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helenfromsaintlouis

Q: Can I update Safari without updating from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion?

Can I update Safari without updating from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion

iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2010), Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jul 12, 2015 9:39 AM

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Q: Can I update Safari without updating from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Allan Jones,Helpful

    Allan Jones Allan Jones Jul 12, 2015 10:02 AM in response to helenfromsaintlouis
    Level 8 (35,311 points)
    iPad
    Jul 12, 2015 10:02 AM in response to helenfromsaintlouis

    No. The Safari version is tied to the Mac OSX version.

     

    If you cannot or do not wish to upgrade to a current OS version, switch to the FireFox browser. It supports OS 10.6 and is still regularly updated for security. Only get FireFox from the official Mozilla site:

     

    https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=paidsearc h&utm_campaign=y-searchdd&utm_content=y-free-download

     

    Other download hosting sites may load you up with adware or other garbage that can bring your Mac to its knees.

     

    You iMac can handle the current OS: 10.10.4. However, you need to add RAM if you have less than 4GB currently. Also, OS 10.6 had technology that let you run older software written for pre-Intel Macs, like AppleWorks and any version of MS Office before Office:Mac 2008. If you must use such older programs, FireFox is your only option.

  • by helenfromsaintlouis,Helpful

    helenfromsaintlouis helenfromsaintlouis Jul 12, 2015 11:17 AM in response to Allan Jones
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 12, 2015 11:17 AM in response to Allan Jones

    I'm afraid of losing my current IPhoto if i upgrade to Mountain Lion. What else might I lose from Snow Leopard?

  • by Allan Jones,

    Allan Jones Allan Jones Jul 12, 2015 12:12 PM in response to helenfromsaintlouis
    Level 8 (35,311 points)
    iPad
    Jul 12, 2015 12:12 PM in response to helenfromsaintlouis

    The best action is to see what versions of different software you use run under higher OS versions than 10.6. Please see this site that has software compatibility charts across OSX versions:

     

    http://roaringapps.com/apps?index=a

     

    Any upgrade will offer you a newer version of iPhoto and, if you go all the way to 10.10, iPhoto is replaced by the new "Photo" app and you will have to import all your old images; then they won't work in iPhoto any more.

     

    iChat goes away.

     

    When I upgraded my 2010 iMac from 10.6.8 to 10.9 "Mavericks" in one big step I did not lose iDVD which I use because I have a number of tech-challenged relatives out of state. I snail-mail them stuff on DVD and they can handle that.

     

    Other than those, and my previous comments about old programs written before Intel macs appeared in 2006, I can't think of anything else.

     

    Remember the if you upgrade only to 10.8 Mountain Lion, you are still two full OS versions behind current and it probably won't be long until those versions and their accompaning version fo Safari are outdated. Also, Mountain Lion is not free:

     

    http://store.apple.com/us/search/Mountain-Lion-Mac-OS-X-10.8

     

    If in doubt, simply get FireFox and use it until situations force you to upgrade the OS. It is a very nice and stable browser.

  • by helenfromsaintlouis,

    helenfromsaintlouis helenfromsaintlouis Jul 12, 2015 6:11 PM in response to Allan Jones
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 12, 2015 6:11 PM in response to Allan Jones

    Thank you very much.  Your answers are extremely helpful to an older non-techi.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Jul 13, 2015 7:01 AM in response to helenfromsaintlouis
    Level 9 (73,732 points)
    iTunes
    Jul 13, 2015 7:01 AM in response to helenfromsaintlouis

    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.