


the morning of Mountain Lion’s release, the download took between 35 and 55 minutes for Macworld editors. On cable-model connections around the U.S. On my Mac, the installer even automatically launched after it finished downloading. Specifically, the 4.4GB installer application, called Install OS X Mountain Lion.app, will be saved to your main Applications folder ( /Applications) and, if you’re upgrading from Lion, added to Launchpad. VisitĪfter providing your Apple ID and password, Mountain Lion will begin downloading. (Note: If you purchased a Mac between June 11 and July 25, 2012, but it didn’t come with Mountain Lion pre-installed, don’t purchase it from the Mac App Store this way-you’re entitled to a free copy of the new OS. If downtime isn’t an option for you, you might consider holding off for OS X 10.8.1. It could be bug-free, but if the history of OS X is any indication, we’ll see the first update, containing a number of bug fixes, within a few weeks.

As I did last year with Lion, I’ve compiled this guide to getting and installing Apple’s latest OS.įair warning: If you install Mountain Lion right when it’s released, keep in mind that you’re installing version 1.0 of a major new OS. This makes it easier and more convenient to upgrade your OS than having to buy and use a DVD or thumb drive, but it also raises a number of questions, and it presents upgrade obstacles for some users. More specifically, it’s available only as a download from Apple’s Mac App Store. OS X 10.8-better known as Mountain Lion-inherits Lion’s distribution method. But Lion changed all that by making OS X available for direct download. Before Lion (OS X 10.7) debuted last year, installing the latest major version of Mac OS X meant buying a disc and slipping it into your Mac’s optical drive.
