Not enough memory when trying to upgrade a MacBook Air

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Level 1

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Not enough memory when trying to upgrade a MacBook Air

I want to upgrade my OS from Catalina to any of the other operating systems available. But Big Sur and Monterey give me an error that I do not have enough memory on my current laptop. My MacBook Air doesn't have the ability to add memory.

The question is: Are there any of the newer OS which require less memory than Big Sur does that would enable me to upgrade? I really only wanted to go with Big Sur because some apps are now saying "only available with iOS 11.xx or above" Finder shows I have 26G available. Big Sur says it is only 15G so I don't know why it won't upgrade. Sorry, completely uneducated on all of this, so I guess it has to do with keeping the old one on board while the new one is getting set up or something.. Thank You. (PS I do have Entrecheck Pro and can run it and post it if anyone wants)

[Edited by Moderator]

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Feb 28, 2023 5:26 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

VikingOSX

Community+ 2024

Level 10

113,051 points

Feb 28, 2023 6:06 AM in response to Gal 220

If yours is a 2013-2014 Air with just 4GB RAM, then stay with Catalina as speaking from first-hand experience, it will be nearly unusable with the far larger and more demanding CPU and GPU requirements for Big Sur.

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Answer 2

John Galt

Level 10

142,668 points

Feb 28, 2023 9:26 AM in response to Gal 220

As others already pointed out the problem you are describing is strictly unrelated to memory. You are encountering a storage limitation. Your screenshots illustrate the correct use of that terminology. That is the limitation preventing you from downloading and installing the macOS upgrade, and is a common problem with Macs configured as yours is.

To address that limitation, please review Free up storage space on your Mac - Apple Support and Optimize storage space on your Mac - Apple Support.

If you are still unable to create sufficient space for the upgrade after exhausting all those steps, the workaround is to create a Time Machine backup, completely erase the Mac, install the latest version of macOS (read • below), and finally transfer the contents from that Time Machine backup when asked. To learn how to use Time Machine please read Back up your files with Time Machine on Mac - Apple Support.

To install the latest macOS that is compatible with your Mac, refer to Other macOS installation options in How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support.

(PS I do have Entrecheck Pro and can run it and post it if anyone wants)

Not a bad idea. Read Old Toad's excellent User Tip, here: How to use the Add Text Feature When Posting Large Amounts of Text, i.e. an Etrecheck Report - Apple Community

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Answer 3

dialabrain

Level 10

122,897 points

Feb 28, 2023 5:43 AM in response to Gal 220

FWIW, you need more available free space on the drive. The 15GB is just the download size, but doesn't include the space required to un-compress and install.

See: Free up storage space on your Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 4

Ronasara

Level 6

14,703 points

Feb 28, 2023 7:35 AM in response to VikingOSX

I second Viking's comment. Also, you need to be clear about what RAM is and what storage is. RAM is called memory and it can affect how the computer operates, speed, etc. Storage is the space on your Mac's HD where the operating system is downloaded to and stored on.

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Answer 5

Gal 220 Author

Level 1

30 points

Feb 28, 2023 4:24 PM in response to VikingOSX

Thank you this is an excellent answer. I will abide. ;-)

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Not enough memory when trying to upgrade a MacBook Air

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