Run The Software Updates Control Panel

At this time, you are done only if the new software has no dot updates available through the Software Updates mechanism. If you have reloaded Panther 10.3 and the current version is 10.3.4, you will need to continue the process.

Your Macintosh must be connected to the internet to continue. Open the System Preferences and click Software Updates. It should connect to the Apple Software Update mechanism and advise you of any required updates.

This process may take a one time connect or as many times as necessary for the Software Updates mechanism to verify that everything is current on your system. The more updates issued from the time the original software upgrade was issued are going to require more Software Updates internet connects to resolve.

There are some who strongly believe that using the OS X Combo update from the Apple web site is in some way superior to the Software Updates mechanism. I have done it both ways and never encountered any problems with either. I generally tend to switch to the Combo updates after the dot updates have gone past x.2 because the time required running the Software Updates mechanism is reduced.

You must also consider this: when you have used the Software Updates mechanism to keep your Macintosh updates current, the mechanism uses the System Library>Receipts folder to store information about which updates have been installed on your system. When reinstalling your operating system, you might need to delete all the Receipts folder entries that are relevant to the process of reinstalling previously installed updates.

It Is Now Time To Load Your Application Software