Some Upgrade Help Needed Please

[Dirtbocden]

this is probably a novice question to you but i have search before asking and cant find the answers i need so here i am begging for help,

iv bought my lad a MacMini for xmas ...Late 2012 2.5ghz i5, 8gb ram
it has os 10.8.5....so i want to update to run the latest os, to run Steam he need 10.9 or above

so i go to update and it tells me it cant update from 10.8 and needs to be running atleast 10.9 to update to Catalina
not a problem i think....well thats till i tried locating 10.9 or above to update to Catalina from the app store or anywhere
i cant find any version anywhere to update to before i can update to Catalina, i have no idea what to do
if this was a windows pc id just download a copy of windows and do a fresh install or update

please help me someone...how do i do this....i perty windows savy but im new to the mac world and im headbutting a walling over here

thanks in advance for any help

 

[junkw]

try High Sierra maybe:
option 4 in this post:

Is there a way to download catalina as it's own file? The software updater has failed on me several times.

From Terminal: git clone https://github.com/corpnewt/gibMacOS cd gibMacOS ./gibMacOS.command

forums.macrumors.com

then install Catalina after that

 

[Dirtbocden]

hi again

when i click the link all i see is this

so i was expecting to see maybe a 6gb os install file...instead i see the above

am i missing something...
please dont get wound up if im being simple iv never struggle so much to upgrade anything..lol

 

[junkw]

go to Applications/ then /Utilities and open Terminal.app

then
type this:

git clone https://github.com/corpnewt/gibMacOS
cd gibMacOS
./gibMacOS.command

you should then see this:

 

[Dirtbocden]

ok i fully understand now....my 10year old is in bed at the moment as its almost 10pm, so i will try tomorrow morning and get back to you then but thanks for the info im hope it will help sort my upgrade problems

 

[Dirtbocden]

so i type the first line and hit return..... git clone https://github.com/corpnewt/gibMacOS
it just throws up an error as shown.....what do i need to do to get this machine just to update 😵

 

[Dirtbocden]

iv solved the problem....thanks for all you help

 

[Heat_Fan89]

I regret installing Catalina on my 2012 Mini. I'm finding slower startup (internal SSD and 8GB RAM) and some stuttering in general operation and basic apps take a little longer to open. Maybe others with older Macs are not experiencing these things but i'm seriously considering dropping back down to Mojave if performance doesn't improve.

 

[jackerin]

You could also try this Apple page: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206886
Go down to step 4, "Download OS X El Capitan".