Upgrade from OS X 10.9.5 to Catalina

Take a look at section # 1 here - you may need to update to El capitan first - the instructions are all here:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201475

Also remember to check for compatability of your older apps; 32 bit apps will no longer work.

And, 4 GB RAM is considered the absolute minimum with Catalina; you may not be happy with the performance depending on your workflow.

And, make sure you have at least 20 - 25 GB of empty space on your hard drive and make a complete backup before you start.

You do not have complete installer packages for Catalina or Mojave (a complete one is over/around 5 GB, not a few MB), but you do for High Sierra. You can try this:

First delete the two incomplete installer packages. Empty trash and restart computer. Then see if you can download Catalina.

Or, delete those two and a) make sure you have a complete backup and b) double click on the High Sierra installer and see if that works.

As I said, it will offer an OS version depending on which key combo you used to boot up.

You want to use the option in the middle:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904

First, Restart the Mac, seeing if that makes all the difference.

Seeing a Different macOS:

Thank you for the followup reply. Reinstall the macOS. Seeing a different macOS shows me that the install is not officially installed or is corrupt. But, try the following in the order provide, restarting each time. And if that does not fix this, then go about reinstalling the macOS.

• Restart the Mac:

Having removes the item(s), restart the Mac - shut it down, wait 30 seconds, then open it up. see if this now works.

Then...

• Clear Temporary Internet Files

Try clearing your Temporary Internet Files (Cookies & Cache) of Safari. Cookies perform remembrance of certain site-entered data. Whereas Cache keeps a snapshot of the last time you visited a site.  Use this Link: Clearing History and Cache - Apple Communities

Then...

• Scan for Malware:

Start with running a scan for malware, using Malwarebytes for Mac and remove what is found.

Then...

• Reset your SMC and your NVRAM:

Sometimes changes are made to the system and then settings (i.e. for the macOS Files) become manipulated, technically. So, reset both on your Mac.

And, if nothing above works...

• Reinstall the macOS:

Nothing would be lost. It's just that misplaced items would be placed back to where they should be and corrupt system files would be replaced by clean files. Go Here: Reinstall macOS - Apple Support. Use the third bulleted method: [command + R]. To prevent data loss, be sure to Back up your Mac with Time Machine, prior to the reinstall.

Do you have the installer in your Applications (or possibly the Downloads) folder?

What does the "About this Mac" window show?

I think I got it confused with another post that was deleted.

toine4711 Said:

“Upgrade from OS X 10.9.5 to Catalina

My Macbook Air (Mid 2013) claims since quite some time that its software is up to date. No idea why ?[...]”

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Install Via Booting into Recovery Mode:

Boot Using Recovery Mode:

Upon boot, simultaneously hold down: [Option+Command+R] to upgrade to the latest macOS version that is compatible with your Mac.

Note:

It might upgrade to High Sierra. From there, upgrade to Catalina.

That is what you are supposed to see.

You an either choose Disk utility to repair and/or erase and format your disk. And you should erase first.

You can then choose reinstall OS X. Depending on which key combo you used, you should be given an OS version to install.

toine4711 Said:

"I used the middle option (option/Cmd/r). Strange is that when I try to download Catalina from Apple‘s webpage it states that catalina is installed, but in reality 10.9.5 is installed"

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View the Official Operating System:

What happens when you:

1. Go to: the Apple Menu
2. Click: About this Mac
3. View: the Operating System.

What does It show?

Screenshot of a MBP with macOS X Catalina 10.15.4 shown in About this Mac:

toine4711 Said:

"[...]tried the "Option-Command-R" option to reload Catalina, however it still doesn't work. "starting internet recovery" comes up with the OS X Utilities display which gives the option to re-install OS-X but not to upgrade to Catalina."

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Well, Here's the Thing:

Your 2010 MacBook Pro is incompatible with Catalina (10.15) - it only goes up to High Sierra (10.13). So, to upgrade to High Sierra, use a USB Bootable Installer of High Sierra - you should be good from there, once installed.

I thought what you were trying to was reformat it to the macOS it came with - not upgrade to the most recent version.

Why do you think this is a 2010? According to the 1.3 GHz i5 specs, it is a 2013 (which is what the OP said in the first post):

https://everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook-air/specs/macbook-air-core-i5-1.3-13-mid-2013-specs.html

You have not answered my question:

Did you check both your Applications and Downloads folders to see if the Mac OS Installer is there? That is quite often the case when you cannot download it.

And, another thing: your screenshot of the Catalina download page which shows "installed" - what shows when you click on the little arrow next to it?