: Alternatively, once you've downloaded the Mount Lion installer onto one figurer, you lot can copy it—over your local network or by using a wink drive, DVD, or external hard drive—to your other Macs. This is obviously a much faster approach than re-downloading the four.4GB installer onto each of your Macs. You won't even be prompted to qualify the installer on each Mac, every bit y'all are with other Mac App Store-distributed software—the Mountain Panthera leo installer does not use digital-rights direction (DRM).
Downloading the installer onto a Mac already running Mountain Lion: If you already have Mountain Lion—either the official release or the golden master (the final developer release, a.k.a., the GM)—installed on a Mac, you lot may have problems downloading the installer onto that Mac, every bit the Mac App Store app may retrieve you already accept it and, thus, non offer to let you download it. (This was a common consequence with King of beasts, although in our feel the day of Mount King of beasts'southward release, several Macworld editors were able to download Mountain Lion without hassle onto Macs running Mountain King of beasts.) If this happens to you, launch the Mac App Shop app and Option+click the Purchases tab in the toolbar; that should show the Download push adjacent to Mountain King of beasts in the Purchases listing. If that doesn't work, Option+click Mountain King of beasts in the list and then Option+click the Installed push on the Mount Lion page. One of these two methods should let you download the installer.
Similarly, if you're a developer who previously downloaded the "golden main" (GM) of the Mountain Lion installer, the Mac App Store app may claim Mountain Lion is "Installed" on your Mac—and thus not allow you download the official release—if the Mac App Store app detects that installer on any continued volume. (Again, this happened frequently with the Lion installer, just in my testing so far, hasn't been a trouble with Mountain Lion.) If this happens to you, the solution is either to delete the GM installer (later compressing information technology or copying it to a removable bulldoze if you want to keep it handy) or, if possible, to disconnect the drive on which the GM resides.
Keeping the installer on mitt
Earlier proceeding, here's an of import tip: If y'all run the installer from its default location in the Applications folder, the installation procedure deletes the installer, presumably to free up the over 4GB of drive space it occupies. So if, every bit explained higher up, you plan to use the installer on other Macs, or if yous only want to proceed the installer on hand, before installing you should copy the installer to another drive—or at least motility it out of the Applications folder.
Installing Mountain Lion
Like Panthera leo—and dissimilar earlier versions of Os Ten—Mount Lion offers just a single installation option: where to install the new Os. In fact, you don't need to make any decisions until it'southward time to fix things up and start using your Mac. You don't even demand to boot from a unlike disc or volume—the Mountain Lion installer runs as a standard application.
Once you've purchased and downloaded the Mountain King of beasts installer, hither are the elementary steps involved:
- Double-click the Install Os X Mountain Panthera leo app; in the window that appears, click Go along, and then click Agree to agree to the software license agreement.
- On the next screen, yous choose where to install the Bone. By default, merely your internal startup drive is listed; if you take other drives connected and want to install Mountain Lion onto ane of them, click the Prove All Disks button then choose the desired drive. Note that the installer will permit you lot choose any drive that has Os 10 10.six.8 or subsequently installed or whatsoever blank drive—the latter is what y'all would choose if you wanted to do a "clean" install that contains none of your data, applications, or settings from your electric current installation of Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6) or Lion. In either case, the destination drive must also exist formatted as Mac Os Extended (Journaled) and use a GUID Division Table; the built-in drive on any Mac eligible to run Mountain Lion should meet these requirements. (See my article on make clean-installing Mountain Lion to aid you decide if it's something you lot want to practice.)
- Click Install, and so provide an admin-level username and password when prompted.
- The installer will spend some time preparing for installation; over many examination installations on several dissimilar Mac models, this procedure rarely took more than a few minutes. You'll run into a message in the installer window that your figurer will restart automatically; y'all tin continue to work in other applications during this fourth dimension, but in one case the preparation phase is finished, you'll get but a 30-2d warning, and and then your Mac will indeed restart on its ain.
- Afterwards your Mac restarts, the actual installation occurs. During my test installs, this procedure took roughly fifteen to 25 minutes, depending on the Mac. (Note that if you're upgrading from Panthera leo and you have FileVault 2 enabled, when the installer restarts your Mac, you'll demand to provide an authorized username and password to bypass the FileVault lock screen at startup. In one case you lot do, installation volition go on normally.)
That's it—unlike older OS 10 installers, Mountain Lion'south doesn't make yous decide what kind of installation you want to practice, which language translations or printer drivers to install, or whether or not y'all'll e'er use X11 or QuickTime vii. The installation procedure is easier and quicker than ever.
Initial setup
When the installation procedure finishes, what you'll see depends on whether you've installed Mountain Panthera leo on a bare drive, or if you've installed it on a drive containing Lion or Snowfall Leopard with existing accounts, settings, and data.
Lion: If you lot've upgraded from King of beasts (or installed 10.8 onto a blank drive and imported your Lion data and settings), the first thing you'll see when you lot log in to your account under Mount King of beasts depends on whether or not you were already using iCloud under Panthera leo. If you were, and if Location Services and Find My Mac were previously enabled, there'south a good chance you'll be able to get right to work with no further interruptions.
If didn't already have iCloud configured under Lion, or if you did but Location Services and Notice My Mac weren'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 x.viii onto a blank drive and imported your Snow Leopard data and settings), the offset thing you'll see when you log in to your account under Mountain Lion is an Apple ID screen. Enter your Apple ID and password—you can create an Apple ID if you lot don't have one—and agree to the Apple tree ID Terms and Conditions, and y'all'll and then exist prompted to set iCloud. Bold you want to do so, click Continue (twice). You'll so be prompted to enable Detect My Mac using your iCloud account; if y'all cull to do and then, you must also allow Location Services. Finally, you lot'll run into a Thanks screen with a button to Commencement Using Your Mac.
Notation that if you want to use dissimilar Apple tree IDs for iCloud and iTunes, the Mountain King of beasts setup assistant lets you do so. On the start Apple ID screen, you but click the link that reads "Want to employ dissimilar Apple tree IDs for iCloud and iTunes?" You'll be prompted to enter your credentials
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Blank drive: If you installed Mountain Lion onto a blank bulldoze, you'll exist walked through the new-organisation setup process. Outset yous'll choose a system language and keyboard layout. Adjacent, you'll choose a Wi-Fi network and provide the network password. (Click Other Network Options to utilize Ethernet instead.) You lot'll so exist asked if you want to transfer accounts and data from another Mac, a Windows PC, or some other drive (which includes a Fourth dimension Auto fill-in or a clone fill-in). If y'all choose to do so, you lot'll exist given the option to choose what to transfer—unless you actually want to kickoff anew, you'll probably desire to transfer everything.
If y'all opt to transfer accounts and settings from a Snow Leopard or Lion Mac or bulldoze, the setup procedure will keep much as if you upgraded from Snow Leopard or Lion, respectively. If you choose non to transfer—so you're essentially starting fresh—you'll be asked to enable Location Services, to provide your Apple ID and countersign (and to concord to the Apple ID terms and atmospheric condition), to fix iCloud, and (assuming you enabled iCloud) to enable Find My Mac and allow it to use your location. You'll then need to create a user account and password, equally well as to configure a few options for that account. After that, y'all'll set your time zone and choose whether or non to register your Mac. Finally, you'll then see the aforementioned Thank You screen—click Start Using Your Mac to continue.
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Incompatible software alarm: If you upgraded a Snow Leopard or Panthera leo Mac, the kickoff fourth dimension yous boot into Mountain King of beasts you may see a dialog box informing you that some of the existing software on your Mac is incompatible with the new Os, and list that software. (Apple provides more information about such software in a support article.) You'll normally run into this bulletin if you had kernel extensions—low-level software that patches the operating arrangement itself—installed under Snow Leopard or Lion that Apple specifically knows won't work with Mountain Lion. It's besides possible to see the incompatible-software dialog box if you installed Mount Lion onto a blank drive then transferred data from some other Mac or drive, merely it'due south less probable—OS 10'south Migration Banana generally doesn't import kernel extensions and similar software responsible for low-level processes. In either example, Bone X automatically moves this incompatible software to a binder chosen Incompatible Software at the root level of your startup drive.
Postal service-install tasks
In one case you're upwards and running in Mountain Lion, you're almost done. You lot may find, despite your pre-installation checks, that some of your existing software needs updates. Similarly, if you've performed a "clean" install of Mount Lion (onto a bare drive without transferring accounts and data), you lot'll need to spend a flake of fourth dimension setting things up, and you'll want to reinstall all your favorite apps.
Check (again) for updates: The first thing yous'll want to practise is cull Software Update (from the Apple card) to open the Mac App Shop app and install whatsoever pending Os updates. If you've installed Mountain Lion in the outset few days of availability, chances are you won't have any (especially if you checked for updates to Panthera leo or Snowfall Leopard immediately earlier upgrading, so you already have the latest updates to other Apple software), but it tin't hurt to be certain. And if you've waited a week or more to install Mountain Lion, at that place's a skillful chance Apple will have released a pocket-size update—or will quondam soon.
Even if no updates to Mountain King of beasts itself are available, you lot may find that, afterwards installing Os Ten x.eight, a firmware update is available for your Mac. For example, some Mac laptops require a firmware update to support Mountain Lion'south new Ability Nap characteristic, and this firmware update will appeared only subsequently installing Mountain Panthera leo, presumably considering information technology'due south non necessary under King of beasts or Snow Leopard.
Set up printers, if necessary: If y'all didn't upgrade from an already-configured installation of Lion or Snow Leopard, yous'll want to gear up up your printer(s). As with Snow Leopard and Lion, Mountain Lion doesn't include many printer drivers; rather, when you set up up a printer, the Bone determines which drivers you lot need and, if necessary, either downloads them automatically or helps yous become them. Open the Impress & Browse pane of System Preferences and click the Add (+) push button, and you'll run into a list of connected and nearby (Bonjour) printers. Cull one, and OS X will encounter if drivers are available. In the case of my Blood brother 7820N, the bottom of the Add window displayed the message "The selected printer software is available from Apple. Click Add to download it and add this printer." I clicked Add together and, sure enough, OS Ten proceeded to download the software and prepare the printer.
Check for incompatible software and, if necessary, install apps: Next, if you saw the same incompatible-software dialog, at present's a good time to check the contents of the Incompatible Software folder at the root level of your startup drive, and and so check each vendor's website for updated versions of that software. Similarly, if you performed a clean install—installed Mount Lion onto a bare bulldoze and didn't transfer accounts, applications, and information—it'south time to reinstall your app. Only be sure you've got the latest versions, as well as any updates y'all'll need to apply to software you install from CDs and DVDs.
One compatibility consequence of note is that if you lot upgraded from King of beasts or Snowfall Leopard and y'all had Adobe'southward Flash Player x.iii or afterward installed, it will piece of work fine after upgrading; nonetheless, if you had a version prior to 10.3 installed, Flash will be removed and you'll be instructed to download the latest version. (Cheers to Macworld contributor Joe Kissell for this tip.)
Note that the first time you try to load a webpage or run an app that requires Coffee, Mountain Lion will prompt y'all to download and install the Coffee runtime, even if you lot upgraded from Snow Leopard or Lion and you lot'd previously installed Java. This is normal—you shouldn't worry that installing Mountain King of beasts somehow "lost" any of your information or apps.
Enable FileVault: If you want to utilize FileVault, OS X'due south deejay-encryption characteristic, but information technology's not enabled—either considering you've never used it or because you upgraded from Snow Leopard and followed my advice to disable it before upgrading—now's the time to turn it on, via the Security pane of System Preferences. Note that if the Mount Lion installer (or the Lion installer before information technology) was not able to create a Recovery Hard disk segmentation on your drive, you won't be able to enable FileVault.
Check services: On several Macs—only not all—I upgraded from Lion to Mountain Lion, the first fourth dimension I logged in to the new OS, I was alerted that Location Services and Sharing services had been disabled. You may or may not see these letters, but information technology's a good thought to take a quick wait at the Sharing pane of Arrangement Preferences, likewise as the Privacy tab of the Security pane. If any of these services accept been disabled, and you want to utilise them, turn them on at present.
Upgrade and installation challenges
For most people, Mount Panthera leo—similar King of beasts before information technology—is easy enough to go and like shooting fish in a barrel to install. Just, likewise equally with King of beasts, upgrading to Bone X ten.8 presents challenges for a few groups of people.
People with Mountain Panthera leo-compatible Macs who are nevertheless using Leopard (OS X 10.5): There are a few Mac models that originally shipped with Bone 10 ten.5 and are compatible with Mountain King of beasts. While I'thou certain there are a good number withal running Leopard, I'll bet few of their owners volition want to make the jump directly from Leopard to Mount Lion—if someone has been happy enough running 10.5 for three or 4 years that they never bothered to install Bone Ten 10.half dozen or 10.7, I doubt they'll exist running out to install ten.eight.
That said, i if y'all're 1 of the people who really do want to jump direct from 10.five to x.viii? Apple'south official policy is that you need y'all purchase and install Snowfall Leopard ($29 for a unmarried copy or $49 for a family pack) and then upgrade to Mountain Lion, bringing the cost of upgrading to either $49 or $69, rather than $20.
The Mountain King of beasts installer, like the Lion installer, is strict nigh requiring OS X 10.6.8. The installer application itself will launch under Leopard, only information technology won't let you install Mountain Lion, either over Leopard or onto a bare drive. Nor can yous mountain a Leopard drive on a Mac running Snow Leopard, Lion, or Mountain Lion and so install 10.eight—the installer just refuses to install over Leopard.
Simply what if you own a re-create of Snow Leopard for the Mac in question, only you don't desire to add an hour or two to the installation procedure by installing Snow Leopard first?
People with slow or express-bandwidth Internet connections: If your Internet connection is dull, it will accept a long fourth dimension—mayhap days—to download the 4GB+ Mountain Lion installer. Even worse, if your ISP enforces caps on your Internet-data usage, you could terminate upwardly paying a hefty price for the privilege.
If yous've got a Mac laptop, you can instead tote it to your favorite Apple tree retailer, the library, a friend'due south business firm, or the role—anywhere with a fast Internet connection—and download the Mountain Lion installer in that location. In fact, when Lion was released, Apple'south official policy was to invite yous to your local Apple Store and use the shop'south Cyberspace connection to download Lion; store employees would even walk you through the purchase, download, and installation processes. I suspect that volition continue to be the case with Mountain Lion.
Of course, if your Mac doesn't happen to be portable, or if you live in an surface area where you can't borrow a fast, cheap Internet connectedness, you'll need to find some other solution. If you lot've got an Apple Shop nearby, yous may be able to accept a portable hard bulldoze or an 8GB-or-larger thumb bulldoze to the store and ask to purchase and download the installer on one of the store's Macs; similarly, you could borrow a friend's computer, or—if you lot're lucky enough to have a Mac at the part—use your piece of work computer to download Mountain Lion.
Terminal year, Apple fabricated available a $69 bootable flash drive containing the Lion installer; the visitor hasn't all the same announced if it will do the aforementioned for Mountain Lion. I'll update this article with the latest information as it becomes bachelor.
Businesses, schools, and other organizations and institutions that need to install Mount King of beasts on many different computers: When Lion was released final year, we heard concerns from big installations—schools, businesses, and the like—well-nigh the Mac App Store-just distribution. These organizations oft need to roll out new versions of OS X to many Macs, and forcing each user to download and install Lion presented significant technical, logistical, and support bug. Os X 10.8 presents the same challenges. With Panthera leo, Apple tree released a certificate titled OS X Lion for Business and Instruction that explained the options for these organizations. The company hasn't yet released a version for Mountain Lion, only I'm assuming the options will remain the aforementioned: While organizations will employ the aforementioned purchasing procedure as always to buy Os X, they'll exist given 1 Mountain Lion redemption lawmaking for each purchase contract. After using that code to download the Mountain Lion installer from the Mac App Store, that re-create of the installer can be used on any and all Macs covered by the contract.
To do so, Apple tree says customers tin can re-create the Mount Lion installer to the /Applications
folder on each Mac so run the installer from there, or they tin create a NetInstall or NetRestore epitome, or use Apple Remote Desktop. They can also create ane or more bootable Mount Lion-install drives and so install the OS using those.
Purring along
While researching this series of articles, I installed literally dozens of copies of OS Ten 10.8 on a variety of Mac. Every bit with Lion, my experience has been that for the typical Mac user with a broadband connection, the process of purchasing, obtaining, and installing Mount Lion is easy and relatively pain-free. Notwithstanding, heeding the advice above will reduce the chances of problems and make the upgrade get as smoothly equally possible.
(For an even more in-depth expect at upgrading to Mount Lion, cheque out Macworld contributor Joe Kissell's Take Control of Upgrading to Mountain Lion , which covers such topics as extensive pre-install diagnostics, clean installs, installation troubleshooting, and much more.)
[Dan Frakes is a Macworld senior editor. His Macs are all very tired from having Mountain Lion installed on them over and over and over and over.]
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