Upgrading from Mavericks to Yosemite

[cpetersus]

I'm thinking its about time for me to upgrade.  However I'm a new MAC user.  Been a PC guy my whole life until now.  If I were upgrading from Windows 7 to say Windows 8 or 10 then I wouldn't even hesitate to format the HD and load from scratch.

Being a fairly new MAC user I ask the question.  Do I need/should I start with a fresh load on Yosemite or simply upgrade download from App Store and let the magic of Apple just happen with the upgrade tool or whatever its called?  Did I mention I'm a MAC newbee?

[Some Desperate Glory]

I'm thinking its about time for me to upgrade.  However I'm a new MAC user.  Been a PC guy my whole life until now.  If I were upgrading from Windows 7 to say Windows 8 or 10 then I wouldn't even hesitate to format the HD and load from scratch.

Being a fairly new MAC user I ask the question.  Do I need/should I start with a fresh load on Yosemite or simply upgrade download from App Store and let the magic of Apple just happen with the upgrade tool or whatever its called?  Did I mention I'm a MAC newbee?

It usually "just works".  I upgraded from Lion to Mountain Lion and from Mountain Lion to Mavericks just as you said and let Apple work it's magic.  I had no problems at all.

That said, there have been some unhappy campers regarding Yosemite which is a new thing in Appleland.  I've put off upgrading.  My mom has it though and hasn't had a problem.  It might be worth checking out the forums and deciding for yourself.

Whatever you do, back up your files.

[QVprod]

Works perfectly fine, everything transfers over exactly as is. No need for a fresh install. Just make sure all of your needed software is compatible with Yosemite.

[Failed Muso]

+1 to what QVprod says. Upgraded on day one and zero problems here. It all, as they say, just works And I'm running it on a 2008 iMac


As with any upgrade though, always back up. If you're running Time Machine, you'll be good to go

[Julibee]

I just got a MacBook Pro, and it came loaded with Yosemite, so I can't say much about the upgrade and whether or not there were any problems-- but I can vouch for Reason working flawlessly.

[zakalwe]

it's simple, try it and see if you have issues.  do a time machine backup first so you can revert to it if it's a disaster.

i found that, after installing both mavericks and yosemite, i had serious issues, mostly with safari. so i did a clean install and reinstalled apps.  you can also also do a clean install and  use migration assistant to copy your settings over but it is best to start over and lose the junk.