jh57

Q: Snow Leopard to Maverick - should I go to El Capitan?

I have gotten two responses that I should be ok to upgrade to ElCapitan, but should increase memory from 4 to 16 GB before upgrading.

My system is late 2009, originally with Snow Leopard, 3.06 GHz, Intel Duo Core 2.  I've upgraded several times, but stopped after upgrading to Maverick - so there are two upgrades since, Yosemite and El Capitan. 

 

My question now is:  Has anyone ever had trouble upgrading this many times?  I am skeptical to upgrade continuously without hearing from someone who has experienced any issues good or bad.  I'd like to make a decision based on some input from anyone who has upgraded to El Capitan.

 

Please advise.  Thanks in advance...

iMac, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)

Posted on Dec 23, 2015 6:30 AM

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Q: Snow Leopard to Maverick - should I go to El Capitan?

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  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Dec 23, 2015 8:23 AM in response to jh57
    Level 9 (71,155 points)
    iTunes
    Dec 23, 2015 8:23 AM in response to jh57
    Has anyone ever had trouble upgrading this many times?

     

    I started out with Leopard and I am now using 10.11. I have had no problems upgrading and I have not done a clean install.

  • by macjack,

    macjack macjack Dec 23, 2015 9:27 AM in response to jh57
    Level 9 (55,694 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 23, 2015 9:27 AM in response to jh57

    Upgrade route should be fine, I've used it many times. The minimum requirement on RAM is 2GB. Personally, I believe 4GB is a more realistic minimum but as far as RAM is concerned the more the merrier.

    My question now is:  Has anyone ever had trouble upgrading this many times?

    These forums are probably not the best place to ask that question. Most folks who come here, come because they have problems and many of those problems happen on updates or upgrades. The reason is usually that there was preexisting corruption that went unnoticed and the upgrade exacerbated it. That is why as Eric notes, it is important to run Disk Utility before upgrading. And always keep a good backup as anything can happen at any time, upgrade or not.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Dec 24, 2015 9:33 AM in response to jh57
    Level 9 (71,155 points)
    iTunes
    Dec 24, 2015 9:33 AM in response to jh57

    The 2 places I’ve seen recommended most to buy reliable RAM are below. I have purchased RAM several times from Other World Computing and have always been very satisfied with the product and service. They have on-line instructions on how to replace the RAM. OWC has also tested RAM above what Apple states is the maximum. I now have 6GB installed on a early 2008 iMac supposedly limited to 4 GB and noticed an improvement.

     

    Crucial

     

    Other World Computing

  • by a brody,

    a brody a brody Dec 25, 2015 10:46 AM in response to jh57
    Level 9 (66,865 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Dec 25, 2015 10:46 AM in response to jh57

    Upgrading to anything beyond Snow Leopard, you lose a lot of compatibility with older software: http://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6271