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Q: Downloading  El Capitain is taking FOREVER is that normal?

I am upgrading my iMac 2009 to El Capitain -- clicked GET and it started downloading but its taking a very long time and Im not sure if it stopped?  Its been about 15 minutes. is that normal?

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Aug 11, 2016 5:06 PM

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Q: Downloading  El Capitain is taking FOREVER is that normal?

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  • by theratter,

    theratter theratter Aug 11, 2016 5:21 PM in response to angelissima
    Level 4 (3,907 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 11, 2016 5:21 PM in response to angelissima

    It is a 6.22GB file. It could take hours. But it won't download in 15 minutes.

  • by woodmeister50,

    woodmeister50 woodmeister50 Aug 12, 2016 3:03 AM in response to angelissima
    Level 5 (5,505 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 12, 2016 3:03 AM in response to angelissima

    How fast it downloads depends on the speed of your internet connection.

    It could take hours or on the order of 10 or 15 minutes (my last download

    was 10 minutes on a very fast cable modem service).  The other determining

    factor is not just the speed of your connection but the type of network

    and the amount of "traffic" on it.

  • by K Shaffer,

    K Shaffer K Shaffer Aug 12, 2016 3:12 AM in response to angelissima
    Level 6 (14,269 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 12, 2016 3:12 AM in response to angelissima

    At this late hour (near 2AM here, and long after your post) you still may

    not have the download completed. IF you are using wi-fi connection

    and not an Ethernet connection, the 'download speed' may be glacial.

     

    A wired Ethernet connection direct from the download Mac App link

    could be many times faster; so instead of taking up to two days, it

    may only be six or eight hours.

     

    The factors to consider include the bandwidth your ISP allows you

    for the monthly fee, the ceiling on the total you can use in a month,

    and if they shut down the speed to a mere trickle after a while, if

    you have already used most of the allotted capacity available to you.

    And that final link to the computer, be it wi-fi (slower) or Ethernet (best.)

     

    Hopefully by now you've had some headway on a download. Also if you

    choose to not downloaded installer, you can save it to the Applications

    Folder by quitting the installer. You may want to read up more before you

    install the El Capitan 10.11.6 version. And backup the old system, too.

     

    Good luck in this matter!