If My iMac Is Running On OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.5), Which Is The Best OS X To Upgrade To Without Slowing Down My Computer?

You need an iMac late 2012 or newer to upgrade to Catalina or Mojave. The furthest you can upgrade is Mac OS High Sierra:

Get macOS High Sierra

You can check compatibility of apps here:

https://roaringapps.com

If it's dinging it sounds like there my be a bad connection. I've seen that with some debris in the charging port of my iPhone but I don't know much about iPads. It would be best at this point for you to start your own topic in the iPad forum. Your issue would get more attention that way and you get more expert advice.

iPad - Apple Community

Hi there,

Those specs seem pretty good for the newest version of macOS, and you really shouldn't have any issues updating to the latest version without any major difficulties.

As for iPhoto, the iCloud Photos app now comes pre-installed with newer versions of macOS. It's similar to the photos app on your iOS devices.

High Sierra is still supported with security updates at least until the fall. It will also run newer versions of Mac OS software which are more secure and have more features.

BTW - that's a nice iMac! I'm on a mid-2010 27" myself.

Oh, and I'm asking for your screenshot to be edited for the serial number. It's not a good idea to post that in public forums.

No, any 32-bit apps you have will not run on Catalina so you'll need to upgrade them if the developer has upgrades. The"Relocated Items" are probably items you had stored outside of your User folder. The system in Catalina is locked down and all you have access to is your own data in Macintosh HD - Data container. So those items have been moved there.

Ok. This is all going over my head for the most part!! The main reason I wanted to update the OS was because I wanted to do a backup of my iPad Mini 4 because I’m purchasing the iPad Mini 5. When I connected it to the Mac with the usb cable, the iPad kept dinging even when I allowed access to the Mac. I thought updating the Mac OS would help with this problem, but I’m still having the same problem 😞 I’m a not very tech savvy senior citizen!!

Catalina 10.15

Get macOS Catalina

Check that your apps are compatible here:

https://www.stclairsoft.com/Go64/

Hello,

What is your Macintosh’s exact model number and what version of the system software is it running?

Choose the Apple Menu  > About This Mac

If I'm running Sierra on a late 2015 21.5 iMac, what operating system should I be using?

Thanks!

You're welcome.

Thank you for your reply. I ended up installing Catalina before I saw your reply, so I didn’t use the Go64. That must be why I now have a file called relocated items on my desktop?

Thanks for all your help!!