How can I upgrade to macOS Monterey?

Kelvinwys Said:

"How can I upgrade to macOS Monterey?: Current iMac is Version 10.11.6 running on OS X EI Capitan. Please help."

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For reference...

About Updating a Mac:

Looking to upgrade to macOS Monterey?

Determining which Update(s) will Install:

I. Verify Compatibility:

A. Start Here: Learn About Compatibility and how to Identify your Specific Mac Model - Apple Support

B. How to Verify:

II. Reveal your Model:

What is the Model of your Mac? To find out...

1. Go to: Apple menu
2. Click: About this Mac
3. View: Second Line-Down

then...

II. Compare the Results:

See if the Model you found is shown here:

• macOS Monterey is Compatible with these Computers - Apple Support
• macOS Big Sur 11 Hardware Requirements - Apple Support
• macOS Catalina 10.15 - Hardware Requirements - Apple Support
• macOS Mojave 10.14 - Hardware Requirements - Apple Support
• macOS High Sierra 10.13 - Hardware Requirements - Apple Support
• macOS Sierra 10.12 - Hardware Requirements - Apple Support
• OS X El Capitan 10.11 - Hardware Requirements - Apple Support
• OS X Yosemite 10.10 - Hardware Requirements - Apple Support

III. If Compatible:

• Back Up your Mac First:  Be certain you Create a Time Machine Backup of your Mac, so that way you can have something to restore your Mac from, should anything go wrong with the reconfiguration.

The Age of this computer will Govern what newer version of macOS it will Qualify to install. Use About this Mac from the Apple Icon on Desktop - the required Information will be there.

With the above information in-hand - follow this How to get old versions of macOS and verify what version this computer Qualifies to install.  For Best results use Safari to commence the download as Others may not work.

Safari will open a redirect and open the Apple Store where the download can commence.

In this computer specific case - really suggest doing this in steps rather than jumping or Attempting to Jump Directly to Monterey.

Technically possible but there have been 6 newer versions of macOS since El Capitan and there have been many, many changes since then.

One of the Biggest is the Conversion from Drive Format HFS Journaled to APFS which will require a EFI BOOT ROM for the computer to understand and use the new drive format.

Computer Qualify for the Monterey upgrade

macOS Big Sur 11 hardware requirements

macOS Catalina 10.15 hardware requirements

macOS Mojave 10.14 hardware requirements

macOS High Sierra 10.13 hardware requirements

macOS Sierra 10.12 hardware requirements

OS X El Capitan - Technical Specifications

Tips Big Sir Upgrade Released Nov 2020

Tips Monterey Upgrade  Released Oct 25, 2021

Make Time Machine Backup  is very useful and can be used to Revert to Previous Working macOS

Notation - Mojave is the Last version to support 32 bit applications / extensions and Drivers. Catalina, Big Sur & Monterey supports only 64 bit and there is no workaround.

Suggest using Go64 to find 32 bit application before attempting the upGrade. Some or many of the Application already installed may require an update or upGrades to 64 Bit Version