Just purchased the Creative Cloud student package for my daughter but out Mac doesn't seem to support it. Current operating system is El Capitain 10.11.6 and I need to upgrade to Big Sur. How safe is it to do this?
Which OS you can upgrade to will be governed by which mac, model and year your mac is.
Click on the top left of your screen click on About This Mac to find out the year of your mac.
For older OS’s,
Open Safari and click on this link,
How to get old versions of macOS – Apple Support
Go to Check Compatibility to see if your mac qualifies for the OS upgrade you want.
Then go to the Download OS section and click on the OS you want to install.
If you want to install Big Sur, open Safari and click on the link below.
How to upgrade to macOS Big Sur - 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.
Check that your printers/ scanners etc have updated drivers and software available for the new OS.
Connect your mac to your router via cable rather than rely on WiFi.
Do not use your mac while it is downloading
and do not use any other devices that share the same internet connection.
If the App Store says ‘Open’ then it is detecting a previous download of the install app
go to the Applications folder locate Install macOS ******.app.
Move it to the Trash, empty the Trash.
Restart, click on the link again, the App Store should say ‘Get' or 'Download'.
If you are considering upgrading to Catalina or Big Sur be warned they do 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/ then contact the developers of the software to see
if they are providing 64bit updates or alternatives.
Which OS you can upgrade to will be governed by which mac, model and year your mac is.
Click on the top left of your screen click on About This Mac to find out the year of your mac.
For older OS’s,
Open Safari and click on this link,
How to get old versions of macOS – Apple Support
Go to Check Compatibility to see if your mac qualifies for the OS upgrade you want.
Then go to the Download OS section and click on the OS you want to install.
If you want to install Big Sur, open Safari and click on the link below.
How to upgrade to macOS Big Sur - 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.
Check that your printers/ scanners etc have updated drivers and software available for the new OS.
Connect your mac to your router via cable rather than rely on WiFi.
Do not use your mac while it is downloading
and do not use any other devices that share the same internet connection.
If the App Store says ‘Open’ then it is detecting a previous download of the install app
go to the Applications folder locate Install macOS ******.app.
Move it to the Trash, empty the Trash.
Restart, click on the link again, the App Store should say ‘Get' or 'Download'.
If you are considering upgrading to Catalina or Big Sur be warned they do 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/ then contact the developers of the software to see
if they are providing 64bit updates or alternatives.
Hey BillAtkins32,
We understand that have some concerns regarding updating to macOS Big Sur.
When installing any large software update, it is advised to backup first, thereby if any issues arise during update your data is safeguarded.
Additionally you can see steps to start the update process and new features to orient yourself in Big Sur at the following links.
Feel free to reach back out if you have any further questions.
Take care.
Just purchased the Creative Cloud student package for my daughter but out Mac doesn't seem to support it. Current operating system is El Capitain 10.11.6 and I need to upgrade to Big Sur. How safe is it to do this?
