Early adopters take one for the team, and Lion had a lot of them, with one million copies served up from the Mac App Store on Day 1. The Mac|Life editors were all able to upgrade smoothly, but some of our faithful readers ran into snags or had some…concerns. We’re here for you.
We heard from a lot of users upset about Lion’s lack of Rosetta support, which means that applications written for the old PowerPC architecture won’t run anymore -- readers cited some classic games and of course many mentioned Quicken 2007, the last “true” version of Quicken for Mac if you don’t count last year’s anemic Quicken Essentials. We even heard from an Apple Specialist who couldn’t run his store’s point-of-sale software, PIMS, on Lion, so while the demo machines have it, the company’s own Macs are stuck on Snow Leopard.
You still have a few options. In the case of Quicken, you could run the (superior, we must admit) Windows version via Boot Camp or a virtual machine (see “Another Tasty Combination,” May/11, p44). You could ditch Quicken for a Lion-friendly alternative -- we’re doing a group test of Mac personal finance software packages in our next issue. Or if you’re really desperate, you could put Snow Leopard on a thumb drive and boot from that whenever you need to run your Rosetta-required application. See our how-to on the next page -- just remember, running an OS off a thumb drive can be a slow, frustrating experience. But it works in a pinch.
Quicken 2007: Do you really, really need it?
Right after installing Lion, I had a kernel panic. I restarted and everything seems fine, but should I be worried that more are on their way?
Lion’s installation is designed to be easy, but it never hurts to do some spring cleaning before -- and after -- you upgrade, just to minimize the possibility of snags. Northern Softworks makes a handy, highly regarded utility called Lion Cache Cleaner ($9.99, northernsoftworks.com) that can clean out cache files used by your Snow Leopard installation, plus repair disk permissions and perform other maintenance tasks. It requires Mac OS 10.4 or later, so you can run it once on Snow Leopard and again under Lion.
I have a Boot Camp partition installed, and the Lion installer gave me a weird error when I tried to install it to Macintosh HD: “This disk cannot be used to start up your computer.” But I start up from that disk every day! What gives?
Apple posted details on this error at http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3926, so you’re not alone. You basically have two options. You could back up your entire hard drive and reformat it prior to installing Lion, or try the less-aggravating workaround: fire up Disk Utility, and repartition your hard drive, making one side slightly smaller, say, by 128MB. You won’t lose any data doing it that way, and then when you try again to install Lion, it should work.
This error message makes no sense.
In Snow Leopard, the Finder windows had a bar at the bottom that showed how much space was left on my hard drive. Now that’s missing, and I can’t seem to figure out how to get it back. Is it a Terminal command?
We noticed that too! Luckily you don’t need any Terminal tricks to get that back. And we agree that it’s annoying that Lion turned it off instead of leaving it on by default and giving you the option to turn it off. Anyway, to get it back, open a Finder window, then head up to the View menu and select Show Status Bar.
That little bar at the bottom of a Finder window is called the Status Bar, huh? Now we know.
So you’ve upgraded to Lion only to discover the PowerPC apps you’ve been running since the days of Bondi iMacs no longer launch. That’s right: Rosetta, the emulation layer that kept PowerPC code chugging well into the 21st century, is gone for good. Don’t panic! With a little effort, you can install Snow Leopard on that USB flash drive in the back of your desk drawer to run those old applications and rescue their data.
A 16GB or larger USB flash drive
A Mac OS 10.6 installation DVD
Gather the documents belonging to your PowerPC applications and copy them to a Dropbox folder, your iDisk, or burn them to a CD. You won’t be able to easily access the files on your current Lion drive from your future Snow Leopard drive, so having that data on some sort of removable media will help you quickly get to it down the road.
This step is crucial.
Insert the installer DVD and your flash drive into your Mac, then launch Disk Utility from Applications > Utilities. Select the USB drive in the sidebar, and click the Partition button. Select 1 Partition in the Partition Layout pull-down menu, then click Options and choose GUID Partition Table to use the drive as a startup disk. Choose the format Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and name the disk something obvious, like Snow Leopard. Click Apply to repartition the drive, then quit Disk Utility when you’re done.
You can’t double-click the Snow Leopard DVD’s installer from Lion, so you need to reboot.
Next, choose Restart from the Apple menu, then hold down the Option key as your Mac reboots until you see the Startup Manager. Choose the installer DVD, then wait while the installation process loads. And wait, and wait. Maybe Apple’s not so crazy to phase out optical media after all?
When the installer is ready, choose your flash drive in the Install Mac OS X window, then click Customize. In the resulting window, be sure to check the box to install Rosetta. Uncheck other boxes to keep extraneous components (like unnecessary language packs, fonts, and printer drivers) from adding several gigabytes to your installation. When you’re done, return to the main window and begin the installation.
Booyah! Back in 10.6, your old applications will open slowly, but they’ll open.
After the installation, reboot your Mac (hold down the Option key and select the Snow Leopard thumb drive) and plow through 10.6’s welcome movie and introductory settings. When asked if you want to transfer information, choose Do Not Transfer My Information Now. It’ll be much faster to drag and drop from the copies you made in Step 1. Once the Finder is ready, select Go > Utilities from the menu bar, then launch Terminal and type sudo mdutil -a -i off to kill Spotlight indexing. (It’s only making an already poky system run slower.) Then transfer your old data (from Step 1) to your new Snow Leopard Home folder. Remember that OS X will feel much slower running from the USB drive, so allow a little extra time for your clicks and drags to register. With the files copied, launch the corresponding PowerPC applications from the Applications folder on your Lion hard drive (Macintosh HD) to access your documents.
Ray Dittmer
January 30, 2012 at 6:25pm
About that Snow Leopard startup flashdrive. I purchased an iMac recently with Lion installed. After grinding my gears a bit on the migration of old data (I was running Tiger on a iMac G5) and finding that only firewire migration would work, I solved that problem. Since I did not begin this adventure expecting a Lion install on my iMac, I needed a way to preserve my legacy app data. I tried your solution of a Snow Leopard flash drive. No go, Lion will no even let me boot from the Snow Leopard install DVD. Apparently, if you buy a Mac with Lion installed, there is no way to even revert to a previous OS on an external drive. Help!
ndor@gci.net
August 27, 2011 at 1:47pm
I can' read my old Netscape files with the Lion.
I can't open any files that used Power PC applications in Lion either.
IF, I had know that I could not read those files which I access about every day, then I would not have downloaded Lion.
However, I did download Lion, so, I asked what Apple, the best computer company in the world, is doing to fix that problem.
The said you can bring in your iMac to an Apple store, they will uninstall the Lion, and then re-install Snow Leopard.
I am 72 years old and it is hard for me to get around. It would be easier for me to get a fix that Apple should provide so that all versions of the MAC OS are backward compatible.
After all, all my files, since 1984, on Macs, have been done using Mac OS.
Best regards,
Nels Anderson, Jr.
Anchorage, Alaska
bhargis75
August 16, 2011 at 11:08am
Um you don't need a third party app to use a key command for Launchpad. Just go to system preferences-keyboard and set up a key command for Launchpad. Easy as pie.
iMac.27
August 15, 2011 at 9:57pm
in iCal section you say...
Creating events is easier, too, thanks to natural language input that can turn “Apple Genius appointment tomorrow 2pm” into an item on your schedule. Faster, simpler to use, more functional? Yeah, we can make time for that.
Um. I can't find this feature anywhere. How do I talk to my iCal?
And the Comment:
I TOTALLY disagree will William's post. Lion is a VERY good OS. $29 is a small about of money, and who the hell needs a disc? You could have made a disc before you installed it if you really wanted one.
If you waited for Lion to release before getting a TrackPad, that's on you. I got one the day it came out.
However, with Snow Leopard, it was nearly useless. Now, with Lion, I use my TrackPad 99% of the time, it truly is "Magical."And why would you buy a new OS without researching it a little FIRST? You bought it then "disabled all the useless crap" ??? Why the hell did you buy it in the first place? I do not understand all the people who go spend money on Lion and then try to make it "look and feel" like Snow Leopard... ummm, Just STAY with Snow Leopard?? Duhhhhh.
I find that ANYONE who buys a product, just to turn around and b*tch and Moan about it, is an idiot. (not a personal attack on William, encompasses EVERYONE that does this)
Why not watch the Keynote on Apples web site? ( it was only on there for what, 5 months before release)
(and with the 384kbps download speed, it should have finished within a month of release)
Why not go to a store and try it first? (they sell apple at best buy even if you don't have an apple store near by)
Why not find out what would and wouldn't be compatible BEFORE you install something like that?
Then, on top of everything else, rock a 384Kbps internet connection in the year 2011? and,... wait for it..... you b*tch about how long it took to download??? WFT? My iPhone 3G downloads faster than that.Last, what did you expect for $29 bucks? a disc and massage with happy ending?
Microsoft windows 7 Retail is $250 bucks. $29 sounds WAY better. Even if I pay $29 4 times for 4 upgrades like Lion, I STILL come out cheaper then ONE update from MS.
If Apple would have charged you $129, gave you a disc and radically change the entire OS where it didn't even remotely look, feel or act like the old Apple OS you were used to, you would not have been any more happy. You would have complained about how apple went TOO FAR!Dude, you should get a Dell....
maclover
August 16, 2011 at 8:37am
If you press the "+" button I think it is in the top left, you can add a new event by just typing a sentence basically. There is no speech to text feature, yet :D
William R Grubaugh
August 15, 2011 at 6:09pm
Except for the increased security I think Lion is pure CRAP! 29 dollars plus tax 8.25% for some data from their server (huge profit for Apple) and at 384 Kbps, hours too download more inconvenience and money, Have to get third party App to make Disc which Apple should have provided, more inconvenience and money, or pay Apple another 69 dollars plus tax 8.25% for USB Flash Drive, more inconvenience and money - 69 dollars plus tax 8.25% for the NOT so Magic Track Pad, more inconvenience and money - must purchase new Applications, Apple hopes from their App Store to replace now obsolete Apps because of Lion, more inconvenience and money - Now more inconvenience and money trying to figure out how to disable all of the worthless Crap you just payed way to much money for, or purchase/acquire more third party Apps to make some of your newly acquired Crap work! Apples greed and imposition are shocking and shameless. I may never upgrade another OSX from Apple or IBM I should say, which is most fitting considering their new leader and business plan! My loyalty and confidence in Apple is waning rapidly. Truly sad, I used to think of them as a different type of Company, but after discovering all of their China connections and now all their recent missteps, the honeymoon is over!!!
brandonwalkermedia
August 15, 2011 at 11:58pm
um you don't have to buy a third party app, you use what Apple gave you (you know the ability to burn!) P.s. i downloaded it at 10MBPS it seems your wifi (if you did even download it) is stone age. Also i have not had a single app not be compatible (other then not supporting new futures like full screen yet) and only 3 of them have updated for lion. And last China is a great place to make connections, think about it over 1 billion people to sell to (not to mention lower taxes) bottom line yes there here to make money! same as when you go to work and service others!
BTW seems like your a PC user thats never tried a Mac (as you seem to know nothing of it)
William R Grubaugh
August 16, 2011 at 5:28pm
All I'll give you, which is to much! You're a punk smug moronic idiot who doesn't know your a%s from a hole in the ground! READ AND SEARCH, THERE'S A BIG WIDE WORLD OUT THERE, THAT"S NOT YOURS, BUBBLE BOY! Damn it, I gave you to much. Oh Well???
trianoaj
August 16, 2011 at 11:16am
william_r_grubaugh you my friend are FULL OF CRAP!!
You talk about issues that do not exist:
Your internet connection is CRAP! My download with FIOS took all of 20 minutes.
You dont need Third Party anything to make a Lion install disk or Thumb Drive!!
Try a new site called google, ooh wait since your internet connection is CRAP! you cant even do that. Only 1 app that I had in snow leopard am i still waiting for its dev. to make compatable with Lion. All 57 other work just fine.Few people might not like the new looks or features in Lion, but the word FEW is even assuming to many! If you had a mac you would know that Lion has made alot of old processes and menus more seeamless and flowing.
Open your mind, your eyes and your wallet while your at it (get better internet service) and realize that the WINBLOWS PIECE OF CRAP! that you are implying your willing to "leave Mac os x for" is a god send for use TRUE mac users, it actually filters all the STUCK ON CRAP users out of our community!
William R Grubaugh
August 16, 2011 at 5:15pm
I live in far mid-western Texas in the middle of know where and have three choices for ISP's. The highest I can get is 768 Kbps' it's to pricey for me, so I pay $32.00 for 384 Kbps, and am thankful, I don't have to pay the same for Dial-Up. I am feed up with the comments from smug ignorant morons about 384 Kbps. Caged Metropolitans who know nothing, but the Rank and File. Truth and Objectivity! I greatly enjoy my intel iMac circa late 2008, Snow Leopard 10.6.8, after the eighth update they finally got it right and now every thing works like it should. But where to go from here, not sure at this point, for I have a lot of money invested in Apple products and Third party Apple products. It's smug morons like you and Apples new Business plan, that will destroy Apple. Read the reviews, there all over the internet, I'm not alone Moron!
