Haven't Upgraded Mac In Years

[Andy0568]

We're trying to upgrade my wife's Mac so she can use Lightroom. The problem is she hasn't upgraded her Macbook in years and she's on 10.12 Sierra. When she tries to upgrade to Big Sur she receives a message saying "Installation requires downloading important content..."

Any solutions?

 

[CoastalOR]

What Mac Model and Year?

Is there more to message than what was posted?

 

[hallux]

There were some firmware updates that came along with (I believe) High Sierra. This might be the content it needs to download in order to prepare the Mac for a newer OS.

 

[honestone33]

Need first to see what exact Mac model you have. Also, note Lightroom's system requirements:

Lightroom system requirements

Your computer must meet the minimum technical specifications outlined below to run and use Lightroom.

helpx.adobe.com

So, Mojave, OS 10.14, will do just fine. With that, you'll only be skipping one version of the Mac OS when you upgrade.

A number of folks on here are quite pleased with Mojave, so you'll be getting a solid Mac OS.

Now, if instead you want to upgrade to either Catalina or Big Sur, there is the issue of 32 bit software. If you have any, they will not run on either Catalina or Big Sur. You'll have to try and find replacement software for them.

Also, Big Sur is not that stable yet, along with the issue of software compatibility with Big Sur (not an issue with Lightroom, but could be if you are using other third party software).

Finally, given that you will need to skip over one or more versions of the Mac OS, it is better if you do a clean, fresh installation of the new Mac OS you are moving to.

But first need to know your exact Mac model. And there is the possibility of needing firmware updates, as hallux pointed out above.

 

[hobowankenobi]

And don't forget that from 10.14 on...one really needs a SSD for the boot drive. A hard drive = horrible lag and SBBOD.

If no SSD, time to:

• Upgrade to a new(er) Mac with SSD
• Upgrade the HD to SSD
• Consider booting from an external SSD

If you want to try a newer OS on an existing HD, be sure to clone the OS to an external drive first, so you can roll back if you need to. Without a good backup, there is no easy way to roll back to an older OS.

 

[honestone33]

And don't forget that from 10.14 on...one really needs a SSD for the boot drive. A hard drive = horrible lag and SBBOD.

If no SSD, time to:

• Upgrade to a new(er) Mac with SSD
• Upgrade the HD to SSD
• Consider booting from an external SSD

If you want to try a newer OS on an existing HD, be sure to clone the OS to an external drive first, so you can roll back if you need to. Without a good backup, there is no easy way to roll back to an older OS.

Excellent points! And for that last suggestion about cloning, you can use SuperDuper! for that. It's free, reliable, and rock solid. I use it, and would not be without it.