Old iMac (all in one desktop)

[Aespinal]

Yeo..question, i have an old iMac (all in one Mac desktop) from like 2010 or something like that so I'm having trouble downloading certain programs and using certain sites bc my operating system is outdated and i can't download the latest version of Mac's operating system, so I'm thinking of buying an external hard drive and updating my Mac thru that if it's possible, what do you guys think, what are some solutions? Bc my Mac runs perfectly fine, it's just an outdated version of Mac - should i buy a new one? Or is there another way around this?

 

[Lifeisabeach]

It would be helpful if you could tell us which exact Mac you have and which exact version of OS X you are running (go to the  menu; select About This Mac).

That said, if you are on the maximum version of OS X that you can run, you can't run anything newer on it using an external drive. You can get around the problem you are having with some websites by using a different browser that is still up-to-date. I'd recommend trying Brave. As for apps. well you'd need to tell us what it is you are trying to run and accomplish.

 

[Aespinal]

Ok thank you will let you know as soon as possible thanks for your response!

 

[orionquest]

If it's perfectly fine why are you updating it?

With the lack of info, try a different browser, one that could be more modern like Firefox.

 

[Aespinal]

If it's perfectly fine why are you updating it?

With the lack of info, try a different browser, one that could be more modern like Firefox.

I try to download some programs but my Mac is too outdated my chrome doesn't update i can't use Firefox or safari bc my OS system is outdated just off the top of my head

 

[Lifeisabeach]

I try to download some programs but my Mac is too outdated my chrome doesn't update i can't use Firefox or safari bc my OS system is outdated just off the top of my head

The latest version of OS X that will run on a 2010 iMac is 10.13 High Sierra. The web browser I suggested, Brave, runs on 10.11 or later, and it's based on Chrome. Firefox requires 10.12 or later. Chrome? 10.13 or later. So you'd be good to go with any of these. But that's assuming you have a 2010 iMac running High Sierra. You may well have a 2007 running Snow Leopard for all we really know. We can't help or advise you until you tell us what you actually have.

 

[padams35]

Ok, go to 'About this Mac' and see what model year you have and which version of MacOS is installed.

If you have a Mid 2009 or older then I'd suggest Linux. Personally I like the Mint distro, with honorable mention to Fedora or Ubuntu. You can burn a LiveDVD to give those distros a try.

If you have a Late 2009 or newer then you can install MacOS Sierra or High Sierra (8GB+ RAM recommended). Sierra is a little faster and will run Firefox, but High Sierra is needed for the latest version of Chrome.

MacOS download instructions: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211683
(optional) USB installer instructions: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372