OS X 10.10 Yosemite, the much-awaited latest version of OS X Operating System from Apple, was announced and soon made available to public. As soon as the launch of latest Apple desktop OS happened, there were instant comparisons between OS X Mavericks and OS X Yosemite. Macbook users or iMac users can get free download of Apple OS X Yosemite from Mac App Store to check out its various features. In this article, we shall go through useful tips to upgrade to OS X Yosemite from OS X Mavericks as well as ways to clean install Yosemite from scratch after formatting.

OS X 10.10 Yosemite features

This OS has got a look that resembles the iOS design. The OS font (typeface) has been upgraded to Helvetica Neue from Lucida Grande. It is accompanied with an enhanced notification center containing two categories: one for notifications and one for Today’s view consisting of reminders, upcoming events, current weather conditions, etc.

The revamped Mail app with additions like Mail Drop (to send email attachments larger than 5 GB over cloud) as well as Markup (for image and document annotation) is pure delight for Mac users. Add to it, the pleasantly redesigned dock and this OS doesn’t stop impressing with its design. Moreover, there has been some innovation with regards to continuity feature “Handoff” to carry on with an incomplete task (that was started on iOS device) and complete it on a Mac or vice versa.

System requirements for upgrading to Yosemite OS

1. Already running OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard
2. 2 GB RAM and 8 GM storage space
3. Compatibility for running OS X Mavericks
4. Support for Bluetooh 4.0 LE; especially to use Handoff feature

How to upgrade Mac to OS X 10.10 Yosemite?

Visit the Mac App Store – Free Download of OS X Yosemite for Mac.

Continue with the free upgrade by clicking the relevant OS X option. Once the 5.16 GB file is downloaded, it would trigger the launch of OS X Yosemite Installer. Carry out the installation on your chosen hard drive after agreeing to the Apple terms & conditions.

How to full install OS X Yosemite from scratch after formatting your Mac?

1. Make sure that OS X bootable installer drive (USB disk) is kept ready.

2. From the old Mac OS, take backup of all your important content using Time Machine or some external drive.

3.Get your Mac connected to the bootable installer drive for rebooting.

4. Navigate to the boot selection menu using “Option” key. From the menu, choose the option “Install OS X Yosemite” for USB installer. The window “OS X Utilities” opens up, from which you need to first select the “Disk Utility” option for data erase (i.e. fourth option from the Utilities window image as seen below).

5. Select the hard drive (partition) where you want to carry out complete Yosemite download and then click “Erase” tab.

6. In the format field of the Erase tab, enter the entry “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)” from the drop-down list.

7. In the name field of the Erase tab, give a suitable descriptive name for the hard disk. Click on the “Erase” option to format the drive and all its contents.

This marks the end of formatting process and you can come back to the OS X Utilities window. Select the option “Install OS X” for downloading new copy of Yosemite. Agree to the terms & conditions and continue the fresh download of OS X on the chosen destination drive.

Now you have a clean version of OS X Yosemite on your Mac with no preferred apps or content carried forward. On this OS, you can now get your backup files and install your choice of apps.

I have tried to share useful tips related to different ways of upgrading or downloading the latest Mac OS X. I hope you would find this useful while carrying out the relevant complete download OS X 10.10 Yosemite. Please feel free to ask Yosemite installation queries or share your experience!