Howdee. I am pretty new to Mac and am not too familar with software issues. I use a 9600 with OS 7.6.1 and I want to upgrade to 8.6 or 9 as alot of software I`ve tried to instal says I need at least 8.6 for the program to run. WIll upgrading to a newer OS affect programs that currently run fine on my older one? What procedour should I use before installing a new OS? Should I make a backup of all programs and files before I try to install a new OS? Your help is appreciated. Scott

Upgrading your OS shouldn't affect any of the currently installed software. You won't need to make any backups.

Though this is generally unnecessary on the Mac, it is always good to have a backup whenever you upgrade, just in case. :) As for your question, OS 8.6.1 is a good version to upgrade to. Of course, you could also go to OS 9, but be warned that several things changed in OS 9 that will not let some applications work properly. If this were the case, you'd need to make sure that the software company has put out an update before you'll be able to fully use your program, if at all. This is the case of a few applications, but in general, you should not have problems.