Upgrade from snow leopard to mavericks

Your post of almost a year ago leaves me with the continuing question: How do I upgrade my iMac "Core 2 Duo" 2.66 20-inch (Early 2009) model No A1224 from Snow Leopard to any of the newer OSs that are supported by Apple? I understand that my 10.6.8 is "not supported" and I would like a newer version of Safari but I'm concerned about iPhoto and iPhoto Library Manager compatibility. Also my iPhone 4 needs to be able to sync with my iMac. I do not need all the "marketing-driven" frills or cloud-stuff that Yosemite seems to be packed with and I don't know if my "antique" machine has the hardware capability required for that OS anyway. I would like to be able to do this update myself but feel that it is way to complicated unless someone could talk me through the procedure. Is there any current, up-to-date advice and/or help available?

thanks, Haven

Mavericks is no longer available unless you previously downloaded it. Mountain Lion is still receiving security updates, so you might want to consider that.

Check that your computer is compatible with Mountain Lion/Mavericks/Yosemite.

To check the model number hold down the option/alt key, go to the Apple menu and select System Information.

iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) model number 7,1 or higher

Your Mac needs:

• OS X v10.6.8 or OS X Lion already installed
• 2 GB or more of memory (More is better - 4 GB minimum seems to be the consensus)
• 8 GB or more of available space

Check to make sure your applications are compatible. PowerPC applications are no longer supported after 10.6.

Application Compatibility

Applications Compatibility (2)

My advice is that when you upgrade, you first backup and then partition your hard drive and install the upgrade in the new partition.

In that way you can "dual boot" back into Snow Leopard when you need it.

Otherwise, the upgrade will destroy your Snow Leopard environment.