I have an older Mac Pro, with Yosemite OS 10.10.5 I am trying to upgrade the OS but under system preferences, I am not seeing where I can do this. Under my upgrades the OS is not even an option.
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
System Preferences> Software Update did not appear until macOS Mojave was released in 2018.
Which OS you can upgrade to will be governed by which 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.
If you find your mac can upgrade to the newer OS's like macOS Mojave 10.14, macOS Catalina 10.15,
macOs Big Sur 11.5 I would recommend you upgrade to macOS High Sierra 10.13 first.
For High Sierra, Mojave or Catalina,
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.
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 want to or are able to install Big Sur, open Safari and click on the link below.
How to upgrade to macOS Big Sur - Apple Support
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 offering 64bit updates.
System Preferences> Software Update did not appear until macOS Mojave was released in 2018.
Which OS you can upgrade to will be governed by which 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.
If you find your mac can upgrade to the newer OS's like macOS Mojave 10.14, macOS Catalina 10.15,
macOs Big Sur 11.5 I would recommend you upgrade to macOS High Sierra 10.13 first.
For High Sierra, Mojave or Catalina,
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.
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 want to or are able to install Big Sur, open Safari and click on the link below.
How to upgrade to macOS Big Sur - Apple Support
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 offering 64bit updates.
How to get old versions of macOS - Apple Support
Using this link in Safari, you can download installers for non-current versions of macOS.
If you have Mac Pro (Early 2008) or Mac Pro (Early 2009), you can install up to OS X El Capitan.
If you have Mac Pro (Mid 2010) or Mac Pro (Mid 2012), you can install up to macOS High Sierra or macOS Mojave with a Metal-capable graphics card.
If you're trying to install macOS Mojave, you'll need to install macOS High Sierra first.
Install macOS 10.14 Mojave on Mac Pro (Mid 2010) and Mac Pro (Mid 2012) - Apple Support
Your Mac Pro cannot be updated beyond Yosemite.
Well, now that's annoying lol. I appreciate your help.
All Macs compatible with OS X Yosemite are at least compatible with OS X El Capitan, but the upgrade process is a bit more complicated than before. It is still possible, however.
Thank you for the info. I was thinking I could just upgrade to Big Sur. Silly me.
Thanks for all the information, I appreciate it.
Where can I upgrade my MacBook Pro with Yosemite OS 10.10.5?
