I have an early 2011 macbook pro 13 inch. I am considering upgrading the ram and hard drive. Currently I am on OS X EL Capitan. I run into a lot of issues with blocked websites (these are not suspicious sites) that I can access with no problem from my iPhone or windows based laptop. I suspect the issues are with the OS. Will I be able to upgrade the OS if i update the RAM, or am I stuck at this version? Thanks
MacBook Pro 13″, OS X 10.11
El Capitan will indeed have trouble with newer websites.
You can upgrade macOS on that Mac by following these instructions: How to download macOS - Apple Support, and scroll down to High Sierra 10.13.
It's not an "approved" modification but you will realize the greatest overall performance improvement by replacing that Mac's hard disk drive with a solid state drive (SSD). If you want to consider that option search for one from OWC / MacSales. They have instructional videos that you can watch to decide if it's something you want to do yourself, or they can do it for a fee.
That Mac's memory (RAM) can also be upgraded. Refer to the the Memory Upgrade Instructions in the (Apple menu) > About This Mac > Memory.
El Capitan will indeed have trouble with newer websites.
You can upgrade macOS on that Mac by following these instructions: How to download macOS - Apple Support, and scroll down to High Sierra 10.13.
It's not an "approved" modification but you will realize the greatest overall performance improvement by replacing that Mac's hard disk drive with a solid state drive (SSD). If you want to consider that option search for one from OWC / MacSales. They have instructional videos that you can watch to decide if it's something you want to do yourself, or they can do it for a fee.
That Mac's memory (RAM) can also be upgraded. Refer to the the Memory Upgrade Instructions in the (Apple menu) > About This Mac > Memory.
First of all when you download the macOS 10.12 Sierra installer, you must run the .pkg "installer" app which will only extract the real installer to the Applications folder. After running the .pkg file from the mounted .dmg file you need to run the real installer "Install macOS Sierra" from within the Applications folder.
Instead of installing macOS 10.12 Sierra, you should just skip straight to the macOS 10.13 High Sierra installer:
How to download macOS - Apple Support
The link above also has the instructions for how the macOS 10.11 & 10.12 installers work. If you are installing a new SSD, then I highly recommend creating a bootable macOS 10.13 USB installer since you don't have access to Internet Recovery Mode (Command + Option + R) yet since Internet Recovery Mode gets added with a firmware update with macOS 10.12.4 (or .6).
Create a bootable installer for macOS - Apple Support
If you are upgrading the current drive, then make sure to have a good backup just in case something goes wrong.
As @John Galt mentions the SSD upgrade will provide the biggest performance boost for this laptop even if you stay with the 4GB of memory. Plus the SSD can be re-purposed as external storage once you retire this laptop, unlike the memory which won't have any value after retiring the laptop.
If, however, you discover the memory is also a bottleneck after the SSD upgrade, then you can decide whether it would be worthwhile. To determine if memory is a bottleneck, you would use Activity Monitor to monitor the memory usage. As long as the memory pressure is green and there is not GBs of Swap or Compressed memory, then memory is not a bottleneck. If memory has not been a problem before, then I doubt it is an issue now and is not worth the cost. If you believe otherwise, then just purchase a single RAM module to pair it with one of the original 2GB modules for a total of 6GB or 10GB.
That's a great question, takara59.
Upgrading RAM wouldn't impact the Mac's ability to update to macOS as your Mac already meets the system requirements for macOS Sierra and macOS High Sierra. This information can be found via the following articles as well.
macOS Sierra - Technical Specifications
macOS High Sierra - Technical Specifications
When having issues upgrading macOS, are you noticing the Mac stops at the Apple logo and progress bar? If so, you'll want to complete the steps listed below. You an also find these steps outlined in the following article.
If your Mac starts up to an Apple logo or progress bar
If you're' having a different issue, the links included in the "If you need help" section of the Update macOS on Mac article that was previously linked can help with reaching a resolution.
Have a great day!
Hello takara59,
Welcome to Apple Support Communities!
We want to help you get the most from your MacBook Pro and update macOS.
You should be able to update macOS to High Sierra on your MacBook Pro.
Use these steps to update:
"Use Software Update
Before installing new software, it's a good idea to back up your Mac.
2. If Software Update finds new software, click the Update Now or Upgrade Now button to install it.
3. Enter your administrator password, if asked. During installation, your Mac might restart, and you might see a progress bar or blank screen several times.
If Software Update says that your Mac is up to date, then no new software is currently available for your Mac model. Software Update shows only updates and upgrades that are compatible with your Mac."
This Apple Support page has the full details: Update macOS on Mac - Apple Support
This should help you update the macOS without updating the hardware.
Cheers!
I checked for updates and none were available. I tried downloading Sierra and ran the update, I received no errors, but the update did not take. If I upgraded my ram from 4gb to 16gb would that make a difference in what I can update to.
Thank you HWTech and John. I am going to purse the upgrades to memory and a n SSD, then I will try the software update to High Siera. Thanks for the suggestion of creating a bootable installer.
macbook pro 2011 worth upgrading ram and hard drive?
