Upgrading my OSX

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rf4c Author

Level 1

21 points

Upgrading my OSX

OSX El Capitan Version 10.11.6 (15G22010)

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)

Processor 3.2 GHz Intel Core i5

Memory 8 GB 1867 MHz DDR3

Graphics AMD Radeon R9 M380 2048 MB

Hi everybody, my question relates to OSX

I migrated across from Windows after many years, but never had the time to really dig deep into understanding OSX the way I did with Windows.

As a result, I’ve stayed with El Capitan since I purchased the iMac, afraid to mess with it in any way!!

I’m sure I really should update, but I don’t know which OSX is best, or even compatible with my machine!

I don’t want to be left with a printer or some other peripheral that doesn’t work, or a file or programme that won’t open!

I wonder if you guys could offer some suggestions/advice/warnings before I do something I can’t get back from!

Many thanks in advance to everybody

best wishes

Jim

iMac 27", OS X 10.11

Posted on Mar 11, 2020 10:42 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Eau Rouge

Level 8

42,596 points

Mar 11, 2020 3:16 PM in response to rf4c

It is not all angels and unicorns dancing on your birthday, do serious research before upgrading.

Have a plan, and a fall back plan.

Yes your mac can upgrade to macOS Catalina but Catalina is a very different place.

High Sierra and Mojave are more comfortable places to be.

How to upgrade to macOS Mojave - Apple Support

How to upgrade to macOS High Sierra - Apple Support

Before upgrading make a full back up of your Mac.

Check that third party apps you use have updates available for the new OS.

https://roaringapps.com

Check that your printers/ scanners etc have updated drivers and software available for the new OS.

If you are considering upgrading to Catalina be warned that it does not support 32bit apps.

Your Mac is probably running 32bit apps and these will need to be updated to 64bit apps,

some updates may be free, some may be paid. Use this app to discover which apps you have

are 32bit, https://www.stclairsoft.com/Go64/. Once the list has been created you can then

contact the developers of the apps to see if they provide 64bit updates.

How to upgrade to macOS Catalina – Apple Support

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Answer 2

QuickPost

Level 10

103,365 points

Mar 11, 2020 11:00 AM in response to rf4c

Hello,

Starting with macOS 10.15 Catalina (current release), legacy software is no longer supported. This really only impacts software developed more than a decade ago. Most, if not all, modern software is compatible with macOS 10.15. The same applies with printers. Older printers use legacy drivers that are not compatible with macOS 10.15. This is not a concern if your printer was manufactured in the past decade.

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