ronnie2374

Q: how do I find the age of my macbook pro?

I want to update from snow leopard 10.6.8 but the app store won't let me purchase mountain lion.  I'm not sure how old my macbook pro is, how do I find out?  Would there be any other reason why the app store is telling me my computer is not compatible with mountain lion?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jul 26, 2012 6:43 AM

Close

Q: how do I find the age of my macbook pro?

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by Kriswin,Helpful

    Kriswin Kriswin Jul 26, 2012 6:45 AM in response to ronnie2374
    Level 1 (90 points)
    Jul 26, 2012 6:45 AM in response to ronnie2374

    You need to update to Lion prior to updating to Mountain Lion.

     

    Hope this helped!

  • by ronnie2374,

    ronnie2374 ronnie2374 Jul 26, 2012 6:47 AM in response to Kriswin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 26, 2012 6:47 AM in response to Kriswin

    Thank you!  I thought that it said somewhere that you could upgrade to mountain lion directly from snow leopard. 

  • by Kriswin,

    Kriswin Kriswin Jul 26, 2012 6:50 AM in response to ronnie2374
    Level 1 (90 points)
    Jul 26, 2012 6:50 AM in response to ronnie2374

    Actually you were right. I read wrong somewhere else. You have 10.6.8, which confuses me. From Apple:

     

     

    Step 2:

    Make sure you have Lion or the latest version of Snow Leopard.

     

    While you have the About This Mac window open, check what version of OS X your Mac is running.

    If you are running Lion (10.7.x), you’re ready to update to Mountain Lion. Go to Step 3. If you are running Snow Leopard (10.6.x), update to the latest version of OS X Snow Leopard before you purchase OS X Mountain Lion from the Mac App Store. Click the Apple icon and choose Software Update to install Snow Leopard v10.6.8, the latest version.

  • by ronnie2374,

    ronnie2374 ronnie2374 Jul 26, 2012 6:50 AM in response to Kriswin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 26, 2012 6:50 AM in response to Kriswin

    Can I buy lion from the app store or do I have to purchase a disc?  I thought I saw it in the app store recently but I can't find it now.

  • by Bimmer 7 Series,

    Bimmer 7 Series Bimmer 7 Series Jul 26, 2012 6:50 AM in response to Kriswin
    Level 6 (10,282 points)
    Jul 26, 2012 6:50 AM in response to Kriswin

    actually, you can upgrade from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion......

     

    click here for more info and see if your Macbook meets the system requirements.

     

    good luck...

  • by Michael Black,

    Michael Black Michael Black Jul 26, 2012 6:51 AM in response to ronnie2374
    Level 7 (25,223 points)
    Jul 26, 2012 6:51 AM in response to ronnie2374

    https://selfsolve.apple.com/agreementWarrantyDynamic.do

     

    Enter your machine's serial number and you should see the remaining warranty coverage as well as the purchase data.

  • by ronnie2374,

    ronnie2374 ronnie2374 Jul 26, 2012 6:51 AM in response to Kriswin
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 26, 2012 6:51 AM in response to Kriswin

    yup that's exactly what I saw.

  • by Kriswin,

    Kriswin Kriswin Jul 26, 2012 6:52 AM in response to ronnie2374
    Level 1 (90 points)
    Jul 26, 2012 6:52 AM in response to ronnie2374

    First, check out the list on http://www.apple.com/osx/how-to-upgrade/

     

    Make sure you can update there by using your model.

     

    To find your model, click the About this Mac window, or click here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4132

  • by ds store,

    ds store ds store Jul 26, 2012 7:00 AM in response to ronnie2374
    Level 7 (30,400 points)
    Jul 26, 2012 7:00 AM in response to ronnie2374

    ronnie2374 wrote:

     

    I want to update from snow leopard 10.6.8 but the app store won't let me purchase mountain lion.

     

    If it won't then it has already determined your machine is too old for Mnt Lion, in fact it's likely too old for 10.7 Lion too.

     

    Your best option is to stay on 10.6.8 and save your pennies for a new 10.8 hardware coming out next release cycle or when that 10.6.8 machine dies.

     

    10.7 was Apple's "Vista" anyway, you don't want it nor 10.8 that won't run your presently installed PPC based software and drivers for hardware.

     

     

    I'm not sure how old my macbook pro is, how do I find out?

     

    Apple Menu > About this Mac > more information and scroll down until you get a model like MacBook Pro 3,1.

     

    Next download the free MacTracker and search for your model.

     

     

    Would there be any other reason why the app store is telling me my computer is not compatible with mountain lion?

     

     

    You might not have enough RAM installed on the machine and thus don't meet the specifcations for 10.7 or 10.8 on that.

     

    The same process abouve will tell you the RAM (aka memory) amount) or you can use Activity Monitor in your Utilities folder.

     

    Word is 10.7 and 10.8 like 4GB of RAM, despite Apple saying it can do with 2GB.

     

     

    You don't need Lion to upgrade to Mnt Lion, Snow Leopard to Mtn Lion upgrades can accur no problem.

  • by ronnie2374,

    ronnie2374 ronnie2374 Jul 26, 2012 7:11 AM in response to Michael Black
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 26, 2012 7:11 AM in response to Michael Black

    I entered the serial number but it just told me everything was expired with no mention of purchase date.  I'm not sure if I bought it in 2007 or not.  It is a silver macbook pro. 

  • by Bimmer 7 Series,

    Bimmer 7 Series Bimmer 7 Series Jul 26, 2012 7:13 AM in response to ronnie2374
    Level 6 (10,282 points)
    Jul 26, 2012 7:13 AM in response to ronnie2374

    click on the apple logo top left - about this mac - more info....

  • by Michael Black,

    Michael Black Michael Black Jul 26, 2012 7:14 AM in response to ronnie2374
    Level 7 (25,223 points)
    Jul 26, 2012 7:14 AM in response to ronnie2374

    Then you could go here - http://support.apple.com/specs/ - scroll to the 2007 models and check it by the specs in the detailed "About this Mac" tab on your desktop.

     

    If it is a mid or late 2007 model, you should be okay.

  • by ronnie2374,

    ronnie2374 ronnie2374 Jul 26, 2012 7:14 AM in response to ds store
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 26, 2012 7:14 AM in response to ds store

    why would apple make my computer eligible for the next 10.8 hardware if it won't let me use mountain lion?  Is 10.8 just an updated snow leopard?  Sorry I'm not super tech savvy (obviously).  I love my macbook pro and I can't believe how long it's lasted me so far.  I hope it never dies!!! 

    Thank you so much for the help.