Update to El Capitan

[Anita Brennan]

I was advised by Apple 2014 to stick with Snow Leopard 10.6.8 on my 2009 MacBook. I had previously received invaluable help from member "Honestone" who helped me to repair and secure my Mac

Now I read that this is unsupported and they have advised that I update to El Capitan. I have long wanted to do this on my old 2009 MacBook which will support this, but am put off by internet reports . I know I possibly need an upgrade of couple of memory GB to at least 4 - but can anyone tell me if this will ensure that El Cap will work for me. Not El Capital - lol El Capitan

 

[honestone]

Please explain what you mean by "unsupported". Also, if I were you, I would not make such a huge jump. Maybe go from OS 10.6.8, Snow Leopard, to OS 10.9.5, Mavericks. See how Mavericks works for you. Also, if you have any third party software, you will, most likely, need to upgrade such software to be compatible with the OS you are "moving" to.

Also, if you want to keep the machine for a while, then you should upgrade the RAM.

 

[Anita Brennan]

"Unsupported" in that they are no longer issuing patches/updates so therefore security issues. My Chrome browser alerted me saying Google was no longer updating my browser because Apple no long supporting 10.6.8

However - have now found this:
Apple releases surprise update for no-longer-supported OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard

issued 4 days ago apparently. Why didn't Apple support tell me this yesterday.

They also said that Mavericks is no longer available - (actually not in the a App store) and that I could go straight to El Capitan with maybe 2 GB more Ram.

Don't know what to do now - would really like to have done and go for latest El Capital. My Macbook is in good order and well backd up and would like to keep it on the road

 

[Anita Brennan]

This is a copy of the alert I receive every time I use Chrome"

Google Chrome is up to date.
This computer will soon stop receiving Google Chrome updates because Mac OS X 10.6, 10.7, and 10.8 will no longer be supported

 

[honestone]

You really do not need to "shout" by using bold for your entire post, as I am not 10 miles away!

Also, last week, I passed along that news about Snow Leopard here:

https://www.mac-help.com/threads/su...-6-8-the-last-version-of-snow-leopard.221667/

In any event, after you upgrade the Ram to at least 4 gig, and given that you are making backups, you could move to El Capitan. The only thing you need to do is to upgrade any third party software you are using. (Chrome will do that automatically). And, the most current version of El Capitan is 10.11.3 )10.11.4 is currently in beta testing).

Additionally, maybe you should consider upgrading the Ram to 6 or 8 gig. That will be a nice boost.

 

[Anita Brennan]

I'm certainly not shouting - bold is just on oops! off now

Yes I saw your post today about the information I found re Snow Leopard. However, speaking to Apple UK, they know nothing about it.

I have upgraded to El Capitan today (bit scary) and mostly, all is well. It is a bit sluggish but when I put in some more memory I think it will be OK. My Macbook will only take 4 GB.

Cheers!

 

[honestone]

Is the version of El Capitan V10.11.3? If not, I can provide a link so that you can download and apply the Combo Updater.

You have never stated the exact Mac model you have. But, for a 2009 Macbook (your description was "an old 2009 MacBook"), the early one only supports up to 4 gig of RAM, the mid-2009 model supports up to 6 gig of RAM, and the late 2009 model supports up to 8 gig of RAM. So, without knowing the exact 2009 model you have, it's difficult to say how much RAM you can upgrade to.

The bigger issue, though, is the slow 5400 rpm hard drive inside any 2009 model. That is going to be slow, no matter how much RAM you have. You can upgrade to either a faster (7200 rpm) "standard" hard drive, or what is even better, a Solid State Drive (SSD). I can tell you from direct experience that upgrading from a slow 5400 rpm drive to a much faster SSD will make a world of difference! I did just that on my Mac Mini, and I was able to "salvage" the original drive by installing it in a nice, slim external case. If you are interested in doing that, let me know, and I can provide links that show how to do it.

 

[Anita Brennan]

My "About this Mac" window says that this is a mid 2009 Macbook.
Apple told me it would only take 4 GB.
If it will take 6, that is great.
The machine is only slow loading apps - other things are faster, so I am waiting till I sort out other issues and have put in the extra RAM before I decide which way to go
As expected, I have lost MS Office but I can replace and there are other options.
At the moment, I am having trouble with Mac Mail but Apple are helping sort.

 

[honestone]

This link contains quite a lot of useful information about the mid 2009 model:

http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...-duo-2.13-white-13-mid-2009-nvidia-specs.html

Note that the way you mix the 6 gig of RAM is 1 2 gig "stick" and 1 4 gig "stick". Still, though, the hard drive speed of 5400 rpm is definitely slow. Also, if it is the original drive inside the machine, it is getting up there in age. In fact, 7 years is quite a long time for such a drive, and especially if very little (if any) disk maintenance has been performed on the drive.

Finally, what do you mean by "I have lost MS Office"? If you mean Office 2011 (I have it), it needed to be upgraded to V14.5.8 for El Capitan compatibility. It is now up to version 14.6.0, which you can get from here:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=50720

From what I read, Office 2008 is also compatible with El Capitan, but you need V12,3,6, which you can get from here:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=36897