Nintalking

I have a 2008 iMac. Its running 10.9.5. Because its an intel machine, the later operating systems thats are not intel it wont upgrade. Its as far as you can go. I just had to throw out a Canon MP810 2008, as the latest driver won't run the canon printer utilities. My next computer will be a win10 laptop. I am so over the compatibility issues.

Performing an El Capitan-to-Sierra upgrade is easy. Although it does not come like a push-one-button-and-proceed method, the truth is it’s quite close.

Requirements for Upgrading from El Capitan to Sierra

Before we proceed with our step-by-step guide, allow us to answer an important question that some Mac users have in mind: “Can an old Mac still upgrade to Sierra?”

The answer is, of course, a YES. However, there are a few minimum requirements that need to be met, such as the following:

• 2 GB RAM
• 8 GB Storage Space
• Mac Models: Late 2009 iMac, 2009 MacBook, 2010 MacBook Pro, 2010 MacBook Air, 2010 Mac Mini, 2010 Mac Pro

Once you are certain that your Mac has met the requirements above, make sure you have backed up your Mac. This backup will come in handy in case something comes up in the process of upgrading to High Sierra.

Upgrading from El Capitan to Sierra

After backing up your Mac’s important files and folders, it’s time to get started. Here’s how to upgrade from El Capitan to Sierra.

1. Download High Sierra from the App Store.

High Sierra is available for download from the App Store. To get it, follow these steps:

1. Open the Mac App Store by simply clicking on the App Store icon in the dock.
2. Navigate to the Featured tab.
3. Find macOS Sierra in the rightmost column and click on it.
4. Click Download.
5. At this point, the download will start. It may take long, especially if it’s your first time accessing the App Store. Just be patient.
6. Once the download is completed, the installer should launch automatically.

2. Start the Upgrade.

With the High Sierra installer ready, it’s time to actually install it. Here’s how:

1. The High Sierra installer should now be open on your Mac. If you have accidentally quit it, you can restart it by going to the Applications folder and double-clicking on the installer.
2. Click Continue to proceed.
3. Press on the Agree button to agree with the software licensing terms and agreements flashed on your screen.
4. Click on the Agree button again to verify your action.
5. Hit Install.
6. A new dialog box will pop up, requiring you to input your administrator password. Provide that information and click Add Helper.
7. The High Sierra installer will begin copying the system files to the new target drive. The progress will show in a new window.
8. As soon as all the system files are copied, your Mac will automatically reboot. Don’t panic if the restart process takes a while. It only means your Mac is coping with the installation process.

3. Utilize the Setup Assistant to Complete the Installation.

Your Mac should already be finished with the basic installation process. The next thing you should do is run the Setup Assistant to configure some important macOS High Sierra options and settings.

Take note, though, that if your Mac is configured to ask for your login details, a normal login window will show. Provide your login credentials so you can proceed with the following steps:

1. The Setup Assistant starts off by asking you for your Apple ID details. If you wish to leave everything as it is, click the Set Up Later option.
2. Let the Setup Assistant configure all vital services that need your Apple ID credentials. Simply provide your Apple ID password and hit Continue.
3. Click Agree if you agree with the Terms and Conditions flashed on your screen.
4. You will be asked to verify your action again. To continue, click Agree again.
5. The Setup Assistant should then continue with configuring your iCloud account information. It will also ask you whether you want to set up iCloud Keychain. You can just skip it to avoid confusing yourself.
6. Next, there will be options displayed on your screen regarding how you wish to use iCloud for storing images and documents. Choose which of them apply to you by clicking on the boxes next to each one of them:
   • Store Files from Documents and Desktop in iCloud Drive – This option will allow you to automatically upload files from your Desktop and Documents folder to your iCloud Drive. Be mindful, though, that Apple only offers a limited amount of storage space for free users. If all this free space is exhausted, you will be asked to purchase additional storage.
   • Store Photos and Videos in iCloud Photo Library – This will let you upload videos and images from your Photo Library to iCloud. As with the first option, you have to remember that you only have limited free storage space.

7. Hit Continue.
8. Wait for the Setup Assistant to finish the setup process.
9. You will know when it’s done because you will be taken to your desktop.

Summary

We hope you found this guide useful. But before you download macOS Sierra and perform an upgrade, do not forget to clean up your Mac with a reliable Mac repair tool first. This way, you can ensure that nothing comes your way and keeps you from making the most of High Sierra.

Did we miss some important steps above? Do you know other, easier methods to upgrade from El Capitan from Sierra? We’d love to know. Comment on them below!

Most coverage of Apple’s new operating system, macOS Catalina focuses on the improvements since Mojave, its immediate predecessor. But what if you’re still running macOS High Sierra? Well, the news then is even better. You get all the improvements that Mojave users get, plus all the benefits of upgrading from High Sierra to Mojave. Let’s compare macOS Catalina with macOS High Sierra.

Clean your Mac before you upgrade

Before we get started, if you’re planning to upgrade to macOS Catalina from High Sierra, it’s likely you have lots of files on your Mac that you don’t need. We call them system junk. They consist of cache files, temporary files that were never deleted, and all sorts of other data macOS stores on your Mac and you’ll never need again. Installing a new OS over that lot is not a good idea, it’s like layering paint over paint – at some point you have to sand it down and start again. That time is now, before you upgrade. My favorite way to get rid of junk files is to use CleanMyMac X. I recommend you use it to. It’s really easy to use, quick, and can free up tens of gigabytes of space.

Once you’ve got rid of the junk, backup your Mac either with Time Machine or a tool that can make a bootable clone. It’s very rare that anything goes wrong when you upgrade, but it’s much better to be safe than sorry.

The evolution of interface

MacOS Mojave saw one of the biggest changes to the macOS interface in several years, so if you’re still using High Sierra, upgrading to Catalina will allow you to use features like Dark Mode, which changes the look of your Mac and all applications that support it so that they display light text on a dark background.

Mojave also introduced Desktop Stacks, so if you’re still running High Sierra you’ll be able to use those for the first time in Catalina too. Stacks allow you to automatically store files of the same type, like photos, PDFs, and screenshots, in a stack on the Desktop. Talking of screen shots, Mojave changed the way screen shots work. Now, instead of just saving your screen shot, it hovers as a thumbnail for a few seconds, so you can click on it to preview you and make some basic adjustments, before saving or deleting it, just like in iOS. then there’s the new features in the Finder, like the Gallery view and the new Quick Look tools that allow you to make changes to image files when you preview them in the Finder.

Compared to the leap from High Sierra to Mojave, Catalina didn’t add too much to the visual interface, but made huge improvements to the way you use your Mac with your Voice. You can now control your Mac completely using just your voice, including launching apps, selecting commands, dragging and dropping, and, of course, dictating.

Applications

Both upgrades since High Sierra have brought iOS and the Mac closer. First, there was the addition of Voice memos, Stocks, and Home apps to the Mac. Then, Apple got rid of iTunes and replaced it with TV, Music, and Podcasts, to mirror the equivalent apps in iOS. The Mac App Store has also been overhauled since High Sierra, making it easier to find the best apps, and allowing developers to offer trial versions.

There’s a new FindMy app that replaces Find My iPhone, Find My Mac, and Find My Friends, and it can find your Mac even if it’s sleeping or offline. And you’ll notice improvements in lots of Apple’s built-in apps like Reminders, which is rebuilt in Catalina, Notes, Safari, and Photos. You can now mute entire threads in Mail, just as you can in Messages, and make group calls with FaceTime.

All devices are welcome

In Mojave, Apple added the ability to use your iPhone’s camera to scan documents directly on your Mac. And it continued that theme in macOS Catalina, by allowing you to use an iPad as a second display for your Mac, and as a graphics tablet. A feature called Continuity Markup also allows you to markup PDFs on an iPad and have the changes show up on your Mac. Finally, Mojave added a feature that allowed you to unlock your Mac with an Apple Watch, and Catalina has taken that further by allowing you to authenticate certain actions on your Mac by clicking the button on an Apple Watch. Apple’s iOS devices now work much more closely with the Mac than they did in High Sierra.

iCloud

Apple has added a lot to iCloud since High Sierra, turning it into a serious alternative to Dropbox or Google Drive. You can now sync your Desktop and Documents folders in iCloud, meaning they will be the same no matter which Mac you log into your iCloud account from. And you can now share entire folders with other people, rather than just individual files.

More gatekeepers and security checks

Mac Os 10.13 Sierra Download

There have been some big improvements in this area since High Sierra. In macOS Mojave, Safari made it much more difficult for websites to follow you around the web by preventing so-called ‘fingerprinting’. In macOS Catalina, apps will have to ask permission to access your Desktop or Documents folders, as well as iCloud Drive and external disks. And they’ll also have to get your permission before capturing keyboard strokes or taking a photo or video of your screen. And macOS Catalina introduces Activation Lock, which means only you can erase or re-activate your Mac.

What if I don’t feel like upgrading?

Many people live happily using older operating systems because old is gold, right? But if your Mac is underperforming and you think that the mere switch to macOS Catalina will solve everything, you’d likely be disappointed. But the more realistic way to improve the performance of your macOS is freeing up its memory and removing old apps. Really. We’ve seen many good-maintained Macs running the ancient El Capitan that actually performed and copied files faster than latest machines.

So, here’s the cheat-sheet to improve the performance of your Mac

— Free up space on startup drive

— Switch to some lightweight browser, other than Chrome, for example, Brave

— Minimize Login Items via Preferences

— Use third-party macOS speed up tools

For example, there’s a special instrument that comes with CleanMyMac X that identifies heavy memory consumers on your Mac. The tool is called Heavy Consumers and you can use it to make your Mac more responsive. Many Apple forums recommend it for slow-performing Macs.

Download the free version of the app and check if it helps your Mac
When you compare macOS Catalina with macOS High Sierra, the differences are huge so if you haven’t upgraded already, it’s well worth it. However, you should definitely take steps to clear the junk from your Mac before you install the new macOS. CleanMyMac X can do that for you, quickly and easily. Let it decide what to remove, or take control and make the decisions yourself, you can use it however you choose.

Mac Os 10.12 Sierra Download

These might also interest you: