Any disadvantages to a clean Panther install on a brand new PowerBook?

[Alex Bischoff]

I'm all ready to order a new 15" PowerBook and my original plan was to wait until Panther was available preinstalled -- because this will be my first Mac, I didn't want to deal with the upgrade. (I'll probably order through MacConnection since they have some good deals at the moment.)

I'd like to have the PowerBook by Thanksgiving and, as I read through the forums, it's becoming apparent that I'm going to have to order soon and that it'll probably still come with Jaguar. (I'm still not sure whether Panther will be included in the box or whether they'll just throw in a coupon of some kind.)

So, it looks like I'm going to have to go through an OS-upgrade. I've been reading about installing Panther and it appears that a clean install is the best way to go. And since I'd be installing Panther on a brand new PowerBook, I wouldn't have to worry about backing up any data .

However, do PowerBooks come with any software that isn't part of the OS? For instance, do they come with AppleWorks or any other apps that I'd lose if I chose to do a clean install?

Also, I'm still looking for a snug case/bag for the PowerBook, if you have any suggestions.

 

[Powerbook G5]

Re: Any disadvantages to a clean Panther install on a brand new PowerBook?

Just pop the restore CD in after you install and run the preinstalled software installer. It will fix you up good as new with all the stuff that was installed from factory.

 

[Alex Bischoff]

Re: Re: Any disadvantages to a clean Panther install on a brand new PowerBook?

Originally posted by Powerbook G5
Just pop the restore CD in after you install and run the preinstalled software installer. It will fix you up good as new with all the stuff that was installed from factory.

So, is the restore CD is separate from the OS-install CD? That is, if hypothetically Panther wasn't out yet, would the PowerBook include both a software-restore CD and an Jaguar-install CD? My concern is that I wouldn't want the restore CD to install any Jaguar-era stuff over the new Panther versions .

Or, if the restore CD and the OS-install CD are one and the same, is there a specific option to only install the "extra software" and not mess with the OS itself?

 

[Chaszmyr]

New macs ship only with the software restore CDs, which include the operating system

 

[Powerbook G5]

It's all the same DVD, but you have to choose which installer to use. Just don't click on "Install Mac OS X".

 

[Alex Bischoff]

Thanks for all your help, guys. I feel more confident now about ordering the PowerBook and wiping out its OS with Panther .