Upgrade OS X

[Lynne326]

Hi. I have a 2010 MacBook Pro running 10.6.8. I'm starting to have speed and performance issues and thought of upgrading to El Capitan. I read people are having problems though after they upgrade and can't use their computer afterwards.

Can anyone tell me if it's worth it to try the upgrade?

Thank you!
Lynne

 

[IowaLynn]

Run Etrecheck for now
Install an SSD and max out RAM
Check Apple Store Specials for a model that is and will better support 10.11+ and is getting support

 

[Weaselboy]

Hi. I have a 2010 MacBook Pro running 10.6.8. I'm starting to have speed and performance issues and thought of upgrading to El Capitan. I read people are having problems though after they upgrade and can't use their computer afterwards.

Can anyone tell me if it's worth it to try the upgrade?

Thank you!
Lynne

Most of the problems people are having with upgrading to El Capitan are related to third party utilities that are not compatible. There is no known issue with running El Capitan on your model Mac.

That said, if you are having some issue now that is slowing down your Mac, updating to El Capitan is not likely to fix it. What exactly is it doing that is causing you concern?

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

Swap out the old HDD inside for an SSD, and you won't believe the performance increase.

You DON'T have to buy a "high-end" SSD -- any one will do, because a 2010 MBPro has a SATA II internal bus (new SSD's run at SATA-III speeds). What this means is that ANY SSD you buy will run about as fast as any other.
I'd suggest either Crucial or Sandisk Plus.

I have a 2010 MBPro 13" with an SSD inside, and it boots from the first appearance of the Apple to the Finder in -FIVE SECONDS-, running 10.6.8 (same as you).

One other thing:
UNLESS you change out the internal HDD, you ARE NOT going to be impressed by the performance of El Capitan on your older hardware...

 

[Ebenezum]

I agree with Weaselboy, it makes more sense to find out why your Mac has slowed down. Upgrading to newer OS is unlikely to help without figuring out the root cause of slowdown...

 

[Lynne326]

I agree with Weaselboy, it makes more sense to find out why your Mac has slowed down. Upgrading to newer OS is unlikely to help without figuring out the root cause of slowdown...

Thank you, everyone! My Mac really isn't slow unless I'm online and I think it's because I can't upgrade certain browsers due to not having an updated OS X. I will think about changing my hard drive. Thanks so much for all the information, much appreciated!
Lynne