I was given an old mac and I hope to be able to upgrade it as much as possible. I understand that it’s a very old computer but I am hoping to be able to use it for basic applications until I’m able to afford a better computer. The last installed update is 10.5.8. I was looking on apple.com for the 10.6 update but it’s not available. Any guidance will be most appreciated. (I don’t think it’s a MacPro but there weren’t other options below).
Mac Pro
Help0721 Said:
"Mac OS X 10.5.8: I was given an old mac and I hope to be able to upgrade it as much as possible. I understand that it’s a very old computer but I am hoping to be able to use it for basic applications until I’m able to afford a better computer. The last installed update is 10.5.8. I was looking on apple.com for the 10.6 update but it’s not available. Any guidance will be most appreciated. (I don’t think it’s a MacPro but there weren’t other options below)."
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What's the Model?:
To know your options for install, please provide the model of your Mac. To do so, enter the Serial Number here: Check Your Service and Support Coverage - Apple Support
Don't Have the Serial Number?:
If you do not have the Serial Number, then use Terminal in Recovery Mode to get it.
Perform the Following:***
system_profiler |grep "r (system)"
***Source: Get a Macs Serial Number from the Command Line - OSXDaily
Help0721 Said:
"Mac OS X 10.5.8: I was given an old mac and I hope to be able to upgrade it as much as possible. I understand that it’s a very old computer but I am hoping to be able to use it for basic applications until I’m able to afford a better computer. The last installed update is 10.5.8. I was looking on apple.com for the 10.6 update but it’s not available. Any guidance will be most appreciated. (I don’t think it’s a MacPro but there weren’t other options below)."
-------
What's the Model?:
To know your options for install, please provide the model of your Mac. To do so, enter the Serial Number here: Check Your Service and Support Coverage - Apple Support
Don't Have the Serial Number?:
If you do not have the Serial Number, then use Terminal in Recovery Mode to get it.
Perform the Following:***
system_profiler |grep "r (system)"
***Source: Get a Macs Serial Number from the Command Line - OSXDaily
Hey there Help0721,
We'd like to help answer your question as best we can about upgrading past OS X 10.5.8.
You're correct in saying it's a very old version installed, as the latest one is macOS Big Sur 11.5. Whether you're able to upgrade any further or not depends upon the exact model you have.
This shows a few of the last versions prior to macOS 11.5, and the requirements for each: How to get old versions of macOS Please keep in mind that your Mac may not be compatible with any of the versions listed in the link.
Take care!
Does your Mac tower have one or two drive slots?
If it has only one, it is a vintage Power PC G5 tower. Not what you want to discover, but at that point, you'll want to hit the vintage apple forum on Reddit - that community is far more active with people that can give you links to software that will make hit run as good as it can.
If it has two optical drives, it IS a MacPro, and should at a minimum be able to go to Snow Leopard - WHICH to the utmost irritation of many, is no longer offered by Apple.
Also, you may want to investigate the MacPro forum on Reddit, since they can point you to resources that can not be mentioned here..
Deborah Terreson Said:
"@TheLittles - FYI, any Mac old enough to be running Leopard MacOS X 10.5.8 will not have Recovery capabilities.[...]"
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Is this Snow Leopard?:
No model is provided. So, 10.5.8 is mentioned, yet it is posted in Snow Leopard. So, we need to determine which model it is, so we can determine which macOS versions can be installed.
@TheLittles - FYI, any Mac old enough to be running Leopard MacOS X 10.5.8 will not have Recovery capabilities.
You can only get to the Terminal by booting with the system install disk.
Other than a MacBook EFI update 2.3 that installed Boot ROM v. MBP81.0047.B24 on Snow Leopard 10.6.8 systems, the Recovery function wasn't introduced until Lion 10.7.
It has two. Thanks for the insight!
Mac OS X 10.5.8
