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Rcently did a factory reset

How to update to mac os catalina from osx 10.7.5

MacBook Pro 13", macOS 10.12

Posted on Oct 26, 2019 11:20 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 27, 2019 1:31 AM

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like an in-place upgrade to Catalina is possible when running anything lower than Mavericks (OS X 10.9) according to Apple's official documentation. From my knowledge, you have two options:


  1. Do an intermediate upgrade to a newer MacOS version first, then continue and upgrade to Catalina. For example, you can upgrade directly to MacOS Sierra (10.12) from Lion, then jump to Catalina from there. You can still download Mac OS Sierra directly from Apple here: http://updates-http.cdn-apple.com/2019/cert/061-39476-20191023-48f365f4-0015-4c41-9f44-39d3d2aca067/InstallOS.dmg
  2. Another option would be to do a new, fresh install, wiping the previous installation from your HDD/SSD. This would remove all of your personal data as well, so make sure you have a backup of anything important. However I assume you already do, seeing that you just recently did a factory reset.


You can do a clean install by downloading the same installation media from the link above and using either Apple's instructions: How to create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

Or a tool such as this: https://macdaddy.io/install-disk-creator/ to create a USB drive with the installer on it. Which can you can boot the computer from by holding down the Option during system start up, and selecting the external drive.


Personally, I would opt for the 1st method as it is the easiest to follow, and the quickest method.


I hope this helps, please comment again if you have questions or are stuck.

2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 27, 2019 1:31 AM in response to rishabh184

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like an in-place upgrade to Catalina is possible when running anything lower than Mavericks (OS X 10.9) according to Apple's official documentation. From my knowledge, you have two options:


  1. Do an intermediate upgrade to a newer MacOS version first, then continue and upgrade to Catalina. For example, you can upgrade directly to MacOS Sierra (10.12) from Lion, then jump to Catalina from there. You can still download Mac OS Sierra directly from Apple here: http://updates-http.cdn-apple.com/2019/cert/061-39476-20191023-48f365f4-0015-4c41-9f44-39d3d2aca067/InstallOS.dmg
  2. Another option would be to do a new, fresh install, wiping the previous installation from your HDD/SSD. This would remove all of your personal data as well, so make sure you have a backup of anything important. However I assume you already do, seeing that you just recently did a factory reset.


You can do a clean install by downloading the same installation media from the link above and using either Apple's instructions: How to create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support

Or a tool such as this: https://macdaddy.io/install-disk-creator/ to create a USB drive with the installer on it. Which can you can boot the computer from by holding down the Option during system start up, and selecting the external drive.


Personally, I would opt for the 1st method as it is the easiest to follow, and the quickest method.


I hope this helps, please comment again if you have questions or are stuck.

Rcently did a factory reset

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