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How do I upgrade from Mac OSX 10.8.5?

G

green.treefrog

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 15, 2010
13
0
My browsers no longer supports my OS. The computer I have is a used computer. I don't have any IDs or codes. I don't really know where to begin. How do I upgrade it to 10.9 at least?

This is my hardware:
20 inch, Early 2008
2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
 
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Thanks guys! Can I upgrade it to El Capitan directly from Mountain Lion or do I have to go to Mavericks & Yosemite, etc. I never logged into the Apple store. Where do I get the ID from? The computer is used. I don't have any of the original materials that came with it. I bought it at a garage sale.

The computer came with a bunch of Adobe software installed. It's on the computer so I don't have to pay the monthly fee to Adobe. If (when) I upgrade, will I lose all the software or the ability to use it? I don't think it will work if I download it to a disk or USB. I don't know if it will be compatible with an upgrade. Does anyone know about this? It's probably from before they started making people pay per month to have access to their software packages. It all still works so I don't want to lose it, if possible.
[doublepost=1476311417][/doublepost]PS - I saw Mavericks USBs on eBay. Can I use that to upgrade? I mostly just want to get to 10.9 so I can use the browsers (Safari, Firefox, Chrome). They are saying that they aren't upgrading them if you have below 10.8...
 
You didn't mention how much RAM the Mac has which is a important factor. Check Apple menu>About this Mac to see the details. Also which model is it?

4 Gb is the smallest practical amount, if you only have 2 Gb I would strongly recommend upgrading to at least to 4 Gb.

Also you should make a backup to external drive before upgrading to be on the safe side with software such as Time Machine or Disk Utility which are installed on the Mac by default.

You should check compatibility from the Adobe website before upgrading, if the software is older version it might not work with newer OS.

At this point you can't get Mavericks from the Apple because it has been removed from the App Store. As for ordering it from Ebay that is up to you, it is from third party vendor so they may or not be reliable source...

My experience with El Capitan is that its slower than Mavericks on old Macs, probably because of more background processes and more demands on the GPU to drive the OS. If you only need slightly newer OS for browser support Mavericks might be better option if you can get from a reliable source.
 
You can get El Capitan here: https://support.apple.com/HT206886. It will lead you to the App Store. There you log in with your Apple ID (you can create one there if you don’t have one).

Sierra is not available to your iMac (too old). Before you install El Capitan, make a complete backup with Time Machine: https://support.apple.com/HT201250.

dwfaust said:
Log into the Mac App Store with your Apple ID and download the new macOS.

http://macpaw.com/how-to/how-to-upgrade-your-mac-to-macos-sierra
Click to expand...

o_O

Be careful with what you link to. ;)

Before you update Mac OS, don’t forget to:

1-1.png
Clean up your Mac

This is essential if you want a fast and effortless update, and glitchless work of your new macOS. And it’s also pretty easy. To give your Mac a cleanup, you need to get rid of system junk, uninstall extra apps, and clean some old caches. If that sounds like a lot of work, you can get a Mac cleaner like CleanMyMac for the job.
Click to expand...
 
Thank you everyone! I appreciate your support & suggestions.

It's an iMac...
Memory 2 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM

I don't want to lose the software. Sierra is not compatible with this computer. I'll have to go with Mavericks or El Capitan. Mavericks would be fine but I don't want to do a clean install. I just want to use the computer to browse the internet. I could get another computer so I don't screw up being able to use the software... I have to think it over. I downloaded Chrome & it's working fine for now but it says it no longer supports upgrades to 10.8. Eventually, I'll have to get another way to look at the internet or upgrade the OS.

I tried copying the software to a hard drive but it doesn't work. So, if I upgrade - it may make the software unusable. It would be a shame to lose it. Does anyone know if there's a way to copy the software to make a back up so it works? I don't have the original disks, though. I will check Adobe's site.

You have all been very helpful!
 
If you don't have one, get an external hard drive, the 1TB Samsung USB external HD is one cheap enough, and use Time Machine to do a full backup of everything on your computer. That way if something goes wrong you can just restore this backup again.

I do believe that if you get hold of a copy of 10.9 Mavericks installation and use it to perform an upgrade, you will not encounter any problems and all your installed programs, including the Adobe ones, will continue to work properly.
 
My opinion only, but a 2008 iMac with 2gb of RAM is going to run far better on 10.8.5 than on any version of the OS that came later.

The newer OS's may "run", but I'll predict that your user experience is going to be that it feels more like the computer is "walking" instead of "running"…
 
From the sounds of it, the OP would be best served sticking to versions of OS X on which his/her Mac is supported. An Early 2008 iMac is not supported on Sierra and finding a legit (legal and assured "clean") download of anything other than Sierra (and maybe El Capitan) is near impossible as Apple won't allow a new "purchase" of other versions in the MAS. The other suggestions are valid points, even for Macs supported by macOS Sierra, 2 GB and a spinning drive are a combination for frustration.

As a tip to the OP, playing the "lowest needed version" game will get tiring after a while. Next you know, 10.9 won't be supported by the browser vendors and you'll need 10.10.
 
Thanks for all of your suggestions! I appreciate it.

Yes, I will eventually have to get a more recent computer. I'm kind of old school & my computer works fine for what I need at the moment. The Chrome browser seems to be working fine for now (Firefox & Safari don't work at all for anything video related). I will have to figure out something when Chrome is no longer supported. They do post warnings that it's no longer going to be supported for 10.8...
 
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Also - I did try to copy the Adobe software to an external hard drive... It didn't work. You need the original disks with the access code (ID) to reinstall or open the software.
 
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