Spudgirl
Level 1 (4 points)
Mac OS X

Q: Nervous about upgrade to El Capitan

Hi,

I am currently running OS X 10.8.5 on a Mid 2012 Mac Book Pro.  I have a 500 GB HD and have 432 GB available.  My processor is a 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 and I have 4 GB  1600 MHz DDR3 memory.

 

My issue is my browser (Safari 6.2.8) is updated as far as it will go with Mountain Lion and my credit card company wants an updated browser to access their site and I'm sure there will be others to follow soon as well like Social Security, Healthcare.gov, etc.  Also I've been seeing the spinning beach ball occasionally while surfing around.  I can't use Google chrome either as the OS is too old for that as well.  So unfortunately an upgrade is probably in order.  I have never backed up my computer, I know my bad, but to tell you the truth it seems really complicated and unreliable.  I have copied my spreadsheets, music and photos onto large flash drives. I am NOT super savvy,  and mostly use my computer for web surfing, paying bills online and photos and music.

 

I have read several discussions here on backing up your computer and even from Level 1 users they all seem like they know their way around a hard drive but most of it seems greek to me.  Archives or back up or cloning?  really!! I've read the glowing reports for EC balanced with an equal % of horror stories.  There are always haters with every new release but it still puts the fear in me.   So here are my concerns/questions I hope someone will be willing to help me out with.  I apologize ahead of time for the length, just trying to give as much info as possible.  I hope this is the right forum for this.

 

1. Once I figured out external HD's were not really "disks" I checked a couple Mac ready ones out to use with TM, WD and Seagate being the most available.  I don't really need an hour to hour backup of my computer because I don't change that much everyday and it seems like you have to leave this plugged in 24/7 which seems like a pain for a laptop, rendering it not so portable. Plus I've read you have to shut down your computer to remove the external HD safely.  really? Can I just do a manual back up once a week or monthly?

 

2. Would it be better for me to use a cloning software so I can just make a copy (bootable?) of my current OS and files instead of hour by hour back ups with time machine?  I'm not sure I'm wise enough to figure it all out.  I've been to Super Duper website and they seem helpful but thats another $30 on top of $60 for a 1 TB HD.

 

3.  I've read that you should have 2 copies of your back up.  That means 2 external HD's right?

 

4. Do you need an internet connection to do back ups?  I use my iPhone as a hotspot but go to my kids if I need longer term wi-fi although theirs is not super fast as its out in the sticks.

 

5.  I don't have a ton of apps other than the ones the computer came with but the ones I have I really don't want to lose.  Microsoft Office for Mac 2011,  Family Tree Maker for Mac v. 2 being the main ones.  Also my printer is old so I may have to replace that. I checked their compatibility from a link on this forum.  Sounds like both of them will not work.  I don't know how to check if my model printer will work with EC. Any simple work arounds?  I hate to lose all that if I upgrade.  For some apps you can't upgrade until you upgrade your OS but does that mean I'll lose all the old files?

 

6. Can you have 1 computer but have 2 OS's?  El Capitan when I need to do web stuff and Mountain lion to use my other apps?  Probably no simple matter. Or do I have to take out a loan and buy another computer and keep my old one for my out of date apps?

 

7. If I have to do this (upgrade to EC) what should be my game plan be?  Anything to make the transition more smooth?  In simple terms for a dummy?

 

Anyway if anybody wants to help I'm appreciative!

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Sep 7, 2016 2:34 PM

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Spudgirl

Q: Nervous about upgrade to El Capitan

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  • Helpful answers

  • by MichelPM,

    MichelPM MichelPM Sep 7, 2016 8:11 PM in response to Spudgirl
    Level 6 (13,665 points)
    iPad
    Sep 7, 2016 8:11 PM in response to Spudgirl

    If you do not want to upgrade your OS X version, the OS X Mountain Lion version of Apple Safari is no longer a secure web browser under OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion and you should cease using that version of Safari.

    OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion is no longer receiving any security updates and, I believe, shortly is no longer going to receive any new iTunes updates, either.

    Same issue/problem with Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox which both ended support for OS X 10.6-10.8.

    Mozilla Firefox just ended its web browser support and its last full version, issued this past August (ver. 48.0.0), for OS X 10.6-10.8 can still be used for awhile longer.

     

    https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/desktop/

     

    OR

     

    Mozilla is continuing security support (no more new web browser feature support) for the Firefox web browser through their Firefox ESR program, (which you CAN download, install and use) that will continue security only support for Firefox until next April 2017 for OS X 10.6-10.8.

    You can use these ESR versions. Ignore the enterprise/educational support notes.

     

    https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/faq/

     

    OR

     

    Look at SeaMonkey.

     

    http://www.seamonkey-project.org/


    Good Luck!

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Sep 8, 2016 8:05 AM in response to Spudgirl
    Level 9 (70,250 points)
    iTunes
    Sep 8, 2016 8:05 AM in response to Spudgirl

    1. You can attach the drive and backup when you feel like it. I'd back up at least weekly. You do not have to shut down the computer to detach the hard drive. Control - click on the drive in Finder's Sidebar and select eject.

     

    2. Clones are another good way to backup and as you posted, that backup is bootable. SuperDuper and Carbon Copy Cloner both have free trials.

     

    Clone  - Carbon Copy Cloner          (Often recommended as it has more features than some others)

     

    Clone – Data Backup

     

    Clone – Deja Vu

     

    Clone  - SuperDuper

     

    Clone - Synk

     

    Clone Software – 6 Applications Tested

     

    Time Machine Versus Clones and Archives

     

    Commonly Used Backup Methods

     

    3. Yes.

     

    4. You do not need an internet connection to back up. Hook the backup drive to the computer.

     

    5. Office 2011 should work. If you upgrade an application, normally it will access older data file. Go to the print manufacturer's website to check for a driver.

     

    6. You can run 2 OS versions on the same computer.

     

    7. Backup before doing anything.

     

    One option is to create a new partition (~30- 50 GB), install the new OS, and ‘test drive’ it. If you like/don’t like it it, you can then remove the partition. Do a backup before you do anything. By doing this, if you don’t like it you won’t have to go though the revert process.

     

    Check to make sure your applications are compatible.

     

    Application Compatibility

     

    Applications Compatibility (2)


     

    El Capitan 10.11 Compatibility information


     

    Also check to make sure there is a compatible driver for your printer.

    Open Disk Utility, select your hard drive (step 1), then the Partition tab (step 2), and select the partition. Using the /// at the bottom move it up (step 3) until the size box decrease by about 50 GB. Select the newly created space and hit the + button (step 4). Name it something and select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as the format (step 5). Then hit the Apply button(step 6). Download the installer from the App Store and when it starts, point it at the new partition. You might want to make a copy of the installer outside the Applications folder to avoid having to re-download it in the future. Once installed, restart with the option/alt key held down, select the new partition and reboot. Test away.