Updating system software on a mid 2014 Mac Book Pro running Yosemite 10.10.5

The mid-2014 MacBook Pro can run macOS up to and including OS 11 Big Sur.

No, you do not have to upgrade incrementally... i.e. 10.10 to 10.11 to 10.12... etc.

You should not have to create a bootable copy or installer. Simply run the upgrade installer app that you download from the App Store. Links are posted below.

❗️ Do NOT upgrade

…until you have made a Time Machine or other backup of your startup drive.

Learn How to Back up your Mac with Time Machine

How to Upgrade  macOS:

The macOS version you can upgrade to depends on the year your Mac was released.

Click the  (Apple) menu at the top of your screen and choose About This Mac.

Check the Compatibility of your Mac with newer versions of macOS:

➡️ macOS 10.13 High Sierra is compatible with the Macs listed here

➡️ macOS 10.14 Mojave is compatible with the Macs listed here

➡️ macOS 10.15 Catalina is compatible with the Macs listed here

➡️ macOS 11 Big Sur is compatible with the Macs listed here

❗️ – IMPORTANT – None of your 32-bit apps will work in macOS Catalina or newer. This includes older MS Office apps and any other older software apps and drivers. These will require that you find 64-bit updates and/or replacement titles.

32-bit app compatibility with macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 and later - Apple Support

Use the free utility Go64 to check the 64-bit compatibility of your apps:

https://www.stclairsoft.com/Go64/

✅ - Download the appropriate macOS upgrade installer app:

Click > 10.13 High Sierra,  10.14 Mojave,  10.15 Catalina,  macOS 11 Big Sur.

Once downloaded, double-click the “Install macOS…” app in the Applications folder to begin the upgrade.

Please see > How to download macOS - Apple Support.

Be aware that the APFS disk format was released with High Sierra 10.13 and although it was optional for standard hard drives it became required for SSDs. Later, upon the release of Catalina 10.15, APFS became required for all system drives regardless of whether they were HDDs, SSDs or Fusion drive. Your Yosemite MBP is currently formatted as MacOS Extended Journaled (aka HFS+).

Since your mid-2014 MBP has an SSD, upgrading to High Sierra 10.13 or later will require reformatting the drive as APFS. The macOS installer will do the reformatting for you. (The internal drive in a mid-2014 MBP is an SSD with an Apple proprietary connector. It's neither a hard drive nor a 'regular' SSD.

Big Sur (macOS 11) is the final version of macOS that will run on a mid-2014 MBP.

Just make sure you have a good backup of all your data. Also, given you have Yosemite, many if not all of your apps could be 32-bit versions - they will not run on Catalina or later versions of macOS - upgrading apps is another consideration for you.

if upgrading to Catalina or later, you can run this well-respected free utility and see what Apps will not be 64-bit capable:

https://www.stclairsoft.com/Go64/index.html

Mike Banks wrote:

I have a backup on a USB external hard drive. I am vague on how to make a bootable copy.

Make one or two before updating.

I've read too many threads on these boards recently with tales of people wiping their old Macs, assuming that they can use Internet Recovery – only to run into issues with Apple's servers, after they've wiped their disk and have no other good way of re-installing an OS. Then, unless they can get outside help, they're stuck with a machine which they can't get working again.

Two third-party utilities that people use to make bootable clones of startup disks containing old versions of macOS (new ones are another, long story) are Carbon Copy Cloner and SuperDuper!

Bombich – Carbon Copy Cloner

CCC 5 (an older version) will run on Yosemite.

ShirtPocket – SuperDuper!

The current version is compatible with Yosemite.

Mike Banks wrote:

I decided to hire a local business to install a bigger drive while they upgrade the OS. They are not an Apple specialist, but the owner of the company has some expertise, so I have been told. He warned me that my 2.2 GHz Intel processor could get bogged down if I have him upgrade all the way to Big Sur. I am planning on taking the laptop in on Monday. Would it make sense to just go up to Catalina? Likely this will be my last upgrade on this machine. Thanks in advance! MB

Neither Catalina or Big Sur is one of "the most recent three."

Both break 32-bit applications.

If you install either, you will be able to run current versions of Firefox and LibreOffice. There is an ESR version of Firefox that runs on High Sierra and Mojave, but it's no longer getting new features, and it won't get any security updates after September 2024.

If you install either, iTunes will go away, replaced by separate applications:

Apple Music User Guide for Mac - Apple Support

The idea of a bootable clone is fading rapidly, as Apple continues to lock down the system Volume and insist that the only executable System is one installed directly from Primary sources.

What you learn from making bootable closes today may not transfer to the next version of MacOS.

since "re-install with new download from Apple" has always been on the list of things to try when debugging, I suggest you re-install/ upgrade rather than learn to make bootable backup clones.

As always, there are MANY ways forward.

As far as I know, Pages, Numbers & Keynote have been 64-bit apps since about 2013.

To be thorough, before you upgrade to Big Sur, check your purchases in your Mac App Store account to make sure Pages, Numbers & Keynote are already in your account. If not, install & accept them before you upgrade.

After you upgrade to Big Sur you will probably have to accept all three apps again.

<< I am not sure what my local shops basis was for making the comment about bogging things down if the OS upgrade outpaced the processor. >>

That is a common misconception based on experience with Windows machines.

Processing power is not the bottleneck for these Macs.