Can & how do I upgrade the OS on my Macbook pro A1425 from OSX 10.8.5?

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Level 1

4 points

Can & how do I upgrade the OS on my Macbook pro A1425 from OSX 10.8.5?

Hi folks,

My spouse has given me the Macbook pro she no longer uses
After actioning a reset of the device, we actioned a fresh setup on the device
That seemed easy enough
However, there has immediately been issues when attempting to the Macbook

1) While safari successfully displays a list of web search results, most websites don't load in safari. Instead an error message appears:

Safari can't open the page 'https...' because Safari can't establish a secure connection to the server 'https...'

This seems odd since webpages in question appears in search results listed in Safari. I've tried to get around this for the moment at least by installing another browser. Brave & Firefox both downloaded. However on running the install routine, each gave an error message advising that the OS version on the Macbook is too old to be compatible with the current version of each of those products. I then eventually found this allowing me to install Chromium (not Chrome) successfully.

https://jonathanalland.com/old-osx-projects.html

Hence at least for the moment I can browse the internet on this device. My grateful thanks to the owner of the above.

2) I've tried using Boot Camp to install Windows 10. Prior to the device reset I mentioned above, a licensed version Windows 10 was installed for dual boot on this device. I thus anticipated re-installing Windows would be straight forward. Oh, my naivety in such innocence. Boot Camp progresses with this up to the point at which I am asked to select the iso file. I get this error message:

Boot Camp only supports Windows 7 or later installation on this platform. Please use an ISO file for Windows 7 or later installation.

To try to overcome this I've tried:

a) downloading the iso file with different devices

b) downloading the iso file to different USB sticks

c) Running Boot Camp with the iso file on the USB stick, and separately after copying the iso file to the Macbook desktop

3) Available updates in App Store don't all install

When I looked at software updates, around 6 or 7 were available. Most of these installed OK (including a Safari update that didn't fix the Safari issue I list above) However, I get this error message when trying to install iTunes 12.4.3:

An error occurred while downloading the updates.(102)

This particular error message standalone doesn't trouble me, as I've no desire to use iTunes
However, I've tried the recommended steps at this webpage

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252360467?

However, I get this error message:

OS X Update Combined can't be installed on this disk. The contents of this disk can't be changed.

I wonder though if that is symptomatic of the root cause of a wider issue on the device that is also causing the other issues I describe above.
Hence, to try to overcome this, can anyone advise please:

1) Is it possible for me to upgrade the OS on this device? (No such update is available when I look in software updates. Hence I ask in hope rather than expectation)?

2) If it possible to upgrade the OS, how do I proceed to do so successfully?

Thanks for any help anyone can offer.

Earlier Mac models

Posted on Jul 10, 2023 1:34 AM

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Answer 1

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Servant of Cats

Level 6

17,632 points

Jul 10, 2023 7:21 AM in response to Bananafest

You may have seen this already:

How to download and install macOS - Apple Support

Browsers other than Safari may have trouble with the App Store links (for High Sierra and up). But your Safari is so old that it may not be useful any more, either.

You might need or want to do a staged upgrade:

Back up your Mac. Make sure you have something to boot from if things go wrong during the upgrade.
Download the El Capitain (10.11) or Sierra (10.12) installer. (Apple offers those as .DMG files, so Firefox should be able to grab them.)
Upgrade your Mac to El Capitan or Sierra.
Using the upgraded version of Safari installed as part of the El Capitan or Sierra upgrade, open the App Store link for your target OS (e.g., High Sierra, Mojave, Catalina) and complete the upgrade.

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Answer 2

Bananafest Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 11, 2023 7:30 PM in response to Bananafest

Hi folks,

My thanks to all who replied; such constructive responses are hugely appreciated.

I'm quietly pleased to report that things now appear to be OK
This in particular was the break through I was looking for

How to download and install macOS - Apple Support

For future ref in case anyone needs this thread in future, this is what I did

1) In the above webpage, click the option to go to the section, "Use a web browser"

* As mentioned earlier in the post I had downloaded an old version of Chromium

* That worked for upgrading the OS to Yosemite, El Capitan and Sierra, 1 OS at a time (I didn't check to see if there was an option to jump more than 1 OS at a time; nice and steady 1 OS at a time is good for me)

2) Then click the link labelled, "Use the App Store"

That then worked a treat for 1 OS at a time upgrades for High Sierra, Mojave & Catalina

My thanks once again to all who responded to this thread. For me as a newcomer to Macs, your responses have been tremendously helpful for me moving forward with Mac familiarisation. I am very grateful to all of you.

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Answer 3

Niel

Level 10

732,611 points

Jul 10, 2023 6:13 AM in response to ku4hx

Back up your data, check the application compatibility table, click here, and then on the download link for a more-recent OS. The A1425 narrows it down to a 2012 or early 2013 model, which both have Catalina as the maximum one.

Catalina and above won't run 32-bit software; if you choose one of them, use Go64 as well.

(241696)

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Answer 4

Jul 10, 2023 7:46 AM in response to Bananafest

In 2015, the encryption method used on the internet, Secure Socket Layer (SSL) was determined by researchers to be not nearly as good as previously thought. Over the next year or so, better security was introduced, making MacOS 10.11 El Capitan and Safari 9 the way forward. The new standard, Transport Layer Security (TLS) is built into everything that followed.

You can not make a secure connection (httpS:) to a website when you are running older than Safari 9.

However, if your Apple-ID ever 'purchased' 10.11 El Capitan, it will be shown on the purchases page at the Mac App Store for re-download.

Unfortunately, this article that contains links to all Older MacOS Downloads is protected by modern secure (httpS:) connection, and is unavailable to you when running older than Safari 9:

How to download and install macOS - Apple Support

This makes obtaining 10.11 El Capitan and versions more recent quite difficult, unless you are already running El Capitan or later.

--------

The link I am posting below is an IMMEDIATE download link from that article, for a disk-image of El Captain. Downloading does NOT requires a secure connection. Don't click until you are ready to download:

http://updates-http.cdn-apple.com/2019/cert/061-41424-20191024-218af9ec-cf50-4516-9011-228c78eda3d2/InstallMacOSX.dmg

.

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Answer 5

ku4hx

Level 7

23,592 points

Jul 10, 2023 5:12 AM in response to Bananafest

OS Mountain Lion is quite old and that means so is the Mac. The year will determine what is the highest version of the OS you can go to.

What year is your Mac? For instance a 2015 model can go no higher than OS 12 Monterey

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Can & how do I upgrade the OS on my Macbook pro A1425 from OSX 10.8.5?

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