How can I upgrade my MacBook Pro 10.6.8 without losing access to my documents/files.

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How can I upgrade my MacBook Pro 10.6.8 without losing access to my documents/files.

I'm a lifetime Macintosh-Apple computer user who needs to upgrade my MacBook Pro beyond OS 10.6.8 without losing the ability to update and access my documents and files. I'm unable to use my Safari version to access the internet, and I'm beginning to have problems using alternate browsers.

In the past, I called my local, valued service-oriented Apple retailer and took one of its many technical classes or paid one of their service technicians to handle any issue I had. But both it and a similar, independent, service-oriented Apple retailer in my region were forced to close before the opening of the new Apple mall store last year. I set up an Apple Store service appointment at its "genius" bar that was useless, all hyped excitement about new things & no knowledge about upgrading while preserving and accessing my data/documents/files. Apple's website offers only the latest OS system, a great leap from my current one.

I'm afraid that the last 9 years of higher-tech devices & networking changes have left me in Apple's dust. I'm over my head and will gladly pay for professional support and even coaching, if only I can find it.

Can anyone recommend where to find hands-on help or detailed informational resources? I'm very resourceful and persistent if pointed in the right direction. Thanks for any resources or ideas you can offer!

MacBook Pro 2.4 GHz Intel Core i5

Memory 4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3

Mac OS X Version 10.6.8

Safari 5.1.10 (outdated) Mail still works. I've been using Chrome browser on the internet.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on May 29, 2015 7:32 PM

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Answer 1

Rysz

Level 8

44,391 points

May 29, 2015 8:40 PM in response to Artdog17

Tell us the model of your MacBook.

Do you not see any available upgrades/updates when you log in to the Mac Apple Store?

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Answer 2

Eric Root

Level 10

684,039 points

May 30, 2015 7:29 AM in response to Artdog17

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.

MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) model number 5,1 or higher
MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) model number 3,1 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)

Do a backup before installing.

If you don't want Yosemite, you can try Mountain Lion.

Mountain Lion

One option is to create a new partition (~30- 50 GB), install the new OS, and ‘test drive’ it. If you like/don’t like it it, you can then remove the partition. Do a backup before you do anything. By doing this, if you don’t like it you won’t have to go though the revert process.

Open Disk Utility, select your hard drive (step 1), then the Partition tab (step 2), and select the partition. Using the /// at the bottom move it up (step 3) until the size box decrease by about 50 GB. Select the newly created space and hit the + button (step 4). Name it something and select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as the format (step 5). Then hit the Apply button(step 6). Download the installer from the App Store and when it starts, point it at the new partition. You might want to make a copy of the installer outside the Applications folder to avoid having to re-download it in the future. Once installed, go to System Preferences/Startup Disk, select the new partition and reboot. Test away.

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