Okay, using this old iMac - need some help/advice

[ssledoux]

I'm using my daughter's old mid-2010 iMac. I just want to see how much I would do on here versus my iPad so I can decide whether I'm gonna go back to an iMac.

So I have it inside, and connected and I'm on it now.

I'm wondering what the most recent software update is for the Mac, and if I should even attempt it on here (or if it would mess it up). It's running Yosemite right now, so I have no clue how far behind it is on updates.

It's a 500 GB hard drive with about 78 gigs free. There are 178 gigs of photos stored on here.

Ideally I'd like to, at a minimum, get all her photos backed up to a drive I could then use on a new (or 2017 refurb) iMac. What would be a good option for that?

Thanks for the help!

 

[SecuritySteve]

Yosemite is macOS version 10.10, which is 4 versions behind macOS Mojave, 10.14, the current. Apple supports the current, and previous two OS releases. 2010 iMacs natively support High Sierra as the highest OS. High Sierra still has the rest of this year, and all of next year for software support. If you wanted to update, you should update to that OS.

As far as getting those pictures off, go ahead and pick up either a large flash drive or an external drive and move the pictures over, then import them using photos on the new Mac you buy. I suggest something like this:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...m_re=256gb_flash_drive-_-20-173-392-_-Product

 

[ssledoux]

Yosemite is macOS version 10.10, which is 4 versions behind macOS Mojave, 10.14, the current. Apple supports the current, and previous two OS releases. 2010 iMacs natively support High Sierra as the highest OS. High Sierra still has the rest of this year, and all of next year for software support. If you wanted to update, you should update to that OS.

As far as getting those pictures off, go ahead and pick up either a large flash drive or an external drive and move the pictures over, then import them using photos on the new Mac you buy. I suggest something like this:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA12K7DW9566&Description=256gb flash drive&cm_re=256gb_flash_drive-_-20-173-392-_-Product

Thanks! Now here's one more question, albeit probably dumb - do I just do the updates in order, or if I go to update to High Sierra, is it gonna do everything it needs to do up to that point?

I've never been that far behind on an update, so I have no idea of the best way to go about it.

Also, do you think it would be a dumb idea to purchase an external SSD drive if I were going to get an iMac with SSD? Or will that not even work with this?

I apologize - I am so illiterate in this area.

 

[SecuritySteve]

Thanks! Now here's one more question, albeit probably dumb - do I just do the updates in order, or if I go to update to High Sierra, is it gonna do everything it needs to do up to that point?

I've never been that far behind on an update, so I have no idea of the best way to go about it.

Also, do you think it would be a dumb idea to purchase an external SSD drive if I were going to get an iMac with SSD? Or will that not even work with this?

I apologize - I am so illiterate in this area.

No worries, everyone has their areas of expertise. Never be shy about asking a question!

So I believe that you could do it all in one shot, just go ahead and download the High Sierra installer and you should be good to go.

If for some reason it will not work, the installer should tell you what you need to do. There is a part of me that wonders if you will need to upgrade to El Capitan first, since that had some filesystem changes if I recall correctly. But you should be fine just following the prompts.

 

[Fishrrman]

I wouldn't upgrade to High Sierra.
I'd suggest either Low Sierra (10.12) or El Capitan (10.11) for an older Mac.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING for you to do right now is get an external drive and get your photo library BACKED UP.
The iMac is getting old and the internal drive could fail. Without a backup, those pics could disappear forever.

You need some kind of external drive and I'd recommend CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper to create the backup:
CCC:
https://bombich.com/software/download_ccc.php?v=4.1.24.4654
SuperDuper:
https://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html

I'd suggest a 500gb or 1tb portable (2.5") USB3 drive.

 

[tyc0746]

Also, take into account that the later OSes really need an SSD to stay speedy, as the file system changes mean spinning disks take a hammering.

 

[Zdigital2015]

Thanks! Now here's one more question, albeit probably dumb - do I just do the updates in order, or if I go to update to High Sierra, is it gonna do everything it needs to do up to that point?

I've never been that far behind on an update, so I have no idea of the best way to go about it.

Also, do you think it would be a dumb idea to purchase an external SSD drive if I were going to get an iMac with SSD? Or will that not even work with this?

I apologize - I am so illiterate in this area.

I agree with @Fishrrman that you need to get a drive large enough to back up the whole thing, before that drive fails. I have a Mid-2010 and the drive is failing. I just shut it off until I can get to it and remove the drive to retrieve stuff off of it since the ports on the back are just too slow (FireWire 800 and USB 2). Anyways, it is probably not long for this world.

 

[mikehalloran]

High Sierra runs ok on a 2010 iMac except that you have a mechanical hard drive with 78G free.

Leave it alone. Get the pictures off. Play with it. A new iMac will be similar except a lot, lot faster and will run much, much cooler.

A 2010 iMac can be turned into a decent performing machine running High Sierra (very well) but it will cost you $200–$400 to install an SSD depending on the size. I retired mine last week but I sank a thousand bucks into it a few years ago—worth it then; not so sure about it now.

 

[ssledoux]

Ok so I think I'm just gonna keep it as-is, get something to backup these pics and just play around with it til I get a new one.

I'm gonna ask on here though because I've asked it elsewhere, but I'm interested in the opinions here; why an SSD over a fusion drive? I'm gonna lose a LOT of storage going SSD because I just cannot bump up to a 512, even in the refurbs.

Is it THAT much better that it's worth losing all the storage?

 

[Fuksikarma]

High Sierra runs ok on a 2010 iMac except that you have a mechanical hard drive with 78G free.

Leave it alone. Get the pictures off. Play with it. A new iMac will be similar except a lot, lot faster and will run much, much cooler.

A 2010 iMac can be turned into a decent performing machine running High Sierra (very well) but it will cost you $200–$400 to install an SSD depending on the size. I retired mine last week but I sank a thousand bucks into it a few years ago—worth it then; not so sure about it now.

I agree. Last weekend I upgraded the harddrive in my late 2009 27”. 1TB SSD. And what a difference it makes. It runs High Sierra without a problem - albeit with 12 GB of ram. Photos and iTunes with extensive libraries load incredibly fast.

I can see my iMac running for another 2 years easily even though it’s not supported in Mojave.

I don’t know your budget, but I didn’t find the upgrade too expensive - especially compared to the boost in perfomance.

But as the others are saying: Make a complete back-up before upgrading.

 

[ssledoux]

I agree. Last weekend I upgraded the harddrive in my late 2009 27”. 1TB SSD. And what a difference it makes. It runs High Sierra without a problem - albeit with 12 GB of ram. Photos and iTunes with extensive libraries load incredibly fast.

I can see my iMac running for another 2 years easily even though it’s not supported in Mojave.

I don’t know your budget, but I didn’t find the upgrade too expensive - especially compared to the boost in perfomance.

But as the others are saying: Make a complete back-up before upgrading.

I have no clue how to do any of that - is it difficult?

 

[Fuksikarma]

As far as I can see it’s more or less the same operation between late 2009 and mid 2010. Try to look here (https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iMac+Intel+27-Inch+EMC+2390+Hard+Drive+Replacement/8919). You can even buy a bundle with the required tools and the drive itself.

But try macsales (OWC). They usually sell similar bundles at lower cost and have a installation video as well. Look for the kit and video where the ssd replaces the original harddrive as this is more easy to do.

The proces can look really complicated, but I found it really manageble. It took approximately 45 minutes even though it was my first time time seerinteresse the inside of a computer. I quite enjoyed it - it was fun. But tanke your time - no rush