I have been gifted with an older macbook. I cannot determine the year. I am running Mac OS X version 10.6.8 -- I have a 2 GHz Intel Core Duo/ 1GB 667 MHz/ DDR2 SDRAM -- can anyone help me determine if I can update to the minimum OS to support iMessage?

Upgrading to Yosemite

You can upgrade to Yosemite from Lion or directly from Snow Leopard. Yosemite can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for FREE.

Upgrading to Yosemite

To upgrade to Yosemite you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion installed. Download Yosemite from the App Store. Sign in using your Apple ID. Yosemite is free. The file is quite large, over 5 GBs, so allow some time to download. It would be preferable to use Ethernet because it is nearly four times faster than wireless.

OS X Mavericks/Yosemite- System Requirements

Macs that can be upgraded to OS X Yosemite

1. iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 7,1 or later

2. MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 5,1 or later

3. MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

4. MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 2,1 or later

5. Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

6. Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

7. Xserve (Early 2009) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later

To find the model identifier open System Profiler in the Utilities folder. It's displayed in the panel on the right.

Are my applications compatible?

See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps.

Upgrading to Lion

If your computer does not meet the requirements to install Mavericks, it may still meet the requirements to install Lion.

You can purchase Lion at the Online Apple Store. The cost is $19.99 (as it was before) plus tax. It's a download. You will get an email containing a redemption code that you then use at the Mac App Store to download Lion. Save a copy of that installer to your Downloads folder because the installer deletes itself at the end of the installation.

Lion System Requirements

1. Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7,

or Xeon processor

2. 2GB of memory

3. OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended)

4. 7GB of available space

5. Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.

If what you have there is a :

"

I have a 2 GHz Intel Core Duo"

, Core Duo being the operative term, then the maximum OS it will run is Snow Leopard 10.6.8.

http://lowendmac.com/2006/macbook-mid-2006/

So to verify find your serial number:

MacBook: How to find the serial number - Apple Support

then run it here:

http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html

Post back or verify

iOS and OS X: Link your phone number and Apple ID for use with FaceTime and iMessage - Apple Support

According to that you need to be able to run Mountain Lion.

OK hope it works out for you. There are a lot of used MBPs and MBs for cheap that would fill your needs.

Thanks for the check mark.