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Macbook Pro 12 upgrade to Monterey

I have a Macbook Pro 12 from 2016 and I need to update my OS. No automatic updates are available but I've read that I can manually update to Monterey. I have backed up my laptop and deleted many files, backed to iCloud but I still only have a little over 10 GB free. Will this be enough to upgrade? I don't understand why "other" takes up so much space and wondering if there is a trusted clean up tool I can use to free up more space if needed?


MacBook Pro 13″, OS X 10.11

Posted on Oct 22, 2023 10:01 AM

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4 replies

Oct 22, 2023 10:29 AM in response to lwolfey

macOS Monterey is compatible with these computers - Apple Support


As you can see from the supported Macs, there was no 2016 12-inch MacBook Pro, and there is support for an Early 2016 MacBook or 2017 model. Apple's iCloud is not a backup solution, but using an external HFS+ Journaled drive with Time Machine is a solution.


If your MacBook only has 8GB RAM, or a Fusion drive, stop now as Monterey will demand too much of it and it will be dog slow.


No, 10 GB free is below the safe margin of reserve storage necessary to support the current running operating system and if you let that drop too much further, you Mac will cease to boot. Certainly far below a minimum of 25 GB or more necessary before installing Monterey.


You have more storage freeing to perform including moving your Music, Video, and iPhoto/Aperture picture libraries over to an external drive. You may also have GBs of Email that you can thin starting with those items with large attachments. Review your downloads folder and any games that you may have installed in the past. They are usually huge.


Once you have 25 + GB of free storage and a completed Time Machine backup, then verify that your printer/scanner vendor offers 64-bit drivers for Monterey (macOS 13), and then run the free Go64 application to see what 32-bit application dependencies you currently have that will not be supported on Monterey which only supports 64-bit applications. Check with the 32-bit application vendors to see if they have a newer application version that is compatible with Monterey. Those that still say OS X 10.6 or later probably won't pass muster.


When you are satisfied that you have third-party application and driver support availability for Monterey, I recommend that you remove all 32-bit third-party applications using their complete uninstallation procedures on condition that you do have that Time Machine backup done. Some of those applications may install device drivers and/or have 32-bit uninstallers that won't work on Monterey.


After you have done all of the above, then it is time to consider obtaining the full Monterey installer from the Mac App Store via How to download and install macOS - Apple Support using the Safari browser only. The Monterey installer will land in your /Applications folder.


Oct 22, 2023 10:32 AM in response to lwolfey

..,but I still only have a little over 10 GB free.


Yes, 10GB is not enough. The App Store download is 12 GB:


https://apps.apple.com/us/app/macos-monterey/id1576738294?mt=12


and you need 2-3X the size of the installer to allow for unstuffing compressed files and swapping out of components during the install process.


The only "trusted cleanup tool" we Mac owners have lies between our ears. Most of cleaning dreck on the third-party app market does more harm than good. Some remove critical Mac system files leaving you with a non-functional computer.


👉🏻 Have you emptied the Trash? Things you put there are not removed from your storage until you empty the trash.


Start with doing "About this Mac..." from your Apple menu and select "Storage" in the resulting window. Find Manage..."



to get this:



which has a lot of options.


This article shows things to do next:


Free up storage space - Apple Support


NOTE: If you have not restarted your Mac in weeks or months, "Other" files may reduce with a restart. Otherwise please tell us what categories show using the most space.

Oct 22, 2023 4:54 PM in response to lwolfey

Hi lwolfey,


As mentioned by the others, you'll want at least 25 GB of free space to upgrade to macOS Monterey. Ideally 40 GB of free space.


"Other" storage on your Mac consists of internal app data and other miscellaneous things. To help reduce the amount of storage taken up by this category, please review this User Tip: What is “Other” storage on a Mac, and how… - Apple Community


Macbook Pro 12 upgrade to Monterey

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