Can't upgrade to Mavericks or Mountain Lion from Snow Lepoard OS

[gochi]

I get the following error:


"You cannot use this version of the application Install Mountain Lion/ Mavericks with this version of Mac OS X

HAVE no idea how I can fix this.....i have downloaded separate ISOs (legally)

 

[Intell]

What version of Mac OS X running and on what machine?

 

[gochi]

Sorry for got the details:

On the mavericks install, I get an error about ARCHITECTURE being the issue.

The Mountain Lion install is the error originally posted.

Machine 15.4 Early 2008 15.4 MBP C2D 2.8GHz
Currently on Snow Leopard 10.5.5

 

[chrfr]

i have downloaded separate ISOs (legally)

Why are you using ISOs? you should be downloading the installer from the App Store.

 

[gochi]

Why are you using ISOs? you should be downloading the installer from the App Store.

i tried that but itunes doesn't have it.

i tried upgrading itunes but it requires a newer quicktime

i cant even install the updated quicktime for some reason

so i am stuck.

 

[chrfr]

Currently on Snow Leopard 10.5.5

This is your problem. 10.5.5 is Leopard, not Snow Leopard. You'll need to buy 10.6 Snow Leopard from Apple before you can upgrade beyond there.

 

[Intell]

Mac OS X 10.5.5 is Leopard. You cannot upgrade to 10.8 or 10.9 from it, only 10.6.8+. You must first purchase a Snow Leopard 10.6 disc from Apple for about $20, then upgrade to 10.9.

 

[gochi]

omg...well i just found my snow lepoard disk.


so i can upgrade from snow lepoard to any other os, just not from lepoard?

 

[Intell]

Correct.

 

[chrfr]

omg...well i just found my snow lepoard disk.


so i can upgrade from snow lepoard to any other os, just not from lepoard?

Right. Install 10.6, then run Software Update until it's fully updated, then you'll see the App Store app in the Applications folder. Mac apps don't come from iTunes and the operating systems aren't distributed as an ISO.
http://www.apple.com/osx/how-to-upgrade/

 

[DeltaMac]

You can't install either of those from Snow Leopard, unless Snow Leopard is fully updated to 10.6.8.
You also need to have 2 GB or more of RAM installed.

Mountain Lion, or Mavericks installers do not come as an ISO - they are applications.
Even better, you can make a bootable installer from that installer application, and copy it to a USB flash drive (8 GB is ideal). That will allow you to use it as a stand-alone installer, and you won't have to wait for the install files to download.
It's a simple task, and there's good utilities that do the job for you, such as DiskmakerX. http://diskmakerx.com