phdtop
Level 1 (5 points)
Mac OS X

Q: How do i upgrade from lion to mountain lion in 2016?

I've finally run into software that requires something more than Lion on my MacBook Air. Currently I'm running 10.7.5 on a 1.7 GHz Intel Core i5 with 4 GB of 1333 MHz DDR3. The type identifier for my machine is a MacBookAir4,2, also known as a 13-inch Mid 2011.

 

Should I grab El Capitan before the newest system comes out? In other cases, I've been frustrated by finding a "System Requirements" page for some Apple software or other which turns out to omit some little thing and then it turns out I can't upgrade after all... you know the problem.

 

Is El Capitan the best choice for this machine, or can I play it safer and do maybe Yosemite or Mountain Lion instead? If so, where are the (semi-) secret (but legal) places to download such an upgrade?

 

Thanks for any help y'all can give me!

MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Aug 4, 2016 2:52 PM

by Eric Root,Solvedanswer
Eric Root Eric Root
Level 9 (69,659 points)
iTunes
A:

You can still get Mountain Lion, but it is also out of date and not receiving security updates. El Capitan is a more secure choice.

 

  Mountain Lion


Posted on Aug 5, 2016 8:35 AM

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phdtop

Q: How do i upgrade from lion to mountain lion in 2016?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Aug 4, 2016 2:57 PM in response to phdtop
    Level 10 (270,056 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 4, 2016 2:57 PM in response to phdtop

    Your only choice is El Capitan unless you already have downloaded something later than Lion. See the following:

     

    Upgrading to El Capitan

     

    You can upgrade to El Capitan from Lion or directly from Snow Leopard. El Capitan can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for FREE. To upgrade to El Capitan you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion installed. Download El Capitan from the App Store. Sign in using your Apple ID. El Capitan 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.

     

          Macs that can be upgraded to OS X El Capitan

     

             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

  • by Eric Root,Solvedanswer

    Eric Root Eric Root Aug 5, 2016 8:35 AM in response to phdtop
    Level 9 (69,659 points)
    iTunes
    Aug 5, 2016 8:35 AM in response to phdtop

    You can still get Mountain Lion, but it is also out of date and not receiving security updates. El Capitan is a more secure choice.

     

      Mountain Lion


  • by phdtop,

    phdtop phdtop Aug 7, 2016 8:27 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 7, 2016 8:27 PM in response to Kappy

    Thanks!

  • by phdtop,

    phdtop phdtop Aug 7, 2016 8:28 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 7, 2016 8:28 PM in response to Kappy

    Thanks, both of you!

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Aug 7, 2016 8:52 PM in response to phdtop
    Level 9 (69,659 points)
    iTunes
    Aug 7, 2016 8:52 PM in response to phdtop

    You are welcome.

  • by MichelPM,

    MichelPM MichelPM Aug 7, 2016 10:51 PM in response to Eric Root
    Level 6 (13,584 points)
    iPad
    Aug 7, 2016 10:51 PM in response to Eric Root

    Eric,

    I am a little confused here.

    I am not sure when security updates ended for OS X 10.8, but I have been running OS X 10.8.5 since January of 2016 and I did receive a security update for 10.8 sometime around April this year and it, also, applied to OS X 10.9-10.11, as well.

    I haven't seen any new security updates since April, but I am still receiving regular iTunes updates, as well, and just updated to iTunes 12.4.3 as of today on OS X 10.8.5.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Aug 8, 2016 8:26 AM in response to MichelPM
    Level 9 (69,659 points)
    iTunes
    Aug 8, 2016 8:26 AM in response to MichelPM

    I was not aware of the 10.8 security update, but based on the recent Apple pattern of maintaining older operating systems, the update was/is unusual as far as I know. iTunes updates that are compatible with older OSs are not as unusual. Sorry I don't have a better answer.

  • by Srusso12,

    Srusso12 Srusso12 Aug 9, 2016 6:23 PM in response to MichelPM
    Level 1 (44 points)
    iPhone
    Aug 9, 2016 6:23 PM in response to MichelPM

    Apple typically supports iTunes for a year or two after they discontinue the OS, so that is why you are still receiving iTunes updates. I don't see a security update released for Mountain Lion in April according to Apples downloads page. It is possible that your computer missed the update and it finally recognized that an old security update was available back in April. On Wikipedia it says that Mountain Lion is no longer supported as of Sep of 2015, so I don't think Apple is still pushing out new security patches. I may be mistaken though about the security update though .