HT201475: Upgrade to OS X El Capitan

Learn about Upgrade to OS X El Capitan
MaryRB
Level 1 (4 points)
Mac OS X

Q: Tips  on upgrading to El Capitan

A combination of inertia and dislike of change has kept me from upgrading from Yosemite to El Capitan, but now that Sierra is on the horizon, I figure I should make the move.  I'm using 3.1 GHz iMac purchased in Feb. 2015 with 16 GB of memory. Is there anything I need to look out for or be cautious of in making the upgrade?

 

Thanks in advance - this community always is gracious and helpful!

Posted on Sep 9, 2016 1:27 PM

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MaryRB

Q: Tips  on upgrading to El Capitan

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  • Helpful answers

  • by JimmyCMPIT,Helpful

    JimmyCMPIT JimmyCMPIT Sep 9, 2016 1:57 PM in response to MaryRB
    Level 5 (7,132 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 9, 2016 1:57 PM in response to MaryRB

    before you do anything else backup.

     

    Make sure all your current 3rd party apps and external hardware is compatible by contacting the developers. Sites that report compatibility are often not regulated and prone to user misinformation.

     

    make a copy of all your passwords and serial numbers or keep them accessible when the computer is upgrading.

     

    add El Capitan to your Apple Store ID so when September 20 comes around and it's no longer in the store for download it's available in your account and grandfathered in.

     

    you can download the installer and archive it for later without installing it.

    the installer will be placed in

    Macintosh HD/Applications/Install El Capitan

    once installed the installer will delete itself, make a backup.

  • by woodmeister50,

    woodmeister50 woodmeister50 Sep 9, 2016 1:44 PM in response to MaryRB
    Level 5 (5,505 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 9, 2016 1:44 PM in response to MaryRB

    In terms of backup, backing up of any data is a bare minimum

    (documents, pics, etc.).  This is something you should be doing anyway

    as trusting your life to a single electronic device is an accident waiting

    to happen.

     

    Better would be a Time Machine backup or a clone.  Personally, I prefer a clone

    since if anything should go awry, you can immediately boot backup to your

    original setup and possibly diagnose a problem.

  • by MaryRB,

    MaryRB MaryRB Sep 9, 2016 2:01 PM in response to woodmeister50
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 9, 2016 2:01 PM in response to woodmeister50

    Thanks! I do use Time Machine for regular backups to an external hard drive. I gather from your answer that those don't include bootable versions of the OS?  Could I use the same external drive for a clone or would it be better to have a separate one?

  • by MaryRB,Helpful

    MaryRB MaryRB Sep 9, 2016 2:07 PM in response to JimmyCMPIT
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 9, 2016 2:07 PM in response to JimmyCMPIT

    Thanks!  I know I have to do a back-up but hadn't thought of the rest of your suggestions.

     

    How do I make a back-up of the installer - copy it to a file or put it on an external drive?

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Sep 9, 2016 2:22 PM in response to MaryRB
    Level 9 (70,250 points)
    iTunes
    Sep 9, 2016 2:22 PM in response to MaryRB

    You can copy the installer to an external drive by drag and drop just like any other file. Or you can control - click duplicate the installer and move it out of the Applications folder.

     

    You can use an external dive for a bootable clone, although you might consider creating a new partition for it.

  • by MaryRB,

    MaryRB MaryRB Sep 9, 2016 2:35 PM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 9, 2016 2:35 PM in response to Eric Root

    Thanks for both tips - very helpful!