Upgrading From 10.9 to 10.12

[steiney]

I have a late 2013 rMBP that shipped with 10.9 and I never updated it when 10.10 came out. I've continued to ride 10.9 because it works perfectly and I really like the classic OS X look versus the new style they started with in 10.10.

However, it's starting to become annoying being so many releases behind and I've decided to upgrade to 10.12. Can I just click the upgrade button in the Mac App Store or do I need to do something special because I'm on such an old operating system? The Mac App Store bothers me roughly once per month to upgrade but I don't want it to get botched and be a big hassle. I know to back up all my data before doing the upgrade.

 

[Gregg2]

I'm pretty sure you can do as you suggest; nothing "special" is required. If we're wrong, you'll get an error message, and you can report that here and go from there. I think if you had something prior to OS X 10.6.6 (no App Store) then you'd have to do it in steps.

 

[CoastalOR]

I recommend doing a good fresh backup before the upgrade in case there is a problem and you want to return to OS 10.9. I prefer a clone on a external drive using Carbon Copy Cloner (it will also clone your Recovery partition, SuperDupe! does not). SuperDuper! is another app that will clone your drive.

If you want to return to 10.9 from 10.12 then you can erase the internal drive then clone your external back to the internal.

 

[Fishrrman]

As Coastal said above, BACK UP the internal drive BEFORE you attempt an upgrade.

I highly recommend using CarbonCopyCloner (or SuperDuper) for this operation.
Either will produce an EXACT cloned backup of your drive as it is now.

If for any reason you encounter problems AFTER the upgrade, and want to "get back to where you once belonged", having a cloned backup makes this VERY easy.

Otherwise, it won't be "easy".

 

[steiney]

I'm pretty sure you can do as you suggest; nothing "special" is required. If we're wrong, you'll get an error message, and you can report that here and go from there. I think if you had something prior to OS X 10.6.6 (no App Store) then you'd have to do it in steps.

I recommend doing a good fresh backup before the upgrade in case there is a problem and you want to return to OS 10.9. I prefer a clone on a external drive using Carbon Copy Cloner (it will also clone your Recovery partition, SuperDupe! does not). SuperDuper! is another app that will clone your drive.

If you want to return to 10.9 from 10.12 then you can erase the internal drive then clone your external back to the internal.

As Coastal said above, BACK UP the internal drive BEFORE you attempt an upgrade.

I highly recommend using CarbonCopyCloner (or SuperDuper) for this operation.
Either will produce an EXACT cloned backup of your drive as it is now.

If for any reason you encounter problems AFTER the upgrade, and want to "get back to where you once belonged", having a cloned backup makes this VERY easy.

Otherwise, it won't be "easy".

Thank you all! I'm going to attempt it sometime in the next week and will post back here to let you guys know how it went.

 

[Ebenezum]

Alternatively you might consider using Mavericks. Do newer OS contain any "must have" features for you? If answer is no there is nothing wrong staying in current OS. While it no longer receives security updates odds are low that you would run into problems if you are using browser that is updated regularly (example: Firefox) and you are using Firewall.

If you want stop App Store to bother you just click updates tab and hold Control while clicking the upgrade banner at the top, it should give you the option to hide the update. (As for WHY Apple has decided to hide these kind of options its anybody's guess...)

If you decide to upgrade I strongly recommend you follow backup advice given by Coastal and Fishrrman.

 

[steiney]

Alternatively you might consider using Mavericks. Do newer OS contain any "must have" features for you? If answer is no there is nothing wrong staying in current OS. While it no longer receives security updates odds are low that you would run into problems if you are using browser that is updated regularly (example: Firefox) and you are using Firewall.

If you want stop App Store to bother you just click updates tab and hold Control while clicking the upgrade banner at the top, it should give you the option to hide the update. (As for WHY Apple has decided to hide these kind of options its anybody's guess...)

If you decide to upgrade I strongly recommend you follow backup advice given by Coastal and Fishrrman.

Thanks for the advice. I really do need to upgrade. For one thing, I have run into a couple instances now where I wanted to install some program but the developer doesn't offer support for Mavericks. Also, the security thing is a concern for me. From what I've read, there are known vulnerabilities for Mavericks that are not patched, so it's only as secure as the skill level and resources of the person who's trying to get inside.

That's pretty neat about the App Store trick. I can definitely venture a guess as to why Apple does not make that more known. I'm surprised they put it in there or made it known at all.

I will definitely be doing a full back up with CCC before attempting the upgrade!

 

[Fishrrman]

If you don't wish to "go all the way" to Sierra, you could stick with El Capitan for now.

That's what I did on the brand-new 2015 MacBook Pro I picked up several weeks' back.

 

[steiney]

If you don't wish to "go all the way" to Sierra, you could stick with El Capitan for now.

That's what I did on the brand-new 2015 MacBook Pro I picked up several weeks' back.

Interesting idea. If I'm going to go through the bother of upgrading and having to give up the look of the 10.5-10.9 years, it seems like I might as well go all the way. What are the reason(s) you chose to keep your MBP on El Capitan?