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FAQ
Q: What are the minimum hardware requirements for upgrading or installing Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9? How does this compare to 10.6 Snow Leopard?
A: The requirements for Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9 are the same as Mac OS X Mountain Lion 10.8. They are increased over what was required for Lion and Snow Leopard. Make sure your system meets the requirements.
Here is a list of all Intel Macs and the maximum Mac OS X version they can run. Mavericks and Mountain Lion Requirements
Lion Requirements
Snow Leopard Requirements
A. Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9 is available through the App Store in Mac OS 10.6.8 and later. It is free to purchase and install. Q. What should I do before installing Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9?
A. OWC recommends that you make a back-up of your Mac's boot drive before installing Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9. This can be either a Time Machine backup or a restored copy of your boot drive. For backup information refer to the OWC Guide for "Cloning Your Data to a New Hard Drive in Mac OS X"
Q: If I update to Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9, will TRIM be supported on my OWC SSD?
A: Apple is currently only supporting TRIM for Apple installed SSDs, however the benefit of TRIM is limited due to the technology used in OWC's lines of SSDs. TRIM is a utility that maintains the performance longevity of SSDs by scanning the drive and looking for data that has been erased in the OS and turning those data blocks into empty space. This is useful for certain SSDs due to their inefficient or absent Wear-Leveling technology. The lack of Wear-Leveling for certain SSDs significantly lowers the performance and life-span of those SSDs. In contrast, the OWC Mercury Pro and OWC Mercury Aura SSD lines utilize DuraWrite™ technology, which provides exceptional wear leveling, thereby greatly extending the endurance and overall reliability of the drive without the need for TRIM. Q: When will updated software/drivers be available?
A: This will vary. We will be testing and working with manufactures so you can check back here for updates on the status. Q: What will happen to my Time Machine backup on my External Drive?
A: Time Machine will continue to function normally after the upgrade. As an additional note, all of OWC and NewerTech's external solutions support Time Machine backup encryption, which is a feature introduced in Mac OS X Mountain Lion 10.8. Q: Will full screen apps work with the NewerTech USB video adapters?
A: Yes full screen apps will work with the USB adapters except for those that require Quartz or OpenGL such as Keynote presentations, iPhoto slideshows and iMovie. Use the 2.1 beta drivers listed here and review the list of known issues. Q: Will Migration Assistant cover my Bootcamp partition?
A: Yes, Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9 offers support for Windows file migration. Q: Will my OWC SSD work with FileVault Full Disk Encryption?
A: Yes this feature is fully supported on the entire line of OWC SSDs. Q: Will my OWC or NewerTech external drive work with FileVault Full Disk Encryption?
A: Yes this feature is fully supported for all OWC and NewerTech enclosures. Q: Will my OWC Mercury Pro or OWC Mercury Aura SSD work with the Resume Feature?
A: The resume feature of Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9 allows you to automatically reopen everything on the desktop after a reboot or shutdown. It does so by saving all the stored data in the memory to the hard drive and then restoring that data when the restart or power on is completed. This is similar to what happens when a laptop is powered back on after running out of battery. This feature is fully supported on all OWC SSD lines. Q: Are there any known programs or applications that will no longer work in Mac OS X Mountain Lion?
A: Rosetta is no longer supported as of Mac OS X Lion 10.7. There will be some software programs that no longer work. For example, Quicken 2007 and earlier rely on Rosetta and will not work if the machine is updated to Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9. Rosetta is also used in some older versions of Adobe Photoshop. Creative Suite 2 and earlier will no longer work if the machine is updated to Mac OS X Mountain Lion. If you suspect you may have a program that relies on Rosetta, check with the manufacturer of the software before upgrading to Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9. Q: Did Disk Utility add support for RAID 5?
A: RAID 5 (Striping with Parity) is still not supported through Disk Utility in Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9. Q: Does Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9 add support for Blu-ray?
A: Burning of Blu-ray data disks and backups have been supported since OS 10.5, however viewing commercial Blu-ray movies is still unsupported. Q: Any changes to the way my NewerTech NuPower Battery will report in Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9?
A: There have been no changes to how they report their charge or capacity.
A: The requirements for Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9 are the same as Mac OS X Mountain Lion 10.8. They are increased over what was required for Lion and Snow Leopard. Make sure your system meets the requirements.
Here is a list of all Intel Macs and the maximum Mac OS X version they can run. Mavericks and Mountain Lion Requirements
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor
- Memory: 2GB of memory
- Free Drive Space: 8GB of available space
- Mac OS 10.6.8 or later
- Supported Macs:
- iMac (Mid 2007 or newer)
- MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)
- MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
- Xserve (Early 2009)
- MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
- Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
- Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
Lion Requirements
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor
- Memory: 2GB of memory
- Free Drive Space: 7GB of available space
Snow Leopard Requirements
- Processor: Mac computer with an Intel processor
- Memory: 1GB of memory
- Free Drive Space: 5GB of available space
A. Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9 is available through the App Store in Mac OS 10.6.8 and later. It is free to purchase and install. Q. What should I do before installing Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9?
A. OWC recommends that you make a back-up of your Mac's boot drive before installing Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9. This can be either a Time Machine backup or a restored copy of your boot drive. For backup information refer to the OWC Guide for "Cloning Your Data to a New Hard Drive in Mac OS X"
Q: If I update to Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9, will TRIM be supported on my OWC SSD?
A: Apple is currently only supporting TRIM for Apple installed SSDs, however the benefit of TRIM is limited due to the technology used in OWC's lines of SSDs. TRIM is a utility that maintains the performance longevity of SSDs by scanning the drive and looking for data that has been erased in the OS and turning those data blocks into empty space. This is useful for certain SSDs due to their inefficient or absent Wear-Leveling technology. The lack of Wear-Leveling for certain SSDs significantly lowers the performance and life-span of those SSDs. In contrast, the OWC Mercury Pro and OWC Mercury Aura SSD lines utilize DuraWrite™ technology, which provides exceptional wear leveling, thereby greatly extending the endurance and overall reliability of the drive without the need for TRIM. Q: When will updated software/drivers be available?
A: This will vary. We will be testing and working with manufactures so you can check back here for updates on the status. Q: What will happen to my Time Machine backup on my External Drive?
A: Time Machine will continue to function normally after the upgrade. As an additional note, all of OWC and NewerTech's external solutions support Time Machine backup encryption, which is a feature introduced in Mac OS X Mountain Lion 10.8. Q: Will full screen apps work with the NewerTech USB video adapters?
A: Yes full screen apps will work with the USB adapters except for those that require Quartz or OpenGL such as Keynote presentations, iPhoto slideshows and iMovie. Use the 2.1 beta drivers listed here and review the list of known issues. Q: Will Migration Assistant cover my Bootcamp partition?
A: Yes, Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9 offers support for Windows file migration. Q: Will my OWC SSD work with FileVault Full Disk Encryption?
A: Yes this feature is fully supported on the entire line of OWC SSDs. Q: Will my OWC or NewerTech external drive work with FileVault Full Disk Encryption?
A: Yes this feature is fully supported for all OWC and NewerTech enclosures. Q: Will my OWC Mercury Pro or OWC Mercury Aura SSD work with the Resume Feature?
A: The resume feature of Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9 allows you to automatically reopen everything on the desktop after a reboot or shutdown. It does so by saving all the stored data in the memory to the hard drive and then restoring that data when the restart or power on is completed. This is similar to what happens when a laptop is powered back on after running out of battery. This feature is fully supported on all OWC SSD lines. Q: Are there any known programs or applications that will no longer work in Mac OS X Mountain Lion?
A: Rosetta is no longer supported as of Mac OS X Lion 10.7. There will be some software programs that no longer work. For example, Quicken 2007 and earlier rely on Rosetta and will not work if the machine is updated to Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9. Rosetta is also used in some older versions of Adobe Photoshop. Creative Suite 2 and earlier will no longer work if the machine is updated to Mac OS X Mountain Lion. If you suspect you may have a program that relies on Rosetta, check with the manufacturer of the software before upgrading to Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9. Q: Did Disk Utility add support for RAID 5?
A: RAID 5 (Striping with Parity) is still not supported through Disk Utility in Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9. Q: Does Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9 add support for Blu-ray?
A: Burning of Blu-ray data disks and backups have been supported since OS 10.5, however viewing commercial Blu-ray movies is still unsupported. Q: Any changes to the way my NewerTech NuPower Battery will report in Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9?
A: There have been no changes to how they report their charge or capacity.
OS X Mavericks Home
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For the full Site Terms, please visit: http://eshop.macsales.com/service/terms
By use of this page, you agree to indemnify and hold Other World Computing, Inc., its parent operating company, New Concepts Development Corporation, and its officers, directors, shareholders, predecessors, successors in interest, employees, agents, subsidiaries and affiliates, harmless from any demands, loss, liability, claims or expenses (including attorneys' fees), made against OWC by any third party due to or arising out of or in connection with your use of the Site.
YOU FURTHER AGREE THAT THE SITE AND ITS CONTENT, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE OWC OS UPDATE GUIDE PAGE, ARE DELIVERED ON AN "AS-IS" AND "AS-AVAILABLE" BASIS. ALL INFORMATION PROVIDED ON THE SITE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. OWC DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTIES OF ACCURACY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. OWC DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY FOR THE ACTS, OMISSIONS AND CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTIES IN CONNECTION WITH OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND/OR ANY OWC SERVICES. YOU ASSUME TOTAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND ANY LINKED SITES. YOUR SOLE REMEDY AGAINST OWC FOR DISSATISFACTION WITH THE SITE OR ANY CONTENT IS TO STOP USING THE SITE OR ANY SUCH CONTENT.
For the full Site Terms, please visit: http://eshop.macsales.com/service/terms