Need help upgrading 10.5.8

[brn2rnjk1]

My computer was running 10.6.8. I am repurposing it and did a factory reinstall. It is now at 10.5.8. I would like to upgrade this to at least 10.6.8 but I am happy to go up higher if it can take it. Is there a free way or least expensive way to go up. What could I go up to and how. It is 2.8 Intecl Core 2 Duo
Memory 2GB.

Thanks!

 

[DeltaMac]

Your iMac came with Leopard when new.
If it was running Snow Leopard (10.6.8), then you (or someone) had upgraded to that at some time.
Do you have the Snow Leopard installer? You can upgrade with that, then update again until you have 10.6.8.
Your iMac should be able to to upgrade to the current Yosemite (OS X 10.10.x) if you want to do that. It's a free upgrade, but you need to have Snow Leopard before you will have the App Store available.
If you want to do that upgrade, and no longer have access to a Snow Leopard install, you can purchase that through the Apple Store: http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard

 

[brn2rnjk1]

Your iMac came with Leopard when new.
If it was running Snow Leopard (10.6.8), then you (or someone) had upgraded to that at some time.
Do you have the Snow Leopard installer? You can upgrade with that, then update again until you have 10.6.8.
Your iMac should be able to to upgrade to the current Yosemite (OS X 10.10.x) if you want to do that. It's a free upgrade, but you need to have Snow Leopard before you will have the App Store available.
If you want to do that upgrade, and no longer have access to a Snow Leopard install, you can purchase that through the Apple Store: http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard

The snow leopard installer? I was told (my family used this computer) that they never paid for upgrading? Was that true and do I need to look for another physical disk? If I can't find it, I can just buy the SL and the go from there? Thanks!

 

[DeltaMac]

If you used the original DVD to restore the iMac, but you don't remember buying the Snow Leopard installer, maybe the Mac came with that upgrade DVD in the box when new. It would have been a white DVD, with a Snow Leopard graphic on the label.
Or, the DVD was borrowed just for the upgrade, and then returned to the owner, and not ever purchased.
Again, the original DVD for Snow Leopard is white, with a leopard picture on the label. Or, maybe a copy of the DVD installer was used, and hard to tell what that would be.
And, yes, you can just order that Snow Leopard installer from Apple.