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User profile for user: rolnstone
rolnstone Author
User level: Level 1
6 points

which operating system for mid 2011 mac mini

what's the most current / best os i can run on a mac mini (built mid 2011). it has 8gb ram & 480gb available hard drive memory.


was running mojave thus could not upgrade/update beyond GarageBand 11 v 6.0.5 (428.5). a few days ago i learned it's possible for the mac mini described above, to be upgraded past mojave os. now this mac mini is running El Capitan.


The issue so far; the version of El CAPITAN installed did not come with a newer version of Garageband than mohave...


  • is this normal, or did i miss a step in the process of downloading & installation?
  • do i need to to install yet a newer os ?
  • how far up the line of operating systems can this 2011 mac mini support?
  • whats the max. ram memory a mid 2011 mac mini can handle?


anyone inclined to lend their advice will be sincerely appreciated...


thank you,

rolnstone




Posted on Feb 4, 2020 7:55 AM

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User profile for user: den.thed
den.thed
User level: Level 9
76,774 points

Posted on Feb 4, 2020 8:59 AM

  • is this normal, or did i miss a step in the process of downloading & installation?
  • do i need to to install yet a newer os ?
  • how far up the line of operating systems can this 2011 mac mini support?


The answer to those is High Sierra, see > How to upgrade to macOS High Sierra - Apple Support


  • whats the max. ram memory a mid 2011 mac mini can handle?


The answer to that is actually16GB.

see > https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Apple_Mac_mini/DDR3_1333


But also note that an SSD upgrade, would be better than going from 8GB to 16GB.

see > https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ssd/owc/mac-mini/2011

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User profile for user: den.thed
den.thed
User level: Level 9
76,774 points

Feb 4, 2020 8:59 AM in response to rolnstone

  • is this normal, or did i miss a step in the process of downloading & installation?
  • do i need to to install yet a newer os ?
  • how far up the line of operating systems can this 2011 mac mini support?


The answer to those is High Sierra, see > How to upgrade to macOS High Sierra - Apple Support


  • whats the max. ram memory a mid 2011 mac mini can handle?


The answer to that is actually16GB.

see > https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Apple_Mac_mini/DDR3_1333


But also note that an SSD upgrade, would be better than going from 8GB to 16GB.

see > https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ssd/owc/mac-mini/2011

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User profile for user: Phil0124
Phil0124
Community+ 2024
User level: Level 10
198,485 points

Feb 4, 2020 9:16 AM in response to rolnstone

Your post is a bit confusing:

  1. El Capitan is older than Mojave, 10.11 vs 10.14 respectively, so of course, el Capitan will have an older version of Garage Band than Mojave.
  2. A 2011 Mac Mini cannot run Mojave. Highest macOS version it can run is 10.13 High Sierra. 10.14 Mojave and 10.15 Catalina are not supported on a 2011 Mac Mini.



A 2011 Mac Mini can go up to 16GB of RAM.

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which operating system for mid 2011 mac mini

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